The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination delivers a playable but demanding experience in The Medium, a horror title that clearly stresses the GPU. The data shows a wide performance spread across resolutions and settings, with the combo ranking in the bottom half of tested configurations. This pairing struggles to maintain high frame rates at higher quality presets, requiring significant graphical compromises to achieve smooth gameplay.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 60 FPS, and only at Low settings (81.2 FPS). At 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, even Low settings yield 72.3 and 57.4 FPS respectively, making 1080p the most reliable choice for high refresh rates.

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

A: The combo ranks 1383 out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the lower 18% of all systems. This indicates that while the hardware is functional, it is outperformed by the vast majority of other tested combinations in this specific title.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. Low settings produce 81.2 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 28.9 FPS. This represents a 64.4% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset at 1920x1080.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 3840x2160. The frame rate drops from 57.4 FPS at Low to 18.5 FPS at Ultra, a range that shows the graphics card struggling with the increased pixel count and visual fidelity, rather than a CPU limitation.

Q: Does the RTX 2060's 6GB VRAM cause issues at higher settings?

A: The measured data does not explicitly show VRAM-related stutters or crashes. However, the significant FPS drops at High and Ultra settings (27.4 and 18.5 FPS at 4K) are consistent with the GPU being overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and demanding textures, which are likely tied to the 6 GB memory capacity.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 FPS target at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, only Low settings achieve above 60 FPS with an average of 72.3 FPS. Medium settings drop to 45.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. Therefore, Low is the only preset that meets the 60 FPS goal at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the dominant component in determining The Medium's performance. The GPU's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The base clock of 1365 MHz and boost clock of 1680 MHz are the backbone of its processing power. The data shows a clear pattern: as resolution and settings increase, the average FPS drops steeply, underscoring the GPU's workload.

At 1080p, the RTX 2060 handles the game well at lower presets. The jump from Medium (50.6 FPS) to Low (81.2 FPS) is significant, showing that reducing visual effects and texture quality directly relieves the GPU. However, at higher resolutions, the GPU's limits become apparent. At 4K, even Low settings yield only 57.4 FPS, which is barely playable, and High settings plunge to 27.4 FPS. This indicates that the pixel throughput and memory bandwidth of the RTX 2060 are insufficient for smooth 4K gameplay in this title.

The GPU's architecture, based on the TU106 chip, includes 1920 shading units and 30 RT cores. While the RT cores are present, the game's performance at Ultra settings (18.5 FPS at 4K) suggests that the overall compute power is the limiting factor, not just ray tracing capabilities. The 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is simply not enough for the highest presets at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to a clear trade-off between visual quality and frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset provides a balanced 50.6 FPS, which is acceptable for a slower-paced horror game. However, for a smoother experience closer to 60 FPS, the Low preset at 81.2 FPS is the better choice. The High preset at 38.7 FPS is a compromise that may feel less fluid but offers better visuals.

At 2560x1440, the situation changes. The Low preset at 72.3 FPS is the only one that offers a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset at 45.5 FPS is playable but may feel slightly stuttery during fast camera movements. High (28.9 FPS) and Ultra (22.8 FPS) are not recommended for a playable experience at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, no preset provides a truly smooth experience. Low settings at 57.4 FPS are borderline playable, but Medium (35.9 FPS) and High (27.4 FPS) are too choppy for comfortable gameplay. Ultra at 18.5 FPS is essentially a slideshow. For 4K, the only viable option is Low, and even then, FPS drops are likely.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 81.2 at Low to 28.9 at Ultra. The Medium preset sits in the middle at 50.6 FPS, while High offers 38.7 FPS. This shows a steady decline as graphical fidelity increases.

At 2560x1440, the same trend continues but with lower overall numbers. Low settings produce 72.3 FPS, which is still above 60. Medium drops to 45.5 FPS, and High falls to 28.9 FPS. Ultra is the lowest at 22.8 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium is 26.8 FPS, indicating a significant performance cost for the visual upgrade.

At 3840x2160, the performance is the weakest. Low settings yield 57.4 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 35.9 FPS, High to 27.4 FPS, and Ultra to 18.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 21.5 FPS, showing that even a moderate settings increase has a large impact on performance at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1383 out of 1689 tested combinations places it in the lower percentile of systems. This suggests that the RTX 2060, while capable at lower settings, is not a high-end performer in The Medium. The CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D, is a powerful processor with an 82nd percentile ranking against all CPUs. However, this does not translate to a high rank for the overall combo, as the GPU becomes the bottleneck.

The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22366 and a single-core score of 3157. These numbers indicate a processor that can handle demanding workloads. Yet, the game's performance is clearly tied to the GPU, as evidenced by the FPS drops at higher resolutions. The combo's low rank is likely due to the GPU's age and performance class, not the CPU's capability.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D provides a solid foundation for gaming. With 8 cores and 16 threads, it has ample multi-threading capability. Its base clock of 3.00 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz, combined with a large 96 MB shared L3 cache, make it well-suited for gaming workloads. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Passmark multithread score of 26318, indicate strong processing power.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is likely secondary to the GPU. The FPS data shows that performance scales primarily with resolution and settings, which are GPU-intensive factors. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 6764 suggests it can handle the game's logic and physics without being a bottleneck. The data implies that the CPU is not holding back the system, as the FPS drops are consistent with GPU limitations at higher resolutions.

The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-1360P with a delta of 0.2%, show that the 5700X3D is competitive with other modern processors. However, this does not influence the game's FPS, which is dominated by the GPU. The CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU, but the RTX 2060's limits are what define the overall experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep and highlights the GPU's limitations. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 81.2 at 1080p to 72.3 at 1440p and then to 57.4 at 4K. This is a 29.3% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the drop is from 50.6 to 45.5 to 35.9, a 29.1% reduction. The trend is similar for High and Ultra presets, with 4K performance being roughly half of 1080p performance.

This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 2060 is the limiting component. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s and its pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s are unable to keep up with the increasing pixel count. The 4K resolution requires four times the pixels of 1080p, and the data shows that the GPU cannot maintain proportional performance. The FPS drops are not linear, suggesting that the GPU's compute resources are saturated at higher resolutions.

The implication is that for a smoother 4K experience, a more powerful GPU would be needed. The RTX 2060, with its 6 GB of VRAM and 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, is not designed for high-fidelity 4K gaming in demanding titles like The Medium. The data clearly shows that the GPU is the bottleneck, and the CPU's strong performance cannot compensate for this limitation.