The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti pairing delivers a highly variable experience in The Medium, with average frame rates swinging from a fluid 149 FPS at 1080p Low down to a demanding 35 FPS at 4K Ultra. The measured data shows this is a configuration where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution climbs, while the CPU’s strong single-thread performance keeps lower-resolution scenes from stalling.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the limiting component in this title at higher resolutions. Examining the High preset data, the frame rate drops from 67 FPS at 1920x1080 to 56 FPS at 2560x1440, and then further to 44 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 34% reduction in average FPS when moving from 1080p to 4K, a pattern that indicates the GPU’s rendering throughput, rather than CPU capability, is the constraining factor.

The scaling behavior is even more pronounced at the Ultra preset. The RTX 3080 Ti manages 53 FPS at 1080p, but this falls to 45 FPS at 1440p and bottoms out at 35 FPS at 4K. The steep decline between 1440p and 4K, a 22% drop, aligns with the massive increase in pixel count that the GPU must process, particularly given the game’s fixed camera angles and heavy post-processing effects that tax the shading units.

Interestingly, the Low preset shows a different scaling curve. At 1080p, the system achieves 149 FPS, dropping to 125 FPS at 1440p and 98 FPS at 4K. The relative stability here, with a 34% total drop from 1080p to 4K (compared to the 48% drop at Ultra), suggests that at Low settings the workload shifts more toward the CPU. The Ryzen 5 7400F’s 6-core, 12-thread configuration with a 4.70 GHz boost clock is sufficient to maintain high frame rates, but the data implies that even this modern processor begins to feel the strain when the GPU is not the bottleneck.

The Medium preset provides the most complete picture with min and max FPS data. At 1080p, the average is 93 FPS with a range of 79 to 107 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 78 FPS with a range of 67 to 90 FPS. At 4K, the average is 61 FPS with a range of 52 to 71 FPS. The consistent frame time variance across resolutions, roughly 30% between min and max, suggests that The Medium’s scene complexity, such as the dual-reality rendering mechanic, creates periodic spikes in GPU load that are resolution-independent.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware?*

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at Medium settings provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with an average of 78 FPS and a minimum of 67 FPS. This keeps the frame rate comfortably above 60 FPS while offering a higher pixel density than 1080p.

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

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 98, which is playable. However, at 4K High the average drops to 44 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 35 FPS, which may feel sluggish for a horror game that relies on atmospheric tension.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 41187, placing it at the 83rd percentile. It is 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, 2% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, but 1.2% behind the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB and 1.7% behind the NVIDIA Tesla M40.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7400F a bottleneck for this game?

A: Based on the resolution scaling data, the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system hits 149 FPS, indicating strong CPU throughput, but the 4K results show the GPU struggling to keep pace, suggesting the RTX 3080 Ti is the primary limiter.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: The difference is substantial. At 1440p Low, the average FPS is 125, while at 1440p Ultra it drops to 45 FPS. This represents a 64% performance reduction for the highest visual quality preset.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 Ti’s memory configuration matter for this game?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus with 912.4 GB/s bandwidth. The measured results do not show a memory capacity issue, as the frame rates scale consistently with resolution, indicating that the 12 GB capacity is sufficient for this title’s requirements.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the dominant component in this configuration for The Medium, and its specifications explain the measured performance patterns. The GPU is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip, manufactured on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It contains 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units, which collectively drive the pixel and texture rates of 186.5 GPixel/s and 532.8 GTexel/s respectively.

The memory subsystem is particularly relevant for The Medium’s high-resolution performance. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory operates at 1188 MHz with a 19 Gbps effective rate, delivering 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth across a 384-bit bus. This high bandwidth is crucial for feeding the GPU’s 80 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores, which are likely utilized for the game’s lighting and post-processing effects, even if ray tracing is not explicitly enabled. The FP32 performance of 34.10 TFLOPS provides the raw compute power needed for the game’s dual-world rendering, where two scenes are often composited simultaneously.

The clock speeds of 1365 MHz base and 1665 MHz boost are relatively modest for a high-end card, but the sheer number of compute units compensates. The measured data shows that at 1080p, the GPU is not fully utilized, as the frame rate at Low settings (149 FPS) suggests the CPU is keeping up well. However, at 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 35 indicates the GPU is heavily saturated, with the 34.10 TFLOPS of compute being insufficient to maintain high frame rates at maximum settings with this large pixel count.

The GPU’s power characteristics, with a 350 W TDP and a suggested 750 W PSU, are consistent with its performance class. The dual-slot design and 285 mm length are standard for this generation, but the 1x 12-pin power connector reflects the transition period in which this card was released. The benchmark results place this GPU at the 83rd percentile, with an average score of 41187, which is competitive with its nearest rivals, though the data shows it trails the Tesla M40 cards by a small margin.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this configuration span four presets and three resolutions, providing a comprehensive view of performance.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 149 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS, indicating smooth gameplay with minor dips. The High preset averages 67 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 53 FPS. This resolution shows a clear performance hierarchy, with a 64% difference between Low and Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset still delivers a strong 125 FPS average. The Medium preset averages 78 FPS with a range of 67 to 90 FPS, which is excellent for a horror title where consistent frame pacing matters for atmosphere. The High preset averages 56 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 45 FPS. The step from Medium to High at this resolution represents a 28% performance penalty, which may not justify the visual improvements.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 98 FPS, making 4K playable if visual quality is sacrificed. The Medium preset averages 61 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS, which is borderline acceptable for a game that requires precise timing in some sequences. The High preset averages 44 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 35 FPS. The drop from Medium to High at 4K is 28%, and the drop from High to Ultra is 20%, showing diminishing returns at the highest settings.

The overall combination rank for this CPU-GPU pair in The Medium is 663 out of 2911 combinations, placing it in the top 23% of all tested configurations. This indicates that while the hardware is capable, there are many faster combinations available, primarily those with more powerful GPUs.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best experience for most users, regardless of resolution. At 1080p, Medium provides 93 FPS average with a minimum of 79 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The jump to High only yields 67 FPS, a 28% reduction, while the visual differences in a game like The Medium are often subtle due to its fixed camera angles and dark environments.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation. The 78 FPS average with a 67 FPS minimum keeps gameplay smooth, and the 1440p resolution provides significant clarity improvements over 1080p. The High preset at 56 FPS is playable but may exhibit occasional stutter during intense scenes, and the Ultra preset at 45 FPS is not recommended for a game that relies on building tension.

For 4K users, the Low preset at 98 FPS is the only setting that provides a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset at 61 FPS is acceptable if the user prefers higher visual quality, but the minimum of 52 FPS indicates that some scenes will dip below 60 FPS. The High and Ultra presets at 44 FPS and 35 FPS respectively are not recommended for actual gameplay, as the frame rates are too low for a horror game where quick reactions may be needed.

The data shows that the sweet spot for this configuration is 1440p Medium, which offers a 78 FPS average and maintains a minimum above 60 FPS. This provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, leveraging the RTX 3080 Ti’s 12 GB memory and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth without overwhelming the rendering pipeline.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F plays a supporting role in The Medium, but its specifications are sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios. This processor features 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael, manufactured on TSMC’s 5 nm process. The base clock of 3.70 GHz boosts up to 4.70 GHz, which is crucial for gaming performance where single-thread speed often dictates frame rates.

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. This 32 MB L3 is beneficial for The Medium’s streaming assets and AI-driven enemy behavior, as it reduces the frequency of memory accesses to the DDR5 system memory. The dual-channel DDR5 memory support provides 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for feeding the CPU’s cores with game data.

Synthetic benchmarks confirm the CPU’s capabilities. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 and single-core score of 3072 indicate strong performance for a 6-core part. The single-core score is particularly relevant for The Medium, which likely relies on a main thread for game logic and rendering commands. The PassMark single-thread score of 3689 supports this, showing that the CPU can handle the IPC demands of modern game engines.

The CPU’s benchmark scores place it at the 83rd percentile, with an average score of 32750. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-14600T, which is 0.1% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H, which is 0.2% faster. These tiny margins indicate that the 7400F is well-positioned among its peers, and the differences are negligible for gaming.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 149 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames to hit that ceiling. However, the 6-core, 12-thread configuration may limit performance in scenes with many AI entities or complex physics, as the game’s dual-reality mechanic requires rendering two simultaneous perspectives. The 65 W TDP and unlocked multiplier allow for potential overclocking, though the boost clock of 4.70 GHz already provides strong out-of-the-box performance. The data shows that in this title, the CPU is not the limiting factor at 1440p or 4K, as the GPU’s rendering load dominates the frame time budget.