The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination delivers a distinctly GPU-bound experience in The Medium, with the CPU's eight Zen 4 cores providing ample headroom across all tested settings. The data indicates that the processor's 16 threads handle the game's fixed-camera horror presentation without becoming a bottleneck, even at lower resolutions where frame rates peak.

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

The Ryzen 7 7700 is an 8-core, 16-thread processor built on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael, and manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz can boost up to 5.30 GHz, and it carries a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a 32 MB shared L3 cache, all feeding a dual-channel DDR5 memory interface with 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

In benchmark terms, this CPU sits at the 87th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40081. Its nearest rivals in aggregate performance are remarkably close: the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 scores 40048 (0.1% ahead), the Intel Core 5 221E scores 40144 (0.2% behind), the AMD Ryzen 9 270 scores 40246 (0.4% behind), and the Intel Core i9-13905H scores 40313 (0.6% behind). This clustering suggests the 7700 is positioned in a dense performance band where single-digit percentage differences separate competitors.

For The Medium, the CPU's role is best understood through the measured frame rates. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 170 FPS, which is the highest number in any configuration. The fact that this score is so high—and that it drops substantially with higher settings—indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution. The game's horror genre often relies on pre-rendered or fixed camera angles, which tend to be less CPU-intensive than open-world simulations. With 16 threads available, the 7700 can handle any background tasks or engine overhead without contesting the GPU for resources.

The single-thread performance, as measured by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1049 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1930, is strong enough to drive high frame rates in a game that may not scale perfectly across all cores. Meanwhile, the multi-thread scores (Cinebench R23 multicore: 18760; Geekbench multicore: 15371) provide a safety margin for any future patches or additional background processes. The data implies that upgrading or changing the CPU would yield negligible gains in The Medium, as the GPU is clearly the performance ceiling.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy of settings performance across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 170 FPS, Medium 110 FPS, High 79 FPS, and Ultra 62 FPS. At 1440p, the figures are 148, 92, 66, and 52 FPS respectively. At 4K, they are 116, 73, 52, and 41 FPS.

The Medium preset at 1080p offers 110 FPS with a measured minimum of 93 FPS and a maximum of 126 FPS. This frame time consistency is notable—the minimum is 84.5% of the average, which suggests a stable experience without severe stutters. For a horror game, where tension relies on smooth motion and sudden scares, this stability is more important than raw maximums.

The High preset at 1080p (79 FPS) is still playable but represents a significant drop from Medium. The Ultra preset at 62 FPS is the lowest playable option at 1080p, and it does not offer a proportional visual improvement over High based on the data alone. At 1440p, the Medium preset (92 FPS) is the best balance, as it stays above 60 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS. The High preset at 66 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 52 FPS falls below the traditional 60 FPS threshold.

For 4K, the situation reverses. The Medium preset (73 FPS) is the only one that exceeds 60 FPS, with a minimum of 62 FPS. The Low preset (116 FPS) is technically smoother but likely sacrifices too much visual fidelity. The High preset (52 FPS) and Ultra (41 FPS) are below the 60 FPS target, making them less desirable for a game that benefits from consistent motion.

The recommendation is to use the Medium preset at any resolution if smoothness is the priority. At 1080p, it provides 110 FPS with a strong minimum; at 1440p, 92 FPS; and at 4K, 73 FPS. The High preset is only acceptable at 1080p (79 FPS) or 1440p (66 FPS) for users who prioritize visual detail over frame rate. Ultra should be avoided unless the user accepts sub-60 FPS performance, as it only achieves 62 FPS at 1080p and drops to 41 FPS at 4K.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound profile. Moving from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by 11.8% at Low settings (170 to 148), 16.4% at Medium (110 to 92), 16.5% at High (79 to 66), and 16.1% at Ultra (62 to 52). This consistent reduction of roughly 16% across settings indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint, as the CPU workload does not increase with resolution.

From 1440p to 4K, the drops are more pronounced: 21.6% at Low (148 to 116), 20.7% at Medium (92 to 73), 21.2% at High (66 to 52), and 21.2% at Ultra (52 to 41). The larger percentage drop at 4K is expected because the pixel count quadruples, but the fact that the FPS does not halve suggests the GPU has enough headroom to maintain playable rates at the lower settings.

The ratio between 1080p and 4K FPS is telling. At Low settings, 4K achieves 68.2% of the 1080p frame rate (116 vs 170). At Medium, it is 66.4% (73 vs 110). At High, it is 65.8% (52 vs 79). At Ultra, it is 66.1% (41 vs 62). This near-constant ratio across settings indicates that the GPU is scaling linearly with resolution, which is a hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain flat or drop less at higher resolutions because the CPU would still be processing the same number of draw calls.

The data also shows that the minimum FPS at Medium settings scales similarly: 93 at 1080p, 79 at 1440p, and 62 at 4K. This 33.3% drop from 1080p to 4K in minimum FPS is slightly less than the average FPS drop (33.6%), indicating that the frame time consistency does not degrade disproportionately at higher resolutions. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient to handle the texture and geometry load without memory-related stutters.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in The Medium?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 170 at 1080p with Low settings. The next highest is 148 at 1440p Low, then 116 at 4K Low.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The FPS drops consistently by about 16% from 1080p to 1440p and 21% from 1440p to 4K across all settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU's high multi-thread scores (Cinebench R23 multicore: 18760) suggest it has headroom.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 4K with Medium settings?

A: The measured minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 62, with an average of 73 and a maximum of 83. This is the only 4K setting that stays above 60 FPS on average.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 7700 compare to its nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40081, which is 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40048), 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core 5 221E (40144), 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 270 (40246), and 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core i9-13905H (40313). These differences are negligible in gaming.

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

A: At 1440p, Low settings achieve 148 FPS, while Ultra settings achieve 52 FPS. This represents a 96 FPS difference, or a 64.9% reduction in frame rate when moving to the highest settings.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti significantly faster than its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 44795. It is 0.8% faster than the RTX 5090 Mobile (45152), 1.3% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (45384), 1.6% slower than the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (44075), and 1.7% faster than the Intel Arc A730M (45592). These are all within 2% of each other.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 7680 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, along with 60 ray tracing cores and 240 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2310 MHz and boosts to 2610 MHz, with memory clocked at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). It has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

In the context of The Medium, the GPU's role is dominant. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (41 FPS) represents the heaviest load, and the fact that the GPU can still produce 41 FPS at this resolution indicates it has sufficient raw compute. The FP32 performance is 40.09 TFLOPS, and the pixel rate is 208.8 GPixel/s, which helps explain the high frame rates at lower resolutions. The texture rate of 626.4 GTexel/s ensures that the game's textures are not a bottleneck.

The GPU ranks at the 84th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44795. Its nearest rivals are clustered closely: the RTX 5090 Mobile is 0.8% faster (45152), the Radeon Pro 5500 XT is 1.3% faster (45384), the RTX A6000 is 1.6% slower (44075), and the Arc A730M is 1.7% faster (45592). This tight grouping suggests that the 4070 Ti is in a performance tier where small architectural differences matter more than raw specs.

The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for The Medium at all tested settings, as evidenced by the stable minimum FPS values (e.g., 62 at 4K Medium). The memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s supports the game's high-resolution textures without causing frame drops. The GPU's dual-slot design and 285 W TDP indicate it is a power-hungry component, but the performance data justifies this.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings achieve 170 FPS, Medium settings achieve 110 FPS with a minimum of 93 and a maximum of 126, High settings achieve 79 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 62 FPS. The Medium preset offers the best combination of frame rate and visual quality, as it maintains a minimum above 90 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 148 for Low, 92 for Medium (with a minimum of 79 and maximum of 106), 66 for High, and 52 for Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p (92 FPS) is still comfortably above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for this resolution. The High preset at 66 FPS is acceptable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are 116 for Low, 73 for Medium (with a minimum of 62 and maximum of 83), 52 for High, and 41 for Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K (73 FPS) is the only setting that exceeds the 60 FPS target, and its minimum of 62 FPS indicates consistent performance. The Ultra preset at 41 FPS is only suitable for users who prioritize visual fidelity over smoothness.

The data shows a clear pattern: the Medium preset provides the best balance of frame rate and visual quality at every resolution. The Low preset offers the highest frame rates but likely sacrifices significant visual detail, while the High and Ultra presets impose substantial FPS penalties without a proportional increase in performance. The minimum FPS values for Medium settings (93 at 1080p, 79 at 1440p, 62 at 4K) confirm that this preset maintains a stable experience across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 421st out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 11.3% of all tested configurations, which is a strong result for a mid-range to high-end pairing. The rank reflects the GPU-bound nature of the game, as the CPU's performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 4070 Ti.

The 421st rank out of 3724 indicates that there are 420 combos that perform better in this game, but there are also 3303 combos that perform worse. This suggests that the 7700 + 4070 Ti combo is well-balanced for The Medium, as it delivers playable frame rates at all resolutions up to 4K Medium. The rank is likely influenced by the GPU's strong performance at lower settings, where it can push high frame rates.

Compared to other combos with similar CPU or GPU components, this pairing benefits from the CPU's high single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread: 1049) and the GPU's robust memory bandwidth. The fact that the combo ranks higher than 88.7% of all tested configurations indicates that it is a capable setup for this game, even if it is not among the absolute top-tier performers. The data suggests that users with this combo can expect a smooth experience at Medium settings across all resolutions, with the option to use High settings at 1080p or 1440p if frame rate targets are relaxed.