The Medium

The Medium is a horror title that demands a lot from both the processor and the graphics card, but the data for this specific pairing—AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER—shows a system that is heavily constrained by the GPU. The benchmark results indicate that this combination sits at rank 2606 out of 3724 tested combos, placing it in the lower half of the database for this game. This is not a pairing that will deliver a high-refresh-rate experience at maximum settings, but the measured frames per second reveal a clear path to playability if the right settings are chosen.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lives. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces an average of 92 FPS, which is a strong result. Moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 77 FPS, a decrease of roughly 16%. Stepping up to 4K Low yields 61 FPS, which is a 34% reduction from the 1440p figure and a 34% drop from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario; as the pixel count increases, the workload on the graphics card rises proportionally, and the frame rate falls accordingly.

The trend continues at higher settings. At Medium, the average FPS goes from 57 at 1080p to 48 at 1440p, then down to 38 at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K is 19 FPS, or a 33% reduction. At High settings, the numbers are 41 FPS at 1080p, 35 at 1440p, and 27 at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most punishing, with averages of 33 FPS at 1080p, 27 at 1440p, and just 21 at 4K. The consistency of the percentage drops across all settings confirms that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting component. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has ample headroom, as evidenced by the minimal performance delta between resolutions when the GPU is not fully saturated.

The data suggests that 4K is only viable for this combo at Low settings, where it can still push past 60 FPS. At Medium and above, 4K falls below 40 FPS, which is not ideal for a game that relies on atmosphere and timing. The sweet spot for resolution scaling is clearly 1080p, where the system can maintain higher frame rates even at more demanding presets serious enough to keep the experience fluid.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is an end-of-life product, and its performance in The Medium reflects its age. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The measured results show that this memory configuration is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the frame rate collapses at 4K when texture detail increases.

The card’s clocks are set at a base of 1470 MHz and a boost of 1650 MHz. These are modest figures, and the benchmark scores support the idea that this is a mid-range part. The GPU’s passmark G3D score is 16462, which places it at the 62nd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, which has an average score of 18159 and a deltaPct of -0.4, meaning the RTX 2060 SUPER is effectively on par with that mobile part. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 is also close, with a score of 18189 and a deltaPct of -0.5ukan.

In practical terms, the GPU’s role in The Medium is defined by its inability to handle high pixel counts with complex shading. At 1080p Low, the card can push 92 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 21 FPS. This 71 FPS swing is directly attributable to the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth. The 8 GB VRAM is not overflowing at 1080p, but the 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient for 4K textures at high settings, causing the frame rate to plummet.

The RTX 2060 SUPER’s 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores are present, but The Medium’s measured rows do not show a separate ray tracing toggle, so the data reflects standard rasterization. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 7.181 TFLOPS is the raw compute available, and it is simply not enough to sustain playable frame rates at 4K with High or Ultra presets. For this game, the GPU is the primary governor of performance, and users should treat it as such when selecting resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a Zen 5 part with 8 cores and 16 threads, running on the AM5 socket. Its base clock is 4.70 GHz and it boosts to 5.20 GHz, which are high figures that provide substantial single-thread performance. The CPU’s benchmark results are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23230 and a single-core score of 2080. The Geekbench single-core result is 2964, and the multi-core is 18696. PassMark’s single-thread score is 4430, placing it in the 87th percentile among all CPUs.

However, the data from The Medium shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low, the system hits 92 FPS, but the CPU is capable of much more. The nearest CPU rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS with an avgScore of 39603 and a deltaPct of 0.4, meaning the 9800X3D is just 0.4% faster. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 is 0.7% slower, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is 0.8% slower. This indicates that the 9800X3D is at the top of its class for synthetic benchmarks, yet the game’s frame rates are capped by the GPU.

The CPU’s 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a notable feature, and in CPU-bound titles, this would provide a significant advantage. In The Medium, the frame rate differences between resolutions at the same settings are purely a function of GPU load, which proves the CPU is not struggling. The CPU’s role here is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, and with 8 cores and 16 threads at 5.2 GHz boost, it does so without breaking a sweat. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (92) is likely not the CPU’s ceiling, as the GPU is already at its limit for that scene complexity.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2606 out of 3724 combinations places this system in the 30th percentile of all tested hardware pairings for The Medium. This is a low ranking, but it is not a surprise given the GPU’s age. The RTX 2060 SUPER’s average benchmark score is 18093, and it sits at the 62nd percentile for all GPUs, but the game’s specific demands push it lower.

Looking at the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RTX 3060 Mobile has a deltaPct of -0.4, meaning it is essentially identical in performance. The AMD Radeon Pro 5700 is 0.5% faster, and the AMD Radeon RX 460 is 1.5% slower. This tight grouping suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER is a known quantity, and its performance in The Medium is predictable. The CPU’s rank is much higher, but it cannot compensate for the GPU’s limitations.

The ranking implies that most other combinations tested, likely those with newer or higher-tier GPUs, will outperform this setup. However, the rank is not the whole story. The measured FPS shows that the combo is capable of playing the game at 60 FPS or above, but only at lower settings and resolutions. The 2606th place out of 3724 is a reflection of the GPU’s ceiling, not a failure of the CPU. For a builder, this ranking means the system is not competitive for high-end 4K gaming, but it is far from unusable.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for this combo is at 1080p with Low settings, which yields an average of 92 FPS. This is the only configuration that breaks the 90 FPS markcars. If a user prefers higher visual fidelity, 1080p Medium is the next best option, providing 57 FPS, which is still smooth for a horror game. The Medium preset at 1080p also has measured minimum and maximum FPS of 49 and 66, respectively, indicating a stable frame time.

At 1440p, the recommended preset is Low, which averages 77 FPS. This is a playable experience, but the drop to 48 FPS at Medium makes that setting less attractive. High and Ultra at 1440p are not recommended, as they fall below 36 FPS, which is too choppy for a game that requires precision. For 4K, the only viable option is Low, which averages 61 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 38 FPS, and High and Ultra are unplayable at 27 and 21 FPS, respectively.

The data clearly shows that the user must make a trade-off between resolution and settings. The optimal balance is 1080p Medium, which offers a 57 FPS average with a 49 FPS minimum, providing a good mix of visual quality and performance. If a higher resolution is desired, 1440p Low is acceptable, but users should not expect to enable High or Ultra without suffering severe frame rate penalties. The Ultra preset is only for those who prioritize visuals over playability, as it drops below 30 FPS at all resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset for this combo shows a clear hierarchy of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces an average of 92 FPScars, the highest of any configuration. Medium at 1080p averages 57 FPS, with a minimum of 49 and a maximum of 66. High at 1080p drops to 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 33 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1080p is the only resolution where High and Ultra are even marginally playable, with the former still above 40 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 77 FPS, which is a 15 FPS drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium at 1440p averages 48 FPS, with a minimum of 41 and a maximum of 55. High at 1440p averages 35 FPS, and Ultra drops to 27 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent, with roughly a 16% performance loss at each settings tier.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 61 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that stays above 60 FPS. Medium at 4K averages 38 FPS, with a minimum of 32 and a maximum of 43. High at 4K averages 27 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS. The 4K results show a steep decline, with the Ultra preset delivering less than a quarter of the FPS of the 1080p Low setting.

The minimum FPS data is only available for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p, the minimum is 49 FPS, at 1440p it is 41 FPS, and at 4K it is 32 FPS. These minimums are close to the averages, suggesting that the frame pacing is stable at Medium settings, which is important for a horror game where sudden drops can be jarring. The lack of minimum data for Low, High, and Ultra means that those configurations may have more variance, but the averages give a reliable indication of overall performance.