The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the AMD Radeon 760M is a combination defined by a stark imbalance: a top-tier mobile processor harnessed to an entry-level integrated graphics solution. In The Medium, a game that demands significant GPU resources, this pairing results in a playability profile that is severely constrained by the graphics side. The data shows a system that can handle the CPU's heavy multithreaded workloads but consistently fails to translate that capability into smooth frame rates, landing it in the bottom percentile of all tested combinations for this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a classic case of GPU-bound scaling, where the integrated Radeon 760M is the primary bottleneck across all tested resolutions. The drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but consistent, indicating that the GPU is saturated even at the lowest settings. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 31 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low, this falls to 26 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, it plummets to 21 FPS. This represents a 32% reduction in average frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, a clear sign that the rendering pipeline is overwhelmed.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced as settings increase. At Medium settings, the average frame rates are 19 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and 13 FPS at 4K. The gap between resolutions narrows in percentage terms at higher settings because the GPU is already struggling to maintain even single-digit frame rates. For instance, at Ultra settings, the game runs at 11 FPS at 1080p, 9 FPS at 1440p, and 7 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is only 4 FPS, whereas at Low it is 10 FPS. This compression of the performance envelope at higher settings is typical of a GPU that has reached its absolute limit, where resolution changes have a diminishing impact because the shading and fill-rate demands are already exceeding the hardware's capabilities.

The data indicates that the limiting component is unambiguously the GPU. The CPU's performance is a non-factor in this scaling analysis, as the frame rate drops are directly proportional to the increase in pixel count and graphical workload. The Radeon 760M, with its 512 shading units and 16 ROPs, is not designed for high-resolution gaming, and The Medium's fixed camera angles and complex lighting effects exacerbate this weakness. The results show that even at the lowest settings, 1080p is the only resolution that approaches a playable frame rate, and it barely does so.

How This Combo Ranks

The performance of this CPU-GPU pairing in The Medium is exceptionally poor relative to other tested combinations. The data places this combo at rank 2900 out of 2911 tested configurations, which puts it in the bottom 0.4% of all systems. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations, as the CPU is a high-end part that would rank near the top in processor-centric benchmarks. The combo's percentile ranking is a stark illustration of how a single weak component can negate the strengths of another.

Comparing the GPU to its nearest rivals clarifies the situation. The Radeon 760M's average benchmark score sits at 6019, which is a mere 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6400 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M. It also trails the NVIDIA Quadro P2000 by 0.5%. These are all older or lower-tier discrete graphics solutions, and the integrated 760M is essentially trading blows with them in raw compute. This means the system's in-game performance is on par with hardware that is several generations old, which explains its bottom-tier ranking.

In contrast, the CPU's benchmark scores place it in the 95th percentile of all processors. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, which it outperforms by a razor-thin 0.1%, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which it leads by 0.6%. The processor is clearly a powerhouse, but in The Medium, its capabilities are completely wasted. The combo rank reflects the final outcome of a system where the CPU is a top-5% performer and the GPU is a bottom-35% performer, with the overall result landing in the bottom 1% due to the game's GPU-intensive nature.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 760M is an integrated graphics processor based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 4 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 800 MHz and a boost clock of 2599 MHz. This clock speed is relatively high for an IGP, but the hardware resources behind it are limited. The GPU has 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 render output units, which are the core components responsible for pixel and texture processing. These specifications are the primary reason for its lackluster performance in The Medium.

The memory configuration is a critical bottleneck. The Radeon 760M uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM of its own. Its bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which in practice means it shares the system's DDR5 memory bus. This is a severe disadvantage in a game like The Medium, which requires substantial memory bandwidth for its high-resolution textures and complex scenes. The lack of dedicated VRAM forces the GPU to compete with the CPU for memory access, further reducing performance. The data shows that the GPU's performance is consistent with its low percentile ranking of 35th among all GPUs, confirming its entry-level status.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide context for its in-game behavior. Its Passmark G3D score is 5310, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is a very low 400. These scores indicate that the GPU is adequate for basic tasks but severely underpowered for modern gaming. The game's performance at 1080p Low (31 FPS) aligns with these scores, showing that even the most demanding settings are too much for the hardware. The GPU's direct competitors, like the RX 6400 and GTX 770M, are discrete cards with their own memory, yet the 760M trades blows with them, highlighting the efficiency of the RDNA 3.0 architecture but also its limitations when constrained by shared memory.

FAQ

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

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 with Low settings is the only configuration that produces a playable average frame rate, achieving 31 FPS. All other tested settings and resolutions result in average frame rates below 30 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested systems in this game?

A: This CPU-GPU combination ranks 2900 out of 2911 tested combos, placing it in the bottom percentile of all systems for The Medium's performance.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the definitive limiting factor. The CPU is a high-end 16-core processor, but the Radeon 760M integrated graphics cannot keep up. The frame rate drops are consistent with GPU-bound scaling, and the system's low rank is due entirely to the graphics solution.

Q: How does the Radeon 760M compare to its closest rivals in terms of raw performance?

A: The Radeon 760M's average benchmark score is 6019, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6400 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M, and 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro P2000. This means it performs on par with those older discrete GPUs.

Q: What is the average frame rate at 2560x1440 with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system produces an average frame rate of 16 FPS, with a minimum of 14 FPS and a maximum of 19 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU have its own dedicated memory?

A: No, the Radeon 760M uses System Shared memory, meaning it relies on the system's main memory for its graphics data, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent."

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combination in The Medium are consistently low across all resolutions and settings, confirming the GPU's hard performance ceiling.

At 1920x1080, the most favorable resolution for this GPU, the results are as follows. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 31 FPS. Increasing to Medium settings drops the average to 19 FPS, with a minimum of 17 and a maximum of 22 FPS. High settings yield an average of 14 FPS. The highest quality preset, Ultra, produces an average of just 11 FPS. These numbers show that even at the lowest resolution, the system cannot maintain a solid 30 FPS at any setting above Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades further. At Low settings, the average frame rate is 26 FPS. Medium settings bring the average down to 16 FPS, with a range of 14 to 19 FPS. High settings average 12 FPS, and Ultra settings average 9 FPS. The step from 1080p to 1440p consistently reduces performance by roughly 20%, showing the GPU is heavily pixel-bound.

At 3840x2160, the system is effectively unable to run the game smoothly. Low settings produce an average of 21 FPS. Medium settings drop to 13 FPS, with a minimum of 11 and a maximum of 15 FPS. High settings average 9 FPS, and Ultra settings average 7 FPS. These figures represent a slideshow experience, making 4K resolution completely unviable for this hardware. The data across all settings shows a consistent pattern: the GPU is the sole limiting factor, and its performance is adequate only for the lowest graphical preset at 1080p.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Dragon Range. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This is a high-end mobile processor designed for maximum productivity and gaming performance, with a 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs. Its benchmark scores are impressive, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and a single-core score of 6030. In The Medium, however, this processing power is largely irrelevant.

The game's performance is not constrained by the CPU, as evidenced by the fact that the system's ranking is so low. The CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, are within 0.1% and 0.6% of its average score, respectively. This shows that the 8945HX is at the top of its class. Yet, none of this power can compensate for the GPU's inability to render the game's graphics. The Medium is a game that relies heavily on pre-rendered backgrounds and complex lighting, which are tasks that fall squarely on the GPU.

The CPU's high TDP of 55 W and its 64 MB of L3 cache are features that benefit other applications, but they do not influence the frame rates in this scenario. The data suggests that even a much weaker CPU would achieve similar results when paired with the Radeon 760M. The bottleneck is so severe that the CPU spends most of its time idle, waiting for the GPU to finish its work. In summary, the Ryzen 9 8945HX is a top-tier processor whose potential is entirely untapped in this specific combination, as the game's performance is dictated by the integrated graphics solution.