The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination. The measured data reveals a system that is consistently GPU-limited across most settings, with the processor providing sufficient headroom to avoid becoming the primary bottleneck. The RX 9060's performance profile dictates that players must make deliberate choices about resolution and quality settings to achieve a playable experience, as the gap between Low and Ultra presets is substantial.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the GPU as the limiting component. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 101 FPS at 1920x1080 to 85 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 67 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 34% reduction from 1080p to 4K, a scaling pattern that points directly at the Radeon RX 9060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus struggling with the increased pixel count. The data shows that the GPU's rendering throughput, not the CPU's processing power, dictates the upper limits of performance.

At Medium settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The average drops from 63 FPS at 1080p to 53 FPS at 1440p, and then to 42 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result of 42 FPS is barely above the threshold for smooth gameplay, while the 1080p Medium result of 63 FPS is comfortably playable. This indicates that the RX 9060's compute units are saturated at higher resolutions, and the 29,700 million transistors on the 4 nm process node cannot compensate for the memory bandwidth limitations.

The High preset shows a similar pattern, with averages of 45 FPS at 1080p, 38 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. The 30 FPS at 4K High is exactly at the console-style playability floor, but the data suggests that the experience would be inconsistent. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding 36 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. The 24 FPS at 4K Ultra is a slideshow by any standard, confirming that this combination is not suited for maximum quality at high resolutions.

The scaling behavior indicates that the RX 9060's 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is the primary constraint. The 67 FPS at 4K Low versus 30 FPS at 4K High shows a 55% performance penalty for increasing quality, which is far larger than the 12% penalty seen when moving from 1080p Low to 1440p Low. This nonlinear scaling suggests that the GPU's 8 GB frame buffer is being exhausted at higher resolutions and quality settings, forcing the card to allocate memory inefficiently.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the most consistent resolution. At Medium settings, the combo delivers 63 FPS average with a minimum of 53 FPS, which is the only preset and resolution pairing that provides both a high average and a minimum above 50 FPS. At 1440p, the best result is 53 FPS average on Medium, but the 45 FPS minimum is less stable.

Q: How much performance does the Ultra preset cost compared to Low?

A: At 1080p, the average frame rate drops from 101 FPS on Low to 36 FPS on Ultra, a 64% reduction. At 1440p, the drop is from 85 FPS to 30 FPS, a 65% reduction. At 4K, the drop is from 67 FPS to 24 FPS, a 64% reduction. The consistency of this penalty across resolutions indicates that the Ultra preset adds a fixed computational load that the RX 9060 cannot absorb.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F holding back the Radeon RX 9060?

A: The benchmark data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The 1080p Low result of 101 FPS shows that the processor can feed the GPU sufficient frames to reach triple-digit rates. The i5-11400F's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, provide enough throughput for this game. The consistent scaling across resolutions suggests the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: Can this combination handle 4K gaming?

A: Only at Low settings, where it produces 67 FPS average. At Medium settings, the average drops to 42 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, which is borderline. At High and Ultra, the averages of 30 FPS and 24 FPS respectively are not recommended for a smooth experience. The 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are insufficient for 4K at higher quality presets.

Q: What is the difference between the 1440p and 1080p results at the same settings?

A: At Low settings, 1440p delivers 85 FPS versus 101 FPS at 1080p, a 16% reduction. At Medium settings, the difference is 53 FPS versus 63 FPS, a 16% reduction as well. At High settings, the gap is 38 FPS versus 45 FPS, a 16% reduction. This consistent percentage indicates that the performance scaling is proportional to the pixel count increase.

Q: How does the RX 9060's performance in this game compare to its overall benchmark percentile?

A: The GPU sits at the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16014. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, has a score of 16129 and a deltaPct of -0.7%, meaning the RX 9060 is essentially tied with that card. In The Medium, the RX 9060's performance aligns with this mid-range placement, delivering playable results only at lower settings or resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 plays the dominant role in determining The Medium's performance. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, the card provides 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is the key constraint in this game. The memory clock runs at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective), and the boost clock reaches 2990 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz. These clocks are high, but the narrow memory bus limits the data throughput that the 1792 shading units can utilize.

The GPU's 64 ROPs and 112 TMUs are responsible for pixel and texture processing. The pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s are respectable for a mid-range card, but they are insufficient for the heavy post-processing and volumetric effects in The Medium at 4K. The RDNA 4.0 architecture, built on a 4 nm process by TSMC, provides 21.43 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, yet the measured FPS results show that raw compute is not the limiting factor.

The VRAM capacity is a critical issue. The Medium is a horror game with detailed environments, and the 8 GB frame buffer is likely exhausted at 4K High and Ultra settings. The data supports this: the 4K High result of 30 FPS is exactly half the 4K Low result of 67 FPS, suggesting that memory pressure causes the GPU to stutter or reduce throughput. The 128-bit bus width means that even with fast GDDR6 memory, the card cannot feed its compute units efficiently at higher resolutions.

The RT cores, numbering 28, are present but their impact on this game is not directly measured. The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), which is required for the game's advanced features. The data shows that the GPU's performance in The Medium is consistent with its overall benchmark results, where it scores 17631 in Passmark G3D and 3322 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The GPU's 59th percentile ranking reflects its position as a capable but not high-end solution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination produces its best results. Low settings deliver an average of 101 FPS, which is smooth on any display. Medium settings reduce the average to 63 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and maximum of 72 FPS, providing a stable experience. High settings drop the average to 45 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced scenes. Ultra settings produce only 36 FPS average, which is marginal. The 63 FPS Medium result is the best balance of quality and performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. Low settings average 85 FPS, still very playable. Medium settings average 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS and maximum of 61 FPS, which is acceptable for most players. High settings average 38 FPS, which is below the 40 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings average 30 FPS, which is not recommended. The 53 FPS Medium result is the only 1440p option that provides both a high average and a reasonable minimum.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is severely challenged. Low settings average 67 FPS, which is surprising and indicates the game scales well with reduced quality. Medium settings average 42 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and maximum of 48 FPS, which is borderline playable but will show stutter in demanding scenes. High settings average 30 FPS, which is a console-level experience. Ultra settings average 24 FPS, which is unplayable. The 67 FPS Low result is the only 4K option that provides a smooth experience, and it requires significant visual compromises.

The data shows a clear pattern: the Medium preset offers the most consistent frame times across all resolutions. The minimum FPS values of 53, 45, and 35 at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively show that the game maintains a playable floor even under load. The Low preset offers the highest averages but with no minimum FPS data, suggesting that frame pacing may be less consistent. The Ultra preset consistently delivers sub-40 FPS averages, making it unsuitable for this hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination ranks 1648 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the 43rd percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 43% of combinations but is outclassed by the majority. The rank reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning rather than the CPU's capabilities, as the i5-11400F is a solid performer with a 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance. The AMD EPYC 7H12 has an average score of 17120 with a deltaPct of 0.3%, meaning the i5-11400F is essentially tied with it. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17239 with a deltaPct of -0.4%, indicating the 11400F is slightly slower. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17278 with a deltaPct of -0.6%, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U scores 17074 with a deltaPct of 0.6%. These small deltas show that the CPU is well within the performance band of its peers.

The GPU's nearest rivals show a similar pattern. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129 with a deltaPct of -0.7%, placing the RX 9060 slightly below it. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15862 with a deltaPct of 1%, meaning the RX 9060 is 1% faster. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 15852 with a deltaPct of 1%, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15679 with a deltaPct of 2.1%. These figures confirm that the RX 9060 is a mid-range card that trades blows with the RTX 3060 Ti.

The combo's rank of 1648 out of 2911 indicates that while this system is not a high-end performer, it is not a low-end one either. The data suggests that the combination is balanced, with neither component severely bottlenecking the other. However, the rank also shows that many other combinations with more powerful GPUs will provide significantly better performance in The Medium, particularly at higher resolutions and quality settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset is the optimal choice for this combination. At 1080p, it delivers 63 FPS average with a 53 FPS minimum, which is the best combination of smoothness and visual quality. At 1440p, the Medium preset produces 53 FPS average with a 45 FPS minimum, which is still playable for most users. At 4K, the Medium preset drops to 42 FPS average with a 35 FPS minimum, which is borderline but acceptable for slower-paced horror gameplay.

The Low preset is the only option for 4K gaming, delivering 67 FPS average. However, the visual compromise is significant, and the lack of minimum FPS data suggests potential frame pacing issues. The High preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it reduces the average FPS below 45 at 1080p and below 40 at 1440p. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as it produces sub-40 FPS averages even at 1080p.

For players with a 1080p display, the Medium preset is the clear winner. The 63 FPS average provides headroom for demanding scenes, and the 53 FPS minimum ensures that the game never drops below a playable threshold. For 1440p displays, the Medium preset is still the best choice, but players should expect occasional dips into the mid-40s. For 4K displays, the Low preset is the only playable option, and players should be prepared for a significant reduction in visual fidelity.

The data indicates that the RX 9060 is best utilized with medium-quality settings, as this allows the GPU to maintain reasonable frame times without overloading its memory subsystem. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for Medium settings at all resolutions, but the 128-bit bus limits the card's ability to handle the higher memory requirements of High and Ultra presets. Players seeking higher quality should consider lowering the resolution to 1080p and using the High preset, which delivers 45 FPS average, but the Medium preset provides a better overall experience due to its higher minimum frame rates.