The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 (launch MSRP $229) paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (launch MSRP 599 USD) delivers a solid, though not flawless, experience in The Medium. Benchmark results show the combination clears the 60 FPS playable threshold at 1080p High, 1440p Medium, and 4K Medium, but Ultra presets remain out of reach at every resolution. The data indicates a GPU-bound title at higher settings and resolutions, with the CPU showing ample headroom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo covers three resolutions and four quality presets, with average frame rates (min and max values were not recorded). At 1920x1080, the averages are 150.7 FPS on Low, 93.5 FPS on Medium, 69.3 FPS on High, and 52.5 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Medium to High costs roughly 24 FPS, while High to Ultra drops another 17 FPS, showing the steep cost of the highest preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages fall to 128 FPS on Low, 77.9 FPS on Medium, 53.3 FPS on High, and 43.1 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at the same preset is consistent: Low loses about 23 FPS, Medium loses about 16 FPS, High loses 16 FPS, and Ultra loses about 9 FPS. This scaling pattern suggests that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor as resolution rises, but even at 1440p, Low and Medium remain comfortably above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 102.2 FPS on Low, 60.4 FPS on Medium, 44.2 FPS on High, and 35.3 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Medium result is the only preset at this resolution that stays above the 60 FPS threshold, and it does so by a razor-thin margin. High and Ultra are clearly not playable at 4K with this hardware, with High sitting 16 FPS below the threshold and Ultra nearly 25 FPS below.

Across all resolutions, the gap between Low and Medium is relatively modest, while the gap between High and Ultra is large. For example, at 1080p, Low to Medium gains 57 FPS, but Medium to High loses 24 FPS, and High to Ultra loses another 17 FPS. This indicates that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy rendering load, likely due to effects like ray tracing or high-resolution shadows, which the RTX 4070 cannot sustain at playable rates.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is as follows. At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is High, which delivers 69.3 FPS. That leaves a comfortable 9 FPS headroom above the threshold, making High a safe choice for a smooth experience. At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is Medium, averaging 77.9 FPS. While High falls short at 53.3 FPS, Medium provides a healthy margin and is the optimal balance for 1440p. At 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Medium, which hits exactly 60.4 FPS. This is a borderline result; any slight increase in scene complexity could push it below 60, so players aiming for a locked 60 FPS at 4K may prefer Low (102.2 FPS) for extra headroom, but Medium is technically playable.

Ultra presets are not playable at any resolution: 1080p Ultra averages 52.5 FPS, 1440p Ultra 43.1 FPS, and 4K Ultra 35.3 FPS. The data suggests that Ultra is meant for systems with significantly more GPU headroom than this combo provides.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this CPU-GPU combination ranks 824th out of 3,724 tested combos for The Medium. That places it in the top 22% of all combinations tested, meaning it outperforms roughly 78% of systems. The rank reflects the combined capabilities of the Ryzen 5 7600 and RTX 4070, and the measured FPS data aligns with that position—strong at 1080p and 1440p, but struggling at 4K Ultra.

The CPU itself holds a percentile rank of 78 among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at percentile 81 among all GPUs. Both components are above average, but neither is near the top of their respective charts. This explains why the combo performs well at mainstream resolutions but cannot handle the most demanding presets. The ranking also suggests that a system with a higher-end GPU (or a more balanced CPU) would be needed to push Ultra settings at 4K, but for the majority of players using 1080p or 1440p displays, this combo delivers a smooth experience.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (avgScore 26274, delta 0.2%), the AMD Ryzen 7 7435HS (avgScore 26402, delta -0.3%), the Intel Core i9-11900KF (avgScore 26212, delta 0.4%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 8540U (avgScore 26187, delta 0.5%). These processors have average scores within 0.5% of the Ryzen 5 7600's 26324, so in a game like The Medium, they would likely produce very similar CPU-bound frame rates. None of these alternatives would meaningfully change the overall FPS profile; the bottleneck at higher resolutions is the GPU, not the CPU.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (avgScore 37628, delta 0.1%), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (avgScore 37507, delta 0.4%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (avgScore 38135, delta -1.3%), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (avgScore 37157, delta 1.3%). These GPUs have average scores within 1.3% of the RTX 4070's 37648. In practice, swapping the RTX 4070 for any of these would yield nearly identical frame rates in The Medium. The RTX 4080 Mobile is the closest match, though its delta of -1.3% suggests it might be slightly slower, while the others are slightly faster. None of these alternatives would push Ultra presets into playable territory; they all fall in the same performance class as the RTX 4070.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern: the GPU is the dominant factor at higher resolutions and presets, while the CPU provides sufficient headroom at all tested settings. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 150.7 FPS, which is far above the display refresh rate of most monitors, indicating that the CPU is not limiting at this level. As resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the FPS drops proportionally at every preset, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload.

Consider the High preset: 1080p averages 69.3 FPS, 1440p drops to 53.3 FPS, and 4K falls to 44.2 FPS. That is a 23% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and another 17% reduction from 1440p to 4K. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat across resolutions, since the CPU workload is largely independent of resolution. Instead, the strong negative correlation between resolution and FPS confirms that the RTX 4070 is the limiting component.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at low settings, where the GPU is less stressed. At 1080p Low, the system produces 150.7 FPS, and even at 4K Low it manages 102.2 FPS. These numbers are high enough to suggest that the CPU is not a constraint even at the lowest resolution. The Ryzen 5 7600's six cores and twelve threads, along with its high single-thread performance (as seen in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1852), are more than sufficient for The Medium, which is a horror title that likely relies on a few threads for gameplay logic.

At Ultra presets, the GPU workload becomes extreme, and the FPS drops below 60 at all resolutions. The difference between Medium and Ultra at 1080p is 41 FPS (93.5 vs 52.5), which is a 44% reduction. This dramatic drop cannot be attributed to the CPU; it is entirely a GPU-side effect of the increased rendering demands. Therefore, the data indicates that for this game, the GPU is the primary determinant of performance at 1440p and 4K, while the CPU is more than adequate even at 1080p.

The Verdict

Can this PC run The Medium? Yes, with caveats. According to the verdict data, the playable settings (those averaging at least 60 FPS) are as follows: at 1920x1080, High (69.3 FPS), Medium (93.5 FPS), and Low (150.7 FPS) are all playable, with High being the most demanding that stays above 60. At 2560x1440, Medium (77.9 FPS) and Low (128 FPS) are playable, with Medium being the best choice. At 3840x2160, Medium (60.4 FPS) and Low (102.2 FPS) are playable, but Medium is right at the threshold—it clears 60 by only 0.4 FPS, so players who want a consistent 60 FPS might prefer Low for extra stability.

Ultra presets are not playable at any resolution. The system cannot maintain 60 FPS at 1080p Ultra (52.5 FPS), 1440p Ultra (43.1 FPS), or 4K Ultra (35.3 FPS). If you want to run The Medium on Ultra, you would need a more powerful GPU than the RTX 4070. For the vast majority of players, though, this combo offers a smooth experience at 1080p High and 1440p Medium, and even manages a playable 4K Medium. The data clearly shows that the RTX 4070 is the limiting factor at high settings, while the Ryzen 5 7600 provides more than enough CPU performance for this title.