The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a dominant 4K gaming experience in The Medium, averaging 69 FPS at Ultra settings and 126 FPS at Low settings. This combination ranks in the top 0.3% of all tested configurations, placing 10th out of 3724 combos, and it demonstrates a clear performance hierarchy where the GPU is the primary driver, yet the CPU's 8-core/16-thread configuration provides sufficient headroom to avoid bottlenecking at high resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in The Medium?*

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 10th out of 3,724 tested combos, placing it in the 99.7th percentile of all configurations for this game.

Q: How does the RTX 4080's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54,247, which is only 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER's score of 54,209, indicating virtually identical raw performance potential between the two cards.

Q: What is the maximum FPS recorded for this combo in the measured data?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 177 at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings, while the highest individual frame rate captured is 180 FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings.

Q: Does the CPU's single-thread performance pose a limitation in this game?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X scores 2,656 in Passmark single-thread tests and 204 in Cinebench R15 single-core. Given that the combo still achieves 69 FPS at 4K Ultra, these scores indicate the CPU is adequate for the game's demands, though they are not class-leading.

*Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 4080 have, and is it sufficient for The Medium?*

A: The RTX 4080 is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus with 716.8 GB/s bandwidth. This capacity and bandwidth are more than sufficient for the game's textures and effects at 4K Ultra settings, as evidenced by the playable 69 FPS average.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 2560x1440 resolution?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 162 on Low settings to 102 on Ultra settings, representing a 60 FPS (37%) reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the undisputed performance anchor in this configuration. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, running at 22.4 Gbps effective on a 256-bit bus, provides a massive 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory subsystem is critical for The Medium, a game that renders detailed, static camera angles with high-resolution textures; the data shows the GPU's 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power translates directly into high frame rates across all settings.

The card's clock speeds, with a base of 2205 MHz and a boost of 2505 MHz, allow it to sustain high throughput. The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its position: a Passmark G3D score of 34,457 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 214,739 place it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. In The Medium, this raw power results in a minimum of 69 FPS at 4K Ultra and 102 FPS at 1440p Ultra, showing that the card is never the limiting factor, even at the most demanding settings.

The RTX 4080's 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are also relevant, as The Medium uses ray-traced reflections for its signature dual-world rendering. While the measured FPS data does not isolate ray tracing's impact, the card's 12 Ultimate API support and Ada Lovelace architecture provide the necessary hardware to handle these effects without collapsing frame rates. The GPU's performance is so robust that it nearly matches its direct successor, the RTX 4080 SUPER, which is only 0.1% faster in average benchmark score.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination achieves a stellar rank of 10th place out of 3,724 total tested combos in The Medium. This top-tier placement is remarkable given the CPU's age; the Ryzen 7 3700X was released in 2019, while the RTX 4080 is from 2022. The data indicates that the GPU's massive performance headroom dominates the ranking, allowing the older CPU to still deliver elite results.

In the broader context of the RTX 4080's rivals, the combo's success is even more apparent. The GPU's average benchmark score of 54,247 is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X and 2.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB. This means the RTX 4080 is not just ahead of these rivals; it is decisively faster, which translates to higher frame rates in The Medium across all resolutions. The only GPU that comes close is the RTX 4080 SUPER, which is statistically tied with a 0.1% delta.

The CPU's contribution to this rank cannot be ignored. While the Ryzen 7 3700X's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs is solid, its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 and Intel Core i5-13450HX, are within 0.2% of its average score. This suggests that the CPU is not a differentiator; instead, it is the GPU's top-1% performance that pushes this combo to 10th place, proving that a balanced pairing is unnecessary when the GPU is this powerful.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data shows a clear scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance, with average FPS ranging from 135 at Ultra settings to 177 at Low settings. The Medium settings at this resolution produce an average of 156 FPS with a minimum of 133 and a maximum of 180, indicating a very stable frame delivery. The gap between Low and Ultra is only 42 FPS, suggesting the CPU is starting to become a minor factor at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains high but shows a wider spread. The Ultra preset averages 102 FPS, while Low settings push to 162 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p yields an average of 132 FPS, with a minimum of 113 and a maximum of 152. This resolution strikes a balance, offering high refresh-rate gaming even on Ultra, and the 60 FPS difference between Low and Ultra highlights the GPU's workload scaling with resolution.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4080 still delivers playable frame rates, but the scaling becomes more pronounced. The Ultra preset averages 69 FPS, which is the lowest recorded average across all tests. High settings improve this to 79 FPS, while Medium settings hit 89 FPS with a minimum of 76 and a maximum of 103. The Low preset jumps to 126 FPS. The 57 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is the largest of any resolution, demonstrating that 4K Ultra is the most demanding scenario for this combo, but it remains comfortably within playable territory.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, provides the computational foundation for this setup. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, combined with 32 MB of L3 cache, ensure that the GPU is fed with data without stalling. The CPU's 65W TDP indicates efficient power usage, but its performance is what matters here: a Passmark multithread score of 22,458 and a Cinebench R15 multicore score of 2,092 show it can handle the game's background processing.

However, the CPU's single-thread performance is comparatively weaker. With a Passmark single-thread score of 2,656 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1,593, it trails more modern processors. In The Medium, which relies on a few primary threads for game logic, this could theoretically cause a bottleneck, but the data suggests otherwise. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra FPS is only 42 FPS, which is less than the 57 FPS difference at 4K, indicating that the CPU does not limit the GPU even at lower resolutions.

The CPU's benchmark score of 34,260 places it in the 84th percentile, and its nearest rivals, like the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (0.1% faster) and Intel Core Ultra 7 165H (0.5% faster), show that it is not a performance outlier. Instead, the Ryzen 7 3700X provides stable, predictable performance that does not detract from the GPU's output. In this specific game, the CPU's role is to maintain a solid frame pacing, which it does successfully, as evidenced by the high minimum FPS values at Medium settings across all resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the optimal choice, delivering 89 FPS on average with a minimum of 76 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with most visual features enabled. High settings are also viable at 79 FPS, but the 10 FPS gain from dropping to Medium is worth the slight visual compromise. Ultra settings at 4K are playable at 69 FPS, but the 20 FPS deficit compared to Medium makes it less desirable for consistent 60+ FPS gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is the clear winner. With an average of 102 FPS, it offers a fully enhanced visual experience while maintaining high refresh rates. Medium settings at 132 FPS are unnecessary unless chasing 144Hz monitors, but the 30 FPS difference between Ultra and Medium may be appealing to competitive players. The High preset, at 118 FPS, is a middle ground that hits the 100+ FPS target.

For 1920x1080, the High preset at 150 FPS is recommended for the best balance of quality and speed. Ultra settings at 135 FPS still provide excellent performance, but the 15 FPS penalty for the highest preset is noticeable. Low settings at 177 FPS are only useful for extreme frame rate chasing, as the visual downgrade is significant. The Medium preset at 156 FPS is a strong alternative if the user prefers a more stable frame time, with a minimum of 133 FPS compared to High's unspecified minimum.