The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in The Medium. At 1080p, the combination is capable of high refresh rates, but 4K Ultra proves too demanding for smooth gameplay. The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, with CPU headroom available at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, confirming that the RTX 3070 is the limiting component in this configuration. At Medium settings, the average frame rate drops from 77 FPS at 1080p to 65 FPS at 1440p, a decrease of 12 FPS, and then further down to 51 FPS at 4K. This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU-bound scenario where the render resolution directly impacts the pixel throughput required from the graphics card.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system produces 123 FPS average, which falls to 104 FPS at 1440p and 81 FPS at 4K. The 42 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at Low settings suggests that even when graphical complexity is reduced, the sheer pixel count at 3840x2160 still imposes a significant load on the RTX 3070. This is a larger absolute drop than seen at Medium settings, indicating that the GPU's raw fillrate and memory bandwidth are being stressed at higher resolutions.

At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 55 at 1080p to 46 at 1440p and 36 at 4K. The relative performance loss from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 16%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is about 22%. This accelerating decline at higher resolutions points to the RTX 3070's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth being insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in this title. The Ultra preset shows an even steeper curve, with 44 FPS at 1080p, 37 FPS at 1440p, and only 29 FPS at 4K, which is below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience.

The data reveals that the Ryzen 5 5600G is not the primary constraint in this setup. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are capable of feeding the GPU, as evidenced by the substantial frame rate improvements when lowering graphics settings at the same resolution. The fact that 1080p Low produces 123 FPS while 4K Ultra produces only 29 FPS is a strong indicator that the GPU's processing capacity is the limiting factor, not the CPU's compute power or memory bandwidth.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip, plays a decisive role in The Medium's performance. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The measured results suggest that this memory configuration is a critical factor at 4K resolution, where the High and Ultra presets yield average frame rates of 36 and 29 FPS respectively. These figures are below the 60 FPS target, indicating that the memory subsystem may be overwhelmed when handling high-resolution textures and effects.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1500 MHz and a boost of 1725 MHz, contribute to its overall compute capability of 20.31 TFLOPS FP32. This raw power is sufficient to handle the game's fixed-camera horror presentation, but the frame rates at 4K reveal its limitations. The RTX 3070's 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are present for ray tracing and DLSS features, though the measured data does not specify whether these are enabled in the test scenarios. The performance across all settings at 4K stays below 60 FPS, with the Medium preset achieving 51 FPS and the Low preset reaching 81 FPS.

The GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs, based on an average benchmark score of 17208, places it in a solid mid-to-high tier position. However, its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, including the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT with a deltaPct of 0.7 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 with a deltaPct of 1, show that it is not at the absolute top of the performance stack. The close margins to these rivals, with deltaPct values within 1.5%, indicate that the RTX 3070's performance is competitive but not dominant.

The memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is a key specification that directly relates to the observed 4K performance. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset achieves 65 FPS, which is close to a smooth experience, but at 3840x2160 it drops to 51 FPS. This 21% performance reduction from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings is consistent with the GPU's memory bus being fully utilized at higher resolutions. The RTX 3070's 96 ROPs and 184 TMUs are sufficient for pixel and texture processing at lower resolutions, but the 4K data suggests they become a limiting factor when combined with the memory bandwidth constraints.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the most consistent performance, with average frame rates ranging from 44 FPS at Ultra to 123 FPS at Low. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 65 FPS, which is playable, but 4K at any setting above Low dips below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600G's CPU performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600G has an average benchmark score of 21088, placing it in the 74th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-1220P, has an avgScore of 21066, which is a deltaPct of 0.1, indicating nearly identical performance. The AMD Ryzen 5 7530U is 0.2% slower, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U is 0.4% slower.

Q: Is the RTX 3070's performance close to any other GPUs in the database?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17208 and sits in the 61st percentile. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is the closest rival with a score of 17083 and a deltaPct of 0.7, meaning the RTX 3070 is 0.7% faster. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 is 1% slower, and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c is 1.5% faster.

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

A: The measured data indicates that 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings, where the average FPS is 81. At Medium settings, the average drops to 51 FPS, and at High and Ultra, it falls to 36 and 29 FPS respectively, which are below the standard for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much performance is gained by lowering settings from Ultra to Low at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS increases from 44 at Ultra to 123 at Low, which is a 79 FPS improvement. This substantial gain indicates that the GPU is heavily loaded at Ultra settings and that reducing graphical complexity provides significant headroom.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combination?

A: The only min FPS values provided are for the Medium settings preset. At 1080p, the min FPS is 65, at 1440p it is 55, and at 4K it is 43. These values suggest that even at Medium settings, frame pacing remains relatively stable.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium settings preset at 1920x1080 is the optimal choice based on the measured data. This configuration delivers an average FPS of 77, with a minimum of 65 and a maximum of 88. The minimum FPS above 60 ensures a consistently smooth experience, which is crucial for a horror game where frame hitches can break immersion. The 4K Medium setting, with an average of 51 FPS, may be acceptable for players prioritizing resolution over smoothness, but the 43 FPS minimum indicates potential stuttering in demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset provides a playable experience with an average of 65 FPS, though the minimum of 55 FPS suggests occasional dips below the 60 FPS threshold. For players with 1440p monitors, this is the recommended setting, as the High preset drops to 46 FPS average and Ultra falls to 37 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p yields 104 FPS average, which is excellent for competitive play, but it sacrifices significant visual fidelity.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution based on the measured performance. At 1080p, it achieves 44 FPS average, which is below the smoothness standard, and at 4K it drops to 29 FPS, which is nearly unplayable. The High preset at 1080p offers a middle ground with 55 FPS average, but the Medium preset provides a 22 FPS improvement while likely retaining most of the visual features that matter for the game's atmosphere.

The data suggests that the RTX 3070's 8 GB memory capacity is a limiting factor at higher settings, so the Medium preset is likely utilizing the memory more efficiently. The minimum FPS values of 65 at 1080p, 55 at 1440p, and 43 at 4K for Medium settings indicate that this preset is the most consistent across resolutions. Players using this combination should prioritize the Medium preset to achieve the best frame rate stability without completely sacrificing graphical quality.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1570 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the 58th percentile of all system configurations in the database, meaning it outperforms a majority of tested systems but is not near the top tier. The ranking reflects a balanced pairing where the GPU's performance is the primary determinant, while the CPU provides adequate support without bottlenecking the system.

The rank of 1570 out of 3724 indicates that there are 2154 combos that perform worse and 1569 that perform better. This middle-to-upper tier placement is consistent with the individual component rankings, where the Ryzen 5 5600G sits in the 74th percentile of CPUs and the RTX 3070 sits in the 61st percentile of GPUs. The combo rank being lower than the CPU's percentile suggests that the GPU's performance is the limiting factor in this pairing, pulling the overall ranking down from what the CPU alone might achieve.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals, which are all within 0.4% of its average score, show that the Ryzen 5 5600G is surrounded by closely matched alternatives. This means that swapping in a similarly performing CPU would likely not change the combo's ranking significantly. The GPU's nearest rivals also show small deltas, with the fastest rival being 1.5% faster, indicating that the RTX 3070's position in the combo ranking is similarly stable.

The measured FPS data reinforces this ranking, showing that the combo achieves playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p but struggles at 4K beyond Low settings. This performance profile is typical for a mid-to-high tier GPU paired with a capable mid-range CPU. The 1570 rank suggests that while this system is not at the state-of-the-art, it is well above average for The Medium, providing a solid gaming experience for most users.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data presents the exact measured FPS values for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 in The Medium, organized by resolution and settings preset.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 123 FPS on Low settings. The Medium preset produces an average of 77 FPS, with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS. High settings yield an average of 55 FPS. The Ultra preset produces an average of 44 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline of roughly 20 FPS per step, with the largest drop occurring between Low and Medium.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 104 FPS. The Medium preset delivers an average of 65 FPS, with a minimum of 55 FPS and a maximum of 74 FPS. High settings result in an average of 46 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to an average of 37 FPS. The performance gap between Medium and High is 19 FPS, which is the largest difference between consecutive settings at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset produces an average of 81 FPS. The Medium preset delivers an average of 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 58 FPS. High settings yield an average of 36 FPS, and Ultra settings produce an average of 29 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 30 FPS, which is the steepest single-setting decline across all resolutions, indicating that the Medium preset introduces significant GPU load at 4K.

The Medium settings preset is the only one with complete min/max data provided. Across all three resolutions, the delta between minimum and maximum FPS is 23 at both 1080p and 1440p, and 15 at 4K. This suggests that frame time variance is relatively consistent at lower resolutions but tightens at 4K, likely due to the GPU being more consistently saturated. The average FPS at Medium settings scales from 77 at 1080p, to 65 at 1440p, to 51 at 4K, representing a 33% performance loss when moving from 1080p to 4K.