The Medium

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for The Medium across three resolutions reveal a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher settings. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 117.6 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low drops this to 99.6 FPS, a 15.3% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 74.3 FPS, which is 36.8% below the 1080p result. This scaling pattern at Low settings indicates a workload that is still partially CPU-bound at lower resolutions, as the performance hit from 1080p to 1440p is modest compared to the jump to 4K.

The picture changes dramatically when examining higher quality presets. At High settings, the 1080p average is 51.7 FPS. This drops to 40.6 FPS at 1440p, a 21.5% decline, and then to 32.5 FPS at 4K, a 37.2% decline from 1080p. The Ultra preset shows even steeper scaling: 40.5 FPS at 1080p, 34.3 FPS at 1440p, and 30.2 FPS at 4K. The gap between High and Ultra narrows as resolution increases, suggesting that the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the dominant limiting factor.

The data indicates that the RTX 5060's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus are adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming in this title, but the 4K Ultra result of 30.2 FPS suggests the card is overwhelmed by the combination of high-resolution rendering and the game's fixed camera-angle techniques. Notably, the difference between Low and Medium at 4K is substantial: 74.3 FPS versus 50 FPS. This 32.7% performance drop from Low to Medium at 4K is larger than the 15.4% drop observed at 1080p (117.6 to 70.1 FPS), indicating that memory bandwidth and fill rate become critical at higher resolutions.

The scaling behavior points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck, particularly at 4K. The CPU's 3DMark max threads score of 9771 and single thread score of 1280 are strong, but the frame rate data shows that even at Low settings with 117.6 FPS at 1080p, the system does not achieve extremely high frame rates, suggesting the game engine itself has inherent performance ceilings. The transition from 1440p to 4K at Low settings costs 25.3 FPS, while the same transition at Ultra costs only 4.1 FPS — this compression of frame rates at higher settings confirms that the GPU is saturated well before reaching 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 837th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the 50.5th percentile of all combinations tested, indicating a mid-pack performance level for this title. The rank reflects the game's demanding nature; despite featuring a modern CPU and GPU, the combo does not crack the top half of tested configurations.

The CPU's individual benchmark performance provides context for this ranking. The Ryzen 7 9700X achieves an average benchmark score of 36029, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14500HX, scores 35940 for a delta of 0.2%, meaning the 9700X is effectively tied with that chip. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 trails by 0.6%, while the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H leads by 0.4% and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H leads by 0.8%. These tiny deltas suggest that CPU performance is not a differentiator in this game; any of these processors would produce nearly identical frame rates.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 30109 and sits in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, scores 30097 with a delta of 0%, making them statistical equals. The NVIDIA Tesla M60 scores 29969 (0.5% slower), and the RTX 5070 Mobile scores 29928 (0.6% slower). The AMD Radeon RX 570 is 0.2% ahead at 30158. This clustering of scores within 0.8% indicates that the RTX 5060's raw compute performance is well-matched to its immediate competitors, and the ranking in The Medium is likely influenced more by driver optimization and memory subsystem behavior than raw throughput.

The combination rank of 837 out of 1689 suggests that many other pairings deliver better frame rates in The Medium. Given the GPU's 73rd percentile standing, the mid-pack combo rank is expected; the CPU's high percentile does not compensate for the GPU's moderate position in this title's specific workload. The data indicates that users seeking higher rankings in this game would need a more powerful GPU, as the CPU is not the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on optimal settings for this combo. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 70.1 FPS, which is a playable frame rate for most users. High settings reduce this to 51.7 FPS, still acceptable but noticeably lower. Ultra drops to 40.5 FPS, which may be tolerable for a slower-paced horror title but is not ideal. The Low preset achieves 117.6 FPS, but the visual quality sacrifice is unnecessary given the Medium preset's comfortable margin.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields 57.9 FPS, which is the best balance of visual fidelity and performance at this resolution. High settings produce 40.6 FPS, which dips below the 60 FPS threshold and may be noticeable in fast-moving scenes. Ultra at 34.3 FPS is only recommended for players who prioritize image quality over smoothness. Low at 99.6 FPS is excessive for this title's deliberate pacing.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset averages 50 FPS, which is the highest quality setting that maintains playable performance at 4K. High settings drop to 32.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30.2 FPS. These latter two are near the edge of playability, with the 30 FPS figures suggesting a cinematic experience rather than a responsive one. Low at 74.3 FPS is the only 4K preset that exceeds 60 FPS, but it sacrifices the atmospheric lighting and texture detail that define The Medium's visual style.

The optimal experience depends on the display resolution. For 1080p users, Medium at 70.1 FPS offers a 35.5% improvement over High while maintaining reasonable visual quality. For 1440p, Medium at 57.9 FPS is the recommended choice, as it stays above the 50 FPS mark and provides a smooth experience. For 4K, Medium at 50 FPS is the practical ceiling; players who insist on High or Ultra must accept frame rates in the low 30s, which the measured data shows are consistent but not ideal for a game that uses fixed camera angles requiring precise timing.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings delivers 70.1 FPS, which is the highest frame rate above 60 FPS at a quality preset above Low. For 1440p, Medium at 57.9 FPS is the best balance, while 4K Medium at 50 FPS is the maximum playable configuration.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. At 4K Ultra, the average is 30.2 FPS, and at High it is 32.5 FPS. Medium at 4K achieves 50 FPS, which is playable, but Low at 74.3 FPS is the only 4K preset that clears 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700X compare to its closest competitors?

A: The 9700X has an average benchmark score of 36029, which is 0.2% above the Intel Core i5-14500HX and 0.6% above the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845. It trails the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H by 0.4% and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H by 0.8%. These differences are negligible for gaming.

Q: What is the performance difference between the RTX 5060 and its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 5060 scores 30109 in average benchmarks, which is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT at 30097 (0% delta). The NVIDIA Tesla M60 is 0.5% slower, and the RTX 5070 Mobile is 0.6% slower. The AMD Radeon RX 570 is 0.2% ahead.

Q: Why does the combo rank only 837th out of 1689?

A: The GPU's 73rd percentile standing among all GPUs is the primary factor. The CPU is in the 89th percentile, but The Medium's frame rates are heavily GPU-limited, as demonstrated by the sharp FPS drops from Low to Ultra settings across all resolutions.

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

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. Evidence includes the 32.7% performance drop from Low to Medium at 4K (74.3 to 50 FPS) versus a 15.4% drop at 1080p (117.6 to 70.1 FPS), indicating that memory bandwidth and rasterization limits are hit at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is directly relevant to The Medium's performance, as the game's high-resolution textures and volumetric effects place significant demands on memory bandwidth. The measured frame rates show that at 1080p Low, the card achieves 117.6 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 30.2 FPS — a 74.3% reduction. This scaling indicates that the 128-bit bus becomes a limiting factor at 4K, where the card cannot feed the render pipeline quickly enough.

The GPU's clock speeds are 2280 MHz base and 2497 MHz boost. These clocks, combined with 3840 shading units and 120 tensor cores, produce 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The memory runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. In The Medium, the boost clock behavior is likely consistent with the measured averages, as the card is not thermally constrained in a dual-slot design with a 145 W TDP.

The RTX 5060's 30 RT cores are relevant for The Medium, which uses ray-traced reflections and shadows in certain scenes. However, the frame rate data suggests that the game's rasterization workload dominates, as the performance gap between Low and Ultra is consistent across resolutions. The 48 ROPs and 120 TMUs provide a texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s. At 4K Ultra, the pixel rate is insufficient to maintain high frame rates, confirming the GPU's role as the limiting component.

The GPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 30109 place it in the mid-range tier. The nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, has a nearly identical score, indicating that users can expect similar performance from either card in this title. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for The Medium at 1080p and 1440p, as evidenced by the playable frame rates at Medium and High settings, but the 4K results suggest that the memory capacity, combined with the 128-bit bus, constrains the card's ability to handle the game's highest quality assets at ultra-high resolutions. The boost clock of 2497 MHz is the maximum the card can sustain, and the data shows no evidence of thermal throttling affecting the measured results.