The Medium

# The Medium with AMD Ryzen 5 5600G + AMD Radeon RX 9070

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 delivers a fundamentally GPU-bound experience in The Medium, with the measured frame rates showing far more sensitivity to graphics presets than to resolution changes. This combination ranks 537th out of 1,689 tested combos, placing it in the 68th percentile of all system pairings for this title. The data reveals a system that can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming comfortably at medium-to-high settings, but struggles to maintain smooth playable rates at 4K with higher presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: resolution scaling has a modest impact compared to the dramatic swings caused by settings changes. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 61.6 FPS at 1080p to 54.1 FPS at 1440p, a decline of roughly 12%. Moving to 4K High yields 40.1 FPS, which is 35% below the 1080p figure. This relatively gentle scaling curve indicates that the RX 9070 has ample headroom at lower resolutions, and the frame rate is not being crushed by pixel count alone.

However, the picture changes when examining the Low preset data. At Low settings, the system produces 135 FPS at 1080p, 121.5 FPS at 1440p, and 95.8 FPS at 4K. The 4K-to-1080p drop here is only 29%, which is proportionally similar to the High preset's 35% decline. This consistency suggests that the Radeon RX 9070's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the resolution scaling without hitting memory capacity limits, even at 4K where texture memory demands peak.

The Ultra preset tells a more constrained story. At 1080p Ultra, the combo manages 49.3 FPS, dropping to 42.1 FPS at 1440p and 33.6 FPS at 4K. The 4K figure is 32% below the 1080p result, which is in line with the other presets. The limiting component at Ultra is clearly the GPU's compute throughput rather than memory bandwidth, as the frame rate penalty from resolution scaling remains consistent across all quality levels. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads based on Zen 3 architecture, does not appear to bottleneck at any resolution, as evidenced by the smooth scaling behavior.

The data indicates that The Medium's rendering engine scales predictably with resolution. The 4K-to-1080p ratio at Medium settings shows 56.1 FPS versus 87.6 FPS, a 36% reduction, while at Low it is 95.8 versus 135, a 29% reduction. The slightly steeper penalty at higher presets suggests that the additional shading complexity amplifies the resolution cost.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset at 1440p delivers the most balanced experience, producing 76 FPS average. This represents a 40% improvement over the High preset's 54.1 FPS at the same resolution, while maintaining visual fidelity that is only one step below High. At 1080p, the Medium preset yields 87.6 FPS, which is comfortably above typical display refresh rates and leaves headroom for momentary drops.

For users with 4K displays, the Low preset is the only viable option, producing 95.8 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K falls to 56.1 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced horror gameplay, but the 33.6 FPS Ultra result is below the threshold for smooth motion. The data shows that High settings at 4K (40.1 FPS) sit in a marginal zone—playable for a horror title where reaction times are less critical, but not ideal.

The Ultra preset is not recommendable at any resolution, as even at 1080p it only reaches 49.3 FPS, which is 20% below the High preset's 61.6 FPS at the same resolution. The visual uplift from High to Ultra does not justify the performance cost based on these measurements. The best experience per the measured data is the Medium preset at 1440p, offering 76 FPS with the highest resolution-to-performance ratio. At 1080p, Medium provides 87.6 FPS, which is the sweet spot for high-refresh displays, while Low at 1440p (121.5 FPS) is the choice for maximum smoothness.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and AMD Radeon RX 9070 achieves a rank of 537 out of 1,689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the upper 32% of all system pairings. This is a solid position, though not a top-tier result, reflecting the fact that the RX 9070 is a strong GPU but the 5600G's older Zen 3 architecture and PCIe Gen 3 interface may slightly limit peak performance in this title.

The CPU's benchmark performance shows it is competitive with its direct rivals. The Ryzen 5 5600G has an average benchmark score of 19,983, which is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i7-11600H (19,949) and 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX (19,928). It trails the Intel Core i7-11800H and AMD EPYC 7713P by 0.2%, both scoring 20,024. This places the CPU in the 78th percentile of all processors, indicating it is a capable mid-range part.

On the GPU side, the Radeon RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 34,780, which is 0.2% behind the NVIDIA A2 (34,866) and 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 (34,677). It also leads the AMD Radeon HD 7970 by 0.7% (34,541) and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 by 0.8% (34,511). The GPU sits in the 79th percentile of all graphics cards, showing it is a well-above-average performer.

The combo's rank of 537 suggests that while both components are individually strong, the pairing is not perfectly optimized for The Medium. The 5600G's integrated Radeon Vega 7 graphics are irrelevant when a discrete GPU is installed, but the CPU's 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support may not provide the same level of responsiveness as more modern platforms.

FAQ

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

A: At 4K, the Low preset produces 95.8 FPS, which is smooth. The Medium preset drops to 56.1 FPS, and High falls to 40.1 FPS. Ultra is not playable at 33.6 FPS. For a consistent experience, 4K Low is the only setting that maintains a high frame rate.

Q: What is the best resolution-to-performance ratio?

A: The 1440p Medium preset delivers 76 FPS, which offers the best balance between visual quality and frame rate. This is 40% faster than 1440p High (54.1 FPS) and only 24% slower than 1440p Low (121.5 FPS).

Q: How does the RX 9070's 16 GB VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 4K textures, as evidenced by the consistent resolution scaling. The 4K Low result of 95.8 FPS compared to 1080p Low at 135 FPS shows a 29% drop, which is attributable to compute load rather than memory limitations.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600G bottlenecking the RX 9070?

A: The benchmark data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The CPU's 78th percentile ranking and benchmark scores close to its rivals suggest it can feed the GPU adequately. The frame rate scaling across resolutions is smooth, which typically indicates a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: What preset should I use at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Medium preset provides 87.6 FPS, which is suitable for most displays. High offers 61.6 FPS, and Low reaches 135 FPS. Ultra is the weakest option at 49.3 FPS, offering diminishing returns for the performance cost.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 537th out of 1,689 combos, placing it in the 68th percentile. The GPU is in the 79th percentile of all graphics cards, while the CPU is in the 78th percentile of all processors, indicating both components perform near their expected levels.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 plays the dominant role in determining The Medium's performance, as shown by the frame rate data. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for this title's demands. The measured FPS at 4K Low (95.8 FPS) versus 1080p Low (135 FPS) demonstrates that memory capacity is not a limiting factor, as even the largest texture loads at 4K do not cause a disproportionate performance collapse.

The GPU's clock behavior is relevant to understanding the frame rates. The base clock of 1330 MHz, game clock of 2070 MHz, and boost clock of 2520 MHz indicate a wide operating range. The 220 W TDP suggests the card is power-limited, and the measured performance across presets reflects the GPU's ability to maintain clocks under varying loads. The 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 322.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are consistent with the observed frame rates at 4K Ultra (33.6 FPS), which represents a worst-case scenario for the rendering pipeline.

The RX 9070's RDNA 4.0 architecture, built on a 4 nm process with 53,900 million transistors, provides the raw throughput needed for The Medium's horror-themed rendering. The 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 ROPs work together to deliver the measured results. The 56 ray tracing cores are relevant for a 2021 title that uses DirectX 12 Ultimate features, though the data does not isolate their specific impact.

The GPU's 79th percentile ranking among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 34,780, aligns with the observed gaming performance. The card's nearest rivals show it is within 0.8% of the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 and 0.7% of the Radeon HD 7970, which are older or workstation-oriented parts, indicating that the RX 9070 punches above its class in synthetic tests. In The Medium specifically, the GPU's 16 GB memory and modern architecture ensure that resolution scaling is predictable, with the frame rate dropping by roughly 30% from 1080p to 4K across all presets, a sign of a well-balanced GPU design.