The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a broad performance envelope in The Medium, transitioning from a high-refresh-rate 1080p experience to a playable-but-limited 4K one. The measured data shows a system where the GPU is the primary scaling factor as resolution increases, while the CPU provides ample headroom for the game's fixed-camera horror presentation.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound curve. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 140 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 126 FPS, a reduction of 10%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 99 FPS, which is a 21.4% decrease from 1440p and a 29.3% decrease from 1080p. This pattern shows that even at the lowest graphical preset, the rendering load at higher pixel counts significantly impacts the RTX 4070.

The scaling becomes more pronounced at higher settings. With High settings, the transition from 1080p (67 FPS) to 1440p (56 FPS) is a 16.4% drop, and from 1440p to 4K (44 FPS) is a 21.4% drop. The Medium preset tells a similar story: 93 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p (a 15.1% drop), and 62 FPS at 4K (a 21.5% drop from 1440p). The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, with 53 FPS at 1080p dropping to 45 FPS at 1440p (15.1% loss) and then to 35 FPS at 4K (22.2% loss).

These deltas indicate that while the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions, the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors as pixel count rises. The consistent 20-22% hit from 1440p to 4K across all settings suggests that the RTX 4070's 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated by the 4K framebuffer, regardless of the complexity of the shaders. The 1080p to 1440p drop is smaller, but still significant, pointing to a GPU that is comfortable at 1080p but starts to feel the strain as the resolution increases.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 5 nm process node. Its specifications show a substantial amount of dedicated hardware for this title. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game's high-resolution textures but becomes a constraint at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS falls to 35. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1920 MHz allow it to maintain high utilization, but the data shows that clock speed alone cannot overcome the memory pressure at higher resolutions.

The RTX 4070's 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are present, but The Medium's use of fixed camera angles and pre-rendered lighting means that these features are not the primary driver of the measured results. Instead, the 5888 shading units and 184 TMUs are responsible for the rasterization workload. The FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS is high, but the 4K results suggest that the pixel fill rate (158.4 GPixel/s) and texture rate (455.4 GTexel/s) are the more relevant metrics for this title. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo only manages 35 FPS, which is below the 44 FPS achieved at 4K High, indicating that the Ultra preset's added effects (likely higher-quality shadows and reflections) are disproportionately expensive on this GPU.

The percentile ranking for the GPU is 81, placing it above most of the tested GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score of 37648 is closely matched by its nearest rivals, with the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 just 0.4% behind and the NVIDIA Tesla P4 0.1% ahead. This indicates that while the RTX 4070 is a capable card, it sits in a competitive performance band. In The Medium specifically, the measured FPS shows that it is a strong 1080p and 1440p card, but not a definitive 4K card.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 5 5600GT and RTX 4070 ranks 948 out of 3724 combos for The Medium. This places it in the top 25.5% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing given the CPU's mid-range positioning. The combo rank is influenced by the CPU's performance, which has a percentile of 74 among all CPUs, and the GPU's performance, which has a percentile of 81 among all GPUs.

The rank suggests that this system is well-balanced for this game, but not at the absolute top end. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-12490F, which has an average score just 0.3% higher, and the AMD EPYC 7J13, which is 0.5% ahead. These tiny deltas mean that the Ryzen 5 5600GT's performance is comparable to several other processors, and the overall combo rank is likely driven more by the GPU's capabilities. The fact that the combo ranks in the top quarter of all tested systems indicates that this configuration is capable of running The Medium well, but the 4K Ultra result of 35 FPS shows that it is not a top-tier 4K system.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1080p, the combo delivers playable frame rates at all settings. Low settings achieve 140 FPS, Medium reaches 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 108 FPS, High hits 67 FPS, and Ultra drops to 53 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p shows a minimum FPS of 79, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating good frame pacing.

At 1440p, the performance scales down as expected. Low settings maintain a high 126 FPS, Medium achieves 79 FPS (minimum 67, maximum 91), High drops to 56 FPS, and Ultra falls to 45 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p still manages to stay above 60 FPS on average, but the minimum of 67 FPS suggests that there are moments of heavier load. High and Ultra settings at 1440p are playable but not ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 4K, the performance becomes more demanding. Low settings still deliver a respectable 99 FPS, which is surprising for a 4K resolution and indicates that the game's Low preset is not very demanding. Medium settings drop to 62 FPS (minimum 53, maximum 71), which is right at the edge of playability. High settings fall to 44 FPS, and Ultra drops to 35 FPS, making these presets not recommended for a smooth experience. The 4K Medium result is the only 4K preset with a recorded minimum FPS, which is 53, indicating that the frame rate can dip below 60 FPS at this setting.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset is the best choice for a balanced experience. It offers an average of 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while still delivering higher visual quality than Low. High settings at 1080p are also playable at 67 FPS, but Medium provides a smoother experience with only a minor visual trade-off. Ultra at 1080p is playable at 53 FPS, but the drop below 60 FPS makes Medium a better choice for consistent performance.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is again the recommended choice. It achieves 79 FPS on average with a minimum of 67 FPS, which is still smooth. High settings at 1440p drop to 56 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, making Medium the better option for a fluid experience. Low settings at 1440p are also viable at 126 FPS, but they sacrifice visual fidelity.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the only viable option for a playable experience. It delivers 62 FPS on average, with a minimum of 53 FPS, which is borderline but acceptable for a slower-paced horror game. Low settings at 4K achieve 99 FPS, which is smoother, but the visual quality is significantly reduced. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended, as they produce 44 FPS and 35 FPS respectively, which are not smooth enough for most players. The data indicates that Medium is the highest setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS at 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Cezanne. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth) provide sufficient bandwidth for the RTX 4070. The CPU's benchmark scores show that it is a capable mid-range processor, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17272 and a single-core score of 2438.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is less critical than the GPU's due to the game's design. The fixed camera angles and limited number of on-screen objects mean that the CPU is not heavily taxed by complex physics or AI. The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution, as the FPS drops are consistent with GPU-bound scaling. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 913 and 2-thread score of 1794 indicate that it has adequate single-core performance for the game's main thread, while the 12 threads handle background tasks.

The CPU's percentile rank of 74 among all CPUs suggests that it is faster than a majority of processors in the database. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-12490F, has an average score that is only 0.3% higher, indicating that the 5600GT is on par with that processor. In this game, the CPU's performance is sufficient to keep up with the RTX 4070, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS scales predictably with resolution and settings, with no sudden drops that would indicate a CPU bottleneck. The CPU's 4.60 GHz boost clock is likely the key factor in maintaining this performance, as it allows for quick processing of game logic between frames.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?*

A: The data shows that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot, delivering 79 FPS on average with a minimum of 67 FPS. At 1080p, the combo can handle higher settings, but 1440p provides a better balance of visual quality and smoothness.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Medium?*

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings, which achieves 62 FPS on average. Low settings also work well at 99 FPS, but High (44 FPS) and Ultra (35 FPS) are not smooth enough for a good experience.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance in this game?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600GT is not a bottleneck at any resolution. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent with GPU-bound performance, and the CPU's high boost clock of 4.60 GHz ensures it can keep up with the RTX 4070.

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

A: At 1440p, Medium achieves 79 FPS on average, while High drops to 56 FPS. This is a 29.1% performance loss for moving from Medium to High, making Medium the more sensible choice for a smooth experience.

*Q: Is the RTX 4070's 12 GB of VRAM sufficient for The Medium?*

A: The measured data suggests yes, as the game runs without any indication of VRAM-related stuttering. However, the 4K Ultra preset only achieves 35 FPS, which indicates that the memory bandwidth (504.2 GB/s) is more of a limiting factor than the capacity.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 948 out of 3724 tested systems for The Medium, placing it in the top 25.5%. This is a strong result, driven by the GPU's high percentile rank of 81.