The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title known for its dual-reality rendering, presents a demanding workload that scales dramatically with resolution and image quality settings. The benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination reveals a system where performance is heavily dictated by the graphics card, yet the processor’s capabilities still establish the ceiling for high frame rates at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions, examining the distinct roles of the CPU and GPU in shaping the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a pronounced and expected drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the "Ultra" settings preset, the average frame rate falls from 42.0 FPS at 1080p to 32.0 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 10 FPS, and then further down to 23.0 FPS at 4K. This pattern indicates that at higher resolutions and settings, the rendering load on the GPU becomes the predominant bottleneck, scaling nearly linearly with the increase in pixel count.

Conversely, the scaling behavior at the "Low" settings preset tells a different story. Here, the average FPS drops from 107.1 at 1080p to 92.0 at 1440p, and then to 73.3 at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p is smaller in percentage terms than the drop from 1440p to 4K, which suggests that at 1080p Low, the system is not purely GPU-limited. The CPU is likely nearing its performance ceiling, preventing the frame rate from scaling fully with the reduced GPU load. This is a classic sign of a CPU bottleneck emerging at lower resolutions and settings, where the GPU has spare capacity but the processor cannot feed it data any faster.

The data implies that the RTX 4060 is the limiting component for most playable scenarios, particularly at 1440p and 4K or with higher quality presets. The transition from "Medium" to "High" at 4K results in a drop from 42.7 FPS to 33.5 FPS, and from "High" to "Ultra" a further drop to 23.0 FPS. These steep penalties for incremental quality increases highlight the GPU's finite processing power for this game’s complex volumetric effects and high-resolution textures. The game's fixed camera angles often render two perspectives simultaneously, which is a particularly heavy load for any graphics processor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark results are solid, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20755 and a single-core score of 2930. When comparing to its nearest rivals, it sits within a very tight performance band: it is 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U, 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon D-2752TER, and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core 5 210H. This indicates that the 5700G’s multi-threaded and single-threaded performance is competitive with modern mid-range mobile and desktop chips.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU in most of the measured scenarios, but it is not irrelevant. The 107.1 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is capable of driving high frame rates, but the scaling pattern indicates it may be a limiting factor beyond that point. The processor's 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s are adequate for feeding the GPU, but the game's engine likely relies on a few heavily-threaded tasks, which the 5700G handles with its 8 physical cores.

The fact that the FPS does not double when moving from 4K Ultra (23.0 FPS) to 1080p Low (107.1 FPS) underscores that the CPU is not the sole determinant of performance. If it were, the frame rate would likely be even higher at the lowest settings. Instead, the data suggests that the combination of CPU and GPU reaches a practical limit around 107 FPS in this title, which is still a very good result for a horror game where slow, atmospheric pacing is more common than fast action. The CPU's percentile rank of 83rd against all CPUs further confirms that it is a capable part, but not a top-tier one that would be the primary driver of frame rate in a GPU-intensive title like this one.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the clear workhorse in this configuration. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, it offers a memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. Its boost clock of 2460 MHz and 3072 shading units allow it to produce a solid 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The GPU's benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 19545, place it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. It is 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti, and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Arc B580, showing it is a firmly mid-range performer.

The measured FPS data directly reflects the GPU's workload. At 4K with "Ultra" settings, the average frame rate of 23.0 FPS is a clear indication that the card is overwhelmed. This is a scenario where the game's high-resolution textures and advanced lighting effects exceed the RTX 4060's capabilities. Even at 1440p, the "Ultra" preset yields only 32.0 FPS, which is barely playable. The GPU's 8 GB memory buffer might also be a contributing factor at 4K, as texture data could be spilling into slower system memory, but the fact that "Low" settings at 4K produce 73.3 FPS shows the card has raw compute power when not burdened by high-quality effects.

The RTX 4060's performance is more comfortable at 1080p. The "High" preset at 51.8 FPS and "Medium" at 67.8 FPS are both playable, and the "Low" preset at 107.1 FPS shows the card can deliver high refresh rates when the CPU allows it. The steep performance cliff from "High" to "Ultra" at all resolutions is a key finding. This suggests that the "Ultra" preset includes effects that are disproportionately expensive for the performance gain, such as ray-traced reflections or high-quality shadows, which are not well-suited to this card's mid-range positioning.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a clear picture of the system's performance across all tested configurations.

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows:

• Low: 107.1 FPS
• Medium: 67.8 FPS
• High: 51.8 FPS
• Ultra: 42.0 FPS

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 92.0 FPS
• Medium: 58.5 FPS
• High: 39.5 FPS
• Ultra: 32.0 FPS

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 73.3 FPS
• Medium: 42.7 FPS
• High: 33.5 FPS
• Ultra: 23.0 FPS

These numbers reveal a consistent hierarchy where setting quality has a more significant impact on FPS than resolution changes between 1080p and 1440p. For example, moving from 1080p High to 1440p High costs 12.3 FPS, while moving from 1440p High to 4K High costs only 6.0 FPS. This non-linear scaling is typical of a GPU that becomes less efficient at higher resolutions due to memory bandwidth limitations or pixel fill-rate demands. The gap between "Low" and "Medium" settings is also large, indicating that the "Medium" preset introduces significant computational complexity over "Low".

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium at with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets are playable. The "High" preset at 51.8 FPS offers a good balance, while "Ultra" at 42.0 FPS is also playable. At 1440p, only the "Low" preset (92.0 FPS) and "Medium" preset (58.5 FPS) are comfortably above 60 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance hit does the "Ultra" preset take compared to "High"?

A: The cost is significant at every resolution. At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 51.8 to 42.0, a loss of 9.8 FPS. At 1440p, it drops from 39.5 to 32.0, a loss of 7.5 FPS. At 4K, it drops from 33.5 to 23.0, a loss of 10.5 FPS. This preset appears to introduce disproportionately heavy effects.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G holding back the RTX 4060?

A: The data suggests a possible bottleneck only at 1080p with the "Low" preset, where the system reaches 107.1 FPS. The scaling from 1080p Low to 1440p Low (107.1 to 92.0 FPS) is not fully proportional to the pixel count increase, implying the CPU may be nearing its limit. In all other scenarios, the GPU is the primary limiting factor.

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K?

A: Yes, but only with significant compromises. At 4K with "Low" settings, it achieves an average of 73.3 FPS. However, with "Medium" settings, it drops to 42.7 FPS, and with "High" or "Ultra" settings, it falls to 33.5 FPS and 23.0 FPS respectively, which are not ideal for a smooth experience.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its closest rival, the Intel Arc B580?

A: The average benchmark scores show the RTX 4060 is 0.7% faster than the Intel Arc B580. This is a very small margin, suggesting they offer similar raw performance. However, the measured FPS data in this specific game is not available for the Arc B580, so a direct comparison in The Medium cannot be made from this data.

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p on "Medium" settings?

A: The measured average FPS for this configuration is 58.5. This is a playable frame rate for a horror game, providing a smooth visual experience that balances quality and performance.

Settings Recommendations

For this combination of AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, the "High" preset at 1920x1080 is the optimal choice for a balanced experience, delivering an average of 51.8 FPS. This provides a significant visual upgrade over "Medium" (67.8 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate that is well-suited for the game's deliberate pacing. Players seeking higher frame rates should consider the "Medium" preset, which offers a 16 FPS improvement and is very smooth, but with reduced visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the "Medium" preset is the recommended starting point, as it delivers 58.5 FPS. The "High" preset drops to 39.5 FPS, which may be acceptable for some, but the "Medium" setting provides a safer margin for maintaining consistent performance during intense scenes. The "Ultra" preset should be avoided at this resolution due to the sub-40 FPS average. For 4K, the "Low" preset at 73.3 FPS is the only option that provides a smooth experience, but the visual downgrade is substantial. Users prioritizing visual quality over frame rate at 4K could try "Medium" at 42.7 FPS, but this may not be stable enough for all players.

The data clearly shows that the "Ultra" preset offers a poor performance-per-visual-cost ratio for this hardware. The significant FPS drop across all resolutions suggests that it enables effects that are too demanding for the RTX 4060. Therefore, the "High" preset is the sweet spot for the best overall experience, capturing most of the game's visual richness without sacrificing playability.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Medium, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks at 951 out of 1689 total combinations. This places it in the middle of the pack, indicating that it is a solid but not top-tier performer for this specific title. The ranking is more reflective of the GPU's limitations at high resolutions and settings than the CPU's capabilities, given that the RTX 4060 is a mid-range card that struggles with the game's "Ultra" preset.

The rank of 951 suggests that a significant number of other hardware configurations can achieve higher frame rates in The Medium. This is expected, as the game is demanding, and systems with higher-end GPUs like the RTX 4080 or RX 7900 XTX would naturally rank higher. However, the 5700G and RTX 4060 combination still provides a playable experience at 1080p and 1440p with the right settings, making it a viable option for gamers with modest performance expectations. The position in the middle of the ranking highlights that while this combo is not exceptional, it is also far from being inadequate, providing a functional baseline for playing a visually complex horror game.