The Medium

Resolution Scaling

The Medium presents a steep performance curve as resolution climbs, and the data for this AMD Ryzen 7 7700 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combo makes the limiting component clear. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 90.7 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Low yields 74.3 FPS, and 4K Low still manages 61 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is a 32.7% reduction in frame rate, which is relatively modest for a 4x pixel count increase. This indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is doing substantial work to keep the GPU fed.

The picture changes dramatically when settings rise. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 39 FPS at 1080p to 36.9 FPS at 1440p, then plummets to 26.2 FPS at 4K. At Ultra, the descent is even steeper: 31.7 FPS at 1080p, 26.6 FPS at 1440p, and just 19.4 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is enormous — 61 FPS versus 19.4 FPS, a 68.2% loss. This pattern strongly suggests that the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer and Turing architecture become the primary bottleneck as graphical complexity increases. The GPU's 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are simply insufficient for The Medium's heavier presets at high resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for The Medium, this pairing sits at rank 1286 out of 1689 combos. That places it in the bottom quarter of all tested systems, which is a sobering result for a CPU that is otherwise a strong performer. The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 ranks in the 91st percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40468. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H (0.1% ahead), AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (0.5% ahead), Intel Core i9-13905H (0.6% behind), and Intel Core Ultra 5 235T (1.2% ahead). The CPU is clearly not the weak link.

The GPU tells a different story. The RTX 2060 SUPER sits in the 63rd percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19774. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (0.3% ahead), RTX 2070 (0.5% ahead), Quadro K5200 (0.8% ahead), and Tesla K40m (1.3% ahead). The rank of 1286 out of 1689 reflects this imbalance: a high-end modern CPU paired with a mid-range GPU from 2019. The combo's overall position is dragged down almost entirely by the GPU's performance ceiling in this specific title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 4 Raphael architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with 32 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29302 and a single-core score of 4136. The 3DMark 16-thread score is 8484, while the single-thread score is 1049. These figures indicate a processor capable of handling The Medium's CPU demands without breaking a sweat.

In this game, the CPU role appears largely secondary. The measured FPS deltas between 1080p and 1440p at the same settings are relatively small — for example, 39 FPS at 1080p High versus 36.9 FPS at 1440p High. This 5.4% drop is far smaller than the 29.5% drop from 1440p High to 4K High. The data indicates that the Ryzen 7 7700 is never the limiting factor; even at 1080p Low where the CPU would theoretically be most stressed, the 90.7 FPS result is high enough that the GPU still has headroom to spare. The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth further ensure that memory bandwidth is not a constraint in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers a wide spread of results: 90.7 FPS on Low, 57 FPS on Medium, 39 FPS on High, and 31.7 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium costs 37.2% of performance, while Medium to High costs another 31.6%. High to Ultra costs 18.7%. This diminishing returns curve is typical of a GPU-bound scenario where each preset tier adds more demanding effects.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers compress: 74.3 FPS on Low, 46.5 FPS on Medium, 36.9 FPS on High, and 26.6 FPS on Ultra. The Medium to High drop is 20.6%, smaller than at 1080p, while the High to Ultra drop is 27.9%, larger. At 4K (3840x2160), the results are 61 FPS on Low, 37.2 FPS on Medium, 26.2 FPS on High, and 19.4 FPS on Ultra. The Low to Medium transition at 4K is a 39% loss, the steepest single-tier penalty in the entire dataset.

Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: Low settings are playable, Medium is marginal, High is borderline, and Ultra is essentially unplayable at higher resolutions. The only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS at 4K is Low settings at 61 FPS, and that is barely above the threshold.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 60 FPS at 1080p?

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, which yields 90.7 FPS. Medium settings drop to 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best 4K performance available with this hardware?

A: The highest 4K average FPS is 61, achieved only with Low settings. Medium settings at 4K produce 37.2 FPS, and High settings drop to 26.2 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40468, which is 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H, 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core i9-13905H, and 1.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235T.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU more responsible for the low ranking in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The RTX 2060 SUPER ranks in the 63rd percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU ranks in the 91st percentile. The combo ranks 1286 out of 1689, reflecting the GPU's ceiling.

Q: What is the FPS difference between High and Ultra at 1440p?

A: High settings produce 36.9 FPS, while Ultra produces 26.6 FPS, representing a 27.9% performance drop.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause issues at 4K?

A: The data suggests yes. At 4K, the FPS drops sharply with each settings increase, from 61 FPS on Low to 19.4 FPS on Ultra, indicating the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth are overwhelmed.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to a clear recommendation: Low settings are the only playable option at 4K, delivering 61 FPS. At 1440p, Low settings at 74.3 FPS provide smooth gameplay, while Medium at 46.5 FPS is acceptable but not ideal for fast-paced scenes. At 1080p, Low at 90.7 FPS is the best experience, but Medium at 57 FPS is a strong compromise if visual fidelity matters more than raw frame rate.

For users willing to sacrifice resolution for quality, 1080p Medium offers a balanced experience — it's above the 30 FPS minimum for playability and provides better visuals than Low. However, the data shows that High settings at 1080p (39 FPS) and 1440p (36.9 FPS) are both below 40 FPS, which is likely to feel sluggish in a horror title where smooth camera movement is crucial. Ultra settings should be avoided entirely; even at 1080p, the 31.7 FPS result is borderline, and at 4K the 19.4 FPS is effectively unplayable.

The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Low, which offers 90.7 FPS. If visual quality is a priority, 1080p Medium at 57 FPS is the highest setting that remains above 50 FPS. For 1440p users, Low is the only setting that clears 60 FPS, while 4K users should stick to Low or consider lowering resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip at 12 nm, containing 10,800 million transistors across a 445 mm² die. It features 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 34 RT cores, and 272 tensor cores. The GPU runs at a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer is accessed via a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

In The Medium, the GPU's role is decisive. The benchmark results show a consistent collapse in performance as settings increase, which aligns with the GPU's 63rd percentile ranking. The pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s are modest by modern standards, and the 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is the likely constraint at higher presets. The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 2070, is only 0.5% ahead in average benchmark score, yet neither card is adequate for this game's heavier loads.

The 175 W TDP and PCIe 3.0 x16 interface are additional factors. The GPU's end-of-life production status and 2019 release date mean it predates The Medium's 2021 release, and the data reflects this age gap. At 4K Ultra, the 19.4 FPS result is a clear indication that the GPU cannot handle the game's full visual feature set at high resolutions. The 8 GB VRAM, while sufficient for many titles, appears to be a limitation here, as the frame rate drops disproportionately between Medium and High at 4K (37.2 to 26.2 FPS).