The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination presents a unique profile in The Medium, a horror title known for its fixed-camera angles and dual-reality rendering. The measured data reveals a system where the GPU is the clear performance ceiling at higher resolutions, but the CPU’s capabilities become more relevant as resolution drops. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across all settings and resolutions, interprets the scaling behavior, and provides actionable settings guidance based strictly on the benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary performance driver. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 140 FPS at 1920x1080 to 134.8 FPS at 2560x1440, a modest reduction, before falling to 124 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a total drop of 16 FPS (approximately 11.4%) from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, suggesting that even at the highest pixel counts, the GPU has ample headroom when graphical fidelity is minimized.

The scaling becomes more dramatic as settings increase. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 87.1 at 1080p to 75.2 at 1440p, and then to 54 at 4K. This is a 38% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The Medium settings show a similar pattern: 116 FPS at 1080p, 102.2 at 1440p, and 80.8 at 4K. The Ultra preset exhibits the steepest curve, starting at 68.5 FPS at 1080p, decreasing to 56.5 at 1440p, and culminating in 43.7 FPS at 4K.

The difference between 1080p and 1440p is relatively small across all settings, typically a 10-15 FPS drop. The jump from 1440p to 4K is far more punishing, with a 20-25 FPS reduction in most cases. This behavior is classic GPU-bound scaling: the RTX 4080 SUPER’s immense compute and memory bandwidth are sufficient to handle 1080p and 1440p without breaking a sweat, but the 4K resolution, particularly with higher settings, demands more than the card can deliver for a consistently smooth experience. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution tested, as the frame rates scale predictably with pixel count.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER’s specifications directly explain the observed frame rates. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. This substantial memory allocation is crucial for The Medium, which renders two simultaneous worlds for its core mechanic. The measured data shows that even at 4K with Ultra settings, the GPU does not run out of memory, as the game remains playable, albeit at a lower frame rate.

The GPU’s clock speeds are also relevant. The base clock is 2295 MHz, with a boost clock of 2550 MHz. The Ada Lovelace architecture with 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores allows for significant parallel processing. The benchmark results show that the card is capable of delivering 140 FPS at 1080p Low, which indicates that the processor is not the limiting factor in that scenario. However, the 4K Ultra result of 43.7 FPS suggests that the fixed-function hardware, particularly the ROPs and texture units, are saturated by the game’s high-resolution effects.

The GPU’s FP32 performance of 52.22 TFLOPS is impressive on paper, but the game’s engine seems to be more sensitive to memory bandwidth and fill rate. This is evident in the scaling: the 736.3 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K resolution’s pixel throughput demands exceed what the 112 ROPs can handle at high settings. The data indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER is a capable 1440p card for this title, but 4K requires a compromise in settings to achieve playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall database of tested combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 135th out of 1689 combos for The Medium. This places it in the top 8% of all tested systems, which is a strong result. The rank reflects the GPU’s high placement in the overall GPU percentile (88th percentile) and the CPU’s solid 78th percentile standing.

The CPU’s nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and Intel Core i7-10700, with delta percentages of -0.3% and -0.3% respectively. This means the 5600X performs nearly identically to those processors in synthetic tests, with a negligible 0.3% deficit. The Intel Core i5-12490F is also close, with a -0.5% delta. These nearly identical CPU scores reinforce that the 5600X is not a performance outlier; it is a solid mid-range part that pairs well with a high-end GPU.

The GPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, which is 0.2% slower on average, and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M, which is 0.4% slower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is 2.9% slower in average benchmark scores. These comparisons show that the RTX 4080 SUPER is at the top of its class, and the combo’s rank of 135 is likely limited by the CPU’s performance in certain scenarios, although the FPS data does not show a CPU bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 140 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset yields 116 FPS, High provides 87.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 68.5 FPS. These numbers show a clear hierarchy: Low and Medium are well above the 60 FPS threshold, High is still smooth, and Ultra is playable but not ideal for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the results are equally strong. Low settings produce 134.8 FPS, which is nearly identical to the 1080p result, indicating that the GPU is still not fully stressed. Medium yields 102.2 FPS, High provides 75.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 56.5 FPS. The 1440p results are all above 50 FPS, with most presets offering excellent playability.

The 3840x2160 resolution is where the GPU starts to show its limits. Low settings still manage a respectable 124 FPS, but Medium drops to 80.8 FPS, High falls to 54 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 43.7 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is below the standard 60 FPS target, and even High settings barely reach 54 FPS. This data suggests that 4K gaming requires a settings reduction to achieve a smooth experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is recommended, as it delivers 68.5 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides the best visual quality. If a higher refresh rate is preferred, the High preset at 87.1 FPS offers a significant performance boost with only a minor visual compromise.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best balanced choice, delivering 75.2 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with high visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 102.2 FPS is a viable alternative for users who prioritize frame rate over visual details, but the High preset is the sweet spot for the majority of players. The Ultra preset at 56.5 FPS is just below the 60 FPS target, so it is only recommended for users who accept a slightly lower frame rate for maximum visual quality.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation, as it delivers 80.8 FPS, which is well above the playable threshold. The High preset at 54 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced horror gameplay, but Medium provides a more comfortable margin. The Ultra preset at 43.7 FPS is not recommended for a consistently smooth experience, as the frame rate dips too low. The Low preset at 124 FPS is technically playable, but the visual quality is severely compromised, making it a poor trade-off. Therefore, the Medium preset at 4K offers the best combination of performance and visual quality for this hardware combination.