The Medium

The Medium presents a unique challenge for the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination, with benchmark results showing a clear progression from CPU-bound territory at 1080p to a GPU-limited scenario at 4K. The data indicates that this pairing delivers a highly playable experience at most settings, though the game’s demanding visual effects at higher presets will test the RTX 5070’s capabilities. The measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions reveal a system that is well-balanced for 1440p gaming but requires careful settings management for 4K displays. The following analysis breaks down the performance characteristics, scaling behavior, and optimal configurations based strictly on the measured data.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies in this system. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 160 at 1080p to 135 at 1440p, a modest 15.6% reduction, and then to 106 at 4K, which represents a 33.8% drop from the 1080p baseline. This relatively gentle scaling curve at Low settings suggests that the CPU is playing a significant role in limiting performance at lower resolutions, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced as settings increase. At Medium settings, the average FPS falls from 100 at 1080p to 84 at 1440p (a 16% drop) and then to 66 at 4K (a 34% drop from 1080p). The High preset shows similar behavior: 72 FPS at 1080p, 60 at 1440p (a 16.7% reduction), and 47 at 4K (a 34.7% reduction). The Ultra preset exhibits the steepest scaling, moving from 57 FPS at 1080p to 48 at 1440p (a 15.8% drop) and finally to 38 at 4K (a 33.3% drop from 1080p).

The consistent ~15% penalty when moving from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a ~34% penalty from 1080p to 4K, indicates that the RTX 5070 is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The 4K results show the GPU working at its limits, particularly at Ultra settings where the average FPS of 38 is just below the threshold for smooth gameplay on standard 60Hz displays. The data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combination, offering a substantial visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining playable frame rates across all presets.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1440p, the system achieves 84 FPS on Medium, 60 FPS on High, and 48 FPS on Ultra, all of which are playable. The 4K results show the GPU struggling at higher presets, with Ultra averaging only 38 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 perform at 4K in this game?

A: The 4K results are mixed. At Low settings, the system averages 106 FPS, which is excellent. Medium settings produce 66 FPS, which is playable. However, High settings drop to 47 FPS and Ultra falls to 38 FPS, indicating that the GPU cannot maintain smooth frame rates at the highest visual quality on a 4K display.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7500F a bottleneck for the RTX 5070 in this game?

A: The scaling data suggests the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at higher resolutions. The consistent FPS drops from 1080p to 1440p to 4K across all settings indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU may be more involved, but the overall system balance appears adequate.

Q: What settings preset provides the highest frame rate?

A: The Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at every resolution: 160 FPS at 1080p, 135 FPS at 1440p, and 106 FPS at 4K. This is expected as Low settings reduce the GPU workload significantly.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of FPS?

A: The Ultra preset is consistently about 20-21% slower than High across all resolutions. At 1080p, Ultra averages 57 FPS versus 72 FPS for High. At 1440p, the difference is 48 FPS versus 60 FPS. At 4K, Ultra averages 38 FPS versus 47 FPS for High.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data. At 1080p, the frame rate ranges from 85 to 115 FPS, averaging 100. At 1440p, the range is 71 to 97 FPS, averaging 84. At 4K, the range is 56 to 76 FPS, averaging 66. This shows a consistent ~30% variance between min and max frames, which is typical for this type of game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 plays a central role in determining The Medium’s performance, as evidenced by the benchmark data. The GPU is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for the game’s requirements at 1440p, but the 4K Ultra results suggest that the GPU’s compute resources, rather than memory capacity, are the primary constraint.

The GPU’s clock speeds are specified with a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz. These clocks, combined with the 6144 shading units and 48 RT cores, determine the raw rendering throughput. The benchmark results show that the RTX 5070 can deliver 160 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating significant headroom when the GPU is not heavily taxed. However, at 4K Ultra, the same GPU drops to 38 FPS, showing that the increased pixel count and visual effects overwhelm the available processing power.

The RTX 5070’s 80 ROPs and 192 TMUs contribute to the pixel and texture fill rates, which are critical for high-resolution rendering. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 30.87 TFLOPS provides a baseline for compute-intensive tasks, but the actual game performance is more directly influenced by the shader and RT core utilization. The data indicates that the GPU is well-suited for 1440p gaming, where it can maintain 60+ FPS on High settings, but 4K gaming requires significant compromises in visual quality to achieve smooth frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination ranks 675 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the top 18.1% of all configurations. This ranking reflects a strong overall performance level, though it is not at the very top tier. The percentile ranking of the CPU (77th) and GPU (82nd) individually suggest that both components are above average, but the game’s specific demands may limit their combined potential.

The CPU’s nearest rivals provide context for its performance. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F has an average benchmark score of 24964, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-11850H and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i7-13620H. It is 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core 5 210H. These marginal differences indicate that the CPU is in a tightly contested performance tier, with no single rival offering a significant advantage.

For the GPU, the RTX 5070’s nearest rivals show a similar pattern of close competition. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 40377 is 0.1% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 580 and 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100. It is 1.2% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 and 2.0% higher than the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile. These small deltas suggest that the RTX 5070 is competitively positioned within its performance class.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset offers an excellent experience with an average of 72 FPS, providing a smooth and visually detailed presentation. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 57 FPS, which is still playable but may not be worth the additional visual fidelity for the 21% performance penalty. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 100 FPS, making it the best choice for high-refresh-rate monitors.

For 1440p, the High preset is the recommended choice, averaging 60 FPS. This provides a good balance of visual quality and performance, suitable for most gaming scenarios. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 84 FPS, which is ideal for competitive play or for users who prioritize frame rate over visual detail. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 48 FPS, which is playable but may experience noticeable stuttering in fast-paced scenes.

For 4K, the Medium preset is the best option, averaging 66 FPS. This provides a playable experience while maintaining acceptable visual quality. The Low preset at 4K averages 106 FPS, but the visual downgrade is likely too severe for most users. The High preset at 4K averages 47 FPS, which is borderline playable, and the Ultra preset at 4K averages 38 FPS, which is not recommended for a smooth experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system achieves the following average frame rates: 160 FPS on Low, 100 FPS on Medium, 72 FPS on High, and 57 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a min of 85 FPS and a max of 115 FPS, indicating a frame time variance of about 30%.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are: 135 FPS on Low, 84 FPS on Medium, 60 FPS on High, and 48 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset ranges from 71 FPS to 97 FPS, showing a similar variance pattern to 1080p. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is approximately 15-17% across all settings, suggesting a consistent scaling factor.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are: 106 FPS on Low, 66 FPS on Medium, 47 FPS on High, and 38 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset ranges from 56 FPS to 76 FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K results in a 21-22% performance penalty, which is typical for a 2.25x increase in pixel count. The Ultra preset at 4K shows the largest absolute drop, falling to 38 FPS, which is only 67% of the 1440p Ultra performance.