The Medium

FAQ

Q: How does the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F compare to its closest rivals in synthetic CPU benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 7500F posts an average benchmark score of 24964, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F, scores 25005, which is just 0.2% higher, making the two effectively identical in performance. The Intel Core i7-11850H trails by a mere 0.1%, while the Intel Core i7-13620H is 0.2% behind and the Intel Core 5 210H lags by 0.4%.

Q: What is the RTX 3070's standing relative to other GPUs in the database?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 holds a 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208. Its closest competitor, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, scores 17083, meaning the RTX 3070 leads by 0.7%. Interestingly, the legacy NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 is only 1% slower, and the mobile-oriented AMD Radeon HD 7970M is 1.1% behind.

Q: What frame rates can one expect at 1080p with Medium settings in The Medium?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the combination of the Ryzen 5 7500F and RTX 3070 delivers an average of 77 FPS, with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS. This suggests a smooth experience, as the minimum frame rate stays well above common 60 Hz display refresh rates.

Q: How does the RTX 3070's memory configuration affect performance in The Medium?

A: The GPU comes equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). This bandwidth is sufficient for the game's data streaming needs, as evidenced by the playable frame rates at 1440p Medium, though the 8 GB capacity may become a limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7500F a strong performer in multi-threaded workloads relevant to gaming?

A: Yes, the 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Zen 4 architecture shows robust multi-threaded capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 22799 in multi-core and 3218 in single-core tests. Its 3DMark scores scale well from 1902 with 2 threads to 6379 with max threads, indicating good thread scaling that benefits modern game engines.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings in The Medium?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops to 29 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. This indicates that the RTX 3070 is heavily stressed at this configuration, and the 8 GB VRAM capacity combined with the sheer pixel count at 4K creates a demanding workload that the GPU cannot fully sustain.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture using the GA104 chip, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process with 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die. Its memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering a substantial 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1725 MHz, while the memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These specifications position the RTX 3070 as a high-end Ampere part, with 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units, plus 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores for ray tracing and DLSS workloads.

In The Medium, the GPU's role is central to the measured frame rates. The game is a horror title that relies heavily on rendering two simultaneous worlds at times, which places significant pressure on both the rasterization pipeline and memory bandwidth. The RTX 3070's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is a key asset here, as the game's dual-world rendering technique requires rapid texture streaming and frame buffer manipulation. The 8 GB VRAM capacity, while adequate at 1080p and 1440p, becomes a constraint at 4K, particularly with High and Ultra settings where texture quality and shadow details demand more memory than the card can efficiently provide.

The GPU's FP32 performance of 20.31 TFLOPS provides ample compute power for the game's shader complexity. The pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s indicate that the card can handle high-resolution rendering, but the actual benchmark results show a clear drop-off as resolution increases. At 4K High, the average FPS is 36, which is only 65% of the 55 FPS seen at 1080p High. This scaling pattern suggests that the RTX 3070's compute resources are sufficient for the game's effects, but the memory bandwidth and capacity become increasingly strained at higher pixel counts.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the system achieves 123 FPS at 1920x1080, which drops to 104 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 15.4% reduction) and further to 81 FPS at 3840x2160 (a 34.1% reduction from 1080p). This scaling suggests that even at Low settings, where the GPU's shading workload is minimized, the memory bandwidth and pixel throughput become limiting factors at higher resolutions.

At Medium settings, the frame rate drops from 77 FPS at 1080p to 65 FPS at 1440p (15.6% reduction) and 51 FPS at 4K (33.8% reduction from 1080p). The minimum FPS also scales down, from 65 at 1080p to 55 at 1440p and 43 at 4K. This indicates that the GPU is becoming more constrained at 4K, as the minimum frame rate drops proportionally more than the average.

High settings show a steeper decline: 55 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p (16.4% reduction), and 36 FPS at 4K (34.5% reduction). The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K remains consistently around 34%, which is lower than the 4x increase in pixel count (from 2.07 million to 8.29 million pixels). This suggests that the game's rendering is not purely pixel-bound; rather, the GPU's compute and memory subsystems are also significant contributors to the frame rate, allowing for better-than-linear scaling at higher resolutions.

Ultra settings exhibit the most dramatic scaling: 44 FPS at 1080p, 37 FPS at 1440p (15.9% reduction), and 29 FPS at 4K (34.1% reduction). The fact that the relative reduction from 1080p to 4K remains stable across all settings indicates that the RTX 3070's memory bandwidth is the consistent bottleneck. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth must serve an increasing number of pixels, and the efficiency of this transfer degrades predictably with resolution, regardless of the graphical preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates a wide range of performance across settings. Low settings produce an average of 123 FPS, which is highly playable for any display. Medium settings yield 77 FPS average with a minimum of 65 and maximum of 88 FPS, providing a solid experience with improved visual fidelity. High settings reduce the average to 55 FPS, which is still playable but begins to approach the threshold where frame pacing becomes noticeable on 60 Hz displays. Ultra settings drop the average to 44 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold for most gamers.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales predictably. Low settings deliver 104 FPS average, which remains excellent for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors. Medium settings produce 65 FPS average (55 minimum, 74 maximum), which is acceptable for most gaming scenarios, though the minimum dips could cause occasional stutter in demanding scenes. High settings reduce the average to 46 FPS, which is marginal for a smooth experience, while Ultra settings drop to 37 FPS average, making the game feel sluggish during fast-paced sequences.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 3070 struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher settings. Low settings deliver 81 FPS average, which is surprisingly strong and suggests that the GPU can handle 4K if the graphical load is minimized. Medium settings produce 51 FPS average with a minimum of 43 and maximum of 58 FPS, which is playable but not without noticeable frame drops. High settings reduce the average to 36 FPS, which is below the 40 FPS threshold typically considered minimum for playability. Ultra settings drop to 29 FPS average, which is effectively unplayable for a smooth experience.

The data shows clear tiers: Low settings are playable at all resolutions, Medium settings are playable up to 4K, High settings are only suitable for 1080p, and Ultra settings are marginal even at 1080p. The system's performance profile suggests that the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM is a limiting factor at 4K High and Ultra, as the game likely exceeds the memory capacity, causing texture swapping and reduced frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance is achieved at Medium settings. At 1080p, Medium settings deliver 77 FPS average with a 65 FPS minimum, which provides a smooth experience while still offering significant visual improvements over Low settings. The jump from Low to Medium is substantial in terms of visual fidelity, while the frame rate drop from 123 to 77 FPS is acceptable for most gamers.

At 1440p, Medium settings produce 65 FPS average with a 55 FPS minimum. This is the best combination for 1440p gaming, as it maintains playable frame rates while offering enhanced textures, shadows, and effects compared to Low settings. The 55 FPS minimum is close to 60 Hz, and while there may be occasional dips, the overall experience remains fluid.

For 4K, Medium settings are the only viable option for a playable experience, delivering 51 FPS average with a 43 FPS minimum. While this is below the 60 FPS ideal, it is acceptable for a story-driven horror game where gameplay pacing is slower. Low settings at 4K achieve 81 FPS, but the visual degradation is significant; Medium strikes the best balance.

High settings are only recommended for gamers with 1080p displays who prioritize visual quality over frame rate. The 55 FPS average at 1080p High is playable, but the difference between High and Medium is not substantial enough to justify the 28.6% frame rate reduction. Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution, as even at 1080p, the 44 FPS average falls below the smoothness threshold.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture (Raphael), manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features a 32 MB shared L3 cache, 1 MB L2 cache per core, and 64 KB L1 cache per core. Memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 83.2 GB/s bandwidth. The processor supports PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes and has unlocked multipliers for overclocking.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls, handle physics calculations, and manage game logic. The game is primarily GPU-bound, as evidenced by the significant frame rate drops at higher resolutions. However, the CPU's performance is still relevant for maintaining minimum frame rates, particularly in scenes with complex geometry or numerous dynamic objects.

The Ryzen 5 7500F's benchmark scores indicate strong single-thread and multi-thread performance. In Cinebench R23, it scores 3218 in single-core and 22799 in multi-core. The single-core performance is crucial for game engine main-thread workloads, while the multi-core performance helps with background tasks and parallel game systems. The 3DMark scores show good scaling from 1902 with 2 threads to 6379 with max threads, indicating that the CPU can effectively utilize additional threads.

The CPU's 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24964, places it in the upper echelon of processors. Its nearest rivals are within 0.4% performance, making it competitive with modern mid-range and high-end options. The 6-core, 12-thread configuration is sufficient for The Medium, which is not known for being heavily multi-threaded, and the high boost clock of 5.00 GHz ensures responsive single-thread performance.

The memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s for DDR5 is significantly higher than older DDR4 platforms, which helps with data-intensive game scenarios. The CPU's PCIe Gen 5 support ensures that the RTX 3070 can communicate with the processor at full bandwidth, though the GPU's PCIe 4.0 x16 interface is not a bottleneck in current game workloads. Overall, the Ryzen 5 7500F provides ample processing power to avoid becoming a limiting factor in The Medium, allowing the RTX 3070 to be the primary determinant of frame rates across all tested settings and resolutions.