The Medium

The Medium presents an interesting stress profile for the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination. This pairing places a top-tier consumer GPU with a mid-range 8-core processor, and the measured frame rates reveal a system that is heavily influenced by both component choices depending on the resolution and settings. The data indicates that this combo is not about maximizing raw 4K performance, but rather about providing a versatile experience across a wide range of configurations, with the CPU becoming a more significant factor at lower resolutions.

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

The scaling of performance from 1080p to 4K is the clearest indicator of where the bottleneck lies in this system. At the Low settings preset, the transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 shows a drop from 137.7 FPS to 119.7 FPS, a relatively modest reduction of about 13%. This small delta suggests that at low graphical loads, the system is not purely GPU-bound; the CPU is capable of maintaining high frame rates even as the resolution increases, and the RTX 4090 has enough headroom to handle the extra pixel count without a massive performance penalty.

However, the picture changes dramatically when moving to the High preset. Here, the frame rate falls from 98.2 FPS at 1080p to 79.9 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 65.2 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K represents a 33.6% reduction in average FPS. This steeper curve indicates a shift towards a GPU-limited scenario. The increased shading, texture, and post-processing demands of the High preset place a significantly heavier load on the RTX 4090, making its performance the primary determinant of the final frame rate.

The Ultra preset shows the most extreme scaling, with a drop from 76.8 FPS at 1080p to 49.8 FPS at 4K, a 35.2% decrease. The gap between Medium and Ultra at 4K is particularly telling: 87.5 FPS versus 49.8 FPS. This demonstrates that the Ultra preset's additional effects are exceptionally demanding on the GPU. The data implies that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is doing a substantial amount of work to feed the GPU, but as resolution climbs, the GPU's raw compute and memory bandwidth become the definitive limiting component, especially on the higher quality presets.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Within the database of tested hardware combinations for The Medium, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a comboRankInGame of 87 out of 1689 combos. This places it in the top 5.2% of all systems tested, which is an impressive standing. It suggests that while this is not the absolute fastest configuration possible, it outperforms the vast majority of systems that have been benchmarked with this game.

The rank is particularly noteworthy when considering the components' individual benchmark scores. The RTX 4090 sits in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, while the Ryzen 7 5700 is in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. The combo's final ranking of 87 out of 1689 is likely pulled down slightly by the CPU, which, while capable, is not in the same performance tier as the GPU. The data shows that this combo is a high-end pairing, but one where the CPU is the more modest component, preventing the system from achieving a rank closer to the top of the list. The performance is strong, but it leaves a clear indication that a more powerful processor could push this GPU even higher.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate is 137.7 FPS, which was measured at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the combo's overall performance rank against other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 87th out of 1689 tested combinations for The Medium, placing it in the top percentile of all systems benchmarked.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160 resolution, the Low preset achieves an average of 119.7 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to an average of 49.8 FPS. This represents a significant 58.4% reduction in performance.

Q: Can this system maintain a 60 FPS average at 4K?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160, the Medium preset achieves an average of 87.5 FPS and the High preset averages 65.2 FPS, both of which are above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 49.8 FPS would fall below that target.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at the High preset?

A: At the High preset, the average frame rate moves from 98.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 79.9 FPS at 2560x1440, a decrease of 18.6%.

Q: Based on the data, is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is more of a limiting factor at 1080p. The frame rate difference between Low (137.7 FPS) and High (98.2 FPS) at 1080p is substantial, but the smaller scaling penalty when moving to 1440p on the Low preset (128.5 FPS) indicates the CPU is working hard to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions.

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

1920x1080: The data shows a clear hierarchy across presets. The Low preset delivers an average of 137.7 FPS, which is the highest for this resolution. The Medium preset follows at 117.9 FPS, and the High preset achieves 98.2 FPS. The most demanding Ultra preset produces an average of 76.8 FPS. The spread between the lowest and highest settings is 60.9 FPS.

2560x1440: At this resolution, the Low preset again leads with 128.5 FPS. The Medium preset is close behind at 110.3 FPS, while the High preset drops to 79.9 FPS. The Ultra preset yields an average of 66 FPS. The performance gap between presets widens here, with a 62.5 FPS difference between Low and Ultra.

3840x2160: The Low preset is the only one that stays above the 100 FPS mark, hitting 119.7 FPS. The Medium preset falls to 87.5 FPS, and the High preset manages 65.2 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with an average of 49.8 FPS. This is the only resolution/settings combination where the average FPS drops below 60. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 69.9 FPS.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz, with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The processor has a 16 MB L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory. These specifications suggest a capable mid-range CPU that can handle modern game workloads. Its performance is underscored by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20655 and a single-core score of 2916.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role appears most critical at lower resolutions. The high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p with the Low preset indicate that the processor can keep up with the game's simulation and draw call demands. However, the data also shows that as the resolution and graphical fidelity increase, the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are likely sufficient for the game's threading model, as evidenced by the 3DMark 16-thread score of 6628, which is not far off from its max-thread score of 6617. This suggests that the game does not effectively utilize more than 16 threads, making the 5700 a solid match. The single-thread performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 901, is also adequate, as the game does not seem to be heavily dependent on a single core to the point of crippling performance. The benchmark results indicate that this CPU provides a stable platform that allows the RTX 4090 to operate at its full potential, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU is not a significant bottleneck.

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

For players targeting a 60 FPS experience, the data provides clear guidance. At 4K, the High preset is the most demanding setting that still maintains an average above 60 FPS, with a measured average of 65.2 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 49.8 FPS, is not viable for a smooth experience. At 1440p, the Ultra preset averages 66 FPS, making it a viable option for those wanting maximum visual fidelity at this resolution, while the High preset offers a more comfortable margin with 79.9 FPS.

The Medium preset appears to be an excellent balance for high refresh-rate displays. At 1440p, it delivers 110.3 FPS, and at 1080p, it reaches 117.9 FPS. For players with 144Hz monitors, the Low preset at 1080p is the only one that can approach that target, with an average of 137.7 FPS. The analysis suggests that the Medium preset is the "sweet spot" for this combo, offering a significant visual upgrade over Low while providing frame rates that are more than double the Ultra preset at 4K. The measured data indicates that the jump from Medium to High costs a substantial amount of performance, making Medium the most efficient choice for a high-frame-rate experience.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing. It is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features a massive 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, resulting in a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. Its boost clock is rated at 2520 MHz. This hardware is designed for extreme throughput, as evidenced by its FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS. The GPU's benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 38194 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223, place it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs.

The RTX 4090's capabilities are the clear driver of high-resolution performance in The Medium. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is the definitive bottleneck, with performance scaling heavily with the settings preset. The 24 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, even at 4K with Ultra settings, so memory capacity is not a limiting factor. Instead, the compute and shading demands of the Ultra preset are what push the average frame rate down to 49.8 FPS at 4K. The GPU's immense power is also evident in the fact that at 1080p with Low settings, it can push frame rates to 137.7 FPS, but the CPU's limits begin to show. The data confirms that the RTX 4090 is a high-end card that excels when the graphical load is heavy, and its performance is the primary reason this combo ranks in the top 5.2% of all tested systems.