The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title from 2021, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and graphics presets. This analysis examines the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, using only the benchmark data provided. The results show a combination that is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p but becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution climbs, with the Ultra preset proving particularly punishing at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling across the three tested resolutions. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers an average of 66.6 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, this drops to 57.9 FPS, a reduction of approximately 13%. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 41.8 FPS, which is about 37% lower than the 1080p result. This consistent decline indicates that the RTX 3080 Ti is the primary limiting factor, as the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced when examining the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 146.4 FPS. At 1440p Low, it reaches 127.2 FPS, and at 4K Low, it still manages 97.1 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is roughly 34%, which is similar to the percentage drop seen at High settings. This suggests that even at the lowest settings, the GPU workload remains the bottleneck, though the absolute numbers are much higher.

The Medium preset shows the steepest relative decline between 1440p and 4K. At 1080p Medium, the average is 92.8 FPS. At 1440p, it is 79.4 FPS, and at 4K, it drops to 62 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings represents a 22% reduction, while the jump from 1080p to 1440p is only 14%. This non-linear scaling suggests that the game's Medium preset introduces effects that are particularly expensive at higher pixel counts.

Ultra settings present the most demanding scenario. The 1080p Ultra average is 50.8 FPS, which falls to 46.5 FPS at 1440p and 33.4 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K at Ultra is 28%, indicating that the 4K Ultra configuration is heavily taxing the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources. The data shows that for this combo, 4K gaming is only viable at Low or Medium settings, while 1440p offers a balanced experience across all presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 79.4 FPS and High delivers 57.9 FPS, so Medium is the only preset at this resolution that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. At 1080p, all presets except Ultra (50.8 FPS) average above 60 FPS, with Low reaching 146.4 FPS and Medium at 92.8 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at the same resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra averages 50.8 FPS versus High at 66.6 FPS, a difference of 15.8 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra averages 46.5 FPS versus High at 57.9 FPS. At 4K, Ultra averages 33.4 FPS versus High at 41.8 FPS. The Ultra preset consistently costs roughly 24-25% performance compared to High.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F has a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22799 and a single-core score of 3218, which are strong figures. The FPS scaling with resolution shows a steady decline as pixel count increases, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance.

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

A: Yes, but only at lower presets. At 4K Low, the average is 97.1 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 62 FPS. At 4K High, the average drops to 41.8 FPS, and at Ultra, it falls to 33.4 FPS, making those presets less suitable for smooth play.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 41224, which is 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090's score of 41441. It is 1.1% lower than the RTX 5070's score of 41687. The RTX 3080 Ti sits at the 83rd percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the CPU's performance relative to its closest competitors?

A: The Ryzen 5 7500F has an average benchmark score of 24993, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-11850H's 24974. It is 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X's 25057 and 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F's 25064. The CPU sits at the 82nd percentile of all CPUs.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Medium, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 445th out of 1689 combos. This places it in the top 26% of all tested systems, indicating a solidly above-average configuration for this title. The rank is influenced by both the CPU and GPU, but given the GPU-bound nature of the game, the RTX 3080 Ti's 83rd percentile standing likely contributes more heavily to this position.

The CPU's 82nd percentile ranking is nearly identical to the GPU's, meaning neither component is a weak link in this pairing. The combo's overall rank of 445 suggests that while there are many faster systems, this configuration is well-matched for the game's demands. The data shows that the combo outperforms a significant majority of tested systems, but it does not reach the top tier, which is consistent with the RTX 3080 Ti being a previous-generation high-end card rather than a current flagship.

Compared to the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 3080 Ti performs within 1.6% of the RTX 3090, the Radeon Pro 5300, the RTX 5070, and the Tesla M40. This tight clustering indicates that the combo's rank is not heavily influenced by GPU model alone, but rather by the complete system configuration. The Ryzen 5 7500F's performance is similarly close to its rivals, with deltas of 0.4% or less against the i7-11850H, Ryzen 7 2700X, Ryzen 5 8400F, and Ryzen 9 6900HX.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows a wide performance envelope. The Low preset delivers an average of 146.4 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 92.8 FPS, High at 66.6 FPS, and Ultra at 50.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 53.6 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 26.2 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is 15.8 FPS, showing diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 127.2 FPS for Low, 79.4 FPS for Medium, 57.9 FPS for High, and 46.5 FPS for Ultra. The Low preset remains well above 120 FPS, which is suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. Medium stays above 60 FPS, while High and Ultra fall below that threshold. The relative performance gap between Low and Ultra is 80.7 FPS, which is slightly narrower than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the results are 97.1 FPS for Low, 62 FPS for Medium, 41.8 FPS for High, and 33.4 FPS for Ultra. The Low preset is the only one that exceeds 60 FPS by a wide margin. Medium barely clears the 60 FPS mark, while High and Ultra are well below it. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is most severe at Ultra settings, where the average drops from 46.5 to 33.4 FPS, a 28% reduction.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to maintain a sufficient frame rate ceiling so that the GPU is not starved of data. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 146.4 FPS, indicating that the CPU can support high frame rates when the GPU workload is light.

The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 22799, and its single-core score is 3218. The single-core performance is particularly relevant for games, as many titles rely on a few threads for game logic and rendering commands. The 3DMark single-thread score is 974, which is a strong result. The CPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that it is a capable gaming processor.

The combination of 6 cores and 12 threads is sufficient for The Medium, which is a game from 2021 that does not appear to heavily utilize many cores. The measured FPS data shows no signs of CPU limitation, as the frame rates scale consistently with GPU load. The CPU's L3 cache is 32 MB shared, and it supports DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, which helps feed the GPU with texture and geometry data.

Given the GPU-bound nature of the game, the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution or preset. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, where the average is 33.4 FPS, the CPU is capable of producing more frames than the GPU can render. The CPU's performance is well matched to the RTX 3080 Ti, allowing the GPU to be the primary determinant of FPS in this title.

Settings Recommendations

For users targeting a smooth 60 FPS experience, the data offers clear guidance. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 92.8 FPS, which provides ample headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 66.6 FPS is also viable, while Ultra at 50.8 FPS falls short. At 1440p, the Medium preset is the only option that exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 79.4 FPS. The High preset at 57.9 FPS is close but below the target.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the best choice for 60 FPS, averaging 62 FPS. The Low preset at 97.1 FPS provides a much higher frame rate, but at a significant visual quality cost. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are not recommended for smooth play, as they average 41.8 and 33.4 FPS respectively. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p, the Low preset at 146.4 FPS offers the best frame rate, while the Medium preset at 92.8 FPS provides a good balance of quality and speed.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this combo across all resolutions. At 1080p, it provides 92.8 FPS, at 1440p it provides 79.4 FPS, and at 4K it provides 62 FPS. This preset offers a consistent experience that meets or exceeds 60 FPS at every resolution. The High preset is acceptable at 1080p and 1440p, but it falls below 60 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is only playable at 1080p, where it averages 50.8 FPS, but even then, it is below the 60 FPS target.