The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding scenario for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination. The measured frame rates reveal a system where the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU's substantial architectural strength ensures consistent scaling. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy across the four tested presets, with the gap between Low and Ultra widening significantly as resolution increases.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 clearly illustrates the shifting bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 116 at 1080p to 97 at 1440p, then to 76 at 4K. This represents a 17% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 22% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is relatively gentle, indicating that at Low settings, the CPU is still contributing meaningfully to overall performance, preventing a more dramatic collapse.

Moving to Medium settings, the trend becomes more pronounced. The average FPS at 1080p is 72, dropping to 61 at 1440p and then to 48 at 4K. The percentage drops are 15% and 21% respectively. This steeper decline suggests that as graphical complexity increases, the GPU begins to take on a more dominant role. The 4K Medium result of 48 FPS is notable, as it sits just below the 50 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for a smooth experience.

At High settings, the GPU's influence becomes unmistakable. The average FPS at 1080p is 52, falling to 44 at 1440p and 34 at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 15%, but the 1440p to 4K drop is 23%. This accelerating decline is a classic sign of the GPU reaching its limits. The 4K High result of 34 FPS is playable but far from ideal, and it highlights the RTX 5060's struggle with the game's heavier visual effects at this resolution.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling. Average FPS at 1080p is 41, dropping to 35 at 1440p and 27 at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p reduction is 15%, while the 1440p to 4K reduction is 23%. The 4K Ultra result of 27 FPS is below the 30 FPS console-style target, indicating that this settings combination is not viable for a fluid experience. The data confirms that the RTX 5060 is the limiting component at 4K, with the CPU's performance headroom unable to compensate for the GPU's rendering workload.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It operates with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This configuration provides substantial multi-threaded capability, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737. The single-core performance is equally strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6739, which is critical for games that rely on a few heavily loaded threads.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p with lower graphical settings. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p results in a 38% decrease in FPS (from 116 to 72). This is a significant drop, but the absolute frame rates remain high, suggesting that the CPU is feeding the GPU with enough data to maintain a high output. The 3DMark 8-thread score of 9002 and the max-thread score of 13795 indicate that the processor has ample headroom for the game's multi-threaded tasks, such as physics and AI calculations.

The processor's percentile rank against all CPUs is 91, placing it in the top 9% of all processors in the database. Its average benchmark score is 54762. When compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D shows a -0.6% delta against the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, a 1.3% delta against the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K, a 2% delta against the Intel Xeon 6505P, and a 2.1% delta against the Intel Core i7-14700F. This places it in a tightly contested performance band, with all four rivals within a 2.7% range of its score.

The fact that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck is further supported by the scaling data. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rate would remain relatively constant across resolutions. Instead, the FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, particularly at High and Ultra settings. This indicates that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is providing sufficient instructions to the GPU, and the performance ceiling is set by the graphics card's rendering capabilities. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 12490 and the single-thread score of 1269 reinforce the processor's ability to handle both highly threaded and lightly threaded workloads without becoming a constraint.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 2280 MHz, with a boost clock of 2497 MHz. The GPU's 3840 shading units and 30 RT cores are tasked with rendering The Medium's fixed-camera horror visuals, which include complex lighting and volumetric effects.

The GPU's performance in The Medium is the decisive factor. At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 76 at Low settings to just 27 at Ultra settings. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical consideration here. At 4K with High or Ultra textures, the VRAM may become saturated, which could contribute to the significant frame rate drops observed. The bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is ample for the 128-bit bus, but the total capacity is a limiting factor for high-resolution textures.

Comparing the GPU to its nearest rivals, the RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 26331. It shows a -0.3% delta against the AMD Radeon 860M and NVIDIA GeForce MX550, a -0.8% delta against the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary, and a 1.2% delta against the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT. This indicates that the RTX 5060 is positioned in a competitive segment, but its performance in this specific game is what matters. The percentile rank against all GPUs is 72, meaning it outperforms 72% of the GPUs in the database.

The GPU's compute performance is reflected in its Geekbench OpenCL score of 112787 and Vulkan score of 113321. The Passmark G3D score of 20891 further contextualizes its raw graphics power. However, in The Medium, the practical results show that the RTX 5060 is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming. At 1080p, it can deliver 52 FPS on High and 41 FPS on Ultra. At 1440p, it manages 44 FPS on High and 35 FPS on Ultra. These numbers suggest that the GPU is the primary component limiting performance at higher resolutions and settings, with the CPU providing ample support.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this hardware combination are clear. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is the highest settings level that achieves this, with an average of 72 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p offers a much higher headroom at 116 FPS, but Medium provides a better visual quality-to-performance balance without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, delivering an average of 61 FPS. This is playable and provides a good balance between visual fidelity and frame rate. Dropping to Low yields 97 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual compromise is significant. The High preset at 44 FPS is not ideal for a smooth experience, and Ultra at 35 FPS is only suitable for slower-paced scenes.

At 3840x2160, users must make compromises. The Low preset is the only one that delivers a playable average of 76 FPS. The Medium preset at 48 FPS is borderline, and the High preset at 34 FPS is not recommended for consistent gameplay. Ultra at 27 FPS is not viable. For a 4K experience, the Low preset is the only option that provides a comfortable frame rate, but users should be aware of the visual downgrade.

The overall ranking of this combo in the game is 1270 out of 2911 combinations, placing it in the 56th percentile. This indicates that it is a mid-to-upper-tier configuration for this title. For the best experience, the Medium preset at 1080p is the highest settings level that guarantees a 60+ FPS average. At 1440p, Medium is the sweet spot, and at 4K, Low is the only sensible choice.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this hardware at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS is 116, achieved with the Low preset at 1920x1080.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 FPS target at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 61 FPS, which is the only preset at that resolution to exceed 60 FPS.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 4K with this configuration?

A: No, the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 27 FPS, which is below the standard playability threshold.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 116 FPS, which is 75 FPS higher than the Ultra preset's 41 FPS, representing a 183% increase.

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor, as frame rates decline sharply with increasing graphical settings at 3840x2160.

Q: What is the average FPS range for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 has an average of 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table presents the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | ------: |

| 3840x2160 | High | 34 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 76 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 48 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 27 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 44 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 97 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 61 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 35 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 52 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 116 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 72 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 41 |

The Medium preset at 1440p and 1080p also provides minimum and maximum FPS data. At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum is 61 FPS and the maximum is 83 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 52 FPS and the maximum is 70 FPS. At 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum is 41 FPS and the maximum is 55 FPS. This data shows that the Medium preset provides a reasonably stable frame pacing at 1080p and 1440p, with the minimums staying above 50 FPS. At 4K, the minimum of 41 FPS indicates potential stuttering in more demanding scenes.