The Medium

The Medium presents a unique technical challenge, blending fixed camera angles with real-time ray tracing and a dual-world rendering mechanic. This analysis examines the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, interpreting the data to understand where the bottlenecks lie and how the hardware responds to different settings.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 is a desktop processor built on the Zen 3 architecture, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz, boosting up to 4.60 GHz. This configuration is well-suited for modern games that increasingly utilize multiple threads, and its 16 MB of L3 cache helps maintain high throughput. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates a balanced profile: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20655 points indicates strong parallel processing, while a single-core score of 2916 points ensures competent handling of the primary game thread.

The data suggests that in The Medium, the CPU is not the primary limiting factor. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 140.4 FPS. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to reach performance levels well beyond what most displays can show. The gap between the Low and Medium settings at 1080p (140.4 FPS vs 110.6 FPS) is 29.8 FPS, suggesting that the CPU can handle the increased draw calls and scene complexity of Medium without becoming a major constraint.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 5700 shows near-identical aggregate performance. Its average benchmark score of 27220 is only 0.7% higher than the Intel Core i9-9900K and 0.8% higher than the Intel Core i7-12700H. This indicates that in CPU-bound scenarios, the choice between these processors would yield negligible differences in frame rates. Given that the measured FPS at 1080p Low exceeds 140 FPS, the CPU’s headroom is clear; the performance ceiling in this game is determined by the graphics card and the rendering settings chosen.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is a high-end graphics card based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process. It features 7680 shading units and 60 RT cores, which are crucial for the game's ray-traced effects. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, the card offers a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU's boost clock is 2610 MHz, and its FP32 performance is rated at 40.09 TFLOPS. These specifications position it as a very capable card for 1440p and entry-level 4K gaming.

The benchmark results confirm the GPU’s dominance in this pairing. The most significant performance swings occur when adjusting settings, which directly correlates to GPU load. At 4K, moving from Low (116.4 FPS) to Medium (69.8 FPS) represents a 46.6 FPS drop, and further to High (54.3 FPS) reduces it by another 15.5 FPS. This steep scaling with settings, particularly at higher resolutions, is a clear indication that the RTX 4070 Ti is the component being stressed. The card's 12 GB of VRAM is likely a factor at 4K Ultra, where the high-resolution textures and effects can consume substantial memory, contributing to the 38.4 FPS average at that preset.

The RTX 4070 Ti’s average benchmark score of 44900 places it in the 85th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals show a mixed bag, with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile being 0.6% faster and the Intel Arc A730M being 1.5% faster. This data underscores that the GPU is a top-tier performer, and its performance in The Medium is expected to be high, but the settings at 4K will heavily dictate whether the experience is smooth or stutter-prone.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

Analyzing the FPS progression across resolutions reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 78.3 FPS at 1080p to 65.2 FPS at 1440p, a 16.7% reduction. Moving to 4K, the frame rate falls to 54.3 FPS, a further 16.7% drop from 1440p. This consistent percentage decline, rather than a plateau, indicates that the rendering load is scaling with resolution and the GPU is the limiting component.

The scaling is even more pronounced at lower settings. At Low settings, the FPS goes from 140.4 at 1080p to 127.3 at 1440p (a 9.3% drop) and then to 116.4 at 4K (an 8.6% drop). This smaller percentage drop at lower settings suggests that while the GPU is still the bottleneck, the reduced workload allows the CPU to play a more significant role in maintaining frame rates. The difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low is 24 FPS, which is a smaller absolute difference than the 42.3 FPS gap seen between 1080p Ultra and 4K Ultra.

This data strongly implies that the CPU has sufficient headroom to support high frame rates at all resolutions, but the GPU's ability to render the increasingly complex scenes at higher resolutions is what ultimately caps performance. For a player targeting 4K, the GPU will be working at near maximum capacity, and the choice of settings becomes a trade-off between visual fidelity and playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Within the benchmark database, the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 263rd out of 1689 tested combinations for The Medium. This places the setup in the top 15.6% of all tested systems. This is a strong result, suggesting that this pairing is well-balanced for the game, though not at the absolute top tier.

The ranking suggests that while the GPU is a high performer, there are other combinations that achieve higher frame rates, likely involving faster CPUs or more powerful GPUs. However, the rank also indicates that this system is far from a slouch. The 263rd position means that it outperforms the vast majority of tested configurations. This is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows that at 1440p High, the system achieves a very playable 65.2 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it maintains 62 FPS.

The fact that this combo ranks higher than many others with the same GPU likely indicates that the Ryzen 7 5700 provides adequate support to prevent any significant CPU-induced frame drops. The data shows a well-rounded system capable of delivering a solid experience at 1440p, with 4K being possible with adjusted settings. The rank validates that the combination of an 8-core Zen 3 CPU and an RTX 4070 Ti is a sensible pairing for a demanding title like The Medium.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Examining the measured rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a 60 FPS target, the data provides clear choices. At 1440p, the High preset delivers an average of 65.2 FPS, comfortably exceeding the 60 FPS threshold while providing a significant visual upgrade over Medium (95.1 FPS) and Low (127.3 FPS). Pushing to Ultra at 1440p drops the average to 50.2 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS target and may introduce noticeable stutter.

At 4K, achieving 60 FPS is impossible on this hardware. The High preset yields 54.3 FPS, which is close but not quite there. The Medium preset at 4K produces 69.8 FPS, which is a better choice for a smoother experience. For players who prioritize a locked 60 FPS at 4K, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it offers a 15.5 FPS advantage over High while still providing a substantial upgrade in visual quality compared to Low.

For 1080p, the story is different. The Ultra preset achieves 62 FPS, which is a solid 60 FPS experience. The High preset at 78.3 FPS offers a smoother experience with only a minor visual downgrade. Given the high frame rates available at 1080p, the Ultra preset is viable for those who want the best image quality, while High presents a good balance for competitive play or for those using high-refresh-rate monitors.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average frame rate measured for this system?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 140.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with the High preset?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the system averages 54.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. To get above 60 FPS at 4K, the Medium preset (69.8 FPS) is required.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Low preset compared to the 1080p Ultra preset?

A: The Low preset at 1080p achieves 140.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 62 FPS. This represents a performance advantage of 78.4 FPS for the Low preset.

*Q: What is the performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combination for The Medium?*

A: The combination ranks 263rd out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the top 15.6% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: At which resolution does the system show the largest FPS drop when going from Low to Ultra settings?

A: The largest FPS drop from Low to Ultra is 102 FPS at 1920x1080 (from 140.4 to 62 FPS). At 2560x1440, the drop is 77.1 FPS (from 127.3 to 50.2), and at 3840x2160, it is 78 FPS (from 116.4 to 38.4).

Q: Which is more likely to be the performance bottleneck at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The massive frame rate reduction from 4K Low (116.4 FPS) to 4K Ultra (38.4 FPS) shows the rendering load is scaling heavily with settings, which is a characteristic of GPU-bound performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following data represents the measured average FPS for the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti in The Medium.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 116.4 FPS
• Medium: 69.8 FPS
• High: 54.3 FPS
• Ultra: 38.4 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 127.3 FPS
• Medium: 95.1 FPS
• High: 65.2 FPS
• Ultra: 50.2 FPS

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 140.4 FPS
• Medium: 110.6 FPS
• High: 78.3 FPS
• Ultra: 62 FPS

The data reveals a clear hierarchy. At each resolution, the Low preset provides the highest frame rates, with a significant drop when moving to Medium. The jump from Medium to High is also substantial, while the final step to Ultra incurs another heavy performance penalty. The pattern across resolutions is consistent: the GPU’s workload increases with both resolution and settings, and the frame rate scales accordingly, confirming the GPU as the primary performance driver.