The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience, and the benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER reveals a system that is consistently pushed to its limits, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The measured frames per second (FPS) across the board indicate that this pairing is best suited for 1080p gameplay, where it can achieve playable frame rates, but struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K. The data suggests a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, while the CPU's six cores provide a sufficient, if not overwhelming, foundation for the game's demands.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 has a dramatic impact on the average FPS, highlighting the significant load placed on the graphics card. At the "High" preset, the system delivers 45.4 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 37.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and then plummets to 29.2 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a steep decline, with the 4K figure being roughly 36% lower than the 1080p result. The pattern is consistent across all settings, indicating that the RTX 2070 SUPER's processing power is the defining factor in this scaling.

At the "Ultra" preset, the situation becomes more pronounced. The frame rate starts at a modest 33.4 FPS at 1080p, falls to 30.9 FPS at 1440p, and reaches a low of 22.4 FPS at 4K. The difference between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is a 33% reduction, showing that the most demanding visual settings exacerbate the GPU's limitations. Conversely, the "Low" preset shows the least severe scaling: 98.7 FPS at 1080p, 83.6 FPS at 1440p, and 68 FPS at 4K. The 4K figure here is still 31% lower than at 1080p, but the absolute numbers are much higher, suggesting that when the GPU is less burdened, the resolution scaling becomes less punishing.

These results imply that the limiting component at higher resolutions is unequivocally the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER. The consistent and significant FPS drops as pixel count increases are a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is likely providing a stable frame delivery, but it cannot compensate for the sheer amount of pixel-pushing work required at 1440p and 4K. The data suggests that for a smooth 60 FPS experience, users would need to operate at 1080p with lower settings, as the gap between the "Medium" preset's 66 FPS at 1080p and the 43.3 FPS at 4K is substantial.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16429 and a single-core score of 2319, place it in a competitive position. The data shows it sits near the Intel Core i5-12500, with a negligible performance delta of -0.1%, indicating that its processing capabilities are well-matched to its peers for general tasks.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The fact that FPS scales so dramatically with resolution changes points to a GPU bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see more consistent frame rates across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution. Instead, the data shows that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to keep it busy, but the GPU's performance ceiling is what ultimately dictates the final frame rate.

The processor's 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide a solid foundation for gaming. The 3dmark single-thread score of 836 and the 2-thread score of 1645 suggest that its per-core performance is adequate for the game's logic and rendering tasks. However, the data does not suggest that more cores or higher clocks would yield a substantial improvement in this specific title, as the system is clearly constrained by the graphics card. The 79th percentile ranking among all CPUs reinforces that this is a capable mid-range processor, but it is not the star of the show in this benchmark.

Settings Recommendations

Analyzing the measured FPS rows, the most balanced experience is found at the "Medium" preset. At 1920x1080, this setting yields 66 FPS, which is comfortably above the threshold for smooth gameplay. Moving up to "High" at the same resolution drops the average to 45.4 FPS, which is still playable but introduces more noticeable frame pacing issues. The jump to "Ultra" at 1080p results in 33.4 FPS, a significant compromise in fluidity for a marginal increase in visual fidelity.

For users targeting 2560x1440, the "Low" preset is the only setting that provides a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 83.6 FPS. The "Medium" preset at 1440p drops to 55.5 FPS, which is acceptable for a slower-paced horror game, but the "High" and "Ultra" presets at 37.9 and 30.9 FPS respectively, are likely to feel sluggish. At 3840x2160, even the "Low" preset's 68 FPS is the only viable option for a playable frame rate; the "Medium" preset's 43.3 FPS and "High" preset's 29.2 FPS are too low for a consistent experience.

The data strongly suggests that the "Medium" preset at 1080p is the sweet spot for this hardware combination. It offers a 45% performance increase over "High" while maintaining a much higher level of visual quality than "Low". For those who prioritize frame rate above all else, the "Low" preset provides a significant boost, reaching near 100 FPS at 1080p, but the visual compromises are substantial. The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combo, as its performance penalty is severe across all resolutions, making it only suitable for static scenes or screenshots.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER holds a rank of 1037 out of 1689 tested combos in this game. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, indicating that while it is not a weak performer, many other hardware pairings deliver superior results in The Medium. This ranking is consistent with the measured FPS, which shows that the system struggles to maintain high frame rates at demanding settings and resolutions.

The ranking is likely influenced by the GPU's age and performance class. The RTX 2070 SUPER's average benchmark score of 22206 places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA RTX A400 with a -0.5% delta, show that it is a mid-range performer. The CPU's ranking is slightly higher, at the 79th percentile, suggesting that the processor is less of a limiting factor than the graphics card. This combination of a relatively strong CPU and a mid-range GPU results in a system that is often GPU-bound, which is a common scenario for gaming rigs of this era.

The fact that the combo ranks in the 61st percentile (1037/1689) implies that a significant number of other tested combinations, likely featuring more powerful GPUs, achieve higher frame rates. This ranking is a useful indicator for potential buyers, showing that this specific pairing is not optimized for maximum performance in The Medium, but rather for a balanced 1080p experience. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield a more substantial improvement in this game than upgrading the CPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1605 MHz, with a boost clock of 1770 MHz. The GPU's compute power is rated at 9.062 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. These specifications position it as a capable 1440p card for many titles, but the benchmark data for The Medium shows that it is challenged by the game's engine.

The GPU's memory configuration is a critical factor. At 4K resolution with "High" settings, the card produces 29.2 FPS, which is a clear sign that it is running out of both raw processing power and possibly memory bandwidth. The 8 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for most textures at 1080p, but at higher resolutions with more detailed assets, the card's 256-bit memory interface and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth can become a constraint. The significant drop from 43.3 FPS at "Medium" 4K to 29.2 FPS at "High" 4K suggests that the extra texture detail and effects are disproportionately taxing the GPU.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's performance is directly reflected in its percentile ranking of 65, which is lower than the CPU's 79th percentile. This indicates that, in a general sense, the GPU is a weaker link in this system. The benchmark data confirms this, as increasing the resolution and settings consistently lowers FPS in a way that is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios. The card's 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present, but they do not appear to provide a significant advantage in this particular game, as the standard rasterization performance is the primary bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings?

A: The measured average frame rate is 66 FPS.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K resolution?

A: At the "Low" preset, the average is 68 FPS, but this drops to 43.3 FPS at "Medium" and only 22.4 FPS at "Ultra".

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck?

A: The data indicates a GPU bottleneck, as frame rates drop significantly with increasing resolution while the CPU's workload remains largely unchanged.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth experience?

A: The "Medium" preset at 1920x1080, which achieves 66 FPS, offers the best balance of performance and visual quality.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested hardware?

A: It is ranked 1037 out of 1689 combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database.

Q: What is the frame rate at 2560x1440 with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 37.9, which is likely too low for a consistently smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings preset.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | :------ |

| 3840x2160 | High | 29.2 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 68.0 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 43.3 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 22.4 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 37.9 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 83.6 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 55.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 30.9 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 45.4 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 98.7 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 66.0 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 33.4 |

The data shows a clear and consistent pattern. The "Low" preset is the only one that consistently delivers frame rates above 60 FPS across all resolutions, while the "Ultra" preset is the only one that fails to reach 60 FPS at any resolution. The "Medium" and "High" presets offer a middle ground, but their performance is heavily dependent on the chosen resolution.