The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks 527th out of 1,689 tested combos in The Medium. This places the configuration in the top third of the database, a solid standing for a horror title that stresses both rendering and CPU-driven logic. The percentile data reinforces this position, with the CPU landing in the 89th percentile among all processors and the GPU in the 79th percentile among all graphics cards. The delta between these two components suggests the GPU is the more limiting factor in this pairing, a pattern that becomes more pronounced as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 527 out of 1,689 tested combinations indicates a system that is capable but not at the very top of the hierarchy. A substantial portion of the combos ranked above this pairing likely feature higher-end GPUs, as the CPU’s 89th percentile standing shows it has ample headroom. The data shows a clear trend: at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is doing more of the work, while at 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. This is typical for a title like The Medium, which uses fixed camera angles and pre-rendered elements that can shift the balance between CPU and GPU load. The gap between the average benchmark scores of the CPU (34,313) and GPU (34,780) is narrow, yet their individual percentile ranks differ by 10 points, hinting that the CPU’s relative strength is not fully utilized in this game’s engine.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, built on a 5 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 4.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, offering substantial single-thread performance that is crucial for game logic. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 4,281 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 30,325 in multi-core, numbers that place it well ahead of its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13500, by 0.4% in average score. The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide the data throughput needed to feed the GPU without bottlenecking.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is evident in the frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 141.1 FPS, which is more than double the 4K High result of 39.9 FPS. This scaling shows that the CPU can push high frame rates when the GPU is not overwhelmed. The multi-threaded performance, demonstrated by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30,325, helps maintain consistent frame pacing in scenes with multiple AI entities or complex scripted events. However, the data also shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at higher settings, as the frame rate drops more sharply when resolution increases, pointing to the GPU as the bottleneck. The 16 threads handle the game’s background processes without issue, and the 89th percentile ranking versus all CPUs suggests that few processors would offer a meaningful improvement in this title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 48 chip, fabricated on a 4 nm process. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s boost clock is 2520 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz, and it houses 3,584 shading units. In synthetic tests, the GPU scores 25,381 in Passmark G3D and 74 in Passmark DirectX 12, the latter being a low score that suggests the card’s driver or architecture may not be optimally tuned for certain DX12 workloads. This is reflected in the game’s results, where the GPU’s 79th percentile ranking places it behind the CPU’s relative strength.

The GPU’s 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for The Medium’s textures, even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS falls to 33.4. At 4K Medium, the card achieves 61.1 FPS, showing that the memory bandwidth is adequate, but the raw compute power is the limiting factor at higher settings. The nearest rival to the RX 9070, the NVIDIA A2, has an average score that is 0.2% higher, while the Quadro GV100 is 0.3% lower, indicating that the RX 9070 sits in a competitive band but does not break away from the pack. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 36.13 TFLOPS is substantial, yet the game’s results at 1440p Ultra (43 FPS) versus 1440p Medium (74.6 FPS) show a 42% drop, suggesting that the Ultra preset’s effects and shadows are particularly demanding on the RDNA 4.0 architecture.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows a wide range of performance across settings. With Low settings, the average FPS is 141.1, providing a very smooth experience for a horror title where responsiveness matters. Medium settings drop the average to 85.4 FPS, still comfortable, while High settings yield 65.3 FPS. Ultra settings at 1080p produce an average of 47.9 FPS, which is playable but indicates that the Ultra preset is not optimized for this hardware at this resolution. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is a 66% reduction in frame rate, a steep curve that highlights the GPU’s workload at the highest settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results show a similar pattern but with lower overall numbers. Low settings average 121.5 FPS, which is still excellent. Medium settings achieve 74.6 FPS, and High settings drop to 50.7 FPS. Ultra settings at 1440p produce 43 FPS, which is near the threshold for a playable experience but may feel inconsistent in fast-paced scenes. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 64%, slightly less than at 1080p, indicating that the CPU is starting to share the load more evenly with the GPU. The jump from Medium to High at this resolution is a 32% reduction, suggesting that the High preset introduces significant visual effects without a proportionate performance cost.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings average 93.4 FPS, which is impressive for 4K, but Medium drops to 61.1 FPS, and High falls to 39.9 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K yield only 33.4 FPS, which is below the smooth threshold for most players. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is 64%, similar to 1440p, but the absolute numbers are much lower. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring reduced settings to maintain playable frame rates. The lack of min or max FPS data means the analysis relies solely on averages, but the trend is consistent across resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?*

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings delivers 85.4 FPS, which is a balanced experience. For higher fidelity, 2560x1440 at Medium settings achieves 74.6 FPS, still smooth. At 4K, only Low settings (93.4 FPS) or Medium (61.1 FPS) are viable.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700X has an average benchmark score of 34,313, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-13500 (34,175) and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i7-12800HX (34,136). It trails the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and AMD EPYC 4244P by 0.8%.

Q: Is the GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 33.4, which is the lowest measured result. The GPU’s 79th percentile ranking versus all GPUs, combined with the sharp drop from 4K Medium (61.1 FPS) to 4K High (39.9 FPS), indicates the RX 9070’s compute power is the constraint.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings average 121.5 FPS, while Ultra settings average 43 FPS. This is a 64% reduction, showing that the Ultra preset significantly impacts performance.

Q: Does the CPU’s 16-thread configuration help in this game?

A: The CPU’s multi-threaded score of 30,325 in Cinebench R23 suggests strong parallel performance. In The Medium, this likely helps maintain consistent frame rates in scenes with multiple entities, as evidenced by the 141.1 FPS result at 1080p Low, which is CPU-bound.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 527th out of 1,689 tested combos. This places it in the top 31% of all configurations, with the CPU’s 89th percentile standing being higher than the GPU’s 79th percentile.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, Medium settings provide 85.4 FPS, which is a good balance of visual quality and smoothness. High settings at 1080p yield 65.3 FPS, which is still playable, but the jump from Medium to High is a 23% reduction in frame rate, making Medium the safer choice for consistent performance. Ultra at 1080p (47.9 FPS) is not recommended, as the visual gains do not justify the drop below 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings are the best option, delivering 74.6 FPS. This provides a smooth experience while retaining most visual features. High settings at 1440p (50.7 FPS) are borderline, and Ultra (43 FPS) should be avoided for a comfortable experience. The data shows that the Medium preset at 1440p is the sweet spot, offering a 32% improvement over High without a significant visual penalty.

For 3840x2160, Low settings (93.4 FPS) are the only way to achieve a high frame rate, while Medium (61.1 FPS) is acceptable for a slower-paced horror game. High (39.9 FPS) and Ultra (33.4 FPS) are below the playable threshold and should be avoided. The recommendation is to prioritize Medium settings at 4K for a cinematic experience, or drop to 1440p Medium for a smoother framerate. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the most consistent performance relative to visual quality, making it the default choice for this hardware combination in The Medium.