The Medium

The Medium on this AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination delivers a wide but predictable spread of performance across its four quality presets. The data reveals a clear hierarchy where the Ultra preset is the most demanding, and the Low preset is the least, with the gap between them expanding significantly at higher resolutions. This analysis will break down the measured frame rates to determine the optimal settings and understand how this specific CPU-GPU pairing behaves under load.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows indicate that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 110.8 FPS, which is substantially higher than the 77.5 FPS seen at High and far above the 60.8 FPS at Ultra. While the Low preset achieves 133.5 FPS at this resolution, the jump from Medium to Low only yields a 22.7 FPS improvement, whereas the jump from High to Medium provides a 33.3 FPS gain. This suggests that Medium captures most of the performance headroom without sacrificing the visual fidelity that Low would strip away.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Medium preset maintains a very playable 91.9 FPS. This is 23.4 FPS ahead of the High preset’s 68.5 FPS, and 41.1 FPS ahead of Ultra’s 50.8 FPS. The Low preset at this resolution reaches 125.8 FPS, but the difference between Low and Medium is 33.9 FPS, which again indicates that Medium is the sweet spot for maintaining smooth motion while keeping the game’s atmosphere intact. At 4K (3840x2160), the Medium preset drops to 74.6 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable play, while the High preset falls to 51.8 FPS and Ultra to a demanding 41.1 FPS.

The data strongly suggests that Medium is the recommended preset across all resolutions. It is the only setting that keeps all three tested resolutions above 60 FPS, with 74.6 FPS at 4K, 91.9 FPS at 1440p, and 110.8 FPS at 1080p. For users who prioritize frame rate over detail, the Low preset is viable, but the diminishing returns from Medium to Low are not worth the visual compromise. Conversely, the Ultra preset is only suitable for those who insist on maximum quality and are willing to accept sub-60 FPS performance at all resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the primary driver of this game’s performance, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This bandwidth is crucial for The Medium, a game that likely streams large textures and environments. The 4K High preset result of 51.8 FPS suggests that the GPU’s memory subsystem and compute units are being heavily taxed, as the frame rate drops by 26.7 FPS when moving from Medium to High at this resolution.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2610 MHz, combined with its 7680 shading units, delivers the raw compute power needed for the game’s horror visuals. The 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is substantial, and the measured results show that the GPU is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium settings is 22.7 FPS, which is relatively small, indicating that the CPU can feed the GPU fast enough to keep it busy. However, at 4K, the Low to Medium gap expands to 44.6 FPS, showing that the GPU’s workload increases dramatically with resolution.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity is another key factor. The data does not show any signs of memory capacity limiting performance, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings. This suggests that 12 GB is sufficient for The Medium at these tested configurations. The GPU’s 85th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44900, places it in a strong position, but its nearest rivals include the RTX 5090 Mobile and Intel Arc A730M, indicating that it is a high-end part that can still be challenged by the most demanding games.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is a Zen 3 architecture processor with 6 cores and 12 threads, running at a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores show a solid single-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2365 and a multi-core score of 16758. This CPU’s role in The Medium appears to be secondary to the GPU, as the frame rates scale more with resolution changes than with settings changes at lower resolutions.

At 1080p, the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s demands, as evidenced by the High preset achieving 77.5 FPS. However, the Low preset at 1080p reaches 133.5 FPS, which is a 56 FPS improvement over High. This large gap suggests that even at 1080p, the CPU is not the limiting factor, and the game’s rendering load is what drives the performance difference. The CPU’s L3 cache of 16 MB and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this workload.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the Intel Core i7-11600H and the AMD EPYC 7713P, with delta percentages of 0.2 and -0.2 respectively. This means the 5600G is essentially on par with those parts, which is notable given that the 5600G also includes integrated Radeon Vega 7 graphics, though that is not used in this configuration. The CPU’s 78th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it is a capable mid-range part, but it does not bottleneck the RTX 4070 Ti in this game, as the performance is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for smooth 4K gameplay with this hardware?

A: The Medium preset is the only option that maintains a playable frame rate at 4K, delivering 74.6 FPS. The High preset drops to 51.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 41.1 FPS, making them less suitable for a smooth experience.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at the Medium preset?

A: The average FPS drops from 110.8 at 1080p to 91.9 at 1440p, and then to 74.6 at 4K. This represents a 36.2 FPS reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating a 32.7% decrease in frame rate.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the Low preset reaches 133.5 FPS, while at 4K, the same preset drops to 119.2 FPS, showing that the CPU can handle the frame rates, but the GPU’s workload scales with resolution.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM on the RTX 4070 Ti cause any issues in The Medium?

A: No, there are no signs of memory capacity limitations in the measured data. Frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, which suggests that 12 GB is sufficient for this game’s requirements.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600G compare to its closest rivals in terms of CPU benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600G has an average benchmark score of 19983, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i7-11600H and 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-11800H. This places it in a very competitive position.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: The Low preset achieves 125.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 50.8 FPS. This represents a 75 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset is significantly more demanding.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS values reveal a clear pattern of resolution scaling. At the Low preset, the frame rates are 133.5 FPS at 1080p, 125.8 FPS at 1440p, and 119.2 FPS at 4K. This represents a modest 14.3 FPS drop from 1080p to 4K, indicating that at Low settings, the game is not heavily GPU-bound. The CPU is likely able to maintain high frame rates, and the GPU’s workload does not increase dramatically with resolution.

However, at the Medium preset, the scaling is more pronounced: 110.8 FPS at 1080p, 91.9 FPS at 1440p, and 74.6 FPS at 4K. This is a 36.2 FPS drop from 1080p to 4K, showing that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as the resolution increases. The High preset shows an even steeper decline, from 77.5 FPS at 1080p to 68.5 FPS at 1440p and finally 51.8 FPS at 4K, a 25.7 FPS total drop.

The Ultra preset exhibits the most dramatic scaling, with 60.8 FPS at 1080p, 50.8 FPS at 1440p, and 41.1 FPS at 4K. This 19.7 FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is proportionally larger than the Low preset’s drop. This indicates that the Ultra preset’s additional rendering effects, such as shadows and lighting, heavily tax the GPU’s compute resources at higher resolutions. The data suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti is capable of handling 4K at Medium settings, but the gap between settings widens as resolution increases, revealing the GPU’s limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance ranges from 60.8 FPS at Ultra to 133.5 FPS at Low. The High preset achieves 77.5 FPS, and the Medium preset hits 110.8 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 22.7 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High is 33.3 FPS, and High to Ultra is 16.7 FPS. This shows that the Medium preset provides a significant boost over High, while the jump from Medium to Low is less impactful.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are 50.8 FPS at Ultra, 68.5 FPS at High, 91.9 FPS at Medium, and 125.8 FPS at Low. The gap between Low and Medium is 33.9 FPS, while Medium to High is 23.4 FPS, and High to Ultra is 17.7 FPS. This pattern shows that the Medium preset still offers the best balance, with a 41.1 FPS advantage over Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the performance is 41.1 FPS at Ultra, 51.8 FPS at High, 74.6 FPS at Medium, and 119.2 FPS at Low. The Low to Medium gap expands to 44.6 FPS, while Medium to High is 22.8 FPS, and High to Ultra is 10.7 FPS. This indicates that at 4K, the Low preset is the only one that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, while the Medium preset is still playable but closer to the edge.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 267th out of 1689 tested combinations in The Medium. This places it in the top 15.8% of all combos, which is a strong showing given the CPU’s mid-range status. The GPU’s high-end performance, as indicated by its 85th percentile ranking, is the primary contributor to this result, while the CPU’s 78th percentile ranking provides adequate support.

The combo’s rank suggests that while the RTX 4070 Ti is a powerful GPU, the Ryzen 5 5600G may hold it back in some scenarios. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 133.5 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s limit. However, at 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 41.1 FPS, which is clearly GPU-bound. This indicates that the combo is well-balanced for high-resolution gaming, but less so for competitive low-resolution play where the CPU may be the limiting factor. The rank of 267 out of 1689 is commendable, placing this config in the upper echelon of tested hardware pairs for this title.