The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination in The Medium delivers a performance profile that is heavily dictated by the GPU at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s substantial thread count ensures the low-resolution results remain fluid. The data shows a system capable of high frame rates across the board, with the scaling behavior between settings and resolutions providing a clear picture of where the bottleneck shifts. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS rows to explain how each component contributes to the final experience, how the combo ranks among 2,911 tested configurations, and what settings provide the most balanced outcome.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is built on the Zen 4 architecture with a Raphael codename, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock of 4.50 GHz can boost up to 5.40 GHz, which is a significant factor for frame pacing in a horror title like The Medium, where consistent frame delivery is crucial for maintaining atmosphere. The processor’s benchmark results reinforce its capability: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19,088 and a single-core score of 1,987, placing it in the 85th percentile against all CPUs. This single-thread performance is particularly relevant for games that rely on a main simulation thread, though The Medium's fixed-camera perspectives often distribute load differently.

The 7700X’s 16 threads are not heavily taxed in the measured scenarios, as evidenced by the 3DMark scores: 8,859 for 16 threads and 8,852 for max threads, indicating near-linear scaling up to that point. However, the jump from 2 threads (2,112) to 4 threads (4,074) and then to 8 threads (7,057) shows that the processor has ample headroom for any background tasks or engine threads that The Medium might spawn. The L3 cache is 32 MB shared, which helps with data locality, and the dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth ensures the CPU can feed the GPU without stalling.

In practical terms for this game, the CPU’s role becomes most apparent at 1080p. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo hits 175 FPS average, which is the highest measured frame rate in the entire dataset. This suggests that at lower resolutions and settings, the CPU is capable of pushing the frame rate high enough that the GPU becomes the limiting factor even at this entry-level resolution. The 7700X’s nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (0.3% faster) and the Intel Core 7 250H (0.5% faster), but the 7700X’s high boost clock and 5 nm process node from TSMC give it a distinct advantage in latency-sensitive scenarios. The processor’s average benchmark score of 35,909 places it just above the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, which is 0.7% slower, confirming its position as a high-end desktop part that does not bottleneck the RTX 5090 D in this title.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant factor in this pairing, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB202 chip. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding a massive 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This is a decisive advantage for The Medium, which uses high-resolution textures and layered scene transitions that can consume significant VRAM. The GPU’s base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and its memory runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These clocks, combined with 21,760 shading units and 170 RT cores, provide the raw compute necessary for the game’s fixed-camera rendering and volumetric effects.

The GPU’s benchmark scores show it is a top-tier part, sitting in the 92nd percentile against all GPUs. Its PassMark G3D score of 44,065 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 indicate strong DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant since The Medium runs on DX12. However, the nearest rivals listed in the aggregate data are surprising: the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT is 1.1% slower, and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.6% faster. This is likely an artifact of the aggregate benchmark averaging, as the RTX 5090 D’s 32 GB VRAM and 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance should dominate in a modern title. The discrepancy suggests that the aggregate score includes legacy tests where the newer architecture does not scale proportionally.

In The Medium, the GPU’s role is most evident at 4K. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 54, which is the lowest measured value in the dataset. This is a clear indication that the GPU is fully saturated at this resolution and preset, as the CPU has already demonstrated its ability to produce 175 FPS at lower loads. The RTX 5090 D’s 176 ROPs and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate are working hard to fill the 4K framebuffer, and the 32 GB VRAM means there is no memory capacity limitation; the bottleneck is purely computational. The GPU’s 575 W TDP and suggested 950 W PSU reflect the power required to sustain these clocks under load, but the measured FPS shows that this power translates into playable performance at 4K.

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

The resolution scaling pattern in the measured data is telling. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 175 at 1080p to 165 at 1440p, and then to 152 at 4K. This is a modest decline of 13.1% from 1080p to 4K, suggesting that at Low settings, the workload is not heavily GPU-bound. The CPU is capable of maintaining a high frame rate, and the GPU has enough headroom to render each frame without significant slowdown. This indicates that at Low settings, the system is balanced, with the CPU providing a strong baseline and the GPU handling the increased pixel count efficiently.

At High settings, the scaling is more pronounced. The average FPS falls from 103 at 1080p to 87 at 1440p (a 15.5% drop), and then to 68 at 4K (a 34% drop from 1080p). This steeper decline indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting component as the settings increase, because the higher-quality textures, shadows, and post-processing effects require more GPU compute per pixel. The CPU’s role diminishes as the frame rate drops, because there is more time between frames for the processor to prepare the next one.

The Medium settings show a similar trend to High, with 144 FPS at 1080p, 122 at 1440p, and 95 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 34%, which is identical to the High preset, confirming that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at these settings. The Ultra preset exhibits the most severe scaling, with 82 FPS at 1080p, 69 at 1440p, and 54 at 4K — a 34.1% drop from 1080p to 4K. This consistent ~34% reduction across Medium, High, and Ultra suggests that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the limiting factor, and the CPU has more than enough headroom to keep up. The fact that Low settings only see a 13.1% drop highlights that the CPU can push frames faster than the GPU can render them at high settings, but at Low settings, the GPU is still able to keep pace with the CPU’s frame generation.

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

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 144 FPS average with a minimum of 123 FPS and a maximum of 166 FPS. This provides a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold for a horror game, where frame drops can break immersion. The minimum FPS of 123 ensures that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate does not dip below playable levels. At 1440p, Medium averages 122 FPS with a minimum of 103 FPS and a maximum of 140 FPS, which is still excellent for a high-resolution monitor. At 4K, Medium drops to 95 FPS average with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS, which is solid for 4K gaming.

The High preset is also viable, offering 103 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p, and 68 FPS at 4K. However, the jump from Medium to High results in a 28.5% performance penalty at 1080p (from 144 to 103 FPS), which is significant. The visual difference between Medium and High in The Medium may not justify this frame rate loss, especially since Medium already provides a minimum FPS of 123 at 1080p. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 82 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 54 FPS is below the 60 FPS target for many users, and the low minimum FPS values are not recorded, but the average suggests that it is borderline playable.

For the best experience, the Medium preset is recommended because it provides the highest frame rates while maintaining a minimum FPS that never falls below 81 FPS at any resolution. The Low preset is not recommended for a game like The Medium, which relies on atmospheric lighting and shadow effects that are heavily degraded at Low settings; even though it delivers 175 FPS at 1080p, the visual quality compromise is too severe. The data shows that Medium is the sweet spot, offering a frame rate that is 43.2% higher than Ultra at 1080p (144 vs 82 FPS) and 75.9% higher than Ultra at 4K (95 vs 54 FPS), all while maintaining a minimum FPS that is comfortably above the refresh rate of most displays.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 22nd out of 2,911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 0.76% of all configurations, which is an exceptionally high ranking. The rank is determined by the geometric mean of the measured FPS across all resolutions and settings, and the data shows that this combo excels particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU can stretch its legs. The 22nd position suggests that there are 21 combinations that outperform it, likely involving higher-end CPUs or GPUs with more aggressive factory overclocks, but the margin is small given the RTX 5090 D’s position as a top-tier GPU.

The combo’s performance is notable because the RTX 5090 D’s aggregate benchmark percentile is 92, and the CPU’s percentile is 85, but the combination in this game performs better than the sum of its parts might suggest. This is likely due to the game’s optimization for multi-threaded CPUs and the GPU’s massive memory bandwidth being well-utilized. The 22nd rank out of 2,911 means that the combo is in the top 1% of all tested systems, which is a strong indicator that this pairing is well-suited for The Medium. The nearest rivals in the CPU aggregate list are all slower, and the GPU’s nearest rivals in the aggregate list are either similar or slightly faster, but the in-game results show that the combo’s specific characteristics — the CPU’s high boost clock and the GPU’s 32 GB VRAM — contribute to a favorable outcome.

It is notably the combo’s ranking could be influenced by the fact that The Medium is not a particularly demanding game for modern hardware, meaning that the CPU and GPU are not pushed to their absolute limits at all settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 175 FPS, which is likely near the engine’s frame rate cap or the CPU’s single-thread limit. This means that the combo’s ranking is more a signal of its ability to maintain high frame rates across the board rather than its peak performance. The 22nd rank is still impressive, but it indicates that the combo is not the absolute fastest possible configuration, likely due to the GPU’s aggregate benchmark score being lower than some rivals, which may reflect driver maturity or test variance.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo’s performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 175 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 144 FPS, with a minimum of 123 FPS and a maximum of 166 FPS. The High preset at 1080p averages 103 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 82 FPS. This shows a clear progression where each step up in settings reduces performance by roughly 20-30 FPS, with the largest drop occurring between Medium and High (a 41 FPS decrease from 144 to 103 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 165 FPS, which is only 10 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result, indicating that the GPU has enough headroom at this resolution to maintain near-identical performance. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 122 FPS, with a minimum of 103 FPS and a maximum of 140 FPS. The High preset at 1440p averages 87 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 69 FPS. The drop from Medium to High at 1440p is 35 FPS, which is slightly less severe than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is becoming more of a bottleneck as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 152 FPS, which is still very high for 4K. The Medium preset at 4K averages 95 FPS, with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS. The High preset at 4K averages 68 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 54 FPS. The 4K Medium result of 95 FPS is particularly noteworthy because it shows that the combo can handle 4K gaming at a high frame rate, while the 4K Ultra result of 54 FPS is the only measured value that falls below the 60 FPS target. The minimum FPS values are only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution, showing 123 FPS at 1080p, 103 FPS at 1440p, and 81 FPS at 4K, which indicates that the Medium preset has the most consistent frame pacing.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in The Medium?

A: The highest average FPS is 175, measured at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo averages 54 FPS, which is the lowest measured value in the dataset.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested combinations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 22nd out of 2,911 tested combinations in The Medium.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU become the bottleneck at higher resolutions?

A: The data indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the FPS drops from 175 at 1080p Low to 152 at 4K Low, while the drop from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is more severe (82 to 54 FPS).

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The minimum FPS for the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is 103 FPS, with a maximum of 140 FPS and an average of 122 FPS.

Q: How much faster is the Medium preset compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset averages 144 FPS, which is 75.6% higher than the Ultra preset's 82 FPS average.