The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 pairs eight physical cores with sixteen threads, a configuration that provides strong baseline throughput for modern game engines. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz are modest by current standards, but the Zen 3 architecture ensures efficient instruction handling. Benchmark data places this CPU in the 84th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 27220. That score sits nearly even with its closest rivals: the Intel Core i9-9900K trails by only 0.7%, the Intel Core i7-12700H by 0.8%, and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 by 1.2%. For a game like The Medium, which relies on fixed camera angles and pre-rendered transitions, the CPU’s job is less about raw frame generation and more about maintaining a consistent data stream for the GPU. The 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support keep the processor fed, though the measured FPS in this title suggests the GPU is the dominant bottleneck across most settings.

The single-thread performance of the Ryzen 7 5700 is adequate, scoring 2916 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 901 in 3DMark single-thread tests. These numbers indicate that the CPU will not hold back the GPU in scenarios where only a few threads are active, such as scene loading or AI pathfinding. However, the multi-threaded results are more telling for this title: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20655 and a 3DMark max-threads score of 6617 show that the processor can handle heavy parallel workloads if needed. The Medium’s fixed-camera design often renders large static environments, which can cause draw calls to spike. With 8 cores and 16 threads, the CPU can distribute those calls effectively, but the measured FPS deltas between low and ultra settings reveal that the GPU is the primary constraint.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the decisive component in this configuration. Its GA104 chip, built on Samsung’s 8 nm process, contains 17,400 million transistors and offers 4864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units. The boost clock of 1665 MHz and base clock of 1410 MHz are moderate, but the memory subsystem is where this GPU shows its character: 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus delivers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. That memory bandwidth is critical for The Medium, a horror title that often switches between two simultaneous worlds rendered side-by-side. Each world demands its own texture and geometry data, and the 8 GB frame buffer can fill quickly at higher resolutions and settings.

The GPU’s benchmark profile places it in the 69th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average score of 25120. Its nearest rivals are all AMD products: the Radeon RX 6700M is essentially tied at -0.2%, the RX 6600 at -0.5%, and the Radeon 890M at -0.5%. The RX 580 2048SP is the closest comparison at -0.7%, which suggests the RTX 3060 Ti sits in a competitive mid-range tier. For The Medium, the GPU’s ray tracing cores (38 RT cores) and tensor cores (152) are technically available, but the measured FPS data does not indicate whether ray tracing is enabled. What is clear is that the GPU’s 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 133.2 GPixel/s pixel rate are taxed heavily when the game’s visual fidelity increases. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 19.5, which is barely playable, while at 1080p Low the same GPU delivers 92.3 FPS. This wide spread shows that the RTX 3060 Ti has the raw capability for high frame rates, but only when the resolution and settings are scaled back.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about which component is limiting performance. At 1080p Low, the system averages 92.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 78.1 FPS, a reduction of roughly 15%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 62.5 FPS, which is still a playable frame rate for a slow-paced horror game. This pattern indicates that even at low settings, the GPU is doing most of the work, and the CPU has headroom to spare. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is about 32%, which is a typical scaling curve for a GPU-bound title.

The scaling becomes more pronounced as settings increase. At Medium settings, the system goes from 55.4 FPS at 1080p to 48.1 FPS at 1440p, then down to 39.2 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Medium is approximately 29%, similar to Low. However, at High settings, the numbers are 42.6 FPS at 1080p, 32.2 FPS at 1440p, and 26.2 FPS at 4K — a drop of about 38% from 1080p to 4K. At Ultra settings, the curve steepens dramatically: 30.1 FPS at 1080p, 25.1 FPS at 1440p, and 19.5 FPS at 4K, representing a 35% decline. The increasing gap between resolutions at higher settings confirms that the RTX 3060 Ti’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are saturated, while the Ryzen 7 5700 remains underutilized. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in any measured configuration; the GPU’s performance ceiling is what defines the experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a straightforward path to the best experience for this hardware combination. The goal is to maintain a playable frame rate while preserving visual quality, and the data shows that Medium settings offer the most balanced outcome. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 55.4 FPS, which is above the threshold for smooth gameplay in a horror title where quick reactions are less critical. At 1440p Medium, the average is 48.1 FPS, still acceptable for most players. Even at 4K Medium, the 39.2 FPS average is borderline playable, but the frame pacing may suffer during camera transitions.

High settings are not recommended for this configuration. At 1080p High, the average is 42.6 FPS, which is noticeably lower than Medium and offers diminishing visual returns. At 1440p High, the average drops to 32.2 FPS, and at 4K High it falls to 26.2 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play. Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p, where the 30.1 FPS average is marginal, and at higher resolutions, the 25.1 FPS at 1440p and 19.5 FPS at 4K are too low for a consistent experience. Low settings provide high frame rates — 92.3 FPS at 1080p and 62.5 FPS at 4K — but the visual downgrade is significant for a game that relies on atmospheric lighting and shadow detail. The optimal compromise is Medium settings, which preserve enough graphical fidelity while keeping frame rates above 39 FPS at all resolutions tested.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 a bottleneck for the RTX 3060 Ti in The Medium?

A: No. The benchmark data shows that frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings, which is the signature of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 27220 is within 1.2% of its nearest rivals, indicating it has sufficient throughput to keep up with the GPU.

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 62.5, which is playable. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 39.2 FPS, and at 4K High it falls to 26.2 FPS. 4K Ultra is not viable, with an average of 19.5 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware?

A: 1080p Medium provides the best balance, with an average of 55.4 FPS. 1440p Medium is also acceptable at 48.1 FPS, but 1080p High (42.6 FPS) is worse than 1440p Medium despite the lower resolution, making Medium the preferred setting.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 25120 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180, -0.2%), RX 6600 (25235, -0.5%), and Radeon 890M (25246, -0.5%). It is marginally behind the RX 580 2048SP (25287, -0.7%).

Q: Does the game use more than 8 GB of VRAM at high settings?

A: The measured FPS data does not include VRAM usage, but the significant frame rate drops from Low to Ultra at 4K (62.5 FPS to 19.5 FPS) suggest that the 8 GB frame buffer is strained at higher settings and resolutions, causing performance to collapse.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5700’s single-thread performance sufficient for this game?

A: Yes. The CPU scores 2916 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 901 in 3DMark single-thread, placing it in the 84th percentile overall. The game’s fixed-camera design does not appear to stress single-thread performance, as frame rates remain GPU-limited across all tests.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS for every resolution and settings combination measured in the benchmark data.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | Low | 62.5 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 39.2 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 26.2 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 19.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 78.1 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 48.1 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 32.2 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 25.1 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 92.3 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 55.4 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 42.6 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 30.1 |

These numbers reveal a consistent pattern: Low settings are always playable, Medium settings are playable, High settings are borderline, and Ultra settings are only viable at 1080p. The largest single-step drop occurs between Medium and High at 4K, where the average falls from 39.2 FPS to 26.2 FPS, a 33% reduction. The smallest step is between High and Ultra at 1440p, where the average drops from 32.2 FPS to 25.1 FPS, a 22% reduction. This data confirms that the RTX 3060 Ti’s performance ceiling is reached at Medium settings, and pushing beyond that yields diminishing returns for the visual investment.