The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title built on Unreal Engine 4, presents a demanding workload that scales heavily with both resolution and graphical presets. Benchmarking the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 reveals a configuration that is firmly capable at 1080p and 1440p, but one that struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with higher settings. The data indicates a system where the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, while the CPU provides ample headroom for the game's dual-world rendering mechanics.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and pronounced drop in performance as resolution scales from 1920x1080 up to 3840x2160. At the "Low" preset, the average frame rate falls from 115 FPS at 1080p to 97 FPS at 1440p, and further down to 76 FPS at 4K. This represents a substantial 34% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, indicating that even at the lowest graphical settings, the rendering load at 4K is significantly heavier. The trend continues at the "Medium" preset, where the average FPS drops from 72 at 1080p to 61 at 1440p, and then to 48 at 4K. This scaling pattern suggests that the game is highly sensitive to the number of pixels being rendered.

The "High" preset shows an even steeper decline. The average FPS goes from 51 at 1080p to 43 at 1440p, a modest drop, but then falls off a cliff to 34 at 4K. This indicates that the combination of higher resolution and increased texture and shading complexity creates a bottleneck that the RX 7700 cannot overcome. The "Ultra" preset is the most punishing, with average FPS at just 41 for 1080p, 34 for 1440p, and a low 27 at 4K. The difference between the "Low" and "Ultra" presets at 4K is stark, with the Ultra setting delivering less than half the average FPS of the Low setting.

This data strongly implies that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions and settings. The consistent and significant FPS drops when moving to 4K, particularly at "High" and "Ultra" settings, are characteristic of a graphics card being pushed past its memory bandwidth or shading unit limits. The game's reliance on rendering two simultaneous perspectives for its core mechanic likely exacerbates this load. While the CPU's performance is consistent, the frame rates are dictated by the GPU's ability to process the increased pixel count and visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. Its performance in synthetic benchmarks is strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23794 and a single-core score of 3359. The processor's 32 MB of shared L3 cache is a significant asset for gaming workloads, often helping to reduce memory latency. The data suggests that for The Medium, the CPU is not the primary performance bottleneck.

The game's demands on the CPU appear to be moderate, as the frame rates at 1080p, where the GPU has an easier time, are still quite high. At the "Low" preset, the average FPS of 115 at 1080p shows that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to achieve high frame rates. The processor's multi-threading capabilities, evidenced by a 3DMark Max Threads score of 7680, are more than sufficient for a game like The Medium, which does not typically scale perfectly across many cores due to its fixed-camera design.

The Ryzen 7 5800XT's ranking in the 81st percentile of all CPUs further confirms its high-end standing. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H and the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, show very similar average benchmark scores, with deltas of 0% and 0.6% respectively. This indicates that the 5800XT is performing at the expected level for a high-end desktop processor. In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to maintain a stable frame delivery, a task it handles without issue, as evidenced by the frame rates scaling primarily with resolution and GPU load rather than CPU limits.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the key player in this configuration's performance. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This substantial VRAM capacity is a major advantage, especially at higher resolutions where texture data requirements balloon. The GPU's boost clock is listed at 2459 MHz, with a game clock of 2041 MHz. With 2560 shading units and 40 RT cores, it is a capable mid-to-high-end part, though its 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it is not at the very top tier of performance.

In The Medium, the GPU's role is absolutely critical. The frame rate data shows a direct correlation between graphical settings and performance, with the "Ultra" preset consistently delivering about half the average FPS of the "Low" preset. This is a classic sign of a GPU that is being fully utilized and is the primary factor determining frame rate. The RX 7700's performance at 4K is its weakest link; it cannot maintain 60 FPS at any setting, with the "High" preset averaging only 34 FPS and the "Ultra" preset dropping to 27 FPS.

Even at 1440p, the "High" preset only achieves 43 FPS, suggesting that achieving a smooth 60 FPS experience at that resolution would require turning settings down to "Medium" or "Low". The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Radeon RX 9060 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. While the RX 7700's average benchmark score is slightly lower than the RTX 3060 Ti (a delta of -1.7%), its 16 GB of VRAM provides a distinct advantage in texture-heavy games like The Medium at higher resolutions, potentially mitigating stuttering and texture pop-in that could affect competitors with less memory. The data confirms that the GPU is the decisive factor in this system's gaming performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the exact measured average frame rates for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination in The Medium.

At 1920x1080, the system performs admirably. The "Low" preset delivers an average of 115 FPS, making for an exceptionally smooth experience. The "Medium" preset is also very playable, with an average of 72 FPS and a minimum of 61 FPS. Moving to "High" drops the average to 51 FPS, which is still acceptable for a slower-paced horror title. The "Ultra" preset, however, brings the average down to 41 FPS, which may feel less fluid.

At 2560x1440, the demands on the GPU become more apparent. The "Low" preset yields a high average of 97 FPS. The "Medium" preset maintains a playable 61 FPS average, with a minimum of 51 FPS. The "High" preset is more demanding, producing an average of 43 FPS. The "Ultra" preset at 1440p produces an average of 34 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations are fully exposed. The "Low" preset is the only option that provides a consistently playable experience, with an average of 76 FPS. The "Medium" preset drops to an average of 48 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS. The "High" preset averages just 34 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset falls to a low 27 FPS average. For a 4K experience, only the "Low" preset offers a frame rate that most users would consider smooth, while the higher presets would require significant compromises in visual quality for playability.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and AMD Radeon RX 7700 configuration ranks 1307 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This placement in the 45th percentile of all tested systems highlights that while this is a competent gaming PC, it is not a top-tier performer for this specific title. The ranking reflects the system's inability to achieve high frame rates at 4K with maxed-out settings, which is a benchmark that many high-end systems are expected to pass.

The combo's ranking is likely pulled down by the GPU's performance at higher resolutions. While the CPU is a strong performer, the GPU's average benchmark score of 15852 is modest compared to top-tier cards. The system finds its strength in the 1080p and 1440p regimes, where it can deliver very high frame rates on lower settings. However, the benchmark ranking suggests that for users prioritizing 4K gaming or maximum graphical fidelity, this combination would fall short of expectations set by higher-performing rigs. The data shows a system that is well-balanced for mainstream gaming but is not optimized for the extreme high-end workload that The Medium presents at 4K.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system in The Medium?*

A: Based on the measured FPS, the best experience for high frame rates would be 1920x1080 with "Medium" settings, yielding an average of 72 FPS. For a more visually rich experience at 2560x1440, "Medium" settings produce an average of 61 FPS, which is also quite playable.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Medium?*

A: The data indicates that 4K gaming is possible but with significant compromises. The "Low" preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 76 FPS, which is smooth. However, the "Medium" preset drops to 48 FPS, and the "High" and "Ultra" presets fall to 34 and 27 FPS respectively, which are not ideal for a smooth experience.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT a bottleneck for the AMD Radeon RX 7700 in this game?

A: No. The frame rate scaling pattern, where performance drops significantly with resolution and settings, indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's high benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23794, suggest it has enough headroom to feed the GPU effectively.

*Q: How does the RX 7700's 16 GB of VRAM impact performance in The Medium?*

A: While the benchmark data does not directly measure VRAM usage, the 16 GB capacity is a significant asset. It likely prevents performance degradation from texture swapping at higher resolutions and settings, allowing the measured FPS to remain stable, particularly at 1440p and 4K.

Q: How does this combination's performance compare to a system with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti?

A: In average GPU benchmark scores, the RX 7700 is 1.7% slower than the RTX 3060 Ti. However, the RX 7700's larger 16 GB VRAM buffer could provide a real-world advantage in The Medium at higher resolutions, potentially preventing frame rate dips that could occur on a card with less memory.

Q: What is the expected frame rate at 2560x1440 on the "Ultra" preset?

A: The measured average FPS for the "Ultra" preset at 2560x1440 is 34 FPS. This is considerably below the 60 FPS target that many players prefer, indicating that the "Ultra" preset is too demanding for this GPU at 1440p for a consistently smooth experience.