The Medium

# The Medium: AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT — Performance Analysis

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT combination delivers a playable but demanding experience in The Medium, a horror title that scales heavily with resolution and settings. Across the measured 12 configurations, average frame rates range from a high of 115 FPS at 1080p Low to a low of 27 FPS at 4K Ultra, with the system ranking 1292nd out of 2911 tested combinations. The data reveals a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, while the CPU's strong single-threaded performance keeps framerates competitive at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating that the Radeon RX 6750 XT becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 115 at 1080p to 97 at 1440p (a 15.7% reduction), then to 76 at 4K (a 33.9% reduction from 1440p). This pattern suggests that even at the lowest graphical preset, the GPU's rendering throughput—not the CPU—limits performance, as the Ryzen 7 9700F's single-thread score of 4691 in PassMark remains ample for this title.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 72 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K. The 1440p-to-4K drop of 21.3% is notable, showing that the RX 6750 XT's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth struggle to maintain fill rates at Ultra HD. The High preset shows the most severe scaling: 52 FPS at 1080p, 43 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34.6% total loss from 1080p to 4K, highlighting that High settings demand significantly more from the GPU's 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs.

Ultra settings produce the largest absolute drop, from 41 FPS at 1080p to 34 FPS at 1440p and 27 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K reduction of 34.1% mirrors High, but the absolute values fall below smooth-playability thresholds. The data indicates that at 4K, even Low settings (76 FPS) outperform Ultra at 1080p (41 FPS) by 85.4%, underscoring how resolution dominates the performance equation. The RX 6750 XT's 13.31 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 166.4 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient for 4K Ultra, where the game's visual effects likely push shading and texture bandwidth to their limits.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this GPU/CPU combo in The Medium?*

A: The data shows 1080p as the most viable resolution, with Medium settings delivering 72 FPS average (61 FPS minimum) and High achieving 52 FPS. At 1440p, Medium drops to 61 FPS average with a 52 FPS minimum, which remains playable but closer to the edge. 4K is only reasonable at Low settings (76 FPS) or Medium (48 FPS), as High and Ultra fall below 35 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 6750 XT compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 26011 places it in the 71st percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R9 M395X with an average score of 25891, a delta of 0.5% in favor of the RX 6750 XT. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile trails by 1.1% with a score of 25740, meaning the RX 6750 XT holds a narrow but consistent edge over these competitors.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700F a bottleneck for this game?

A: No, the CPU appears sufficient. The Ryzen 7 9700F scores 36470 in PassMark multithread and 4691 in single-thread, with a 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, scores 70163 average (0.2% higher), while the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515 (0.7% lower). At 1080p Low, the 115 FPS result indicates the CPU can feed the GPU adequately, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset shows the most complete data with min/max FPS values. At 1080p, the average is 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 and maximum of 83, a spread of 22 FPS. At 1440p, the average drops to 61 FPS with min 52 and max 70 (18 FPS spread). At 4K, the average is 48 FPS with min 40 and max 55 (15 FPS spread). The narrowing spread at higher resolutions suggests more consistent frame pacing under GPU load.

*Q: How does the system rank in The Medium among all tested combinations?*

A: This specific configuration ranks 1292 out of 2911 total combos, placing it in the upper-middle tier (approximately the 55.6th percentile). This ranking reflects the RX 6750 XT's 71st GPU percentile but is tempered by the demanding nature of the game, which pushes the GPU hard at higher settings.

Q: Does the CPU's 65W TDP affect performance in this title?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F's 65W TDP and 8-core, 16-thread configuration with base clock 3.80 GHz and boost 5.50 GHz provide sufficient computational headroom. The PassMark physics score of 2122 and integer math score of 120788 indicate strong gaming-relevant performance. The data shows no CPU-induced frame drops, as evidenced by the linear FPS scaling with resolution changes.

Settings Recommendations

For a balance of visual fidelity and smooth gameplay, Medium settings at 1080p provide the most consistent experience: 72 FPS average with a 61 FPS minimum, ensuring no significant dips below 60 FPS. This preset appears to be the sweet spot, as it maintains playable framerates while offering better visual quality than Low (115 FPS but likely reduced textures and effects). The min/max spread of 61-83 FPS at 1080p Medium suggests stable performance during gameplay.

At 1440p, Medium settings (61 FPS average, 52 FPS minimum) are the highest playable option, though the 52 FPS floor may cause occasional stutter in demanding scenes. High settings at 1440p (43 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS threshold and are less desirable for a horror title where smooth motion is critical. Low settings at 1440p (97 FPS) provide excellent fluidity but sacrifice too much visual detail for most players.

For 4K, the data strongly suggests Low settings (76 FPS) as the only way to achieve high framerates, though Medium (48 FPS) offers a playable experience if visual quality is prioritized over smoothness. High (34 FPS) and Ultra (27 FPS) are not recommended due to sub-30 FPS averages, which are unacceptable for a game requiring atmospheric immersion and responsive controls. The 4K Medium configuration with 40 FPS minimum might be tolerable for slower-paced sections, but the Low preset provides a safer margin.

Given the game's horror genre, where frame pacing and responsiveness matter for tense moments, the recommendation is to start with 1080p Medium and adjust to 1440p Medium if the display supports it and the player accepts the lower minimum FPS. The 4K Low setting remains a viable option for those prioritizing resolution over graphical detail.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings range shows clear stratification. Low settings produce the highest average at 115 FPS, followed by Medium at 72 FPS (min 61, max 83), High at 52 FPS, and Ultra at 41 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 43 FPS (59.7% difference), while the Medium-to-High drop is 20 FPS (27.8%). The High-to-Ultra reduction is 11 FPS (21.2%), indicating diminishing returns at the highest preset. The 1080p Medium data with its 61 FPS minimum is the only preset at this resolution that guarantees a minimum above 60 FPS, making it the most reliable for competitive or reaction-based gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats with lower absolute values. Low averages 97 FPS, Medium 61 FPS (min 52, max 70), High 43 FPS, and Ultra 34 FPS. The Medium preset's 52 FPS minimum is the lowest recorded at this resolution that stays above 50 FPS, while High and Ultra dip below 45 FPS averages. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent: Low drops 15.7%, Medium 15.3%, High 17.3%, and Ultra 17.1%. This uniform reduction indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput scale predictably with resolution, with no anomalous spikes.

At 3840x2160, the performance falls substantially. Low averages 76 FPS, Medium 48 FPS (min 40, max 55), High 34 FPS, and Ultra 27 FPS. The 1440p-to-4K scaling is steeper than the 1080p-to-1440p step: Low drops 21.6%, Medium 21.3%, High 20.9%, and Ultra 20.6%. This accelerated decline at 4K suggests that the RX 6750 XT's 12 GB frame buffer and 192-bit memory bus become saturated, with the 432.0 GB/s bandwidth unable to keep pace with the four-fold increase in pixel count. The 4K Medium configuration's 40 FPS minimum is the lowest recorded in the entire dataset, highlighting the GPU's limits at this resolution.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the definitive bottleneck in The Medium at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the consistent FPS drops when moving from 1080p to 4K. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient capacity for the game's textures at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results (27-76 FPS depending on settings) show that memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor. The card's 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 166.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 416.0 GTexel/s, which are adequate for 1080p Medium but insufficient for 4K Ultra.

Clocks play a significant role in the observed scaling. The GPU's base clock of 2150 MHz boosts to 2600 MHz, with a game clock of 2495 MHz. These frequencies allow the card to sustain high throughput at 1080p, where the 115 FPS Low result indicates the GPU is not fully stressed. However, at 4K, the same clocks cannot overcome the geometric increase in shading work, resulting in the 27 FPS Ultra result. The memory clock of 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) further constrains performance at high resolutions, as the 192-bit bus width limits total bandwidth compared to wider-memory rivals.

The GPU's 71st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26011, places it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rivals—the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (25891, 0.5% slower), AMD FirePro W7100 (25856, 0.6% slower), and AMD FirePro D700 (25842, 0.7% slower)—are all previous-generation or workstation parts, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (25740, 1.1% slower) is a laptop chip. This positioning explains why the card handles 1080p well but struggles at 4K, as its DirectX 12 PassMark score of 80 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2548 indicate moderate direct compute performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F plays a supporting role in this configuration, providing enough computational power to avoid becoming a bottleneck in The Medium. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge, TSMC 4 nm process), the CPU's base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz allow for strong single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its PassMark single-thread score of 4691. This score places the CPU in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69996.

The CPU's nearest rivals show how closely it competes with top-tier parts. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69875 (0.2% lower), while the Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163 (0.2% higher). The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515 (0.7% lower), and the Intel Core i7-14700K scores 69355 (0.9% lower). This tight clustering indicates that the 9700F is within 1% of these high-end processors, making it more than capable for gaming workloads.

In The Medium, the CPU's performance is reflected in the 1080p Low result of 115 FPS, which is likely near the game's engine ceiling for this configuration. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR5 dual-channel) provide adequate data throughput for the game's streaming requirements. The PassMark multithread score of 36470 and floating-point math score of 77955 suggest that the CPU can handle the game's physics and AI calculations without stalling the GPU. The 65W TDP and 4 nm process node ensure that thermal throttling is unlikely to affect sustained performance, though the data does not include temperature measurements.

The CPU's PassMark scores for data compression (421988), encryption (21488), and extended instructions (33688) are more relevant to productivity workloads, but the integer math (120788) and random string sorting (45890) scores indicate strong general-purpose throughput. The physics score of 2122, while seemingly low, is sufficient for a horror title like The Medium that relies more on scripted sequences than complex physics simulations. The CPU's 16 threads allow for efficient multitasking, though the game's performance is ultimately dictated by the GPU at all resolutions above 1080p Low.