The Medium

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 lands at rank 1765 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. That places this configuration in the 61st percentile of all tested CPU-GPU pairings for this title, which is a solid mid-pack result. The ranking reflects a system that can handle the game at playable framerates but with notable compromises at higher resolutions and settings. The combo sits in the middle of the pack, meaning there are plenty of stronger combinations above it, but also a substantial number of weaker ones below it. For a horror game like The Medium, where atmosphere and pacing matter more than twitch reflexes, this level of performance is generally acceptable — but the data shows the RTX 5050 is the limiting factor in this pairing, not the Ryzen 7 5700X.

The CPU itself performs well in synthetic benchmarks, with an average benchmark score of 27578 and a percentile rank of 79 among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-12600K with a delta of 0 percent, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 with a delta of 0.2 percent, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X with a delta of -0.2 percent, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H with a delta of 0.3 percent. In practical terms, the 5700X trades blows with these processors, coming within a fraction of a percent of each. The GPU, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 21035 and a percentile rank of 66 among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL at -0.6 percent, the AMD Radeon HD 8970M at -1 percent, the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT at 1.6 percent, and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile at -1.6 percent. The RTX 5050 is essentially on par with these older or mobile-oriented cards, which contextualizes its mid-range positioning.

The combination of a strong CPU and a mid-range GPU means that in CPU-light scenarios the system will do well, but when the GPU becomes the bottleneck — which is common in graphically demanding horror titles — the framerate will drop accordingly. The measured FPS data confirms that this combo is capable of delivering smooth gameplay at 1080p with tuned settings, but struggles at 4K with maximum quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB207 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It packs 16,900 million transistors on a 149 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 113.4 million per square millimeter. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. Its memory clock runs at 2500 MHz with 20 Gbps effective speed. The base clock is 2317 MHz with a boost clock of 2572 MHz. With 2560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units, the card is capable of 82.30 GPixel/s pixel rate and 205.8 GTexel/s texture rate. FP32 performance sits at 13.17 TFLOPS, with FP16 also at 13.17 TFLOPS in a 1:1 ratio. The card includes 20 ray tracing cores and 80 tensor cores.

In The Medium, the RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM is a critical factor. At 4K resolution with Medium settings, the game averages 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 and maximum of 46. At 4K Low, the average jumps to 64 FPS. The jump from Medium to Low at 4K yields a 24 FPS improvement, indicating that the game is heavily dependent on GPU compute and memory bandwidth. The 128-bit memory bus and 320 GB/s bandwidth are modest by modern standards, and at 4K the card is clearly working hard to feed the framebuffer. The 8 GB VRAM capacity may also become a constraint at higher resolutions and settings, though the measured data does not show explicit VRAM-related crashes or stutters.

The ray tracing cores on the RTX 5050 are present, but The Medium's performance at 4K Ultra (23 FPS average) suggests that the GPU is not capable of handling maximum quality settings at high resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 34, which is playable but not ideal for a smooth experience. The card's 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the lower-mid range, and the benchmark data reflects that positioning. The nearest rival comparison shows the RTX 5050 performing within 1.6 percent of the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, which is a card from a previous generation — this gives a sense of where the RTX 5050 sits in the pecking order.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 96 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 81 FPS, a reduction of 15 FPS or roughly 15.6 percent. At 4K Low, the average is 64 FPS, which is another 17 FPS drop from 1440p, or about 21 percent. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings totals a 32 FPS drop, or 33.3 percent reduction.

At Medium settings, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers. 1080p Medium averages 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 and maximum of 69. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 and maximum of 58. At 4K Medium, the average is 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 and maximum of 46. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 9 FPS (15 percent), and from 1440p to 4K is 11 FPS (21.6 percent). The consistent percentage drops across Low and Medium settings suggest that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the scaling follows a predictable pattern tied to pixel count.

At High settings, the scaling is more dramatic. 1080p High averages 43 FPS, 1440p High averages 36 FPS, and 4K High averages 29 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 7 FPS (16.3 percent), and from 1440p to 4K is 7 FPS (19.4 percent). At Ultra settings, the numbers are lower still: 1080p Ultra averages 34 FPS, 1440p Ultra averages 29 FPS, and 4K Ultra averages 23 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 5 FPS (14.7 percent), and from 1440p to 4K is 6 FPS (20.7 percent).

The fact that the percentage drops remain relatively consistent across settings — around 15 percent from 1080p to 1440p and around 20 percent from 1440p to 4K — indicates a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the resolution scaling would be flatter, with smaller FPS differences as resolution increases. The data shows that the RTX 5050 is the component that determines performance in The Medium, and the Ryzen 7 5700X has ample headroom.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired framerate. At 1080p, Medium settings provide an average of 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 and maximum of 69. This is the sweet spot for a smooth, consistent experience. The 60 FPS average aligns with a standard display refresh rate, and the minimum of 51 FPS means there are no severe drops. High settings at 1080p drop the average to 43 FPS, which is noticeably less smooth. Low settings at 1080p push the average to 96 FPS, but the visual quality reduction may not be worth the extra headroom for most players.

At 1440p, Medium settings average 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 and maximum of 58. This is playable but not ideal for fast-paced scenes. Low settings at 1440p average 81 FPS, which is smoother but again sacrifices visual fidelity. High settings at 1440p drop to 36 FPS, which is on the edge of playability. Ultra at 1440p averages 29 FPS, which is too low for a comfortable experience.

At 4K, Low settings average 64 FPS, which is the only setting that provides a smooth experience at this resolution. Medium settings at 4K average 40 FPS, which is playable but with noticeable stutter potential. High settings at 4K average 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 23 FPS — both are below acceptable thresholds for a game that relies on atmosphere and tension.

The data suggests that for the best balance of visual quality and performance, 1080p Medium is the recommended configuration. It delivers a locked 60 FPS average with a minimum of 51, which is a smooth experience. For players with a 1440p display, Medium settings at 51 FPS average is the best compromise, though dropping to Low at 81 FPS provides a more comfortable margin. At 4K, Low settings at 64 FPS is the only viable option for smooth gameplay, but the visual downgrade is significant.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed picture of this combo's performance across all tested resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combo achieves its highest framerates. Low settings produce an average of 96 FPS. Medium settings yield an average of 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 and maximum of 69. High settings drop the average to 43 FPS. Ultra settings are the most demanding, averaging 34 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 62 FPS, showing a wide range of performance depending on quality settings.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down as expected. Low settings average 81 FPS, which is a 15 FPS drop from the same settings at 1080p. Medium settings average 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 and maximum of 58. High settings average 36 FPS, and Ultra settings average 29 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 52 FPS, narrower than at 1080p because the GPU is already working harder at the higher resolution.

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, performance drops significantly. Low settings average 64 FPS, which is the only setting at 4K that breaks the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 and maximum of 46. High settings average 29 FPS, and Ultra settings average 23 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 41 FPS, the narrowest of all resolutions, indicating that the GPU is saturated even at Low settings.

The Medium settings rows are the only ones that include minimum and maximum FPS values, providing additional insight into framerate stability. At 1080p Medium, the framerate ranges from 51 to 69 FPS, a spread of 18 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 43 to 58 FPS, a spread of 15 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 34 to 46 FPS, a spread of 12 FPS. The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is more consistently loaded, with less variation in framerate.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X is a Zen 3 architecture processor codenamed Vermeer, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The CPU has a 65 W TDP and fits into the AMD Socket AM4. It supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration, with a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor has 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes and supports ECC memory.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 7 5700X performs strongly. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 13184, and single-core score is 1499. Geekbench scores are 10779 multicore and 2016 single-core. Passmark multithread score is 26612, with a single-thread score of 3385. The 3DMark results show 6858 for 16 threads, 1821 for 2 threads, 3512 for 4 threads, 5768 for 8 threads, 6850 for max threads, and 921 for single thread. The average benchmark score is 27578, placing it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of The Medium, the Ryzen 7 5700X is more than sufficient. The game's measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions and settings. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads provide ample processing power for the game's logic and physics, and the boost clock of 4.60 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-12600K at 0 percent delta, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 at 0.2 percent delta, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X at -0.2 percent delta, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H at 0.3 percent delta. All of these processors perform within a fraction of a percent of each other, meaning the 5700X is on equal footing with its contemporaries.

The fact that the combo ranks 1765 out of 2911 in The Medium, while the CPU ranks in the 79th percentile overall, underscores that the RTX 5050 is holding back the system. If paired with a stronger GPU, the Ryzen 7 5700X would likely deliver higher framerates in this title. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 96 FPS, which is far from the CPU's performance ceiling. Even at 1080p Medium, the 60 FPS average is likely constrained by the GPU rather than the CPU.

For players considering this combo for The Medium, the takeaway is clear: the Ryzen 7 5700X provides a solid foundation, but the RTX 5050 requires careful settings management to achieve smooth gameplay. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers a consistent 60 FPS experience. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and settings must be reduced accordingly. The data shows that this is a balanced mid-range system that can handle The Medium at 1080p with quality settings, but it is not built for 4K gaming at high framerates.