The Medium

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture (Phoenix codename). It operates with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The CPU includes a 16 MB shared L3 cache, along with 64 KB L1 and 1 MB L2 per core. Its TDP is rated at 65 W, and it supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s.

Benchmark data places this processor at the 77th percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 25005 sits very close to several rivals. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F scores 24964, which is only 0.2% lower. The Intel Core i7-11850H and Intel Core i7-13620H score 24935 and 24911 respectively, representing 0.3% and 0.4% gaps. The AMD EPYC 9474F leads by a slim margin at 25103, a 0.4% difference. These tight deltas suggest the Ryzen 5 8400F delivers compute output squarely within a well-established performance band.

In The Medium, the game's fixed-camera horror presentation typically relies on moderate CPU loads. The recorded frame rates show that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 96 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it drops to 34 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at the same resolution is 62 FPS. This wide spread indicates that game settings, not CPU throughput, drive the frame rate changes. The CPU's 12 threads and 4.70 GHz boost provide enough headroom to avoid becoming the primary constraint, especially since the frame rate scales so strongly with GPU-related settings.

The single-thread benchmark scores reinforce this interpretation. The 3DMark single-thread score is 951, and Cinebench R23 single-core is 2943. These numbers indicate solid per-core performance, which matters for a game that may not fully utilize all threads. Multi-thread scores, such as Cinebench R23 multi-core at 20851 and PassMark multithread at 24389, confirm the CPU can handle parallel workloads, but the game's performance pattern suggests the limiting factor shifts to the GPU as settings increase.

The CPU's position relative to rivals in the database matters for understanding potential bottlenecks. Since the nearest rivals differ by less than 0.5% in average score, any of these processors would likely behave similarly in this game. The recorded data shows no abrupt frame rate collapses that would indicate CPU stalls, even at 1080p Low where the GPU has less work. This points to a balanced pairing where the CPU does not artificially cap the experience.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip. It carries 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1980 MHz, with a boost clock of 2755 MHz and a game clock of 2470 MHz. It includes 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 32 ray tracing cores. The FP32 performance is rated at 22.57 TFLOPS.

The GPU's benchmark percentile is 60, with an average score of 17083. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 at 17037 (0.3% lower), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M at 17019 (0.4% lower), and the NVIDIA Tesla M4 at 16932 (0.9% lower). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 scores 17208, which is 0.7% higher. These comparisons show the RX 7600 XT operating in a specific performance tier, though the RTX 3070's slight edge hints at what a faster GPU might achieve.

In The Medium, the GPU's role becomes evident through the settings scaling. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 23, while at 4K Low it reaches 64. This 41 FPS swing across settings at the same resolution demonstrates that the GPU's shading throughput and memory bandwidth are heavily taxed by higher quality presets. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is noteworthy; the game at 4K High and above likely approaches or exceeds 8 GB of usage, but the recorded data does not show memory-related crashes or stutter, suggesting the capacity is sufficient for this title.

The memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s becomes a factor at higher resolutions. The 128-bit bus is relatively narrow, but the GDDR6 clock at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) helps compensate. The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent drop pattern that aligns with a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Medium, the average is 60 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it drops to 51 FPS; at 4K Medium, it falls to 40 FPS. This steady decline indicates the GPU's fill rate and bandwidth are the primary drivers of performance changes.

The RT cores on this GPU are present but The Medium's use of ray tracing is not detailed in the measured data. The recorded FPS values come from standard settings presets, and the results show a GPU that handles the game's visual load competently at lower presets but struggles at the highest ones, particularly at 4K.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution sensitivity. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 96 at 1080p, to 81 at 1440p, to 64 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 15 FPS (15.6%), and from 1440p to 4K is 17 FPS (21.0%). At High settings, the averages are 43 at 1080p, 36 at 1440p, and 28 at 4K. The percentage drops are 16.3% and 22.2% respectively.

This scaling behavior indicates the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, because the CPU workload would stay constant while the GPU waits. Instead, every resolution increase produces a measurable FPS reduction, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. The Low preset shows the largest absolute FPS values, confirming that when the GPU has less work per pixel, it can render frames faster.

The Medium preset offers the only complete min/max data in the pack. At 1080p Medium, the average is 60 FPS with min 51 and max 69. At 1440p Medium, the average is 51 FPS with min 43 and max 58. At 4K Medium, the average is 40 FPS with min 34 and max 46. The min-to-max spread narrows slightly as resolution increases, from 18 FPS at 1080p to 12 FPS at 4K. This suggests that at higher resolutions, the frame pacing becomes more consistent because the GPU is uniformly saturated.

The Ultra preset shows the steepest resolution penalty. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 34 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 29 FPS; at 4K Ultra, it falls to 23 FPS. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 11 FPS, which is a 32.4% reduction. This is smaller in absolute terms than the Low preset's 32 FPS drop, but the percentage is similar. The pattern holds: the GPU's rendering load scales with pixel count, and the RX 7600 XT cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K with the most demanding settings.

The data implies that for this hardware combo, the CPU has ample headroom. The Ryzen 5 8400F's 12 threads and high boost clock are not the constraining factor at any resolution. The GPU's performance tier, as indicated by its 60th percentile rank, sets the ceiling. Users seeking higher frame rates would need to reduce resolution or settings, not upgrade the processor.

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

At 1920x1080, the recorded averages are 96 FPS on Low, 60 FPS on Medium, 43 FPS on High, and 34 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a min of 51 FPS and a max of 69 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 62 FPS, which is the largest among all resolutions. This indicates that at 1080p, the GPU has enough resources to push high frame rates on lower presets, but the Ultra preset's additional effects bring the average down significantly.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 81 FPS on Low, 51 FPS on Medium, 36 FPS on High, and 29 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows min 43 and max 58. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings ranges from 15 FPS on Low to 5 FPS on Ultra. The Ultra preset's 5 FPS drop is the smallest absolute change, suggesting that at Ultra, the GPU is already near its limits even at 1080p, so the resolution increase has a reduced marginal impact.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 64 FPS on Low, 40 FPS on Medium, 28 FPS on High, and 23 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows min 34 and max 46. At 4K, the Low preset still manages to exceed 60 FPS, which is notable for a GPU at the 60th percentile. However, the High and Ultra presets fall below 30 FPS, indicating that 4K gaming requires significant settings compromises.

Comparing settings across resolutions, the Low preset at 4K (64 FPS) outperforms the Ultra preset at 1080p (34 FPS). This demonstrates that the game's settings have a larger impact on performance than resolution alone. A user could achieve smoother gameplay by lowering quality settings rather than dropping resolution, though the visual trade-off would be substantial.

The data lacks min/max values for most configurations, so the analysis relies on averages. The Medium preset's complete data shows that the variance between min and max is roughly 20-30% of the average, which is typical for a horror game with variable scene complexity. The fixed-camera angles in The Medium may create uneven GPU loads, but the averages provide a reliable baseline.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware combo in The Medium?

A: The data shows that 1080p provides the highest frame rates across all settings, with averages ranging from 34 FPS on Ultra to 96 FPS on Low. At 1440p, the averages range from 29 to 81 FPS. At 4K, only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS, reaching 64 FPS, while High and Ultra fall to 28 and 23 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at the same resolution?

A: The Ultra preset consistently delivers lower frame rates than High. At 1080p, Ultra averages 34 FPS versus High's 43 FPS, a 9 FPS difference. At 1440p, Ultra averages 29 FPS versus High's 36 FPS. At 4K, Ultra averages 23 FPS versus High's 28 FPS. The gap narrows as resolution increases.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 8400F or the RX 7600 XT the limiting factor?

A: The resolution scaling data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. Frame rates drop consistently as resolution increases at every settings preset, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's benchmark scores, including a 77th percentile rank and multi-thread scores like Cinebench R23 at 20851, suggest it has sufficient headroom.

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Medium, and what are the min/max values?

A: At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 40, with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46. This is the only 4K configuration with complete min/max data in the recorded measurements.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 2362 out of 3724 tested combinations, placing it in the lower half of the database. This rank reflects the combined performance of the Ryzen 5 8400F and RX 7600 XT specifically in The Medium.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM on the RX 7600 XT matter for this game?

A: The recorded data does not show any VRAM-related performance anomalies, such as crashes or severe frame drops. The GPU's 16 GB GDDR6 memory exceeds what The Medium likely requires, and the frame rates follow a predictable scaling pattern based on settings and resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of which settings presets deliver playable frame rates. At 1080p, the Medium preset offers an average of 60 FPS with a min of 51 FPS. This is the only preset at any resolution that achieves both an average at or above 60 FPS and a minimum above 50 FPS. The Low preset reaches 96 FPS, but the visual quality reduction may be unnecessary given that Medium already hits the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 51 FPS with a min of 43 FPS. This is playable but below the 60 FPS target. The Low preset at 1440p averages 81 FPS, which provides a smoother experience. For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, Low at 1440p is the better choice. High at 1440p drops to 36 FPS, which may be too low for a horror game that benefits from smooth camera movement.

At 4K, the Low preset averages 64 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 40 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced horror gameplay but may feel less fluid. High and Ultra at 4K fall below 30 FPS, making them unsuitable for consistent play.

The data suggests that the Medium preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance for this hardware combo. At 1080p, it delivers a solid 60 FPS average. At 1440p, it drops to 51 FPS, which remains within a reasonable range. At 4K, it falls to 40 FPS, which is borderline but playable for a game like The Medium that does not require fast reflexes.

For users who demand 60 FPS or higher, the Low preset is the only reliable option across all resolutions, with averages of 96 FPS at 1080p, 81 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset offers the highest visual quality but only reaches 34 FPS at 1080p, making it impractical for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT ranks 2362 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium. This places the pairing in the 63rd percentile of all combinations in the database (calculated from the rank position). The rank reflects the overall performance of this specific CPU-GPU pairing in this particular game, not their individual benchmark scores.

The CPU alone sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 60th percentile among all GPUs. The combo rank being lower than the CPU's individual percentile suggests that the GPU's performance tier drags the overall result down. The game's frame rates, as shown in the measured data, are heavily dependent on GPU settings and resolution, which aligns with the GPU being the weaker link in this pairing.

Comparing to the CPU's nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 8400F's average score of 25005 is nearly identical to the Ryzen 5 7500F (24964), Intel Core i7-11850H (24935), and Intel Core i7-13620H (24911). Any of these CPUs would likely produce similar results in The Medium when paired with the same GPU. The GPU's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, scores 0.7% higher, which could translate to a few additional FPS in this game, but the recorded data does not include direct comparisons.

The combo rank of 2362 out of 3724 indicates that a majority of tested combinations deliver better performance in The Medium. This is consistent with the RX 7600 XT's 60th percentile GPU rank, meaning roughly 40% of GPUs in the database outperform it. The CPU's higher percentile does not compensate for the GPU's limitations in this GPU-bound game. Users with this combo should expect mid-range performance, capable of 60 FPS at 1080p Medium or 4K Low, but not high-refresh or max-quality experiences.