The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers a playable but demanding experience in The Medium, with performance heavily dictated by the graphics settings preset. The data indicates that this pairing is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates at medium settings, while 4K Ultra remains out of reach for smooth gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, revealing the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate declines from 126.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 104.5 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 21.6 FPS, before falling further to 82.6 FPS at 3840x2160. This scaling pattern shows that even at the lowest graphical load, the resolution increase still significantly taxes the rendering pipeline.

The trend is more pronounced at higher quality presets. Moving from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings drops performance from 75.5 FPS to 51.7 FPS, a 31.5% decrease. At High settings, the same resolution jump cuts the frame rate from 53.7 FPS to 35.7 FPS. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with 1080p delivering 43 FPS, but 4K collapsing to just 30 FPS. This pattern confirms that the RTX 3070's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and its 256-bit bus are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the sheer pixel count at 4K overwhelms the GPU, making it the definitive limiting component at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark data places this specific CPU-GPU pairing at rank 769 out of 1689 tested combinations in The Medium. This mid-pack positioning indicates that while the hardware is capable, there are many other configurations that deliver higher frame rates in this specific title. The ranking suggests that the Ryzen 7 5700 and RTX 3070 are not an optimal match for this game's engine, which appears to favor other hardware configurations.

The combo's percentile standing reflects its overall capability, but the in-game rank provides a more specific insight. Being in the 45th percentile of all tested combos (769/1689) means that a majority of systems outperform this one in The Medium. This is not a condemnation of the hardware, but rather a signal that the game's requirements are demanding and that this configuration sits in the middle of the performance spectrum, offering a balanced but not exceptional experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the workhorse of this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured results. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is crucial for The Medium, a game that likely streams large textures and environments, as evidenced by the significant performance swings between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution.

The GPU's clock speeds are a base of 1500 MHz and a boost of 1725 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These clocks, combined with 5888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units, allow the card to deliver substantial raw compute power, rated at 20.31 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. The data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution, indicating that its memory subsystem and processing cores are being fully utilized. At 1080p Low, the 126.1 FPS figure demonstrates the card's headroom, while the 30 FPS at 4K Ultra shows its limitations when pushed to the extreme.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a complete picture of performance across all settings. At 1920x1080, the RTX 3070 delivers an average of 126.1 FPS on Low, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 75.5 FPS, still very smooth, while High yields 53.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 43 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong. Low settings deliver 104.5 FPS, which is outstanding for a 1440p display. Medium settings produce 66 FPS, providing a good balance of visual quality and smoothness. High settings at 1440p drop to 45.5 FPS, which is on the edge of what is considered smooth, while Ultra falls to 37.5 FPS, making it a less desirable option for consistent gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limits become clear. Low settings achieve 82.6 FPS, which is surprising for 4K and suggests the game is not overly demanding at this preset. Medium settings at 4K produce 51.7 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced horror games. High settings drop to 35.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for smooth, responsive gameplay.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 provides the processing foundation for this combo, with 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture. Its boost clock of 4.60 GHz and a 16 MB L3 cache ensure that it can handle the game's logic and physics without becoming a bottleneck. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20655 and a single-core score of 2916, indicate that it has ample processing power.

In The Medium, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling with resolution. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect similar frame rates across all resolutions at a given setting. The data shows otherwise, with frame rates dropping consistently as resolution increases. The CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, as shown by the high frame rates at Low and Medium settings, and it does not constrain the system even at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck.

The Ryzen 7 5700's nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks is the Intel Core i9-9900K, which scores 0.7% higher on average. This close competition confirms that the CPU is a solid performer for gaming, but its architecture does not provide any specific advantage for this title. The 65W TDP and 7nm process node make it an efficient choice, but the gaming results are ultimately driven by the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings for this configuration depend on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Medium preset at 75.5 FPS is the best choice, offering a significant improvement over High's 53.7 FPS while maintaining good visual quality. The jump from Low to Medium is a 40.1% performance cost, but the visual upgrade is likely worth it for most players. Ultra at 1080p is not recommended, as the 43 FPS average does not justify the graphical gains.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 66 FPS is the clear winner. It provides a smooth experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and it is 31% faster than the High preset's 45.5 FPS. Low settings at 1440p achieve 104.5 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but Medium offers a better balance of fidelity and performance for a horror game where atmosphere matters. Ultra at 1440p should be avoided, as the 37.5 FPS average is below the playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 82.6 FPS is the only viable option for a smooth experience. Medium at 51.7 FPS is playable for a slow-paced game, but the drop from Low is substantial. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended, as their 35.7 FPS and 30 FPS averages, respectively, will result in noticeable stuttering and a less immersive experience. For the best overall experience, 1440p with Medium settings provides the ideal combination of visual quality and performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers 66 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. It is significantly faster than High's 45.5 FPS while providing a much better image than Low's 104.5 FPS.

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

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it achieves 82.6 FPS. Medium settings at 4K produce 51.7 FPS, which is playable, but High and Ultra settings drop to 35.7 FPS and 30 FPS, respectively, which are not recommended.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5700 compare to its closest competitor?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 has an average benchmark score of 27220, which is 0.7% higher than the Intel Core i9-9900K's score of 27043. This makes them effectively equal in synthetic performance.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 3070 have, and what is its bandwidth?

A: The RTX 3070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a total bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but is a limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 126.1 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 43 FPS. This represents a 65.9% decrease in performance when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck, as indicated by the frame rate scaling with resolution. The frame rates drop consistently from 1080p to 4K across all settings, which is a clear sign of GPU limitation, while the CPU's performance is sufficient to keep up.