The Medium

The Medium presents an unusual hardware stress profile, blending fixed-camera angles with real-time ray tracing and dual-world rendering. This analysis examines the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination using measured benchmark data, focusing strictly on what the numbers reveal about CPU and GPU roles, scaling behavior, and optimal settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor from the 3000 series, built on the Zen 2 (Matisse) architecture using TSMC's 7 nm process. Its base clock runs at 3.60 GHz with a boost up to 4.40 GHz, and it carries 32 MB of L3 cache alongside 512 KB of L2 per core. The processor supports DDR4 memory via a dual-channel interface with 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 19,087 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,694 in single-core, while Geekbench multi-core reaches 8,083 and single-core 1,672. Its PassMark multithread score is 22,458, with a single-thread score of 2,656.

The CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 85, meaning it outperforms 85% of tested processors. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Core i5-12600 at 28,654 (-0.1% delta), the Intel Core i5-12600H at 28,666 (-0.1% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT at 28,591 (+0.1% delta), and the AMD EPYC 7203P at 28,583 (+0.2% delta). The 3700X sits essentially at parity with these chips, with deltas under one percent. This near-tie suggests that for a game like The Medium, the CPU is not a differentiator among these comparable processors.

Looking at the measured FPS data, the CPU's influence becomes clearer when examining low settings, where the GPU is less burdened. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 113.3 FPS average; at 1440p Low, it drops to 104.3 FPS; and at 4K Low, it falls to 94 FPS. The modest decline from 1080p to 4K at Low settings—roughly a 17% reduction—indicates that even at low graphical loads, the CPU is keeping up adequately, and the GPU is still the primary limiter. However, the 3700X's 16 threads and 8 cores are sufficient to feed the RTX 3080 across all tested resolutions, as no resolution shows a sudden CPU-bound plateau. The data implies that the processor's Zen 2 architecture, while not the newest, provides enough single-thread performance (Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1,131) to handle the game's logic and scene management without bottlenecking the GPU at any setting level.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 uses the GA102 chip on Samsung's 8 nm process, with 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die. It features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock is 1440 MHz with a boost of 1710 MHz, and memory runs at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The GPU has 8,704 shading units, 272 TMUs, 96 ROPs, 68 RT cores, and 272 tensor cores, delivering 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. Its pixel rate is 164.2 GPixel/s and texture rate is 465.1 GTexel/s.

In benchmarks, the RTX 3080 scores 25,086 in PassMark G3D and 14,397 in GPU compute, with a Geekbench OpenCL score of 167,014 and Vulkan score of 145,176. Its percentile versus all GPUs is 80. The nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro Duo at 35,860 (-0.2% delta), the AMD Radeon 880M at 35,646 (+0.4% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE at 36,101 (-0.9% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile at 35,435 (+1% delta). Again, the deltas are minimal, suggesting the RTX 3080 is statistically equivalent to these cards in aggregate benchmark terms.

The GPU's role in The Medium is more pronounced when examining settings scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 53.9 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 41.2 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 35.5 FPS. This steep decline with resolution at Ultra settings—a 34% drop from 1080p to 4K—shows the GPU is heavily taxed by the game's highest preset, likely due to ray tracing and high-resolution textures. The 10 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient, as no resolution or setting produces an outlier that would indicate memory exhaustion. The data suggests that the RTX 3080's 760.3 GB/s bandwidth and 10 GB VRAM are adequate for the game's demands, but the Ultra preset at 4K pushes the GPU to its limits, averaging below 40 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 28,631, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i5-12600 (28,654) and 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28,591). The performance difference is negligible, within 0.2% of all listed rivals.

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in The Medium?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 113.3, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution with Medium settings, the average is 91.7 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU outperform its nearest rival in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3080 scores 35,787 on average, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon 880M (35,646) but 0.9% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (36,101). The differences are under one percent.

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

A: The combo ranks 597 out of 1,689 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all configurations tested for The Medium.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings deliver 104.3 FPS average, while Ultra settings deliver 41.2 FPS. This represents a 63.1 FPS drop when moving from Low to Ultra, a reduction of approximately 60%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the FPS ranges from 94 (Low) to 35.5 (Ultra), with Medium at 58.3 and High at 39.7. The wide spread across settings indicates the GPU is the primary limiter, as changing graphics settings has a massive impact, while the CPU maintains consistent performance across resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 597 out of 1,689 tested combinations in The Medium, placing it in the 65th percentile of all tested combos (since 597/1689 is approximately 35% from the top, meaning it outperforms about 65% of configurations). This rank reflects a balanced pairing: the CPU's 85th percentile and GPU's 80th percentile individually are strong, but the game's specific demands—likely heavy on ray tracing and memory bandwidth—prevent this combo from reaching the top tiers.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the CPU and GPU both sit within one percent of their respective competitors in synthetic tests. For the CPU, the 3700X is virtually tied with the Intel Core i5-12600 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT. For the GPU, the RTX 3080 is statistically similar to the Radeon RX 7900 GRE and RTX 5070 Ti Mobile. This suggests that swapping this combo for one with those near-identical components would yield nearly the same in-game results. The rank of 597 indicates that while this is a capable setup, many higher-end combos—likely with newer CPUs and GPUs—achieve better scores in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals the GPU-bound nature of The Medium. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 113.3 at 1080p to 104.3 at 1440p to 94 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 19.3 FPS, or about 17%, which is relatively modest and suggests that even at Low settings, the game has enough overhead that the GPU isn't completely saturated. At Ultra settings, the pattern changes dramatically: 53.9 FPS at 1080p falls to 41.2 at 1440p (a 23.5% drop) and then to 35.5 at 4K (a further 13.8% drop from 1440p). The total reduction from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 18.4 FPS, or 34%.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings shows 91.7 FPS dropping to 76.9 FPS (a 16.1% reduction), while from 1440p to 4K it drops to 58.3 FPS (a 24.2% reduction). This pattern—where the 1440p to 4K drop is larger than the 1080p to 1440p drop—indicates that the GPU becomes increasingly the limiting component as resolution rises. The CPU's role diminishes, and the RTX 3080's pixel throughput (164.2 GPixel/s) becomes the deciding factor. For players targeting 4K, the data shows that only Low settings (94 FPS) achieve high refresh rates, while Medium (58.3) and above fall below 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 113.3, Medium 91.7, High 62.8, and Ultra 53.9. The spread from Low to Ultra is 59.4 FPS, with Medium providing a 27.6% drop from Low, High a 44.6% drop from Low, and Ultra a 52.4% drop from Low. The gap between High and Ultra is 8.9 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the highest preset.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 104.3, Medium 76.9, High 53.2, and Ultra 41.2. The drop from Low to Medium is 27.4 FPS (26.3%), from Medium to High is 23.7 FPS (30.8%), and from High to Ultra is 12.0 FPS (22.6%). This shows a more gradual decline compared to 1080p, with each setting tier costing a similar percentage of performance.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 94, Medium 58.3, High 39.7, and Ultra 35.5. Here, the drop from Low to Medium is 35.7 FPS (38% reduction), which is the steepest single-setting jump across all resolutions. From Medium to High, the drop is 18.6 FPS (31.9%), and from High to Ultra, it's only 4.2 FPS (10.6%). The small difference between High and Ultra at 4K (39.7 vs 35.5) indicates that Ultra's additional effects have minimal impact at this resolution, likely because the GPU is already saturated by the base High preset.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, Medium settings (91.7 FPS) provide a smooth experience well above 60 FPS, while High (62.8 FPS) is also playable but with a 28.9 FPS penalty. Ultra (53.9 FPS) dips below 60, making it less ideal for high-refresh displays. For 1080p, Medium is the best balance, delivering over 90 FPS while retaining respectable visual quality.

At 1440p, Medium (76.9 FPS) remains above 60 and is the recommended choice for consistent gameplay. High (53.2 FPS) falls below 60, and Ultra (41.2 FPS) is substantially lower. The data suggests that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a 23.7 FPS advantage over High while still maintaining playable frame rates. Low (104.3 FPS) is available for competitive or high-refresh play, but Medium provides a better visual experience at still-high FPS.

At 4K, only Low (94 FPS) achieves high frame rates. Medium (58.3 FPS) is barely above 60, making it borderline for smooth play. High (39.7 FPS) and Ultra (35.5 FPS) are too low for comfortable gaming, with both falling below 40 FPS. The recommendation for 4K is Low if frame rate is the priority, or Medium if visual fidelity matters more and the player can tolerate occasional dips near 60. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended, as the 4.2 FPS difference between them is negligible while both are far below playable thresholds. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for Low settings or as a cinematic mode rather than a competitive experience.