The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title, and the data for the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination shows a system that is heavily skewed toward GPU performance. This pairing delivers smooth gameplay at lower resolutions but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K with maximum settings. The benchmark results indicate that the RTX 5090 is the dominant component, with the CPU providing ample support without becoming a significant bottleneck at most settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 97 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 85.8 FPS, and at 4K, the average falls to 62.5 FPS. This represents a 35.6% performance loss from 1080p to 4K at High settings. The scaling is more dramatic at Ultra settings, where the 1080p score of 77.1 FPS drops to 66.8 FPS at 1440p and then to 51.3 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is only 66.5% of the 1080p Ultra frame rate.

The scaling pattern suggests that the game becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution rises. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU's role is more apparent, but the RTX 5090 still has enough headroom to push well past 100 FPS on lower presets. The 4K results, particularly at High and Ultra, show the GPU working near its limits, with the frame rate dropping to levels where the experience becomes less fluid. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is stark: 122.2 FPS versus 51.3 FPS, a 70.9 FPS gap that highlights how much graphical fidelity costs at this resolution. The data indicates that 4K Ultra is a stretch for even this flagship GPU, while 1440p offers a much more comfortable performance envelope.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the clear performance driver in this pairing. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, the card has a massive 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for a game like The Medium that features high-resolution textures and complex lighting. The GPU's boost clock of 2407 MHz and 21760 shading units provide the raw compute power needed to render the game's fixed-camera scenes and volumetric effects.

The GPU's benchmark scores confirm its top-tier status. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 39650 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 380114, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, is essentially tied with a deltaPct of 0.1%, while the CMP 40HX is 1.6% behind. The RTX 5090's performance in The Medium is consistent with its overall standing: it is a card that excels at high resolutions, but the 4K Ultra result of 51.3 FPS shows that even this hardware cannot completely overcome the game's demands at maximum settings.

The 32 GB VRAM capacity is unlikely to be a limiting factor in this title, as the game's requirements are well within that envelope. The GPU's 575 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a high-power component that requires robust cooling, but the measured results show it delivering consistent performance across all tested presets without any signs of thermal throttling or frame rate instability.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall benchmark database, this combination of AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 61st out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the top 3.6% of all configurations, which is an impressive result, but not the absolute top. The ranking reflects the CPU's mid-range standing rather than the GPU's flagship status. The Ryzen 7 5700X sits in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26214. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-11900KF, which is just 0.1% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, which is 0.2% faster.

The combo rank of 61 suggests that pairing this GPU with a higher-end CPU would likely improve the ranking, particularly at lower resolutions where CPU overhead is more significant. However, the data shows that this pairing is still highly capable, with the 4K High result of 62.5 FPS being a playable frame rate for a slow-paced horror game. The rank is a reflection of the entire system's capability, and the RTX 5090's dominance means that the system is never far from the top, despite the CPU being a generation old.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. At 4K, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, delivering 62.5 FPS. The Medium preset is also viable at 90.9 FPS, but it sacrifices some visual fidelity for a much smoother experience. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 51.3 FPS, which may be acceptable for a game like this, but it is right at the edge of playability. The Low preset at 122.2 FPS is optimal for competitive play, but it is unnecessary for a single-player horror title.

At 1440p, the High preset at 85.8 FPS is the sweet spot, offering a significant visual upgrade over Medium at 114.6 FPS while still maintaining a high frame rate. The Ultra preset at 66.8 FPS is also playable and provides the best image quality. At 1080p, the High preset at 97 FPS is excellent, but the Ultra preset at 77.1 FPS is also a strong choice for maximizing visual fidelity. The data suggests that High is the recommended preset for most users, as it provides a consistent experience across all three resolutions, with no result below 62.5 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, at High settings it averages 62.5 FPS. At Ultra settings, the average drops to 51.3 FPS, which is still playable but less smooth.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1440p High offers the best balance, with 85.8 FPS and strong visual quality. The 1080p High result of 97 FPS is also excellent.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 5700X bottleneck the RTX 5090?

A: The data does not show a significant bottleneck. The combo ranks 61st out of 1689, and the CPU's 83rd percentile standing indicates it is sufficient for this workload.

Q: How much VRAM is needed for The Medium?

A: The RTX 5090 has 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, which is far more than the game requires. The game does not appear to be VRAM-limited at any tested setting.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth the performance cost?

A: At 4K, Ultra costs 11.2 FPS compared to High (51.3 vs 62.5). At 1440p and 1080p, the cost is 19 FPS and 19.9 FPS respectively. The visual difference is subjective, but High is more consistent.

Q: How does this pairing compare to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 61st out of 1689 combos, placing it in the top 3.6% of all tested configurations for this game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X plays a supporting role in this pairing, and the benchmark data shows it is more than adequate for The Medium. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, the CPU operates at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boosts up to 4.60 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22620 and single-core score of 3193 place it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, which is a solid mid-range result. The CPU's 65 W TDP is notably low, making it an efficient choice that does not generate excessive heat.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-11900KF, which is 0.1% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, which is 0.2% faster. These are all comparable performers, indicating that the 5700X is well-positioned in its class. For The Medium, the CPU's 16 threads are sufficient to handle the game's logic and scene management, and the measured FPS results do not show any signs of CPU-induced frame pacing issues. The game's fixed-camera angles and relatively static scenes place less demand on the CPU than open-world titles, allowing the RTX 5090 to operate without being held back.

The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR4 memory support are adequate for this workload, and the data confirms that the system's performance is primarily dictated by the GPU. At 1080p Low, the frame rate of 142.4 FPS is high enough to stress the CPU, but the 5700X handles it without dropping frames. The combination of a strong GPU and a capable mid-range CPU results in a balanced system that performs well across all tested settings, with the CPU never becoming a limiting factor in the measured results.