The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX processor with the AMD Radeon 890M integrated graphics produces a gaming experience that is heavily constrained by the GPU. Benchmark data for this pairing shows that playable frame rates are only achieved at the lowest settings and resolution, with the system ranking in the 2755th position out of 2911 tested combinations. This indicates a setup that is far better suited for CPU-heavy workloads than for running graphically intensive games like The Medium at high fidelity.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in The Medium?

A: The best result comes from the 1920x1080 Low preset, which delivers an average of 45 FPS. The next best is the 2560x1440 Low preset at 38 FPS, and the 3840x2160 Low preset at 30 FPS. All other tested settings and resolution combinations produce averages below 30 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX has an average benchmark score of 76212, which places it 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D. It trails the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX by 0.4% each. This shows the processor is highly competitive with other top-tier chips.

Q: Is the Radeon 890M a strong performer among integrated graphics?

A: The Radeon 890M has an average benchmark score of 9210, which puts it in the 45th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Vega 8, scores 9221, meaning the 890M is 0.1% behind. It also trails the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 by 0.7% and the GTX 465 by 0.9%. The performance is adequate for basic tasks but limited for modern gaming.

Q: What is the minimum and maximum FPS at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the frame rate ranges from 24 FPS minimum to 32 FPS maximum, with an average of 28 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 20 to 27 FPS with a 24 FPS average. At 4K Medium, the range narrows to 16 to 21 FPS, averaging 19 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU handle different DirectX versions in benchmarks?

A: The Radeon 890M scores 33 in Passmark DirectX 10, 73 in DirectX 11, and 37 in DirectX 12. The DirectX 11 score is notably higher than the other versions, suggesting that legacy APIs may perform better than modern ones for this integrated solution.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: This specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and AMD Radeon 890M ranks 2755 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the bottom percentile of systems, confirming that the integrated GPU is the primary limiting factor for gaming performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 890M is an integrated graphics processor based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 400 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, meaning the GPU relies on the CPU's DDR5 memory rather than having its own dedicated VRAM. The memory bus width and bandwidth are listed as system-dependent, which means performance can vary based on the installed RAM configuration. This is a critical detail for understanding the gaming results, as the lack of dedicated video memory forces the GPU to compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth.

The 890M has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. It also includes 16 ray tracing cores, which are present but likely underutilized given the overall performance level. The GPU's compute capabilities are rated at 5.939 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, with a pixel rate of 92.80 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 185.6 GTexel/s. These specifications are modest for a modern game like The Medium, which is known for its demanding visual effects and fixed camera angles that still require significant rendering power.

In the measured frame rates, the GPU role becomes clear. At 1080p Low, the system manages 45 FPS, but increasing the settings to High drops the average to 20 FPS. This dramatic reduction indicates that the GPU is saturated by the increased shading and texture work. The boost clock of 2900 MHz is relatively high for an integrated part, but the system-shared memory and limited execution resources prevent it from maintaining playable frame rates at higher presets. The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck in this pairing, as the CPU is more than capable of handling the game's logic and physics.

The Radeon 890M's benchmark scores reinforce this assessment. Its Passmark G3D score of 8076 and DirectX 11 score of 73 are low compared to discrete GPUs, and its 45th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the lower half of graphics solutions. In The Medium, this translates to a system that can handle the game at minimal settings but struggles with any form of visual enhancement.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a clear pattern of frame rate degradation as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU-limited system. Starting at 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 45 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low, the average drops to 38 FPS, a reduction of 7 FPS. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 30 FPS, another 8 FPS decrease. This linear scaling indicates that the GPU is working at its maximum capacity even at the lowest settings, and each additional pixel requires proportional rendering effort.

For the Medium preset, the scaling is similar but with lower absolute numbers. At 1080p Medium, the average is 28 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 24 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it falls to 19 FPS. The percentage drop between each resolution step is consistent, suggesting that the GPU is the sole limiting factor. The CPU, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, is not being stressed by these resolutions, as the game's rendering load is entirely on the Radeon 890M.

High and Ultra presets show even more severe scaling. At 1080p High, the average is 20 FPS, which drops to 17 FPS at 1440p and 13 FPS at 4K. Ultra is the most demanding, with 16 FPS at 1080p, 14 FPS at 1440p, and 11 FPS at 4K. These numbers are consistently unplayable, but the pattern is informative. The gap between Low and High at the same resolution is larger than the gap between resolutions at the same setting, confirming that the GPU is overwhelmed by the increased shading quality and texture detail.

This resolution scaling analysis points directly to the GPU as the bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would stay relatively constant across resolutions because the CPU's workload does not change significantly with pixel count. Instead, the FPS drops by roughly 20-30% with each resolution step, which is exactly what happens when a GPU is rendering more pixels. The Ryzen 9 8945HX, with its high single-thread and multi-thread performance, is not the constraint here. The data supports the conclusion that the Radeon 890M is the sole bottleneck, and no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for its limited fill rate and compute power.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and AMD Radeon 890M ranks 2755 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the bottom 5% of all systems tested for this game. The rank is a direct reflection of the GPU's limitations, as the CPU is a top-tier mobile processor. The Ryzen 9 8945HX has a percentile rank of 95 among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 95% of processors in general benchmark tests. Its average benchmark score of 76212 is within 0.6% of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 0.1% of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, showing that it is a flagship-level CPU.

In contrast, the Radeon 890M ranks in the 45th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 9210. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (0.1% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (0.7% faster), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (0.9% faster). These are all older or lower-tier graphics solutions, confirming that the 890M is not designed for high-end gaming. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-range integrated GPU creates a massive imbalance for gaming workloads.

The combo rank of 2755 out of 2911 means that only 156 tested combinations performed worse than this one in The Medium. This is a stark indicator that the integrated GPU cannot handle the game's requirements at any reasonable quality level. The data suggests that this pairing would be better suited for productivity tasks, content creation, or light gaming at low resolutions and settings. For a game like The Medium, which has specific rendering demands, this combo is near the bottom of the performance ladder.

The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's lower percentile is the key takeaway. The Ryzen 9 8945HX is a powerful processor that would pair well with a discrete GPU, but the Radeon 890M holds it back in gaming scenarios. The combo rank in this specific game is a direct result of the GPU's inability to keep up with the CPU's potential, and the measured frame rates confirm this analysis.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo in The Medium are as follows, broken down by resolution and settings preset:

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average 30 FPS
• Medium: Average 19 FPS, minimum 16 FPS, maximum 21 FPS
• High: Average 13 FPS
• Ultra: Average 11 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average 38 FPS
• Medium: Average 24 FPS, minimum 20 FPS, maximum 27 FPS
• High: Average 17 FPS
• Ultra: Average 14 FPS

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average 45 FPS
• Medium: Average 28 FPS, minimum 24 FPS, maximum 32 FPS
• High: Average 20 FPS
• Ultra: Average 16 FPS

The data shows a clear hierarchy. Low settings are the only ones that approach playable frame rates, and only at 1080p does the average reach 45 FPS. At 1440p Low, the 38 FPS average is borderline playable for a horror game, but the 4K Low at 30 FPS is at the edge of acceptability. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 28 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, but the minimum of 24 FPS and maximum of 32 FPS indicate inconsistent frame pacing.

High and Ultra settings are uniformly unplayable across all resolutions. The High preset ranges from 20 FPS at 1080p down to 13 FPS at 4K, while Ultra ranges from 16 FPS at 1080p to 11 FPS at 4K. These numbers are far below what is needed for a playable experience, and the lack of minimum and maximum data for these presets suggests that the frame times are highly variable. The Medium preset is the only one with full min/max data, and it shows a 8 FPS spread at 1080p, a 7 FPS spread at 1440p, and a 5 FPS spread at 4K, indicating that the frame rate is more stable at higher resolutions due to the GPU being completely maxed out.

The 1080p Low result of 45 FPS is the only measurement that could be considered smooth, but even this is marginal. The step from Low to Medium at 1080p is a 17 FPS drop, which is a 38% reduction. This steep decline shows that the GPU cannot handle the extra visual complexity of Medium settings. The difference between 1440p and 4K at Low is only 8 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is already hitting its memory bandwidth limits at 1440p, and the additional pixels at 4K do not proportionally increase the workload because the GPU is already saturated.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the only viable setting for this combo is the Low preset. At 1920x1080 Low, the system achieves an average of 45 FPS, which is the only result that approaches a smooth experience. This should be the default recommendation for anyone using this hardware configuration to play The Medium. The 2560x1440 Low preset at 38 FPS is also playable, but the lower resolution is preferable for maintaining a higher frame rate and reducing input lag.

The Medium preset is not recommended for any resolution. At 1080p, the 28 FPS average is below the threshold for a horror game, where consistent frame pacing is crucial for atmosphere and reaction times. The minimum of 24 FPS means there will be noticeable stutters during intense scenes. The 1440p and 4K Medium results are even worse, with averages of 24 FPS and 19 FPS respectively. These are not playable for a game that relies on slow, deliberate camera movements and environmental storytelling.

High and Ultra settings should be avoided entirely. The frame rates are in the single digits to low teens, which is effectively a slideshow. Even at 1080p High, the 20 FPS average is far too low for any meaningful gameplay. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 16 FPS, which is unresponsive and will likely cause motion sickness in a game with camera transitions. The data clearly shows that the Radeon 890M does not have the raw compute power to handle these presets.

For the best experience, users should sacrifice visual quality for playability. The Low preset at 1080p is the only configuration that provides a playable experience, and it should be combined with any available upscaling or frame generation technologies if the game supports them. The 45 FPS average is not ideal, but it is the maximum this hardware can achieve. Alternatively, users could consider lowering the resolution below 1080p if the game permits, but no such data is available in the measured results.

The recommendation is straightforward: play at 1080p Low. This is the only setting that delivers acceptable performance. Any attempt to increase visual fidelity will result in a significant drop in frame rate, making the game unenjoyable. The CPU has plenty of headroom, but the GPU is the limiting factor, and users must accept that this integrated graphics solution is not designed for demanding games like The Medium. The data supports a single conclusion: stick to Low settings and 1080p for the best possible experience with this combo.