The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT combination delivers a playable but demanding experience in The Medium, with performance heavily dictated by the GPU at higher resolutions and by the game's aggressive settings scaling. The data shows a clear hierarchy: the combo ranks 744th out of 1689 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of systems, yet the measured frame rates reveal that only the Low preset provides a consistently smooth experience at 4K, while 1080p and 1440p offer more flexibility. This pairing is capable, but the game's visual fidelity options punish the hardware significantly, making preset selection the single most important factor for playability.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 57 FPS at 1920x1080 to 48.1 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 15.6%, and then plunges to 37.1 FPS at 3840x2160, another 22.9% drop from 1440p. This pattern—where each resolution step costs a significant percentage of performance—is classic evidence of a GPU-bound scenario, as the RX 7700 XT's rendering workload scales directly with pixel count.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at Ultra settings. The combo manages 42.6 FPS at 1080p, which sounds adequate, but that number craters to 37.9 FPS at 1440p and then to 28.1 FPS at 4K. The transition from 1080p to 4K at Ultra represents a 34% performance loss, confirming that the game's highest preset is simply too heavy for this GPU at higher resolutions. Conversely, at Low settings, the scaling is less punishing: 126.5 FPS at 1080p, 103.6 FPS at 1440p, and 83.6 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is still 33.9% below 1080p Low, but the absolute numbers remain playable, suggesting that when the GPU load is reduced, the CPU has enough headroom to keep frame rates high.

The takeaway is unambiguous: this system is not built for 4K Ultra in The Medium, but it can handle 4K Low comfortably. The limiting component is the Radeon RX 7700 XT, whose 12 GB of VRAM and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game's textures but whose raw compute (35.17 TFLOPS FP32) is outstripped by the demands of High and Ultra presets at high resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?*

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the most versatile resolution, offering 57 FPS at High and 126.5 FPS at Low. At 2560x1440, High dips to 48.1 FPS, and at 3840x2160, only Low (83.6 FPS) and Medium (51.4 FPS) stay above 50 FPS.

*Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K?*

A: Yes, but only with reduced settings. The measured 4K results are 83.6 FPS on Low, 51.4 FPS on Medium, 37.1 FPS on High, and 28.1 FPS on Ultra. The latter two are below the 60 FPS threshold and may feel stuttery.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance in this game?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, appear sufficient. The 1080p Low result of 126.5 FPS suggests the CPU can feed the GPU well, and the 3DMark single-thread score of 951 indicates strong per-core performance for this title.

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck?

A: Yes. The resolution scaling shows a 34% FPS drop from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra, and the GPU's average benchmark score of 30097 places it near the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (deltaPct 0). This is a GPU-heavy workload.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking?

A: It ranks 744th out of 1689 tested combinations, placing it in the 56th percentile of systems tested. This is a mid-to-upper tier result, not a top-tier one.

Q: Should I use the Ultra preset?

A: Only if you accept sub-45 FPS. Even at 1080p, Ultra yields 42.6 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p (63.6 FPS) or High at 1080p (57 FPS) offers a better balance of quality and speed.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Phoenix, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide a solid foundation for gaming. In The Medium, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU, but it is not irrelevant.

The benchmark data shows the CPU's 3DMark max-threads score of 6165 and single-thread score of 951, alongside a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20851. These numbers indicate a processor that can handle the game's fixed-timestep logic and asset streaming without becoming the primary bottleneck. The evidence is in the Low preset results: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 126.5 FPS, which is a high frame rate that requires a capable CPU to avoid stalling the GPU. The CPU's percentile rank of 82 (vs. all CPUs) further confirms it is a strong performer, though it sits close to the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (deltaPct 0) and the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (deltaPct 0.3) in average benchmark scores.

However, the CPU is not the star of this show. When comparing 1080p High (57 FPS) to 1080p Low (126.5 FPS), the 69.5 FPS difference is almost entirely due to GPU load changes, not CPU limits. The CPU's 4 nm process node and 65 W TDP mean it runs efficiently, but the game's horror atmosphere relies more on GPU effects like volumetric lighting and shadows, which are the real performance drivers here.

How This Combo Ranks

This system places 744th out of 1689 tested combinations, which puts it in the 44th percentile from the top (or 56th percentile from the bottom). This is a respectable mid-pack result, but it underscores that the RX 7700 XT is not a high-end card. The GPU's percentile rank of 73 (vs. all GPUs) and average benchmark score of 30097 align closely with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (deltaPct 0), meaning the two are near-identical in synthetic tests. The CPU's rank of 82 is slightly better than the GPU's, but the combo's overall standing is dragged down by the GPU's limitations in this specific title.

In The Medium, the combo's rank of 744 suggests that while it outperforms roughly 56% of tested systems, it falls behind many configurations with more powerful GPUs. The measured FPS data confirms this: the system cannot maintain 60 FPS at 1440p High (48.1 FPS) or 4K Medium (51.4 FPS), which are common targets for modern gaming. The ranking also reflects the game's heavy reliance on the GPU, as evidenced by the 34% performance drop from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra. This is not a combo for competitive or high-refresh-rate play, but it is adequate for 1080p and some 1440p scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low delivers 126.5 FPS average, Medium drops to 79.3 FPS, High comes in at 57 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42.6 FPS. These numbers show a clear gradient, with each preset tier costing roughly 20-30 FPS. The 1080p Low result is exceptionally smooth, while Ultra is borderline unplayable for those expecting 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 103.6 FPS on Low, 63.6 FPS on Medium, 48.1 FPS on High, and 37.9 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p is the sweet spot for quality and speed, staying above 60 FPS. High and Ultra fall short of the 60 FPS mark, making them less desirable.

At 3840x2160, the numbers are stark: Low achieves 83.6 FPS, Medium drops to 51.4 FPS, High falls to 37.1 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 28.1 FPS. The 4K Low result is the only one that clears 60 FPS comfortably, while Ultra is a slideshow. The scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent: Low loses 33.9% performance, Medium loses 35.2%, High loses 34.9%, and Ultra loses 34.0%. This uniformity reinforces that the GPU is the limiting factor across all presets.

Settings Recommendations

The best experience for this combo in The Medium is the Medium preset at 2560x1440, which delivers 63.6 FPS average. This provides a stable frame rate above the 60 FPS target while retaining visual quality. At 1920x1080, the High preset (57 FPS) is also viable, offering a slightly better visual experience at a lower resolution, though it falls just short of 60 FPS.

For users prioritizing smoothness over visuals, the Low preset at 3840x2160 (83.6 FPS) is the only 4K option that maintains high frame rates. At 1080p, Low (126.5 FPS) is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, but it sacrifices the game's atmospheric effects. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as even 1080p Ultra (42.6 FPS) fails to reach 60 FPS, and the visual upgrade over High is not worth the 25% performance hit.

The data suggests that the Medium preset at 1440p or High at 1080p are the optimal choices, balancing the GPU's capabilities with the game's demanding visuals. Lowering from Ultra to Medium at 1440p yields a 40.3% FPS increase (from 37.9 to 63.6), which is a significant gain for a moderate quality reduction. At 4K, dropping from Medium to Low provides a 38.5% boost (from 51.4 to 83.6), making Low the only sensible 4K choice.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip, featuring 3456 shading units, 216 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines. It has 54 ray tracing cores, though The Medium does not appear to rely heavily on RT based on the FPS data. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the game's texture loads at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra results suggest VRAM capacity or bandwidth may be a secondary constraint.

The GPU's clocks are a base of 1435 MHz, a boost of 2544 MHz, and a game clock of 2171 MHz, with memory running at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). These clocks contribute to a peak FP32 performance of 35.17 TFLOPS, which is solid for a mid-range card but insufficient for the highest settings in this title. The GPU's average benchmark score of 30097 and percentile rank of 73 place it just above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (deltaPct 0) and slightly below the AMD Radeon RX 570 (deltaPct -0.2) in the nearest rivals list, indicating it is a mainstream performer.

In The Medium, the GPU is the decisive component. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (28.1 FPS) is a clear indicator that the card's compute power is overwhelmed by the game's combined effects. The 54 RT cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are present, but the title's non-RT rendering still taxes the GPU heavily. The 245 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this class, and the 2x 8-pin power connectors are adequate, but the performance ceiling is what it is: this is a 1080p and 1440p card for this game, not a 4K powerhouse.