The Medium

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 342nd out of 1,689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 20% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a pairing that combines a Zen 2-generation CPU with a current-generation Ada Lovelace GPU. The ranking reflects a system that can deliver playable frame rates across most settings, though the data shows the RTX 4080 SUPER is clearly the dominant performer in this duo, with the Ryzen 7 3700X acting as a capable but secondary partner.

The CPU itself sits at the 85th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 28,631. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing are the Intel Core i5-12600, scoring 28,654 (a 0.1% difference), and the Intel Core i5-12600H at 28,666 (also 0.1% off). The AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT trails by a mere 0.1% at 28,591, while the AMD EPYC 7203P is 0.2% behind at 28,583. These near-identical scores indicate the 3700X sits in a dense performance cluster where synthetic benchmarks cannot meaningfully separate it from several competitors.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4080 SUPER achieves an 88th percentile ranking among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 53,610. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT at 53,489, a 0.2% gap, followed by the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M at 53,414 (0.4% off), the AMD Radeon RX 7700S at 52,505 (2.1% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti at 52,086 (2.9% behind). The data suggests the 4080 SUPER holds a modest but consistent edge over these alternatives in raw compute performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the engine driving this combo's frame rates in The Medium. It packs 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1,438 MHz, which translates to 23 Gbps effective. The GPU's base clock is 2,295 MHz, with a boost clock of 2,550 MHz. These specifications place it firmly in the high-end tier, and the measured results in The Medium reflect that positioning.

The GPU's compute resources are substantial: 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output pipelines. It also carries 80 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores, which are relevant for a horror title like The Medium that uses modern rendering effects. The FP32 throughput is 52.22 TFLOPS, matching the FP16 figure at a 1:1 ratio. Pixel rate is 285.6 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 816.0 GTexel/s. These numbers indicate a card built for high-resolution, high-detail workloads.

In The Medium specifically, the GPU's 16 GB VRAM capacity proves sufficient even at 4K Ultra settings, where the combo still delivers 47.3 FPS average. The memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s helps maintain consistent frame pacing in a game known for its fixed-camera angles and detailed environments. The data shows the GPU is not bottlenecked by memory capacity at any tested resolution, which is a key strength for this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p High settings, the combo averages 82.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 71.5 FPS, a 13.4% decline. At 4K High, the average falls to 54.9 FPS, another 23.2% drop from 1440p. This scaling behavior is characteristic of a system where the GPU becomes progressively more taxed at higher pixel counts, while the CPU's role diminishes.

The Low settings preset shows a similar but less steep curve. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 111.8 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 106.3 FPS (a 4.9% decline), and at 4K Low, it reaches 95.2 FPS (a 10.4% drop from 1440p). The relatively small differences between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings suggest the CPU is starting to limit performance at lower resolutions, where the GPU has headroom to spare.

Ultra settings amplify the GPU load dramatically. The 1080p Ultra average of 70.7 FPS falls to 58.9 FPS at 1440p (a 16.7% drop) and then to 47.3 FPS at 4K (a 19.7% further drop). These declines are steeper than those seen at High settings, confirming that the Ultra preset pushes the GPU harder. The limiting component at 4K Ultra is clearly the RTX 4080 SUPER, as the CPU's workload does not scale with resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers a wide range of performance depending on settings. Low settings produce an average of 111.8 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all configurations. Medium settings yield 95.4 FPS, a 14.7% reduction from Low. High settings average 82.6 FPS, 13.4% below Medium. Ultra settings drop to 70.7 FPS, a 14.4% further reduction. The gap from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 41.1 FPS, representing a 36.8% performance penalty for maximum visual quality.

At 1440p, the pattern continues but with lower absolute numbers. Low settings average 106.3 FPS, which is only 4.9% slower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings hit 89.2 FPS, a 16.1% drop from Low. High settings average 71.5 FPS, 19.8% below Medium. Ultra settings bottom out at 58.9 FPS, a 17.6% reduction from High. The 1440p Low result is notably close to the 1080p Low figure, suggesting diminishing returns from lower resolution when the GPU is not heavily taxed.

At 4K, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low settings still manage 95.2 FPS, which is only 10.4% below the 1440p Low result. Medium settings average 78.6 FPS, a 17.4% drop from Low. High settings fall to 54.9 FPS, a 30.2% reduction from Medium. Ultra settings produce 47.3 FPS, a 13.8% decline from High. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest measured, but it remains above 45 FPS, which is a playable threshold for a slower-paced horror title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X provides 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It is built on the Zen 2 architecture (codenamed Matisse) using TSMC's 7 nm process, with 3,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die. The L3 cache is 32 MB, with 64 KB of L1 cache per core and 512 KB of L2 cache per core. Memory support is DDR4 on a dual-channel bus, providing 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU uses the AMD Socket AM4 and has a 65 W TDP.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 3700X scores 19,087 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,694 in single-core. It achieves 8,016 in Cinebench R20 multi-core and 1,131 in single-core. Geekbench results are 8,083 multi-core and 1,672 single-core. Passmark multi-thread score is 22,458, with a single-thread score of 2,656. These figures place it at the 85th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28,631.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is most visible at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 111.8 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game. The fact that 1440p Low (106.3 FPS) and 4K Low (95.2 FPS) are only slightly lower suggests the GPU is taking over the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration is sufficient for this title, as The Medium does not appear to be heavily multithreaded based on the measured scaling.

Settings Recommendations

The data indicates that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 95.4 FPS, which is smooth and leaves headroom for demanding scenes. At 1440p, Medium produces 89.2 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS. At 4K, Medium averages 78.6 FPS, which is excellent for a horror game with slower pacing. The jump from Medium to High costs 12.8 FPS at 1080p, 17.7 FPS at 1440p, and 23.7 FPS at 4K, which are substantial penalties for incremental visual gains.

For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, Low settings at 1080p yields 111.8 FPS, and even at 4K Low the combo manages 95.2 FPS. However, the visual compromise may not be worth it given how well Medium performs. Ultra settings are only advisable for those who demand absolute fidelity, as 4K Ultra drops to 47.3 FPS and 1440p Ultra sits at 58.9 FPS. These are playable but not ideal for a game that may have moments requiring quick camera movements.

The measured rows suggest that Medium is the sweet spot for this hardware combination. It maintains 78.6 FPS at 4K, which is a strong result for a high-resolution horror experience. The gap between Medium and High is more pronounced at higher resolutions, making Medium the pragmatic choice for 1440p and 4K gaming.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p Medium provides the best balance at 89.2 FPS. 4K Medium is also viable at 78.6 FPS, while 1080p Medium hits 95.4 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among tested configurations?

A: It ranks 342nd out of 1,689 tested combos, placing it in the top 20% of all systems tested for The Medium.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: At 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The frame rate drops from 95.2 FPS at Low to 47.3 FPS at Ultra, while the CPU's workload does not scale with resolution.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: Low averages 111.8 FPS, while Ultra averages 70.7 FPS, a difference of 41.1 FPS or 36.8% lower performance for maximum settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 53,610, which is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT at 53,489 and 2.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti at 52,086.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 3700X bottleneck the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 111.8 FPS, suggesting some CPU limitation. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor, with frame rates scaling almost entirely on GPU load.