The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that leverages fixed camera angles and heavy post-processing, and the data for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER paints a clear picture of a system that is firmly GPU-limited at higher resolutions. The benchmark results show a wide performance spread across quality presets, indicating that adjustments to settings yield significant and predictable returns. This combination lands in the 2162nd position out of 3724 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, which is consistent with a mid-range GPU paired with a previous-generation high-end CPU.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a pronounced and expected drop in performance as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the "Low" settings preset, the average frame rate falls from 101 FPS at 1920x1080 to 85 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 67 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 33.7% decrease in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial hit but still leaves the game playable. The scaling here suggests that at "Low" settings, the system is still capable of pushing a high number of frames, and the bottleneck begins to shift more towards the GPU as pixel count increases.

Moving to the "Medium" preset, the pattern continues, with average FPS dropping from 63 at 1920x1080 to 53 at 2560x1440, and then to 42 at 3840x2160. The incremental drop from 1440p to 4K is 20.8%, which is less severe than the 1080p to 1440p drop of 15.9% in absolute terms, but the percentage drop is actually higher for the 1440p to 4K step. This indicates that the GPU is being taxed more heavily at 4K, and the impact of resolution scaling becomes more pronounced as the base frame rate lowers.

At the "High" preset, the average FPS at 1920x1080 is 45, which drops to 38 at 2560x1440 and then to 30 at 3840x2160. The performance curve is steep, and the 30 FPS average at 4K is right at the threshold of playability for many users. The "Ultra" preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with average FPS falling from 36 at 1920x1080 to 30 at 2560x1440 and finally to 24 at 3840x2160. This final result is barely playable and demonstrates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is not capable of handling "Ultra" settings at 4K in this title.

The data strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component across all tested configurations. The consistent and substantial FPS drops when moving from 1080p to 4K are a classic symptom of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU, an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, is clearly powerful enough to feed the GPU at all resolutions, as the frame rate scales directly with the number of pixels rendered. The fact that the FPS nearly doubles when going from "Ultra" to "Low" at 1920x1080 (from 36 to 101 FPS) further confirms that the GPU's workload is the primary constraint, as the CPU would be able to handle either setting without such a drastic change in performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the decisive factor in this combo's performance in The Medium. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is a key specification, as the game's fixed-camera angles often render high-detail scenes that can be memory-intensive. The data shows that the GPU's 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming at medium-to-high settings, but it is stretched thin at 4K, especially on the "Ultra" preset.

The boost clock of 1770 MHz, while not the highest, is typical for the Turing architecture, and the 2560 shading units are the main workhorses for the rasterization-heavy rendering that The Medium uses. The performance relative to other GPUs in the database shows it at the 65th percentile, which is a modest position. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, which is 1% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which is 1.2% slower. This puts the desktop RTX 2070 SUPER in a tight performance cluster, and the in-game results reflect that it is a competent but not exceptional 1440p card.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present, but the measured FPS data does not indicate whether ray tracing or DLSS were enabled. The benchmark results show a clear and steady performance degradation as settings increase, which points to a pure compute and fill-rate limitation. The GPU's 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs are responsible for pixel output and texture filtering, and at 4K with "Ultra" settings, the demand on these units is simply too high, resulting in the 24 FPS average. The 12 nm process node and 215 W TDP are also relevant, as they define the power envelope and thermal characteristics that the card operates within.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K with a playable frame rate?*

A: At 4K, the playable settings are limited. The measured data shows a 30 FPS average on "High" settings and a 42 FPS average on "Medium" settings. The "Ultra" preset is not playable, with an average of 24 FPS. For a smooth experience, "Medium" or "Low" settings at 4K are the practical choices.

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

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 20282. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, has a score of 20480, which is 1% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and Intel Arc B570 are 1.2% and 1.3% faster, respectively, with scores of 20534 and 20556. The Intel Arc A750 is 1.5% faster, with a score of 20582.

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

A: The data suggests that 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. At this resolution, the combo achieves a respectable 53 FPS average on "Medium" settings and 38 FPS on "High" settings. While 1080p offers higher frame rates, the visual clarity of 1440p is a better trade-off for the performance hit.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate a clear GPU bottleneck. Frame rates scale predictably and significantly with resolution and quality settings, which is the primary indicator of a GPU-limited scenario. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is more than capable of keeping up with the GPU's demands.

Q: How much performance is lost by switching from "Low" to "Ultra" settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate drops from 101 FPS on "Low" to 36 FPS on "Ultra". This is a 64.4% reduction in average FPS. The jump from "Medium" to "High" is also significant, with a drop from 63 FPS to 45 FPS.

*Q: Where does this combo rank among all tested systems for The Medium?*

A: This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2162nd out of 3724 tested combos, placing it in the 58th percentile of all tested systems for this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system is most comfortable. The "Low" preset delivers an average of 101 FPS, which is exceptionally smooth. The "Medium" preset yields a solid 63 FPS average, with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS. The "High" preset drops to a 45 FPS average, which is still playable but shows the game's increasing demand. The "Ultra" preset brings the average down to 36 FPS, which is on the lower edge of playability for a fast-paced game.

At 2560x1440, the performance is more moderate. The "Low" preset still provides a high average of 85 FPS. The "Medium" preset averages 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS. The "High" preset drops to 38 FPS, which is a noticeable step down from 1080p and begins to feel less fluid. The "Ultra" preset averages 30 FPS, which is right at the threshold of acceptable performance for a slower-paced horror game.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is under maximum strain. The "Low" preset is the only option for a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 67 FPS. The "Medium" preset averages 42 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS, which is playable but with visible frame drops. The "High" preset averages 30 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset averages only 24 FPS, making these settings impractical for a good experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination is ranked 2162nd out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This position, in the lower half of the database, is a direct consequence of the GPU's performance ceiling. The CPU, which ranks in the 81st percentile against all CPUs, is clearly not the limiting factor. The GPU, which sits in the 65th percentile against all GPUs, holds the system back.

The ranking suggests that this system is outclassed by the majority of other tested configurations. The data points to a significant gap between this combo and the top performers. The RTX 2070 SUPER's performance is its main weakness, as its nearest rival GPUs, like the RTX 3070 Mobile and Intel Arc B570, are all slightly faster in synthetic tests. This in-game ranking confirms that the 2070 SUPER is a solid mid-range card that struggles to keep up with more modern or higher-tier hardware in a demanding title like The Medium. The combo is not a top-tier performer, but rather a capable 1080p and 1440p solution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X plays a supporting role in this configuration, and the data suggests it is not a bottleneck in The Medium. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, it provides ample processing power. The boost clock of 4.70 GHz and a base clock of 3.80 GHz ensure that it can handle the game's logic and AI tasks without issue. Its synthetic benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15476 and a single-core score of 1574.5, are strong, but they are not directly correlated with gaming performance.

The CPU's 32 MB of L3 cache is beneficial for gaming, and its performance relative to its nearest rivals is very tight. The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is just 0.1% faster in average benchmark score, while the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 is 0.4% slower. This indicates that the 5800X is in a highly competitive performance tier, and its capabilities are more than sufficient for the game's requirements.

The evidence for a GPU bottleneck is overwhelming. The FPS scales almost linearly with resolution and settings, which would not be the case if the CPU were struggling. In a CPU-bound scenario, the frame rate would plateau at higher resolutions as the GPU becomes less of a factor. Instead, the frame rate continues to drop significantly, confirming that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary constraint. The 5800X is a powerful processor that is being held back by its GPU partner in this specific game, and it has plenty of headroom to support a more powerful graphics card.