The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 occupies the 1525th position out of 2911 tested combinations for The Medium, placing it near the middle of the database. This rank reflects a system that can handle the game at playable framerates, but it is not a top-tier performer. The data shows a configuration that is balanced enough for 1080p and 1440p gaming, yet it struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K with higher graphical presets. The following analysis breaks down the measured results to explain exactly where this combo excels and where it falls short.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame metric places this specific pairing in the 1525th slot out of 2911 tested combinations, which translates to roughly the 52nd percentile of all systems tested. This middling rank suggests that while the hardware is competent, it is not optimized for pushing The Medium to its absolute limits. The ranking is a composite result of the CPU and GPU working together, and the data indicates that the RTX 4060 is the primary constraint in this pairing, especially at higher resolutions and settings.

When examining the individual components, the CPU is a strong performer. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D achieves a percentileVsAllCpus of 92, meaning it outperforms 92 percent of all CPUs in the benchmark database. Its avgBenchmarkScore of 58386 places it in close contention with several high-end rivals. For instance, it is only 0.1 percent ahead of the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, which scores 58323, and 0.5 percent ahead of the Intel Core i9-14900, which scores 58115. Conversely, it trails the Intel Xeon w5-2545 by 0.2 percent (58504) and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 by 0.7 percent (58826). These narrow margins indicate that the CPU is not a bottleneck; it is delivering performance comparable to some of the most powerful processors available.

The GPU, on the other hand, shows a different story. The RTX 4060 has a percentileVsAllGpus of 61, placing it above average but far from the top. Its avgBenchmarkScore of 17639 puts it in a tight race with older and less powerful cards. It is 0.2 percent behind the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666) and 0.3 percent ahead of the AMD Radeon 780M (17588). It also leads the AMD Radeon Pro 560 by 0.5 percent (17551) and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 by 0.7 percent (17509). The deltaPct values here are small, suggesting that the RTX 4060 is a mid-tier GPU that competes closely with integrated graphics from the Radeon 780M, which is a notable comparison for a discrete card. This GPU performance cap explains why the overall combo rank is not higher, as the CPU is clearly capable of more.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using the AD107 chip, manufactured on a 5nm process at TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. The memory clock is listed at 2125 MHz, with an effective data rate of 17 Gbps. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, which are the clock speeds that directly influence the framerates measured in The Medium.

In the game’s measured FPS data, the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient for most settings, but the bandwidth and clock speeds become limiting factors at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average framerate drops to 25 FPS, which is barely playable, while at 4K Low it jumps to 72 FPS. This wide variance shows that the GPU is heavily taxed by the game’s graphical demands at 4K. The boost clock of 2460 MHz helps at lower resolutions, as seen in the 1080p Low result of 108 FPS, but the GPU’s raw compute power (15.11 TFLOPS FP32) is not enough to maintain high framerates when the resolution scales up. The RTX 4060 also has 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores, which are relevant for the game’s horror atmosphere and lighting effects, but the data does not isolate ray tracing performance separately. The pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s provide a theoretical basis for why the card performs adequately at 1080p but struggles at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve a consistent 60+ FPS?

A: The only settings that reach above 60 FPS are Low presets across all resolutions, with 1080p Low at 108 FPS, 1440p Low at 91 FPS, and 4K Low at 72 FPS. For a more standard Medium preset, the framerate only exceeds 60 FPS at 1080p, where it averages 68 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 7 9850X3D scores 58386, which is 0.1 percent higher than the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323) and 0.5 percent higher than the Intel Core i9-14900 (58115). It is 0.2 percent lower than the Intel Xeon w5-2545 (58504) and 0.7 percent lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (58826).

Q: Does the RTX 4060’s performance in The Medium align with its general benchmark standing?

A: No, the GPU’s percentileVsAllGpus is 61, indicating above-average general performance, but in The Medium, it only achieves a 68 FPS average at 1080p Medium. The game is demanding enough that the card falls to 32 FPS at 4K Ultra, showing its limits are reached quickly.

Q: Is there a single graphics setting that provides a balanced experience across all resolutions?

A: The Medium preset provides a balanced experience, with framerates of 68 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. It is the only preset that maintains playable framerates at all tested resolutions, though 4K is borderline. The Low preset is the only one that exceeds 60 FPS at every resolution.

Q: How much of a performance drop is seen when moving from 1080p to 4K on the same settings?

A: At Medium settings, the framerate drops from 68 FPS at 1080p to 57 FPS at 1440p, then to 45 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33.8 percent reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the drop is from 108 FPS to 72 FPS, a 33.3 percent reduction.

Q: What is the framerate range at Medium settings for each resolution?

A: At 1080p Medium, the framerate ranges from 58 to 78 FPS, with an average of 68. At 1440p Medium, it ranges from 49 to 66 FPS, averaging 57. At 4K Medium, it ranges from 38 to 52 FPS, averaging 45.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo’s performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 108 FPS, which is the highest framerate recorded for this configuration. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 68 FPS, with a minimum of 58 and maximum of 78. The High preset yields 49 FPS, and Ultra drops further to 39 FPS. This pattern shows that at 1080p, the RTX 4060 can handle the game comfortably up to Medium settings, with High and Ultra becoming increasingly demanding.

At 2560x1440, the same settings show a clear step-down. Low averages 91 FPS, which is still smooth, but Medium falls to 57 FPS with a range of 49 to 66. High drops to 41 FPS, and Ultra reaches only 32 FPS. The 1440p results indicate that the GPU is beginning to struggle with higher presets, as the framerate at High and Ultra falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider ideal for gaming. The difference between Low and Medium at this resolution is 34 FPS, showing that the Medium preset introduces a significant performance cost.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s limitations become apparent. Low averages 72 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium drops to 45 FPS with a range of 38 to 52. High averages only 32 FPS, and Ultra falls to 25 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The data shows a consistent pattern: at 4K, only the Low preset is viable for a responsive experience. The framerate drop from Low to Medium at 4K is 27 FPS, and from Medium to High is another 13 FPS, illustrating how quickly performance degrades as settings increase.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a 9000-series processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture with the codename Granite Ridge. It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, which are high values that indicate strong single-thread and multi-thread performance. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 cache is a key feature of the X3D series, though the data does not specify whether this is a 3D V-Cache variant.

In terms of synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 22807 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2228 in single-core. It also achieves a passmark single-thread score of 4704 and a multithread score of 41318. These numbers confirm that the CPU is not a limiting factor in The Medium. The game’s performance is likely more dependent on GPU, given that the CPU is in the top 8 percent of all processors. The CPU’s nearest rivals are all within 0.7 percent of its average score, indicating that it is exactly on par with other high-end desktop and workstation chips. In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with data, and at 1080p Low, the 108 FPS result shows that the CPU can handle high framerates without bottlenecking the RTX 4060.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user’s priority for framerate versus visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset is the best choice for a balanced experience, offering an average of 68 FPS with a range of 58 to 78. This stays above the 60 FPS mark and provides a good visual upgrade over Low. The High preset at 49 FPS is playable but may feel less smooth for fast-paced scenes, while Ultra at 39 FPS is only for those who prioritize graphics over performance.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only one that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 91 FPS. The Medium preset at 57 FPS is the highest setting that remains near the 60 FPS target, making it the recommended choice for 1440p gaming. High at 41 FPS and Ultra at 32 FPS are too low for a smooth experience, so they are not recommended unless the user is willing to accept significant frame drops.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 72 FPS is the only viable option for smooth gameplay. Medium at 45 FPS is playable but may be inconsistent, while High at 32 FPS and Ultra at 25 FPS are below the threshold for comfortable gaming. For users who insist on 4K with this hardware, Low is the clear recommendation. For those who prefer higher visual quality, dropping to 1440p Medium or 1080p Medium provides a much better experience than pushing 4K High or Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows how the combo’s performance scales with resolution, revealing the GPU as the primary limiting component. At Low settings, the framerate drops from 108 FPS at 1080p to 91 FPS at 1440p, a 15.7 percent reduction, and then to 72 FPS at 4K, a further 20.9 percent reduction. This pattern indicates that even at the lowest settings, the RTX 4060’s rendering load increases significantly with pixel count, but it remains capable of delivering playable framerates.

At Medium settings, the scaling is more pronounced. The framerate falls from 68 FPS at 1080p to 57 FPS at 1440p, a 16.2 percent drop, and then to 45 FPS at 4K, a 21.1 percent drop. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K at Medium is 33.8 percent. At High settings, the drop is from 49 FPS at 1080p to 41 FPS at 1440p (16.3 percent) and then to 32 FPS at 4K (22.0 percent). At Ultra, the framerate goes from 39 FPS at 1080p to 32 FPS at 1440p (17.9 percent) and then to 25 FPS at 4K (21.9 percent).

These consistent percentage drops across settings indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU’s performance does not change with resolution. The RTX 4060’s memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s and 8 GB VRAM become taxed at higher resolutions, leading to the observed framerate declines. The data suggests that 1080p is the sweet spot for this combo, with 1440p being acceptable at Low or Medium, and 4K only being viable at Low settings. The framerate scaling is linear enough to predict that any resolution above 1440p will require a significant compromise in settings to maintain a consistent experience.