The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT lands in the middle of the pack for The Medium, securing the 1055th spot out of 1689 tested combinations. This places the combo in the 62nd percentile, meaning roughly 38% of tested systems deliver higher average frame rates in this horror title. The ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component is a dramatic bottleneck, but the overall performance ceiling is firmly capped by the GPU’s mid-range positioning. Benchmark results indicate this is a capable 1080p setup, though it struggles to maintain fluid motion at higher resolutions or maximum graphical fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1055 out of 1689 tested configurations shows it sits just above the median, which is a reasonable outcome given the RX 6650 XT’s 72nd percentile standing among all GPUs and the Ryzen 7 7700X’s 89th percentile among all CPUs. The processor is clearly the stronger component here, as evidenced by its multi-core Cinebench R23 score of 30325, which puts it 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-13500 and 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H in synthetic benchmarks. Meanwhile, the GPU’s synthetic average score of 29024 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, with a delta of 0%, indicating these two graphics cards perform on par in raw compute tests.

What the data reveals is a system where the CPU has significant headroom left on the table. In 3DMark’s max-thread test, the 7700X scores 8852, and its single-thread score of 1090 is strong, yet the game’s measured frame rates at 1080p Low (96.8 FPS) versus 1080p Ultra (36.5 FPS) show a 60 FPS swing that is entirely attributable to GPU workload. The rank suggests that in a database full of varied hardware, this combo is competitive but not exceptional, and users should temper expectations for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming. The 62nd percentile position implies that while the hardware is balanced, it does not punch above its weight class in this specific title, which is known for its demanding fixed-camera angles and layered scene rendering.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of which settings offer the most playable experience without sacrificing visual quality. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 96.8 FPS on average, which is smooth and responsive, but the jump to Medium yields 62 FPS—still playable but a significant 36% reduction. High at 1080p drops further to 42.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 36.5 FPS, which approaches the threshold where stutter becomes noticeable in a slow-paced horror game. For a balance between visual fidelity and performance, Medium at 1080p is the sweet spot, offering nearly double the frame rate of Ultra while retaining most of the game’s atmospheric lighting effects.

At 2560x1440, the story changes. Low delivers 81.7 FPS, which is excellent for this resolution, but Medium falls to 49.4 FPS and High to 33.8 FPS. Ultra at 1440p is nearly unplayable at 28.8 FPS. The data strongly suggests that 1440p users should stick with the Low preset if they prioritize smoothness, or Medium if they can tolerate occasional dips below 50 FPS. For 4K, the situation is dire: Low is the only viable option at 66 FPS, while Medium (39.5 FPS), High (28.6 FPS), and Ultra (23.8 FPS) all fail to maintain consistent motion. Given the genre’s reliance on tension and sudden scares, frame pacing matters more than absolute fidelity, so Medium at 1080p or Low at 1440p are the recommended configurations based on the measured rows.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Only at the Low preset, which averages 66 FPS. Medium drops to 39.5 FPS, High to 28.6 FPS, and Ultra to 23.8 FPS, making any setting above Low impractical for smooth gameplay at 3840x2160.

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

A: The Ryzen 7 7700X’s average benchmark score of 34313 is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-13500 and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i7-12800HX, but it is 0.8% lower than both the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and the AMD EPYC 4244P.

Q: What is the biggest FPS drop between 1080p and 4K at the same settings?

A: At High settings, the drop is from 42.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 28.6 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 13.8 FPS. At Low settings, the drop is more severe in absolute terms: from 96.8 FPS to 66 FPS, a 30.8 FPS loss.

Q: Is the RX 6650 XT’s 8 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 280.3 GB/s bandwidth. While the measured data does not show VRAM usage, the significant FPS drops at higher settings suggest memory bandwidth or capacity could be a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the average frame rate falls to 23.8 FPS.

Q: How does this combo’s ranking compare to the GPU’s overall percentile?

A: The GPU sits in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, but the combo ranks in the 62nd percentile (1055th of 1689) for The Medium specifically, indicating the game’s demands are slightly more punishing than the GPU’s average performance suggests.

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

A: Medium averages 49.4 FPS, while Ultra averages 28.8 FPS, a gap of 20.6 FPS. This highlights the steep cost of maxing out settings at this resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rate progression across presets is steady but steep. Low settings deliver 96.8 FPS average, which is the highest measured value for this combo. Medium drops to 62 FPS, a 35.9% reduction, while High further declines to 42.4 FPS. Ultra at 1080p averages 36.5 FPS, meaning the difference between the lowest and highest presets is 60.3 FPS. This pattern suggests the game’s Ultra preset introduces effects like volumetric lighting and high-resolution shadows that disproportionately tax the GPU’s 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs.

At 2560x1440, the averages shift downward across the board. Low remains playable at 81.7 FPS, but Medium’s 49.4 FPS is nearly 40% lower than Low. High drops to 33.8 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 28.8 FPS. The relative ordering is consistent with 1080p, but the gap between Medium and High narrows to 15.6 FPS, indicating diminishing returns on visual quality for the performance cost. At 3840x2160, the results are stark: Low averages 66 FPS, Medium 39.5 FPS, High 28.6 FPS, and Ultra 23.8 FPS. The 4K Low result is notable—it is higher than 1440p High and nearly matches 1080p High, showing that the game’s Low preset is surprisingly efficient at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a 7 nm process, features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. Its boost clock reaches 2635 MHz, with a game clock of 2410 MHz, and it has 32 ray accelerators for ray tracing workloads. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 2190 MHz with an effective speed of 17.5 Gbps, providing 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth across a 128-bit bus. This memory configuration is likely a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS of 23.8 suggests the GPU is starved for data throughput.

The GPU’s synthetic performance shows it is closely matched with the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, differing by 0% in average score, yet it trails the Intel Arc A370M by 0.5%. In DirectX 12 tests, the GPU scores 62 in PassMark, while DirectX 11 scores 169, indicating stronger performance in older APIs. The measured FPS data reveals that the GPU’s scaling from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra is non-linear; the 4K Low result of 66 FPS is surprisingly high, suggesting the frame rate is more sensitive to preset complexity than raw pixel count. The 176 W TDP and dual-slot design confirm this is a mid-range card, and the data supports that it excels at 1080p and can handle 1440p Low, but it is out of its depth at 4K beyond minimal settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is a 8-core, 16-thread processor based on Zen 4 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 4.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, and it has 24 PCIe Gen 5 lanes. Its synthetic benchmarks are strong: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 30325, single-core 4281, and Geekbench multicore 15538.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU’s role appears secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the fact that the 1080p Low preset (96.8 FPS) is the only scenario approaching the CPU’s potential frame delivery ceiling. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1090 is adequate for the game’s logic, but the game’s fixed-camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds often shift load to the GPU. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13500, has an average score that is 0.4% lower, showing the 7700X is competitive. However, the measured FPS data shows that at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 23.8 FPS, which is far below what the CPU can support, confirming a GPU bottleneck. The CPU’s 89th percentile ranking among all processors suggests it has ample headroom, meaning users could pair it with a stronger GPU in the future without worrying about CPU-induced frame caps.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K provides insight into the system’s bottleneck. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 96.8 FPS at 1920x1080 to 81.7 FPS at 2560x1440, a 15.6% reduction, and then to 66 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 19.2% reduction. This pattern suggests that at Low settings, the GPU is still the primary limiter, but the scaling is relatively gentle because the preset reduces shader complexity. At Medium settings, the drop is steeper: 62 FPS at 1080p, 49.4 FPS at 1440p (20.3% lower), and 39.5 FPS at 4K (20.0% lower). High settings show a similar trend: 42.4 FPS, 33.8 FPS, and 28.6 FPS, with the 4K result being 32.5% lower than 1080p.

Ultra settings reveal the most dramatic scaling. The frame rate falls from 36.5 FPS at 1080p to 28.8 FPS at 1440p, a 21.1% drop, and then to 23.8 FPS at 4K, a 17.4% drop from 1440p. The fact that the percentage drops are relatively consistent across resolutions indicates that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at all settings, but the absolute numbers at 4K Ultra (23.8 FPS) are simply too low for practical play. The data implies that the RX 6650 XT’s 8 GB VRAM and 280.3 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the game’s Ultra preset at high resolutions, as the frame rate hits a floor around 24 FPS. This scaling analysis suggests that users with 1080p monitors can use Medium or High settings, but those with 1440p or 4K displays should prioritize Low to maintain playability.