The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination delivers a playable experience in The Medium only at lower settings and resolutions, with the data showing a hard ceiling at 4K Ultra. The benchmark results indicate that this system is firmly a 1080p and 1440p machine for this title, where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is a Zen 4 (Raphael) desktop processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running on the AMD Socket AM5 platform. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz, and it can boost up to 5.30 GHz. This 65W TDP chip uses a 5 nm process from TSMC and supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, offering 83.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The processor features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 32 MB L3 cache.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 7700 shows strong scaling from 2 to 8 threads. Its 3dmark scores progress from 2043 with 2 threads to 3931 with 4 threads, then 6933 with 8 threads, and finally 8484 with 16 threads. The Cinebench R23 results reflect the same pattern, with a single-core score of 1930 and a multi-core score of 18760. This indicates that the CPU has ample headroom for gaming workloads, which typically rely on fewer threads.

The processor sits in the 87th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40081. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (0.1% higher score), Intel Core 5 221E (0.2% lower), AMD Ryzen 9 270 (0.4% lower), and Intel Core i9-13905H (0.6% lower). These are all very close scores, meaning the 7700 is competitive with these parts in general compute tasks.

For The Medium, the CPU's 16 threads are more than sufficient. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work, the average frame rate reaches 101 FPS. At 4K Low, the average drops to 67 FPS, which is a significant reduction that cannot be attributed to the CPU, as the core count and clock speeds remain constant. The single-thread performance of 1930 in Cinebench R23 suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately.

The PassMark multi-thread score of 34470 and single-thread score of 4063 further confirm that the 7700 is not the limiting factor in this game. The data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, FPS drops proportionally, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are ready to handle the game's logic and draw calls, but the rendering workload is what determines the final frame rate.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 44 chip, manufactured on a 4 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. Its memory runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed.

The GPU's compute resources include 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, 64 raster output units, and 28 ray tracing cores. It delivers 21.43 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and has a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s, with a texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s. The card has a TDP of 132W and requires a 300W power supply, connecting via a single 8-pin connector and PCIe 5.0 x16 interface.

In the overall GPU hierarchy, the RX 9060 sits in the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16014. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (0.7% higher score), AMD Radeon R9 370X (1% lower), AMD Radeon RX 7700 (1% lower), and AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (2.1% lower). The PassMark G3D score of 17631 shows the GPU's raw 3D performance, while the DirectX 12 score of 44 is notably low, suggesting potential driver or optimization issues with that specific API test.

The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is a critical factor in The Medium. At 4K Ultra, the game delivers only 24 FPS average, while dropping to 4K Medium yields 42 FPS and 4K Low reaches 67 FPS. This massive swing between settings indicates that the GPU is struggling with both memory capacity and compute load at higher presets. The 128-bit memory bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth may also be limiting, as the game's high-resolution textures require substantial data throughput.

The measured results show that the RX 9060 is the primary bottleneck in this system. At 1080p Low, it achieves 101 FPS, but this drops to 36 FPS at 1080p Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra at the same resolution is 65 FPS, which is a direct reflection of the GPU's compute and memory limitations under increased graphical load.

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

The resolution scaling data clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 101 at 1080p to 85 at 1440p, then to 67 at 4K. This represents a 33.7% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is a relatively modest decline given the 4x increase in pixel count. This suggests that at Low settings, the game is not fully stressing the GPU, and the CPU has enough headroom to maintain reasonable frame rates.

At Medium settings, the pattern changes. The average FPS goes from 63 at 1080p to 53 at 1440p, then to 42 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 20.8%, which is larger than the drop from 1080p to 1440p at 15.9%. This accelerating decline indicates that the GPU is becoming more constrained as resolution increases, with the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus starting to bottleneck.

High settings show a similar but more pronounced trend. The average FPS falls from 45 at 1080p to 38 at 1440p, then to 30 at 4K. The 4K result is exactly 30 FPS, which is the minimum for playability on many displays, but the 1440p result of 38 FPS is already below the 40 FPS threshold that many players consider smooth. The data shows that High settings are only viable at 1080p, where 45 FPS is achievable.

Ultra settings reveal the GPU's hard limit. The average FPS is 36 at 1080p, 30 at 1440p, and 24 at 4K. This is a consistent degradation where each resolution step costs roughly 6 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS is barely playable, and the 1440p Ultra result of 30 FPS is marginal. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 43 FPS, while at 1080p it is 65 FPS, showing that the GPU's performance ceiling is much lower at higher resolutions.

The Medium settings provide the only data with min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the range is 53 to 72 FPS with an average of 63. At 1440p Medium, the range tightens to 45 to 61 with an average of 53. At 4K Medium, the range is 35 to 48 with an average of 42. This shows that frame pacing becomes more consistent at higher resolutions, but the overall performance drops, further confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it achieves 67 FPS average. At Medium settings, it drops to 42 FPS, and at Ultra, it falls to 24 FPS. The 4K High setting yields 30 FPS, which is the minimum for playable.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination?

A: 1080p provides the most consistent experience. At Low settings, the system reaches 101 FPS, and even at High settings, it maintains 45 FPS. 1440p is viable for Low and Medium settings, with 85 FPS and 53 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RX 9060's average benchmark score of 16014 is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti's score of 16129. It is 1% higher than both the AMD Radeon R9 370X and AMD Radeon RX 7700.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 7700 powerful enough for this game?

A: Yes. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, provide ample performance. Its average benchmark score of 40081 places it in the 87th percentile, and it is within 0.6% of its nearest rivals.

Q: What are the FPS differences between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The average FPS drops from 101 at Low to 63 at Medium, then to 45 at High, and finally to 36 at Ultra. This represents a 64.4% reduction from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause issues in this game?

A: The data suggests it limits high-resolution performance. At 4K Ultra, the system only achieves 24 FPS, and at 4K High, it reaches 30 FPS. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth and 128-bit bus may also contribute to these results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 101 FPS on Low, 63 FPS on Medium with a range of 53 to 72, 45 FPS on High, and 36 FPS on Ultra. The 1080p results show that the system can handle the game smoothly at Low and Medium, but High and Ultra require compromises.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 85 on Low, 53 on Medium with a range of 45 to 61, 38 on High, and 30 on Ultra. The 1440p results indicate that only Low and Medium settings provide playable frame rates above 50 FPS. High settings at 38 FPS are borderline, while Ultra at 30 FPS is the minimum playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, the system achieves 67 FPS on Low, 42 FPS on Medium with a range of 35 to 48, 30 FPS on High, and 24 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results show that only Low settings provide a comfortable frame rate. Medium settings at 42 FPS are playable but with noticeable drops to 35 FPS. High and Ultra are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each settings tier costs approximately 20-30% performance at the same resolution. For example, at 1080p, going from Low to Medium costs 38 FPS, from Medium to High costs 18 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 9 FPS. This suggests diminishing returns as settings increase.

The min and max FPS values for Medium settings show that frame pacing is relatively stable. At 1080p, the range is 19 FPS; at 1440p, it is 16 FPS; and at 4K, it is 13 FPS. This indicates that the game becomes more consistent at higher resolutions, but the lower average FPS makes this consistency less impactful.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings depend on the target resolution. At 1080p, Medium settings provide the best balance, with an average of 63 FPS and a range of 53 to 72. This keeps the frame rate above 60 FPS for most of the gameplay while offering better visuals than Low. High settings at 45 FPS are playable but do not maintain a consistent 60 FPS.

At 1440p, Low settings are the best choice for smooth gameplay, delivering 85 FPS average. Medium settings at 53 FPS are acceptable for players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, but the 45 FPS minimum may cause noticeable stutters in intense scenes. High settings at 38 FPS are not recommended for action sequences.

At 4K, only Low settings provide a playable experience, with 67 FPS average. Medium settings at 42 FPS are borderline, with a minimum of 35 FPS that may dip below comfortable levels. High and Ultra settings at 30 and 24 FPS respectively are only suitable for screenshots or very slow-paced exploration.

For the best overall experience, 1080p Medium is the recommended preset. It provides the highest frame rate above 60 FPS with a reasonable visual quality improvement over Low. Players with 1440p monitors should choose Low settings for competitive frame rates, while 4K users should stick to Low for any semblance of smoothness.

The data shows that the RX 9060's 8 GB VRAM is the primary constraint at higher settings. The massive FPS drop from Low to Ultra at the same resolution indicates that the GPU cannot handle the increased texture and shader complexity. Players should prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity with this hardware combination.

The system's overall rank of 1648 out of 2911 combinations in this game places it in the lower-middle tier. This suggests that while the CPU is strong, the GPU holds back the system in The Medium. The measured results confirm that this is a 1080p gaming setup for this specific title, with 1440p possible only at lower quality presets.