The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and Radeon RX 6800 XT pairing delivers a solid, if uneven, experience in The Medium, with performance heavily dependent on the graphics preset selected. Benchmark data shows the system is capable of high refresh rates at lower settings, but demanding presets push it into sub-60 FPS territory at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The performance delta between 1080p and 4K is stark, revealing a system that is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions. At Medium settings, which is the only preset with complete min/max data across all three resolutions, the average frame rate drops from 87 FPS at 1920x1080 to 73 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 14 FPS. Moving further up to 3840x2160, the average falls to 57 FPS, representing a 30 FPS swing from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern indicates that the RX 6800 XT is the primary limiter as pixel count increases, with the CPU having ample headroom to feed frames at lower resolutions.

The trend is even more pronounced at the High preset. The average frame rate at 1920x1080 is 62 FPS, which drops to 52 FPS at 2560x1440, and then plummets to 41 FPS at 3840x2160. The 4K result is a 34% reduction from the 1080p figure, demonstrating that the game's visual fidelity at High settings places a significant burden on the GPU's compute and memory subsystems. Conversely, the Low preset shows the system's potential when the GPU load is reduced, with 139 FPS at 1080p, 117 FPS at 1440p, and 92 FPS at 4K.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, with an average loss of 15 FPS across Medium and High settings. This suggests that the 16 GB frame buffer is sufficient, but the raw compute throughput of the GPU struggles to maintain fluidity at 4K with higher-quality assets. The data shows that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combo at Medium settings if the target is a stable 60 FPS, while 1080p remains the only resolution where Ultra settings become marginally playable.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 6800 XT, built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 21 chip, is the decisive factor in this game's performance profile. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for The Medium's texture streaming demands at all tested resolutions. The GPU's clock speeds—1825 MHz base, 2015 MHz game, and 2250 MHz boost—allow it to sustain high throughput, but the data indicates that the 4608 shading units are saturated by the game's effects at higher presets.

The benchmark results show a clear hierarchy: the GPU's performance percentile of 85 places it above most rivals, but it is not a top-tier part. Its nearest rival comparisons show a tight cluster, with the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile just 1.5% behind, while the Intel Arc A550M is 2.5% ahead and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is 3% ahead. This positioning explains why the card can handle 1080p and 1440p with ease at Low and Medium presets, but falls behind at Ultra, where the 33 FPS average at 4K and 49 FPS at 1080p indicate a hard ceiling.

The 72 ray tracing cores are present, but the measured data does not include ray tracing-specific benchmarks, so their impact on The Medium cannot be quantified here. The GPU's FP32 performance of 20.74 TFLOPS is the theoretical peak, but the actual frame rates suggest that the card's efficiency under sustained load is more modest. The 300 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a power-hungry part, but the measured FPS figures are the only reliable indicator of its real-world capability in this title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, with 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 5 architecture, is not the bottleneck in this configuration. Its boost clock of 5.50 GHz and base clock of 3.80 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, which is critical for game logic and draw calls. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4691 and multithread score of 36470 place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a high-end processor that can keep pace with the GPU's output.

The CPU's nearest rivals show a virtual tie in average benchmark scores: the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX is 0.2% ahead, the Intel Core i7-14700KF is 0.2% behind, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is 0.7% ahead, and the Intel Core i7-14700K is 0.9% ahead. These margins are negligible, meaning the 9700F is functionally equivalent to these top-tier parts for gaming workloads. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s of DDR5 memory bandwidth ensure that data can be fed to the GPU without stutter.

The fact that frame rates scale so dramatically with resolution and settings, while remaining high at Low presets, confirms that the CPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the 139 FPS average shows the CPU can drive the GPU to high output, but the GPU's inability to maintain that at higher settings proves the workload is graphics-bound. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node also suggest efficient operation, though the measured FPS data does not include thermal or power metrics.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Ryzen 7 9700F and RX 6800 XT ranks 1139 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 30% of all configurations. This rank is respectable but not exceptional, reflecting the GPU's mid-high tier status rather than the CPU's top-tier performance. The CPU's percentile rank of 94 is significantly higher than the GPU's rank of 85, which further confirms that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing.

The combo rank suggests that many other systems, likely those with more powerful GPUs like the RTX 5070 Ti or newer RDNA 3 cards, will outperform this setup in The Medium. However, the rank also shows that this combo beats a substantial majority of tested systems, making it a viable choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming. The delta between the CPU and GPU percentile ranks indicates an imbalance; a less powerful CPU could achieve similar frame rates, while a more powerful GPU would unlock higher settings and resolutions.

The rank of 1139 is a holistic measure, but the measured FPS data provides more nuance. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 87 FPS, which is well above playable thresholds. At 1440p Medium, the 73 FPS average is still smooth. The rank would improve significantly if the GPU were upgraded, but as it stands, this combo is a balanced mid-range to upper-mid-range performer that excels at lower resolutions and settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows a wide range of performance across presets. Low settings produce an average of 139 FPS, making it highly responsive for fast-paced gameplay. Medium settings yield 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, offering a good balance of visual quality and smoothness. High settings drop to 62 FPS, while Ultra settings fall to 49 FPS, indicating that the GPU struggles with the highest-quality assets even at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the performance gap between presets narrows. Low settings maintain a high 117 FPS average, while Medium settings drop to 73 FPS with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS. High settings average 52 FPS, and Ultra settings average 42 FPS. The 1440p results show that the combo is best suited for Medium settings if a 60 FPS target is desired, as High and Ultra both fall below that threshold.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations become apparent. Low settings still manage 92 FPS, but Medium settings drop to 57 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS and a maximum of 66 FPS. High settings average 41 FPS, and Ultra settings average 33 FPS. The 4K data shows that the RX 6800 XT cannot handle The Medium at high visual fidelity, and even Medium settings flirt with the 60 FPS line, with the minimum dipping below it.

The min/max data for Medium settings across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: the minimum FPS is roughly 15-20% lower than the average, while the maximum is 15-20% higher. This indicates moderate frame time variance, which could manifest as occasional stutters during intense scenes. The lack of min/max data for other presets limits analysis, but the averages alone provide a clear picture of performance scaling.

Settings Recommendations

The data suggests that Medium settings provide the best overall experience for this combo across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 87 FPS, which is smooth and visually acceptable. At 1440p, Medium's 73 FPS average with a 62 FPS minimum ensures a mostly stable experience, making it the recommended preset for that resolution. Even at 4K, Medium's 57 FPS average is playable, though the 49 FPS minimum may cause noticeable dips in demanding scenes.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, Low settings are the clear choice, offering 139 FPS at 1080p, 117 FPS at 1440p, and 92 FPS at 4K. This preset is ideal for competitive play or for users with high refresh rate monitors. However, the visual downgrade is significant, and the game's horror atmosphere may be diminished.

High settings are only recommended for 1080p, where the 62 FPS average is playable, but it is not optimal. At 1440p, High's 52 FPS average is borderline, and at 4K, the 41 FPS average is too low for a smooth experience. Ultra settings should be avoided entirely, as even at 1080p, the 49 FPS average is below the 60 FPS target, and at higher resolutions, the frame rates become unplayable.

The best strategy is to use Medium settings with a target resolution of 1440p, as this strikes the optimal balance between visual quality and performance. The 73 FPS average and 62 FPS minimum provide a consistent experience that is superior to High at 1080p and far better than any preset at 4K. Users with 1080p monitors can safely use Medium for a high-refresh experience, while those with 4K displays should accept Medium as the only viable preset for smooth gameplay.