The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title from 2021, presents an interesting stress profile for the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination. The data shows a system that is clearly capable of delivering playable experiences, but the measured frame rates reveal a significant performance ceiling imposed by the graphics card. With the combo ranking in the 1016th position out of 1689 tested configurations, this pairing sits in the middle of the pack, suggesting a balance that leans heavily on the CPU's strength to offset the GPU's age. The following analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions and settings, interpreting what the numbers mean for this specific hardware pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a 60 FPS average?

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where a consistent 60 FPS average is achievable, with the Low preset hitting 100.8 FPS and the Medium preset reaching 60.9 FPS. The High preset at 1080p falls short at 47.4 FPS, so 60 FPS is only possible on lower settings.

Q: How does the CPU's single-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 7800X3D has a 3dmark_single_thread score of 959. While the FACT PACK does not provide rival single-thread scores, its overall average benchmark score of 31580 is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-12700F's 31543, and 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5980HX's 31495.

Q: Does the RTX 2070 SUPER have enough VRAM for The Medium at 4K?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The measured 4K performance varies wildly by preset, from 70.2 FPS on Low to 25.1 FPS on Ultra, indicating that the memory capacity is not the sole bottleneck; the GPU's raw processing power is the primary constraint at higher settings.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 85.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 32.4 FPS. This represents a substantial 53 FPS difference, highlighting how demanding the Ultra preset is on this GPU.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this configuration?

A: The evidence points to the GPU as the main limiter. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the average FPS drops significantly (e.g., from 47.4 to 31.4 FPS on High). If the CPU were the bottleneck, this scaling would be much flatter, since the CPU workload remains constant while the GPU workload increases.

Q: How does this combo's overall rank compare to the total number of tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1016th out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the 60th percentile. This indicates that while it is not a top-tier performer, it outperforms a majority of the other CPU-GPU pairings in the database for this specific game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the central figure in determining The Medium's performance ceiling. Its base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz, paired with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, provide a raw bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. In the context of this game, the data shows that the GPU's processing power is the dominant factor. The frame rate deltas between presets are massive; at 1920x1080, moving from Low to Ultra drops the average from 100.8 FPS to 35 FPS, a 65.8 FPS swing. This massive variance suggests that the game's visual effects at higher settings, likely including volumetric fog and complex lighting, saturate the GPU's 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

The GPU's performance relative to its peers reinforces this analysis. With an average benchmark score of 22206, it is 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (22006) and 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (21670). However, it is 2.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22729). This positioning shows that the 2070 SUPER is a solid mid-range performer, but it lacks the headroom required for the most demanding presets in this title, particularly at higher resolutions. The 8 GB VRAM, while sufficient for most scenarios, is a factor at 4K, but the core issue is the GPU's inability to maintain high frame rates when the pixel and shader workload increases.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and RTX 2070 SUPER combination achieves a rank of 1016 out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium. This position, in the lower-middle half of the database, suggests that while the setup is functional, it does not represent an ideal pairing for this specific game. The CPU is a top-tier processor, but the GPU's age and performance class prevent the system from reaching the upper echelons of the leaderboard. The data implies that many other combinations, likely featuring more modern GPUs, achieve significantly higher frame rates.

This ranking is not a reflection of a broken or poor experience, but rather a measure of raw performance against all other tested hardware. The 1016th rank means that 673 other combos performed worse, while 1015 performed better. This is a critical distinction; the system is not at the bottom, but it is far from the top. The gap to the top performers is likely substantial, as the RTX 2070 SUPER's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs (percentileVsAllGpus: 65) indicates that it is a mid-range part. The high-end CPUs in the database are frequently paired with high-end GPUs, which naturally push this combo down the list.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system shows its best results: Low averages 100.8 FPS, Medium 60.9 FPS, High 47.4 FPS, and Ultra 35 FPS. This resolution is clearly the sweet spot for this combo, with the Low preset offering a very high frame rate and the Medium preset providing a solid 60 FPS experience.

Moving to 2560x1440, the strain on the GPU becomes apparent. The Low preset remains playable at 85.4 FPS, but the Medium preset drops to 54.2 FPS, High to 39.2 FPS, and Ultra to 32.4 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, with the High preset losing 8.2 FPS and the Ultra preset losing 2.6 FPS. At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates on anything but the lowest settings. The Low preset hits 70.2 FPS, but Medium falls to 40.7 FPS, High to 31.4 FPS, and Ultra to 25.1 FPS. The 4K Ultra experience is effectively a slideshow, indicating that this resolution is not viable for this GPU in this game.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about the system's bottleneck. When the resolution increases, the GPU's workload increases exponentially, while the CPU's workload remains relatively static. The data shows a consistent and significant drop in performance as resolution scales up. For example, on the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 47.4 FPS at 1080p to 39.2 FPS at 1440p, and further to 31.4 FPS at 4K. This is a 16.0 FPS drop from 1080p to 4K.

This pattern is indicative of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain largely flat across resolutions, as the CPU would be unable to feed frames faster regardless of the GPU's load. Instead, the linear degradation in performance points directly to the RTX 2070 SUPER being overwhelmed by the increased pixel count. The 4K resolution nearly halves the performance of the 1080p result on the High preset, confirming that the graphics card is the primary constraint. The implication is that to improve 4K performance, a more powerful GPU would be necessary.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a powerhouse of a processor, and its role in this combo is to ensure the GPU is never starved of data. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, it has a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its massive 96 MB of shared L3 cache is particularly effective in gaming scenarios, reducing latency and improving frame pacing. The benchmark scores reflect its strength: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29149 and a single-core score of 4115, placing it in the 87th percentile of all CPUs.

In The Medium, the CPU's strong single-thread performance is crucial for handling the game's logic and camera transitions. The 3dmark_8_threads score of 6539 and 3dmark_max_threads score of 7967 show that it can handle multi-threaded workloads effectively. However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor here. The performance degradation at higher resolutions is entirely attributable to the GPU. The CPU's role is to provide a stable foundation, ensuring that the frame rate drops are purely a result of graphics rendering, not processing bottlenecks. Its high performance means that upgrading the GPU in the future would likely yield a substantial performance increase without needing a CPU change.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the user's target resolution and desired frame rate. For a 60 FPS target at 1920x1080, the Medium preset is the only option that delivers, and it does so with a 60.9 FPS average. The High preset, at 47.4 FPS, is close but falls short of the 60 FPS mark. For users who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset at 100.8 FPS offers an exceptionally smooth experience.

At 2560x1440, achieving 60 FPS is challenging. The Low preset is the only one that exceeds 60 FPS, hitting 85.4 FPS. The Medium preset at 54.2 FPS is playable but not ideal for a 60 Hz monitor. For a visually richer experience, the High preset at 39.2 FPS might be acceptable for those who prefer graphics over smoothness, but it is a compromise. The Ultra preset at 32.4 FPS is not recommended for a fluid experience.

At 3840x2160, a 60 FPS target is impossible. The Low preset at 70.2 FPS is the most playable option, but it requires significant visual compromises. The Medium, High, and Ultra presets all fall below 41 FPS, making them unsuitable for a responsive experience. For 4K users, the recommendation is to stick with the Low preset for playability, or to accept a cinematic frame rate around 30 FPS on the Medium preset. The data suggests that 1080p Medium is the best balance of visual quality and performance for this hardware.