The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT combination delivers a playable but demanding experience in The Medium, with performance that hinges heavily on settings and resolution. The data shows a system that can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming comfortably, but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K, particularly on higher presets. This pairing ranks in the 818th position out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are standard for its generation. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19087 and a single-core score of 2694, with an average benchmark score of 28631 across all tests. Its percentile ranking of 85 indicates it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs in the database.

The CPU's nearest rivals show how tightly packed the mid-range performance tier is. The Intel Core i5-12600 scores 28654, a negligible 0.1% difference from the 3700X. Similarly, the Intel Core i5-12600H is also 0.1% behind, while the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT trails by just 0.1% and the AMD EPYC 7203P is 0.2% behind. This clustering suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, the 3700X offers performance equivalent to its direct competitors.

In The Medium, a horror game that relies on fixed camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage game logic. Given the game's release date of 2021-01-27, the 3700X's 8 cores and 16 threads provide ample processing headroom. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions, as the FPS scales predictably with settings. The processor's single-core performance, reflected in its PassMark single-thread score of 2656, is sufficient to avoid stuttering in the game's more cinematic sequences.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the workhorse of this pairing, featuring 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its GPU clocks are aggressive, with a base of 2150 MHz, a game clock of 2495 MHz, and a boost clock of 2600 MHz. The card is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Its compute power is rated at 13.31 TFLOPS FP32, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, making it fully compatible with modern game APIs.

The GPU's benchmark scores are impressive, with a PassMark G3D score of 20700 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 107621. Its percentile ranking of 79 places it above the majority of GPUs, though its nearest rivals show it is not a top-tier card. The AMD Radeon RX 5600M scores 35264, just 0.2% lower, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is 0.3% lower. Interestingly, the integrated AMD Radeon 880M is 0.9% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is 1.3% higher. This indicates that the RX 6750 XT sits in a competitive segment where performance deltas are minimal.

In The Medium, the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rates. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p, the card delivers 113.3 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 54 FPS on High. At 4K, the GPU is clearly stressed, as the frame rate falls to 75.3 FPS on Low but plummets to 24.4 FPS on Ultra. The 12 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for the game's textures, but the raw compute power limits performance at higher resolutions and settings.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X a bottleneck for the RX 6750 XT in The Medium?

A: Benchmark results indicate the CPU is not the primary limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 113.3 FPS, which is a very high frame rate. The more significant performance drops occur when increasing resolution and settings, pointing to the GPU as the main constraint.

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 on Medium settings yields 59.3 FPS, which is close to a smooth 60 FPS target. At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, with the lowest being 43.8 FPS on Ultra. For a balance of fidelity and performance, 1440p Medium is the sweet spot.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 28631, which is virtually identical to the Intel Core i5-12600 (28654), a 0.1% difference. It is also 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT and 0.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7203P.

Q: Can this GPU handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: The RX 6750 XT can run the game at 4K, but only on lower settings. At 3840x2160 Low, it achieves 75.3 FPS, but this drops to 33.6 FPS on High and 24.4 FPS on Ultra. These results indicate that 4K Ultra is not playable, while 4K Low is acceptable.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS on Low is 95.7, while on Ultra it drops to 36.7. This represents a significant 61% reduction in frame rate, highlighting the heavy GPU load from higher preset levels.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo is ranked 818 out of 1689 tested combinations, placing it in the 48th percentile of all systems. This indicates it performs better than half of the tested combos but has substantial headroom above it.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 3700X and RX 6750 XT achieves a rank of 818 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it almost exactly in the middle of the database, suggesting that while it is a capable system, it is not exceptional for this specific title. The rank is a composite measure that accounts for both CPU and GPU performance across multiple settings and resolutions.

The data shows that this combo is better suited to lower resolutions. At 1080p, it delivers 54 FPS on High and 73.4 FPS on Medium, which are solid numbers. However, at 4K Ultra, the 24.4 FPS result is among the lower tier of playable frame rates. This rank suggests that users with this hardware should expect to make compromises to achieve smooth gameplay, particularly at higher resolutions.

The proximity of the GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores does not translate directly to in-game performance, as the rank of 818 reflects the real-world measured FPS. The RX 6750 XT's 12 GB VRAM is an advantage, but the game's demands at 4K Ultra exceed what this card can deliver. The combo's mid-pack ranking is a fair representation of its overall capability in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo reveals clear performance scaling across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 113.3 FPS on Low, 73.4 FPS on Medium, 54 FPS on High, and 43.8 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a steady decline as settings increase, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 69.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, the performance drops to 95.7 FPS on Low, 59.3 FPS on Medium, 44.1 FPS on High, and 36.7 FPS on Ultra. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 59 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. The system produces 75.3 FPS on Low, 50.2 FPS on Medium, 33.6 FPS on High, and 24.4 FPS on Ultra. This represents a massive 50.9 FPS difference between the lowest and highest settings. The data indicates that the scaling from 1080p to 4K is not linear, with the GPU experiencing diminishing returns as resolution increases. The jump from 1440p High to 4K High results in a 10.5 FPS drop, while the jump from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is a 19.4 FPS drop.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset at 54 FPS provides a good balance of visual quality and smoothness, though users seeking higher frame rates can drop to Medium for 73.4 FPS. The Ultra preset at 43.8 FPS is still playable but dips below the 60 FPS threshold that many players prefer.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 59.3 FPS is the clear recommendation. It offers near-60 FPS performance while maintaining acceptable visual detail. The High preset at 44.1 FPS is also viable for users who prioritize visuals over smoothness, but the drop below 45 FPS may be noticeable in a horror game with slow camera pans. The Low preset at 95.7 FPS is excessive for this resolution and sacrifices too much fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the data suggests that only the Low preset at 75.3 FPS provides a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset at 50.2 FPS is borderline, while the High and Ultra presets at 33.6 and 24.4 FPS respectively are not recommended for a game that requires atmospheric tension. For 4K gaming, users should select Low settings to maintain playability.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals that the GPU is the limiting component in this combo. At Low settings, the system achieves 113.3 FPS at 1080p, 95.7 FPS at 1440p, and 75.3 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial but not catastrophic drop. At Ultra settings, the scaling is steeper: 43.8 FPS at 1080p, 36.7 FPS at 1440p, and 24.4 FPS at 4K, a 44.3% reduction.

The data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck, as the FPS does not plateau at lower resolutions. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect to see similar FPS figures across different settings at the same resolution. Instead, the FPS scales consistently with GPU load, indicating that the RX 6750 XT's compute and memory bandwidth are the determining factors. The 12 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor at these settings, as the game's memory requirements are met, but the GPU's raw processing power is insufficient for 4K Ultra.

The scaling pattern suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming. At 4K, the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates even on Low settings, and the gap between Low and Ultra widens with resolution. This is typical of a mid-range GPU paired with a capable CPU, where the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor at higher resolutions.