The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title released on January 27, 2021, presents a significant challenge for the combination of an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. The benchmark data shows a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, yet capable of delivering playable, if not smooth, frame rates at lower settings. The GTX 1070, a Pascal-generation GPU from the GeForce 10-series, is paired with a modern 8-core Zen 5 processor, creating a pairing where CPU potential is largely untapped in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern: as the resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, average frame rates drop substantially, and the scaling is consistent with a system where the GPU is the primary limiting factor. At Low settings, the jump from 1080p to 1440p brings the average from 75 to 63 FPS, a 16% reduction. Moving to 4K, the average falls to 50 FPS, which is a 21% drop from the 1440p result and a 33% drop from the 1080p baseline. These are the most fluid results for the GTX 1070 in this game, but the 4K figure is the only one that remains above 50 FPS.

High settings show a steeper scaling curve. The 1080p High result of 34 FPS falls to 28 FPS at 1440p, an 18% decrease, and then to 22 FPS at 4K, a 21% decrease from the 1440p figure. The 4K High result is only 22 FPS, which is marginal for a game that relies on tension and timing. The Medium settings show what the full data set reveals: at 1080p, the average is 47 FPS; at 1440p, it declines to 40 FPS; and at 4K, it bottoms out at 31 FPS. The min FPS at Medium is 40 at 1080p, 34 at 1440p, and 26 at 4K, showing that the system can maintain relative stability even at lower averages.

The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and the resolution scaling is severe. The 1080p Ultra average is 27 FPS, which drops to 22 FPS at 1440p and 18 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is effectively a slideshow. The data indicates that the GTX 1070, with its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus, is the component that defines the experience. The CPU, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is not the bottleneck; the frame rate differences are almost entirely due to the GPU's ability to render at increasing resolutions. The combination of a powerful CPU with a mid-range GPU results in a classic GPU-bound scenario in The Medium.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is built on the Pascal architecture and the GP104 chip, manufactured on a 16 nm process. Its specifications, including a 1506 MHz base clock and a 1683 MHz boost clock, are the foundation for the performance observed. The GPU has 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The memory configuration is 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, a bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s, and a memory clock of 2002 MHz (or 8 Gbps effective). The GTX 1070 supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, and has a maximum pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s.

The benchmark results show that this GPU is not designed for high-resolution gaming in The Medium. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1082, and the Passmark G3D score is 13498, with a Passmark DirectX 12 score of 48. In the game itself, the data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at all settings above Low. The 1080p Low result of 75 FPS is the only setting/resolution combination that approaches the 60 FPS threshold. At Medium settings, the 1080p average is 47, which is playable but not ideal. At 1440p, the Medium average is 40, and at 4K, it is 31. These numbers indicate that the 8 GB VRAM is likely sufficient for the game's assets, but the raw compute power is not enough to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions.

The GPU's performance also shows a clear pattern with settings. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 75 to 27 FPS, which is a 48 FPS gap. At 4K, the same gap is 50 to 18 FPS, a 32 FPS difference. The scaling is not linear, indicating that the GTX 1070 is becoming more compute-bound as the resolution increases. The GPU's 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the theoretical limit, and the measured results are in line with that. The GeForce 10-series is end-of-life, and the data suggests that for a game like The Medium, it is only suitable for 1080p gaming at Low to Medium settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for this combination is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the average FPS is 75. This is the only configuration that provides a very smooth frame rate. The Medium settings at 1080p result in an average of 47 FPS, which is playable but not as fluid. The Low settings at 1440p are an alternative, with an average of 63 FPS, but the 1080p Low is the most optimal. The 1080p Low is clearly the best experience per the measured rows, as it is the only setting/resolution with a result that is well above the 60 FPS mark.

The Low settings at 1440p are the only other configuration with an average above 60 FPS. The 1440p Low average of 63 FPS is 12% lower than the 1080p Low, but it is still a good experience. However, the 1080p Medium is a better balance of quality and performance, as it provides an average of 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS, so it never dips below 40. The 4K Low setting, at 50 FPS, is another option, but the lower resolution is recommended for a smoother experience.

The Ultra settings are not recommended, as the 1080p Ultra average of 27 FPS is not playable in a game that requires precise timing. The High settings are also not recommended, as the 1080p High average of 34 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold. The data suggests that the user should prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity. The game's fixed camera angles and horror atmosphere may be less dependent on high-resolution textures, but the smoothness of the animation is critical. Therefore, the 1080p Low or 1440p Low settings are the best choices. The 1080p Medium is a compromise for those who want better visuals, but the Low settings are the most reliable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The table below summarizes the measured FPS for each resolution and settings combination. The data shows the full extent of the performance scaling.

1920x1080:

• Low: 75 FPS average
• Medium: 47 FPS average, 40 FPS minimum, 54 FPS maximum
• High: 34 FPS average
• Ultra: 27 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 63 FPS average
• Medium: 40 FPS average, 34 FPS minimum, 45 FPS maximum
• High: 28 FPS average
• Ultra: 22 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 50 FPS average
• Medium: 31 FPS average, 26 FPS minimum, 36 FPS maximum
• High: 22 FPS average
• Ultra: 18 FPS average

The data shows that the Medium settings at all resolutions have the most detailed information, with minimum and maximum values. The Low settings have no min/max data, but the Medium values show a consistent pattern. At 1080p, the Medium average is 47, with a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 54. The range of 14 FPS indicates a moderate amount of frame time variation. At 1440p, the Medium average is 40, with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 45, a range of 11 FPS. At 4K, the Medium average is 31, with a minimum of 26 and a maximum of 36, a range of 10 FPS. The variance becomes smaller as the resolution increases, which is a sign of the GPU being fully loaded.

The scaling from Low to Medium to High to Ultra is consistent. At 1080p, the frame rate drops from 75 to 47 (a 37% decrease), then to 34 (a 28% decrease), then to 27 (a 21% decrease). The decreases are not linear, and the performance drop from Medium to High is less than from Low to Medium. The same pattern is seen at 1440p: 63 to 40 (a 37% decrease), to 28 (a 30% decrease), to 22 (a 21% decrease). At 4K: 50 to 31 (a 38% decrease), to 22 (a 29% decrease), to 18 (a 18% decrease). The overall trend is that the High settings have the most significant impact, while the Ultra settings add less visual fidelity for a significant frame rate loss.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 in The Medium ranks at 3082 out of 3724 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 20% of all combinations. The data shows that this is not a good pairing for this game. The CPU has a percentile of 86, meaning it is better than 86% of all CPUs, while the GPU has a percentile of 47, meaning it is worse than 53% of all GPUs. The GPU is the bottleneck, and the rank reflects the GPU's performance.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 9780, and its nearest rivals are the AMD FirePro W5000 with an average score of 9803 (a 0.2% difference), the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M with 9832 (a 0.5% difference), the NVIDIA Tesla M10 with 9724 (a 0.6% difference), and the NVIDIA Tesla C2070 with 9716 (a 0.7% difference). The GTX 1070 is in a close range with these professional and older cards, which shows its mid-range status. The CPU, on the other hand, is in a different league. The Ryzen 7 9700X has an average benchmark score of 37943, and its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i9-14901E with 37911 (a 0.1% difference), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 with 37904 (a 0.1% difference), the Intel Core 5 211E with 37829 (a 0.3% difference), and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 with 37804 (a 0.4% difference). The CPU is a top-tier part, while the GPU is a mid-range part from a previous generation.

The rank of 3082 in 3724 is a clear indication that this combo is not efficient for this game. The frame rates are low, and the CPU is not the reason. The GTX 1070 is the limiting component. The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck, and the CPU's potential is untapped. The rank would likely be much better if the GPU were more powerful. The frame rates in this game are not limited by the CPU's 8-core, 16-thread configuration, but by the GPU's ability to process the game's rendering.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for this GPU/CPU combo?

A: The best experience is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the average FPS is 75. This is the only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS. The 1440p Low setting is also viable, with an average of 63 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070's performance compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The GTX 1070's average benchmark score is 9780, and its nearest rival is the AMD FirePro W5000 with an average score of 9803, a 0.2% difference. The NVIDIA Quadro M2000M is 0.5% faster, while the NVIDIA Tesla M10 is 0.6% slower. These differences are small, indicating the GTX 1070 is in the same performance tier.

Q: What is the impact of the CPU on the frame rate?

A: The CPU has a minimal role in the frame rate for this game. The Ryzen 7 9700X has 8 cores and 16 threads, which is a powerful configuration, but the measured FPS is primarily limited by the GPU. The data shows that the frame rate scales with the resolution, which is a GPU limitation, not a CPU one.

Q: Is the 4K performance playable?

A: At 4K, the average FPS is 18 FPS on Ultra, 22 FPS on High, 31 FPS on Medium, and 50 FPS on Low. Only the Low settings are playable, with a 50 FPS average. The Medium settings at 4K is 31, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and not recommended.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking?

A: The GPU's percentile is 47, meaning it is better than 47% of all GPUs. This confirms it is a mid-range card. Its average benchmark score is 9780, according to the data.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking?

A: The CPU's percentile is 86, meaning it is better than 86% of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 37943, according to the data.

Q: What is the effect of the Low vs. Ultra settings on FPS?

A: At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 75 FPS to 27 FPS (a 48 FPS difference). At 1440p, the difference is 63 FPS to 22 FPS (a 41 FPS difference). At 4K, the difference is 50 FPS to 18 FPS (a 32 FPS difference). The performance scaling is significant.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor from the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The CPU has a TDP of 65 W, which is a low power for a desktop CPU, and it supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The L1 cache is 80 KB per core, the L2 cache is 1 MB per core, and the L3 cache is 32 MB shared. The CPU has a 4 nm process node and is built by TSMC. It has 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die. It's a strong CPU, as its benchmark scores show. It has a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20485 and a single-core score of 2211. Its Geekbench multicore score is 17906 and single-core score is 3023. The Passmark multithread score is 37161, and the single-thread score is 4654. These scores are high, but the game's frame rate is not limited by them.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data, and the 8 cores are more than enough for the game's workload. The game's performance is determined by the GPU, as shown by the resolution scaling. The CPU's 16 threads are not a bottleneck in this case. The 1080p Low setting is 75 FPS, which is the only setting that reaches a high frame rate. The CPU can handle the game, but the GPU cannot. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score is 9824, and the 2-thread score is 2525, showing that it is strong in multi-threaded and single-threaded tasks. But the game's frame rate is a GPU issue. The CPU's high clock speed of 5.50 GHz is a sign of its power, but it does not translate to higher FPS in this game due to the GPU's limitations. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck.