The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 lands near the bottom of the performance hierarchy for The Medium, ranking 1585th out of 1689 tested combos. This places the configuration in the bottom 6% of all tested systems, indicating that it is fundamentally mismatched for the demands of this horror title. The data suggests a pairing where the GPU becomes the overwhelming bottleneck, as the RX 570's 4 GB VRAM and GCN 4.0 architecture struggle with the game's fixed-camera rendering and volumetric effects. Users should expect playable performance only at the lowest settings and resolutions, with the system being unsuitable for high-fidelity experiences.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1585 out of 1689 tested combinations is a decisive verdict: this is a low-tier configuration for The Medium. Benchmark results indicate that the RX 570, despite sitting at the 74th percentile among all GPUs in general benchmarks, falls dramatically behind in this specific title. The RX 570's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (0.2% ahead) and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (0.2% ahead), which are far more modern architectures, yet even those comparisons do not translate into playable frame rates here.

The CPU side offers some context: the Ryzen 5 5600X sits at the 78th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20680. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT, scores 20740 with a deltaPct of -0.3%, meaning the 5600X is effectively tied with it. However, this CPU strength is irrelevant when the GPU cannot deliver the necessary throughput. The measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings shows that the system never exceeds 46.5 FPS, and that only occurs at 1080p with Low settings. The rank reflects a systemic limitation where the GPU's 5.095 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are insufficient for the game's engine demands.

FAQ

Q: What is the best performance this combo can achieve in The Medium?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 46.5 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that approaches playable frame rates, with all other settings or resolutions falling below 40 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 30158, placing it at the 74th percentile. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, scores 30109 (0.2% lower), while the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT scores 30097 (0.2% lower). The NVIDIA Tesla M60 is 0.6% behind with a score of 29969.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600X a bottleneck in this setup?

A: No. The CPU has a strong average benchmark score of 20680 and sits at the 78th percentile. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 18578, indicating ample processing power. The GPU is the clear limiting factor, as evidenced by the FPS dropping more significantly with resolution changes than with CPU-intensive settings.

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K?

A: Technically yes, but not playably. At 3840x2160, the best measured result is 31.9 FPS on Low settings. High settings yield 11.8 FPS, Medium yields 16.8 FPS, and Ultra yields 12.6 FPS. These results are far below standard playability thresholds.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 46.5 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 17.8 FPS. This represents a 28.7 FPS drop, showing that the visual fidelity scaling has a dramatic impact on the GPU's ability to render frames.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM capacity affect performance in this game?

A: The RX 570 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. The data shows that Higher settings at any resolution cause FPS to plummet, which is consistent with VRAM capacity and bandwidth constraints becoming critical in a game like The Medium with its high-resolution textures.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound scenario where the RX 570's limits are exposed immediately. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 (46.5 FPS) to 2560x1440 (38.3 FPS) is a drop of 8.2 FPS, and then to 3840x2160 (31.9 FPS) is a further drop of 6.4 FPS. This represents a 31.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which aligns with the increase in pixel count outpacing the GPU's fill rate capabilities.

The pattern becomes more severe at higher settings. At Medium, the sequence is 29.4 FPS (1080p), 21.5 FPS (1440p), and 16.8 FPS (4K). The 1440p to 4K drop is 4.7 FPS, whereas the 1080p to 1440p drop is 7.9 FPS, indicating that the GPU is nearing its memory bandwidth ceiling. At High settings, the numbers are 21.8 FPS, 17.7 FPS, and 11.8 FPS respectively, with the 4K result being barely above a slideshow. Ultra settings are the worst, with 17.8 FPS at 1080p dropping to 15.3 FPS at 1440p and 12.6 FPS at 4K.

The data shows that the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, are more than capable of feeding the GPU at these frame rates. The resolution scaling pattern demonstrates that the RX 570's 159.2 GTexel/s texture rate and 39.81 GPixel/s pixel rate cannot keep up with the increasing resolution, making any attempt at 1440p or 4K futile for smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system achieves its best results. Low settings produce an average of 46.5 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches a playable experience. Medium settings drop to 29.4 FPS, High settings to 21.8 FPS, and Ultra to 17.8 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 28.7 FPS, showing that the GPU's performance is highly sensitive to graphical fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, all results fall below 40 FPS. Low settings yield 38.3 FPS, which is still marginally playable but far from smooth. Medium settings produce 21.5 FPS, High settings 17.7 FPS, and Ultra 15.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 23.0 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is becoming more resolution-bound than settings-bound.

At 3840x2160, the system is effectively non-functional. Low settings produce 31.9 FPS, but this is the only result above 20 FPS. Medium settings yield 16.8 FPS, High settings 11.8 FPS, and Ultra 12.6 FPS. The Ultra result being slightly higher than High is likely a margin of error, but the overall picture is clear: 4K is not viable. The data shows a consistent pattern where the GPU's 4 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the game's demands at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the primary determinant of this combo's performance in The Medium. With a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, the GPU operates on the GCN 4.0 architecture using a 14 nm process. It features 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, which combine for 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical constraint in this game.

The benchmark data shows the GPU's average score is 30158, placing it at the 74th percentile among all GPUs. However, this general benchmark strength does not translate to The Medium. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (46.5 FPS) is the only result that suggests any semblance of playability. The GPU's nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, both score nearly identically in average benchmarks, yet these are modern cards with different architectural strengths.

The VRAM capacity is likely the most significant issue. The Medium is a horror game with detailed environments and volumetric effects, and the 4 GB frame buffer becomes a bottleneck at Medium settings and above. The FPS drops from Low to Medium at 1080p (46.5 to 29.4 FPS) are substantial, indicating that texture loading and memory management are severely impacted. The GPU's pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s are simply too low for the game's rendering requirements at higher settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a capable processor that is not the limiting factor in this configuration. Built on the Zen 3 architecture with a 7 nm process, it offers 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The CPU's average benchmark score is 20680, placing it at the 78th percentile among all CPUs. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18578 and single-core score of 2622 demonstrate strong performance.

The nearest CPU rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT with an average score of 20740 (deltaPct of -0.3%) and the Intel Core i7-10700 with a score of 20746 (deltaPct of -0.3%). The Intel Core i5-12490F scores 20794 (-0.5%) and the Intel Xeon 6325P scores 20538 (0.7%). These comparisons show the 5600X is well within the expected range for its class.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. With frame rates capped at 46.5 FPS even at the lowest settings, the CPU is never under significant load. The 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for this workload. The data suggests that even a much weaker CPU would not change the overall performance, as the GPU is the clear bottleneck across all tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that users should prioritize Low settings to achieve any semblance of playable performance. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 46.5 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches a smooth experience. This should be the default recommendation for anyone using this hardware combination.

Moving to Medium settings at 1080p drops the frame rate to 29.4 FPS, which is playable but noticeably stuttery. This might be acceptable for users who prioritize visual fidelity over smoothness, but the 17.1 FPS loss compared to Low is significant. High settings at 1080p yield 21.8 FPS, which is borderline unplayable, and Ultra settings at 17.8 FPS are not recommended for any gameplay scenario.

At 2560x1440, only Low settings (38.3 FPS) are viable, and even then, the experience will be suboptimal. Higher resolutions are not recommended at all, as all 3840x2160 results fall below 32 FPS. The data shows that the best experience is achieved by staying at 1080p with Low settings, accepting the graphical compromises to maintain a playable frame rate. For users who insist on higher visual quality, Medium settings at 1080p are the only reasonable compromise, but they should expect a significant performance hit.