The Medium

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT lands at rank 1049 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. That places this configuration in the lower-middle portion of the field, sitting just shy of the 62nd percentile of all recorded combinations. The ranking suggests this pairing is workable for the game, but it is far from a top-tier setup, with roughly 640 other combinations delivering higher average frame rates.

The positioning becomes clearer when examining the underlying components. The CPU holds an 84th percentile ranking among all processors tested, while the GPU sits at a 72nd percentile among all graphics cards. The gap between these two percentiles hints that the graphics card is the more limiting factor in this pairing. The CPU's average benchmark score of 27220 places it within 1.2% of its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i9-9900K which trails by just 0.7%, and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 which leads by 1.2%. This cluster of processors all perform within a narrow band, meaning the CPU choice is unlikely to be the decisive factor in frame rate differences.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 29024 puts it in a near dead heat with the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, which scores 29011, a delta of 0%. The Intel Arc A370M sits 0.5% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH is 0.6% ahead. This tight grouping around the 29000 mark suggests the RX 6650 XT is competitive with these specific alternatives, yet the overall combo ranking in The Medium indicates the game's demands push this hardware toward the lower half of results.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2190 MHz, which translates to 17.5 Gbps effective. The GPU's base clock is 2055 MHz, with a game clock of 2410 MHz and a boost clock reaching 2635 MHz. These clocks, combined with 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, produce a pixel rate of 168.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s.

In The Medium, the GPU's role becomes evident when examining the settings scaling at each resolution. At 1080p, the jump from Low to Ultra settings costs 66.2 frames per second, dropping from 97.5 to 31.3. The 8 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient for this game's demands, as the frame rates scale consistently without any sudden collapses that would indicate memory capacity limits being hit. The RDNA 2 architecture with 32 ray tracing cores is present, though the game's measured results do not isolate ray tracing performance specifically.

The GPU's 72nd percentile ranking among all graphics cards, combined with its average benchmark score of 29024, shows it operates in a mid-range tier. The nearest rival comparisons show a remarkable clustering: the RX 6800M scores 29011 (0% delta), the RX 470 scores 28996 (0.1% delta), and the Intel Arc A370M scores 29175 (-0.5% delta). This suggests the RX 6650 XT sits at a performance plateau where small architectural differences matter more than raw specifications.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how this combo responds to increasing resolution demands. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings drops the average from 43.7 to 38.6 frames per second, a reduction of 5.1 FPS. The same resolution step at Low settings costs 15.6 FPS, falling from 97.5 to 81.9. At Medium settings, the 1080p to 1440p transition reduces performance from 62 to 52.9, a loss of 9.1 FPS. The Ultra preset sees the smallest absolute drop, moving from 31.3 to 30.1, a mere 1.2 FPS difference.

Scaling from 1440p to 4K produces more severe penalties. At High settings, the frame rate falls from 38.6 to 31.1, a 7.5 FPS reduction. The Low preset drops from 81.9 to 63.7, losing 18.2 FPS. Medium settings decline from 52.9 to 41.6, a difference of 11.3 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K yield 22.7 FPS, down from 30.1 at 1440p, a loss of 7.4 FPS.

The pattern indicates the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases. At 1080p Ultra, the combo manages 31.3 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it falls to 22.7 FPS, a 27.5% reduction. However, the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads running at a boost clock of 4.60 GHz are sufficient to keep feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, evidenced by the 97.5 FPS result at 1080p Low. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU maintains headroom, but the GPU's limits become apparent when pushing toward 4K.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1080p delivers the highest frame rates across all settings, with Low preset reaching 97.5 FPS, Medium at 62 FPS, High at 43.7 FPS, and Ultra at 31.3 FPS. This resolution provides the most playable experience.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 scores 27220 on average benchmarks, placing it 0.7% behind the Intel Core i9-9900K which scores 27043, and 0.8% behind both the Intel Core i7-12700H and Intel Core i7-1370P, which score 27006 and 26991 respectively.

Q: Is the GPU competitive with similar options?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT scores 29024, which is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon RX 6800M at 29011 (0% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 470 at 28996 (0.1% delta). The Intel Arc A370M leads by 0.5% with a score of 29175.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 52.9 frames per second.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 43.7 at 1920x1080 to 31.1 at 3840x2160, representing a loss of 12.6 frames per second.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause issues in this game?

A: The frame rate scaling remains consistent across resolutions and settings, with no evidence of sudden performance collapses that would indicate VRAM capacity problems at the tested configurations.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 provides 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. The base clock runs at 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration produces strong multi-threaded results, with Cinebench R23 multicore scoring 20655 and single-core scoring 2916.

The CPU's benchmark profile shows a significant scaling from 2 threads to 8 threads. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1762 expands to 3382 at 4 threads, 5585 at 8 threads, and peaks at 6617 at max threads. This near-linear scaling through 8 threads suggests the game can effectively utilize the available cores. The PassMark multithread score of 24303 and floating point math score of 51427 further indicate solid computational throughput.

In The Medium, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, but the frame rates at 1080p Low (97.5 FPS) and 1440p Low (81.9 FPS) demonstrate the CPU can drive high refresh rates when graphical load is reduced. The 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with the 1.2% or less delta to its nearest rivals, places this processor in a well-populated performance tier. The 65 TDP and DDR4 memory support with dual-channel bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s round out a package that avoids becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data identifies the Medium preset as the optimal balance between visual quality and performance. At 1080p, Medium delivers 62 FPS, which is 18.3 FPS higher than High settings and 30.7 FPS higher than Ultra. The gap between Medium and High at 1080p is 18.3 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 12.4 FPS, showing diminishing returns at the higher presets.

At 1440p, Medium produces 52.9 FPS, which remains playable, while High drops to 38.6 FPS and Ultra falls to 30.1 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 81.9 FPS but sacrifices visual fidelity. For 4K gaming, only the Low preset achieves a comfortable 63.7 FPS, while Medium drops to 41.6 FPS and High falls to 31.1 FPS. Ultra at 4K produces 22.7 FPS, which is below acceptable thresholds for smooth gameplay.

The recommendation is to use Medium settings for the best experience. At 1080p, this provides 62 FPS, which is suitable for most displays. At 1440p, the 52.9 FPS average remains competitive, and even at 4K, Medium produces 41.6 FPS, which is more playable than the High preset's 31.1 FPS. Choosing Medium over High at any resolution provides at least a 10 FPS improvement, making it the sensible choice for sustained performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 97.5 FPS, Medium averages 62 FPS, High averages 43.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 31.3 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with each preset step costing between 12.4 and 35.5 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down proportionally. Low averages 81.9 FPS, Medium averages 52.9 FPS, High averages 38.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 30.1 FPS. The difference between Medium and High at this resolution is 14.3 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra narrows to 8.5 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. Low averages 63.7 FPS, Medium averages 41.6 FPS, High averages 31.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 22.7 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 41 FPS, compared to 66.2 FPS at 1080p, indicating that at higher resolutions, the GPU's ceiling compresses the differences between settings.

The data shows a consistent pattern: Medium settings offer the most stable performance-to-quality ratio across all resolutions, with the 1440p Medium result of 52.9 FPS and 1080p Medium result of 62 FPS being the most balanced options. The Ultra preset never exceeds 31.3 FPS at any resolution, making it impractical for smooth gameplay.