The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D pairing in The Medium delivers a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics. This 6-core, 12-thread Zen 4 processor, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost of 5.30 GHz, sits in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and Intel Core i5-12600K, both with an average score delta of 0.2%, indicating a tight grouping in raw compute. The data shows this CPU is more than capable of feeding even the most demanding GPU. The real story here is how the RTX 5090 D, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, scales across resolutions and settings. The GPU sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, but its nearest rivals are surprisingly mobile and datacenter parts like the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (-1.6% delta) and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (-2.4% delta). This suggests the benchmark database compares it against a wide field, but in gaming, the RTX 5090 D is in a class of its own. The measured frame rates in The Medium reveal a clear pattern: at 1080p, the CPU is the limiter; at 4K, the GPU takes over. This analysis breaks down exactly what each component contributes and where the optimal settings lie.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Ryzen 5 7600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael, on a 5 nm TSMC process. It operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform with dual-channel DDR5 memory support and a memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. The base clock runs at 4.70 GHz and boosts up to 5.30 GHz, which is a substantial clock speed advantage for a mid-range desktop part. In synthetic benchmarks, the 7600X scores 15,236 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1,965 in single-core, while Geekbench shows 13,858 multi-core and 2,603 single-core. The PassMark multithread score of 28,390 and single-thread score of 4,135 further cement its position. The 3DMark results show a scaling pattern from 2,028 (2 threads) to 6,845 (max threads), indicating solid thread scaling that benefits modern games.

In The Medium, a horror title that relies on dual-world rendering (the game's signature mechanic shows two simultaneous perspectives), the CPU's role is critical. The game is not heavily threaded in the traditional sense; it prefers strong single-core performance for game logic and physics, but the dual-world presentation can spawn additional draw calls. Looking at the measured FPS at 1080p, the data shows the CPU's influence: at Low settings, the game hits 173 FPS average; at Medium, 144 FPS; at High, 103 FPS; and at Ultra, 82 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 91 FPS, which is entirely GPU-driven as the CPU has headroom. The fact that the 7600X sits just 0.2% above the Ryzen 7 5700X and Intel Core i5-12600K in average benchmark score (27,636 vs. 27,578) suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, these parts perform nearly identically. The 7600X's boost clock of 5.30 GHz is the key asset here, as The Medium's engine appears to scale with single-thread throughput. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache also helps maintain consistent frame pacing in complex scenes.

The 7600X's 79th percentile ranking means it outperforms roughly four out of five CPUs in the database. However, the data indicates that at 1080p Low settings, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The 173 FPS average at 1080p Low versus 163 FPS at 1440p Low (a 10 FPS drop) and 151 FPS at 4K Low (a 22 FPS drop from 1080p) shows that even at Low settings, the GPU is still doing heavy lifting. The CPU's performance ceiling is higher than what the game demands, as evidenced by the 3DMark 16-thread score of 6,879, which represents strong multi-threaded capability for a 6-core part.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a monstrous card built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, using the GB202 chip on a 5 nm TSMC process. It packs 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs, along with 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores. The memory subsystem is equally impressive: 32 GB of GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The base clock runs at 2017 MHz, boosting to 2407 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The card's pixel rate is 423.6 GPixel/s, texture rate is 1,636.8 GTexel/s, and it delivers 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. This is a dual-slot card with a TDP of 575 W, requiring a 950 W suggested PSU and a single 16-pin power connector. It supports PCIe 5.0 x16 and outputs 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b.

In The Medium, the RTX 5090 D's raw power is evident, but the game's engine holds it back in certain scenarios. The GPU's PassMark G3D score is 44,065, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 14,326. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915 and OpenCL score of 310,674 show massive compute capability. The 92nd percentile ranking places it among the top 8% of all GPUs. However, the nearest rivals in the database — the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at -1.6% delta and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at -2.4% delta — are not gaming cards, which highlights how the RTX 5090 D dominates the consumer gaming landscape.

At 4K Ultra settings, the RTX 5090 D averages 54 FPS. This is the most demanding scenario, and the data shows the GPU is fully engaged. At 4K High, it jumps to 68 FPS, and at 4K Medium, 95 FPS with a minimum of 81 FPS and maximum of 110 FPS. At 4K Low, it reaches 151 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K (151 to 54 FPS) represents a 64% performance drop, which is substantial but expected for a game with The Medium's visual complexity. The 32 GB of VRAM ensures there are no memory capacity bottlenecks, even at 4K Ultra with high-resolution textures. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures texture streaming never stutters, which is critical in a game that renders two worlds simultaneously.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data in The Medium reveals a textbook GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, with CPU-bound behavior at 1080p. Looking at Medium settings, which is the only preset with min/max FPS data, the 1080p average is 144 FPS (min 123, max 166). At 1440p, it drops to 122 FPS (min 103, max 140), a 15.3% decrease. At 4K, it drops to 95 FPS (min 81, max 110), a 34% decrease from 1440p and 49 FPS lower than 1080p. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU that is being pushed harder as pixel count increases.

For Low settings, the scaling is more linear: 173 FPS at 1080p, 163 FPS at 1440p (5.8% drop), and 151 FPS at 4K (7.4% drop from 1440p). This relatively flat scaling at Low settings indicates that the CPU is becoming the limiting factor, as the GPU has enough headroom to render the scene quickly regardless of resolution. The fact that 1080p Low (173 FPS) is only 22 FPS higher than 4K Low (151 FPS) — a 12.7% difference — suggests that at Low settings, the game engine's draw call overhead and CPU limitations cap performance. The 7600X's single-thread performance of 1,965 in Cinebench R23 and 4,135 in PassMark single-thread is good, but The Medium's engine appears to have a performance ceiling around 173 FPS with this CPU.

For High settings, the scaling is dramatic: 103 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p (15.5% drop), and 68 FPS at 4K (21.8% drop from 1440p). This shows that High settings introduce enough GPU load to shift the bottleneck back to the GPU. The 35 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings (103 to 68 FPS) is a 34% reduction. For Ultra settings, the numbers are 82 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p (15.9% drop), and 54 FPS at 4K (21.7% drop from 1440p). The consistency in percentage drops between High and Ultra (around 15-22% per resolution step) confirms that these settings are GPU-bound.

The key insight is that at 1080p Low, the CPU limits performance to around 173 FPS, but at 1080p Medium and above, the GPU takes over. The 4K results show the RTX 5090 D's real capability: at 4K Medium, it maintains 95 FPS average with a minimum of 81 FPS, which is smooth for a horror game. The min FPS at 4K Medium (81 FPS) is higher than the average FPS at 4K Ultra (54 FPS), indicating that Medium settings offer a significantly better experience with more consistent frame times.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. The Medium preset stands out as the sweet spot across all resolutions. At 4K, Medium delivers 95 FPS average with a minimum of 81 FPS and maximum of 110 FPS. This is over 40% higher than High settings at the same resolution (68 FPS) and nearly double the Ultra preset (54 FPS). The minimum of 81 FPS at 4K Medium ensures that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 1440p, Medium delivers 122 FPS average (min 103, max 140), which is exceptional for a horror game with dual-world rendering. This is 40.2% higher than High (87 FPS) and 76.8% higher than Ultra (69 FPS). The 103 FPS minimum at 1440p Medium means there are no noticeable hitches. At 1080p, Medium delivers 144 FPS average (min 123, max 166), which is 39.8% higher than High (103 FPS) and 75.6% higher than Ultra (82 FPS). The 123 FPS minimum at 1080p Medium is higher than the average FPS of High settings at the same resolution.

The Low preset, while delivering high frame rates (173 FPS at 1080p, 163 FPS at 1440p, 151 FPS at 4K), sacrifices too much visual quality. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K is a 37.1% reduction in FPS (151 to 95), but the visual improvement is substantial — Medium settings in The Medium include better lighting, shadows, and texture filtering that are critical for the horror atmosphere. The Ultra preset, on the other hand, offers diminishing returns: at 4K, it drops to 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for most PC gamers. The data shows that Ultra settings at 4K are not playable for a smooth experience, while Medium provides a 41.5% higher average FPS.

For players with high refresh rate displays, the Medium preset at 1440p (122 FPS) or 1080p (144 FPS) is the ideal choice. The 103 FPS minimum at 1440p and 123 FPS minimum at 1080p ensure that the frame rate never dips below the 100 FPS threshold, which is critical for responsive gameplay in a psychological horror title. The High preset at 1440p (87 FPS) might be acceptable for those who prioritize visuals, but the 21.1% FPS penalty compared to Medium is not worth the marginal visual upgrade.

FAQ

Q: Is this CPU-GPU combo balanced for The Medium?

A: The data indicates a balanced pairing overall, but with a notable CPU limitation at 1080p Low settings. At 1080p Low, the game averages 173 FPS, which appears to be the CPU's ceiling. At 4K Medium, the GPU delivers 95 FPS average, showing the RTX 5090 D is the dominant component at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with this setup?

A: The measured data shows 1440p Medium offers the best balance: 122 FPS average with a 103 FPS minimum. This provides high frame rates while maintaining smoothness. At 4K Medium, you get 95 FPS average, which is also excellent, but the 1080p Medium at 144 FPS is the highest measured average with min/max data.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest database rivals in The Medium?

A: The RTX 5090 D's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (-1.6% delta) and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (-2.4% delta) in average benchmark score. However, the RTX 5090 D's 92nd percentile ranking and 32 GB of VRAM put it in a different class for gaming workloads like The Medium.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7600X holding back the RTX 5090 D?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the limiter at 1080p Low, where FPS caps at 173. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, as shown by the FPS scaling from 163 FPS at 1440p Low to 151 FPS at 4K Low. The 7600X's 79th percentile ranking and 6-core/12-thread configuration are sufficient for this game at higher resolutions.

Q: What settings should I avoid with this hardware?

A: Ultra settings at 4K should be avoided, as the game averages only 54 FPS. The data shows Medium settings at 4K deliver 95 FPS, which is 75.9% higher than Ultra. At 1440p, Ultra averages 69 FPS, which is below the 122 FPS of Medium settings.

Q: How consistent is the frame rate at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset shows excellent consistency. At 4K, the minimum is 81 FPS against a 95 FPS average (85.3% of average). At 1440p, the minimum is 103 FPS against a 122 FPS average (84.4%). At 1080p, the minimum is 123 FPS against a 144 FPS average (85.4%). This indicates stable frame pacing across all resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 173 FPS average
• Medium: 144 FPS average (min 123, max 166)
• High: 103 FPS average
• Ultra: 82 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 163 FPS average
• Medium: 122 FPS average (min 103, max 140)
• High: 87 FPS average
• Ultra: 69 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 151 FPS average
• Medium: 95 FPS average (min 81, max 110)
• High: 68 FPS average
• Ultra: 54 FPS average

The data shows a clear hierarchy: Low settings provide the highest frame rates at every resolution, with 4K Low (151 FPS) outperforming 1080p Ultra (82 FPS) by 84.1%. Medium settings are the most balanced, with 1440p Medium (122 FPS) delivering 18.4% higher performance than 1080p High (103 FPS). The High preset at 4K (68 FPS) is playable but not ideal, while Ultra at 4K (54 FPS) drops below the 60 FPS threshold. The minimum FPS values at Medium settings — 123 at 1080p, 103 at 1440p, and 81 at 4K — are all above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring smooth gameplay even in the most demanding scenes. The maximum FPS values (166 at 1080p, 140 at 1440p, 110 at 4K) show that the hardware has headroom for less demanding moments, but the averages represent the sustained performance players can expect.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at each setting is: Low drops from 173 to 151 FPS (12.7% reduction), Medium drops from 144 to 95 FPS (34% reduction), High drops from 103 to 68 FPS (34% reduction), and Ultra drops from 82 to 54 FPS (34.1% reduction). The identical percentage reductions for Medium, High, and Ultra confirm that these settings are GPU-bound, while the smaller reduction at Low confirms the CPU limitation. The combo rank of 25 out of 2,911 in this game places this configuration in the top 0.9% of tested combinations, reinforcing that this is an elite-tier pairing for The Medium.