The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding workload for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is consistently bound by the graphics card, with the CPU providing ample headroom. The data indicates that this pairing is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming or for prioritizing visual fidelity at 1440p, while 4K gaming requires significant compromises in settings to achieve playable performance.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets, clearly identifying the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 50.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 43.6 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 6.6 FPS, and then drops sharply to 31.8 FPS at 3840x2160. This pattern shows a 36.7% decrease in performance from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario where the rendering resolution outpaces the card's fill rate and memory bandwidth.

The scaling behavior is even more pronounced when examining the Low settings preset. Here, the system achieves 115.4 FPS at 1080p, but this falls to 98.1 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 76.1 FPS at 4K. While the absolute frame rates are higher, the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 34.1%, very similar to the High preset. This consistency across presets indicates that the resolution scaling is a function of the GPU's raw pixel throughput rather than specific settings like shadows or textures, as even at Low settings, the 4K resolution overwhelms the RTX 3060 Ti.

The data suggests that the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, is not the limiting factor in this game. The frame rate deltas between resolutions align with the GPU's expected workload scaling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a much smaller performance gap between 1440p and 4K, as the CPU workload remains relatively constant while the GPU load increases. The observed scaling indicates that the CPU is delivering frames faster than the GPU can process them, making this a purely GPU-limited configuration for The Medium.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the defining component in this system's gaming performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the data suggests they are a limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings, where the average frame rate collapses to 24 FPS. The card's boost clock of 1665 MHz and 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are the raw computational resources that determine these results, and the measured scores show a clear ceiling in this title.

The GPU's role becomes clearer when examining the performance uplift from Ultra to Low settings. At 1080p, the jump from Ultra (41.2 FPS) to Low (115.4 FPS) represents a 180.1% increase in performance. This massive scaling factor indicates that the game's Ultra preset is heavily taxing the GPU's shading units and memory system, likely through high-resolution textures and complex lighting effects that fill the 8 GB VRAM buffer. The RTX 3060 Ti is positioned in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, and its performance in The Medium reflects a card that is capable but not top-tier for the most demanding presets.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is a key specification to consider when interpreting the 4K results. At 3840x2160, even the Low preset (76.1 FPS) demands more from the memory subsystem than the 1080p Ultra preset (41.2 FPS), yet it performs better. This suggests that the 4K Low preset is less dependent on memory capacity and more on raw compute, whereas the 4K Ultra preset likely exceeds the 8 GB VRAM capacity, leading to the severe performance penalty. The card's end-of-life production status and its position relative to rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (which has a -0.5% deltaPct in average benchmark score) indicate that it is a mid-range performer that must be paired with appropriate settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the Medium settings preset offers the most balanced experience for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, Medium settings produce an average of 70.2 FPS, which is a substantial 70.5% improvement over the Ultra preset's 41.2 FPS while still providing a visually richer experience than Low settings at 115.4 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p is the sweet spot for maintaining high frame rates without sacrificing all graphical fidelity.

For 2560x1440 gaming, the situation is more nuanced. The Medium preset delivers 58.3 FPS, which is playable for most users, while High settings drop to 43.6 FPS. Given that the data shows a 33.7% performance penalty for moving from Medium to High at this resolution, Medium is the recommended starting point for 1440p. Users who prioritize smoothness over visual detail can drop to Low settings for 98.1 FPS, but this comes with a significant visual downgrade that may not be worth the frame rate gain.

At 3840x2160, the recommendations change dramatically. The Ultra preset is not viable with an average of 24 FPS, and even High settings at 31.8 FPS are marginal. The Medium preset at 44.7 FPS is the only settings level that approaches a playable experience at 4K, but it still falls short of the 60 FPS target that many players prefer. The Low preset at 76.1 FPS is the only configuration that provides a smooth 4K experience, making it the practical choice for 4K displays, albeit with reduced visual quality. This data-driven approach suggests that users should default to Medium at 1080p and 1440p, and be prepared to use Low settings for 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides a comprehensive view of the system's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are as follows: Low settings average 115.4 FPS, Medium settings average 70.2 FPS, High settings average 50.2 FPS, and Ultra settings average 41.2 FPS. This shows a clear hierarchy where each step up in settings incurs a significant performance cost, with the largest drop occurring between Low and Medium (a 39.2% reduction).

Moving to 2560x1440, the measured averages are: Low at 98.1 FPS, Medium at 58.3 FPS, High at 43.6 FPS, and Ultra at 33.8 FPS. The relative performance gaps between presets are similar to 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower across the board. The jump from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings represents a 17.0% performance loss, which is consistent with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 76.1 FPS, Medium at 44.7 FPS, High at 31.8 FPS, and Ultra at 24 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the worst-performing configuration in the entire dataset, falling below the 30 FPS threshold that is often considered the minimum for a playable experience. The data shows that the RTX 3060 Ti cannot handle 4K Ultra in The Medium, and even High settings struggle to maintain playable frame rates. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings is a 27.1% drop, further confirming the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination ranks 875th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the 48.2nd percentile of all systems. This mid-pack ranking is somewhat surprising given the CPU's high performance, but it reflects the GPU's limitations in this specific title. The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 94, indicating it is in the top 6% of processors, while the GPU's percentile is 69, showing it is in the middle-to-upper range of graphics cards. This mismatch explains the overall ranking, as the GPU drags the combo down.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the data shows that the Ryzen 9 9900X is closely matched with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D, which has an average benchmark score of 54681 and a deltaPct of -0.4%, meaning the 9900X is 0.4% slower. It is also 0.7% faster than the Intel Core i7-14700F, and 1.5% and 1.8% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and 245KF, respectively. These small margins indicate that the CPU is not a differentiating factor in this game's performance, as the GPU is the clear bottleneck.

For the GPU, the RTX 3060 Ti is within 0.2% to 0.7% of several rivals, including the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, RX 6600, Radeon 890M, and RX 580 2048SP. The close margins in average benchmark scores suggest that swapping the GPU for any of these alternatives would yield nearly identical frame rates in The Medium. This reinforces the conclusion that the combo's ranking is determined almost entirely by the GPU's performance class, not the CPU or any other system component.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this combo?

A: The Medium settings preset is recommended, as it delivers an average of 70.2 FPS at 1920x1080, which is a good balance between visual quality and performance compared to High (50.2 FPS) and Ultra (41.2 FPS).

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which achieves 76.1 FPS at 3840x2160. Medium settings drop to 44.7 FPS, while High (31.8 FPS) and Ultra (24 FPS) are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much performance is gained by lowering settings from Ultra to Low at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rate increases from 33.8 FPS at Ultra to 98.1 FPS at Low, representing a 190.2% improvement in performance.

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

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rate drops significantly from 1080p to 4K (e.g., from 50.2 FPS to 31.8 FPS at High settings), which is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck, while the CPU's high benchmark scores suggest it has ample headroom.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems in The Medium?

A: It ranks 875th out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the middle of the pack. This is due to the GPU's mid-range performance, as the CPU is in the 94th percentile of all processors.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, High settings average 50.2 FPS, while Ultra averages 41.2 FPS. The difference is 9 FPS, meaning Ultra is 17.9% slower than High.