The Medium

The data for The Medium with the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti shows a pairing that is heavily defined by graphics settings and resolution scaling. This combination ranks 794th out of 1689 tested configurations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database, a position that reflects the CPU's age more than the GPU's capability. The benchmark results indicate a system capable of smooth 1080p play at moderate settings, but one that struggles to maintain frame rates at 4K with high visual fidelity.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the RTX 3070 Ti as the primary performance limiter at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 92.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 81.1 FPS at 3840x2160, a relatively modest decline of 11 FPS. This small delta suggests that at Low settings, the workload is not fully saturating the GPU, allowing it to maintain high throughput even as pixel count quadruples.

The scaling pattern changes drastically as settings increase. At High settings, the average drops from 60.9 FPS at 1080p to 49 FPS at 1440p, then plummets to 36.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 39.6% performance loss from 1080p to 4K, a clear indicator that the GPU's rendering load is scaling with resolution. The Ultra preset shows an even steeper curve, falling from 43.4 FPS at 1080p to 37.2 FPS at 1440p and finally to 31 FPS at 4K. The data demonstrates that while the CPU can feed the GPU at lower resolutions, the RTX 3070 Ti's 8 GB of GDDR6X memory and its compute resources become the bottleneck as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows show that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 78.6 FPS, which is 17.7 FPS higher than High and only 13.5 FPS lower than Low. This places Medium firmly in the smooth gameplay territory for 1080p displays. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset achieves 67.9 FPS, a playable frame rate that maintains visual quality without the steep performance penalty of High (49 FPS) or Ultra (37.2 FPS).

For 4K resolution, the data suggests that Low settings are the only viable option for consistent frame rates, with 81.1 FPS being the sole 4K result above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 56.1 FPS, which is borderline for smooth play, while High and Ultra fall below 40 FPS. The benchmark results indicate that players should prioritize Medium at 1080p and 1440p, while accepting Low settings at 4K to maintain frame rates above 60 FPS.

GPU Role

The RTX 3070 Ti brings substantial hardware to this pairing, with 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. Its memory configuration consists of 8 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, providing 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's clock speeds are listed as a base of 1575 MHz and a boost of 1770 MHz, which are the figures that define its processing throughput. The benchmarks show the GPU performing in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30849.

In this game, the GPU's role is evident in the frame rate differences between Low and Ultra settings. At 1080p, the gap between Low (92.1 FPS) and Ultra (43.4 FPS) is 48.7 FPS, showcasing how much headroom the GPU has when visual effects are reduced. The RTX 3070 Ti's 21.75 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is sufficient for high frame rates at lower settings, but the 4K Ultra result of 31 FPS indicates that the GPU's memory capacity and compute power are strained by the game's highest preset at that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear hierarchy: Low settings produce 92.1 FPS, Medium produces 78.6 FPS, High produces 60.9 FPS, and Ultra produces 43.4 FPS. The difference between Medium and High is 17.7 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 17.5 FPS, suggesting each preset tier imposes a similar performance penalty.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decline across all presets. Low settings retain 88.6 FPS, which is only 3.5 FPS lower than at 1080p. Medium drops to 67.9 FPS, a 10.7 FPS reduction from 1080p. High falls to 49 FPS, and Ultra drops to 37.2 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is most pronounced on the High preset, which loses 11.9 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates compress significantly. Low settings still manage 81.1 FPS, but Medium falls to 56.1 FPS, a 22.8 FPS drop from 1440p. High drops to 36.8 FPS, and Ultra reaches 31 FPS. The data shows that 4K is only playable at Low settings, as every other preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra nearly halving the frame rate compared to 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 2600 and RTX 3070 Ti ranks 794th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the 47th percentile of all configurations. This ranking is notably lower than what the GPU alone would suggest, as the RTX 3070 Ti sits in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. The discrepancy indicates that the CPU is constraining the overall performance of this pairing.

The CPU's benchmark data supports this conclusion. The Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 19616, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-1345U, scores 19691, a delta of -0.4%, while the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U scores 19508, a delta of 0.6%. These close margins show that the CPU is competitive with modern mid-range parts in synthetic benchmarks, but its performance in this game is limited by its architecture and clock speeds.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen architecture, manufactured on a 12 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz, with 16 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's memory bandwidth is rated at 46.9 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR4 interface, which is a potential bottleneck for feeding the RTX 3070 Ti's 608.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

The benchmark results show that the CPU's single-threaded performance is its weak point. In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 1579 in single-core and 11186 in multi-core. The Passmark single-thread score is 2239, which places it behind more modern processors. In The Medium, the frame rates at 1080p Low (92.1 FPS) suggest that the CPU is capable of high frame rates, but the game's reliance on single-threaded performance likely limits the maximum achievable FPS. The data shows that the CPU's 65 W TDP and 4,800 million transistors on a 213 mm² die are modest by today's standards, and the 12 nm process node means it cannot match the clock-for-clock efficiency of newer chips.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combination in The Medium?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates across all presets, with Low reaching 92.1 FPS and Medium reaching 78.6 FPS. At 2560x1440, frame rates remain playable on Medium at 67.9 FPS, but 3840x2160 only offers smooth gameplay at Low settings with 81.1 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 2600 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The CPU has an average benchmark score of 19616. The Intel Core i5-1345U scores 19691, which is 0.4% higher, while the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U scores 19508, which is 0.6% lower. This places the Ryzen 5 2600 in a tight competitive band with these processors.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces 92.1 FPS while Ultra produces 43.4 FPS. This represents a performance gap of 48.7 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a significant rendering load on the GPU.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 Ti the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data indicates yes. At 4K, the frame rate drops from 81.1 FPS on Low to 31 FPS on Ultra. This steep decline across settings shows that the GPU's resources, including its 8 GB of GDDR6X memory, are saturated at higher presets.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This pairing ranks 794th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the lower-middle range of the database. The GPU alone ranks in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, but the combo's ranking is dragged down by the CPU's performance.

Q: What is the GPU's average benchmark score and percentile?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 30849 and sits in the 74th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700, scores 31112, which is 0.8% higher.