The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that stresses both CPU and GPU, but with this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and the AMD Radeon RX 6600, the data shows a system that is firmly GPU-limited at higher resolutions and settings. The measured results across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K reveal a clear performance hierarchy, where the 8 GB VRAM and RDNA 2 architecture of the RX 6600 dictate the experience more than the capable Zen 4 processor. This analysis focuses strictly on the measured frame rates to determine the optimal settings for a smooth experience, the GPU's specific role, and how this combination ranks against other tested hardware.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Low preset is the only setting that consistently delivers a fluid experience across all tested resolutions, making it the practical choice for this hardware combo. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces an average of 84 FPS, which is not only the highest score in the entire dataset but also provides enough headroom to handle the game's demanding scenes without dropping into stutter territory. Moving up to 2560x1440, the Low preset still achieves a respectable 71 FPS average, and even at 3840x2160, it maintains an average of 55 FPS, which is playable for a slower-paced horror game. The data indicates that the Low preset is the only configuration that keeps the average frame rate above the 60 FPS threshold at 1080p and above 50 FPS at 4K.

The Medium preset presents a viable alternative for those prioritizing visual quality over maximum frame rate, but it requires a resolution compromise. At 1920x1080, Medium yields an average of 52 FPS, which is a significant drop from Low but still within the range of playability for a game of this genre. However, the minimum frame rate of 44 FPS at this setting suggests occasional dips that could be noticeable. At 2560x1440, Medium drops to a 44 FPS average with a 37 FPS minimum, and at 4K, it falls to a 35 FPS average with a 29 FPS minimum. The data suggests that Medium is best suited for 1080p gaming where the visual uplift is more pronounced relative to the frame rate cost.

The High and Ultra presets are generally not recommended for this combination, as the measured averages fall below the threshold for comfortable gameplay. At 1080p, High produces a 37 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 30 FPS. At 1440p, High averages 32 FPS and Ultra averages 25 FPS. At 4K, High averages just 25 FPS and Ultra falls to 20 FPS. These numbers indicate that the RX 6600's 8 GB VRAM and compute resources are overwhelmed by the higher-fidelity settings, resulting in a slideshow-like experience that is not suitable for a game requiring environmental awareness and puzzle-solving. The data clearly shows that the visual fidelity gains from High and Ultra come at too steep a performance cost.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the analysis points to using the Medium preset at 1920x1080 if you prioritize graphics, or the Low preset for any resolution if you prioritize a smooth, consistent frame rate. The 44 FPS minimum at 1080p Medium is a risk, but the 52 FPS average is often acceptable in a horror game where action is not twitch-based. The Low preset's 84 FPS at 1080p is the clear winner for ensuring the game never feels unresponsive. The data suggests that users should avoid High and Ultra entirely unless they are willing to accept sub-40 FPS averages, which is a poor experience for this title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600's role in this combo is defined by its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and its clock speeds, which together establish the performance ceiling observed in the measured FPS data. The GPU's boost clock of 2491 MHz and game clock of 2044 MHz are the driving forces behind the raw compute throughput, but the 128-bit memory bus and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factor when the game's textures and effects demand more VRAM capacity and bandwidth than the card can provide. This is evident in the sharp FPS drops when moving from Low to Medium settings, where the increased memory pressure leads to a 32 FPS average reduction at 1080p (from 84 to 52 FPS).

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is a critical constraint for The Medium, which is a game known for its dual-reality rendering that can quickly consume memory. The benchmark data shows that at 3840x2160, the gap between Low and Medium settings is 20 FPS (55 vs. 35 FPS), while at 1080p, the same setting change costs 32 FPS. This disproportionate drop at higher resolutions suggests that the card is not just compute-bound but is also hitting a memory bandwidth or capacity wall. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are simply not sufficient to feed the GPU's shaders when the game is pushed beyond Low settings, leading to the severe performance degradation seen in the High and Ultra presets.

The GPU's RDNA 2 architecture, with 1792 shading units and 28 ray accelerators, is capable of rendering the game's visuals, but the data indicates it is not powerful enough to maintain high frame rates even at 1080p with High settings (37 FPS average). The 8.928 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is a theoretical figure that the game's workload does not fully utilize due to memory constraints. The measured results suggest that the RX 6600 is best utilized as a 1080p card for this title, and even then, only with conservative settings. The GPU's percentile ranking of 63rd among all GPUs, combined with its nearest rivals being the Quadro K6000 and RTX 4050 Mobile, positions it as a mid-range part that cannot handle The Medium's maximum fidelity.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system can achieve an average FPS above 60, and this is only possible with the Low preset (84 FPS). At 2560x1440, the best average is 71 FPS with Low settings, while 4K tops out at 55 FPS with Low. For a more stable experience across all resolutions, the Low preset is the only reliable choice.

Q: Can this system handle the Ultra preset at 1080p?

A: No. The measured average FPS for Ultra at 1920x1080 is 30 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The data shows that Ultra presets at all resolutions yield average frame rates between 20 and 30 FPS, indicating the GPU is heavily bottlenecked by the game's highest visual demands.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Medium settings at 1440p?

A: The measured data shows a difference of 27 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 71 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 44 FPS. This is a substantial 38% reduction in average frame rate, suggesting that the Medium preset's additional visual features have a significant cost on this GPU.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The data indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The Ryzen 5 7400F has a high average benchmark score of 32750 and ranks in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, while the RX 6600 ranks in the 63rd percentile for GPUs. Furthermore, the FPS scales dramatically with resolution and settings changes, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation.

Q: Is this combo ranked well compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo rank for this game is 2260 out of 2911 tested combinations. This places it in the lower 23rd percentile of all tested combos, indicating that it is a relatively low-performing pairing for this specific game, which is consistent with the GPU's mid-range status.

Q: What is the minimum FPS I can expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured minimum FPS for 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 44 FPS. This is the only resolution and setting combination with a recorded minimum FPS, suggesting that the frame rate can dip noticeably below the 52 FPS average, which could lead to occasional stutter in demanding scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 2260th out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the lower portion of the rankings, indicating that this is not a high-performing setup for this specific title. The rank suggests that the majority of other tested CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher frame rates in this game. The low ranking is primarily attributable to the RX 6600's performance class, as the CPU is a strong performer.

The Ryzen 5 7400F's individual benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 and a single-core score of 3072. Its average benchmark score of 32750 puts it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, showing it is a capable processor. However, its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i5-14600T (deltaPct 0.1) and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (deltaPct -0.2), are all closely matched, confirming the CPU is not a weak link. The GPU, on the other hand, has an average benchmark score of 19036 and sits in the 63rd percentile, with its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro K6000, matching its score exactly (deltaPct 0).

Given the game's heavy reliance on GPU performance, a combo rank of 2260 out of 2911 means that this pairing will struggle to provide a high-refresh-rate experience. The data shows that the combo's performance is only suitable for low-to-medium settings at 1080p. Users with this setup should not expect to compete with higher-tier configurations, and the measured FPS data confirms that the system is best suited for a 1080p gaming experience with conservative graphical settings. The rank is a clear indicator that the RX 6600 is the bottleneck in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 84 at 1080p to 71 at 1440p, and then to 55 at 4K. This represents a 15% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 35% drop from 1080p to 4K. The relatively gradual decline at Low settings suggests that the game is still heavily GPU-bound, but the CPU is capable of keeping up with the increased pixel count without becoming a bottleneck.

The scaling at Medium settings is more aggressive. The average FPS goes from 52 at 1080p to 44 at 1440p (a 15% drop) and then to 35 at 4K (a 33% drop from 1080p). This pattern indicates that as the resolution increases, the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are stretched further, leading to a more pronounced performance hit. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 29, which is dangerously close to the unplayable threshold, highlighting the GPU's struggle at higher pixel counts.

The most significant scaling issue appears at the High and Ultra presets, where the FPS drops are steep and the absolute values are already low. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 37 at 1080p to 32 at 1440p (a 14% drop) and then to 25 at 4K (a 32% drop from 1080p). At Ultra, the numbers are 30, 25, and 20 respectively. These figures show that the GPU is already near its limits at 1080p, and the added pixel load at higher resolutions pushes it into unplayable territory. The data suggests that the RX 6600's 8 GB VRAM is a critical constraint at resolutions above 1080p, as the game's texture requirements likely exceed the available memory at Medium and higher settings, causing the frame rate to plummet.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: Average FPS 84. This is the highest score in the entire dataset and provides the smoothest experience.
• Medium: Average FPS 52, with a minimum of 44 and maximum of 60. This is a playable option but with noticeable dips.
• High: Average FPS 37. This is below the threshold for a comfortable experience.
• Ultra: Average FPS 30. This is at the edge of playability and not recommended.

2560x1440:

• Low: Average FPS 71. This is a solid score that makes 1440p viable with this preset.
• Medium: Average FPS 44, with a minimum of 37 and maximum of 51. This is a significant step down from Low and is marginal for smooth gameplay.
• High: Average FPS 32. This is too low for a playable experience.
• Ultra: Average FPS 25. This is a slideshow and not suitable for gameplay.

3840x2160:

• Low: Average FPS 55. This is a surprisingly playable score for 4K, though not ideal for fast-paced action.
• Medium: Average FPS 35, with a minimum of 29 and maximum of 40. The minimum FPS is very low, indicating severe stutters.
• High: Average FPS 25. This is unplayable.
• Ultra: Average FPS 20. This is unplayable.

The data shows that the 1080p Low preset is the only configuration that consistently delivers an average FPS above 60. The 1440p Low preset is the only 1440p option that stays above 60 FPS, while the 4K Low preset is the only 4K option that stays above 50 FPS. The Medium presets at all resolutions offer playable averages at 1080p and 1440p, but the minimum FPS values suggest a risky experience. The High and Ultra presets are uniformly poor across all resolutions, confirming that the RX 6600 is not capable of handling The Medium's highest fidelity settings.