The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 pairing presents a stark study in bottleneck dynamics within The Medium. This fixed-camera horror title demands more from the GPU at higher settings, and the data shows the GTX 1070 becoming the definitive limiting factor as resolution and quality presets rise. The combination of a top-tier current-generation CPU with a last-generation mid-range GPU creates a system where performance is dictated almost entirely by the graphics card, a fact clearly visible in the measured frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K in The Medium reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 75 FPS. Moving to 1440p at Low settings drops that average to 63 FPS, a 16% reduction in performance. Pushing further to 4K at Low settings yields an average of 50 FPS, which is exactly a 50% decrease from the 1080p Low result. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU that is being worked progressively harder as pixel count increases, while the CPU remains largely unburdened.

The impact of resolution becomes even more pronounced at higher quality presets. With Medium settings, the frame rate drops from 47 FPS at 1080p to 40 FPS at 1440p, and then to 31 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings represents a 34% loss in average FPS. At High settings, the scaling is steeper relative to the baseline: 34 FPS at 1080p, 28 FPS at 1440p, and 22 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 4K. The most demanding preset, Ultra, shows the same trend: 27 FPS at 1080p, 22 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, a 33% loss from the 1080p baseline.

These numbers paint a clear picture. The consistent percentage losses across different settings presets when moving from 1080p to 4K indicate that the GTX 1070 is the primary performance arbiter. A CPU-bound system would show a much smaller performance delta as resolution increases, because the CPU's workload would remain relatively constant. Instead, the data shows a linear, predictable decline in FPS proportional to the increase in pixel count, which is the signature of a graphics card operating at its limits. The 4K Ultra result of 18 FPS is not a CPU limitation; it is the GPU rendering almost four times the pixels of 1080p with the most demanding visual effects active.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, built on the 16 nm Pascal architecture with the GP104 chip, is the decisive component in this configuration. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. While this was substantial for its 2016 release, the data from The Medium suggests it is now a limiting factor at high resolutions and settings. The GPU's boost clock of 1683 MHz and base clock of 1506 MHz are its operating frequencies, but the benchmark results show that raw clock speed cannot compensate for the sheer workload imposed by this game at 4K.

The benchmark data for the GTX 1070 itself places it in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 9780. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD FirePro W5000, NVIDIA Quadro M2000M, NVIDIA Tesla M10, and NVIDIA Tesla C2070, all of which have average scores within 0.7% of the GTX 1070. This places the GPU in the lower-middle tier of performance, a position that is starkly contrasted by the CPU's 92nd percentile ranking.

In The Medium, the GPU's role is to handle the game's visual effects, which are heavily reliant on fixed-camera angles and pre-rendered lighting. The transition from Low to Medium settings at any resolution is substantial. At 1080p, Low yields 75 FPS while Medium drops to 47 FPS, a 37% reduction. At 4K, the same settings change results in a drop from 50 FPS to 31 FPS, a 38% reduction. This significant performance cost suggests that the Medium preset introduces effects that heavily tax the GTX 1070's shading units and memory bandwidth. The 8 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient for the game, but the 256.3 GB/s bandwidth may become a constraint when handling high-resolution textures and post-processing effects simultaneously.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this CPU and GPU combo?*

A: The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where the combination consistently delivers playable frame rates. At 1080p Low, the average is 75 FPS, and at 1080p Medium, it drops to 47 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset achieves an average above 60 FPS (63 FPS), while High and Medium settings fall to 28 FPS and 40 FPS respectively.

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

A: Technically yes, but not comfortably. The best 4K result is 50 FPS on Low settings. Every other preset at 4K falls below 31 FPS, with High at 22 FPS, Medium at 31 FPS, and Ultra at 18 FPS. These results indicate that 4K is only viable with the lowest graphical settings.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D has an average benchmark score of 58386. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, scores 58323, a difference of 0.1%. The Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115, which is 0.5% lower, while the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 scores 58826, which is 0.7% higher. This shows the CPU is very competitive, but the GPU bottleneck prevents this from translating into higher FPS in The Medium.

Q: Is the GTX 1070 a bottleneck for the Ryzen 7 9850X3D in this game?

A: Yes, absolutely. The GTX 1070 sits in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 92nd percentile. The frame rate scaling with resolution confirms this, as performance drops consistently with increasing pixel count, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's power is not being fully utilized.

Q: What is the difference between the Low and Ultra settings in terms of performance?

A: The performance gap is enormous. At 1080p, Low averages 75 FPS while Ultra averages 27 FPS, a 64% reduction. At 1440p, the difference is from 63 FPS to 22 FPS, a 65% reduction. At 4K, Low averages 50 FPS while Ultra averages 18 FPS, a 64% reduction. The Ultra preset imposes a significant, consistent performance penalty.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM capacity affect performance in this game?

A: The GTX 1070 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory. The benchmark data does not show a specific VRAM-related failure, such as a sudden frame rate collapse at higher resolutions, which would indicate memory capacity being exceeded. The consistent scaling suggests that the GPU's processing power, not its 8 GB memory capacity, is the primary limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Medium, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks 2400th out of 2911 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 18% of all configurations tested. This low ranking is not a reflection of the CPU, which is a top-tier processor, but rather a direct consequence of the GPU's limited capabilities in this specific title.

The ranking reveals that the vast majority of other CPU and GPU combinations tested for this game produce higher frame rates. The GTX 1070, being end-of-life and in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, is the anchor dragging this combo down. The CPU's strength is essentially wasted in this pairing, as the GPU cannot process frames fast enough to benefit from the CPU's high single-thread and multi-thread performance. The data suggests that a more balanced pairing, with a mid-range CPU and a more modern mid-range or high-end GPU, would likely rank significantly higher. The 2400th rank is a clear indicator that this combination is not optimized for The Medium.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a powerhouse that is largely underutilized in this pairing. This 8-core, 16-thread processor from the 9000 series features a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It is built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm process at TSMC. Its 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a significant asset for gaming, but in The Medium, the data suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor.

The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 22807, and its single-core score is 2228. In Passmark tests, it scores 41318 in multithread and 4704 in single-thread. The CPU's average benchmark score of 58386 places it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, with its nearest rivals being the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, Intel Xeon w5-2545, Intel Core i9-14900, and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470, all within 0.7% of its score.

Despite this computational might, the measured FPS in The Medium are consistently low at high settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates across different resolutions. However, the data shows a clear decline in FPS as resolution increases, which is the definitive sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU is capable of feeding frames to the GPU much faster than the GTX 1070 can render them. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D's role in this system is to ensure that the GPU is always the limiting factor, which it does successfully. The CPU is not the problem; it is the hardware waiting for the GPU to catch up.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all resolution and settings combinations.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. With Low settings, the average FPS is 75, making it the only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS. High settings drop the average to 34 FPS. The Ultra preset yields an average of 27 FPS. This is the only resolution where the game is consistently playable, though at the cost of visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings still manage an average of 63 FPS, which is playable. Medium settings average 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS. High settings drop to an average of 28 FPS, and Ultra falls to 22 FPS. The step from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 16% performance at Low settings, but the absolute frame rates at Medium and above begin to dip below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmed. Low settings are the only viable option, with an average of 50 FPS. Medium settings average 31 FPS, with a minimum of 26 FPS and a maximum of 36 FPS, which is barely playable. High settings average 22 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS, which are not playable in a practical sense. The data from 4K clearly demonstrates the GTX 1070's limitations, showing that the GPU is the sole factor preventing this high-end CPU from achieving good frame rates in The Medium.