The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT delivers a compelling but ultimately mid-tier experience in The Medium, landing at rank 574 out of 1689 tested combos. The data shows a system that excels at high refresh rates on demanding settings but struggles to maintain playable framerates at 4K Ultra, where it falls below 35 FPS. This configuration is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet the CPU provides ample headroom for lower-resolution, high-refresh-rate play.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall performance rank of this CPU and GPU combo in The Medium?*

A: This combo ranks 574th out of 1689 tested combinations, placing it in the upper third of all systems tested for this game.

Q: Does this system achieve a playable frame rate at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 34.3, which is below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth for most players.

*Q: What is the best frame rate this combo can achieve in The Medium?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 137.7, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How large is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 114.8 on Low to 40 on Ultra, a significant reduction of 74.8 FPS.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X a high-performing processor relative to other CPUs?

A: Yes, its benchmark scores place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 34313.

Q: What is the VRAM capacity of the RX 6800 XT, and is it a limiting factor?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory. Given the frame rates observed, the VRAM capacity is not the primary bottleneck; raw compute performance at high settings is the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 1689 tested combinations, this pairing of the Ryzen 7 7700X and RX 6800 XT achieves rank 574. This positions the system in the 66th percentile of tested hardware, indicating a solidly above-average configuration for The Medium. The ranking suggests that while the hardware is capable, it is not at the absolute top tier for this particular title, which likely favors more powerful GPUs for its highest settings.

The CPU's performance relative to its direct competitors shows it is a strong processor, but the gaming experience is largely dictated by the GPU. The Ryzen 7 7700X scores 30325 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, placing it just 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-13500 and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800HX in average benchmark scores. This indicates the CPU will not be the source of performance disparity in most gaming scenarios. The GPU, however, is more of a mixed bag; its average benchmark score of 49982 is 2.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, yet 1.7% lower than the NVIDIA RTX A1000. This highlights that the RX 6800 XT is a competitive high-end card, but its in-game performance is what ultimately matters for the combo's rank.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces an average of 64.5 FPS. Moving up to 2560x1440 reduces this to 51.5 FPS, a 20% drop. Scaling further to 3840x2160 yields 43.1 FPS, another 16% reduction from the 1440p figure. This consistent decline as pixel count rises demonstrates that the RX 6800 XT is the primary performance limiter at these settings.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at the highest quality presets. At Ultra settings, the system drops from 49.2 FPS at 1080p to 40 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 34.3 FPS at 4K. The framerate loss from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is 14.9 FPS, a 30% reduction. This steep curve indicates that the graphical load at 4K Ultra is exceptionally taxing on the GPU, pushing it to its limits. Conversely, at Low settings, the framerate scales more gracefully, with the 137.7 FPS at 1080p only dropping to 93.9 FPS at 4K, showing that the CPU can keep feeding the GPU even at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Ryzen 7 7700X and RX 6800 XT combination demonstrates a wide performance range. With Low settings, the average FPS is 137.7, offering an exceptionally smooth experience ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. Moving to Medium settings brings the average down to 85.1 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS. High settings produce 64.5 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom. Ultra settings are the most demanding, yielding an average of 49.2 FPS, which may feel less fluid in a horror title.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. Low settings deliver a strong 114.8 FPS, making this resolution viable for competitive or very smooth play. Medium settings drop to 73.2 FPS, which remains a good experience. High settings offer 51.5 FPS, which is on the borderline of smoothness. Ultra settings at 1440p produce a 40 FPS average, which is starting to feel constrained for a game that may have fast-moving camera angles.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overtaxed. Low settings still manage a respectable 93.9 FPS, proving the hardware is capable at 4K when visual fidelity is sacrificed. Medium settings drop to 54.6 FPS, which is a playable but not ideal experience. High settings produce 43.1 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 34.3 FPS, making 4K Ultra effectively unplayable for a smooth experience.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus, provides a memory bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. This substantial bandwidth is sufficient for the textures and data used in The Medium, even at 4K resolution. The GPU's clock speeds are also notable, with a base clock of 1825 MHz, a game clock of 2015 MHz, and a boost clock of 2250 MHz. These clocks allow the card to push high framerates when the graphical settings are not maxed out.

The GPU's performance in this game is characterized by its scaling with settings. The data shows a clear hierarchy where the RX 6800 XT is a powerful card but not a top-tier one for this title. Its benchmark percentile of 87 places it below the very best, and its performance in The Medium reflects this. The fact that it scores 2.6% higher in average benchmarks than the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER but still falls to sub-60 FPS at 4K High suggests that the game's engine is very demanding on raw rasterization power. The 72 RT cores are present but do not appear to give it an edge at the highest settings, where the frame rate drops most sharply.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results indicate that the "High" preset at 1920x1080 offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with an average of 64.5 FPS. This setting provides a solid experience without compromising fluidity. For players who prioritize a higher framerate, the "Medium" preset at 1440p yields 73.2 FPS, which is a smoother experience with a resolution uplift.

For 4K gaming, the data suggests that "Medium" settings are the ceiling for a playable experience, with an average of 54.6 FPS. The "High" preset at 4K drops to 43.1 FPS, which may be too choppy for a horror game that relies on atmospheric tension and smooth camera movement. The "Ultra" preset should be avoided at any resolution above 1080p, as it produces an average of 40 FPS at 1440p and 34.3 FPS at 4K, indicating a severely compromised experience. Given that the "Low" preset at 1440p achieves 114.8 FPS, it is a viable option for those who want high framerates with lower visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture. Its boost clock of 5.40 GHz and single-thread score of 1090 in 3DMark indicate strong per-core performance, which is crucial for gaming. The processor's cache hierarchy includes a 32 MB shared L3 cache, which helps reduce latency when accessing frequently used game data.

In The Medium, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU, particularly at higher resolutions. The framerate drops from 1080p to 4K at the same settings are consistent with a GPU bottleneck. For instance, at High settings, the framerate falls from 64.5 FPS at 1080p to 43.1 FPS at 4K, a reduction that is more attributable to the GPU's workload than the CPU's processing power. The CPU's high performance, ranking in the 89th percentile, ensures it is not a limiting factor in most scenarios. Its multi-threaded capabilities, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 score of 30325, also mean it can handle any background tasks or game logic without issue. The low-setting results, where the 1080p framerate reaches 137.7 FPS, show that the CPU is fully capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to maintain high framerates.