The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivers a robust, if not flawless, experience in The Medium. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet still capable of high refresh rates at 1080p. This combination ranks 224th out of 1,689 tested combos, placing it comfortably in the top 13% of all configurations for this title, a strong showing for a high-end desktop pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate deltas between 1080p and 4K reveal a textbook GPU-limited scenario. At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 63.5 at 1920x1080 to 40.2 at 3840x2160, a significant 36.7% reduction in performance. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is working at its maximum capacity at 4K, with the CPU having ample headroom to spare.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all presets. At Low settings, the system produces 143.7 FPS at 1080p, 137.7 FPS at 1440p, and 116.6 FPS at 4K. The relatively small gap between 1080p and 1440p here (just 4.2%) suggests that the CPU is beginning to assert some influence on performance at lower graphical loads. However, the 4K figure still shows a 15.3% drop from 1440p, confirming the GPU’s dominance. With High settings, the spread is 78.1 to 66.3 to 55.2 FPS across the three resolutions, showing a steady and predictable performance degradation as pixel count increases.

The most telling data point is the Medium preset, where the gap between 1080p (109.7 FPS) and 1440p (91.5 FPS) is 16.6%, but the gap to 4K (73.3 FPS) is 19.9%. This non-linear scaling underscores that at 4K, the GPU is the definitive limiting component. The 5950X’s 16 cores and 32 threads are not the bottleneck here; the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER’s shading units and memory bandwidth are what determine the final output. For a horror title where atmosphere is paramount, the smoothness at 1440p is much more valuable than the resolution jump to 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy of performance, and the optimal setting depends entirely on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 4K displays, the choice is stark. The Ultra preset yields an average of 40.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many consider ideal for smooth motion. The High preset at 55.2 FPS is closer but still not a locked 60. The Medium preset, however, hits a very playable 73.3 FPS at 4K, making it the pragmatic choice for a 60 Hz display. The visual sacrifice from High to Medium is often less noticeable in a game like The Medium, which relies on fixed camera angles and atmospheric lighting rather than fast-paced action.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 66.3 FPS, which is a good baseline. The Medium preset jumps to 91.5 FPS, offering a significant smoothness advantage. For players with a 144 Hz monitor, the Low preset at 137.7 FPS is the only one that approaches that refresh rate, but the visual downgrade is likely too severe for a game that depends on mood and detail. The sweet spot for 1440p is clearly Medium, balancing a comfortable frame rate cushion above 60 FPS with acceptable visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 50.7 FPS is simply too demanding for the marginal gains it provides.

For 1080p, the picture is much brighter. The Ultra preset runs at 63.5 FPS, which is perfectly playable. The High preset at 78.1 FPS is an excellent balance, ensuring consistent frame times. The Medium preset at 109.7 FPS is the best choice for high refresh rate 1080p panels, as it provides a fluid experience without the harsh visual compromises of the Low preset. The Low preset’s 143.7 FPS is only necessary for the most competitive or high-refresh-rate scenarios, where the game’s horror pacing makes such frame rates less critical.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the undisputed driver of performance in this configuration. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is essential for feeding the GPU’s 8,448 shading units at 4K resolution. The benchmark data shows that the card’s compute capabilities are the primary factor separating the 4K and 1440p results. The drop from 73.3 FPS at 4K Medium to 50.7 FPS at 4K Ultra is a 30.8% penalty, illustrating the heavy cost of the most demanding effects.

The card’s boost clock of 2610 MHz and base clock of 2340 MHz allow it to sustain high throughput. The data indicates that the GPU is under significant load at all times, especially at higher resolutions and settings. Its performance percentile versus all GPUs is 86, and its average benchmark score of 48,704 places it in a competitive tier. The nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA CMP 50HX with a delta of -0.7%, show that this is a consistently performing card near the top of the stack. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in any of the measured rows, suggesting that texture data fits comfortably within the frame buffer even at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 143.7 on Low, 109.7 on Medium, 78.1 on High, and 63.5 on Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 55.8% performance reduction, showing that the CPU can push high frame rates when the GPU load is low.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 137.7 on Low, 91.5 on Medium, 66.3 on High, and 50.7 on Ultra. The Low to Ultra reduction is 63.2%, indicating the GPU is becoming more of a factor. The High to Ultra drop of 23.5% is notable, suggesting that the Ultra preset includes disproportionately expensive effects.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 116.6 on Low, 73.3 on Medium, 55.2 on High, and 40.2 on Ultra. The Low to Ultra reduction is a massive 65.5%. Even the jump from High to Ultra costs 27.2% performance. This resolution is where the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER’s limits are clearly defined. The data shows that 4K Ultra is not a viable target for 60 FPS gameplay, while 4K Medium is the only preset that breaks past that barrier.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 224th out of 1,689 tested configurations, placing it in the 87th percentile of all systems tested. This is a strong result, indicating that the pairing of the Ryzen 9 5950X and RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is well-balanced for this game. The rank suggests that while there are faster combinations, this setup will not be the cause of any significant performance frustration.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 49,062 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, which scores 49,166 with a delta of -0.2%. This parity means the CPU is not the differentiator between this combo and others that rank higher. The GPU’s average score of 48,704 places it close to the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, which has a delta of -0.7%. The ranking is therefore a function of the GPU’s absolute performance in The Medium, not an imbalance in the pairing. In short, the data shows that the 5950X provides enough processing power to let the 4070 Ti SUPER perform exactly as it should.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, with its 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, plays a supporting role in this game’s performance. Its high multi-threaded capability, demonstrated by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 38,607, ensures it is never a bottleneck in the measured resolutions. The CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs is 93, and its average benchmark score of 49,062 is statistically tied with the Intel Core i5-14600K.

The data confirms that the game is not CPU-limited. At 1080p Low, the GPU produces 143.7 FPS, and the CPU is able to feed it without issue. The dual-world rendering mechanic in The Medium can be demanding, but the 5950X has more than enough headroom. The boost clock of 4.90 GHz provides strong single-thread performance for game logic, while the 64 MB of L3 cache helps with data-heavy scenes. In this context, the CPU’s role is to provide a stable platform, which it does admirably. The benchmark results indicate that even with a less powerful CPU, the frame rates at 4K would likely be identical, as the GPU is the sole limiting factor there. The 5950X ensures that the 4070 Ti SUPER is never starved for data, allowing it to operate at its maximum potential.