The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a strong performance profile in The Medium, placing 416th out of 3,724 tested combos. This places the combination comfortably in the upper tier of tested systems, with the data indicating a platform capable of high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming and solid 4K experiences when settings are adjusted. The benchmark results show a clear story about where the bottlenecks lie and how the CPU and GPU interact with the game’s engine.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable yet significant drop in performance as resolution increases, but the pattern is not uniform across all settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 136 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 129 FPS, a modest 5% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 119 FPS, showing a further 8% decline from 1440p. This relatively shallow slope at Low settings suggests that at this quality level, the GPU still has ample headroom, and the CPU is capable of feeding it sufficient frames even at 4K.

The scaling becomes more pronounced at higher quality presets. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 114 at 1080p, to 101 at 1440p, and finally to 79 at 4K. This represents a 11% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 22% drop from 1440p to 4K. The pattern is even steeper at High settings: 86 FPS at 1080p, 72 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 4K. Here, the 1440p to 4K jump costs a 21% performance loss. Ultra settings show the most severe scaling, with 68 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K, a 21% loss between each step.

The data indicates that as the graphical load increases, the RTX 4080 becomes the primary limiting component. At Low settings, the relatively small FPS deltas across resolutions suggest the CPU is able to maintain high frame rates, and the GPU is not yet saturated. However, at Ultra settings, the GPU is clearly strained, and the difference between 1080p and 4K becomes much more pronounced. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario at higher presets, where the rendering load scales directly with the pixel count, and the CPU has less influence on the final frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant force in this pairing, and its specifications align with the observed performance. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. This substantial memory allocation is more than sufficient for The Medium at any settings, ensuring that texture loading and streaming are not a bottleneck. The GPU’s boost clock of 2505 MHz and base clock of 2205 MHz, based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, deliver the raw compute power necessary to handle the game’s horror atmosphere and visual effects.

The RTX 4080’s benchmark scores confirm its high-end status. It holds a percentile ranking of 86 among all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 54,247 places it in the same performance tier as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores 54,209 and is a mere 0.1% ahead. The data shows the 4080 is slightly behind the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, which has a deltaPct of -1.1%, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, which is -2.6% ahead. These close margins indicate that the RTX 4080 is a top-tier card, and its performance in The Medium aligns with its expected capabilities.

The GPU’s role becomes increasingly critical at higher resolutions. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra, 45 FPS, is the lowest recorded in the dataset, highlighting the extreme load placed on the GPU at this configuration. The substantial drop from the 4K Medium average of 79 FPS to 4K Ultra’s 45 FPS demonstrates a 43% performance penalty for the highest quality preset, a cost that many users may find too high for the visual gain.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K resolution?*

A: Yes, it can. The measured data shows an average of 57 FPS at 4K High settings and 79 FPS at 4K Medium. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 45 FPS, which may be below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest competitor, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The benchmark scores are nearly identical. The RTX 4080 has an average score of 54,247, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209, a deltaPct of only 0.1%. In practice, performance in The Medium would be expected to be indistinguishable between the two.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 136 FPS average. The relatively small FPS drop to 129 FPS at 1440p Low and 119 FPS at 4K Low indicates the GPU is still handling the load efficiently, and the CPU is capable of maintaining high frame rates across all resolutions at this preset.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: The benchmark results show a 101 FPS average at Medium and a 72 FPS average at High. This represents a 29 FPS difference, or a 29% performance reduction when moving to High settings.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested configurations?

A: This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is ranked 416th out of 3,724 combos in The Medium, putting it in the top 11% of all tested systems.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM of the RTX 4080 sufficient for this game?

A: Based on the measured results, the 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than adequate. The game runs at playable frame rates at all settings except 4K Ultra, and there is no data indicating memory capacity is a limiting factor at any measured configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 configuration holds a combo rank of 416 out of 3,724 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 11% of all systems, a strong result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The ranking indicates that while the CPU is not the fastest available, it does not significantly detract from the overall gaming experience.

The CPU itself has a percentile ranking of 74 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20,468. Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database are the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, which scores 20,454 and is 0.1% slower, and the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G, which scores 20,425 and is 0.2% slower. This shows the Ryzen 5 5600 is a very competent processor, and its performance is well-matched to the RTX 4080 for this title, as the high combo rank suggests the pairing is effective.

The data shows that the combination does not suffer from a severe CPU bottleneck, as it is able to achieve high frame rates at lower resolutions. The overall rank confirms the balance of the system, where the GPU’s power is not wasted by a weak CPU. However, users should note that the rank is specific to The Medium and may vary in other titles.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this hardware depend on the user’s display resolution and preference for visual fidelity. For a 1080p display, the Medium preset offers an excellent balance, delivering an average of 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS and a maximum of 131 FPS. This provides a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience without sacrificing too much visual quality. Pushing to High at 1080p reduces the average to 86 FPS, which is still very playable but may not be necessary for a competitive advantage in a horror title.

For 1440p gaming, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation. The average FPS of 101, with a minimum of 86 and maximum of 116, provides a flawless experience on most high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 1440p drops to an average of 72 FPS, which is acceptable but may not be ideal for users with 144Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 1440p produces an average of 57 FPS, which is a significant compromise for the visual upgrade and is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

At 4K, the situation changes. The Medium preset is the best choice for a balance of quality and performance, yielding an average of 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 and maximum of 91. This is sufficient for a console-like experience. The High preset at 4K, with an average of 57 FPS, is playable but will show more noticeable frame drops during intense scenes. The Ultra preset at 4K, averaging 45 FPS, is too demanding for this hardware and should be avoided for a consistent experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a complete breakdown of the measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 in The Medium:

At 1920x1080 resolution:

• Low: Average FPS 136.
• Medium: Average FPS 114, with a minimum of 97 and a maximum of 131.
• High: Average FPS 86.
• Ultra: Average FPS 68.

At 2560x1440 resolution:

• Low: Average FPS 129.
• Medium: Average FPS 101, with a minimum of 86 and a maximum of 116.
• High: Average FPS 72.
• Ultra: Average FPS 57.

At 3840x2160 resolution:

• Low: Average FPS 119.
• Medium: Average FPS 79, with a minimum of 67 and a maximum of 91.
• High: Average FPS 57.
• Ultra: Average FPS 45.

The data shows a consistent performance hierarchy across all resolutions, with Low being the fastest and Ultra being the slowest. The only configurations with recorded minimum and maximum frame times are the Medium presets, which exhibit a stable frame delivery. The absence of min/max data for other presets suggests they were not captured, but the average values provide a clear picture of the performance envelope.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 plays a supporting role in this configuration, but its capabilities are not to be underestimated. With 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, it provides a solid foundation for gaming. The CPU has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, which are respectable figures for a mid-range processor. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache is ample for gaming workloads.

The CPU’s benchmark results show it is a capable performer. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18,309 and a single-core score of 2,584. Its Geekbench multi-core score is 9,158, and single-core is 1,936. These numbers indicate that the Ryzen 5 5600 is strong enough to handle the game’s logic and physics without bottlenecking the RTX 4080 in most scenarios. The 3DMark scores further reinforce this, with a max threads score of 5,659.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system hits 136 FPS, a frame rate that requires a fast CPU to maintain. The data shows that the Ryzen 5 5600 is up to the task. However, as the resolution and settings increase, the GPU takes over as the primary bottleneck, and the CPU’s impact on the final frame rate diminishes. The CPU’s 65W TDP and AMD Socket AM4 compatibility make it an efficient and accessible choice, and its performance is sufficient to keep up with the RTX 4080 in this title, as evidenced by the high combo rank.