The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title built on Unreal Engine, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with resolution. This analysis examines the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, using the provided benchmark data to isolate the GPU's role and identify optimal settings for a playable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a steep performance curve as resolution increases, clearly identifying the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 50.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 42.6 FPS, a reduction of 8.0 FPS. The jump to 4K further reduces the average to 32.5 FPS, which is 18.1 FPS below the 1080p result. This pattern shows a consistent loss of performance with each step up in pixel count, a classic sign of a graphics-bound scenario.

The relative scaling is more telling. From 1080p to 1440p, performance falls by 15.8%. However, the transition from 1440p to 4K results in a 23.7% drop. This accelerating decline indicates that the RTX 4060's 8 GB frame buffer and 128-bit memory interface are being saturated at higher resolutions. The 4K High result of 32.5 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, while the 1440p High result of 42.6 FPS is closer but still not fluid. The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where this combo can maintain a comfortable frame rate on High settings.

Comparing the Low preset across resolutions provides further insight. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 106.6 FPS, which drops to 90.8 FPS at 1440p and 70.7 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is still higher than the 1080p Ultra result of 41.6 FPS. This suggests that the CPU, the Ryzen 5 7600X with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is not the limiting factor at lower settings. The substantial headroom in the Low preset data indicates that the processor is capable of feeding the GPU well beyond the observed frame rates, reinforcing the conclusion that the GPU's rendering throughput is the decisive constraint.

The difference between Medium and High settings is also informative. At 1440p, Medium yields 60.2 FPS, while High yields 42.6 FPS, a difference of 17.6 FPS. At 1080p, the gap is 19.6 FPS (70.2 vs 50.6). This shows that the High preset introduces a significant graphical load that the RTX 4060 struggles to handle at higher resolutions. The data suggests that the game's visual effects at High quality are disproportionately expensive relative to the performance gained over Medium.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance of visual quality and performance is the Medium preset at 1440p. This configuration achieves 60.2 FPS, which is a solid playable frame rate for a horror title where smooth camera movement is less critical than in fast-paced action games. The 60.2 FPS result is 17.6 FPS higher than the High preset at the same resolution and only slightly below the 70.2 FPS achieved at 1080p Medium. This makes 1440p Medium the best experience per the data, offering a resolution upgrade over 1080p while maintaining a frame rate that is above the 60 FPS threshold.

For users who prioritize frame rate above all else, the 1080p Medium preset is a viable alternative, delivering 70.2 FPS. This is 19.6 FPS higher than 1080p High and provides a smoother experience, though at a lower native resolution. The 1080p High preset at 50.6 FPS is a middle ground that may be acceptable for some, but the 4K High result of 32.5 FPS is not recommended for consistent playability.

The Ultra preset is the most demanding and offers no performance advantage. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 41.6 FPS, which is 28.6 FPS lower than 1080p Medium. At 1440p Ultra, the result drops to 31.9 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 24.4 FPS. These figures are below the playable threshold for most users. The data indicates that the Ultra preset's additional visual features are not worth the significant performance cost on this hardware. The Low preset, while achieving high frame rates (106.6 FPS at 1080p), likely sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a horror game that relies on atmosphere and lighting.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and preset for this CPU/GPU combo in The Medium?

A: The measured data shows that 1440p with Medium settings provides the best balance, achieving 60.2 FPS. This is the only configuration in the data that combines a resolution above 1080p with a frame rate at or above 60 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K on High settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 50.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 32.5 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 18.1 FPS. This represents a 35.8% decrease in performance.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable on this hardware?

A: No. The highest average frame rate for the Ultra preset is 41.6 FPS at 1080p. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 24.4 FPS, which is not a smooth experience.

Q: Does the Low preset reveal a CPU bottleneck?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary limiter. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 106.6 FPS, and at 4K Low, it still manages 70.7 FPS. This high performance at lower settings indicates the Ryzen 5 7600X has sufficient headroom, and the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High presets at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset delivers 60.2 FPS, while the High preset delivers 42.6 FPS. This is a difference of 17.6 FPS, showing that the High preset has a substantial performance cost.

Q: How does the 4K Low preset compare to the 1080p Ultra preset?

A: The 4K Low preset achieves 70.7 FPS, which is significantly higher than the 1080p Ultra result of 41.6 FPS. This indicates that resolution scaling is less punishing than the Ultra preset's visual effects on this GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 947th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places the system in the lower-middle portion of the performance distribution, with roughly 56% of tested configurations performing better. The ranking reflects the GPU's position in the market; the RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23181 and sits at the 66th percentile of all GPUs. The CPU, on the other hand, is a high performer, with an average benchmark score of 26272 and an 83rd percentile ranking.

The disparity between the CPU and GPU performance tiers is a key takeaway. The Ryzen 5 7600X is a strong processor, but the RTX 4060 is a more modest graphics solution. In a game like The Medium, which is heavily GPU-bound, the graphics card dictates the overall ranking. The combo's 947th position is consistent with a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU. The data suggests that this pairing is balanced for 1080p gaming, but its rank in this specific title is held back by the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.

The nearest rivals for the GPU include the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, which has a slightly higher average score of 23321 (a 0.6% difference), and the Intel Arc B580, which has a slightly lower score of 23021 (a 0.7% difference). These are close competitors, indicating that the RTX 4060 is in a tightly contested performance bracket. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X, have nearly identical average scores, confirming that the processor is not a source of variance in this ranking.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the decisive component in this combo's performance in The Medium. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. The measured frame rates across resolutions suggest this bandwidth is a limiting factor. The significant drop from 1440p Medium (60.2 FPS) to 4K Medium (42.5 FPS) indicates that the GPU is struggling to manage the increased memory pressure and pixel fill rate demands at 4K.

The GPU's clock speeds are a secondary factor. The base clock is 1830 MHz, and the boost clock is 2460 MHz. These are high clocks for the Ada Lovelace architecture, and they help the GPU achieve its peak compute performance. The GPU's FP32 performance is 15.11 TFLOPS, which is moderate for a modern graphics card. In The Medium, this compute power translates to the raw shading and lighting calculations required by the game's fixed-camera scenes and volumetric effects.

The RTX 4060's position relative to its peers is clear from the benchmark data. Its average benchmark score is 23181, placing it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. It is closely matched with the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (score 23321) and the Intel Arc B580 (score 23021). The data shows that this GPU is not a top-tier performer; it is a mainstream solution best suited for 1080p gaming. The 4K results in The Medium confirm this, as the average frame rate fails to reach 33 FPS on High settings. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K data suggests it is a constraint. The performance gap between the Low and Medium presets at 4K (70.7 vs 42.5 FPS) shows that the GPU has the raw power for higher frame rates at lower quality, but the memory and rendering pipeline become stressed as quality increases.