The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title, presents a demanding workload that scales sharply with both resolution and quality settings. On the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER platform, the measured frame rates reveal a clear hierarchy of playable configurations, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. This analysis walks through the measured data to identify the optimal settings, the role of the graphics card, and the scaling behavior across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured frame rate data for this platform shows that the Ultra preset is generally reserved for lower resolutions, while the High and Medium presets offer the most balanced experience at higher pixel counts. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 56.9 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The High preset at 1080p provides a more comfortable 73.4 FPS, and the Medium preset jumps to 104.6 FPS, offering a substantial performance cushion. The Low preset at 1080p achieves 159.8 FPS, but the visual compromise is likely too severe for a game that relies heavily on atmosphere.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops to 50.9 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 1440p yields 61.8 FPS, a solid target for a consistent experience. However, the Medium preset at 1440p, producing 90.6 FPS, is arguably the sweet spot for this resolution, providing a high frame rate that ensures the camera transitions and environmental effects remain fluid. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 143 FPS, but again, this is likely overkill for the visual fidelity loss.

At 3840x2160, the landscape changes dramatically. The Ultra preset averages only 38.3 FPS, which is below the threshold for a smooth experience. The High preset at 4K manages 49.1 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a game that may have sudden action beats. The Medium preset at 4K, at 70.1 FPS, is the clear recommendation for 4K displays, offering a frame rate that is both smooth and responsive. The Low preset at 4K achieves 111.1 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU has significant headroom when visual effects are stripped away. Given the data, the Medium preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance across all three resolutions, with the High preset being a viable alternative for 1080p and 1440p users who prioritize fidelity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the dominant component in this configuration, and its memory and clock specifications directly influence the measured results. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for the texture loads of The Medium, even at 4K, as the performance drop from Medium to High settings suggests a compute limitation rather than a memory capacity issue. The GPU’s boost clock of 2475 MHz and base clock of 1980 MHz allow it to push high frame rates at lower settings, as evidenced by the 159.8 FPS at 1080p Low.

The RTX 4070 SUPER’s benchmark scores place it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42576. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, is 0.2% ahead, while the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE is 0.3% ahead. This indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER is positioned at the upper mid-range, and its performance in The Medium reflects this. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at the same settings is substantial. For example, at High settings, the frame rate drops from 73.4 FPS at 1080p to 49.1 FPS at 4K, a reduction that points directly to the GPU’s rendering throughput rather than the CPU’s ability to feed it.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data illustrates a predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, confirming the GPU-bound nature of this title. At Medium settings, the average frame rate falls from 104.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 90.6 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 70.1 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a drop of 13.4% from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 22.6% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is more aggressive at higher quality presets. At Ultra settings, the frame rate plummets from 56.9 FPS at 1080p to 50.9 FPS at 1440p, and then to 38.3 FPS at 4K.

The data suggests that the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, is not the bottleneck at any resolution tested. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain relatively constant across resolutions. Instead, the consistent decline with each step up in resolution indicates that the GPU’s pixel processing and shading capabilities are being taxed. This is further supported by the Low preset data, where the frame rate at 4K (111.1 FPS) is higher than the Ultra preset at 1080p (56.9 FPS). The GPU has ample headroom when visual effects are minimized, but the Ultra preset’s demands at 4K push it to its limits, resulting in the lowest measured average of 38.3 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this platform in The Medium?

A: The highest average frame rate is 159.8 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 4K resolution on this system?

A: The data shows the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 38.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth, making it less suitable for a consistent experience.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 42576, which is 0.2% behind the NVIDIA RTX A6000 and 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE, showing near-identical synthetic performance.

Q: Which setting preset provides the best balance of performance and visual quality at 2560x1440?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers 90.6 FPS, which is significantly higher than the High preset’s 61.8 FPS and provides a smoother experience while still maintaining a reasonable level of visual detail.

Q: Does the CPU limit performance in this game at any point?

A: No, the data indicates a GPU bottleneck. Frame rates decrease consistently as resolution increases, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound rendering rather than CPU limitation.

Q: What is the average frame rate difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1920x1080?

A: The Low preset averages 159.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 56.9 FPS, resulting in a 102.9 FPS difference between the two extremes at 1080p.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, provides ample processing power for The Medium, but the measured FPS data indicates that its role is secondary to the GPU. The CPU’s base clock of 4.20 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz, combined with a large 96 MB L3 cache, ensure that it can feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic without becoming a bottleneck. Its synthetic benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29149 and a single-core score of 4115, place it in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 31580.

The nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-12700F, has an average score of 31543, which is only 0.1% behind, showing the 7800X3D’s competitive standing. However, the game’s performance scaling with resolution suggests that the CPU’s headroom is not being fully utilized. At 1080p Low, the frame rate of 159.8 FPS is likely approaching the CPU’s limit, but at higher resolutions and settings, the GPU takes over as the limiting factor. The CPU’s TDP of 120 W and support for DDR5 memory contribute to a robust platform that does not hinder the GPU’s performance in this title, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate drops tied to resolution rather than scene complexity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average frame rates measured for this platform across all resolution and settings combinations.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|---|---|---|

| 3840x2160 | High | 49.1 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 111.1 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 70.1 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 38.3 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 61.8 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 143 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 90.6 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 50.9 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 73.4 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 159.8 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 104.6 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 56.9 |

The data shows a clear pattern. At 1080p, the Low preset is the only one that exceeds 150 FPS, while the Ultra preset remains above 55 FPS. At 1440p, the Low preset still manages 143 FPS, but the Ultra preset falls to 50.9 FPS. At 4K, the Low preset is the only one that remains above 100 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 38.3 FPS. This breakdown underscores the GPU’s dominance in determining frame rates, with the CPU providing a stable foundation that does not introduce variability. The platform ranks 252nd out of 1689 total combinations in the game’s database, indicating a solidly above-average configuration for this title.