The Medium

The Medium presents a fascinating case study in how a horror title's fixed camera angles and pre-rendered-style environments interact with high-end hardware. The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination delivers a wide spread of performance, but the data reveals that the experience is far more dependent on resolution and settings than on raw component horsepower. The measured FPS figures show a system that can dominate at lower presets but struggles to maintain smooth gameplay at the absolute maximum visual fidelity, suggesting a title with heavy GPU overhead at its top end.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, which points squarely at the GPU as the primary bottleneck in this configuration. At the Low preset, the average frame rate falls from 144.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 128.9 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 16 FPS. Moving further to 3840x2160, the average plummets to 99.7 FPS, representing a 45.2 FPS loss from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is not linear; the gap between 1440p and 4K is nearly three times larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p, indicating that the game's rendering demands grow exponentially with pixel count.

At the High preset, the same trend emerges but with more severe consequences. The 67.9 FPS at 1080p drops to 55.2 FPS at 1440p, and then to 42.5 FPS at 4K. The percentage loss from 1080p to 4K is 37.4%, which is slightly less than the 31.2% loss observed at Low settings. This suggests that while the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, the relative impact of resolution diminishes as the preset becomes more demanding, likely because other effects like shadows and reflections already saturate the GPU's resources at lower resolutions. The Ultra preset tells a similar story, with 53.2 FPS at 1080p falling to 45.2 FPS at 1440p and finally 32.9 FPS at 4K, a total drop of 38.2% from the starting point.

The data implies that for competitive or high-refresh-rate play, 1080p is the only viable resolution on this combo, as even the Medium preset at 1440p yields just 78.5 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 32.9 FPS is particularly telling—it is below the 42.5 FPS seen at 4K High, showing that the game's Ultra preset adds a significant cost that the RTX 3080 Ti cannot comfortably absorb at this resolution. The scaling behavior suggests the game engine is heavily pixel-bound, with no evidence of CPU limitation, as the Ryzen 9's 12 cores and 24 threads are never the constraining factor in these measurements.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the dominant force in this pairing, and its specifications explain the observed scaling. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, the card offers 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial but not unlimited. The 4K results, particularly at Ultra with 32.9 FPS, suggest that the memory subsystem is being taxed heavily, as the game's high-resolution textures and effects likely consume a large portion of the available VRAM. The GPU's base clock of 1365 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz are relatively modest for a high-end card, but the 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores provide the computational muscle needed for this horror title's complex lighting.

The benchmark data shows the RTX 3080 Ti performing at 83rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,224. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, scores 41,441, a delta of only -0.5%, meaning the two cards are virtually identical in synthetic tests. This parity is reflected in the game's measured FPS, where the 3080 Ti's performance at 4K High (42.5 FPS) is consistent with a card that sits just below the top tier. The GDDR6X memory at 19 Gbps effective is a key asset, but the data shows that even this fast memory cannot prevent the frame rate from collapsing at 4K Ultra, indicating that the game's rendering pipeline is the true bottleneck rather than the memory bandwidth.

The GPU's role becomes clearer when examining the delta between presets. At 1080p, the jump from Low (144.9 FPS) to Medium (95.3 FPS) is a 34.2% reduction, while the jump from Medium to High (67.9 FPS) is another 28.7% reduction. This progressive decline suggests that each preset tier adds a significant number of GPU-intensive effects, and the RTX 3080 Ti's architecture—built on Samsung's 8 nm process with 28,300 million transistors—has to work progressively harder to maintain frame rates. The card's dual-slot design and 350 W TDP are indicative of its high power draw, but the benchmark results show that power is translated into performance only up to a point; beyond the High preset, the returns diminish sharply.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 offers the most balanced experience, delivering 78.5 FPS with a visual quality that is likely sufficient for a slow-paced horror game. This is the only preset at 1440p that breaks the 60 FPS barrier, making it the recommended choice for players who prioritize smoothness over maximum detail. At 1080p, the High preset at 67.9 FPS is also viable, providing a solid frame rate with better visuals than Medium, but the 1440p Medium result is superior in overall image clarity.

For those with 4K displays, the Low preset at 99.7 FPS is the only option that approaches high refresh rates, but it sacrifices nearly all visual fidelity. The 4K Medium result of 63.8 FPS is playable but falls short of the 60 FPS target by a small margin, and the High preset at 42.5 FPS is borderline for a game that relies on atmosphere and tension. The Ultra preset at 4K is not recommended, as the 32.9 FPS average is below the threshold for smooth motion and would likely result in a stuttering experience. The data suggests that players should either accept the Low preset at 4K or drop to 1440p with Medium settings to achieve the best combination of frame rate and visual quality.

The Ultra preset at any resolution is difficult to justify, as the measured FPS at 1080p (53.2 FPS) is lower than the Medium preset at 1440p (78.5 FPS), yet the visual difference between Ultra and High is often minimal in horror titles. The 1440p High result of 55.2 FPS and the 1080p Ultra result of 53.2 FPS are nearly identical, which suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not worth the performance cost. For the best experience, the Medium preset at 1440p strikes the optimal balance, offering a frame rate that is 23.7% higher than the 4K High result while providing a sharper image than 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable at 4K with this combo?

A: The Low preset at 3840x2160 delivers the highest 4K average at 99.7 FPS, while the Medium preset drops to 63.8 FPS and the High preset falls to 42.5 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 Ti outperform the RTX 3090 in this game?

A: The data shows the RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41,224, which is 0.5% lower than the RTX 3090's 41,441, indicating near-identical performance.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 5900X a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The FPS scaling from 1080p to 1440p is substantial, with the Low preset dropping from 144.9 FPS to 128.9 FPS, suggesting the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

Q: What settings should I use for a consistent 60 FPS experience?

A: At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 78.5 FPS, which is above 60 FPS, while the High preset at 55.2 FPS falls short. At 1080p, both Medium (95.3 FPS) and High (67.9 FPS) exceed 60 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 419th out of 1,689 tested combinations, placing it in the top 25% of all configurations.

Q: Why is the Ultra preset so much slower than High?

A: At 4K, Ultra averages 32.9 FPS versus High's 42.5 FPS, a 22.6% reduction, indicating that the Ultra preset adds disproportionately heavy GPU effects.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multicore result of 33,150 and a single-core score of 4,680. The processor sits at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 39,453. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4245P, which scores 39,383 (a 0.2% delta), and the Intel Core i7-13700, which scores 39,857 (a -1% delta), showing that the 5900X is competitive with modern mid-range and high-end chips.

However, the game's measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is largely irrelevant to the performance outcome in The Medium. The consistent FPS drops across resolutions—from 144.9 FPS at 1080p Low to 99.7 FPS at 4K Low—are typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the processing demand scales with pixel count rather than thread utilization. The 5900X's 64 MB of L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are more than sufficient for this title, and the fact that the 1080p Low result exceeds 144 FPS indicates that the CPU can feed frames at a rate far beyond what the GPU can render at higher settings.

The CPU's role becomes even clearer when comparing the 1080p results across presets. The drop from Low (144.9 FPS) to Ultra (53.2 FPS) is a 63.3% reduction, which cannot be attributed to CPU limitations since the processor is capable of much higher frame rates. The Ryzen 9's 3DMark scores—9,075 for 16 threads and 10,075 for max threads—show strong multi-threaded performance, but the game likely uses only a fraction of these threads, as evidenced by the fact that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. In this context, the 5900X is a capable partner that ensures no CPU-induced stuttering, but it does not actively contribute to higher FPS beyond what the GPU allows.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a wide range of performance across presets. The Low setting achieves an average of 144.9 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset drops to 95.3 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS. The High setting yields 67.9 FPS, which is playable but requires some compromise on smoothness. The Ultra preset bottoms out at 53.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and may cause noticeable judder in a slow-paced horror game.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low averages 128.9 FPS, maintaining a high-refresh experience. Medium delivers 78.5 FPS, which is the best balance of quality and speed at this resolution. High drops to 55.2 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. Ultra falls to 45.2 FPS, making it difficult to recommend for anything other than screenshots.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limits are exposed. Low still manages 99.7 FPS, which is impressive for 4K. Medium drops to 63.8 FPS, just above the 60 FPS line. High falls to 42.5 FPS, which is too low for a consistent experience. Ultra collapses to 32.9 FPS, making it unplayable for most users. The data shows a clear pattern: the RTX 3080 Ti can handle 4K at low-to-medium settings, but anything above that requires a resolution reduction to maintain playability.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination ranks 419th out of 1,689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 24.8% of all configurations. This is a strong result, but it is not exceptional for a high-end pairing. The rank suggests that while the combo is capable of smooth gameplay at most settings, it is far from the top tier, which is likely dominated by newer GPUs with more advanced features.

The GPU's percentile rank of 83rd among all GPUs is lower than its synthetic benchmark score might suggest, indicating that The Medium is particularly demanding on the GPU at high settings. The CPU's 90th percentile rank is higher, but as the FPS data shows, the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game. The combo's rank of 419 implies that there are 418 other configurations that perform better, likely featuring GPUs with higher memory bandwidth or more shading units. The RTX 3080 Ti's 12 GB of VRAM is adequate for this game, but the 4K Ultra result of 32.9 FPS indicates that the card's 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is insufficient for the game's most demanding preset at the highest resolution. The ranking also reflects the age of the hardware; the RTX 3080 Ti was released with a launch MSRP of 1,199 USD, but its successor, the GeForce 40 series, likely offers better performance in this title. Overall, the combo is a solid mid-to-high-tier option, but users seeking maximum settings at 4K would need to look at more recent hardware.