The Medium

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT paired with the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in The Medium. The data shows a clear divide: the GPU handles 1080p and 1440p with ease at medium settings, but 4K performance collapses unless settings are dropped significantly. The RX 7600 XT’s 16 GB VRAM and RDNA 3.0 architecture provide a solid foundation, yet the measured frames reveal that the card’s 128-bit memory bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth become a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for the RX 7600 XT in The Medium?

A: The most balanced experience is 1920x1080 at Medium settings, which yields 60 average FPS with a minimum of 51 and maximum of 69. This provides a smooth, consistent frame rate without sacrificing the game’s visual atmosphere.

Q: Can the RX 7600 XT handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Barely. At 3840x2160, only Low settings achieve a playable 64 average FPS. Medium drops to 40 average FPS, while High and Ultra fall to 28 and 23 average FPS respectively, making them unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the GPU’s 16 GB VRAM impact performance?

A: While the 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is generous, the card’s 128-bit bus width and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth limit how effectively that memory is utilized. This is evident in the steep FPS drops when moving from 1440p to 4K, suggesting memory bandwidth, not capacity, is the bottleneck.

Q: Is the Core Ultra 7 265 a bottleneck for this GPU?

A: No. The CPU’s 20 cores and 20 threads, boosting to 5.30 GHz, provide ample headroom. The benchmark data shows the GPU is the limiting factor, as FPS scales predictably with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

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

A: The jump is substantial. Low settings produce 96 average FPS, while Ultra drops to 34 average FPS. This represents a 62 FPS difference, indicating that Ultra settings place a heavy load on the GPU’s shading units and texture units.

Q: How does the RX 7600 XT compare to its nearest rivals in raw GPU benchmarks?

A: The RX 7600 XT’s average benchmark score of 17083 is nearly identical to its closest competitors. It sits 0.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037) and 0.4% above the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019), but 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (17208).

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is the primary driver of frame rates in The Medium, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1980 MHz, a game clock of 2470 MHz, and a boost clock of 2755 MHz. This clock range allows for solid performance at lower resolutions, where the 2048 shading units and 128 texture mapping units can flex their muscle. The card’s 64 raster operation pipelines (ROPs) handle pixel output at a rate of 176.3 GPixel/s, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but struggles to keep up with the pixel count at 4K.

The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. This is the card’s most significant limitation. In The Medium, a game with a fixed camera perspective and detailed environments, texture streaming and memory access patterns are critical. The data shows that at 4K, the FPS drops from 64 at Low to 40 at Medium, a 24 FPS penalty. This steep decline is not typical of a pure compute bottleneck; it points to memory bandwidth saturation. The card simply cannot feed the GPU enough data to sustain high frame rates at 4K with higher quality textures.

The GPU’s 32 ray accelerators support DirectX 12 Ultimate, but the measured data does not isolate ray tracing performance. The passmark DirectX 12 score of 65, while lower than the DirectX 11 score of 167, suggests that the card’s architecture handles modern APIs adequately but is not optimized for extreme geometric complexity. In practice, the RX 7600 XT is a capable 1080p and 1440p card, but its 4K performance is hamstrung by its memory subsystem. The average benchmark score of 17083 places it in the 60th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a mid-range performer, which aligns with the measured FPS data.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent scaling pattern across resolutions. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Medium settings reduces the average frame rate from 60 to 51, a 15% drop. Going further to 3840x2160 at Medium settings drops the average to 40, a further 22% reduction. This progression is expected, as pixel count increases by 78% from 1080p to 1440p and by 125% from 1440p to 4K. The FPS drops, however, are not proportional to the pixel count increase, which is a strong indicator of a GPU bottleneck.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more telling. 1080p Low yields 96 average FPS, 1440p Low yields 81, and 4K Low yields 64. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 32 FPS, or 33%. This is a smaller relative decline than at Medium settings, where the drop from 1080p to 4K is 20 FPS, or 33% as well. The consistency of the percentage drop suggests that the GPU is consistently the limiting factor, and the settings changes do not shift the bottleneck to the CPU. The Core Ultra 7 265, with its high single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960), is not holding the system back.

The data from High settings further confirms this. At 1080p High, the average is 43 FPS; at 1440p High, it drops to 36; and at 4K High, it falls to 28. The FPS floor at 4K High is particularly low, suggesting that the game’s high-quality textures and effects overwhelm the GPU’s bandwidth. The RX 7600 XT’s 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is simply insufficient for 4K High, as the card must move more texture data per frame. In contrast, the 1080p results show that the card has enough headroom to maintain playable frame rates, making it a suitable resolution for this GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p): The data shows this is the sweet spot for the RX 7600 XT. Low settings produce an average of 96 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. Medium settings drop to 60 average FPS, with a minimum of 51 and a maximum of 69, providing a stable experience that is ideal for a horror game where frame pacing matters. High settings yield 43 average FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Ultra settings significantly tax the GPU, producing only 34 average FPS, which is below the threshold for a comfortable experience.

2560x1440 (1440p): Performance takes a noticeable hit at this resolution. Low settings deliver 81 average FPS, still excellent. Medium settings provide 51 average FPS, with a minimum of 43 and a maximum of 58, which is acceptable but less consistent than 1080p. High settings drop to 36 average FPS, and Ultra falls to 29 average FPS. The gap between Medium and High at 1440p is 15 FPS, indicating that the higher settings introduce a significant load on the GPU.

3840x2160 (4K): This resolution exposes the GPU’s limitations. Low settings are the only viable option, producing 64 average FPS. Medium settings drop to 40 average FPS, with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46, which is borderline for a horror game where sudden movements can cause noticeable stutter. High settings yield only 28 average FPS, and Ultra is unplayable at 23 average FPS. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming with this GPU requires sacrificing visual quality.

The measured FPS data is consistent across all settings, with no anomalies. The minimum FPS values, where available, are within 7-9 FPS of the average, indicating generally stable frame delivery at Medium settings. This stability is crucial for maintaining tension in a game like The Medium. The absence of minimum FPS data for Low, High, and Ultra settings suggests the benchmark tool did not capture these values, but the averages provide a clear picture of overall performance.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with the RX 7600 XT, the data points to 1080p Medium as the optimal configuration. This setting delivers a 60 average FPS with a narrow frame time range (51-69), ensuring smooth gameplay. The Medium preset likely balances the game’s visual effects with the GPU’s capabilities, avoiding the performance cliff seen at High and Ultra. At 1080p, Medium offers a 17 FPS advantage over High, which is a substantial improvement for a game that relies on atmosphere and pacing.

If a player prefers higher resolutions, 1440p Medium is a viable alternative, though it comes with a 9 FPS average penalty compared to 1080p Medium. The minimum FPS of 43 at 1440p Medium is still acceptable, but the reduced headroom may lead to perceptible drops during intense scenes. For players who prioritize frame rate above all else, 1080p Low at 96 average FPS is the clear choice, but this sacrifices the game’s visual fidelity.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution. Even at 1080p, Ultra only achieves 34 average FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for a smooth experience. The performance cost of Ultra is steep, as evidenced by the 26 FPS drop from Medium to Ultra at 1080p. The data suggests that the RX 7600 XT lacks the raw compute power (22.57 TFLOPS FP32) and memory bandwidth to handle the highest settings in The Medium. Therefore, the best experience is found at Medium settings, where the game looks good and runs smoothly.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 plays a supporting role in this configuration, and the data shows it is more than adequate for The Medium. This CPU features 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This high boost clock is critical for gaming, as it provides the single-threaded performance that most game engines rely on. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960 is strong, and its multi-core score of 42216 indicates it has headroom for other tasks.

In The Medium, which is a GPU-bound title at the settings tested, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The Ultra 7 265’s 30 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, ensuring that the GPU is not starved for data. The PassMark single-thread score of 4689 and multi-thread score of 49682 confirm that this CPU is a high performer, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs.

The nearest rivals for the Ultra 7 265 include the AMD EPYC 4464P, which has an average score of 64823, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, which scores 64438. The Ultra 7 265’s average benchmark score is 64640, putting it between these two. The deltaPct values are minimal (ranging from -0.3% to 0.7%), indicating that the CPU is not a differentiator in this benchmark. In the context of The Medium, the CPU’s performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RX 7600 XT.

The measured FPS data supports this conclusion. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar FPS numbers across different resolutions. Instead, the FPS scales predictably with resolution, dropping from 96 at 1080p Low to 64 at 4K Low. This is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The Ultra 7 265, with its 20 cores and high boost clock, has ample processing power to handle the game’s logic, allowing the RX 7600 XT to be the sole determinant of frame rates. Therefore, the CPU is a solid match for this GPU, providing a balanced platform for The Medium.