The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination produces a playable but demanding experience in The Medium, with performance that hinges almost entirely on graphics settings. The data shows this pairing delivers 60 FPS at 4K only on Low settings, while 1080p Medium provides a balanced 57 FPS average. This is a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions and presets, despite the CPU's top-tier benchmark standing.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in The Medium?*

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the most versatile resolution. It offers a 91 FPS average on Low, 57 FPS on Medium, and 41 FPS on High. While 2560x1440 is playable on Low with a 77 FPS average, the 1080p Medium preset provides a more consistent experience with min FPS of 49.

*Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K?*

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, which produces a 60 FPS average. Moving to Medium at 3840x2160 drops the average to 38 FPS with a min of 32 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. High and Ultra presets at 4K are not viable, averaging 27 FPS and 21 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X has an average benchmark score of 57498, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 9015, scores 57555, which is just 0.1% higher. The Intel Core i9-14900 is 1.1% faster, while the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M is 1.4% faster.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Radeon RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 24442, placing it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs. It performs within a narrow band of its nearest rivals: it is 0.7% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, 0.8% faster than the GTX 780 Ti, and 1.1% faster than the RTX 2080 SUPER. It is 0.8% slower than the Intel Arc A350M.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves a 91 FPS average, while the Ultra preset only manages 32 FPS. This represents a 59 FPS drop, or roughly a 65% reduction in frame rate, when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game's performance?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. While the CPU is a high-end model with a 92nd percentile ranking, the GPU sits in the 70th percentile. The drastic FPS drops when increasing resolution (from 1080p to 4K) at the same settings show the graphics card struggling with the increased load, not the processor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its substantial computational resources are reflected in strong synthetic benchmarks, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32172 and a single-core score of 2253. This level of performance places it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is far more powerful than what a typical game like The Medium requires.

In the measured results, the CPU's influence is secondary to the GPU's. The game's performance scaling with resolution is a clear indicator of GPU limitation. For instance, at High settings, the average FPS drops from 41 at 1080p to 34 at 1440p and further to 27 at 4K. If the CPU were the bottleneck, these resolution changes would have a negligible effect on the frame rate. The CPU provides ample headroom, ensuring that the GPU is fully utilized and is the component that dictates the final FPS numbers.

The processor's high multi-threaded performance, shown by its 24 threads and PassMark multi-thread score of 54643, is more than sufficient to handle the game's logic and physics. The data suggests that even the most demanding scenes in The Medium will not tax the Ryzen 9 9900X, as its single-threaded score of 4672 on PassMark is also exceptionally high. Therefore, users should focus on GPU settings to improve performance, as the CPU will not be the source of frame rate drops.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is a RDNA 2.0 architecture GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is rated at 2589 MHz, and it features 2048 shading units. The GPU's overall performance places it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24442. This makes it a capable mid-range card, but its limits are clearly exposed by The Medium's high demands.

The GPU is the definitive bottleneck in this pairing. The benchmark results show a stark FPS drop when moving to higher resolutions and quality settings. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 57, but at 4K Medium it falls to 38. This 19 FPS drop is directly attributable to the GPU's inability to render the increased number of pixels. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is also a factor, as higher resolution textures and settings in a horror game like The Medium will consume more memory, potentially causing performance dips.

The GPU's compute performance, measured at 7520 on PassMark's GPU Compute test, is adequate for the game's rendering tasks. However, the data shows that the card is best suited for 1080p gaming. It can achieve a 91 FPS average on Low settings at 1080p, but this falls to 32 FPS on Ultra. This wide range of performance indicates that the RX 6600 XT has the power to run the game smoothly, but only when settings are tuned down to reduce the rendering load on its 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 91 FPS on Low, 57 FPS on Medium, 41 FPS on High, and 32 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset offers a stable experience with a minimum FPS of 49 and a maximum of 66.

At 2560x1440, performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 77 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium averages 48 FPS with a min of 41 and max of 55, making it a borderline playable option. High settings average 34 FPS, and Ultra drops to 27 FPS, both of which are below the 30 FPS threshold for comfortable gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is severely challenged. The Low preset is the only viable option, achieving a 60 FPS average. Medium settings drop to a 38 FPS average with a min of 32 FPS, which will result in noticeable stuttering. High settings average 27 FPS, and Ultra settings average only 21 FPS, making them unplayable. The data clearly shows that the RX 6600 XT is not suited for 4K gaming in this title beyond the lowest settings.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a heavy GPU bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 91 at 1080p to 77 at 1440p and then to 60 at 4K. This is a 31 FPS reduction from the lowest to the highest resolution, representing a 34% performance loss. At Medium settings, the drop is from 57 FPS at 1080p to 48 FPS at 1440p and 38 FPS at 4K, a 33% reduction.

The trend is consistent across all settings, but the absolute FPS values become unplayable at higher resolutions. For example, at High settings, 1080p yields 41 FPS, but 4K yields 27 FPS. This pattern demonstrates that the rendering load is scaling directly with pixel count, which is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU's performance is not a factor in these drops, as its high core count and clock speeds are more than capable of feeding the GPU at all resolutions.

This data suggests that for a smooth experience, users must match the resolution to the GPU's capability. The system is best utilized at 1080p, where it can maintain high frame rates on Medium and even High settings. At 1440p, only Low settings provide a consistently smooth frame rate. The 4K resolution is only playable on Low, highlighting the GPU's memory bandwidth and processing power as the primary constraints.

Settings Recommendations

According to the measured data, the optimal experience for this hardware configuration in The Medium is the Medium preset at 1920x1080. This setting provides a 57 FPS average with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS, ensuring a stable and responsive gameplay experience without the visual compromises of the Low preset. The 49 FPS minimum is sufficiently high to avoid major stutters, and the 66 FPS maximum shows the system has some headroom.

While the Low preset at 1080p offers a higher 91 FPS average, it comes at a significant cost to visual fidelity. The Medium preset is the sweet spot, balancing visual quality with performance. For users with a 1440p monitor, the Low preset at 2560x1440 is the only recommended option, as its 77 FPS average is the only setting that maintains smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 1440p, with its 48 FPS average and 41 FPS minimum, is a compromise that may be acceptable for those who prioritize visuals over frame rate, but it risks occasional dips below 45 FPS.

For 4K displays, the Low preset at 3840x2160 is the sole playable option, yielding a 60 FPS average. Any increase in settings will result in average frame rates below 40 FPS, which is not recommended for a game that relies on atmosphere and timing. The High and Ultra presets are not viable on this system at any resolution above 1080p, as they consistently produce averages below 35 FPS. Therefore, the data strongly supports using Medium at 1080p as the default for the best experience, with Low at 1440p as the sole alternative for higher resolutions.