The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT delivers a highly playable experience in The Medium, though the data reveals a clear performance ceiling that shifts depending on resolution and settings. With an average FPS ranging from 30 at 4K Ultra to 126 at 1080p Low, this combination demonstrates strong raw throughput but requires careful settings management to maintain smooth frame rates at higher resolutions. The measured results indicate a system that is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, while 4K demands compromises in visual fidelity to remain fluid.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and reveals the GPU as the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. At Medium settings, the average FPS falls from 79 at 1920x1080 to 66 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 13 FPS, and then further to 52 at 3840x2160, representing a total decline of 27 FPS from 1080p to 4K. This pattern indicates that pixel throughput becomes increasingly demanding as resolution rises, with the RX 7700 XT's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth being taxed more heavily at 4K.

The scaling behavior differs across presets. At Low settings, the system maintains an average of 126 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 106 FPS at 1440p and 83 FPS at 4K. This 34% decrease from 1080p to 4K at Low settings suggests that even when graphical load is minimal, the rendering pipeline still experiences substantial overhead at higher resolutions. Conversely, at Ultra settings, the frame rates are consistently low across all resolutions: 45 FPS at 1080p, 38 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. The relatively smaller absolute drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra (15 FPS) compared to Low (43 FPS) indicates that the game's Ultra preset imposes such a heavy load that even the resolution increase has diminishing impact on the already constrained performance.

The data suggests that the Ryzen 7 5800X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is not the bottleneck at any resolution. The consistent FPS reductions as resolution increases point directly to the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth limits. At 4K, the RX 7700 XT's pixel rate of 244.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 549.5 GTexel/s become the determining factors, as evidenced by the sub-60 FPS averages at High and Ultra settings. The 1080p results, where even Ultra achieves 45 FPS, show that the CPU's single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 943) is sufficient to feed the GPU without introducing frame time inconsistencies.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 79 FPS average with a minimum of 67 FPS, providing smooth gameplay without the need for high refresh rate monitors to be fully utilized. At 1440p, Medium maintains 66 FPS average with a minimum of 56 FPS, which remains comfortably playable for a horror title where atmosphere matters more than competitive frame rates. Even at 4K, Medium achieves 52 FPS average with a 44 FPS minimum, which is acceptable for slower-paced narrative-driven gameplay.

The High preset is a viable alternative for users prioritizing visual quality over frame rate consistency. It delivers 56 FPS at 1080p, 47 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K. While these numbers are lower than Medium, they remain above the 30 FPS threshold typically considered minimally playable. However, the lack of minimum FPS data for High settings means frame time consistency is unverified, and the 37 FPS at 4K suggests potential stuttering in demanding scenes.

Ultra settings are not recommended for any resolution, as the data shows the only preset where all resolutions fall below 60 FPS. The 30 FPS average at 4K Ultra is particularly problematic, and even at 1080p, the 45 FPS average indicates the RX 7700 XT is overwhelmed by the Ultra preset's additional effects. For users who insist on maximum visual fidelity, the Low preset at 4K (83 FPS) provides better frame rates than Ultra at 1080p (45 FPS), highlighting the diminishing returns of the Ultra preset's graphical enhancements.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 5800X and RX 7700 XT ranks 1392 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 37% of all configurations. This ranking reflects a system that is above average but not exceptional, consistent with the GPU's 67th percentile ranking among all GPUs and the CPU's 81st percentile ranking among all CPUs. The disparity between the CPU's higher percentile and the combo's mid-tier ranking suggests that the game's performance is more heavily influenced by GPU capabilities than CPU processing power.

In terms of component-level comparisons, the RX 7700 XT's average benchmark score of 22549 places it very close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (22435, deltaPct 0.5) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22729, deltaPct -0.8). The RX 7700 XT is also within 1.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895), indicating that this GPU delivers desktop-class performance comparable to previous-generation high-end cards. The measured FPS in The Medium aligns with these benchmark scores, as the card's performance at 1440p Medium (66 FPS) is consistent with its overall compute capabilities.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (avgScore 29093, deltaPct 0.1) and the Intel Core i5-13500HX (avgScore 29270, deltaPct -0.5), showing that the Ryzen 7 5800X's processing power is competitive with modern mobile and desktop offerings. However, in The Medium, the CPU's 3dmark_16_threads score of 7586 and cinebench_r23_multicore score of 15476 indicate ample headroom for the game's threading requirements, meaning the combo ranking is primarily determined by the GPU's rendering performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 126 FPS average, Medium achieves 79 FPS average with a minimum of 67 FPS and maximum of 91 FPS, High reaches 56 FPS, and Ultra drops to 45 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 81 FPS, demonstrating a wide range of performance scaling based on graphical preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across all settings. Low maintains 106 FPS, Medium achieves 66 FPS average with 56 FPS minimum and 76 FPS maximum, High produces 47 FPS, and Ultra falls to 38 FPS. The 1440p results show a more compressed range from Low to Ultra (68 FPS), indicating that the GPU's pixel processing limits become more apparent as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings deliver 83 FPS, Medium averages 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS and maximum of 60 FPS, High reaches 37 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 30 FPS. The 4K results demonstrate that this combination can handle 4K gaming only at Low and Medium settings, with the latter providing the most consistent experience given its documented minimum and maximum frame times.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete data across all resolutions, showing minimum FPS values of 67, 56, and 44 at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively. These minimums indicate that the frame pacing remains stable even under load, with the 4K minimum of 44 FPS still above the 30 FPS playability threshold. The maximum FPS values of 91, 76, and 60 show that the system can occasionally exceed the average, particularly at lower resolutions, but the consistency of the Medium preset makes it the safest choice for maintaining smooth gameplay.

FAQ

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

A: At 4K, the system achieves 83 FPS on Low settings and 52 FPS on Medium settings, but drops to 37 FPS on High and 30 FPS on Ultra. For smooth 4K gameplay, the Medium preset is recommended, as it maintains a 44 FPS minimum.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 66 FPS average with a 56 FPS minimum, which is ideal for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 47 FPS is also playable, but the Medium preset provides better frame time consistency.

Q: How does the RX 7700 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 22549, which is 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile and 0.8% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile. It is also 1.5% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5800X a bottleneck in this game?

A: No, the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads, along with a single-thread benchmark score of 943, are sufficient for The Medium. The frame rate drops across resolutions indicate the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The Ultra preset at 1080p produces an average of 45 FPS. This is the lowest 1080p result among the tested presets, suggesting the RX 7700 XT is heavily taxed by Ultra settings.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combination ranks 1392 out of 3724 tested combos, placing it in the top 37% of all configurations tested in The Medium.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, based on the Zen 3 architecture with the Vermeer codename, provides 8 cores and 16 threads operating at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz. This processing power is reflected in benchmark scores including a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 15476 and a single-core score of 1574.5, which indicate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance respectively. The CPU's 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth ensure adequate data throughput for gaming workloads.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is to manage the game's rendering threads, AI calculations, and level streaming. The 3dmark_16_threads score of 7586 and 3dmark_8_threads score of 6035 demonstrate that the processor scales well with increased thread usage, which is beneficial for games that utilize multiple cores. The passmark_multithread score of 27732 further confirms the CPU's ability to handle concurrent workloads without becoming a bottleneck.

The fact that the measured FPS drops by consistent amounts as resolution increases, rather than showing erratic behavior that would indicate CPU limitations, suggests that the Ryzen 7 5800X provides more than enough processing headroom for this game. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least amount of work, the CPU maintains 126 FPS, indicating that its 4.70 GHz boost clock is sufficient to keep up with the GPU's output. The CPU's 81st percentile ranking among all CPUs further validates its capability to support the RX 7700 XT in this title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, is the primary determinant of frame rates in The Medium. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which becomes critical at higher resolutions where texture data and frame buffers require more memory throughput. The GPU's 3456 shading units, 216 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units process the game's visual effects, with a pixel rate of 244.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 549.5 GTexel/s.

The GPU's clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 1435 MHz, game clock of 2171 MHz, and boost clock of 2544 MHz. These frequencies, combined with the 35.17 TFLOPS FP32 compute performance, allow the card to handle the game's dual-reality rendering mechanic, which requires simultaneous rendering of two worlds. The 54 ray tracing cores support the game's ray-traced effects, though the performance impact is evident in the Ultra preset results.

The RX 7700 XT's 67th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22549, places it in the mid-to-upper tier of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (avgScore 22895, deltaPct -1.5), which suggests the AMD card delivers comparable performance to a previous-generation high-end GPU. In The Medium, this translates to playable frame rates at 1440p and 4K with appropriate settings, but the GPU's 12 GB memory capacity becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the 30 FPS average indicates the card is struggling with the combined load of high-resolution textures and the game's unique rendering demands.