The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers a performance profile in The Medium that is heavily dictated by resolution, with the GPU acting as the primary scaling factor. The data shows a clear hierarchy across the four tested presets, but the margins between them shift dramatically as pixel count increases.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frames per second (FPS) data reveals a predictable, yet steep, decline in performance as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Medium preset, which is the only setting with complete min/max data, the average frame rate drops from 119 FPS at 1080p to 100 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 79 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33.6% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the rendering load scales significantly with pixel count.

The scaling pattern suggests that at 1080p, the system is not fully saturated, allowing for higher frame rates that approach the 148 FPS seen at the Low preset. However, the jump to 4K places a substantial burden on the GPU, as evidenced by the 4K Ultra preset dipping to just 45 FPS. This is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance; the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames, but the RTX 4080 SUPER's rendering throughput becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Comparing the Low and Ultra presets across resolutions clarifies this further. At 1080p, the difference between Low (148 FPS) and Ultra (68 FPS) is a massive 80 FPS, showing that the GPU is the bottleneck even at lower resolutions when settings are maxed. At 4K, the gap between Low (126 FPS) and Ultra (45 FPS) is 81 FPS, but the absolute values are lower, confirming that the GPU's workload is the dominant constraint. The data implies that a capable CPU, like the 5800XT with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is not the limiting component in this scenario; the RTX 4080 SUPER's performance ceiling is what determines the final frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience for this hardware combination, particularly at higher resolutions. At 4K, Medium produces an average of 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS, which is a playable and smooth result. In contrast, the High preset at 4K drops to 56 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 45 FPS, both of which are below the 60 FPS threshold that most users target for fluid gameplay.

At 1440p, the Medium preset shines even brighter, delivering 100 FPS average with a minimum of 85 FPS. This is a significant step up from the High preset's 72 FPS, and it provides a substantial margin above the Ultra preset's 57 FPS. The 1080p resolution with Medium settings yields 119 FPS average, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate displays, though the Low preset at 148 FPS is available for those seeking maximum frame rates.

The data suggests that Ultra settings are not recommended for this combo, as they consistently produce the lowest frame rates across all resolutions, including a sub-60 FPS experience at 1440p. The High preset is a viable alternative for 1080p (85 FPS) and 1440p (72 FPS), but it struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K. Therefore, the Medium preset is the clear choice for a consistent and high-quality experience, offering a 29% performance increase over High at 4K and a 39% increase over High at 1440p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the central component in these results, and its specifications directly correlate with the measured performance. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. This high bandwidth is crucial for The Medium, which uses a fixed-camera perspective with detailed textures; the data shows that even at 4K with Medium settings, the GPU maintains a 79 FPS average, indicating that the memory subsystem is not starved.

The GPU's clock speeds are also relevant. With a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz, the RTX 4080 SUPER can sustain high throughput. The architecture, Ada Lovelace, includes 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores, which are likely utilized for the game's lighting and shadow effects. The benchmark results show a passmark G3D score of 34245, which places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, confirming its high-end positioning.

The GPU's role as the primary performance driver is evident when examining the frame rate drops. Moving from 1080p Medium (119 FPS) to 4K Medium (79 FPS) results in a 40 FPS loss, which is directly attributable to the increased pixel fill rate demand. The GPU's 285.6 GPixel/s pixel rate is being taxed more heavily at higher resolutions, and the data reflects this. In comparison, the CPU's workload does not scale with resolution in the same way, reinforcing that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4080 SUPER and Ryzen 7 5800XT produce robust results across all presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 148 FPS, which is the highest measured in this dataset. The Medium preset follows at 119 FPS, with a minimum of 101 FPS and a maximum of 137 FPS. The High preset drops to 85 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the lowest at 68 FPS. This shows a clear performance hierarchy, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 80 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down proportionally. The Low preset still delivers a high 140 FPS average. The Medium preset is the standout, providing 100 FPS average with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. The High preset sits at 72 FPS, while the Ultra preset falls to 57 FPS. The data indicates that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, as it allows for high frame rates with Medium settings without pushing the GPU to its limits.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops are more pronounced. The Low preset remains playable at 126 FPS average. The Medium preset, which is the only 4K setting with full data, achieves 79 FPS average, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 90 FPS. The High preset drops to 56 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the weakest at 45 FPS. This resolution is demanding, and the data shows that only the Low and Medium presets maintain averages above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested combinations for The Medium, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks at 308 out of 3724 tested combos. This places it in the top 8.3% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing given the high-end nature of the components.

The rank reflects the GPU's performance, which sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 4080 SUPER's nearest rivals include the RTX 4080, which has a deltaPct of -0.1%, meaning the 4080 SUPER is essentially on par with its non-SUPER predecessor. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is -1.1% behind, and the Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is -2.7% behind. This indicates that the 4080 SUPER is slightly ahead of its closest competitors in raw benchmark scores, which translates to the high combo rank.

The CPU also contributes to this ranking. The Ryzen 7 5800XT has a percentile rank of 81 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29879. Its nearest rivals, such as the Ryzen 7 7840H, are within a 0.6% deltaPct, showing that the 5800XT is competitive with newer mobile and desktop parts. This combination of a top-tier GPU and a strong mid-range CPU results in a system that performs exceptionally well in this game, as evidenced by its high rank.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with Medium settings offers the best balance, achieving 100 FPS average with a minimum of 85 FPS. This provides a high frame rate with a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Should I use Ultra settings with this hardware?

A: No. The Ultra preset produces the lowest frame rates in all tests, dropping to 45 FPS at 4K and 57 FPS at 1440p. These are below the 60 FPS target, so Ultra is not recommended for a smooth experience.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the 1080p resolution produces 119 FPS, while 4K produces 79 FPS. This represents a 33.6% reduction in average FPS when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rates drop significantly as resolution increases, while the CPU has sufficient cores and threads (8 cores/16 threads) to keep up, as evidenced by the high frame rates at lower resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks at 308 out of 3724 tested combinations, placing it in the top 8.3% of all systems. This is a high rank, reflecting the strong performance of the RTX 4080 SUPER.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this system?

A: The lowest recorded minimum FPS is 67, which occurs at 4K with Medium settings. This is the only preset with a recorded minimum below 85 FPS, indicating stable performance in most scenarios.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT plays a supporting role in this configuration, and its specifications ensure that it does not bottleneck the RTX 4080 SUPER. The CPU features 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. This processing power is sufficient to handle the game's logic and physics calculations, as the frame rates at 1080p Low (148 FPS) demonstrate that the CPU can feed frames well above 144 FPS.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 32 MB of shared L3 cache, which is beneficial for gaming workloads that require frequent data access. The benchmark results support this, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23794 and a single-core score of 3359, placing it in the 81st percentile of all CPUs. This single-core performance is critical for gaming, as many titles rely on a few fast threads.

However, the data suggests that the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. When comparing the 1080p Medium (119 FPS) to the 4K Medium (79 FPS), the frame rate drop is entirely due to GPU load, not CPU limitations. The CPU is capable of maintaining high frame rates, but the GPU's rendering capacity is what ultimately defines the performance envelope. The 5800XT's nearest rivals, including the Ryzen 7 7840H with a deltaPct of 0%, confirm that this CPU is well-matched with the RTX 4080 SUPER, as it provides enough throughput to avoid becoming a bottleneck in this title.