The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a playable but demanding experience in The Medium, a horror title known for its dual-reality rendering. Benchmark results show a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck at higher presets. The data reveals a configuration that sits comfortably in the upper tier of tested combinations, though it requires careful settings management to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all quality presets, clearly indicating that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the limiting component in this configuration. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 61 FPS at 1920x1080 to 52 FPS at 2560x1440, a 14.8% reduction, and then to 41 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 21.2% drop from 1440p. This progressive decline highlights the massive pixel throughput required at 4K, where the GPU's 716.8 GB/s memory bandwidth and 48.74 TFLOPS compute are stretched thin.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at Ultra settings, where the average frame rate plummets from 49 FPS at 1080p to 41 FPS at 1440p (a 16.3% loss) and finally to 32 FPS at 4K (a 22% loss from 1440p). This suggests that the game's Ultra preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive at higher resolutions, likely related to the game's signature split-screen rendering of two simultaneous worlds. The 4K Ultra result of 32 FPS is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, while 1080p Ultra at 49 FPS remains borderline playable.

Interestingly, the Low preset shows a different scaling curve. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 137 FPS, which drops to 116 FPS at 1440p (a 15.3% reduction) and then to 91 FPS at 4K (a 21.6% reduction from 1440p). The fact that even at Low settings the 4K result is less than half of the 1080p result confirms that resolution scaling is heavily GPU-bound, with the CPU's 16 cores and 32 threads providing ample headroom even at lower graphical loads.

The Medium preset, which includes min/max frame data, offers additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 and maximum of 99. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 and maximum of 83. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 and maximum of 65. The consistent gap between minimum and maximum frames (roughly 26-30% of the average) suggests that The Medium's dual-world rendering creates periodic frame-time spikes regardless of resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 872nd out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the 70th percentile of all configurations. This is a strong result, but not elite — it puts the combo ahead of roughly 70% of tested systems while leaving significant performance on the table compared to top-tier builds.

Looking at the CPU's overall benchmark standing, the Ryzen 9 8945HX sits in the 95th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 76212. Its nearest rivals are remarkably close: the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX scores 76155 (a 0.1% difference), the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P scores 76492 (a -0.4% delta), and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX scores 76513 (a -0.4% delta). This clustering indicates that the 8945HX is performing right at the expected level for a high-end mobile processor, with no significant bottleneck contribution in this game.

The GPU, meanwhile, ranks in the 86th percentile against all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54209 (a 0.1% delta), showing that the two cards perform nearly identically in synthetic tests. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X trails by 1.1%, and the Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 2.6% behind. This GPU-centric ranking, combined with the combo's 872nd position, suggests that the RTX 4080 is the primary determinant of in-game performance, as expected for a resolution-heavy title like The Medium.

The gap between the combo's 70th percentile ranking and the GPU's 86th percentile indicates that some tested configurations outperform this pairing, likely due to faster GPUs or more optimized CPU-GPU combinations. However, the 8945HX's strong single-thread performance (6030 in Cinebench R23 single-core) ensures it does not drag the system down.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the workhorse of this configuration, and its specifications directly explain the measured frame rates. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, the card offers 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth — sufficient for the high-resolution textures and dual-world rendering that The Medium demands. The 4K Medium result of 57 FPS, for instance, aligns with the card's ability to sustain memory-intensive workloads without stuttering, as evidenced by the 48 FPS minimum frame rate.

The GPU's clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz. These are high for a mobile-class part, and the 48.74 TFLOPS FP32 compute helps drive the complex lighting and shadow effects in the game's horror environments. The RTX 4080's 76 ray-tracing cores and 304 tensor cores are also present, though the measured FPS data does not specify whether ray tracing is enabled in any of the tested presets.

The GPU's memory configuration is particularly relevant for 4K gaming. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate drops to 32 FPS, which suggests that the 16 GB frame buffer is being fully utilized but the card's raw compute is insufficient for the Ultra preset's additional effects. The jump from 41 FPS at 4K High to 57 FPS at 4K Medium (a 39% improvement) indicates that the Medium preset strikes a better balance between visual quality and the GPU's capabilities, likely by reducing shadow resolution and post-processing effects that are disproportionately expensive at 4K.

At lower resolutions, the GPU's headroom becomes apparent. The 1080p Low result of 137 FPS shows the card is capable of high refresh-rate gaming when graphical demands are reduced, and the 1440p Low result of 116 FPS confirms this trend. The RTX 4080's 112 ROPs and 304 TMUs provide ample pixel and texture throughput for these scenarios, though the game's engine appears to cap performance well below the card's theoretical maximum even at Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 137 FPS, Medium averages 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 and maximum of 99, High averages 61 FPS, and Ultra drops to 49 FPS. The 1080p results reveal a clear hierarchy: dropping from Medium to Low yields a 59.3% frame rate increase, while stepping up to High costs 29.1% of Medium's performance. Ultra is the most demanding, costing 20.3% compared to High.

At 2560x1440, the averages shift downward in a consistent pattern. Low produces 116 FPS, Medium averages 72 FPS (minimum 61, maximum 83), High averages 52 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS. The 1440p results show that Medium is the sweet spot for smooth gameplay, staying above the 60 FPS threshold, while High and Ultra require compromises. The drop from Low to Medium at 1440p is 37.9%, and from Medium to High is 27.8%, showing that each preset step has a significant cost.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates on higher presets. Low averages 91 FPS, Medium averages 57 FPS (minimum 48, maximum 65), High averages 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 32 FPS. The 4K Medium result is the only preset that approaches smooth gameplay, though the 48 FPS minimum indicates occasional dips below 50 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 37.4%, and between Medium and High is 28.1%, mirroring the scaling pattern seen at lower resolutions.

Comparing across resolutions, the scaling is remarkably uniform. At Low settings, the frame rate drops by 15.3% from 1080p to 1440p and by 21.6% from 1440p to 4K. At Medium, the drops are 16.3% and 20.8% respectively. At High, the drops are 14.8% and 21.2%. At Ultra, the drops are 16.3% and 22.0%. This consistency indicates that the GPU's workload scales predictably with pixel count, with no sudden cliffs or unexpected bottlenecks.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for smooth gameplay?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 at Medium settings provides the best balance, delivering 72 FPS average with a minimum of 61 FPS. At 4K, Medium settings are the only preset that stays above 50 FPS on average, with a 57 FPS average and 48 FPS minimum.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 61 FPS at 1080p to 41 FPS at 4K, a 32.8% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 137 FPS to 91 FPS, a 33.6% reduction. The scaling is consistent across all presets, with approximately one-third of performance lost at 4K.

Q: Is the RTX 4080's 16 GB of VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The 16 GB GDDR6X memory appears adequate for all tested presets, as the card does not exhibit signs of memory-related stuttering. The 4K Medium result shows a 48 FPS minimum, indicating that memory bandwidth is not a limiting factor at this resolution.

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

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and RTX 4080 combo ranks 872nd out of 2911 tested combinations in The Medium, placing it in the 70th percentile. The CPU sits in the 95th percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 86th percentile.

Q: What is the difference between High and Ultra settings in this game?

A: At 1080p, Ultra delivers 49 FPS compared to High's 61 FPS, a 19.7% performance cost. At 1440p, Ultra delivers 41 FPS versus High's 52 FPS, a 21.2% cost. At 4K, Ultra delivers 32 FPS versus High's 41 FPS, a 22% cost. The Ultra preset appears to add effects that are disproportionately expensive at higher resolutions.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this configuration?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 8945HX's 16 cores and 32 threads, combined with a 5.40 GHz boost clock, provide ample processing power. The consistent frame rate scaling with resolution indicates the GPU is the limiting component.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX plays a supporting role in this configuration, and the benchmark data suggests it is more than adequate for The Medium. With 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, this Dragon Range processor offers substantial multi-threaded performance that prevents CPU-bound frame rate drops. The 8945HX's boost clock of 5.40 GHz is particularly relevant for gaming, as The Medium's dual-reality rendering likely benefits from strong single-thread performance.

The CPU's benchmark results confirm its capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 42713 in multi-core and 6030 in single-core tests, placing it in the 95th percentile against all CPUs. Its Passmark multi-thread score of 51405 and single-thread score of 3907 further demonstrate balanced performance. The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache helps maintain high memory bandwidth for game data, though the 83.2 GB/s DDR5 memory bandwidth is less critical for this title than the GPU's 716.8 GB/s.

The lack of CPU bottlenecking is evident in the frame rate scaling. If the CPU were limiting performance, we would expect similar frame rates across different resolutions at the same settings. Instead, the data shows consistent drops from 1080p to 4K, indicating the GPU is the constraining factor. At 1080p Low, the 137 FPS average suggests the CPU can feed the GPU at high frame rates, while at 4K Ultra, the 32 FPS result is clearly GPU-limited.

The 8945HX's 55 W TDP, while modest for a 16-core processor, does not appear to hinder gaming performance. The CPU's 5 nm process node from TSMC, with 13,140 million transistors across a 2x 71 mm² die, allows for efficient operation. In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to handle the game's physics, AI, and world-streaming tasks, which the data shows it does without introducing frame rate inconsistencies. The minimum frame rates at Medium settings (73 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p, 48 FPS at 4K) are proportional to the averages, indicating stable frame pacing rather than CPU-induced stutters.