The Medium

The Medium presents a unique rendering challenge, and the measured results for this combination of an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER reveal a system that is consistently bound by its graphics processor. The data indicates a clear performance hierarchy across the tested settings and resolutions, with the CPU providing a robust foundation that the GPU ultimately cannot fully exploit at higher graphical loads.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is a 7000-series desktop processor built on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, operating with a base clock of 4.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This configuration provides substantial processing headroom for a title like The Medium, which is a horror game that relies on heavy scene loading and complex scripting. The CPU’s high boost clock and 32 MB of shared L3 cache are beneficial for maintaining consistent frame pacing, as they reduce the latency involved in feeding draw calls to the GPU.

In this benchmark set, the 7700X’s processing power is never the primary constraint. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 100.6 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure. This result demonstrates that the CPU can push the GPU to its limits when the graphical workload is light. However, the performance drop as settings increase is steep, confirming that the GPU becomes the limiting factor almost immediately. The CPU’s multi-threaded capability, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30325, ensures that the game’s background tasks do not cause stutters, but the measured FPS shows the rendering pipeline is waiting on the graphics card for most of the test.

The 7700X’s position relative to other processors is solid, ranking in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 34313 is nearly identical to that of the Intel Core i5-13500, which scores 34175, a delta of just 0.4%. This parity indicates that for gaming workloads, the 7700X is on equal footing with its closest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-12800HX (34136, delta 0.5%) and the AMD EPYC 4244P (34599, delta -0.8%). The data shows that the CPU’s role in The Medium is to provide a stable platform, which it does admirably, but the experience is ultimately dictated by the graphics card.

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

The measured data provides a clear picture of how each preset behaves, with the Low setting offering the only consistently smooth experience. At 1080p, the Low preset yields an average of 100.6 FPS, which is more than double the 47.1 FPS seen at High. This suggests that for players prioritizing a fluid frame rate, Low is the only viable option at this resolution. The Medium preset at 1080p produces 62.6 FPS, which is playable but represents a significant compromise in visual fidelity for a marginal gain in smoothness compared to High.

Moving to 1440p, the situation becomes more restrictive. The Low preset delivers 85.1 FPS, which remains the most playable option. The Medium preset drops to 51.9 FPS, and High falls to 40 FPS, making both less desirable for a horror game where responsiveness is key. At 4K, only the Low preset (66.4 FPS) approaches playability. The Medium preset at 4K manages 41.8 FPS, while High and Ultra are effectively unplayable at 33 FPS and 26.3 FPS, respectively. The data indicates that the Ultra preset is not a practical choice at any resolution, as it only achieves a maximum of 34.3 FPS at 1080p.

Given these results, the best experience per the measured rows is the Low preset at 1080p. This configuration provides the highest average frame rate and ensures that the game’s eerie atmosphere is not marred by judder. For users with higher-resolution displays, the Low preset at 1440p is the only alternative that maintains a frame rate above 60 FPS, but the drop from 1080p is noticeable. The Medium preset is a middle ground, but the data shows that the performance cost is high relative to the visual uplift.

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

The frame rate scaling across resolutions is stark and indicative of a GPU-bound system. At the Low preset, moving from 1080p (100.6 FPS) to 1440p (85.1 FPS) results in a 15.5 FPS drop, or roughly 15%. Continuing to 4K (66.4 FPS) from 1440p results in an additional 18.7 FPS drop, or about 22%. The overall reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 34.2 FPS, a 34% decrease. This scaling is aggressive but not linear, suggesting that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are being taxed.

The High preset shows a different pattern. From 1080p (47.1 FPS) to 1440p (40 FPS), the drop is 7.1 FPS, or 15%. From 1440p to 4K (33 FPS), the drop is another 7 FPS, or 17.5%. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at High is 14.1 FPS, which is a 30% reduction. This smaller absolute drop at higher settings indicates that the GPU is already near its saturation point, and the additional resolution has a diminishing relative impact on performance. The fact that the 4K High result (33 FPS) is only 14 FPS lower than the 1080p High result (47.1 FPS) confirms that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the bottleneck; the CPU is not preventing the GPU from working harder.

The data strongly suggests that the limiting component is the graphics card. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect to see a smaller performance delta between resolutions, as the CPU would cap the frame rate regardless of pixel count. Instead, the FPS scales with resolution, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound workload. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth is likely being overwhelmed by the game’s high-resolution textures and effects.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Ryzen 7 7700X and the RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1021 out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the bottom 40% of all configurations tested, which is a direct reflection of the GPU’s age and tier. The rank of 1021 is not a measure of failure, but rather a positioning that highlights the imbalance between the modern CPU and the older graphics card.

The CPU’s 89th percentile ranking is in stark contrast to the GPU’s 65th percentile ranking, and this disparity is what drags the combo down. The data indicates that while the CPU is capable of supporting much higher frame rates, the GPU is holding the system back. In a game like The Medium, which appears to be heavily reliant on pixel shading and memory throughput, the RTX 2070 SUPER is the weak link. The combo’s position in the middle of the pack suggests that many other pairings, likely with newer or higher-tier GPUs, are achieving better results.

The nearest rivals for the GPU, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (avg score 22729, delta -2.3%) and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (avg score 21670, delta 2.5%), show that the RTX 2070 SUPER is competitive with mid-range options, but this is not enough to push the combo higher in the rankings. The rank of 1021 out of 1689 is a clear indicator that for The Medium, this system is best suited for lower settings or lower resolutions, as the measured data confirms.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU based on the TU104 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, translating to 14 Gbps effective, which yields a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. These specifications define its performance ceiling, and the measured FPS suggests that the GPU is operating at its limits.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor. At 4K Ultra, the game is likely attempting to use more memory than is available, leading to performance degradation or texture swapping, which explains the 26.3 FPS average. Even at 1080p Ultra, the frame rate is 34.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s compute capabilities are insufficient for the game’s highest settings. The pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s are being fully utilized, and the FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS is simply not enough for The Medium’s demands at high detail.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce this analysis. Its Passmark G3D score of 18169 is modest, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1651 is low. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 98316 and Vulkan score of 94918 indicate that the GPU is capable of compute tasks, but the gaming performance is limited. The data shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the definitive bottleneck, and its 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs is consistent with the observed frame rates. For a game released in 2021, this GPU is on the lower end of the performance spectrum.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for this system in The Medium?

A: The data shows the best experience is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which achieves an average of 100.6 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only option above 60 FPS at 85.1 FPS, while 4K Low is playable at 66.4 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in The Medium?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases, from 100.6 FPS at 1080p Low to 66.4 FPS at 4K Low, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU has ample headroom.

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

A: This combo ranks 1021 out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the lower half of all configurations, primarily due to the GPU’s performance limitations.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved with this hardware?

A: The highest average FPS is 100.6, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 85.1 FPS at 2560x1440 with Low settings.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at any resolution?

A: No. The Ultra preset only achieves 34.3 FPS at 1080p, 30.9 FPS at 1440p, and 26.3 FPS at 4K. These frame rates are too low for a smooth experience.

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

A: The Ryzen 7 7700X has an average benchmark score of 34313, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-13500 (34175) and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i7-12800HX (34136). It is also 0.8% lower than the AMD EPYC 4244P (34599).