The Medium

The Medium is a horror title that demands a careful balance between visual fidelity and frame rate. For the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, the benchmark data indicates that the Medium preset is the optimal starting point, offering the most consistent experience without sacrificing the game’s atmospheric detail. This pairing is capable of delivering playable performance across all resolutions, but the specific settings required vary significantly based on your target display.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy of performance across the four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 93 FPS, which is a solid baseline for a smooth experience. Dropping to Low yields 150 FPS, a substantial increase that prioritizes competitive or high-refresh-rate play, but this comes at the cost of the visual ambiance that defines the horror genre. The High preset at 67 FPS is also viable, offering a richer visual experience while remaining above the 60 FPS threshold. However, the Ultra preset at 53 FPS begins to show signs of strain, and while playable, it does not provide the headroom preferred for a consistently fluid experience.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset remains the best choice, with an average of 79 FPS and a minimum of 67 FPS. This ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate does not dip below a playable level. The High preset at 56 FPS is acceptable for those who prioritize visuals, but the tighter margin for error makes it less ideal. The Low preset at 126 FPS provides exceptional performance, but for a game like The Medium, the visual downgrade is significant. Ultra at 45 FPS is the least practical option at this resolution, as it falls below the 60 FPS target and can hinder the immersive experience.

The situation at 3840x2160 is more demanding. The Medium preset delivers an average of 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS, making it the only preset that remains consistently playable at 4K. The High preset at 44 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 35 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience. The Low preset at 99 FPS shows that the hardware is capable of high frame rates at 4K, but it requires a significant compromise in graphical quality. Therefore, the data strongly suggests that the Medium preset is the most balanced setting for this hardware combination, providing a playable experience across all resolutions while maintaining the game’s core visual identity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the primary driver of performance in The Medium, as evidenced by the scaling of frame rates with resolution and settings. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This capacity is sufficient for the game’s textures and assets at the tested resolutions, as the data does not indicate any memory-related stuttering or outliers in the minimum FPS figures. The GPU’s boost clock of 2475 MHz and its 5888 shading units are instrumental in processing the game’s rendering workload.

The performance pattern across settings points to a GPU-bound scenario, particularly at higher resolutions and quality presets. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS reaches 150, suggesting that the CPU, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is capable of feeding the GPU efficiently. However, as the resolution increases to 4K, the frame rates drop significantly, indicating that the GPU’s pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor. The RTX 4070’s pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s are the specifications that govern this performance ceiling.

The GPU’s support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 ensures compatibility with the game’s rendering API. The RTX 4070’s 46 RT cores are also relevant for any ray-traced effects, though the measured data does not specify whether these are enabled in the presets. The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the dominant component in this pairing, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions. For users seeking to maximize performance, adjusting the GPU’s clock behavior or memory settings could provide minor gains, but the data suggests that the preset selection has a far more substantial impact.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of all tested system combinations, the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 pairing ranks 614th out of 2911 combos in The Medium. This places the system in the top 21% of all tested configurations, indicating that it is a high-performing setup for this title. The rank reflects the combined capability of the CPU and GPU, and while it is not at the absolute top tier, it is well above the median, ensuring a strong gaming experience.

The CPU itself, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, holds a percentile of 92 against all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 92% of processors in general benchmarks. Its average benchmark score of 58386 is nearly identical to that of the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, which scores 58323, a delta of 0.1%. It also edges out the Intel Core i9-14900, which scores 58115, a delta of 0.5%. This indicates that the CPU is a top-tier performer, providing ample processing power for gaming and other tasks.

The GPU, the RTX 4070, holds a percentile of 81 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648. This is very close to the NVIDIA Tesla P4, which scores 37628, a delta of 0.1%, and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, which scores 37507, a delta of 0.4%. The RTX 4070 also outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile by a margin of 1.3%. This data confirms that the GPU is a solid mid-to-high-range performer, and its combination with the high-end CPU results in a system that ranks favorably for The Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all settings and resolutions. The following breakdown details the exact average frame rates, with minimum and maximum figures where available.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Low: 150 FPS average.
• Medium: 93 FPS average, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 108 FPS.
• High: 67 FPS average.
• Ultra: 53 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales as follows:

• Low: 126 FPS average.
• Medium: 79 FPS average, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS.
• High: 56 FPS average.
• Ultra: 45 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the results are:

• Low: 99 FPS average.
• Medium: 62 FPS average, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS.
• High: 44 FPS average.
• Ultra: 35 FPS average.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality, providing a playable frame rate at all resolutions. The Low preset is available for those seeking maximum performance, while High and Ultra presets are reserved for users with lower resolution displays or a tolerance for lower frame rates. The minimum FPS figures for the Medium preset demonstrate that the hardware maintains a stable experience without significant drops, which is crucial for a horror game where smoothness is essential for immersion.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 demonstrates a clear and predictable decline in performance, highlighting the GPU’s role as the primary limiting factor. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 150 FPS at 1080p to 126 FPS at 1440p, a decrease of 24 FPS, and then to 99 FPS at 4K, a further decrease of 27 FPS. This scaling indicates a 34% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, which is a significant but expected result for a demanding title.

The Medium preset shows a similar trend, with frame rates falling from 93 FPS at 1080p to 79 FPS at 1440p, and then to 62 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33% drop from 1080p to 4K. The High preset follows the same pattern, moving from 67 FPS at 1080p to 56 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 44 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, drops from 53 FPS at 1080p to 45 FPS at 1440p and 35 FPS at 4K.

The proportional decrease in FPS across all settings suggests that the system is consistently GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The CPU’s performance is sufficient to maintain the frame rates at 1080p, but as the pixel count increases, the GPU’s rendering capabilities become the bottleneck. The data indicates that the RTX 4070’s memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s and its pixel rate are the defining specifications for this scaling behavior. For users planning to play at 4K, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it is the only one that consistently delivers a playable frame rate above 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this hardware in The Medium?

A: The Medium preset is the optimal choice. It delivers an average of 93 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K, providing a smooth and consistent experience across all resolutions.

Q: Can the RTX 4070 handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Yes, but only with the Medium preset, which achieves an average of 62 FPS at 3840x2160. The High preset at 44 FPS and Ultra at 35 FPS are not recommended for a consistently smooth experience.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9850X3D compare to its nearest rival in CPU benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 9850X3D scores 58386 on average, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i9-14900.

Q: Is the system more CPU-bound or GPU-bound in this game?

A: The system is primarily GPU-bound, especially at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops significantly from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the RTX 4070 is the limiting component, while the CPU provides sufficient headroom.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 126 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 45 FPS. This represents an 81 FPS difference, with Low offering a significantly higher frame rate at the cost of visual fidelity.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 have sufficient VRAM for The Medium?

A: The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is adequate for the game at the tested settings. The data does not indicate any performance issues or frame rate drops that would suggest memory capacity is a limiting factor.