The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination delivers a playable but demanding experience in The Medium, ranking in the 39th percentile of all tested combos. The data shows a system that is consistently GPU-bound, where the 8 GB VRAM and Turing architecture of the RTX 2070 SUPER become the primary bottlenecks at higher settings, while the 6-core Zen 5 processor provides ample headroom. This pairing is best suited for 1080p Medium or 1440p Low presets, as the 4K Ultra setting falls below 30 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data indicates that 1920x1080 with Medium settings yields an average of 64.1 FPS, while 2560x1440 with Low settings achieves 85.4 FPS. Both are viable, but the 1080p Medium preset offers a better balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 28246, placing it 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-13490F and AMD Ryzen 5 230, and 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS. This indicates a very tight cluster of performance at this tier.

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER capable of running the game at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average FPS is 69.3, which is playable. However, at Medium settings it drops to 41.3 FPS, and at High and Ultra it falls to 31 and 25.3 FPS respectively, showing that 4K is only feasible on the lowest preset.

Q: What is the role of VRAM in this game's performance?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The significant FPS drops when moving from Low to Medium settings at all resolutions suggest that the game's higher presets likely exceed this capacity, causing a substantial performance penalty.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combination ranks 1026 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the lower 40% of all systems, indicating that while it can run the game, it is not a high-end configuration for this specific title.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance relative to its multi-threaded score?

A: In Cinebench R23, the CPU scored 3603 in single-core and 25525 in multi-core. The multi-core score is roughly 7 times higher, reflecting the scaling of its 6 cores and 12 threads, which is more than sufficient for this game's demands.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the decisive component in this pairing. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus width provide a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, but the benchmark results reveal that this is insufficient for The Medium's higher presets. The GPU's base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz are standard for the 20-series, yet the real limitation appears to be memory capacity and the Turing architecture's efficiency.

The data shows a stark contrast between Low and Medium settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 98.6 on Low to 64.1 on Medium, a reduction of over 34%. This pattern repeats at 1440p (85.4 to 52.8 FPS) and 4K (69.3 to 41.3 FPS). This consistent and significant drop suggests that the Medium preset introduces textures or effects that push the 8 GB VRAM to its limit, causing the GPU to spill over into slower memory or reduce throughput. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 18169 places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, but its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A400, is only 0.5% faster, showing it is an entry-level performer in the current market.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 9600X and RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1026 out of 1689 total tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the 39th percentile, meaning that 61% of tested systems outperform it. This is a surprisingly low rank for a CPU that sits in the 85th percentile of all processors, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor.

The CPU's own benchmark averages are strong: it scores 25525 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3603 in single-core. However, these scores do not translate into high FPS in this game because the GPU cannot keep up with the CPU's output. The rank reflects the system's overall capability in this specific title, and the data indicates that this is a mid-to-low tier configuration for The Medium, suitable for 1080p gaming but not for high-refresh-rate or high-resolution play.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the system's capabilities across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the system is most comfortable. The Low preset achieves an average of 98.6 FPS, which is excellent for smooth gameplay. Medium settings drop this to 64.1 FPS, still a solid number for most displays. High settings yield 46.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Ultra settings fall to 37.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for most gamers.

At 2560x1440, the performance degrades noticeably. Low settings produce 85.4 FPS, still very playable. Medium settings drop to 52.8 FPS, which is borderline. High settings fall to 39.9 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 28.1 FPS, making them difficult to play smoothly.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is severely challenged. Low settings manage 69.3 FPS, which is surprisingly playable. Medium settings drop to 41.3 FPS, High falls to 31 FPS, and Ultra drops to 25.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is effectively unplayable, while even High is not recommended for a consistent experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the best experience for this hardware is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, yielding 64.1 FPS. This provides a good balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. For players who prioritize frame rate, the 1440p Low preset at 85.4 FPS is an excellent alternative, offering higher resolution at the cost of some graphical details.

The High preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it consistently delivers FPS in the 40s at 1080p and 30s at higher resolutions, which is below the threshold for a comfortable experience. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as it only achieves a playable frame rate (above 30 FPS) at 1080p (37.1 FPS) and is below 30 FPS at all other resolutions. The data strongly suggests that the game's High and Ultra presets are too demanding for the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM and Turing architecture.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge). It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 32 MB shared L3 cache. Its synthetic benchmark scores are strong: 25525 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3603 in single-core, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

In The Medium, the CPU is not the bottleneck. The FPS drops when increasing settings are almost entirely attributable to the GPU. For example, at 1080p, the CPU can clearly feed the GPU enough data to reach 98.6 FPS on Low settings, but the GPU cannot maintain that when the load increases. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13490F, show a 0.3% difference in average score, indicating that any of these processors would perform identically in this game. The CPU's 12 threads are more than sufficient for the game's engine, and its boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures high single-threaded performance, which is often critical for game logic.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear pattern of FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K. For the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 98.6 at 1080p to 85.4 at 1440p (a 13.4% decrease) and then to 69.3 at 4K (an 18.9% decrease from 1440p). This relatively gentle scaling suggests that at Low settings, the system is not entirely GPU-bound, and the CPU still has some headroom.

However, for the Medium preset, the drop is more severe: from 64.1 FPS at 1080p to 52.8 at 1440p (a 17.6% decrease) and then to 41.3 at 4K (a 21.8% decrease from 1440p). This steeper decline indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiter, as the increased resolution and texture detail overwhelm the 8 GB VRAM.

The High and Ultra presets show even more dramatic scaling. High drops from 46.5 FPS at 1080p to 39.9 at 1440p (14.2% decrease) and to 31 at 4K (22.3% decrease). Ultra drops from 37.1 to 28.1 (24.3% decrease) and then to 25.3 (10% decrease). The relatively small drop from 1440p to 4K on Ultra (28.1 to 25.3) suggests that the GPU is already hitting a hard memory or compute wall, and additional resolution does little to change the outcome. This confirms that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting component, with the CPU offering ample performance headroom across all tested configurations.