The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 combination delivers a playable experience in The Medium primarily at 1080p, with performance scaling that clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The data shows this is a pairing where the CPU has ample headroom, but the graphics card’s 8 GB VRAM and memory bandwidth constrain ultra settings and 4K output.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This is a 65 W part designed for the AMD Socket AM4 platform, and its 16 MB of L3 cache, split as 512 KB per core for L2 and 64 KB per core for L1, provides solid throughput for gaming workloads. The CPU’s benchmark results indicate strong multithreading capabilities: it scores 20,655 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2,916 in single-core, with a PassMark multithread score of 24,303.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role appears to be secondary to the GPU. At 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 89.9 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 34.5 FPS. This 55.4 FPS swing across settings at the same resolution suggests that the graphics workload, not the processor, is dictating frame rates. The processor’s 84th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, and its closeness to rivals like the Intel Core i9-9900K (0.7% delta) and Intel Core i7-12700H (0.8% delta), indicates it has enough compute headroom for this horror title. Even when the GPU is stressed at 4K Ultra, where the combo falls to 20.1 FPS, the CPU is unlikely to be the limiting factor given its 8-core/16-thread configuration and high multithread scores. The data implies that the Ryzen 7 5700 is never the bottleneck; instead, it provides a stable foundation that allows the GPU’s limitations to become apparent as resolution and settings increase.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, featuring a boost clock of 2655 MHz and a game clock of 2250 MHz. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is the critical constraint in The Medium. The GPU’s 63rd percentile ranking versus all GPUs, and its near-identical average benchmark score to the RX 7600 XT (0.6% delta), shows it is a mid-range part. However, the measured FPS data reveals how the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus struggle with higher settings.

At 1080p, the RX 7600 delivers 89.9 FPS on Low but only 34.5 FPS on Ultra, a drop of over 61%. At 1440p, the Ultra preset falls to 26.9 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it crashes to 20.1 FPS. This pattern indicates that as texture quality and effects increase, the GPU’s memory bandwidth and capacity become saturated. The GPU’s pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s are adequate for lower settings, but the 21.75 TFLOPS FP32 compute cannot compensate for the memory limitations at high resolutions. The RX 7600’s performance in this game is clearly memory-bound, not compute-bound, as evidenced by the steep FPS declines when settings push past Medium.

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

The measured data shows that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate. At 1080p, Medium produces 56.1 FPS, which is above the 30 FPS threshold for playability and significantly better than the 34.5 FPS on Ultra. At 1440p, Medium yields 47.8 FPS, still smooth enough for most players, while High drops to 34.2 FPS. The Low preset is the only option that provides 60+ FPS at all resolutions: 89.9 FPS at 1080p, 80.1 FPS at 1440p, and 62.8 FPS at 4K. However, Low sacrifices too much visual quality for a horror game that relies on atmosphere.

The recommendation is to use Medium as the default preset. At 1080p, it delivers 56.1 FPS, which is 21.6% faster than High (40.9 FPS) and 62.6% faster than Ultra (34.5 FPS). At 1440p, Medium’s 47.8 FPS is 39.8% faster than High’s 34.2 FPS. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as it fails to maintain 30 FPS at 1440p (26.9 FPS) and 4K (20.1 FPS). For players with a 1440p monitor, Medium is the highest playable preset, while 4K users should stick to Low (62.8 FPS) or accept sub-30 FPS performance on Medium (40.7 FPS).

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 1180 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the 30th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 70% of the combinations tested. The rank is modest, reflecting the GPU’s mid-range standing rather than the CPU’s strength.

The CPU’s high percentile rank (84th) and the GPU’s lower rank (63rd) suggest that the combo is unbalanced for this game. The Ryzen 7 5700 is a top-tier processor, but the RX 7600’s memory constraints hold the system back. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the RX 7600 XT (0.6% delta), meaning the RX 7600 performs almost identically to its higher-tier sibling in synthetic benchmarks, yet the measured FPS in The Medium still struggles at high settings. This indicates that the combo’s rank is dragged down by the GPU’s inability to handle the game’s memory-intensive scenes, not by any CPU deficiency.

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

The FPS scaling across resolutions clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting component. From 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 56.1 to 47.8, a decline of 14.8%. From 1440p to 4K at Medium, it drops from 47.8 to 40.7, a further 14.8% decline. This consistent percentage drop indicates that the rendering load is scaling with pixel count, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is even steeper: 34.5 FPS at 1080p, 26.9 FPS at 1440p, and 20.1 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is 41.7%, showing that the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are unable to sustain the memory demands of Ultra textures at higher resolutions. In contrast, at Low settings, the FPS remains high across all resolutions (89.9 at 1080p, 80.1 at 1440p, 62.8 at 4K), with a 30.1% drop from 1080p to 4K. This smaller percentage drop at Low settings suggests that when the memory load is reduced, the GPU can handle higher pixel counts more efficiently. The data conclusively shows that the RX 7600’s memory subsystem, not the Ryzen 7 5700’s compute power, is the bottleneck in The Medium.

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

The full measured FPS dataset provides a clear picture of performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 89.9 FPS on Low, 56.1 FPS on Medium, 40.9 FPS on High, and 34.5 FPS on Ultra. The 1080p resolution is the only one where Medium exceeds 55 FPS, and Low is the only preset that hits 90 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance drops to 80.1 FPS on Low, 47.8 FPS on Medium, 34.2 FPS on High, and 26.9 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p Medium result of 47.8 FPS is the highest playable setting at this resolution, as High falls below 35 FPS and Ultra dips below 30 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are 62.8 FPS on Low, 40.7 FPS on Medium, 25.9 FPS on High, and 20.1 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low setting is the only one that maintains a smooth 60+ FPS, while Medium drops to 40.7 FPS, which is borderline playable. High and Ultra are effectively unplayable at 4K, with frame rates in the 20s.

The data shows a consistent pattern: Low settings are always playable, Medium is playable at 1080p and 1440p, and High/Ultra are only viable at 1080p. The transition from Medium to High incurs a significant FPS penalty at every resolution, confirming that the GPU’s memory bandwidth is the primary constraint.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution, as it is the only one where Medium (56.1 FPS) and High (40.9 FPS) presets maintain playable frame rates. At 1440p, only Low (80.1 FPS) and Medium (47.8 FPS) are viable, while 4K is limited to Low (62.8 FPS) for smooth performance.

Q: Can this combo run the Ultra preset?

A: Ultra is only marginally playable at 1080p with 34.5 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 26.9 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 20.1 FPS, both of which are below the 30 FPS threshold for playability. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution above 1080p.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting component. The Ryzen 7 5700 has a high average benchmark score of 27,220 and ranks in the 84th percentile, while the RX 7600’s performance drops significantly with higher settings due to its 8 GB VRAM and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The FPS scaling across resolutions confirms this.

Q: How does this combo compare to other systems?

A: This combo ranks 1180 out of 1689 tested combinations, placing it in the 30th percentile. The CPU outperforms rivals like the Intel Core i9-9900K by 0.7%, but the GPU’s mid-range standing (63rd percentile) drags down the overall rank.

Q: What settings should I use for 1440p gaming?

A: The Medium preset is the highest playable option at 1440p, delivering 47.8 FPS. High (34.2 FPS) is borderline playable, while Ultra (26.9 FPS) is not recommended. Low (80.1 FPS) provides the smoothest experience if frame rate is the priority.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this hardware?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which achieves 62.8 FPS. Medium (40.7 FPS) is playable but may feel inconsistent, while High (25.9 FPS) and Ultra (20.1 FPS) are too slow for a smooth experience in this horror title.