The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience where the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 combination delivers a playable, though often tight, experience. The data shows that this pairing is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher settings, while the CPU provides ample headroom to push frame rates when settings are lowered. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions and presets, placing the combo in context against other tested hardware.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured frames, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all four settings presets achieve playable frame rates. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops to 27 FPS, and at 3840x2160, even the Medium preset only reaches 38 FPS, indicating that 1080p is the most consistent choice.

Q: How does the combo rank against all other tested combinations?

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 2007 out of 2911 tested combos for this game. This places it in the lower half of the database, suggesting it is a mid-to-low tier performer specifically for The Medium's workload.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The GPU is the clear limiting factor at 3840x2160. The average frame rate drops from 61 FPS on Low to 22 FPS on Ultra, showing a massive performance cost for graphical fidelity. The CPU's role is secondary here, as the frame rate scales directly with the GPU load.

Q: What is the difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 77 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers only 27 FPS. This represents a 50 FPS difference, or roughly a 185% performance increase when switching from Ultra to Low, highlighting the extreme cost of the game's highest settings.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 7400F hold back the RX 7600 at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at 1080p with this GPU. The frame rate scales from 92 FPS on Low to 33 FPS on Ultra, which is a typical pattern of GPU limitation. The CPU's substantial multi-core and single-core benchmark scores indicate it has the headroom to feed the GPU at these frame rates.

Q: What is the playable setting for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: To achieve an average of 60 FPS or above, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only option, delivering 92 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p comes close at 57 FPS, but does not cross the 60 FPS threshold.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is the primary driver of performance in The Medium, and its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth is a central factor. The game's high-resolution textures and effects place significant pressure on this memory subsystem. At 3840x2160, the GPU's limits are immediately apparent, with the High preset averaging only 27 FPS and the Ultra preset falling to 22 FPS. Even at the more forgiving 2560x1440 resolution, the Ultra preset manages just 27 FPS, indicating that the card's compute capabilities are strained by the game's highest visual fidelity.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1720 MHz and a boost of 2655 MHz, do provide a solid foundation for raw throughput. However, the benchmark results show that this is not enough to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions. The performance delta between settings is stark: at 1080p, the jump from Low (92 FPS) to Medium (57 FPS) represents a 38% drop in performance, while the jump from Medium to High (41 FPS) is another 28% drop. This pattern points to a GPU that is powerful enough for 1080p gaming but quickly becomes the bottleneck when resolution and settings are increased.

The RX 7600's percentile rank of 57 versus all GPUs, along with its average benchmark score of 15171, places it as a mid-range part. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, scores nearly identically (15199, a delta of -0.2%), confirming its position in the performance hierarchy. In The Medium, this translates to a card that can handle the game at lower settings but requires significant compromises at higher presets. The data indicates that for a smooth experience, the GPU must be paired with lower graphical settings, especially at resolutions above 1080p.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F serves as a capable foundation for this system, but its role in The Medium is largely to stay out of the GPU's way. With 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, it provides a robust platform for the game's logic and physics. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz are more than sufficient to keep up with the frame rates the RX 7600 can produce. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 and a single-core score of 3072, are strong indicators of its processing power.

In the context of this game, the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor. This is evidenced by the fact that frame rates drop dramatically with increased graphical settings, a classic sign of GPU bottlenecking. For instance, at 1440p, the average FPS falls from 77 on Low to 27 on Ultra, a performance curve that is dictated by the graphics card's workload, not the CPU's ability to process frames. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s of dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth ensure that data can be fed to the GPU without stalling.

The Ryzen 5 7400F's average benchmark score of 32750 places it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, showing it is a solid performer. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600T, scores 32707, a negligible delta of 0.1%. This indicates that the CPU is well above average in compute capability. For The Medium, this means the processor is unlikely to cause stutters or frame dips, allowing the GPU to be the sole determinant of performance. The data strongly suggests that users should focus on GPU settings to improve frame rates, as the CPU has ample headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 7400F and RX 7600 ranks 2007 out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the 31st percentile of all tested systems, indicating that it is a below-average performer for this specific title. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations at higher settings, as the CPU is relatively strong. The rank suggests that while the system is functional, many other hardware combinations will deliver higher frame rates in this game.

The ranking can be interpreted through the lens of the individual components. The GPU's percentile rank of 57 is significantly lower than the CPU's 83, highlighting the imbalance. The GPU is the weaker link, and this is reflected in the combo's overall rank. The data shows that the system's performance is capped by the RX 7600, and the CPU's potential is not fully utilized. For comparison, the GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 3050 OEM, would likely produce similar results in this game, keeping the combo rank in a similar position.

This rank is not a judgment of the hardware's quality, but rather a measure of its suitability for The Medium's specific demands. The game appears to be heavily GPU-bound, and the RX 7600's 8 GB memory and mid-range compute power are not enough to achieve high frame rates at higher presets. The combo would likely rank much higher in less demanding titles, but for The Medium, it sits in the lower half of the database. Users with this setup should expect to play at 1080p with Medium or Low settings to get a playable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the GPU's dominance as the limiting factor. At the Medium preset, the average frame rate drops from 57 FPS at 1920x1080 to 48 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 38 FPS at 3840x2160. This is a steady decline that correlates with the increasing pixel count. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is a 15.8% reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is a 20.8% reduction, showing that the GPU's workload increases disproportionately at higher resolutions.

This pattern is even more pronounced at the High preset. The average FPS drops from 41 at 1080p to 35 at 1440p (a 14.6% drop) and then to 27 at 4K (a 22.8% drop). The scaling indicates that the GPU is running out of memory bandwidth and compute units as resolution increases. The 8 GB of VRAM is likely a contributing factor at 4K, where texture data exceeds the available memory, causing performance to plummet. The Low preset shows a similar trend, but with higher absolute numbers: 92 FPS at 1080p, 77 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 4K.

The data suggests that the CPU is not a significant factor in this scaling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain more stable across resolutions, as the CPU workload would be similar. Instead, the consistent and significant drops in FPS with each resolution increase point directly to the GPU as the primary constraint. The scaling behavior confirms that for this combo, resolution is the most critical variable for determining performance, and that 4K is only viable at the Low preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 92 FPS, which is the highest of any configuration tested. The Medium preset provides a solid 57 FPS, with a minimum of 49 and a maximum of 66 FPS, indicating a reasonably stable frame time. The High preset drops to 41 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 33 FPS. This resolution is the only one where all presets are technically playable, though Ultra is below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the performance takes a noticeable hit. The Low preset still manages a comfortable 77 FPS, but the Medium preset drops to 48 FPS (minimum 41, maximum 56). The High preset averages 35 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the least playable, averaging just 27 FPS. This resolution is best suited for Low or Medium settings if a smooth experience is desired. The Medium preset's frame times show more variance than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is under more strain.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overburdened. The Low preset is the only one that reaches a playable average of 61 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 38 FPS, with a minimum of 32 and a maximum of 44 FPS, showing significant frame pacing issues. The High preset averages 27 FPS, and the Ultra preset is nearly unplayable at 22 FPS. This resolution is only recommended for Low settings, and even then, the experience may not be consistently smooth. The measured data shows a clear progression of performance degradation as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with the Medium preset. This configuration delivers an average of 57 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The minimum of 49 FPS and maximum of 66 FPS indicate that the frame rate is relatively stable, providing a consistent experience without major dips. This is the highest settings preset that maintains a playable frame rate at this resolution.

For users who prioritize frame rate above all else, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the clear choice, offering a very smooth 92 FPS. This is ideal for fast-paced sections or for users with high refresh rate monitors. The jump to Medium is a significant step down in performance (a 38% drop to 57 FPS), but it likely offers a substantial visual improvement. The data suggests that the High and Ultra presets at 1080p are not worth the performance cost, as they drop the frame rate below 45 FPS.

At higher resolutions, the recommendations become more restrictive. At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the best option for a smooth experience, yielding 77 FPS. The Medium preset at 48 FPS is a compromise, but the frame rate may be too inconsistent for some. At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only viable choice, with 61 FPS. Any other preset at this resolution results in an average below 40 FPS, which is generally considered too low for a playable experience in a horror game that relies on atmosphere and motion. The data clearly shows that this hardware is best suited for 1080p gaming, with lower presets required for higher resolutions.