The Medium

The Medium presents a unique technical challenge, and this pairing of an AMD Ryzen 5 8400F with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 offers a revealing look at how older high-end hardware handles a modern, demanding title. The data indicates a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics processor, particularly at higher resolutions, yet capable of delivering playable frame rates when settings are tuned appropriately. This analysis will break down the measured performance, contextualize the components' roles, and offer guidance based on the empirical results.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured frames per second, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets remain above 27 frames per second. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset achieves a playable 61 frames per second, while 3840x2160 is largely unplayable except for the Low preset at 51.5 frames per second.

Q: How does the GTX 1070's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 12331, which is 0.7% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 and 1.4% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER. It also sits 1.3% below the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M and 1.7% below the NVIDIA Tesla K20Xm, placing it in a very tight competitive cluster.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F a strong performer relative to other CPUs?

A: Yes, the data shows the Ryzen 5 8400F sits in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 25064, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, and it is 0.3% faster than the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded capability compared to its multi-threaded performance?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F shows strong scaling. Its single-threaded score in Cinebench R23 is 2943, while its multi-core score is 20851. This indicates that the processor's multi-core performance is roughly seven times its single-core output, a typical pattern for a 6-core, 12-thread processor.

Q: Does this system have enough VRAM for The Medium at 4K?

A: The GTX 1070 comes with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory. While the capacity is present, the performance data suggests it is insufficient. At 3840x2160, even the Medium preset only achieves 30.5 frames per second, and High drops to 19.8 frames per second, indicating the GPU's processing power, not just memory, is a limiting factor.

Q: What is the performance gap between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 77.8 frames per second, while the Ultra preset delivers 27.8 frames per second. This represents a significant 50 frames per second difference, showing that the preset choice has a massive impact on performance for this combination.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 at rank 1417 out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium. This is a low ranking, placing the system in the bottom 16% of all configurations tested. This suggests that while the CPU is a modern, capable part, the GPU is a significant bottleneck that holds the entire system back in this particular game.

The ranking reflects a system that is not optimized for the high demands of this horror title. The low position is primarily attributable to the GTX 1070, which, despite being a legendary card from its era, is now several generations old and struggles with the game's rendering techniques. The CPU, by contrast, is a current-generation part with strong benchmark scores, but its potential is largely untapped because the GPU cannot feed it enough frames to keep it busy. The data implies that users with this combo are experiencing a GPU-bound scenario across nearly all settings and resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the clear performance bottleneck in this system. Built on the Pascal architecture and the GP104 chip, it features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. The card's base clock is 1506 MHz with a boost clock of 1683 MHz. While these specifications were impressive for its time, the data shows they are insufficient for The Medium's demands.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 12331 places it in the 51st percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is now an average performer. Its nearest rivals, such as the GTX 1650 SUPER, are within a 1.4% performance delta, showing the GTX 1070's age. In The Medium, this translates to sub-60 frames per second at 1080p on every preset except Low. The GPU's 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is simply not enough to handle the game's visual complexity at higher settings. The data strongly suggests that the GTX 1070's processing power, rather than its 8 GB VRAM, is the primary limiting factor, as even at 1080p Medium, the frame rate drops to 45.2.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frames per second data provides a clear picture of the system's capabilities across different resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves a smooth 77.8 frames per second, making it the only truly comfortable experience. The Medium preset drops to 45.2 frames per second, while High yields 34 frames per second. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with an average of 27.8 frames per second, which is borderline playable but below the standard for a smooth experience.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance takes a significant hit. The Low preset is the only option that remains playable, with an average of 61 frames per second. The Medium preset falls to 40.7 frames per second, and High drops further to 29.8 frames per second. The Ultra preset produces an average of only 23.2 frames per second, which is not a viable option for gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the system is severely overtaxed. The Low preset is the only one that manages a playable frame rate, averaging 51.5 frames per second. The Medium preset drops to 30.5 frames per second, while High falls to 19.8 frames per second. The Ultra preset is effectively unplayable, with an average of just 17.4 frames per second. The data shows a clear pattern: the GTX 1070 can only deliver playable performance at the lowest settings, and even then, only at 1080p or 1440p.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience for this hardware combination is to prioritize a smooth frame rate over visual fidelity. For a consistent 60 frames per second or higher, the only viable option is the Low preset at 1920x1080, which delivers 77.8 frames per second. At 2560x1440, the Low preset also achieves a playable 61 frames per second, making it a viable alternative for users with higher-resolution monitors who are willing to accept lower graphical details.

If a user wants to experience the game with better visuals, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers a compromise at 45.2 frames per second. This is not a locked 60, but it is playable for many. The High and Ultra presets should be avoided at all resolutions, as the frame rates drop below 35 frames per second, which can negatively impact the experience in a game that relies on atmosphere and timing. The data clearly indicates that the "best" experience is found by tuning expectations to the Low or, at most, Medium preset at 1080p.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a modern, 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 (Phoenix) architecture. It has a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20851 and a single-core score of 2943. This performance places it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, and its average score of 25064 is effectively on par with the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic. Given the GTX 1070's limitations, the Ryzen 5 8400F is rarely the limiting factor. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is under the least stress, the CPU has ample headroom. The 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth are more than sufficient for this workload. The CPU's high single-thread performance is also beneficial for a game that may rely on a few primary threads. The data suggests that this processor is not holding back the GTX 1070; rather, it is waiting for the GPU to deliver frames.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is a textbook example of a GPU-bound system. At the Low preset, performance drops from 77.8 frames per second at 1080p to 61 frames per second at 1440p, and finally to 51.5 frames per second at 4K. This is a 26.3 frames per second drop from 1080p to 4K, which is a relatively modest decline in percentage terms compared to the higher settings.

However, the scaling becomes more dramatic as the settings increase. At the Medium preset, the frame rate falls from 45.2 at 1080p to 30.5 at 4K, a drop of 14.7 frames per second. At the High preset, it falls from 34 to 19.8, a drop of 14.2 frames per second. This pattern indicates that as the resolution increases, the pixel count grows exponentially, placing an ever-increasing load on the GPU's shading units and memory subsystem. The GTX 1070's limited fill rate and compute power are overwhelmed at higher resolutions, causing a steeper performance cliff.

This scaling behavior confirms that the GTX 1070 is the definitive bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's workload would be the same. Instead, the data shows a clear and consistent decline in frames per second as resolution increases, which is the signature of a graphics card that cannot keep up with the pixel demands of the game.