The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination presents a compelling case study in The Medium, a horror title known for its fixed-camera angles and dual-reality rendering. The measured data reveals a system where the GPU is the primary driver of performance, but the CPU’s capabilities set a ceiling that becomes increasingly relevant as resolution drops. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, interpreting what the numbers mean for the overall experience.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking observation from the measured data is the dramatic impact of resolution on performance, especially when comparing the Low and Ultra presets. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves an average of 130.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, that figure drops to 118.4 FPS, a decrease of 12.5 FPS. Stepping up to 4K Low, the average falls further to 111.2 FPS. This scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings represents a 19.7 FPS drop, or roughly 15%. This relatively modest decline suggests that at lower settings, the workload is not purely pixel-bound; the CPU is still able to feed the GPU adequately, and the GPU’s raw power is sufficient to handle the increased pixel count without a massive penalty.

The story changes drastically at the High and Ultra presets. At 1080p High, the average is 73.1 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 64.9 FPS (an 8.2 FPS reduction), and at 4K High, it plunges to 47.9 FPS (a further 17 FPS drop). The scaling is even more severe on Ultra: 56.8 FPS at 1080p, 52.8 FPS at 1440p, and just 41.9 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at High is 25.2 FPS, and at Ultra it is 14.9 FPS. This pattern indicates that as the graphical load intensifies, the GPU becomes the definitive limiting component. The RTX 4070 SUPER is being pushed to its limits, and the frame rate scales almost linearly with the number of pixels being rendered.

This data implies that for a smooth 4K experience, the user must significantly compromise on visual fidelity. While 4K Low is playable at 111.2 FPS, the jump to 4K Medium yields 70.3 FPS, and 4K High drops to 47.9 FPS. The performance cost of each preset tier is substantial, highlighting that this game is exceptionally demanding at higher resolutions. The inverse is true at 1080p, where even the Ultra preset manages 56.8 FPS, suggesting that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution for most settings, and the GPU has enough headroom to handle the lower pixel count with ease.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this hardware combination?

A: The highest measured average is 130.9 FPS, achieved at 1080p with the Low preset.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 111.2, which is very playable. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 41.9 FPS, which may be below the threshold for a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: How does the 1440p Medium preset compare to the 1080p High preset?

A: At 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 85.6. This is notably higher than the 1080p High preset, which produces an average of 73.1 FPS. This suggests that the resolution increase is less demanding than the jump in graphical quality from Medium to High.

Q: Is there a significant performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: Yes, the difference is substantial. The 1080p Low preset averages 130.9 FPS, while the 1080p Ultra preset averages 56.8 FPS. This represents a 74.1 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset is far more demanding.

Q: What is the performance drop from 1080p to 1440p at the High preset?

A: The average FPS drops from 73.1 at 1080p High to 64.9 at 1440p High. This is a reduction of 8.2 FPS, or approximately 11%.

Q: At which resolution does the RTX 4070 SUPER seem most comfortable?

A: The data suggests the GPU is most comfortable at 1440p. At this resolution, the Medium preset yields a high average of 85.6 FPS, and even the High preset maintains a solid 64.9 FPS, offering a good balance between visual quality and performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The measured FPS data shows that this memory configuration is sufficient for the game's demands, as even at 4K, the performance drop is consistent with the increase in resolution rather than a sudden collapse from running out of VRAM. The 12 GB capacity is not a limiting factor in the measured data, as the game runs at all tested resolutions and settings without any indication of a memory-related bottleneck.

The GPU's clock speeds are a base of 1980 MHz and a boost of 2475 MHz. These clocks, combined with the 7168 shading units, deliver a peak FP32 performance of 35.48 TFLOPS. This raw compute power is what drives the massive frame rate differences between presets. For instance, the jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p reduces the average FPS from 130.9 to 56.8, a 74.1 FPS difference. This indicates that the Ultra preset likely enables features like ray tracing or high-resolution shadows that significantly tax the GPU's compute and memory subsystems.

The RTX 4070 SUPER occupies the 84th percentile of all GPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 42576. Its nearest rivals in average score include the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (42653, a delta of -0.2%) and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42723, a delta of -0.3%). This places it in a high-performance tier, yet the measured FPS in The Medium shows that even this powerful GPU struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K on the higher presets. This suggests that The Medium is a particularly demanding title that can push high-end hardware to its limits, especially at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a 1080p display, the High preset provides an average of 73.1 FPS, which is well-suited for a standard 60 Hz monitor. For those with high-refresh-rate displays, the Medium preset at 104 FPS or even the Low preset at 130.9 FPS are excellent choices, prioritizing smoothness over maximum visual detail.

At 1440p, the Medium preset stands out as the best balance. It delivers an average of 85.6 FPS, which is smooth and responsive, while still offering a significant visual upgrade over the Low preset (118.4 FPS). The High preset at 64.9 FPS is also viable for a 60 Hz display, but the Medium preset’s higher frame rate provides a more comfortable margin. The Ultra preset at 52.8 FPS is borderline and might be preferred by those who prioritize visual fidelity over a perfectly smooth frame rate.

For 4K gaming, the choices are more constrained. The Low preset at 111.2 FPS is the only option that guarantees a high, fluid frame rate. The Medium preset at 70.3 FPS is a strong contender for a 60 Hz display, offering a much better visual experience than Low. The High preset at 47.9 FPS and Ultra at 41.9 FPS are playable but may not provide a consistently smooth experience, especially in fast-paced scenes. The data clearly shows that the Medium preset is the "sweet spot" for 1440p, and the Low or Medium presets are the only reasonable choices for 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database for The Medium, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is ranked 349th out of 1689 tested combos. This places it in the top 21% of all configurations tested, indicating a high-performance pairing. Given the GPU's strength, this ranking is expected, but it also suggests that there are many other combinations that perform better, likely featuring more powerful CPUs.

The CPU’s individual ranking is the 79th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20875. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i5-12500 (avgScore 20897, deltaPct -0.1%) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE (avgScore 20900, deltaPct -0.1%). This shows that the Ryzen 5 5500 is a solid mid-range performer. The combo's rank of 349 suggests that while the CPU is competent, it is not the primary reason for the high in-game ranking; that credit goes to the RTX 4070 SUPER, which sits in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. The GPU’s relative strength is what propels this combo to a top-tier position in the game's benchmark results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average FPS data is as follows:

• 3840x2160 (4K):
• Ultra: 41.9 FPS
• High: 47.9 FPS
• Medium: 70.3 FPS
• Low: 111.2 FPS

• 2560x1440 (1440p):
• Ultra: 52.8 FPS
• High: 64.9 FPS
• Medium: 85.6 FPS
• Low: 118.4 FPS

• 1920x1080 (1080p):
• Ultra: 56.8 FPS
• High: 73.1 FPS
• Medium: 104 FPS
• Low: 130.9 FPS

The data shows a clear hierarchy. At every resolution, the Low preset is the fastest, followed by Medium, then High, and finally Ultra. The performance gap between Medium and High is consistently significant, mirroring the gap between High and Ultra. For example, at 1440p, the progression is 118.4 (Low) to 85.6 (Medium) to 64.9 (High) to 52.8 (Ultra). This suggests that the High and Ultra presets introduce disproportionately heavy graphical effects that impact the GPU more than the step from Low to Medium.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. Evidence for this is seen in the FPS scaling. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 130.9 FPS. If the CPU were a significant bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller performance gain when lowering the resolution from 1440p to 1080p, as the CPU workload would remain constant. However, the jump from 118.4 FPS at 1440p Low to 130.9 FPS at 1080p Low shows that the GPU has more headroom to work with when the pixel count is reduced, implying the CPU is not fully saturated at these settings.

The CPU’s benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16429 and a single-core score of 2319, indicate it is a capable processor for gaming. Its 16 MB of L3 cache is standard for its class. However, in this pairing, it is the RTX 4070 SUPER that dictates the performance ceiling at higher settings. For instance, at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 41.9, which is a massive drop from 4K Low's 111.2 FPS. This 69.3 FPS difference is almost entirely due to the increased GPU load, not a CPU limitation.

The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-12500, has a nearly identical average benchmark score (20897 vs 20875, a -0.1% delta). This suggests that in other, more CPU-bound scenarios, the Ryzen 5 5500 would perform on par with that Intel chip. But in The Medium, the data shows that the game is heavily GPU-bound, especially at higher resolutions and presets. The CPU provides a solid foundation, but it is the GPU that determines whether the game runs at 40 FPS or 130 FPS.