The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT produces a combination that ranks 909th out of 2911 tested combos in this game. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested configurations, meaning it is capable of delivering playable frame rates, but with clear compromises required at higher resolutions. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, yet the CPU’s strong multi-threaded performance ensures that even at lower resolutions, the graphics card remains the primary bottleneck. This analysis will break down the measured FPS results, the roles of the CPU and GPU, and provide actionable settings recommendations based strictly on the provided benchmark data.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 909 out of 2911 tested combinations places it within the 69th percentile of all recorded configurations for The Medium. This is a solid result, indicating that the Ryzen 5 7400F and RX 7800 XT together deliver performance that beats a majority of other pairings tested. However, it is not a top-tier setup; the rank suggests that there are many faster combinations, particularly those with higher-end GPUs. The average FPS across all measured settings and resolutions in the data is 68.4, which is a respectable figure for a game like The Medium that is known for its fixed camera angles and heavy visual effects.

Benchmark results indicate that the combo’s strength lies in its consistency. At 1080p, the lowest average FPS recorded is 48 at Ultra settings, while the highest is 135 at Low settings. This range shows that the system has enough headroom to handle the game smoothly at lower presets, but struggles to maintain high frame rates at maximum quality. The rank of 909 is influenced by the fact that many higher-ranked combos likely feature more powerful GPUs, such as the RX 7900 series or RTX 4080-class cards, which are not present in this data. The Ryzen 5 7400F’s own percentile rank of 83 among all CPUs indicates that the processor is well above average, but the GPU’s percentile rank of 51 suggests it is only average compared to all GPUs. This imbalance is a key factor in the overall combo ranking.

The data reveals that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates at Medium settings. At 4K, the performance drops significantly, with the High preset averaging only 40 FPS. The ranking reflects this: it is a capable mid-range setup, not a high-end enthusiast one. When compared to other combos in the database, the 909th position means that roughly 31% of tested configurations outperform it, while 69% are slower. This puts it in a competitive spot for gamers targeting 60 FPS at 1440p, but not for those seeking 4K Ultra experiences. The measured data shows that the combo is more than sufficient for the game’s horror atmosphere, which prioritizes mood over fast-paced action, but it cannot brute-force its way through maximum settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is the primary driver of frame rates in The Medium, and its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is a significant asset. The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s, paired with a 256-bit bus, ensures that the game’s high-resolution textures and complex lighting effects are handled without stuttering. The card’s boost clock of 2430 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz, provides the raw compute power needed for the game’s fixed-camera scenes, which often feature dense particle effects and volumetric fog. The 3840 shading units and 60 RT cores are relevant here, as The Medium uses ray-traced reflections and shadows in certain scenes, though the game does not require RT to be enabled.

The GPU’s performance in the measured data shows a clear pattern. At 1080p, the RX 7800 XT averages 61 FPS on High settings, which is playable but not exceptionally smooth. Dropping to Medium raises this to 84 FPS, and Low pushes it to 135 FPS. At 1440p, the High preset drops to 51 FPS, while Medium achieves 71 FPS. At 4K, the High preset averages just 40 FPS, and Medium drops to 56 FPS. These numbers indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU’s performance is unlikely to change with resolution. The 4K Low preset, which averages 89 FPS, shows that even at the lowest settings, the GPU still cannot hit the 144 FPS that high-refresh-rate monitors might demand.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 11627, with a percentile rank of 51, places it in the middle of the pack. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, which scores 11680 (a delta of -0.5%), and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M, which scores 11528 (a delta of 0.9%). This is surprising, as the RX 7800 XT is a modern card, but the average benchmark score is skewed by the fact that the database includes older cards with similar compute scores. However, in actual gaming performance, the RX 7800 XT’s 16 GB VRAM gives it an advantage in modern titles like The Medium, which can exceed 8 GB of VRAM usage at 4K. The GPU’s texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 233.3 GPixel/s are sufficient for the game’s fixed-camera scenes, which do not require the same level of polygon throughput as open-world titles.

The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K, as the FPS drops are proportional to the resolution increase. For example, the Medium preset at 1080p averages 84 FPS, but at 1440p it drops to 71 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 56 FPS. This is a 33% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. The Low preset shows a similar trend, with 135 FPS at 1080p, 114 FPS at 1440p, and 89 FPS at 4K. The GPU’s 16 GB VRAM is not fully utilized at 1080p, but at 4K, the game’s high-resolution textures may push usage closer to the limit, though the data does not provide specific VRAM usage numbers.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are well-suited for gaming, as they reduce latency and improve data throughput. The CPU’s benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 and a single-core score of 3072. This is a significant advantage in The Medium, which uses multiple threads for its loading screens and dynamic scene transitions.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s role is most apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between the High and Low presets is 74 FPS (135 vs 61), which is a larger gap than at 4K, where the difference is 49 FPS (89 vs 40). This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is still able to feed the GPU enough frames, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The CPU’s percentile rank of 83 among all CPUs indicates that it outperforms the vast majority of processors in the database. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-14600T, which has an average score of 32707 (a delta of 0.1%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H, which scores 32812 (a delta of -0.2%). This places the 7400F in a competitive position, with performance nearly identical to those chips.

The CPU’s 65W TDP and 5nm process node make it an efficient choice, but the data does not show any thermal throttling issues. The PassMark multi-thread score of 25645 and single-thread score of 3689 further confirm that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 84 FPS, which is higher than the 60 FPS target for most monitors. At 1440p Medium, the average is 71 FPS, still above 60. The CPU’s ability to maintain high frame rates at 1080p is evident from the Low preset hitting 135 FPS, which suggests that the CPU can handle even higher frame rates if the GPU were faster.

However, the CPU’s role is less critical at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The 4K Ultra preset averages 32 FPS, which is unplayable, and the 4K High preset averages 40 FPS, which is borderline. The CPU’s performance at 4K is likely sufficient, as the FPS drops are consistent with GPU-bound behavior. The data shows that the CPU is not holding back the GPU at any resolution, as the FPS scales linearly with resolution changes. This is a well-balanced combo, but the GPU’s average performance relative to other GPUs means that it cannot fully utilize the CPU’s potential at higher settings.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p with Medium settings is the sweet spot, averaging 71 FPS. At 1080p, Medium averages 84 FPS, but 1440p provides a better visual experience while still maintaining playable frame rates. 4K is only viable at Low settings, which averages 89 FPS, but Medium at 4K drops to 56 FPS.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages only 32 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users. The data shows that this setting is not recommended for this combo, as even the High preset at 4K averages 40 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the main bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are proportional to resolution increases, which is a sign of GPU-bound performance. The CPU’s strong multi-threaded scores suggest it is not a limiting factor at any resolution.

Q: What is the average FPS across all settings at 1080p?

A: The average FPS at 1080p across the four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) is 82. This is calculated from the measured values: 135, 84, 61, and 48, respectively. This indicates that the combo is well-suited for 1080p gaming.

Q: How does the RX 7800 XT compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RX 7800 XT has an average benchmark score of 11627, which is 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (11680) and 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (11528). This shows that the GPU’s synthetic benchmark performance is similar to older cards, but its real-world gaming performance is better due to its 16 GB VRAM.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 7400F have enough cores for this game?

A: Yes, the 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 is well above average, and the game does not appear to be CPU-limited, as FPS scales with resolution changes.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance as resolution increases. At 1080p, the Medium preset averages 84 FPS, which drops to 71 FPS at 1440p (a 15.5% decrease) and then to 56 FPS at 4K (a 33% decrease from 1080p). This scaling is consistent with the GPU being the limiting factor, as the CPU’s workload does not change significantly with resolution. The Low preset shows a similar trend: 135 FPS at 1080p, 114 FPS at 1440p (a 15.6% drop), and 89 FPS at 4K (a 34% drop). The High preset drops from 61 FPS at 1080p to 51 FPS at 1440p (a 16.4% drop) and then to 40 FPS at 4K (a 34.4% drop). This linear scaling indicates that the GPU is fully utilized at all resolutions, and the CPU is not introducing any additional bottlenecks.

The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 48 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 16.7%, and from 1080p to 4K is 33.3%. This suggests that the GPU’s compute and memory bandwidth are being stressed to their limits at higher resolutions. The 4K Low preset, which averages 89 FPS, shows that the GPU can handle the resolution when settings are reduced, but the visual quality suffers significantly. The data indicates that for this combo, 1080p and 1440p are the most viable resolutions, with 4K only suitable for Low settings or for those who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.

The scaling analysis also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 87 FPS (135 vs 48). At 1440p, the difference is 74 FPS (114 vs 40). At 4K, the difference is 57 FPS (89 vs 32). This is because the GPU’s workload increases exponentially with resolution, and the higher settings add more visual effects that consume additional GPU resources. The CPU’s role is minimal in this scaling, as its performance is consistent across resolutions. This confirms that the RX 7800 XT is the primary determinant of frame rates, and the Ryzen 5 7400F is more than capable of keeping up.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, averaging 71 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS. This is the recommended starting point for most users, as it provides a smooth experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold. For those with 1080p monitors, the Medium preset at 1080p averages 84 FPS, with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 97 FPS, which is also an excellent choice. The High preset at 1080p averages 61 FPS, which is playable but not as smooth, and the Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 48 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for fast-paced scenes.

For 4K users, the Low preset is the only viable option, averaging 89 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 56 FPS, which is borderline playable but may result in noticeable stuttering during intense scenes. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are not recommended, as they average 40 FPS and 32 FPS, respectively, which are too low for a smooth experience. The data shows that the Medium preset at 4K has a minimum FPS of 47, which could drop below 40 during heavy load, making it risky. The Low preset at 4K does not have a minimum FPS recorded, but the average of 89 FPS suggests it is stable.

If the goal is to maximize visual quality while maintaining 60 FPS, the 1440p Medium preset is the best option. The 1440p High preset averages 51 FPS, which is close to 60 but not quite there, so medium is a safer bet. At 1080p, the High preset averages 61 FPS, which is acceptable, but the Medium preset provides a higher frame rate with only a minor visual penalty. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as the performance drops are significant, and the visual improvements over High are marginal. The measured data indicates that this combo is best utilized with Medium settings at 1440p or 1080p, offering a stable and enjoyable experience without compromising on the game’s atmospheric horror.