The Medium

# The Medium with AMD Ryzen 5 5600G + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

This combination pairs a 6-core Zen 3 processor with NVIDIA's flagship Ada Lovelace GPU, creating an interesting bottleneck dynamic in The Medium. The measured frames per second across resolutions and settings reveal a system where the GPU is rarely the limiting factor, and the CPU's capabilities define the ceiling. The data shows a horror title that responds strongly to settings changes, with the gap between Low and Ultra presets widening dramatically as resolution increases.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is surprisingly modest at most settings, which tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lives. At Low settings, the game runs at 133.7 FPS at 1920x1080, drops to 124.3 FPS at 2560x1440, and settles at 117.4 FPS at 3840x2160. That is only a 12.2% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low, suggesting the CPU is holding performance back even at the highest resolution. The RTX 4090 is clearly capable of far more, but the Ryzen 5 5600G's single-thread performance appears to be the ceiling.

At Medium settings, the pattern shifts. The 1080p result of 110.7 FPS falls to 104.7 FPS at 1440p, then to 86.1 FPS at 4K — a 22.2% drop from 1080p to 4K. This indicates the GPU is starting to take on more responsibility as settings increase, but the CPU still exerts significant influence. High settings show a similar trend: 94 FPS at 1080p, 79.2 FPS at 1440p, and 64.8 FPS at 4K, representing a 31.1% loss from the lowest to highest resolution.

Ultra settings produce the steepest scaling curve. The game runs at 75.5 FPS at 1080p, falls to 63.4 FPS at 1440p, and reaches just 49.6 FPS at 4K. The 34.3% drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is the clearest evidence that this preset pushes the GPU much harder. The data implies that at Ultra, the RTX 4090 is finally the primary constraint — yet even then, the CPU keeps the 1080p frame rate from exceeding 75.5 FPS, which is low for this GPU class. The resolution scaling pattern suggests that The Medium is unusually CPU-bound at lower presets, with the GPU only becoming the limiting component at Ultra and 4K combined.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G provides 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its Zen 3 architecture on the Cezanne codename, built on a 7 nm process, delivers solid single-thread performance that the benchmark scores confirm. The 3dmark single-thread score of 872 and Cinebench R23 single-core result of 2365 indicate a processor that can handle gaming workloads, but the 78th percentile ranking among all CPUs shows it is not at the top of the heap.

The nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are telling. The Intel Core i7-11600H scores 19949, a mere 0.2% behind the 5600G's 19983 average. The Intel Core i7-11800H and AMD EPYC 7713P both score 20024, just 0.2% ahead. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX trails by 0.3% at 19928. These tiny deltas suggest that for The Medium's CPU demands, the 5600G is squarely in a performance cluster where small differences do not translate to meaningful FPS changes.

The multi-threaded scores paint a more nuanced picture. The Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 16758 and 3dmark max-threads score of 5455 show that the 6-core/12-thread configuration handles parallel workloads competently. However, the game's frame rates at 1080p Low — 133.7 FPS — being so close to the 4K Low result of 117.4 FPS implies that The Medium is not heavily multi-threaded. The game appears to lean on single-thread performance, where the 5600G's 3.90 GHz base and 4.40 GHz boost clocks are adequate but not exceptional. The PassMark single-thread score of 3177 reinforces this interpretation: the CPU can push frames, but it is not the kind of headroom that a top-tier gaming processor would provide.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows offer a clear hierarchy of experiences, and the data suggests that Medium settings provide the most balanced outcome. At 1920x1080, Medium yields 110.7 FPS, which is 17.3% below Low's 133.7 FPS but 36.6% above High's 94 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium delivers 104.7 FPS, a strong result that stays comfortably above 100 FPS. Even at 3840x2160, Medium maintains 86.1 FPS, which is playable and substantially smoother than High's 64.8 FPS.

High settings are the middle ground but show a steep cost at higher resolutions. The 4K High result of 64.8 FPS is 24.7% lower than 4K Medium, and the 1440p High figure of 79.2 FPS is 24.4% below its Medium counterpart. This suggests High settings introduce rendering features that disproportionately tax the GPU without a commensurate visual payoff in this title.

Ultra settings are punishing across the board. The 4K Ultra result of 49.6 FPS is the only measured row that dips below 50 FPS, making it the sole preset/resolution combination that falls short of smooth gameplay standards. At 1080p, Ultra reaches 75.5 FPS, but that is 31.8% lower than Medium at the same resolution. For players prioritizing frame rate, Medium is the clear recommendation. For those wanting maximum fidelity, High at 1440p (79.2 FPS) or even 1080p (94 FPS) offers a better trade-off than Ultra at any resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 116th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 6.9% of all configurations, which is respectable but far from the top tier. The rank suggests that while the RTX 4090 is an elite GPU — sitting in the 91st percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 66473 — the Ryzen 5 5600G holds the combo back from achieving a higher position.

The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66733, 0.4% ahead), NVIDIA Tesla P40 (66127, 0.5% behind), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (67097, 0.9% ahead), and NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (67320, 1.3% ahead). These are professional and workstation cards, not gaming-focused parts, yet the RTX 4090's 91st percentile ranking confirms its dominance in the consumer space. The CPU's 78th percentile ranking, by contrast, is the weaker link in this pairing. The combo rank of 116 indicates that many other CPU/GPU pairings achieve better results in this specific game, likely because The Medium's CPU sensitivity punishes the 5600G despite the GPU's immense power.

FAQ

Q: Why does the 4K Low setting (117.4 FPS) perform so close to the 1080p Low setting (133.7 FPS)?

A: The 12.2% difference between these resolutions at Low settings indicates that the CPU is the limiting factor. The RTX 4090 can handle the lower graphical load easily, but the Ryzen 5 5600G's single-thread performance caps the frame rate, making resolution less impactful.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 being bottlenecked by the Ryzen 5 5600G in this game?

A: Yes, the data strongly suggests this. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 133.7 FPS, which is modest for a GPU that ranks in the 91st percentile. The modest FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low and Medium settings indicates the CPU is preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for smooth gameplay?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 provide 104.7 FPS, which is the highest frame rate above 100 FPS at a resolution above 1080p. For 4K, Medium at 86.1 FPS is the most playable option, as Ultra drops to 49.6 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600G compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The 5600G's average benchmark score of 19983 is within 0.3% of the Intel Core i7-11600H, Intel Core i7-11800H, AMD EPYC 7713P, and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX. These tiny deltas mean the CPU's performance is indistinguishable from its closest competitors in synthetic tests.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a playable experience at any resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra reaches 75.5 FPS, which is playable. At 1440p, it drops to 63.4 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 49.6 FPS. The data shows that Ultra is only viable at 1080p for this combo.

Q: What does the combo rank of 116 out of 1689 indicate?

A: It places this configuration in the top 6.9% of all tested combos. However, given the RTX 4090's elite status, the rank suggests the CPU is preventing the system from reaching higher positions in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are 133.7 FPS at Low, 110.7 FPS at Medium, 94 FPS at High, and 75.5 FPS at Ultra. The progression shows a 16.9% drop from Low to Medium, a 15.1% drop from Medium to High, and a 19.7% drop from High to Ultra. The cumulative loss from Low to Ultra is 43.5%.

At 2560x1440, the results are 124.3 FPS at Low, 104.7 FPS at Medium, 79.2 FPS at High, and 63.4 FPS at Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 15.8%, from Medium to High is 24.4%, and from High to Ultra is 20%. The total reduction from Low to Ultra is 49%.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are 117.4 FPS at Low, 86.1 FPS at Medium, 64.8 FPS at High, and 49.6 FPS at Ultra. The Low to Medium drop is 26.7%, Medium to High is 24.7%, and High to Ultra is 23.5%. The overall loss from Low to Ultra is 57.8%.

The data shows that at 1080p, each settings tier costs roughly 15-20% performance. At 4K, the cost per tier increases to 24-27%, with Ultra being the most demanding. The 4K Ultra result of 49.6 FPS is the only measured value below 50 FPS, making it the single most demanding configuration in the dataset.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 brings substantial hardware to this pairing. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, while the 16384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs deliver raw compute power. The boost clock of 2520 MHz and base of 2235 MHz, combined with the Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5 nm process, make this one of the most capable GPUs ever produced. The 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 128 RT cores provide ample headroom for The Medium's horror visuals.

Yet the measured FPS does not reflect this GPU's full potential in this game. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 133.7 FPS, which is far below what the RTX 4090 could deliver if unconstrained. Even at 4K Ultra, the 49.6 FPS result seems low for a GPU that scores 38194 in PassMark G3D and 9223 in 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12. The GPU's 91st percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 66473 place it among the fastest parts ever tested, but the CPU's 78th percentile ranking creates a mismatch.

The GPU does show its strength in the resolution scaling at Ultra settings. The 34.3% drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is the largest in the dataset, indicating that this preset finally engages the GPU enough to make it the limiting factor. At lower presets, the GPU sits partially idle, waiting on the CPU to feed it frames. The 24 GB VRAM is never a concern at any of these settings, as The Medium's requirements are well within the memory capacity. The RTX 4090's role here is one of untapped potential — the data suggests that pairing it with a stronger CPU would yield significantly higher frame rates in this title.