The Medium

The Medium, a horror title built around fixed camera angles and dual-reality rendering, presents a unique stress profile where the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 paired with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X demonstrates a clear performance hierarchy. The data shows this combination is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the CPU's substantial 12-core, 24-thread configuration providing ample headroom even at 1080p. Benchmark results indicate that the RTX 5070 is the primary driver of frame rate variance across the tested settings, while the Ryzen 9 5900X ensures that the system never becomes processor-limited in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable and pronounced scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Medium preset, the average frame rate drops from 100 FPS at 1080p to 84 FPS at 1440p, a 16% reduction, and then further to 66 FPS at 4K, which is a 34% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the rendering load at 4K is significantly taxing the RTX 5070's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and its 192-bit memory bus, which provides 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s is the limiting factor here, as the sheer number of pixels at 3840x2160 overwhelms the rasterization throughput.

The scaling pattern is even more dramatic when examining the Low preset. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 145 FPS, which drops to 135 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 7% decrease) and then to 106 FPS at 4K (a 27% decrease from 1080p). The relatively smaller drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests that the CPU and GPU have more balanced workloads at lower graphical fidelity, but the 4K resolution still creates a bottleneck at the GPU level. For the High preset, the frame rates are 72 FPS at 1080p, 60 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K, showing a 35% total reduction from the lowest to highest resolution tested.

The Ultra preset, which represents the most demanding configuration, shows the most severe scaling: 57 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 38 FPS at 4K. This 33% drop from 1080p to 4K confirms that The Medium's Ultra settings, likely featuring enhanced shadows, reflections, and volumetric effects, place an enormous load on the GPU's 6144 shading units and 48 RT cores. The data suggests that players targeting 4K should expect to use Medium settings to maintain playable frame rates, as the jump from 66 FPS at Medium to 47 FPS at High represents a 29% performance penalty that pushes the experience below the 60 FPS threshold.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 3 Vermeer architecture, provides a formidable foundation for this gaming workload. The CPU's boost clock of 4.80 GHz, combined with a substantial 64 MB of L3 cache, ensures that the rendering threads are fed with data efficiently. The benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16262 and a single-core score of 1527, which places it in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, indicating strong overall processing capability that is more than sufficient for The Medium's requirements.

However, the measured FPS data reveals that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 145 FPS, and the 3DMark single-thread score of 941 suggests that the CPU can handle even the most demanding single-threaded game logic. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9075 and max-thread score of 10075 demonstrate that the 5900X's multi-threading capabilities are robust, but The Medium, being a title from 2021, does not appear to scale perfectly with the available 24 threads. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 3469 and multithread score of 39002 indicate that it ranks near the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H, which has an average score of 41263 (0.3% delta), and the Intel Core i7-14650HX, which scores 41576 (-0.5% delta).

The data shows that the CPU's role becomes more pronounced at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the 145 FPS result is likely approaching the CPU's frame generation limit for this game, as the GPU is not being fully utilized at such low graphical fidelity. The Ryzen 9 5900X's 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR4 support provide sufficient data throughput, but the game's fixed camera angles and pre-rendered environments may limit how much the CPU can contribute to frame rate improvements. In essence, the 5900X provides a stable platform, but the RTX 5070's performance ceiling is what determines the final FPS numbers across all tested configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 achieves a rank of 729 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places the system in the top 19.6% of all configurations tested, which is a strong showing given the demanding nature of the game's dual-reality rendering technique. The combo's percentile ranking is reinforced by the GPU's 82nd percentile standing among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40377, and the CPU's 87th percentile among all CPUs.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% delta, with an average score of 40318) and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% delta, scoring 40063), which indicates that the RTX 5070 is performing as expected for its class. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H (0.3% delta) and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 440 (0.4% delta), show that the 5900X is competitively positioned in the processor market. However, the combo rank of 729 out of 3724 suggests that there are many other pairings that outperform this specific configuration in The Medium.

The rank reflects that while both components are individually strong, the pairing may not be optimal for this particular game. The RTX 5070's 12 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory bus, while capable, may be a limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings where the game demands more memory bandwidth. The data shows that the combo performs best in the 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 resolution ranges, where the GPU's 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance can be fully leveraged, but at 3840x2160, the system falls behind other combos that feature GPUs with wider memory buses. This rank of 729 indicates that users seeking top-tier 4K performance in The Medium may need to consider alternative GPU configurations, but for 1440p and below, this combo is highly competitive.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across all resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 145 FPS on Low settings, 100 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 85 and maximum of 115), 72 FPS on High, and 57 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with the 85 FPS minimum ensuring a smooth experience even during intensive scenes with dual-reality rendering.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across all settings: 135 FPS on Low, 84 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 71 and maximum of 97), 60 FPS on High, and 48 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p Medium preset is particularly notable, as the 84 FPS average with a 71 FPS minimum provides a very playable experience for a horror title that relies on atmosphere and tension rather than fast-paced action. The High preset at 1440p, while hitting exactly 60 FPS on average, may experience occasional dips below that threshold, which could be noticeable in a game that uses fixed camera angles.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained: 106 FPS on Low, 66 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 56 and maximum of 76), 47 FPS on High, and 38 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low preset is the only 4K configuration that maintains a consistently high frame rate, while the Medium preset's 56 FPS minimum indicates that there will be moments where the frame rate dips below 60 FPS. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are not recommended for smooth gameplay, as their average frame rates of 47 and 38 FPS respectively are below the threshold for a comfortable experience.

The data also reveals that the RTX 5070's performance scales linearly with the resolution and settings, with no anomalies or unexpected bottlenecks. The 12 GB of GDDR7 memory appears sufficient for all tested configurations, as there are no signs of texture thrashing or memory-related stuttering in the min FPS data. The GPU's 672.0 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for 1440p and below, but the 4K High and Ultra results suggest that the memory subsystem becomes a limiting factor at the highest resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 on Medium settings provides the best experience, with an average of 84 FPS and a minimum of 71 FPS, offering a high-quality visual experience while maintaining smooth frame rates.

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

A: Yes, but only at Low or Medium settings. The 4K Low preset achieves 106 FPS, while 4K Medium averages 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS, making it marginally playable but with occasional dips below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at different resolutions?

A: The Ryzen 9 5900X is not the limiting factor at any resolution tested. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 145 FPS, and the CPU's 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it has sufficient headroom for the game's requirements.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Medium and High presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 84 FPS, while High averages 60 FPS. This represents a 29% performance reduction for the jump to High settings, which may not be justified given the visual improvements.

Q: Is the 12 GB VRAM sufficient for The Medium?

A: Based on the measured data, 12 GB is sufficient, as there are no indications of memory-related performance issues. The 4K Ultra preset achieves 38 FPS, which is limited by the GPU's processing power rather than memory capacity.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 729 out of 3724 tested combinations, placing it in the top 19.6% of all systems tested for The Medium, indicating strong overall performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings configuration for this combo depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, delivering 100 FPS average with a minimum of 85 FPS. This provides a 40% performance buffer over the High preset's 72 FPS, allowing for consistent frame times during the game's most demanding dual-reality sequences. The Ultra preset at 1080p, while achieving 57 FPS, does not offer a sufficient visual improvement to justify the 43% performance drop from Medium.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset is again the best choice, with an average of 84 FPS and a minimum of 71 FPS. This is the only 1440p configuration that maintains a minimum frame rate above 60 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience. The High preset at 1440p, while averaging exactly 60 FPS, will likely experience drops below that threshold during intense scenes, making it a riskier option. Players who prefer higher visual fidelity could consider the High preset if they are willing to accept occasional frame rate dips, but the Medium preset offers the best balance of quality and performance.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only configuration that provides a consistently high frame rate, averaging 106 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 66 FPS but has a minimum of 56 FPS, which means the experience will not be consistently smooth. For 4K gaming, the Low preset is recommended for a stable experience, while the Medium preset can be used by players who are willing to tolerate occasional dips below 60 FPS in exchange for better visuals. The High and Ultra presets at 4K should be avoided, as their average frame rates of 47 and 38 FPS respectively are below the threshold for comfortable gameplay.

The data clearly indicates that the Medium preset provides the best overall experience across all resolutions, offering a 40% performance improvement over High at 1080p and a 29% improvement at 1440p, while the visual quality difference is likely minimal in a horror game that uses fixed camera angles and atmospheric lighting.