The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 produces a spread of results that clearly delineates the strengths and limitations of each component. The data indicates that this pairing is capable of delivering playable frame rates, but only when settings and resolution are carefully managed. This analysis breaks down the measured performance to show exactly where this system excels and where it struggles.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, revealing a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 96 FPS at 1920x1080 to 81 FPS at 2560x1440, a 15 FPS reduction. Moving to 4K at Low settings, the average plummets to 64 FPS, representing a 33% decrease from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern suggests that while the CPU has ample headroom, the GPU is the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases.

The Medium settings row provides the most complete data, including minimum and maximum frame rates, which further illustrates the resolution impact. At 1080p Medium, the system averages 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 51 FPS, with the minimum falling to 43 FPS. The 4K Medium result shows an average of just 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 FPS and a maximum of 46 FPS. The frame time variance grows with resolution, indicating that the GPU is struggling to maintain consistent throughput.

The High and Ultra settings show even more dramatic scaling. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 43 FPS at 1080p to 36 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 29 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most punishing, with the system delivering 34 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and only 23 FPS at 4K. These numbers confirm that the RTX 5050 is not designed for high-fidelity 4K gaming in this title. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 41 FPS, which is a massive swing that highlights how much visual quality must be sacrificed to achieve playable frame rates at that resolution.

The data shows that the limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU. The CPU, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is unlikely to be the constraining factor given that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU load is lowest, the system only reaches 96 FPS. This suggests that the game is not heavily multithreaded enough to fully utilize the processor, or that the GPU's raw throughput is simply insufficient for the pixel workload at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a Zen 5 architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its benchmark scores are respectable, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20485 and a single-core score of 2211. The processor also achieves a Geekbench multi-core score of 17906 and a single-core score of 3023. These figures place the CPU in the 86th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 37943.

The nearest rivals for the 9700X include the Intel Core i9-14901E, which has an average score of 37911 with a deltaPct of 0.1, and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, which scores 37904 with a deltaPct of 0.1. This indicates that the 9700X is essentially performance-equivalent to these competitors in general compute tasks. However, the measured FPS in The Medium shows that this CPU has more than enough processing power for the game's demands.

At 1080p Low, the system achieves 96 FPS, which is likely close to the game's engine limit or the GPU's maximum output at that setting. The fact that the frame rate increases from 96 FPS at 1080p Low to 81 FPS at 1440p Low shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor; the GPU is simply doing less work at lower resolutions. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9824 and the 8-thread score of 8184 further confirm that the processor can handle substantial multi-threaded workloads, but The Medium does not appear to leverage this fully.

The CPU's cache configuration, with 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core, is ample for most gaming scenarios. The memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s for DDR5 dual-channel memory is also sufficient. The benchmark results indicate that the 9700X is a high-end desktop processor that will not bottleneck the RTX 5050 in this title, even at lower resolutions where CPU-bound scenarios are more common. The data clearly shows that any performance limitations in this pairing are attributable to the graphics card, not the processor.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the most balanced resolution. At Medium settings, the system averages 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS, which provides a smooth experience. At 1440p, the average drops to 51 FPS at Medium, which is still playable but with more frequent dips. 4K is only viable at Low settings, where the average is 64 FPS.

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

A: The performance is not playable. The average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is only 23 FPS. This is below the threshold for a smooth experience and suggests that the RTX 5050 is not capable of handling the highest visual fidelity at 4K in this game.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 96 FPS, but this drops to 64 FPS at 4K Low, a 33% reduction. The CPU, with its high benchmark scores, has enough headroom to keep up with the GPU's output without becoming a limiting factor.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the difference is significant. The Low preset delivers an average of 81 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers only 29 FPS. This is a 52 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy load on the GPU that it cannot sustain.

Q: Are there any settings that provide a 60 FPS experience at 1440p?

A: No. The highest average at 1440p is 81 FPS at Low settings. The Medium preset averages 51 FPS, and the High preset averages 36 FPS. To achieve a consistent 60 FPS at 1440p, the user would need to use the Low preset, which compromises visual quality significantly.

Q: How does the system's performance at 1080p Medium compare to 4K Medium?

A: The difference is substantial. At 1080p Medium, the average is 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 FPS. The 4K experience is less stable and will likely exhibit more noticeable stuttering during intense scenes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a clear matrix of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 96 FPS. The Medium preset follows with an average of 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. High settings average 43 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 34 FPS. This resolution is the only one where the system can consistently exceed 60 FPS, but only at the lowest settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 81 FPS, which is still comfortably above 60 FPS. The Medium preset averages 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 58 FPS. High settings average 36 FPS, and Ultra settings average 29 FPS. The 1440p results show a clear step down from 1080p, with the Medium preset already dipping below the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 64 FPS, which is the only playable option at this resolution. The Medium preset averages 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 FPS and a maximum of 46 FPS. High settings average 29 FPS, and Ultra settings average 23 FPS. The 4K data shows that the RTX 5050 is severely overloaded by this game's graphics demands beyond the Low preset.

The data also shows that the frame rate scaling between settings is not linear. For example, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium is 36 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High is 17 FPS. This suggests that the Medium preset offers a more significant performance cost per visual improvement than the step from High to Ultra. The system's overall rank in this game is 1765 out of 2911 possible combinations, placing it in the lower half of tested hardware configurations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 2317 MHz with a boost clock of 2572 MHz. The GPU has 2560 shading units and 80 tensor cores, with a pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is rated at 13.17 TFLOPS.

The benchmark scores for the GPU show a mixed picture. The Passmark G3D score is 17326, while the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2502. The Geekbench OpenCL score is 90334. The GPU's percentile ranking is 66, indicating it performs better than most GPUs but is not a top-tier part. Its average benchmark score is 21035, placing it near the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, which has an average score of 20713 and a deltaPct of 1.6.

In The Medium, the GPU's performance is the defining factor. The 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results suggest that the memory bandwidth and raw compute power are insufficient for high-detail settings at that resolution. The drop from 64 FPS at 4K Low to 40 FPS at 4K Medium shows that even modest increases in texture quality and shading complexity cause significant performance losses. The GPU's boost clock of 2572 MHz is relatively high, but it cannot compensate for the limited memory bus width and overall throughput.

The data suggests that the RTX 5050 is best suited for 1080p gaming or 1440p with reduced settings. The 4K results, while technically playable at Low, do not provide a consistent experience, with the Medium preset showing a minimum of 34 FPS that could lead to noticeable hitches. The GPU's performance in this title is consistent with its benchmark scores, placing it in a performance tier that is adequate for mainstream gaming but not for high-end 4K workloads.

Settings Recommendations

For a consistent 60 FPS experience, the only viable option is the Low preset at 1920x1080, which delivers an average of 96 FPS. This setting provides ample headroom and ensures smooth gameplay, but it comes at the cost of visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1080p is also a strong choice, averaging 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS. This offers a better balance of visual quality and performance, and the minimum frame rate is still within an acceptable range for a horror game where atmosphere is important.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only way to maintain a high frame rate, averaging 81 FPS. However, users who prefer visual quality over raw smoothness might accept the Medium preset, which averages 51 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS target but is still playable for a slower-paced horror title. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p are not recommended, as they average 36 FPS and 29 FPS respectively, which will result in a noticeably stuttery experience.

For 4K displays, the Low preset is the only playable option, averaging 64 FPS. The Medium preset, at 40 FPS, is borderline and may be acceptable for users who prioritize image quality over smoothness, but the 34 FPS minimum suggests it will not be a pleasant experience during intense scenes. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are to be avoided entirely, as they produce averages below 30 FPS. The data shows that the best experience is achieved by either accepting lower resolution for higher settings, or higher resolution with the Low preset. Given that the game is a narrative-driven horror title, the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best compromise, providing a stable frame rate with reasonable visual enhancements.