The Medium

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is an 8-core, 16-thread processor built on the Zen 3 architecture. It runs at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boosts up to 4.80 GHz, which gives it strong single-thread performance for The Medium's fixed-camera scenes and demanding multi-thread handling for the game's dual-world rendering mechanic. The CPU's 32 MB L3 cache and 7 nm process node contribute to its efficiency, and its benchmark scores reflect a well-rounded part: the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23,794 and single-core score of 3,359 show that it can handle both heavily threaded workloads and the lighter, latency-sensitive tasks that horror titles often rely on.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, but it still matters. The game's split-screen moments, where two worlds are rendered simultaneously, can create significant CPU overhead. The 5800XT's 16 threads are more than adequate for this, as evidenced by its 3DMark 16-thread score of 7,683 and max-thread score of 7,680, which are nearly identical — indicating that scaling beyond 16 threads yields no benefit for this architecture. The processor sits in the 86th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29,774. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 5800XT is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (0.1% ahead) and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (0.3% ahead), while trailing the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS and AMD Ryzen 7 7840H by 0.3% each. These margins are negligible, meaning the CPU is not a bottleneck in any practical sense for this game.

The 5800XT's PassMark multi-thread score of 27,988 and single-thread score of 3,538 reinforce that it delivers consistent, high-level performance. Its data encryption score of 21,370 and floating-point math score of 53,683 further indicate a processor that handles complex calculations without breaking a sweat. For The Medium, this means the CPU will keep up with the game's AI, physics, and streaming demands, allowing the GPU to do the heavy lifting for visuals. The processor's memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s over dual-channel DDR4 is sufficient for this title's needs, and its PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes ensures fast data transfer to the GPU.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU runs at a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with memory clocked at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). This memory configuration is crucial for The Medium, which renders two distinct worlds at once — the 12 GB VRAM buffer prevents texture swapping and stuttering in the game's most demanding scenes. The GPU's 7,168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines provide the raw compute power needed for the game's fixed-camera angles and volumetric effects.

The RTX 4070 SUPER achieves a PassMark G3D score of 29,995 and a DirectX 12 score of 110, placing it in the 84th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 42,576 puts it in close competition with the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (0.2% behind) and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (0.3% behind), while it leads the AMD Radeon Pro 580X by 1.4% and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 by 1.6%. These rival comparisons show that the RTX 4070 SUPER is a high-tier performer, though not at the absolute top. For The Medium, this translates to playable frame rates at most settings, with the GPU being the primary factor in determining performance.

The GPU's ray tracing cores (56) and tensor cores (224) are relevant for the game's lighting and effects, even if The Medium does not heavily leverage ray tracing. Its FP32 performance of 35.48 TFLOPS and texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s ensure that the GPU can handle the game's complex shaders and post-processing. The 220 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this performance class, and the PCIe 4.0 x16 interface provides ample bandwidth. The GPU's 5 nm process node and 35,800 million transistors indicate a dense, efficient design that balances power and performance.

FAQ

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5800XT compare to its closest CPU rivals in overall performance?

A: The 5800XT is statistically tied with its nearest competitors. It is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360, and 0.3% behind both the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS and AMD Ryzen 7 7840H. These differences are within noise, so any of these CPUs would perform similarly in The Medium.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB VRAM enough for The Medium at 4K?

A: Yes, the data shows it is sufficient. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the combo averages 48.6 FPS, and at Medium settings it reaches 67.2 FPS. The 12 GB GDDR6X buffer with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth prevents memory-related frame drops, even in the game's dual-world rendering sequences.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1440p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average is 52.3 FPS at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings. This is playable but not ideal for fast-paced horror sequences. Dropping to High settings at the same resolution yields 63.7 FPS, which is a smoother experience.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for The Medium?

A: This pairing ranks 271st out of 1,689 tested combos, placing it in the top 16% of all configurations. This indicates a strong setup that delivers high performance without being at the very top tier.

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

A: The data suggests no. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 151.1 FPS, which is well above the GPU's practical limit for this game. The 5800XT's single-thread score of 3,359 and multi-thread score of 27,988 ensure it can feed the RTX 4070 SUPER without becoming a limiting factor.

Q: What is the best balance between visual quality and performance?

A: Medium settings at any resolution provide the best balance. At 1080p, Medium yields 102.7 FPS; at 1440p, it delivers 90.7 FPS; and at 4K, it maintains 67.2 FPS. These numbers are all comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, making Medium the sweet spot for this hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 271st out of 1,689 tested combos for The Medium. This places the pairing in the 84th percentile of all configurations in the database, which is an impressive result for a mid-to-high-end setup. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's 86th percentile standing and the GPU's 84th percentile standing — both components are above average, but neither is a top-tier flagship, so the combo lands in the upper-middle range of tested systems.

This rank is particularly notable because The Medium is a demanding title that stresses both the CPU and GPU. The game's unique mechanic of rendering two worlds simultaneously can expose bottlenecks in lesser hardware, but this combo handles it with headroom. The 5800XT's 16 threads and the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB VRAM work together to maintain consistent frame rates across settings. The rank of 271 out of 1,689 means there are 270 faster combos, but these are largely systems with more expensive top-end hardware like the RTX 4090 or Ryzen 9 processors. For the price point of this CPU and GPU, the performance is strong.

The data also shows that this combo is not limited by either component in a way that would drag the rank down. The CPU's nearest rivals all score within 0.3% of it, and the GPU's rivals are similarly close, meaning there is no weak link in the pairing. This is a well-matched setup where both parts contribute to the overall result, rather than one component being significantly faster or slower than the other.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals clear scaling patterns across resolutions. From 1080p to 1440p, the average frame rate drops by approximately 12-15% at each settings level, and from 1440p to 4K, the drop is more pronounced at 25-30%. For example, at High settings, the combo delivers 72.2 FPS at 1080p, 63.7 FPS at 1440p (an 11.8% drop), and 48.6 FPS at 4K (a 23.7% drop from 1440p). This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance does not change with resolution.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more revealing. The combo hits 151.1 FPS at 1080p, 142.6 FPS at 1440p (a 5.6% drop), and 108 FPS at 4K (a 24.3% drop from 1440p). The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests that the CPU is starting to become a factor at 1080p with low graphical load, as the GPU is capable of rendering frames faster than the CPU can feed it. However, the large drop to 4K confirms that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are the bottlenecks at that resolution.

The scaling from Medium to Ultra settings further illustrates the GPU's role. At 1080p, Medium delivers 102.7 FPS while Ultra drops to 60.5 FPS — a 41% decrease. This is a direct result of the increased shading and texture work at Ultra settings, which the RTX 4070 SUPER handles but with diminishing returns. At 4K, the gap narrows: Medium produces 67.2 FPS while Ultra produces 41.7 FPS, a 38% drop. This consistency shows that the GPU's performance ceiling is reached at Ultra settings across all resolutions, and the extra visual fidelity comes at a steep cost.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo span four settings presets and three resolutions, providing a complete picture of performance.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 151.1 FPS
• Medium: 102.7 FPS
• High: 72.2 FPS
• Ultra: 60.5 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 142.6 FPS
• Medium: 90.7 FPS
• High: 63.7 FPS
• Ultra: 52.3 FPS

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 108 FPS
• Medium: 67.2 FPS
• High: 48.6 FPS
• Ultra: 41.7 FPS

The data shows a clear hierarchy: Low settings always deliver a smooth experience, with all resolutions above 100 FPS except 4K, which still hits 108 FPS. Medium settings are the most versatile, providing 102.7 FPS at 1080p, 90.7 FPS at 1440p, and 67.2 FPS at 4K — all comfortably playable. High settings drop below 60 FPS only at 4K, where the 48.6 FPS average is borderline but still playable for a slow-paced horror title. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with only 1080p achieving over 60 FPS (60.5 FPS), while 1440p and 4K fall to 52.3 FPS and 41.7 FPS, respectively.

The frame rate drops between settings are consistent across resolutions. Moving from Low to Medium reduces FPS by roughly 32-38%, while moving from Medium to High reduces it by another 30-32%. The step from High to Ultra is slightly smaller, at 16-20%, indicating diminishing returns at the highest preset. This pattern suggests that the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are the primary factors, as the 5800XT's CPU performance remains constant.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings preset for this combo is Medium. This preset delivers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions, with 102.7 FPS at 1080p, 90.7 FPS at 1440p, and 67.2 FPS at 4K. These numbers are all above the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider the minimum for a smooth experience, and the visual upgrade from Low to Medium is significant in a game like The Medium, which relies heavily on atmosphere and lighting.

For players with 1080p displays, High settings are also viable, offering 72.2 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS and provides better textures and effects than Medium. However, Ultra settings at 1080p (60.5 FPS) are just at the edge of playability and may cause noticeable frame drops in the game's busier scenes, so they are not recommended unless the player prioritizes maximum visual fidelity over smoothness.

At 1440p, Medium is the clear choice, as High (63.7 FPS) is just above 60 FPS but leaves little headroom for demanding moments. Ultra at 1440p (52.3 FPS) is not recommended for a horror game, where smooth camera movement is essential for immersion.

At 4K, Medium is the only preset that maintains a comfortable frame rate (67.2 FPS). Low settings (108 FPS) are playable but sacrifice too much visual detail for a game that is known for its art direction. High (48.6 FPS) and Ultra (41.7 FPS) fall below 60 FPS and are only suitable for players who prioritize resolution over frame rate.

In summary, the data indicates that Medium settings provide the most consistent and enjoyable experience with this hardware. Players who prefer higher visual fidelity can opt for High at 1080p or 1440p, but should be prepared for frame rates that hover near the 60 FPS line. Ultra settings are only recommended for players with 1080p displays who are willing to accept marginal performance for maximum quality.