The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a playable but heavily settings-dependent experience in The Medium, with the data showing that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution and graphical fidelity increase. The measured frames per second (FPS) across the board indicate that this combo ranks in the 71st percentile of tested configurations, making it a solid but not top-tier pairing for this horror title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 124 FPS at 1920x1080 to 117.7 FPS at 2560x1440, a modest 5.1% reduction, but then plunges to 97.8 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 16.9% decline. This pattern intensifies at higher presets; with High settings, the transition from 1080p (65.2 FPS) to 1440p (54.7 FPS) costs 16.1% performance, and moving to 4K (45 FPS) adds another 17.7% drop.

The scaling behavior confirms that the RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game's data demands, but the rendering workload at 4K simply overwhelms the GPU's compute capacity. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, going from 53.8 FPS at 1080p to 44.9 FPS at 1440p (a 16.5% loss) and finally to 37.1 FPS at 4K (a 17.4% loss from 1440p). These numbers indicate that the game is not CPU-limited at any resolution; if it were, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions. Instead, the consistent 16-18% penalties for each resolution step-up point squarely at the graphics card as the bottleneck.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070's architecture, based on the AD104 chip with 5,888 shading units and 64 ROPs, is clearly the dominant component in this pairing for The Medium. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1920 MHz provide the raw throughput needed for the game's fixed-camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds, which are computationally expensive to composite. The measured results show that the card's 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance translates into playable frame rates at 1440p Medium (79.5 FPS) and High (54.7 FPS), but struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K Medium (60 FPS exactly) and falls below that threshold at 4K High (45 FPS).

The VRAM configuration deserves attention: 12 GB of GDDR6X across a 192-bit bus gives 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for The Medium's texture streaming. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, where the game likely loads the highest-resolution assets, the combo manages 37.1 FPS — a low but functional number that suggests memory capacity is not causing stutters or texture pop-in. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 26,927 places it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, yet its nearest rival in average benchmark score is the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, which scores 37,507 (0.6% higher). This close benchmark parity does not translate to game performance, as the RTX 4070's newer architecture and dedicated ray tracing cores (46 RT cores) likely help with The Medium's lighting effects, though the data does not isolate this variable.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D provides ample processing headroom for The Medium, as evidenced by the FPS scaling patterns. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 3 architecture, this CPU's 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a standout feature that helps maintain consistent frame delivery in a game that often loads large environments. The processor's boost clock of 4.10 GHz and base clock of 3.00 GHz are modest by modern standards, but the benchmark results show strong multi-threaded capability: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22,366 and a PassMark multithread score of 26,318.

The CPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all processors is respectable, and its nearest rival in average benchmark score is the Intel Core i7-1360P, which scores 24,627 (a 0.2% difference). This indicates that the 5700X3D is not a weak link in this combo; in fact, the FPS data suggests it is never the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 124 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors and shows that the CPU can feed the GPU quickly. The single-thread score of 3,157 in Cinebench R23 is adequate for a horror game that does not heavily rely on physics or AI simulations, and the 3DMark 16-thread score of 6,764 confirms the CPU's ability to handle the game's background tasks without bottlenecking the RTX 4070.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's position of 492nd out of 1,689 tested combinations places it in the top 29% of all systems evaluated for The Medium. This ranking is respectable but not exceptional, reflecting the fact that while both components are individually strong, the RTX 4070 is not a flagship GPU and the 5700X3D is a mid-generation refresh of the 5000 series. The data shows that this pairing is better suited for 1440p gaming than 4K, as the measured FPS at 1440p Medium (79.5 FPS) and High (54.7 FPS) provide a smoother experience than the 4K numbers.

The GPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score — the RX Vega 56 (37,507, 0.6% higher) and the GeForce MX570 A (38,008, 1.9% higher) — are not necessarily competitors in real-world gaming, which highlights the limitations of using aggregate benchmarks for game-specific predictions. Similarly, the CPU's nearest rival, the Ryzen 5 7600X3D, scores 24,605 (0.3% higher), indicating that the 5700X3D is well-matched against its direct competition. The combo rank of 492 suggests that there are 491 other combinations that deliver higher FPS in this specific game, likely featuring more powerful GPUs like the RTX 4080 or 4090, but this pairing still offers a viable mid-to-high-end experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete FPS dataset reveals a consistent hierarchy across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 124 FPS, Medium drops to 94.5 FPS, High settles at 65.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 53.8 FPS. The step from Medium to High at 1080p costs 29.3 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs only 11.4 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns for the Ultra preset's additional visual features. At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds: Low gives 117.7 FPS, Medium provides 79.5 FPS, High reaches 54.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 44.9 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at 1440p is 24.8 FPS, which is a significant reduction for those who want higher fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the numbers become more constrained: Low produces 97.8 FPS, Medium hits exactly 60 FPS, High manages 45 FPS, and Ultra drops to 37.1 FPS. The 4K Medium result of 60 FPS is notable because it is precisely at the standard refresh rate threshold, making it the minimum viable setting for smooth 4K play. The difference between 1440p and 4K at Medium settings is 19.5 FPS, while at High settings it is 9.7 FPS, indicating that the GPU's workload scaling is more severe at lower presets where the CPU has less influence.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 2560x1440 as the sweet spot, with Medium settings yielding 79.5 FPS and High settings providing 54.7 FPS. At 1080p, the combo exceeds 94 FPS on Medium, but 1440p offers a better balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Only at Medium settings, where the average FPS is exactly 60. At High settings, the average drops to 45 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 37.1 FPS, so 4K requires the Medium preset for a locked 60 FPS experience.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The FPS scaling across resolutions indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. From 1080p to 4K at Low settings, FPS drops from 124 to 97.8, a 21.2% reduction that would not occur if the CPU were the constraint.

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

A: It ranks 492nd out of 1,689 tested combinations, placing it in the 71st percentile. This is a solid mid-to-high-tier result, but there are 491 combos that perform better, likely featuring higher-end GPUs.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1440p?

A: High settings at 54.7 FPS is the highest preset that remains above 50 FPS. Ultra drops to 44.9 FPS, which is playable but may feel less smooth for some users.

Q: Does the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM cause any issues?

A: The measured FPS does not show signs of VRAM-related stuttering or crashes, even at 4K Ultra (37.1 FPS). The 12 GB capacity appears sufficient for The Medium's texture requirements, though performance is still limited by compute power.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the High preset at 65.2 FPS is the best choice because it offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium (94.5 FPS) while staying above the 60 FPS threshold; Ultra at 53.8 FPS is not worth the 11.4 FPS loss for marginal fidelity gains. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 79.5 FPS provides the smoothest experience with good detail, while High at 54.7 FPS is acceptable for those prioritizing visuals over frame rate; Ultra at 44.9 FPS is not recommended due to the sub-50 FPS average.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset at exactly 60 FPS is the only viable option for a locked frame rate, as High (45 FPS) and Ultra (37.1 FPS) fall below the threshold for smooth motion. The Low preset at 4K (97.8 FPS) is overkill in terms of frame rate and sacrifices too much visual quality. Across all resolutions, the data indicates that the High preset is the best balance of quality and performance at 1080p, while Medium is the recommended choice for 1440p and 4K. The Ultra preset consistently shows a 15-20% performance penalty over High with diminishing visual returns, making it the least efficient setting in this title.