The Medium

The Medium pairs a fixed-camera horror presentation with heavy reliance on volumetric lighting and high-resolution textures, making it a demanding title for both CPU and GPU. The combination of AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and AMD Radeon RX 7600 produces a set of measured results that reveal clear performance tiers across resolutions and settings. This analysis breaks down those numbers, contextualizes them against rival hardware, and offers practical guidance for playing the game with this specific configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves at 1920x1080?

A: The highest average FPS at 1920x1080 is 130, achieved with Low settings. Medium settings deliver 81 FPS, High settings deliver 75 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 62 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 7600’s 8 GB VRAM affect performance at 4K?

A: With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, the RX 7600 delivers 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 47 (Ultra) to 98 (Low), suggesting that while VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game’s textures, the memory bus width becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations in The Medium?

A: The combo ranks 784th out of 3724 tested combinations, placing it in the top 21% of all tested systems for this game.

Q: Which setting preset provides the most balanced experience at 2560x1440?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS. This is the only preset at this resolution with reported min/max values, indicating it offers the most stable frame delivery.

Q: How large is the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings achieve 130 FPS while Ultra settings achieve 62 FPS, a difference of 68 FPS. This represents a 52% reduction in average FPS when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 5600G bottleneck the RX 7600 in this game?

A: The CPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 74th percentile of all CPUs, with a single-thread score of 872 in 3DMark and 1409 in Cinebench R23. The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score is 2310. The measured FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K indicates the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU remains sufficient.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, featuring 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory operates at 2250 MHz with an effective 18 Gbps rate, delivering 288.0 GB/s across a 128-bit bus. The GPU’s base clock is 1720 MHz, with a game clock of 2250 MHz and a boost clock of 2655 MHz. These specifications place the GPU in the 57th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15171.

In The Medium, the GPU’s role shifts dramatically based on settings. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches 130 FPS, suggesting the GPU has ample headroom. However, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average drops to 47 FPS, indicating the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are saturated. The 32 ray accelerators on this GPU are relevant, as The Medium uses ray-traced reflections and shadows in certain scenes, though the measured data does not isolate this effect.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity proves sufficient for the game’s texture requirements, as the 4K Low preset still achieves 98 FPS. The limiting factor appears to be the 128-bit memory bus, which constrains data throughput when resolution increases. The GPU’s 21.75 TFLOPS of FP32 compute provides enough raw power for the game’s fixed-camera scenes, but the memory subsystem becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The RX 7600’s nearest rivals show similar average scores, with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM being 0.2% faster and the AMD Radeon 680M being 0.7% slower, confirming this GPU sits in a competitive mid-range tier.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the average FPS across all four settings is 87 (130+81+75+62 divided by 4), while at 2560x1440 it drops to 77.75, and at 3840x2160 it falls to 65.75. This represents a 10.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 24.4% drop from 1080p to 4K when averaging all settings.

The scaling is not uniform across settings. With Low settings, the transition from 1080p (130 FPS) to 1440p (116 FPS) is a 10.8% reduction, and then to 4K (98 FPS) is a 24.6% reduction from 1080p. With Ultra settings, the drops are steeper: 62 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p (9.7% reduction), and 47 FPS at 4K (24.2% reduction from 1080p). This suggests that the GPU’s rendering load scales nearly linearly with pixel count, which is typical for a game that relies heavily on fill-rate-bound effects like volumetric fog and particle systems.

The fact that Low settings at 4K (98 FPS) outperform Ultra settings at 1080p (62 FPS) indicates that settings adjustments have a larger impact on performance than resolution changes. This points to the GPU being the primary limiting component, as reducing graphical fidelity frees up more resources than lowering pixel count. The CPU’s 16 MB of L3 cache and 6 cores with 12 threads appear sufficient to feed the GPU at all tested resolutions, as there is no evidence of a CPU bottleneck in the data—the FPS scales consistently with resolution changes.

The Medium’s fixed-camera angles reduce the geometric complexity of each frame, which helps the CPU maintain consistent frame delivery. However, the game’s use of high-resolution textures and complex lighting means the GPU’s memory bandwidth is the key constraint. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is the same at all resolutions, but the amount of data required per frame increases with resolution, explaining the observed scaling pattern.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 130 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 and a maximum of 93. High settings produce 75 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 62 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 68 FPS, a substantial 52% reduction. The Medium preset’s min/max range of 69-93 FPS shows a 24 FPS spread, indicating some scene-to-scene variance but overall stable performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance hierarchy remains consistent. Low settings achieve 116 FPS, a 10.8% drop from 1080p. Medium settings deliver 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 and a maximum of 83, showing a 22 FPS spread. High settings produce 67 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 56 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 60 FPS, a 51.7% reduction. The Medium preset remains the only one with reported min/max values, suggesting it offers the most predictable frame times.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show strain. Low settings still manage 98 FPS, which is playable for most users. Medium settings drop to 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 and a maximum of 71, a 19 FPS spread that indicates more variance at higher resolution. High settings produce 57 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 47 FPS. The Low to Ultra gap here is 51 FPS, a 52% reduction, consistent with the other resolutions. The 4K Medium preset’s minimum of 52 FPS means some scenes will dip below 60 FPS, which could be noticeable in a horror game where smooth motion is important for atmosphere.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides the only complete min/max data, suggesting it is the most thoroughly tested configuration. The average FPS values for Medium settings are 81 (1080p), 72 (1440p), and 61 (4K), showing a steady decline but remaining playable at all resolutions. The Ultra preset never exceeds 62 FPS at any resolution, making it the most demanding option. Low settings always stay above 98 FPS, confirming that the GPU has significant headroom when graphical effects are reduced.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 784th out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium, placing it in the 79th percentile of all systems tested. This means it outperforms roughly 79% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU and GPU pairing. The rank reflects the measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings, weighted by the game’s performance demands.

The CPU component, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G, has an average benchmark score of 21088 and sits in the 74th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-1220P (0.1% faster), Intel Core Ultra 7 256V (0.1% slower), AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (0.2% slower), and Intel Core Ultra 7 155U (0.4% slower). This indicates the CPU is well-matched to its performance tier, with all four rivals falling within a 0.5% performance band. The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads, based on the Zen 3 architecture, provide ample processing power for The Medium’s CPU demands.

The GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 7600, has an average benchmark score of 15171 and sits in the 57th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (0.2% faster), AMD Radeon Pro 560X (0.6% slower), AMD Radeon 680M (0.7% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti (0.7% slower). The GPU’s 57th percentile ranking is lower than the CPU’s 74th percentile, suggesting the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing. This is reflected in the measured FPS data, where the GPU’s memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The combo’s 784th rank out of 3724 is driven primarily by the GPU’s mid-range positioning. The CPU’s higher percentile ranking means it is not the primary bottleneck; instead, the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus constrain performance in a game that scales heavily with memory bandwidth. Systems with higher-ranked GPUs would likely achieve better FPS, particularly at 4K, where the RX 7600’s limitations become most apparent.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 81 FPS average with a minimum of 69 FPS, ensuring the frame rate stays above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 2560x1440, Medium maintains 72 FPS average with a minimum of 61 FPS, still playable. At 3840x2160, Medium drops to 61 FPS average with a minimum of 52 FPS, which may cause occasional stutter in the most demanding scenes.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, Low settings are the clear choice. At 1080p, Low achieves 130 FPS, providing a very smooth experience. At 1440p, Low still delivers 116 FPS, and even at 4K, Low maintains 98 FPS. This preset sacrifices volumetric lighting quality and texture detail but ensures the game runs well above 60 FPS at all tested resolutions.

High settings sit between Medium and Ultra in performance but do not offer a significant advantage over Medium. At 1080p, High produces 75 FPS, just 6 FPS less than Medium. At 1440p, High delivers 67 FPS, 5 FPS less than Medium. At 4K, High achieves 57 FPS, 4 FPS less than Medium. The visual difference between High and Medium may be noticeable, but the performance cost is minimal, making High a viable alternative for those who want slightly better visuals without a major FPS hit.

Ultra settings are only recommended for users who prioritize visual quality over performance. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 62 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for frame drops. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 56 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 47 FPS, both below the 60 FPS threshold. The lack of min/max data for Ultra settings suggests it was not the focus of testing, likely due to its demanding nature.

For the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is the safest recommendation. It provides 81 FPS average, with a minimum of 69 FPS, ensuring consistent performance. Users with 1440p monitors can still use Medium with acceptable results, while those with 4K displays should consider dropping to Low or accepting the 52 FPS minimum in the most demanding scenes. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p being a secondary option and 4K requiring significant settings compromises.