The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination ranks 1258 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places the pairing in the bottom quarter of all tested systems, a position that reflects the GPU's age and the game's demanding rendering load. The data shows a configuration that can deliver playable frame rates, but only when settings are managed carefully, and it is clearly held back by the graphics card rather than the processor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1258 out of 1689 is a decisive indicator of its standing. It means roughly 74% of tested combinations outperform this pairing in The Medium, putting it in a percentile that suggests a mid-range experience at best. This is not a top-tier configuration for this title; it is one that requires compromise. The ranking is driven almost entirely by the RTX 2060 SUPER, which sits at the 63rd percentile among all GPUs. The Ryzen 9 7900X, by contrast, is a top-tier CPU at the 93rd percentile among all processors. The massive gap between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's mid-range percentile highlights a significant bottleneck: the processor has far more capability than the graphics card can utilize in this game. The result is a combo that underperforms its CPU potential, with the GPU acting as the limiting factor across all resolutions and settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the defining component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured results. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1470 MHz with a boost clock of 1650 MHz. These are modest figures by modern standards, and the data shows their impact clearly. The GPU's average benchmark score is 19774, placing it at the 63rd percentile. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (avg score 19706, deltaPct 0.3), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (avg score 19680, deltaPct 0.5), and the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (avg score 19623, deltaPct 0.8). The performance delta between the RTX 2060 SUPER and these cards is less than 1.3%, meaning it trades blows with hardware that is several generations old. In The Medium, this translates to a GPU that struggles under load. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's assets at 1080p, but the raw compute power of the TU106 chip, with 2176 shading units and 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, is simply not enough to maintain high frame rates at higher settings. The GPU is the clear performance ceiling for this combo.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, confirming the GPU-bound nature of this configuration. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves 42.0 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops this to 35.3 FPS, a decrease of 16%. At 3840x2160, the frame rate falls to 25.9 FPS, a 38% drop from 1080p. This scaling pattern is a textbook sign of a GPU-limited system: the CPU is powerful enough to feed the GPU at any resolution, so the frame rate is dictated by the graphics card's pixel throughput. The RTX 2060 SUPER's pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s is the limiting factor. The data shows that 4K gaming is largely out of reach for this combo, with even Low settings at 3840x2160 producing only 59.2 FPS. The jump from 1080p to 1440p is manageable, but the jump to 4K is not. This indicates that users should target 1080p or 1440p for a playable experience, as the GPU does not have the bandwidth or compute resources to handle 4K at acceptable quality levels.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in The Medium?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 93.9, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. At 3840x2160, the best result is 59.2 FPS on Low settings. High settings drop to 25.9 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 18.8 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 2070?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 19774, which is 0.5% higher than the RTX 2070's score of 19680. The performance difference is negligible in practice.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 7900X a bottleneck for this GPU?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark percentile (93rd) far exceeds the GPU's (63rd), indicating the processor is not the limiting factor. The GPU is the bottleneck in all measured scenarios.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth experience at 1440p?

A: Low settings at 2560x1440 produce 76.4 FPS, which is the only 1440p preset that exceeds 60 FPS. Medium settings drop to 48.0 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1258 out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the lower portion of the database.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a high-end desktop processor that is vastly overqualified for this pairing. It has 12 cores and 24 threads, based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its benchmark results are exceptional: the Cinebench R23 multicore score is 43695, and the single-core score is 6168. Its average benchmark score is 50556, placing it at the 93rd percentile. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 (avg score 50598, deltaPct -0.1) and the AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT (avg score 50738, deltaPct -0.4), showing it is within 0.8% of the top-performing CPUs in the database. In The Medium, this CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data, and it does so effortlessly. The game is not CPU-bound at any resolution or setting, as evidenced by the FPS scaling pattern. The CPU's large L3 cache of 64 MB and high memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s ensure that frame pacing is consistent, but the measured frame rates are always dictated by the GPU's limits. The data shows no scenario where the CPU holds the combo back; it is the GPU that determines the experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for the optimal settings preset. For a 60 FPS target, the only viable options are Low settings at 1920x1080 (93.9 FPS) and Low settings at 2560x1440 (76.4 FPS). At 3840x2160, Low settings produce 59.2 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold. For users prioritizing visual quality over frame rate, Medium settings at 1920x1080 offer 58.9 FPS, which is a reasonable balance. At 2560x1440, Medium settings drop to 48.0 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. High settings are not recommended for any resolution, as they produce 42.0 FPS at 1080p and 25.9 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings should be avoided entirely, with the best result being 30.5 FPS at 1080p. The data indicates that Low settings at 1440p provide the best combination of resolution and frame rate, while Medium at 1080p is the best choice for those who want better visuals without sacrificing too much performance. For a locked 60 FPS experience, Low settings at 1080p is the safest choice.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates shows a consistent pattern of GPU limitation. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 93.9 FPS on Low, 58.9 FPS on Medium, 42.0 FPS on High, and 30.5 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 63.4 FPS, demonstrating the significant performance cost of higher settings. At 2560x1440, the frame rates are 76.4 FPS on Low, 48.0 FPS on Medium, 35.3 FPS on High, and 24.9 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, averaging a 17% reduction. At 3840x2160, the results are 59.2 FPS on Low, 36.0 FPS on Medium, 25.9 FPS on High, and 18.8 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results show a dramatic falloff, with Ultra settings producing less than 20 FPS. The data shows that the combo can handle 1080p Medium at near 60 FPS, 1440p Low at over 60 FPS, and 4K Low at just under 60 FPS. No preset at any resolution achieves a comfortable 60+ FPS with High or Ultra settings. This breakdown confirms that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting factor, and users must choose between resolution and quality, with Low settings being the only reliable way to reach 60 FPS at higher resolutions.