The Medium

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 paired with the Intel Core i5-9400 delivers a playable but heavily settings-dependent experience in The Medium, a horror title that clearly stresses the GPU at higher resolutions. The data indicates a system that is fundamentally balanced for 1080p gaming, but one that requires significant graphical compromises to maintain smooth frame rates at 1440p and 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, component roles, and actionable settings for this specific configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a steep performance drop as resolution increases, confirming that the AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration at higher settings. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 45 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops the average to 38 FPS, a reduction of 7 FPS. The jump to 4K High is far more punishing, with the average falling to 30 FPS. This scaling pattern suggests that while the GPU is managing the workload at 1080p and 1440p, the pixel throughput required at 4K overwhelms it, leading to a significant performance cliff.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings shows a more moderate decline, from 63 FPS to 53 FPS. However, the transition from 1440p Medium to 4K Medium is again severe, dropping from 53 FPS to 42 FPS. This indicates that the RX 9060's 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are likely saturated at 4K, causing a disproportionate performance loss compared to the 1440p to 1080p transition. The data shows that the most significant FPS loss occurs between 1440p and 4K, not between 1080p and 1440p, which points to a memory bandwidth or capacity limit being hit at the highest resolution.

When dropping to Low settings, the frame rates become much more respectable across the board. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 87 FPS, which is nearly double the 4K High result. 1440p Low yields 82 FPS, and even 4K Low maintains a smooth 67 FPS. This stark contrast between Low and High settings at 4K (67 FPS vs. 30 FPS) demonstrates that the GPU's compute capabilities are sufficient for the game, but its memory subsystem and raw pixel fill rate are not, forcing a choice between resolution and visual fidelity. The results indicate that the limiting component is definitively the GPU, as the CPU's performance is not the variable changing between these test scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination ranks 1741st out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places the system in the 40th percentile of all tested configurations, indicating a mid-to-low tier standing for this specific title. The ranking suggests that while this hardware can run the game, a significant majority of tested systems deliver higher average frame rates under the same conditions.

The combo's ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's position in the broader market. The RX 9060 has a percentile rank of 59 against all GPUs, meaning it outperforms slightly more than half of all tested graphics cards. However, its performance in this specific game does not translate to a higher combo ranking, suggesting that The Medium may be more demanding on other system aspects or that the CPU is holding back performance in certain scenarios. The CPU, by contrast, sits at the 47th percentile against all CPUs, which is a lower standing than the GPU, hinting that the processor might be a secondary limiting factor.

The data shows a clear discrepancy between the GPU's general percentile and the combo's specific ranking. In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 9060 has an average score of 16014, placing it near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which has a score of 16129 and a deltaPct of -0.7. This indicates the RX 9060 is statistically equivalent to the RTX 3060 Ti in raw compute. However, the game's specific engine demands may not align perfectly with the GPU's strengths, leading to a combo rank that is lower than what the GPU's raw percentile might suggest.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the central component determining frame rates in The Medium. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The benchmark results strongly suggest that this memory configuration is a limiting factor at 4K resolution. The substantial FPS drop between High and Medium settings at 4K (30 FPS to 42 FPS) versus the smaller drop at 1080p (45 FPS to 63 FPS) indicates that the GPU is running out of memory bandwidth or capacity to feed its 1792 shading units efficiently at higher pixel counts.

The GPU's clock speeds show a wide range, with a base clock of 1700 MHz and a boost clock of 2990 MHz, alongside a game clock of 2400 MHz. The boost clock is notably high, suggesting the card is capable of significant performance when thermals and power allow. However, the measured FPS data indicates that these high clocks cannot compensate for the memory bandwidth limitations at 4K. The GPU's pixel rate is listed as 191.4 GPixel/s, which should theoretically handle 4K output, but the actual frame rates suggest the ROPs are not being fed fast enough from the 8 GB frame buffer.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 9060's Passmark G3D score is 17631, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 3322. These scores indicate a strong mid-range contender. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, has a deltaPct of -0.7, meaning the RX 9060 is slightly faster in aggregate benchmarks. Yet, in The Medium, the performance is far from stellar at higher resolutions, highlighting that synthetic scores do not always predict real-world game performance, especially when VRAM capacity becomes a constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience for this hardware combination. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers an average of 63 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS. This is the only preset at 1080p that provides both a solid average and a minimum frame rate above 60 FPS, ensuring a smooth and consistent experience. While the Low preset achieves 87 FPS, the visual quality trade-off is substantial, and the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot for maintaining performance without sacrificing too much detail.

For 1440p gaming, the Medium preset still provides a playable 53 FPS average, with a minimum of 45 FPS. This is acceptable for a slower-paced horror game, where frame drops are less noticeable than in fast-action titles. The High preset at 1440p drops to 38 FPS, which may feel less fluid. At 4K, the data suggests that only the Low preset is viable, delivering 67 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K falls to 42 FPS, and High drops to 30 FPS, both of which are likely to feel stuttery and less immersive.

The Ultra preset is not recommended under any resolution. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 36 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 30 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it is a slideshow at 24 FPS. The performance gain from High to Ultra is negligible compared to the significant FPS cost, and the data indicates that Ultra settings are optimized for more powerful GPUs. The recommendation is to use Medium for resolutions up to 1440p and Low for 4K, as these are the only configurations that maintain an average FPS above 50.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 in The Medium is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields the highest average at 87 FPS. The Medium preset produces 63 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS. High settings result in 45 FPS, while Ultra drops to 36 FPS. The progression shows a consistent loss of roughly 18-20 FPS for each step up in settings from Low to High, with a smaller 9 FPS loss from High to Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 82 FPS, which is only 5 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result, indicating that the GPU is still compute-bound at this resolution. Medium settings at 1440p yield 53 FPS (min 45, max 61), High yields 38 FPS, and Ultra yields 30 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 29 FPS, which is larger than the 24 FPS gap at 1080p, suggesting the start of memory pressure.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only playable option with 67 FPS. Medium settings drop to 42 FPS (min 35, max 48), High drops to 30 FPS, and Ultra drops to 24 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is dramatic: Low loses 15 FPS, Medium loses 11 FPS, High loses 8 FPS, and Ultra loses 6 FPS. This data confirms that the GPU is most severely impacted at 4K, particularly when higher texture and shading settings are enabled.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 provides the foundation for this system, featuring 6 cores and 6 threads with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It has 9 MB of shared L3 cache and a TDP of 65 W. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 6629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 935 in single-core, which places it at the 47th percentile against all CPUs. This is a modest score, indicating that the processor is not a high-end performer but is adequate for gaming.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS differences between resolutions are clearly attributable to GPU load, not CPU limits. However, the CPU's single-core performance, as indicated by a Geekbench single-core score of 1389, may be a limiting factor for the game's engine logic and AI calculations. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-10710U with a deltaPct of 0.3, show that the i5-9400 is statistically tied with several other mid-range processors.

The CPU's memory bandwidth is rated at 42.7 GB/s, which is significantly lower than the GPU's 288.0 GB/s. This disparity is normal, but it suggests that the CPU cannot feed data to the GPU fast enough in some scenarios. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 87 FPS, which is a high frame rate. If the CPU were severely bottlenecking, we would expect similar frame rates across all settings, but the data shows a clear drop from Low to Medium at 1080p (87 FPS to 63 FPS), indicating that the GPU is still the primary bottleneck even at lower resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system in The Medium?*

A: The data shows that 1080p with Medium settings provides the best balance, achieving an average of 63 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS. For 4K, only Low settings are viable, delivering 67 FPS.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon RX 9060 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti's score of 16129, indicating they are statistically equivalent in raw compute performance.

*Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM of the RX 9060 sufficient for The Medium at 4K?*

A: The data suggests it is insufficient. At 4K High, the average FPS drops to 30, while at Medium it is 42. This severe drop from 1440p to 4K indicates the memory bandwidth and capacity are limiting factors at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested systems in this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination ranks 1741st out of 2911 tested combos, placing it in the lower half of all tested configurations.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The FPS scales significantly with resolution and settings changes, which would not occur if the CPU were the limiting factor. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking is lower than the GPU's 59th, but the frame rate behavior points to GPU limits.

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

A: At 1080p, High settings produce an average of 45 FPS, while Ultra produces 36 FPS. This 9 FPS difference is relatively small, making the Ultra preset a poor choice due to the performance cost.