The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a top-tier 4K experience in The Medium, but the data reveals a specific performance ceiling that shifts depending on resolution. This combo ranks 198th out of 1,689 tested configurations, placing it in the top 12% of all systems. That ranking is driven by an RTX 4090 that sits in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, combined with a CPU that holds the 82nd percentile. The result is a system that easily handles the game's fixed-camera horror presentation, though the performance gap between settings presets widens dramatically as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

The 198th position out of 1,689 combos is a strong showing, but it is not a top-100 placement. The ranking reflects a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 3D V-Cache provides a solid foundation for the game's streaming and rendering demands. The RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 66,473 places it just 0.4% behind the NVIDIA Tesla T4 and 0.5% ahead of the Tesla P40, per the nearestRivals data. This suggests that within the GPU's performance class, the 4090 is a mid-pack leader rather than an outlier. The CPU's average benchmark score of 24,673 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-1360P (0.2% ahead) and the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D (0.3% ahead), meaning the 5700X3D is not a bottleneck in most scenarios. The combo's rank is therefore a product of the GPU's raw power, not the CPU's processing headroom.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 5700X3D brings 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its 96 MB of shared L3 cache is the standout feature, as this large cache pool is designed to reduce memory latency in gaming workloads. In The Medium, a game that shuttles between two simultaneous worlds, this cache can be beneficial for keeping asset data close to the cores. The CPU's single-thread performance is moderate, with a Geekbench single-core score of 1,922 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3,157. However, the multi-threaded scores are more telling: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22,366 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 10,108. These numbers indicate that the CPU can handle the game's background tasks without stalling the GPU. The 5700X3D's percentile VsAllCpus of 82 means it outperforms 82% of all CPUs tested, but in this specific game, its role is secondary. At 1080p, the CPU's influence is more visible, as the GPU has spare capacity, but at 4K, the data shows the GPU becomes the sole limiting factor.

GPU Role

The RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing. With 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, it offers 1.01 TB/s of memory bandwidth, which is essential for feeding the high-resolution textures in The Medium's dark, detailed environments. The GPU's boost clock of 2520 MHz and 16,384 shading units provide immense compute throughput, reflected in its 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are present, though the game's fixed-camera design may not heavily leverage ray tracing. The GPU's benchmark scores are impressive: a Passmark G3D score of 38,194 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 270,615. Its percentile VsAllGpus of 91 confirms it is a top-tier part. In practice, the GPU's role is to push frame rates at 4K, and the data shows it does so effectively at Medium and High settings, but the Ultra preset causes a significant frame rate drop, indicating the game's Ultra settings impose a heavy load even on this flagship.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 2560x1440 offers the best balance, with 96.8 FPS at Medium and 78.5 FPS at High, while 3840x2160 drops to 60.4 FPS at High, which is playable but less fluid.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4090 than its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 66,473 is 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P40's 66,127, and 0.4% lower than the Tesla T4's 66,733, making it statistically tied with those parts.

Q: Does the CPU limit the GPU at 1080p?

A: Yes, the data suggests a CPU influence at 1920x1080: the Low preset hits 122 FPS, but Ultra drops to 72.3 FPS. The CPU's 3DMark 8-thread score of 5,357 indicates it can feed the GPU, but the 5700X3D's single-thread score of 804 limits extreme frame rates.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Low produces 110.2 FPS, while Ultra produces only 52.1 FPS, a 58.1 FPS drop that shows the Ultra preset has a severe performance penalty.

Q: Is 60 FPS achievable at 4K?

A: Yes, High settings at 3840x2160 yield exactly 60.4 FPS average, while Medium yields 86.7 FPS, making 60 FPS easily reachable without needing the Low preset.

Q: How does the 5700X3D compare to the Ryzen 5 7600X3D?

A: The 5700X3D has an average benchmark score of 24,673, which is 0.3% higher than the 7600X3D's 24,605, making them effectively equal in synthetic performance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the FPS drops from 91.2 at 1920x1080 to 78.5 at 2560x1440, then to 60.4 at 3840x2160. This is a 33.8% drop from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the drop is from 122 FPS to 110.2 FPS to 116.8 FPS, which is less severe, indicating the CPU is holding the frame rate up at lower resolutions. The most striking data point is the Ultra preset: at 1080p it runs at 72.3 FPS, but at 4K it falls to 52.1 FPS, a 27.9% drop. This pattern suggests that the RTX 4090 is underutilized at 1080p with Low settings, where the CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 804 becomes a limiting factor. At 4K, however, the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading units are fully engaged, and the CPU's role diminishes. The data indicates the system is balanced at 1440p, where the FPS at High (78.5) is closer to 4K (60.4) than to 1080p (91.2), showing diminishing returns from resolution scaling.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings depend on the target resolution. For 4K gaming, High is the clear choice: 60.4 FPS average is smooth for a horror title, and it avoids the steep 34.6 FPS penalty of Ultra (52.1 FPS). Medium at 4K offers 86.7 FPS, which is excellent, but High provides a better visual quality with only a 26.3 FPS reduction from Medium. At 1440p, Medium (96.8 FPS) and High (78.5 FPS) are both viable, but High is recommended for a more immersive experience without sacrificing fluidity. For 1080p, Ultra (72.3 FPS) is playable, but High (91.2 FPS) is recommended because the visual difference between High and Ultra is less noticeable at that resolution, while the frame rate gain is substantial. The Low preset is only necessary at 4K if aiming for maximum frame rates (110.2 FPS), but it will compromise the game's atmospheric lighting and texture detail, which are critical for horror immersion. The data supports High as the default preset across all resolutions, with Medium as a fallback for 4K players who prioritize frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo produces 122 FPS on Low, 103.3 FPS on Medium, 91.2 FPS on High, and 72.3 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 49.7 FPS, showing a wide performance range.

At 2560x1440, the scores are 116.8 FPS on Low, 96.8 FPS on Medium, 78.5 FPS on High, and 61 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 55.8 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset is particularly demanding at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the data shows 110.2 FPS on Low, 86.7 FPS on Medium, 60.4 FPS on High, and 52.1 FPS on Ultra. The Low-to-Ultra gap is 58.1 FPS, which is the largest of all resolutions. This confirms that the RTX 4090's performance scales well with resolution on Low settings, but the Ultra preset introduces a severe penalty. The actual minimum FPS values are not recorded, but the average scores suggest that High at 4K is the safest choice for a consistent experience, as the 60.4 FPS average leaves little headroom for frame time spikes. The data also shows that the Medium preset at 4K (86.7 FPS) outperforms the High preset at 1440p (78.5 FPS), highlighting the GPU's strength at higher resolutions.