The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that stresses both GPU and CPU, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER produces a playable but uneven experience. This combo ranks 1648th out of 2911 tested combinations in this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the field. The data indicates a system that can handle the game at lower settings comfortably, but which struggles to maintain high frame rates at maximum quality, particularly at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1648 out of 2911 tested combinations puts it at roughly the 43rd percentile among all tested hardware pairings for The Medium. This is a middling result, reflecting the fact that the RTX 2070 SUPER is an older GPU that sits well below the top tier of cards tested, while the Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a newer, capable processor that is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. The benchmark data shows this is a combination where the graphics card holds back the overall experience, especially when settings are raised.

Looking at the components individually provides context for this ranking. The GPU has an average benchmark score of 20282 and a percentile rank of 65 among all GPUs, meaning it outperforms about two-thirds of the graphics cards in the database. Its nearest rivals in raw compute terms are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480, -1% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, -1.2%), the Intel Arc B570 (20556, -1.3%), and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, -1.5%). The RTX 2070 SUPER is essentially neck-and-neck with these cards in synthetic benchmarks, trailing by only one to two percent. This places it in a competitive but not dominant position, and its performance in The Medium reflects that.

The CPU, by contrast, is a much stronger performer in absolute terms. The Ryzen 5 7500X3D has an average benchmark score of 44573 and a percentile rank of 89 among all CPUs, putting it in the top 11 percent of processors. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (44466, 0.2% delta), the Intel Core i9-13950HX (44342, 0.5%), and the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (44309, 0.6%), with the Intel Core i5-14600 (44889, -0.7%) slightly ahead. The CPU is performing at a level far above what the GPU can utilize in this game, which means the measured FPS is almost entirely GPU-bound.

The delta between the GPU’s 65th percentile and the CPU’s 89th percentile is significant. In a game like The Medium, which has a fixed camera perspective and uses pre-rendered backgrounds in many scenes, the GPU workload dominates. The CPU has more than enough headroom to feed the graphics card, so the ranking is determined by the GPU’s ability to render frames. The combo’s position in the lower half of the rankings is therefore not a reflection of a poorly matched pair, but rather an indication that the RTX 2070 SUPER is simply outclassed by the more modern GPUs that occupy the top ranks.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary determinant of this combo’s performance in The Medium. This GPU is based on the Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process at TSMC, with a chip size of 545 mm² and 13,600 million transistors. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is listed as 1750 MHz, with 14 Gbps effective data rate. The base clock is 1605 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz.

For The Medium, the 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor. The game’s high-resolution textures and complex scenes can consume significant memory, and at 4K Ultra settings, the card may approach or hit the 8 GB limit. The measured FPS data shows a steep drop at 4K Ultra to 24 FPS average, which suggests the card is both memory-constrained and compute-bound. The 448 GB/s bandwidth is reasonable for a card of this era, but it is not enough to keep up with the demands of a 2021 horror title at maximum settings.

The GPU’s compute capabilities are quantified by several benchmark scores. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 1651. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 83358, and in Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 90637. The Passmark suite shows a G3D score of 18169 and a GPU compute score of 7557. These numbers are consistent with a mid-range card from the Turing generation, and they align with the measured performance in The Medium. The card’s 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs are the hardware that does the actual rendering work, and their capabilities are what the game’s engine must utilize.

The RTX 2070 SUPER also includes 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, which are relevant for games that use ray tracing or DLSS. The Medium does not heavily rely on ray tracing, and the measured FPS data does not include any DLSS or ray tracing scenarios, so those features do not factor into the results presented here. What matters is the raw rasterization performance, and the data shows that the card can handle The Medium at Low settings across all resolutions, but struggles as settings increase.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 7000 series, based on the Zen 4 (Raphael) architecture. It has a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. It uses the AMD Socket AM5 and supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, with a memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. The CPU has a L3 cache of 96 MB shared, which is a large amount and helps with gaming performance in cache-sensitive workloads.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage the game’s simulation logic. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 101 FPS average, which is a strong result and indicates the CPU is not a bottleneck at that settings level. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 63 FPS, and at 1080p High it drops further to 45 FPS. These drops are more attributable to the GPU than the CPU, as the game becomes more rendering-bound as settings increase.

The CPU’s benchmark scores support its capability. In Passmark single-thread, it scores 3494, which is a solid result for gaming. In Passmark multithread, it scores 25047, and in Passmark physics, it scores 2779. The integer math score is 70774, floating point math is 43594, and extended instructions score 20455. These are all strong numbers, placing the CPU in the top 11 percent of all processors. The CPU’s 89th percentile rank versus the GPU’s 65th percentile makes it clear that the CPU is not the limiting component.

The L3 cache of 96 MB is notable. The Medium is a game with many assets and level data that may need to be streamed, and a larger cache can reduce memory latency and improve frame pacing. The measured FPS data does not show any obvious CPU-related stutter, and the minimum FPS values recorded at Medium settings (54 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, 35 FPS at 4K) are all above the average for the corresponding Ultra settings, indicating a consistent performance profile. The CPU has enough headroom that even at 4K Ultra, the bottleneck is entirely on the GPU side.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings levels (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). The data is complete for all twelve combinations, with average FPS values provided for each, and minimum and maximum FPS values provided only for Medium settings.

At 1080p, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 101 FPS, which is a very playable experience. Medium settings yield 63 FPS average with a minimum of 54 and a maximum of 72, which is also smooth for a horror game that relies on atmosphere rather than fast action. High settings drop to 45 FPS average, which is borderline playable but may feel less fluid during camera transitions. Ultra settings produce 36 FPS average, which is below the ideal threshold for a smooth experience.

At 1440p, the performance drops noticeably. Low settings yield 85 FPS average, which is still excellent. Medium settings produce 53 FPS average with a minimum of 45 and a maximum of 61, which is playable but with occasional dips. High settings drop to 38 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 30 FPS average. These numbers indicate that 1440p is only viable at Low or Medium settings for a consistently smooth experience.

At 4K, the situation becomes more challenging. Low settings produce 67 FPS average, which is surprisingly playable given the resolution. Medium settings yield 42 FPS average with a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 48, which is marginal but can be tolerated with adaptive sync. High settings drop to 30 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 24 FPS average. The 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS is essentially unplayable for most users, and the 4K High result of 30 FPS is only acceptable on a 30 Hz display.

The minimum FPS values at Medium settings provide insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the minimum of 54 FPS versus an average of 63 FPS shows a relatively tight range, with the frame rate staying within 9 FPS of the average. At 1440p, the minimum of 45 FPS versus an average of 53 FPS shows a wider spread of 8 FPS. At 4K, the minimum of 35 FPS versus an average of 42 FPS shows a spread of 7 FPS. These ranges indicate that the game’s performance is stable without major stutters, but the lower minimums at higher resolutions suggest the GPU is working closer to its limits.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 101 at 1080p to 85 at 1440p (a 15.8% drop) to 67 at 4K (a 33.7% drop from 1080p). At Medium settings, the average goes from 63 to 53 to 42, representing drops of 15.9% and 33.3% respectively. At High settings, the averages are 45, 38, and 30, with drops of 15.6% and 33.3%. At Ultra settings, the averages are 36, 30, and 24, with drops of 16.7% and 33.3%.

The consistent 15-16% drop from 1080p to 1440p and the additional 17-18% drop from 1440p to 4K (for a total of roughly 33% from 1080p to 4K) are characteristic of a GPU that is scaling with pixel count. The number of pixels at 1440p is approximately 1.78 times that of 1080p, but the FPS does not drop by that proportion, meaning the GPU is not purely pixel-bound at lower settings. At Ultra settings, the drop is slightly larger, indicating that the additional shading and texture work at higher settings compounds the pixel load.

This scaling behavior indicates that the limiting component is the GPU across all settings and resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would not drop as much when resolution increases, because the CPU workload would remain similar. Instead, the FPS drops consistently with resolution, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU’s strong benchmark scores and 89th percentile rank confirm that it has ample headroom, so the RTX 2070 SUPER is the component that determines the frame rate.

At 4K Ultra, the FPS of 24 is a 76.2% drop from the 1080p Low result of 101 FPS. This is a massive reduction, and it highlights the GPU’s inability to handle the highest quality settings at 4K. Even at 4K Low, the 67 FPS result is respectable, but the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 43 FPS, which is a 64.2% reduction. This suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are severely taxed by the Ultra preset’s additional effects and texture quality.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and the user’s tolerance for frame rate variation. For a 60 FPS target, the data shows that only 1080p Low achieves a 101 FPS average, which is well above 60, and 1440p Low at 85 FPS is also above 60. 4K Low at 67 FPS is also above 60, making it a viable option for users with a 4K display who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.

For a 60 FPS experience with higher visual quality, 1080p Medium at 63 FPS average is the best option. The minimum of 54 FPS means there will be occasional dips below 60, but the average is sufficient for most users. 1440p Medium at 53 FPS is close to 60 but not quite there, and the minimum of 45 FPS may be noticeable during intense scenes. 4K Medium at 42 FPS is below 60 and not recommended for a smooth experience.

For a 30 FPS experience, which is acceptable for a slow-paced horror game, the options expand. 1080p High at 45 FPS and 1080p Ultra at 36 FPS are both above 30, as are 1440p High at 38 FPS and 4K High at 30 FPS. 4K Ultra at 24 FPS is below 30 and should be avoided. The best experience for a 30 FPS target would be 1440p High at 38 FPS or 4K High at 30 FPS, as these provide a good balance of resolution and visual quality.

The Medium settings are the only ones with minimum FPS data, and they provide a useful reference. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 54 FPS means the frame rate never drops below 54, which is a stable experience. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 45 FPS is still playable, but the lower bound is more noticeable. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 35 FPS is marginal, and users may experience occasional hitches.

Given the data, the recommended preset is Medium across all resolutions, as it provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1080p, Medium yields 63 FPS with a minimum of 54, which is a smooth and stable experience. At 1440p, Medium yields 53 FPS with a minimum of 45, which is acceptable for a horror game. At 4K, Medium yields 42 FPS with a minimum of 35, which is playable but not ideal. Users who prioritize frame rate can drop to Low, which provides 101 FPS at 1080p, 85 FPS at 1440p, and 67 FPS at 4K. Users who prioritize visuals can use High at 1080p (45 FPS) or 1440p (38 FPS), but should avoid Ultra at anything above 1080p due to the significant FPS drops.