The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER pairing in The Medium presents a fascinating case study in system balancing. The data reveals a configuration where the GPU often dictates performance ceilings, yet the CPU's capabilities ensure that lower settings can unlock remarkably high frame rates. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to understand where each component’s influence is strongest and how to best optimize the experience.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a formidable processor built on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This configuration is more than capable of handling the logical demands of a horror title like The Medium, which relies on fixed camera angles and complex scene transitions rather than physics-heavy simulation. The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory provide a robust foundation for feeding data to the GPU. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 31588 and a single-core score of 4459, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs.

However, the data from The Medium suggests that the CPU is rarely the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 163.3 FPS. This high frame rate indicates that the processor is capable of pushing far beyond the demands of the game’s logic. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9824 and max-thread score of 9771 show excellent scaling, but even the single-thread score of 1280 is sufficient to avoid limiting the GPU in most scenarios. The 9700X’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-14500HX (0.2% higher average score) and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (0.4% lower), are all within a negligible performance delta. This suggests that the CPU’s raw processing power is never the constraining factor in this combination; instead, it provides a consistent, high-throughput platform that allows the GPU to operate at its full potential.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and is the decisive component in this pairing. It comes equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. Its boost clock of 2475 MHz and 7168 shading units provide substantial raw compute power, reflected in a Passmark G3D score of 29995. This places the card in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. The game, released in 2021, is not exceptionally demanding on VRAM, so the 12 GB allocation is sufficient for all measured settings, even at 4K Ultra.

The GPU’s influence is most apparent when examining the scaling between settings. At 4K, dropping from Ultra (37.5 FPS) to High (50.1 FPS) yields a significant 12.6 FPS improvement, and dropping further to Medium (67.2 FPS) adds another 17.1 FPS. This steep performance curve is indicative of a GPU-bound scenario, especially as resolution increases. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (0.2% lower score) and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (0.3% lower), show that it sits in a competitive performance tier. However, the data shows that its architecture is well-suited to handle the game’s graphical effects, but the sheer pixel count at 4K begins to overwhelm it, particularly at the highest quality presets.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS across resolutions clearly illustrates the transition from a CPU-friendly environment to a GPU-heavy workload. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 163.3 FPS, which drops to 139 FPS at 1440p and 111.8 FPS at 4K. This is a relatively modest decline, indicating that at Low settings, the GPU is not yet saturated, and the CPU’s performance is still a significant factor. The frame rate only drops by 31.5% from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, suggesting a balanced workload.

The situation changes dramatically at Ultra settings. The 1080p Ultra score is 60.6 FPS, which falls to 49.7 FPS at 1440p and then to 37.5 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is a 38.1% reduction, demonstrating that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor. This is classic behavior for a game that scales heavily with resolution and visual fidelity. The RTX 4070 SUPER’s 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient, but the rendering load of 8.3 million pixels at 4K is substantially higher than the 2.1 million at 1080p. The data implies that to maintain a playable experience at 4K, the user must sacrifice significant graphical quality, whereas at 1080p, the system has ample headroom to run high settings with ease.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured data, the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance is achieved at the High settings preset for most resolutions. At 1080p High, the system delivers 76.1 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and substantially better than the 60.6 FPS seen at Ultra. The jump from High to Ultra costs 15.5 FPS, a 20.4% performance penalty, which is a steep price for the marginal visual improvements. At 1440p High, the system achieves 61.8 FPS, which is still playable, whereas Medium provides 86.4 FPS for those who prefer a higher frame rate margin. The 4K High preset, at 50.1 FPS, is borderline but playable for a slower-paced horror game, while 4K Ultra at 37.5 FPS risks feeling sluggish.

For users with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p, the Medium preset at 106.1 FPS offers an excellent experience, nearly doubling the frame rate of Ultra while still providing a significant upgrade over Low. The Low preset at 163.3 FPS is only relevant for competitive play or if the user prioritizes absolute smoothness over all else. The data clearly suggests that Ultra is a luxury preset that is not well-optimized for this hardware combination, as it incurs a disproportionate performance cost. Therefore, the recommended presets are High for 4K and 1440p, and Medium or High for 1080p, depending on the user’s preference for frame rate versus detail.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 163.3, which is achieved at 1080p with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system delivers an average FPS of 37.5, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is there a significant performance difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: Yes, the data shows a drop from 86.4 FPS at Medium to 61.8 FPS at High, a reduction of 24.6 FPS, indicating that High is a more demanding preset.

Q: Which component is more likely to be the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting factor, as the frame rate drops to 37.5 FPS, which is a substantial decrease from the 60.6 FPS seen at 1080p Ultra.

Q: At what resolution and settings does the system exceed 100 FPS?

A: The system exceeds 100 FPS at 1080p on Low (163.3 FPS), Medium (106.1 FPS), and at 4K on Low (111.8 FPS).

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the RTX A6000?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score that is 0.2% lower than the RTX A6000, indicating nearly identical performance in synthetic tests.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following table details the exact average FPS measurements for each resolution and settings preset combination.

• 1920x1080: The system shows strong performance here. Low settings yield 163.3 FPS, Medium settings provide 106.1 FPS, High settings deliver 76.1 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 60.6 FPS. This resolution offers the most headroom, with even Ultra being playable.

• 2560x1440: Performance scales down as expected. Low settings achieve 139 FPS, Medium settings reach 86.4 FPS, High settings hit 61.8 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 49.7 FPS. This is a sweet spot for High settings, balancing quality and speed.

• 3840x2160: The GPU is heavily taxed at this resolution. Low settings still manage a respectable 111.8 FPS, but Medium drops to 67.2 FPS, High falls to 50.1 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 37.5 FPS. The data suggests that 4K is only viable with lower presets.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Out of a field of 1689 tested system combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER achieves a rank of 252. This places it in the top 15% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing. The rank is likely influenced by the CPU’s high percentile (89th) and the GPU’s solid performance (84th percentile), but the specific ranking in The Medium suggests that this game is not particularly optimized for this exact hardware combination, or that many other systems with higher-tier GPUs are included in the database. The 252nd position implies that while this combo delivers a very good experience, there are 251 other configurations that produce higher average frame rates in this specific title. This ranking is a holistic measure that accounts for all tested resolutions and settings, highlighting that the system is more than capable, yet leaves room for improvement if a user were to step up to a more powerful GPU.