The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a highly capable, if not top-tier, experience in The Medium, a horror title released on 2021-01-27. The data shows this pairing ranks 385th out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the top quarter of all systems. This position is achieved through a balanced partnership: the CPU provides strong single-thread performance to drive the game's logic, while the GPU's 12 GB of VRAM and Ada Lovelace architecture handle the visual load across resolutions. The measured FPS reveals a system that is far more comfortable at 2560x1440 and 1920x1080 than at 3840x2160, where even Medium settings dip below the 60 FPS threshold.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 55.9 FPS. This is notably lower than the 150 FPS achieved at Low settings, indicating that Ultra presents a significant graphical workload.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13500?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X has an average benchmark score of 34313, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-13500's score of 34175. This makes the two processors effectively equivalent in overall synthetic performance.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 falls into the 81st percentile of all GPUs. This indicates it outperforms the majority of graphics cards in the database, though it is not in the top tier.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo at 2560x1440?

A: The highest average FPS at 2560x1440 is 127.6, achieved with Low settings. The frame rate drops to 43.5 FPS at Ultra settings, showing a steep performance cost for higher visual fidelity.

Q: Does the CPU support ECC memory?

A: Yes, the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X supports ECC memory. It also features a dual-channel DDR5 memory bus with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, provided by 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael. Its base clock is 4.50 GHz, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and it has a TDP of 105 W. The processor's cache hierarchy is substantial, with 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a 32 MB shared L3 cache. This configuration, paired with a 5 nm process from TSMC, allows for strong performance in both lightly-threaded and multi-threaded workloads.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's performance is best understood through its synthetic benchmarks. The processor achieves a single-thread score of 1090 in 3DMark, which is critical for a horror game that often relies on a single primary thread for game logic and scripting. The multi-threaded scores are equally robust, with a 3DMark 16-thread score of 8859 and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30325. The 3DMark 8-thread score of 7057 is particularly relevant, as it shows how the CPU scales when more cores are utilized.

The data indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this combo. Its percentile ranking of 89 versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34313, places it near the top of the database. The nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13500 with a deltaPct of 0.4%, show that the 7700X is competitive but not dominant. For The Medium, this means the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames to the GPU, ensuring that the measured FPS is largely dependent on the graphics card's capabilities.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and uses the AD104 chip. It has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz. The GPU features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units, along with 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory operates on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The card's FP32 performance is rated at 29.15 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

The RTX 4070's role in The Medium is pivotal, as the game's visual effects and resolution scaling place significant strain on the GPU. The benchmark results show a clear pattern: the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rate. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 33.1 at Ultra to 98.5 at Low, demonstrating a massive spread that is entirely due to the GPU's workload. The card's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283, confirms its position as a strong mid-to-high-end performer.

The GPU's memory configuration is also a key factor. The 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for most settings, but the high-resolution textures in The Medium can saturate the memory bus. The benchmark data shows that at 3840x2160 Ultra, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates, suggesting that the GPU is nearing its limits. The nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, has a deltaPct of -0.6%, which is a marginal difference, but the RTX 4070's architectural advantages in ray tracing and DLSS are not reflected in these synthetic scores.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination is ranked 385th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places the system in the top 22.8% of all configurations, a strong showing for a desktop setup. The rank is a holistic measure that accounts for both CPU and GPU performance, and the data shows that this pairing is well-balanced.

The CPU's 89th percentile ranking is higher than the GPU's 81st percentile, suggesting that the processor has more headroom relative to its peers. This is further evidenced by the CPU's average benchmark score of 34313, which is within 0.8% of its closest rival, the AMD EPYC 4244P. The GPU, on the other hand, has a lower average score of 37283, and its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, is 2.2% faster. This indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in this combo's overall rank.

The combination's position at 385th out of 1689 is respectable, but it is not at the top of the leaderboard. The data shows that the system is more than capable of handling The Medium at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, but it will struggle at 3840x2160 with high settings. The rank reflects a system that is optimized for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming, rather than 4K ultra settings. The balance between the CPU and GPU is excellent, as neither component is significantly holding back the other in most scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo across all resolutions and settings reveals a clear performance hierarchy. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast, with an average FPS of 150 at Low settings. This drops to 94.1 at Medium, 66.9 at High, and 55.9 at Ultra. These numbers show a smooth scaling curve, with a 62.7% reduction in FPS from Low to Ultra. The 1080p Ultra result of 55.9 FPS is just below the 60 FPS target, but the system is generally well-suited for this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the GPU's increasing workload. The average FPS at Low is 127.6, which is still excellent for competitive play. Medium settings yield 79.6 FPS, while High drops to 55.8. Ultra settings produce an average of 43.5 FPS, which is the first significant dip below the 60 FPS threshold. This indicates that 1440p Ultra is demanding, but the system can handle High settings comfortably.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The average FPS at Low is 98.5, which is still playable, but Medium drops to 63.2, and High falls to 46.8. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with an average FPS of 33.1. This represents a 66.4% reduction from Low to Ultra, showing that the RTX 4070 is not designed for 4K Ultra gaming in this title. The data suggests that players targeting 4K should use Medium or Low settings to maintain a smooth experience. Overall, the system is best utilized at 1920x1080 or 2560x1440, where it can deliver high frame rates at most settings.