The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination delivers a highly capable, but ultimately resolution-bound, experience in The Medium. Benchmark data shows a system that scales predictably with settings, where the GPU’s immense power is the primary driver of frame rates, while the CPU’s strong single-thread performance ensures it never becomes a significant bottleneck. The measured results reveal a clear hierarchy: 1080p and 1440p gameplay is exceptionally smooth at most settings, but 4K Ultra presents a substantial challenge that pushes the combo to its limits.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It operates with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, figures that are central to its performance profile. The processor’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample fast storage for game data, while its 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth on a dual-channel DDR5 interface ensures the CPU can feed data to the GPU without starving it.

In terms of raw computational power, the 9600X’s benchmark scores are notably strong. Its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3603 and multi-core score of 25525 indicate a processor that excels in lightly-threaded workloads, which is often a critical factor in game logic and frame pacing. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 further corroborates this strength. The CPU’s percentile ranking against all CPUs is 85th, placing it in the upper tier of processors. Its average benchmark score of 28246 puts it in close competition with the Intel Core i5-13490F and AMD Ryzen 5 230, both of which are a mere 0.3% behind, and it sits only 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14500T.

For The Medium, a horror game that relies on a consistent frame rate for atmosphere, the CPU’s high single-core performance is more valuable than its multi-core muscle. The game’s logic, including AI and scene management, is often serialized, meaning the 9600X’s rapid single-thread execution helps maintain minimum frame rates and prevent stutters. While 12 threads are available for background tasks, the data suggests that the game’s performance is not limited by the CPU, as the GPU is the more demanding component. The 9600X’s 65W TDP also indicates an efficient part that won't introduce thermal complications that could throttle performance in extended sessions.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the undisputed performance leader in this pairing. Built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, it features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. This large VRAM pool is a significant asset for The Medium, which is known for its high-resolution textures and dual-world rendering mechanics that can consume substantial memory. The GPU’s 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs are backed by 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, making it a formidable piece of silicon for both rasterization and ray-traced effects.

The GPU’s clock speeds are also high, with a base of 2295 MHz and a boost of 2550 MHz. The memory is rated at 1438 MHz, translating to 23 Gbps effective. This configuration results in a pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s, ensuring that the GPU can fill frames quickly. Its FP32 performance of 52.22 TFLOPS provides the raw compute necessary for complex shaders and post-processing effects. The RTX 4080 SUPER’s benchmark results are equally impressive, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 246994. Its percentile rank against all GPUs is 88th, and its average benchmark score of 53610 is only 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT.

In practice, the RTX 4080 SUPER’s performance is the deciding factor in The Medium. The data shows that at lower settings, the GPU can produce very high frame rates, but as settings are raised, the load on the GPU increases dramatically. The 16 GB VRAM ensures that even at 4K Ultra, there is no memory-related performance cliff, but the sheer computational demand of the game’s highest visual fidelity is what ultimately caps the frame rate. The GPU is clearly the limiting component in this system, as the CPU is more than capable of keeping up with its frame delivery.

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

The measured FPS data across resolutions clearly illustrates the scaling behavior of this combo. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 191.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 124.7 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 67.2 FPS. This 35% performance loss when moving from 1080p to 4K is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU is not the limiting factor and the GPU is working harder to render more pixels.

At Medium settings, the drop is from 118.6 FPS at 1080p to 79.4 FPS at 4K, a loss of 39.2 FPS. The trend continues at High settings, with a decrease from 83.4 FPS at 1080p to 58.1 FPS at 4K, a 25.3 FPS difference. The most dramatic scaling occurs at Ultra settings, where the frame rate falls from 66.0 FPS at 1080p to 42.3 FPS at 4K, a drop of 23.7 FPS. This pattern is consistent: as resolution increases, the GPU is forced to process a much larger number of pixels, and the frame rate drops accordingly.

The relative consistency of the scaling behavior across different settings suggests that the CPU is not introducing a bottleneck at any resolution. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a smaller performance difference between 1080p and 4K, as the CPU’s work would be more constant. Instead, the data shows that the GPU is the primary component responsible for determining the final frame rate. The 1080p results, especially at Low settings, are high enough to suggest that the CPU could push even higher frame rates if the GPU were not the constraint. This analysis confirms that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the component that dictates the performance ceiling for this combo in The Medium.

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

The measured average FPS data provides a detailed look at the combo’s performance across all tested configurations.

• 1920x1080 (1080p): The performance is consistently high. At Low settings, the combo achieves 191.9 FPS, providing an exceptionally smooth experience. Medium settings yield 118.6 FPS, which is still excellent for any display. High settings reduce the frame rate to 83.4 FPS, which remains very playable. The most demanding setting, Ultra, produces 66.0 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

• 2560x1440 (1440p): The performance remains strong, though the GPU’s workload increases. Low settings deliver 162.4 FPS, a very high result. Medium settings provide 98.2 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors. High settings achieve 73.1 FPS, still a comfortable frame rate. Ultra settings fall to 58.1 FPS, which is below 60 but remains a playable experience, especially for a slower-paced horror title.

• 3840x2160 (4K): This is where the GPU is pushed hardest. Low settings yield 124.7 FPS, which is impressive for 4K. Medium settings drop to 79.4 FPS, a good result for the resolution. High settings are more demanding, producing 58.1 FPS, which is just under the 60 FPS target. The most demanding configuration, Ultra, results in 42.3 FPS, which is the only scenario where the experience may feel less fluid and where the GPU’s limits are clearly visible.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the comprehensive database of tested CPU and GPU combinations for The Medium, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER holds a rank of 68 out of 1689 combos. This places it in the top 4% of all tested systems, indicating that it is a high-end configuration capable of delivering a superior gaming experience. The rank reflects the combined capability of both components, and the results show that the RTX 4080 SUPER’s strength is the primary driver of this high standing.

The CPU and GPU individually also perform well in their respective categories. The CPU’s 85th percentile ranking and the GPU’s 88th percentile ranking suggest that both are high-performing parts. However, the combo’s rank of 68 is a result of the synergistic pairing, where the CPU’s strong single-core performance does not hinder the GPU’s ability to render frames. This is a well-balanced setup for this game, as the bottleneck is clearly on the GPU side, allowing the system to utilize the full potential of the RTX 4080 SUPER. The combo’s high rank indicates that it outperforms the vast majority of other systems tested, making it a top-tier choice for playing The Medium at high settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings for this combo?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 42.3 FPS.

Q: How does this combo’s performance at 1080p High settings compare to 1440p High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 83.4, while at 2560x1440 with High settings, it is 73.1 FPS, a difference of 10.3 FPS.

*Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main performance limiter in this system for The Medium?*

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component, as frame rates drop significantly with increasing resolution, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank among all tested CPU and GPU combinations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 68th out of 1689 tested combinations.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings achieve 162.4 FPS, while Ultra settings achieve 58.1 FPS, a difference of 104.3 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 4080 SUPER’s 16 GB of VRAM appear to be a limiting factor in this game?

A: The data does not show any VRAM-related performance drops, as the frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings, suggesting the 16 GB capacity is sufficient for the game’s demands.