The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination delivers a solid, if not spectacular, showing in The Medium, a horror title known for its demanding dual-reality rendering. The data places this pairing at rank 513 out of 1689 tested combos, putting it in the top third of all systems. This is a configuration built on a mature platform and a current-generation GPU, and the measured frame rates reflect a system that can handle the game’s atmospheric pressure at most settings, though it capitulates at the absolute highest presets in 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It operates on the AMD Socket AM4 platform and is manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 74 mm². Its base clock is 3.80 GHz, and it can boost up to 4.80 GHz. This is a desktop part with a 105 W TDP, and it supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, offering a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 and 512 KB of L2 per core, alongside a substantial 32 MB of L3 cache.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 5800XT shows a strong balance between single-thread and multi-thread performance. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 23794, while the single-core score is 3359. This suggests that the CPU has ample headroom for the logical threads that The Medium may spawn, but also strong per-core performance for the game’s primary simulation thread. The Passmark multi-thread score of 27988 and single-thread score of 3538 corroborate this, indicating a processor that will not be the bottleneck in most gaming scenarios, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU is under more strain.

The CPU’s 3DMark scores further illustrate its capability. The 16-thread score of 7683 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 7680, confirming that the 16 threads are fully utilized and scaling is efficient. The 8-thread score of 6141 shows that even with half the threads active, performance remains high, which is relevant for games that may not fully saturate all available threads. This efficiency is a hallmark of the Zen 3 architecture and ensures that the processor can feed the Radeon RX 9070 consistently. In the context of this game’s results, the CPU’s role is to provide a stable foundation; the data shows that the frame rate variance across resolutions is primarily dictated by the GPU’s workload, as the CPU is more than capable of keeping up with the demands of the horror title’s fixed camera angles and scene complexity.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the driving force in this configuration. It is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture and features the Navi 48 chip, manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. This GPU is a substantial piece of silicon, with a die size of 357 mm² and housing 53,900 million transistors. It comes equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. The core clock speeds are listed with a base of 1330 MHz, a game clock of 2070 MHz, and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The memory runs at an effective speed of 20.1 Gbps.

The GPU’s raw compute capabilities are significant. It features 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 128 ROPs, along with 56 RT cores. Its pixel rate is 322.6 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 564.5 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is rated at 36.13 TFLOPS. In the Passmark G3D benchmark, it scores 25381, and in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 6290. Its average benchmark score is 34780, placing it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs.

The measured frame rates in The Medium clearly show the GPU’s influence. At 1920x1080, the RX 9070 provides excellent performance, with an average of 141.5 FPS at Low settings and 88.1 FPS at Medium. However, the jump to High (64.6 FPS) and Ultra (52.3 FPS) shows the game’s increasing demand. At 2560x1440, the pattern continues with a Low setting average of 120.4 FPS, dropping to 71.4 FPS at Medium and 52.2 FPS at High. The most demanding scenario is at 3840x2160, where the GPU’s limits are reached: 94.8 FPS at Low, 59.8 FPS at Medium, and 45.1 FPS at High. The Ultra preset at 4K proves too heavy, yielding only 32.3 FPS. This data indicates that the 16 GB VRAM buffer is sufficient for the game’s textures, but the raw shading power is taxed by the game’s visual effects at high resolutions and settings.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo to achieve a 60 FPS average in The Medium?*

A: The data shows that 60 FPS averages are achievable at 2560x1440 with Medium settings (71.4 FPS) and at 3840x2160 with Medium settings (59.8 FPS), though the latter is just under the 60 FPS line. For a comfortable margin, 2560x1440 Medium is the safest choice.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5800XT compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 5800XT has an average benchmark score of 29774. It is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, which has a score of 29740 and a deltaPct of 0.1. It is also 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (29682) and 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (29856).

*Q: Is the Radeon RX 9070’s performance in The Medium at 4K playable?*

A: At 3840x2160, the RX 9070 delivers an average of 45.1 FPS on High settings and 59.8 FPS on Medium. While the Medium preset is borderline playable, the High preset is not consistently smooth. The Ultra preset at 32.3 FPS is not recommended for a fluid experience.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1920x1080?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate drops from 141.5 FPS on Low settings to 52.3 FPS on Ultra settings. This represents a significant performance cost for the highest visual fidelity, with a difference of 89.2 FPS between the two presets.

Q: How does the RX 9070’s average benchmark score compare to the NVIDIA Quadro GV100?

A: The Radeon RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 34780, while the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 has a score of 34677. The RX 9070 is 0.3% ahead of the Quadro GV100 in this metric.

Q: Does the CPU show a significant bottleneck at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The CPU’s high multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 score of 23794) suggests it is not a limiting factor. The 1080p Ultra average of 52.3 FPS is more attributable to the GPU’s workload, as the frame rate scales predictably with resolution and settings, indicating a GPU-bound scenario.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience balances visual quality with smooth gameplay. For users prioritizing a high refresh rate at 1920x1080, the High preset offers an average of 64.6 FPS, which is a good middle ground, but the Medium preset at 88.1 FPS provides a much smoother experience that is better suited for a 75 Hz or 144 Hz display if you prefer higher frame rates over fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. The average of 71.4 FPS is well above the 60 FPS threshold and represents the best balance between the game’s atmospheric detail and playability. The High preset at 52.2 FPS is playable but may feel less responsive.

For 4K gaming, the Medium preset is the only viable option for a near-60 FPS experience, yielding an average of 59.8 FPS. The High preset at 45.1 FPS is a compromise for visual purists, but the drop below 60 FPS may be noticeable. The Ultra preset at 32.3 FPS is not recommended for serious play. The data suggests that for this title, the Medium preset is the recommended starting point across all resolutions, offering a consistent frame rate that scales from 88.1 FPS at 1080p to 59.8 FPS at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and Radeon RX 9070 combination is ranked 513 out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the 70th percentile of all systems tested, which is a strong result. This ranking indicates that the pairing is more capable than the majority of other CPU/GPU combinations in the database. The data shows that the system is not at the bleeding edge of performance—the top tier would likely feature newer, higher-end CPUs and GPUs—but it is firmly in the upper echelon of gaming hardware.

The ranking is a function of the GPU’s strong 4K and 1440p performance and the CPU’s robust multi-threading capabilities. The combination does not exhibit any significant bottlenecks in the measured data, as the performance scales predictably with resolution and settings. This positions the combo as a high-performance pairing that can handle demanding titles like The Medium with high visual settings, provided the resolution is managed appropriately. The 513th rank out of 1689 reflects the balance of the Zen 3 CPU and RDNA 4.0 GPU, making it a formidable choice for a high-resolution gaming rig.