The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding dual-reality rendering challenge, and the benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics card at higher settings. The measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions and presets tell a story of a CPU that is ready for more, paired with a GPU that dictates the experience. This analysis breaks down the measured data to determine where the bottleneck lies and what settings provide the most playable experience.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is a desktop processor from the 5000 series, built on the Zen 3 architecture (codename Vermeer) using a 7 nm process at TSMC. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. This configuration is well-suited for a modern horror title like The Medium, which often needs to simulate two worlds simultaneously, a task that benefits from the CPU's 16 threads. The processor's 32 MB of L3 cache also helps with keeping frequently accessed game data close at hand.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 5800X posts strong numbers. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23571 and single-core score of 3327 indicate a high level of sustained multi-threaded performance and excellent single-thread responsiveness, the latter being crucial for game logic and frame pacing. The CPU's average benchmark score of 27606 places it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, showing it is a high-performing chip. Interestingly, its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 7 5800, which is only 0.3% faster on average, making them virtually identical in overall compute power. The data suggests the CPU is rarely the limiting factor in this game, as evidenced by the FPS scaling across different resolutions. When the resolution drops and the GPU load decreases, the FPS jumps dramatically (e.g., from 34.5 FPS at 4K High to 50.6 FPS at 1080p High), which points to the GPU being the primary bottleneck rather than the CPU.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

*Q: What is the best average FPS achievable with this combo in The Medium?*

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 106.7, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its closest rival?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X has an average benchmark score of 27606, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800's score of 27535 (the rival has a deltaPct of 0.3). This indicates near-identical multi-threaded performance between the two processors.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the frame rate drop below 30 FPS?

A: The only measured configuration that falls below 30 FPS is at 3840x2160 (4K) with the Ultra settings preset, where the average FPS drops to 25.2.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile ranking?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 holds a percentile ranking of 66 against all other GPUs, based on its average benchmark score of 23181.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Medium presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 92.8 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 56.6 FPS. This represents a significant performance cost of 36.2 FPS for moving from Low to Medium.

Q: Does the CPU show any signs of being a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No, the data indicates the opposite. The large FPS gains when lowering resolution (from 50.6 FPS at 1080p High to 106.7 FPS at 1080p Low) show the GPU has plenty of headroom, suggesting the 8-core CPU is not the limiting component.

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

The measured FPS data shows a clear and expected trend: performance degrades as resolution increases, but the rate of degradation reveals the system's bottleneck. At the Low settings preset, the average FPS drops from 106.7 at 1920x1080, to 92.8 at 2560x1440, and finally to 72.4 at 3840x2160. This is a 32% reduction in FPS from 1080p to 4K, which is significant but still playable. However, at the High settings preset, the drop is much more severe. The average FPS falls from 50.6 at 1080p, to 41.5 at 1440p, and then to 34.5 at 4K.

This steeper drop at higher settings is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. As resolution and graphical fidelity increase, the shading and rasterization workload on the RTX 4060 expands, causing frame rates to plummet. The CPU, with its high multi-core score, is able to feed the GPU with data, but the GPU cannot render the frames fast enough. The fact that the 1080p Low result (106.7 FPS) is nearly three times the 4K Ultra result (25.2 FPS) further confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint. The CPU is not the limiting factor here; the RTX 4060 simply runs out of pixel-pushing power when the resolution and settings are cranked up.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Within the database of tested system combinations for The Medium, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks at number 941 out of 1689 total combos. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms a majority of configurations but is far from the top. This ranking is a direct reflection of the GPU's performance, which is in the 66th percentile of all GPUs.

The CPU, by contrast, is in the 84th percentile, highlighting a mismatch in the system's overall capability. The ranking suggests that while the 5800X is a powerful processor, it is paired with a mid-range graphics card that holds the system back in a graphically intensive game like The Medium. The combo's position at 941/1689 indicates that users with higher-end GPUs will see substantially better performance, while those with weaker CPUs but similar GPUs might see comparable results. This data underscores that for this specific title, the GPU's capabilities are the primary determinant of the system's final rank.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the clear performance limiter in this combination. Based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, this GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a key factor for The Medium, which is known for its high-resolution textures and dual-world rendering. At 4K Ultra settings, the game's demand for memory and compute is so high that the GPU's 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is insufficient, leading to the low 25.2 FPS average. The GPU's boost clock of 2460 MHz helps in lighter scenes, but the overall workload is too great.

The GPU's benchmark results show a mixed bag. It scores 19545 in Passmark's G3D test, which is a decent mid-range result, but its DirectX 12 score of 76 is notably lower, suggesting potential driver or architectural inefficiencies in certain APIs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, is only 0.6% faster, while the Intel Arc B580 is a close 0.7% slower. This shows that the RTX 4060 is firmly in a competitive mid-range bracket. In The Medium, this translates to playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p with adjusted settings, but it struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K, especially on higher presets, confirming that the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

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

The following data represents the exact measured average FPS for this combo across all tested configurations.

• 3840x2160 (4K):
• Low: 72.4 FPS
• Medium: 44.9 FPS
• High: 34.5 FPS
• Ultra: 25.2 FPS

• 2560x1440 (1440p):
• Low: 92.8 FPS
• Medium: 56.6 FPS
• High: 41.5 FPS
• Ultra: 32 FPS

• 1920x1080 (1080p):
• Low: 106.7 FPS
• Medium: 69 FPS
• High: 50.6 FPS
• Ultra: 39.4 FPS

The data shows a consistent pattern. At 1080p, the Low preset is the only one that breaks the 100 FPS barrier. The Medium preset at 1080p (69 FPS) offers a 36% improvement over High (50.6 FPS). At 1440p, the Low preset is the only one that remains above 90 FPS, while Ultra dips to 32 FPS. At 4K, only the Low preset is playable, with Medium and High falling into the 30-45 FPS range, and Ultra dropping below 30 FPS. The step from Medium to High represents the largest relative performance hit at every resolution, making it a critical setting to adjust.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired smoothness, but a clear pattern emerges for the best experience.

For a 1080p display, the Medium preset is the most balanced choice, delivering a solid 69 FPS average. This is a 36% performance gain over the High preset's 50.6 FPS, while likely providing a substantial visual upgrade over Low. If a player has a high-refresh-rate monitor, the Low preset at 106.7 FPS is excellent for competitive smoothness, but Medium is the recommended starting point for most users.

At 1440p, the Low preset is the only option that consistently guarantees a smooth experience, with an average of 92.8 FPS. The Medium preset's 56.6 FPS is playable, but the significant drop suggests the GPU is working hard. For a more visually rich experience, the Medium preset is acceptable, but the data suggests that High (41.5 FPS) and Ultra (32 FPS) are too demanding for consistent gameplay. Therefore, Low is the recommended preset for 1440p to ensure frame times remain stable.

For 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option, yielding 72.4 FPS. The Medium preset's 44.9 FPS is a major compromise, and the High (34.5 FPS) and Ultra (25.2 FPS) presets are not recommended for a smooth experience. Given the sharp drop-off, Low is the only sensible choice for 4K gaming with this hardware, as it's the only setting that stays well within a comfortable playable range.