The Medium

The Medium is a fixed-camera horror game that renders two simultaneous perspectives during its signature split-screen moments, which places an unusual load on both the GPU and CPU. The measured data for the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT shows a combo that lands at rank 1827 out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier for this title. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 5 processor with a 96 MB shared L3 cache and boost clock of 5.60 GHz, while the RX 7600 XT is a RDNA 3.0 part with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. The benchmark results reveal a system that can handle The Medium at playable framerates in specific configurations, but struggles at higher resolutions and quality presets. The following analysis breaks down exactly where this combo excels, where it falls short, and what the numbers mean for someone building around these components.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K in The Medium is steep and consistent across all quality settings, which points directly to the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At Medium settings, the average framerate falls from 60 FPS at 1920x1080 to 51 FPS at 2560x1440, then drops further to 40 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 33.3% reduction from 1080p to 4K, a significant hit that indicates the RX 7600 XT’s rendering pipeline is being saturated as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic: 96 FPS at 1080p drops to 81 FPS at 1440p and then to 64 FPS at 4K, a 33.3% loss from 1080p to 4K as well. The pattern holds for High and Ultra presets, with High going from 43 FPS at 1080p to 36 FPS at 1440p to 28 FPS at 4K, and Ultra falling from 34 FPS at 1080p to 29 FPS at 1440p to 23 FPS at 4K.

The fact that the framerate drops by roughly one-third from 1080p to 4K regardless of quality preset suggests that the GPU’s raw fillrate and shading capacity are the limiting factors, not memory bandwidth or CPU throughput. The RX 7600 XT has a pixel rate of 176.3 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 352.6 GTexel/s, and those figures are being pushed hard at 4K. At 1080p, the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, but at 1440p and 4K, the GPU simply cannot keep up with the increasing pixel workload. The data shows that Medium settings at 1440p, with an average of 51 FPS, is the sweet spot for this combo if you want a playable experience without dropping to Low. At 4K, even Low settings only produce 64 FPS average, which is technically playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

The resolution scaling also reveals that the gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, Low produces 96 FPS while Ultra produces 34 FPS, a delta of 62 FPS. At 4K, Low produces 64 FPS while Ultra produces 23 FPS, a delta of 41 FPS. This narrowing indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so bound by pixel throughput that quality settings have less relative impact. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as the CPU’s 8 cores and 16 threads are more than capable of handling the game’s logic at those framerates. The 96 MB L3 cache on the Ryzen 7 9850X3D helps with data locality, but it cannot compensate for the GPU’s 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 throughput being overwhelmed at 4K.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT’s memory configuration plays a notable role in The Medium’s results, though not in the way one might expect from a 16 GB card. The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The Medium is not a particularly VRAM-hungry title at the tested settings, so the 16 GB capacity is not the bottleneck. Instead, the 128-bit bus width and the resulting bandwidth are more relevant. At 4K Ultra, the game drops to 23 FPS average, and at 4K High it hits 28 FPS, which suggests that memory bandwidth is being strained when the GPU is pushing large framebuffers. The 288.0 GB/s figure is modest for a 4K workload, and the data reflects that limitation.

The clocks on the RX 7600 XT are another factor. The base clock is 1980 MHz, the game clock is 2470 MHz, and the boost clock reaches 2755 MHz. The measured FPS at 1080p Medium (60 FPS) and 1080p Low (96 FPS) indicate that the GPU can maintain high utilization when the CPU is not the bottleneck. However, the boost clock of 2755 MHz is not enough to overcome the pixel throughput demands at 1440p and 4K. The GPU’s 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs are the hardware that determines how fast pixels get drawn, and those figures are simply insufficient for 4K at high quality settings. The 32 ray accelerators are present, but The Medium’s fixed-camera design does not rely heavily on ray tracing, so they have minimal impact on these results.

The GPU’s percentile ranking versus all GPUs is 60, which places it in the middle of the pack. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (0.3% higher average score), AMD Radeon HD 7970M (0.4% higher), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (0.7% lower), and NVIDIA Tesla M4 (0.9% higher). Those comparisons are based on average benchmark scores, not The Medium specifically, but they provide context for the GPU’s overall capability. The RTX 3070 being only 0.7% lower in average score suggests that the RX 7600 XT is roughly comparable to that older NVIDIA part in general compute, but the measured FPS in this game shows that the RX 7600 XT’s specific architecture performs as expected for its tier. The 16 GB VRAM is useful for other titles, but in The Medium, it does not rescue the performance at 4K Ultra, where the 23 FPS average is firmly in unplayable territory.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT ranks 1827 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the 37th percentile of all tested systems. That ranking is below the median, which indicates that most other CPU-GPU combinations tested outperform this pairing in this specific game. The rank reflects the GPU’s limitations more than the CPU’s, as the Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a high-end processor with a 92nd percentile ranking versus all CPUs. The CPU’s average benchmark score is 58386, which puts it just above the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (0.1% higher) and just below the Intel Xeon w5-2545 (0.2% lower) and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (0.7% lower). The Intel Core i9-14900 scores 0.5% lower. These are synthetic benchmark comparisons, but they show that the CPU is not the weak link.

The combo rank of 1827 out of 2911 means that 1084 tested combos performed worse, while 1826 performed better. This places the system in the lower half of the distribution, which aligns with the measured FPS data showing that the RX 7600 XT struggles at higher resolutions. For a builder, this rank suggests that the CPU is overkill for this GPU in The Medium. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D is capable of feeding a much more powerful GPU, and pairing it with the RX 7600 XT leaves performance on the table. The data shows that the GPU’s 60th percentile ranking versus all GPUs is the limiting factor, and the combo rank reflects that mismatch. If the goal is to play The Medium at 4K with high settings, this combo will disappoint, but at 1080p Medium or Low, it delivers smooth framerates that are well within playable ranges.

The fact that the combo rank is 1827 while the CPU ranks in the 92nd percentile and the GPU ranks in the 60th percentile highlights the imbalance. A more balanced pairing would see the GPU rank closer to the CPU’s percentile, but the RX 7600 XT is simply not in the same class as the Ryzen 7 9850X3D for this game’s demands. The measured FPS at 1080p Medium (60 FPS) and 1440p Medium (51 FPS) are decent, but the combo’s overall rank is dragged down by the 4K results, where the GPU cannot keep up. The data does not indicate that the CPU is holding back performance in any tested scenario, as even at 1080p Low (96 FPS), the framerate is high enough to suggest the CPU has headroom.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this system in The Medium?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 at Medium settings produces 60 FPS average, which is the most balanced result. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average drops to 51 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Medium, it falls to 40 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, 1080p Low (96 FPS) or 1080p Medium (60 FPS) are the only settings that achieve that target.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM on the RX 7600 XT help in The Medium?

A: The measured framerates do not show a VRAM capacity benefit. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 23, and at 4K High it is 28, which indicates the GPU is limited by compute and bandwidth, not memory capacity. The 128-bit bus provides 288.0 GB/s, which is the more relevant factor.

Q: How does this combo compare to the RTX 3070 in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7600 XT’s average benchmark score is 17083, while the RTX 3070’s score is 17208, which is 0.7% higher. This puts the two GPUs within 0.7% of each other in general performance, though the RX 7600 XT has more VRAM (16 GB vs. the RTX 3070’s unspecified capacity in the data).

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9850X3D bottlenecking the RX 7600 XT at any resolution?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 96, which is high enough to suggest the CPU is not limiting. The CPU’s 8 cores and 16 threads with a 5.60 GHz boost clock are sufficient for this game, as the GPU is the clear limiting factor at 1440p and 4K.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1827 out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the lower 37% of all systems tested in The Medium. This rank is driven by the GPU’s performance, as the CPU ranks in the 92nd percentile versus all CPUs.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 1440p in The Medium?

A: No, based on the measured data. At 2560x1440, the highest average FPS is 81 at Low settings, but Medium produces 51 FPS, High produces 36 FPS, and Ultra produces 29 FPS. None of the 1440p settings reach 60 FPS except Low, which does so with reduced visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo in The Medium covers three resolutions and four quality settings, providing a complete picture of performance. At 1920x1080, the average framerates are as follows: Low produces 96 FPS, Medium produces 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 and maximum of 69, High produces 43 FPS, and Ultra produces 34 FPS. The Medium setting at 1080p is the only configuration that hits exactly 60 FPS average, which is the standard target for smooth gameplay. The minimum FPS of 51 at 1080p Medium indicates that there are occasional dips, but they stay above the 48 FPS threshold that many players consider acceptable. At 1080p Low, the 96 FPS average provides a large margin for demanding scenes, though the visual quality is reduced.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average framerates drop across the board: Low produces 81 FPS, Medium produces 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 and maximum of 58, High produces 36 FPS, and Ultra produces 29 FPS. The 1440p Medium result is the most interesting, as it stays above 50 FPS average but dips to 43 FPS at the minimum, which could be noticeable during split-screen sequences. The 1440p High result of 36 FPS is borderline playable, but the 29 FPS at Ultra is not smooth. The 1440p Low result of 81 FPS is the only 1440p setting that provides a consistently smooth experience, and it does so at a significant visual cost.

At 3840x2160, the average framerates are the lowest: Low produces 64 FPS, Medium produces 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 and maximum of 46, High produces 28 FPS, and Ultra produces 23 FPS. The 4K Low result of 64 FPS is playable, but the Medium setting drops to 40 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS target. The 4K High and Ultra results of 28 FPS and 23 FPS respectively are not recommended for gameplay. The minimum FPS of 34 at 4K Medium shows that the game can dip below 30 FPS in demanding moments, which would result in stutter. The data shows a clear pattern: this combo is only suitable for 4K at Low settings, or 1440p at Medium settings, or 1080p at Medium to High settings. For a horror game like The Medium, where atmosphere and timing matter, maintaining a stable framerate is crucial, and the measured numbers suggest that 1080p Medium is the safest choice for this system.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D’s role in The Medium is to provide enough single-thread and multi-thread performance to avoid becoming a bottleneck, and the data indicates it succeeds. The CPU has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its architecture is Zen 5 on a 4 nm process, with 96 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 22807 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2228 in single-core, and it ranks in the 92nd percentile versus all CPUs. Those scores are not directly indicative of gaming performance, but they show that the CPU has ample compute headroom. The Medium is not a heavily threaded game, so the 8 cores are more than sufficient, and the high boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensures that single-threaded tasks, such as game logic and physics, are handled quickly.

The measured FPS data supports the conclusion that the CPU is not the limiting factor in any tested configuration. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 96, which is a high framerate that would be difficult to achieve if the CPU were struggling. At 1080p Medium, the average is 60 FPS with a minimum of 51, and the fact that the framerate scales down as resolution increases (from 96 FPS at 1080p Low to 64 FPS at 4K Low) indicates that the GPU is the constraint. The CPU’s 96 MB L3 cache is particularly relevant for games with large working sets, and The Medium’s dual-world rendering might benefit from that cache, but the GPU’s limits mask any such advantage. The CPU’s TDP is 120 W, and it supports DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, which is more than enough for this game.

Compared to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D’s average score of 58386 is 0.1% higher than the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, 0.2% lower than the Intel Xeon w5-2545, 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i9-14900, and 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470. These are marginal differences, and they do not translate into meaningful gaming performance gaps in The Medium. The CPU’s 16 threads are more than the game needs, and the high clock speeds ensure that even the most demanding single-threaded sections of the game run smoothly. The data shows that if a builder were to upgrade the GPU to a more powerful part, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D would not hold back performance, as it has the headroom to feed a much faster graphics card. In this combo, the CPU is the strong link, and the GPU is the weak link, which is the opposite of many budget builds where the CPU is the bottleneck. The practical advice from this analysis is that the Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a future-proof choice, but it is wasted on the RX 7600 XT in The Medium at higher resolutions. The CPU’s 5.60 GHz boost clock and 96 MB L3 cache are the standout features, and they deliver as expected, but the GPU’s 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are simply not enough for 4K gaming in this title.