The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. In the context of The Medium, a horror title that typically emphasizes atmospheric rendering over CPU-intensive simulation, this processor’s capabilities are more than sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU. The Ryzen 5 7600’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s of dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth provide a solid foundation for feeding the graphics card, though the game’s measured frame rates suggest that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance across most settings.

The CPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its strength as a mid-range desktop part. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 12,735 points and single-core score of 1,852 points place it in the 78th percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 26,324. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 7600 is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (deltaPct of 0.2% higher), the AMD Ryzen 7 7435HS (0.3% higher), and the Intel Core i9-11900KF (0.4% higher). This indicates that the CPU’s compute headroom is substantial, meaning that in The Medium, the 6-core configuration will rarely be the limiting factor, especially given that the game’s fixed-camera angles and pre-rendered elements often shift the load toward the GPU.

FAQ

Q: Why does the Ryzen 5 7600 not appear to be the bottleneck in this game?

A: The CPU’s benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 12,735 and a Geekbench multicore score of 13,413, are well above the thresholds needed for modern gaming. The data shows that frame rates drop significantly more when increasing resolution than when changing CPU load, which indicates the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth experience at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 92 FPS, while Medium drops to 57 FPS, High to 41 FPS, and Ultra to 33 FPS. For a balance between visual fidelity and performance, the Medium preset is the highest setting that maintains a playable average above 60 FPS, though Low offers the smoothest experience.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 18,093, placing it in the 62nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, scores 18,159, which is 0.4% higher, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 is 0.5% higher and the AMD Radeon RX 460 is 1.5% higher. This shows the RTX 2060 SUPER is closely matched with these parts.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for 4K gaming in this title?

A: At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS drops to 27, and at Ultra it falls to 21. The low frame rates at 4K suggest that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute power, rather than just VRAM capacity, are struggling to handle the resolution, as even Low settings only produce 61 FPS.

Q: What does the combo rank in this game indicate?

A: The Ryzen 5 7600 with the RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2,606 out of 3,724 tested combos for The Medium. This places the pairing in the lower-middle of the field, meaning most other CPU-GPU combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this specific title.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance influence the game?

A: The Ryzen 5 7600’s 3DMark single-thread score of 999 and Cinebench R15 single-core score of 298 are robust, ensuring that the game’s logic and rendering threads are handled efficiently. However, since the measured FPS scales more with resolution than with CPU settings, the game’s performance is not constrained by single-thread speed.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a clear GPU bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 41, but this falls to 35 at 2560x1440 and further to 27 at 3840x2160. This represents a 34% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 1440p, and a 53% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The pattern is consistent across all settings: Low settings drop from 92 FPS at 1080p to 77 at 1440p and 61 at 4K, while Medium falls from 57 to 48 and then 38.

The scaling indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER’s rendering throughput is the limiting factor, as the CPU’s performance is constant regardless of resolution. If the Ryzen 5 7600 were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain similar across resolutions, but the data shows a linear degradation as pixel count increases. The 4K Ultra preset is particularly demanding, yielding only 21 FPS, which is a 67% drop from the 1080p Ultra result of 33 FPS. This suggests that the GPU’s 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are insufficient for the higher resolution workloads, especially with the game’s fixed-camera rendering techniques that can be memory-intensive.

Settings Recommendations

For a balance of visual quality and smooth gameplay, the Medium preset is the highest setting that consistently maintains a playable frame rate across common resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers an average of 57 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS, which is acceptable for a slow-paced horror game. At 2560x1440, Medium drops to 48 FPS with a minimum of 41 FPS, which is still playable but may be less smooth on high-refresh displays. The Low preset is the safest choice for competitive or motion-sensitive play, offering 92 FPS at 1080p and 77 FPS at 1440p, but it sacrifices visual fidelity.

The High and Ultra presets are not recommended for this combination. At 1080p, High produces 41 FPS and Ultra produces 33 FPS, which are below the 60 FPS threshold for a comfortable experience. At 1440p, High falls to 35 FPS and Ultra to 27 FPS, making them borderline unplayable. At 4K, only Low settings (61 FPS) provide a smooth experience, while Medium (38 FPS) and High (27 FPS) are too choppy. Given that the game is a horror title with a focus on atmosphere, the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best compromise, delivering a frame rate that stays above 49 FPS in the measured data while retaining enough detail to preserve the intended mood.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 2,606 out of 3,724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the 30th percentile of all configurations. This is a relatively low ranking, indicating that the majority of tested CPU-GPU pairings achieve higher frame rates in this specific game. The ranking reflects the RTX 2060 SUPER’s position as a mid-range GPU from the previous generation, as its 62nd percentile ranking among all GPUs suggests that while it is not a weak part, it is outclassed by many newer and higher-tier options.

The CPU’s contribution to this ranking is likely minimal, as the Ryzen 5 7600 sits in the 78th percentile of all CPUs, which is a stronger relative position. The disparity between the CPU’s and GPU’s percentile rankings confirms that the graphics card is the limiting factor in this pairing. For comparison, the GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the RTX 3060 Mobile and AMD Radeon Pro 5700, show only a 0.4-0.5% difference in average benchmark scores, suggesting that swapping the GPU for one of these would yield similar in-game performance. The combo’s rank is therefore more indicative of the GPU’s age and capability than any CPU shortfall.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average frame rate of 92 FPS, followed by Medium at 57 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS. High settings produce 41 FPS, and Ultra drops to 33 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 59 FPS, demonstrating a significant performance cost for higher visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, Low settings average 77 FPS, Medium averages 48 FPS with a range of 41-55 FPS, High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 27 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 16-18% across all presets, which is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario.

At 3840x2160, Low settings still manage an average of 61 FPS, but Medium drops to 38 FPS with a minimum of 32 FPS and a maximum of 43 FPS. High settings fall to 27 FPS, and Ultra is the lowest at 21 FPS. The 4K results show that only Low settings remain above 60 FPS, while all other presets are below 40 FPS, making the game difficult to play at higher quality levels on this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip, featuring 2,176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. It has 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores, which support hardware-accelerated ray tracing and DLSS, though these features are not directly reflected in the measured FPS data for The Medium. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU’s 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 224.4 GTexel/s texture rate are the key metrics for this game’s rendering load. The measured frame rates suggest that the GPU’s compute capacity is the limiting factor, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. For instance, the 4K Ultra preset’s 21 FPS average is a direct consequence of the GPU being overwhelmed by the pixel and texture workload. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, as frame rates do not indicate any memory-related stuttering, but the 4K results show that the memory bandwidth may be insufficient for the higher resolution’s data demands.

In comparison to its nearest rivals, the RTX 2060 SUPER is nearly identical in performance to the RTX 3060 Mobile (0.4% lower in average benchmark score) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (0.5% lower). This indicates that the GPU is well-matched with these parts, though its 62nd percentile ranking shows that it sits below the majority of GPUs tested. For The Medium, the GPU’s role is dominant: the CPU provides ample headroom, but the RTX 2060 SUPER’s rendering capabilities cap the achievable frame rates, especially at 1440p and 4K. The measured data confirms that any performance improvements in this combo would require a GPU upgrade rather than a CPU change.