The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 secures the 78th position out of 1,689 tested combinations in The Medium. This placement within the top 5% of all recorded configurations underscores a formidable pairing, though the data suggests the CPU is the limiting factor in achieving even higher frame rates. The combo outperforms the vast majority of systems, yet the gap between this rank and the absolute top tier hints at untapped potential within the GPU, which is held back by the processor's capabilities in this specific horror title.

How This Combo Ranks

The 78th rank out of 1,689 combos places this system in the 95.4th percentile of all tested hardware pairings. This is an exceptional standing, indicating that the overwhelming majority of systems tested will deliver lower average frame rates. The ranking reflects the sheer power of the RTX 5090, which sits in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, combined with a CPU that performs in the 83rd percentile of all processors. The data shows a clear synergy where the GPU's massive computational lead compensates for the CPU's more modest standing. However, the rank is not higher because the Ryzen 7 5700G's average benchmark score of 25,626 places it in close competition with several other processors, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (which scores 25,706, a 0.3% difference) and the Intel Core 5 210H (25,490, a 0.5% difference). These marginal CPU performance deltas suggest that swapping in a more powerful processor could yield a noticeable improvement in the combo's overall rank, as the GPU has significant headroom to spare.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides a massive 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for high-resolution textures and complex scenes. The GPU's base clock is 2017 MHz, boosting up to 2407 MHz, and it houses 21,760 shading units. In The Medium, a game known for its dual-reality rendering, the GPU's raw throughput is the primary driver of performance. The data shows that at 4K with High settings, the combo achieves 62.9 FPS, while at Ultra it drops to 52.3 FPS. This indicates that even a GPU of this caliber is taxed by the game's most demanding presets at 4K. The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 170 RT cores are likely heavily utilized for the game's fixed-camera angles and layered world rendering. The 32 GB frame buffer is more than sufficient, ensuring that memory capacity is never a bottleneck, even at the highest resolutions and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals a classic pattern of GPU limitation at higher resolutions, but also exposes a CPU bottleneck at lower ones. Moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K with Low settings shows a progression from 135.9 FPS to 132.4 FPS to 122.8 FPS. The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p (only 3.5 FPS) suggests that the CPU is struggling to feed the GPU frames at these lower resolutions. If the GPU were the sole limiting factor, the FPS drop would be much more significant. However, the jump from 1440p to 4K shows a more substantial decline of 9.6 FPS, indicating that the GPU is beginning to become the primary constraint. This pattern is repeated across all settings; for instance, with High settings, the drop from 1080p (98.2 FPS) to 1440p (81.6 FPS) is a 16.6 FPS reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K (62.9 FPS) is an 18.7 FPS reduction. The data implies that at 1080p, the Ryzen 7 5700G's 8 cores and 16 threads are the limiting factor, preventing the RTX 5090 from reaching its full potential. As resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and the bottleneck shifts, allowing the GPU to become the dominant factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured results provide a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 135.9 FPS on Low, 114.4 FPS on Medium, 98.2 FPS on High, and 77.7 FPS on Ultra. This shows a clear scaling curve where each preset step down reduces performance by roughly 15-20%. The 1080p results are solid, but the ceiling of 135.9 FPS on Low suggests the CPU is capping performance, as the GPU is capable of much higher frame rates in less demanding titles. Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers are 132.4 FPS on Low, 111.1 FPS on Medium, 81.6 FPS on High, and 64.7 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p Low result is remarkably close to the 1080p Low result, further confirming the CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. The 4K (3840x2160) results show the GPU taking over: 122.8 FPS on Low, 91.4 FPS on Medium, 62.9 FPS on High, and 52.3 FPS on Ultra. At 4K, the gap between Low and Medium is 31.4 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 10.6 FPS, demonstrating that the Ultra preset is particularly demanding, likely due to advanced lighting and shadow effects that tax the GPU's resources.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G is a Zen 3 (Cezanne) processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It has a 16 MB L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to manage game logic, physics, and the streaming of the game's dual-world mechanic. The benchmark data shows that the CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 6,629 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20,755 are respectable but not top-tier. The CPU's performance is critical when the game is not GPU-bound. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is indeed the bottleneck, as evidenced by the minimal FPS gains when lowering settings from Medium to Low. The 5700G's Passmark multithread score of 24,419 is only 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U, which is a mobile chip, indicating that this desktop processor is not significantly ahead of its peers. This CPU, while capable, does not provide the same level of headroom as the GPU, meaning that in CPU-bound scenarios, the system's performance is anchored to the 5700G's capabilities.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves at 4K?

A: The highest 4K average is 122.8 FPS, achieved with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1080p in The Medium?

A: The data indicates a CPU bottleneck at 1080p, as the frame rate difference between Low (135.9 FPS) and Medium (114.4 FPS) settings is significant, but the drop from 1080p Low to 1440p Low is only 3.5 FPS, showing the GPU is not being fully utilized.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5700G compare to its closest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 7 5700G has an average benchmark score of 25,626, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U's score of 25,706.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between the High and Ultra presets at 2560x1440?

A: At 1440p, the High preset yields 81.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 64.7 FPS, a difference of 16.9 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 have enough memory for The Medium at maximum settings?

A: Yes, the 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on the RTX 5090 is more than sufficient for any resolution or setting in this game, as memory capacity is not a limiting factor.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among all tested systems in this game?

A: The combo ranks 78th out of 1,689 tested combinations, placing it in the top 5% of all systems.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends on the user's resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 98.2 FPS provides a smooth experience that balances visual quality with performance, though users with 144Hz monitors could drop to Medium for 114.4 FPS. At 1440p, the High preset at 81.6 FPS is the best choice for a smooth experience, as it maintains a solid frame rate while offering better visuals than Medium. The Ultra preset at 64.7 FPS is playable but may not be ideal for those sensitive to frame rate fluctuations. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset at 91.4 FPS offers the best balance, as High drops to 62.9 FPS and Ultra to 52.3 FPS, which are below the 60 FPS threshold that most consider the minimum for a smooth experience. The Low preset at 4K (122.8 FPS) is viable for competitive play but sacrifices significant visual fidelity. The data suggests that Medium at 4K is the sweet spot for this combo, delivering high frame rates while retaining enough graphical detail to appreciate the game's atmospheric horror.