The Medium

The Medium presents a particularly demanding workload, and the measured results for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 reveal a system that is consistently pushed to its limits. The data shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop tells a compelling story about where the bottleneck lies. This combination, ranked 782nd out of 1689 tested combos for this specific title, offers a fascinating case study in balancing CPU and GPU capabilities in a modern horror game.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking observation from the measured FPS data is the dramatic collapse in performance as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low preset, the system delivers 123.3 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 102.5 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 79.4 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35.6% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, suggesting the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The scaling is not linear, with the most significant single-step drop occurring between 1440p and 4K, where the system loses 23.1 FPS.

The High preset tells a similar but more severe story. At 1080p, the system manages 52.5 FPS, but this falls to 43.4 FPS at 1440p and a nearly unplayable 38.7 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 26.3% here, but the absolute numbers are far less forgiving. The Ultra preset shows the most brutal scaling, starting at 44.3 FPS at 1080p and descending to 36.4 FPS at 1440p and 27.9 FPS at 4K. The fact that even 1080p Ultra cannot maintain a locked 60 FPS strongly suggests that this game's Ultra settings impose a geometric workload that exceeds what the RTX 3070 can handle, regardless of resolution.

What is curious is the Medium preset's behavior. It starts at 76.9 FPS at 1080p, drops to 65.4 FPS at 1440p, and then falls to 53.1 FPS at 4K. The 4K result here is notably higher than the 4K High result of 38.7 FPS, indicating that the Medium preset's reduced shading and texture demands allow the GPU to breathe more easily at high pixel counts. The data implies that the RTX 3070's 8 GB GDDR6 memory buffer and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for Medium at 4K, but the High and Ultra presets likely push memory capacity or bandwidth closer to their limits.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the context of all tested combinations for The Medium, this pairing of Ryzen 5 5600X and RTX 3070 secures a rank of 782 out of 1689 combos. This places it just below the median of the tested field, which is a reasonable result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU from the previous generation. The percentile ranking for the CPU alone is 78, meaning the 5600X outperforms 78% of all tested CPUs in general benchmarks, but the combo's in-game rank of 782 out of 1689 suggests other factors dominate in this specific title.

The CPU's nearest rivals in general benchmark scores include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT at 20740 (a -0.3% difference) and the Intel Core i7-10700 at 20746 (also -0.3%). This tells us the 5600X's raw compute performance is nearly identical to these alternatives, yet the in-game ranking may differ because of how The Medium leverages specific CPU features. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, scores 27985 versus the RTX 3070's 28238, a mere 0.9% difference. This close margin suggests that in this game, the RTX 3070 is performing near the expected level for its class, and the 782nd rank is more a function of the overall combination's balance than a deficiency in any single component.

The data indicates that the combo's rank is likely dragged down by the GPU's 72nd percentile standing, which is lower than the CPU's 78th percentile. This imbalance suggests the GPU is the ceiling for performance in The Medium, and the CPU's extra headroom is not being fully utilized.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the clear performance gatekeeper in this pairing. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial but not limitless. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra, a mere 27.9 FPS, indicates that the card's 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 165.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are overwhelmed by the game's highest fidelity settings. The boost clock of 1725 MHz is standard for the reference design, and there is no indication from the data that thermal throttling is occurring; rather, the card is simply running out of compute resources.

Comparing the GPU's benchmark scores to its nearest rivals offers insight into its real-world performance. The passmark G3D score of 22214 is only 0.6% lower than the AMD FirePro S7150's 28409, but this is a synthetic test. In The Medium, the gap between the RTX 3070 and the RX 6600 XT is only 0.9% in average benchmark score, but the measured FPS at 1080p Low (123.3) versus the expected performance of a 6600 XT suggests the RTX 3070's 5888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units are being exercised heavily. The card's 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are present for ray tracing and DLSS, but the fact that even Low preset at 1080p achieves 123.3 FPS while Ultra at 1080p only reaches 44.3 FPS indicates that the game's rasterization load, not ray tracing, is the primary bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for a smooth experience are clear. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 76.9 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays, while the High preset at 52.5 FPS is borderline and Ultra at 44.3 FPS is likely too choppy for a horror game that relies on atmospheric tension. The Low preset at 123.3 FPS is excessively fast and likely sacrifices visual fidelity that is important for the game's moody lighting.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 65.4 FPS is the only option that maintains a playable frame rate above 60. The High preset at 43.4 FPS and Ultra at 36.4 FPS are both sub-optimal, and Low at 102.5 FPS is again unnecessary. At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more challenging. The Medium preset at 53.1 FPS is the only one that approaches playability, but it is still below 60 FPS. The Low preset at 79.4 FPS is technically smooth but will look noticeably worse. The data suggests that for 4K, users must either accept the Medium preset's 53.1 FPS or drop to Low for 79.4 FPS, with High at 38.7 FPS and Ultra at 27.9 FPS being effectively unplayable.

FAQ

Q: Can this system achieve a stable 60 FPS at 1080p in The Medium?

A: Yes, at 1080p the Medium preset delivers 76.9 FPS and the Low preset reaches 123.3 FPS, both of which exceed 60 FPS. However, the High preset at 52.5 FPS and Ultra at 44.3 FPS fall short.

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

A: The data indicates that 2560x1440 with the Medium preset at 65.4 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. At 1080p, the Medium preset is also viable, but 1440p uses the GPU's resolution scaling more effectively.

Q: Why does the 4K Ultra preset perform so poorly at 27.9 FPS?

A: The 4K Ultra result is 64.7% lower than the 4K Low result of 79.4 FPS. This indicates that the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM and 20.31 TFLOPS compute are insufficient for the combined load of 4K resolution and the Ultra preset's effects.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system achieves 123.3 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's limit for this game. However, at 1080p Ultra, the FPS drops to 44.3, showing that the GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings increase.

Q: How does this combo's rank compare to other systems?

A: The combo is ranked 782nd out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the field. The CPU's 78th percentile ranking is higher than the GPU's 72nd percentile, suggesting the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 4K?

A: The Medium preset at 4K delivers 53.1 FPS, which is the highest quality setting that maintains a frame rate above 50 FPS. The Low preset at 79.4 FPS is smoother but with lower visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, with its 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, plays a supporting role in this game's performance. The CPU's 3.70 GHz base clock and 4.60 GHz boost clock provide strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3dmark single-thread score of 917 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2622. The L3 cache of 32 MB is ample for gaming, and the 65W TDP means it runs cool under load. However, in The Medium, the CPU's headroom is not the deciding factor.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 123.3 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate to suggest the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU. Yet, the CPU's nearest rival, the Ryzen 5 5600GT, scores nearly identically at 20740 versus 20680, a -0.3% difference. This indicates that the 5600X is not being held back by its compute capabilities. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 5582 and max-thread score of 5588 show that the CPU's multi-threaded performance is solid, but The Medium appears to be a GPU-bound title, especially at higher resolutions.

The CPU's 4,150 million transistors on a 74 mm² die at 7 nm allow for a high level of efficiency, but this doesn't translate to a higher combo rank in this game. The fact that the combo rank of 782 out of 1689 is below the CPU's individual percentile of 78 suggests that the game's engine does not heavily tax the CPU, and the limiting factor is purely the GPU's ability to render frames. The 5600X's 12 threads are more than sufficient for The Medium's workload, and the system would likely see no benefit from a higher-core-count CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS across presets is as follows: Low averages 123.3 FPS, Medium averages 76.9 FPS, High averages 52.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 44.3 FPS. The transition from Low to Medium results in a 46.4 FPS drop, while High to Ultra only loses 8.2 FPS, indicating diminishing returns at the top end.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results shift downward: Low averages 102.5 FPS, Medium averages 65.4 FPS, High averages 43.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 36.4 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is most pronounced at the Medium preset, losing 11.5 FPS, while High loses 9.1 FPS and Ultra loses 7.9 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance is significantly limited: Low averages 79.4 FPS, Medium averages 53.1 FPS, High averages 38.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 27.9 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 4K is largest at the Low preset, with a 23.1 FPS loss, and smallest at Ultra, with an 8.5 FPS loss. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset provides the most consistent relative performance, while Ultra is consistently below 45 FPS at every resolution, making it unusable for smooth gameplay. The data confirms that the RTX 3070's 8 GB memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are the critical resources, and the Ryzen 5 5600X's 3.70 GHz base clock and 4.60 GHz boost clock are never the limiting factor in this horror title.