The Medium

The Medium is a fixed-camera horror game that leans heavily on atmosphere, and the data for the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 shows a combination that can handle it, but with important caveats depending on your resolution and settings expectations. This pairing places 1307th out of 2911 tested combos for this specific title, putting it in the upper-middle tier of the database. The measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions reveal a pattern where the GPU is the primary driver of performance, with the CPU’s six Zen 4 cores providing enough headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios. The following analysis breaks down the FAQ, GPU and CPU roles, settings recommendations, and a full measured FPS breakdown, all based strictly on the provided data.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 offers the highest average FPS across all settings, with Low hitting 115 FPS, Medium at 72 FPS, High at 51 FPS, and Ultra at 41 FPS. The 2560x1440 results drop significantly, with Medium averaging 61 FPS, and 3840x2160 is only playable at Low (76 FPS) or Medium (48 FPS), as High (34 FPS) and Ultra (27 FPS) fall below 30 FPS.

Q: Is the AMD Radeon RX 7700 capable of running The Medium at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra settings yield an average of 41 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. At 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 34 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls to 27 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay. The data suggests that Ultra is only viable at 1080p for this GPU in this title.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 7400F compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 7400F has an average benchmark score of 32750, which places it 0.1% above the Intel Core i5-14600T (32707) and 0.2% above the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (32697). It is 0.2% below the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (32812) and 0.3% above the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (32662). These deltas are negligible, indicating near-identical overall CPU performance.

Q: What is the role of the GPU’s 16 GB of VRAM in this game?

A: The RX 7700 has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth. While the FACT PACK does not provide specific VRAM usage for The Medium, the high memory capacity and bandwidth ensure that texture streaming and memory-heavy scenes are unlikely to be constrained, especially at lower resolutions where the average FPS is much higher.

Q: Should I use the Low or Medium preset at 3840x2160?

A: The data shows that Low averages 76 FPS, while Medium averages 48 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS and maximum of 55 FPS. For a smooth experience at 4K, Low is the safer choice, but Medium is viable if you prefer visual quality, given that its minimum FPS stays above 30.

Q: Does the CPU’s boost clock affect gaming performance in this combo?

A: The Ryzen 5 7400F has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. In The Medium, the measured FPS scales more with resolution and GPU settings than with CPU clock, indicating that the boost clock is sufficient for feeding the GPU. The CPU’s single-thread score of 3072 in Cinebench R23 suggests strong per-core performance for game logic.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the dominant component in this pairing for The Medium. Its RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process, features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines. The GPU’s boost clock of 2459 MHz and game clock of 2041 MHz are the primary drivers of the measured FPS differences across settings. The memory subsystem—16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth—provides ample data throughput for the game’s high-resolution textures and fixed-camera scenes, which often require large framebuffers.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmark scores reflect its mid-range positioning. It scores 20974 in Passmark G3D, which places it at the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R9 370X, has an average score of 15862, a delta of -0.1%, while the AMD Radeon RX 9060 scores 16014 (delta -1.0%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129 (delta -1.7%). These deltas are small, but the RX 7700’s real-world performance in The Medium is more telling. At 1920x1080, the GPU pushes 115 FPS on Low, 72 FPS on Medium, 51 FPS on High, and 41 FPS on Ultra. This scaling shows that the GPU is the limiting factor when settings are increased, as the average FPS drops by roughly 20-30% with each preset jump.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but at lower absolute numbers: 97 FPS on Low, 61 FPS on Medium, 43 FPS on High, and 34 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 36 FPS, and from Medium to High is 18 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s compute units are being saturated. At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles to maintain 60 FPS even on Low (76 FPS), but the gap between Low and Medium narrows to 28 FPS, and High falls to 34 FPS. The 16 GB VRAM is likely sufficient, but the GPU’s raw throughput at 4K is inadequate for high presets. The 40 ray tracing cores are present, but the FACT PACK does not include specific ray tracing performance data for this game, so their impact cannot be quantified here.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience depends heavily on your target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience, with an average of 72 FPS and a minimum of 61 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the visual uplift over Low (115 FPS) is substantial. High at 51 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced scenes, while Ultra at 41 FPS is only for those who prioritize visuals over frame rate. If you have a 144 Hz monitor, Low is the only setting that approaches that refresh rate, but the gap between Low and Medium is large enough that most users will prefer Medium.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again provides the best compromise, with an average of 61 FPS and a minimum of 51 FPS. This is just above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for a smooth experience. Low at 97 FPS is excellent for high-refresh monitors, but the visual downgrade may be noticeable. High at 43 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 34 FPS is not recommended due to frequent drops below 30 FPS. For 3840x2160, the data suggests using Low, which averages 76 FPS, as it is the only preset that consistently stays above 60 FPS. Medium at 48 FPS is playable if you can tolerate occasional dips to 40 FPS, but High (34 FPS) and Ultra (27 FPS) are not viable for a comfortable experience.

The measured minimum FPS values are only provided for Medium settings across all resolutions: 40 FPS at 4K, 51 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 1080p. These minimums indicate that Medium is the safest preset for avoiding stutters, as the frame time variance is likely lower than on High or Ultra, where no min/max data is available. For a consistent experience, prioritize Medium or Low depending on your resolution, and avoid Ultra unless you are at 1080p and willing to accept an average below 45 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1307th out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the 55th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms more than half of the combinations in the database but is not a top-tier performer. The ranking reflects the GPU’s mid-range positioning (58th percentile among all GPUs) and the CPU’s strong but not elite performance (83rd percentile among all CPUs). The CPU’s high percentile does not translate into a proportionally high game ranking, which suggests that The Medium is GPU-bound in most scenarios.

The nearest rivals for the GPU—the AMD Radeon R9 370X, AMD Radeon RX 9060, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti—have average benchmark scores within 1.7% of the RX 7700, but none of these are listed as tested combos with this specific CPU. The CPU’s nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i5-14600T and Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, have average scores within 0.3% of the Ryzen 5 7400F, but again, no direct game FPS comparisons are available. The combo rank of 1307 suggests that while the individual components are solid, the pairing does not unlock exceptional performance in this title, likely due to the game’s engine and the GPU’s limits at higher settings.

The rank also implies that many other combos achieve higher FPS, particularly those with more powerful GPUs. For example, a system with a higher-end GPU and a similar CPU would likely rank higher, as the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for the game’s demands. The data does not include frame times or 1% lows, but the average FPS across settings shows that the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant setting reductions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture (Raphael) on a 5 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. These specs are strong for a desktop CPU, and its synthetic benchmarks confirm this: Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 21765, single-core is 3072, and Passmark multi-thread is 25645. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 32750 puts it at the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms most processors in general computing.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is less critical than the GPU, as evidenced by the FPS scaling across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the CPU’s boost clock of 4.70 GHz helps maintain high frame rates on Low (115 FPS) and Medium (72 FPS), but the drop to High (51 FPS) and Ultra (41 FPS) is more attributable to GPU load. At 2560x1440, the FPS drops further, but the CPU is still likely not the bottleneck, as the GPU’s fill rate and shading units are the limiting factors. The CPU’s 6 cores are sufficient for the game’s single-threaded and light multi-threaded workloads, and the 32 MB L3 cache helps with data locality.

The CPU’s nearest rivals, the Intel Core i5-14600T and Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, have nearly identical average scores (32707 and 32697, respectively), but the Ryzen 5 7400F’s higher boost clock (4.70 GHz vs. the 14600T’s unspecified clocks) may give it an edge in game logic. However, the FACT PACK does not include game-specific CPU benchmarks, so this is speculative. The CPU’s 65 W TDP and 5 nm process make it efficient, but the game’s performance is not limited by CPU power draw. The PCIe Gen 5 interface (24 lanes) provides ample bandwidth for the GPU, which uses PCIe 4.0 x16, ensuring no bottleneck on that front.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), with average FPS for all, and min/max only for Medium.

1920x1080:

• Low: Average 115 FPS. This is the highest measured average in the entire dataset, indicating that the combo can easily handle the game at 1080p with reduced visuals. No min/max data, but the average suggests a very smooth experience.
• Medium: Average 72 FPS, with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 83 FPS. The minimum stays above 60 FPS, making this the recommended preset for a consistent 60+ FPS experience. The 11 FPS range between min and max indicates stable frame times.
• High: Average 51 FPS. No min/max data, but the average is below 60 FPS, so expect occasional dips below 50 FPS. This is playable but not ideal for a horror game with sudden scene changes.
• Ultra: Average 41 FPS. This is the lowest average at 1080p, and while it is above 30 FPS, it is not smooth. The visual quality is maximized, but the frame rate will be noticeable.

2560x1440:

• Low: Average 97 FPS. This is still high, showing that the GPU can handle 1440p on Low without issue. The drop from 1080p Low (115 FPS) is 18 FPS, which is modest.
• Medium: Average 61 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and maximum of 70 FPS. The minimum is below 60 FPS, so there will be occasional dips, but the average is just above the 60 FPS threshold. The 19 FPS range between min and max is wider than at 1080p, suggesting more variance.
• High: Average 43 FPS. This is below 60 FPS, and the lack of min/max data suggests that dips below 40 FPS are possible. Only suitable for users who prioritize visuals over smoothness.
• Ultra: Average 34 FPS. This is near the edge of playability, with drops likely below 30 FPS. Not recommended for a comfortable experience.

3840x2160:

• Low: Average 76 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that stays above 60 FPS, making it the clear choice for 4K gaming. The drop from 1440p Low (97 FPS) is 21 FPS, indicating the GPU’s limits at this resolution.
• Medium: Average 48 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and maximum of 55 FPS. The minimum is 40 FPS, which is playable but with stutters. The 15 FPS range between min and max shows that frame times are not consistent.
• High: Average 34 FPS. This is below 40 FPS, and the lack of min/max data suggests potential drops to 20-25 FPS. Not recommended.
• Ultra: Average 27 FPS. This is below 30 FPS, making it unplayable for most users. The GPU cannot handle 4K Ultra in this title.

The data shows a clear trend: at each resolution, the FPS roughly halves from Low to Ultra, with Medium being the middle ground. The min/max data for Medium shows that 1080p is the only resolution where the minimum stays above 60 FPS, reinforcing the recommendation for Medium at 1080p. The combo’s overall performance is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming with moderate settings, but 4K requires Low settings to achieve a smooth frame rate.