The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination delivers playable frame rates in The Medium, but the data clearly shows a GPU-bound experience that degrades sharply as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 102.8 FPS, yet this drops to 21.4 FPS at 4K Ultra, a 79% reduction that underscores the RTX 2070 SUPER's limitations under extreme load. The measured results indicate that this pairing is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming with adjusted settings, rather than 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS scales from 102.8 at 1920x1080, down to 85.6 at 2560x1440, and further to 68.6 at 3840x2160. This represents a 33% drop from 1080p to 4K at Low, which is substantial but not catastrophic. However, the scaling becomes far more punishing at higher presets. At High settings, the transition from 1080p (47.3 FPS) to 1440p (40.9 FPS) to 4K (32.3 FPS) shows a 32% total loss. The Ultra preset tells a starker story: 39 FPS at 1080p falls to 31.4 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 21.4 FPS at 4K.

The resolution scaling data indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting component. The CPU, with 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 3 architecture, provides sufficient headroom, as evidenced by the relatively mild FPS penalties between 1080p and 1440p. The sharp drop to 4K, particularly at Ultra where the FPS falls below 30, points directly to the GPU's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth being overwhelmed. The 21.4 FPS at 4K Ultra is below playable thresholds, while 68.6 FPS at 4K Low shows that the GPU can still deliver when pixel shading demands are reduced.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the most consistent resolution. At Low settings, it delivers 102.8 FPS, and even at Ultra it maintains 39 FPS. At 1440p, the Ultra preset drops to 31.4 FPS, while 4K Ultra falls to 21.4 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution where all presets remain above 30 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At Low settings, the drop is from 102.8 FPS to 68.6 FPS, a 33% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is more severe: 39 FPS at 1080p falls to 21.4 FPS at 4K, a 45% loss. The scaling shows that higher presets amplify the resolution penalty.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5700X3D a bottleneck for the RTX 2070 SUPER in this game?

A: The benchmark data suggests no CPU bottleneck. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 6764 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22366 indicate strong multi-threaded performance. The FPS drops align with GPU load increases from resolution scaling, not CPU limitations.

Q: What is the playable threshold for this combo at 4K?

A: At 4K Low, the combo achieves 68.6 FPS, which is playable. However, 4K Medium drops to 43.2 FPS, High to 32.3 FPS, and Ultra to 21.4 FPS. Only the Low preset at 4K delivers consistently smooth frame rates above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 22206 places it 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX A400 (22307) and 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (22006). It trails the RTX 4060 Mobile by 2.3% but leads the AMD Radeon RX 5700 by 2.5%.

Q: Can this combo handle Ultra settings at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 39, which is playable but not smooth. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 31.4 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 21.4 FPS, which is below standard playability. The data suggests Ultra is only viable at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows indicate that the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 64.7 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This represents a 27% improvement over High settings (47.3 FPS) while still providing significantly better visuals than Low (102.8 FPS). At 1440p, Medium achieves 53.7 FPS, which is playable, while High drops to 40.9 FPS and Ultra to 31.4 FPS.

For users prioritizing frame rate, Low settings at 1080p provide 102.8 FPS, which is ideal for competitive or fast-paced play. However, given that The Medium is a horror title where atmosphere matters, Medium at 1080p or 1440p offers the best experience per the measured rows. The 4K Medium result of 43.2 FPS is borderline, but the 32.3 FPS at High and 21.4 FPS at Ultra make those presets unsuitable for 4K. The data strongly suggests that Medium is the optimal preset for this GPU, providing 64.7 FPS at 1080p and 53.7 FPS at 1440p, both of which are playable while maintaining visual fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 999 out of 1689 combos in The Medium. This places it in the middle of the pack, indicating that while it is not a top-tier configuration, it outperforms a significant portion of tested systems. The rank of 999 out of 1689 suggests that roughly 41% of tested combos achieve better performance in this specific game, while 59% perform worse.

This mid-tier ranking aligns with the measured FPS data. The combo's 1080p Medium score of 64.7 FPS is respectable, but its 4K Ultra score of 21.4 FPS drags down its overall standing. The CPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs (avg benchmark score 24673) shows strong processing power, while the GPU's 65th percentile ranking (avg benchmark score 22206) indicates it is the weaker component. The combination's rank reflects this imbalance, with the CPU capable of supporting a more powerful GPU in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary determinant of performance in The Medium. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes strained at 4K. The GPU's boost clock of 1770 MHz and base clock of 1605 MHz, combined with 2560 shading units, deliver 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the GPU achieves 102.8 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 21.4 FPS, a 79% reduction.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. Its Passmark G3D score of 18169 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1651 indicate solid DirectX 12 performance. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs means it outperforms 65% of tested graphics cards, but the nearest rival data shows it is closely matched with the RTX A400 (-0.5%) and GTX TITAN Z (+0.9%). The 2.5% lead over the AMD Radeon RX 5700 suggests that the RTX 2070 SUPER holds a modest advantage in raw compute, but The Medium's demands at higher resolutions expose its 8 GB memory capacity as a limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 102.8 FPS on Low, 64.7 FPS on Medium, 47.3 FPS on High, and 39 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a clear progression where each preset tier costs approximately 20-30% performance. At 2560x1440, the results are 85.6 FPS (Low), 53.7 FPS (Medium), 40.9 FPS (High), and 31.4 FPS (Ultra). The 1440p results show a similar pattern but with lower absolute values, indicating the GPU is working harder.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals the GPU's limits: 68.6 FPS on Low, 43.2 FPS on Medium, 32.3 FPS on High, and 21.4 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the worst measured, falling below 25 FPS, which is generally considered unplayable for most users. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 47.2 FPS, compared to 63.8 FPS at 1080p, showing that the GPU's headroom shrinks as resolution increases. The 1080p Low result of 102.8 FPS is the only measurement above 100 FPS, while the 4K Ultra result of 21.4 FPS is the only one below 25 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D provides robust processing power that does not bottleneck the RTX 2070 SUPER in The Medium. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 3 architecture, the CPU operates at a base clock of 3.00 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a standout feature, and the CPU's benchmark scores confirm strong performance: Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22366, single-core score of 3157, and Geekbench multi-core score of 10108.

The CPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all CPUs (avg benchmark score 24673) places it ahead of rivals like the Intel Core i7-1360P (0.2% slower) and AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D (0.3% slower). The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6764 and max-thread score of 6755 show consistent multi-threaded scaling, which is relevant for a game like The Medium that may utilize multiple threads for rendering and physics. The CPU's Passmark multi-thread score of 26318 and integer math score of 81257 further demonstrate its capability.

Given that the measured FPS drops align with GPU load increases from resolution scaling, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The 1080p Low result of 102.8 FPS could potentially be higher with a more powerful GPU, but the CPU's strong performance ensures that it can feed the RTX 2070 SUPER adequately at all tested settings. The CPU's TDP of 105 W and support for DDR4 memory with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth round out a well-balanced platform that, while not top-tier, is more than sufficient for this GPU in this title.