The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti delivers a compelling experience in The Medium, with performance metrics indicating that the Medium preset offers the most balanced combination of visual fidelity and frame rate stability across all tested resolutions. While the Low preset achieves significantly higher average frame rates, the Medium preset provides a smoother minimum frame rate profile relative to its average, suggesting a more consistent frame pacing that is preferable for a horror title demanding atmospheric immersion. The High preset presents a modest step up in visual quality but incurs a substantial performance penalty, making Medium the recommended choice for most users seeking a stable and responsive experience without sacrificing the game’s intended ambiance.

Settings Recommendations

Benchmark data across all resolutions consistently places the Medium preset as the optimal choice for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset yields an average of 113 FPS with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 130 FPS, demonstrating a narrow 17 FPS delta between minimum and maximum, which indicates excellent frame stability. This stability is crucial for maintaining immersion in a game with psychological horror elements, where sudden frame hitches can disrupt tension. The Low preset at the same resolution reaches 180 FPS average, but this comes at the cost of reduced visual detail, which undermines the game’s atmospheric lighting and shadow work that are central to its horror aesthetic.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Medium preset produces an average of 95 FPS, with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS. The 28 FPS delta between extremes is slightly wider than at 1080p, but the average remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at this resolution drops to 68 FPS average, which is playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset averages 74 FPS, with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 86 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS, making it the definitive choice for users with 4K displays. The High preset at 4K falls to 53 FPS, while Ultra at any resolution delivers sub-60 FPS averages, rendering those settings impractical for this combination.

The Ultra preset, while offering the highest visual fidelity, proves too demanding for the RTX 5070 Ti in this title. At 1080p, Ultra averages 64 FPS, which is playable, but at 1440p it drops to 54 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 42 FPS. These figures indicate that Ultra is only viable at 1080p, and even then, the performance margin is slim. The Medium preset, by contrast, provides a 76% performance uplift over Ultra at 1080p, an 81% uplift at 1440p, and a 76% uplift at 4K, all while maintaining a visually coherent experience. The data strongly supports Medium as the best experience per the measured rows, offering the highest average frame rate that still respects the game’s visual design.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing for The Medium, as evidenced by the performance scaling across resolutions. The GPU’s 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for the game’s asset streaming at 4K resolution. This memory configuration ensures that texture loading and scene transitions remain fluid, a critical factor for a game that relies on fluid camera cuts between two simultaneous worlds. The GPU’s 8960 shading units and 70 RT cores are fully leveraged by the game’s rendering requirements, though the measured data suggests that even this hardware is not immune to the demands of higher presets.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2452 MHz, with a base clock of 2295 MHz, allows for consistent performance under load. The benchmark results show a clear correlation between GPU workload and frame rate, with the Low preset achieving 180 FPS at 1080p, which likely approaches the CPU’s maximum frame delivery capability. At 4K Low, the average drops to 119 FPS, indicating that the GPU is still the primary bottleneck even at lower settings. The RTX 5070 Ti’s 43.94 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is substantial, yet the game’s Ultra preset at 4K reduces performance to 42 FPS, demonstrating that the preset’s additional effects, likely including advanced shadow rendering and post-processing, place a significant load on the GPU that exceeds its capacity for 60 FPS gameplay.

The GPU’s 16 GB VRAM capacity is never a limiting factor in these measurements, as even the Ultra preset at 4K does not exhibit the kind of catastrophic frame drops that would indicate memory overflow. The 74 FPS average at 4K Medium with a 63 FPS minimum shows that the GPU can maintain a playable experience when settings are moderated. The benchmark data suggests that the RTX 5070 Ti is a capable 4K GPU for this title, provided users select the Medium preset, but it lacks the headroom for High or Ultra at that resolution. The GPU’s performance characteristics align with its 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs, placing it in the upper tier of available hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti achieves a combo rank of 308 out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium. This places the pairing in the top 8.3% of all tested systems, indicating that it is a high-performing configuration for this game. The rank reflects the synergistic balance between the CPU and GPU, where neither component severely bottlenecks the other at the tested settings. The Ryzen 5 9600X’s 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, provide sufficient single-thread performance to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, while the RTX 5070 Ti’s raw compute power dominates at higher resolutions.

The combo’s rank of 308 suggests that there are 307 other configurations that outperform it, likely featuring more powerful GPUs such as the RTX 5090 or higher-tier AMD offerings, or CPUs with more cores that provide additional headroom in CPU-bound scenarios. However, the 3724 total combinations mean that this pairing outperforms 3416 other systems, which is a strong result for a mid-to-high-end desktop configuration. The data indicates that the combo is well-balanced, as the CPU’s 81st percentile ranking and the GPU’s 86th percentile ranking are closely matched, resulting in a cohesive overall performance profile.

The nearest rival CPUs to the Ryzen 5 9600X, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, which is 0.2% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H, which is 0.5% slower. These marginal differences suggest that the CPU is not a significant differentiator in this combo’s rank; rather, the GPU’s performance is the primary driver. The RTX 5070 Ti’s nearest rival GPUs include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, which is 0.1% slower, and the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, which is 2% faster. This tight grouping indicates that the combo’s rank is determined by a competitive GPU landscape, where small performance deltas translate to significant rank shifts across the 3724 tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 5070 Ti and Ryzen 5 9600X combination delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset achieves an average of 180 FPS, which likely represents a CPU-limited scenario where the GPU is not fully utilized. The Medium preset averages 113 FPS, with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 130 FPS, providing a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset drops to 81 FPS average, which is still above 60 FPS but shows a 32 FPS reduction from Medium. The Ultra preset averages 64 FPS, with no minimum or maximum data provided, indicating that the game engine may not report these metrics under the most demanding settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales predictably. The Low preset averages 152 FPS, a 28 FPS reduction from 1080p, showing that the GPU is beginning to take on more work. The Medium preset averages 95 FPS, with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS. This 14 FPS delta between minimum and maximum is wider than at 1080p, suggesting that complex scenes at 1440p introduce more frame time variance. The High preset averages 68 FPS, which is a 27 FPS drop from Medium, indicating that the preset’s additional effects are disproportionately expensive at this resolution. The Ultra preset averages 54 FPS, falling below the 60 FPS threshold for the first time.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The Low preset averages 119 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K and suggests that the game’s low settings are not particularly demanding on the GPU. The Medium preset averages 74 FPS, with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 86 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS, and the minimum of 63 FPS indicates that even in the most demanding scenes, the combo avoids dropping below playable frame rates. The High preset averages 53 FPS, a 21 FPS reduction from Medium, while the Ultra preset averages 42 FPS. These latter two presets are not suitable for 4K gaming with this hardware, as they fail to provide a consistently smooth experience.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals the GPU’s dominant role in determining performance. Using the Medium preset as a reference, the average frame rate drops from 113 FPS at 1080p to 95 FPS at 1440p, a 15.9% reduction, and then to 74 FPS at 4K, a 34.5% reduction from 1080p. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound workload, where the number of pixels being rendered increases by a factor of 2.25 from 1080p to 1440p, and by a factor of 4 from 1080p to 4K. The frame rate does not drop proportionally to the pixel count, indicating that other factors, such as memory bandwidth and cache efficiency, help mitigate the increased load.

The Low preset shows a different scaling pattern. At 1080p, the average is 180 FPS, at 1440p it is 152 FPS, and at 4K it is 119 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 15.6%, and from 1080p to 4K is 33.9%. These percentages are nearly identical to the Medium preset’s scaling, suggesting that at these lower settings, the performance is still heavily influenced by the GPU’s pixel processing capabilities. However, the absolute frame rates at Low are significantly higher, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom when the visual effects are reduced.

The scaling data strongly suggests that the limiting component in this combination is the GPU, as the CPU’s performance remains constant across resolutions. The Ryzen 5 9600X’s 6 cores and 12 threads, with a 5.40 GHz boost clock, are more than capable of maintaining frame delivery at 1080p, as evidenced by the 180 FPS average at Low settings. As resolution increases, the GPU’s workload grows, and the frame rate drops accordingly, confirming that the RTX 5070 Ti is the bottleneck. The CPU’s role becomes more apparent at 1080p Low, where the 180 FPS average may be limited by the CPU’s ability to process draw calls and game logic, but this is not a practical concern given that most users will prefer higher settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming with this hardware?

A: The Medium preset is the only viable option at 3840x2160, delivering an average of 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS. The High preset drops to 53 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42 FPS, both below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does the RTX 5070 Ti’s 16 GB of VRAM cause any issues in this game?

A: No. The benchmark data shows no indication of memory-related performance degradation, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings. The 16 GB capacity is sufficient for the game’s requirements at all tested presets.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 308 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 8.3% of all systems. This indicates strong performance, though there are higher-ranked configurations with more powerful components.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the 180 FPS average suggests the CPU may become a limiting factor. However, at higher presets, the GPU takes over as the bottleneck, as evidenced by the significant frame rate drops with increased settings.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1440p Medium?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 shows a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 109 FPS, with an average of 95 FPS. The 28 FPS delta between extremes indicates good consistency, though not as tight as the 17 FPS delta observed at 1080p.

Q: Can this hardware handle the Ultra preset at any resolution?

A: Only at 1920x1080, where the Ultra preset averages 64 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 54 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 42 FPS, making Ultra impractical for resolutions above 1080p.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X plays a supporting role in this combination, with its performance characteristics well-matched to the RTX 5070 Ti’s capabilities. The CPU features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, built on the Zen 5 architecture using a 4 nm process. This configuration provides strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2183.5 and Geekbench single-core score of 2923. The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core ensure that frequently accessed data is readily available, reducing latency in game logic and physics calculations.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings, where the GPU is not fully taxed. At 1080p Low, the 180 FPS average suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames to approach its maximum output. The CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 and multi-thread score of 7590 indicate robust performance, but the game’s reliance on single-thread performance means that the 5.40 GHz boost clock is more critical than the 6-core count. The 65 W TDP of the CPU is modest, allowing for efficient operation without excessive heat generation, which is beneficial for sustained gaming sessions.

The CPU’s 81st percentile ranking among all CPUs places it in the upper tier, but its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (0.2% faster) and AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (0.5% slower), show that the performance delta is minimal. This suggests that the CPU is not a significant differentiator in this combo’s overall rank of 308. The CPU’s memory support for DDR5 with a dual-channel bus and 89.6 GB/s bandwidth ensures that data transfer to the GPU is not a bottleneck, complementing the GPU’s 896.0 GB/s memory bandwidth. The Ryzen 5 9600X’s 4 nm process, with 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die, provides a high transistor density that contributes to its efficiency, allowing it to maintain high clocks without excessive power draw. In this game, the CPU provides a solid foundation, but the RTX 5070 Ti is the component that ultimately dictates playable settings and resolutions.