The Medium

Resolution Scaling

The measured frames per second for this combination of AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 in The Medium shows a clear progression as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system produces 70.4 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same preset drops performance to 64.1 FPS, a reduction of roughly 9%. The step to 3840x2160 High yields 47 FPS, which represents a further decline of about 27% from the 1440p figure. The total scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings is a 33% performance loss, indicating that the rendering load grows substantially with pixel count.

Examining the Low preset tells a different story about where the bottleneck sits. At 1920x1080 Low, the system reaches 148.1 FPS. At 2560x1440 Low, it holds 136.4 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, it still manages 108.7 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is only about 27%, which is less severe than the High preset's scaling. This pattern suggests that at lower graphical complexity, the CPU has more headroom to feed the GPU, and the frame rate remains relatively high even at 4K. The data indicates that the RTX 5070 is capable of pushing well over 100 FPS at 4K when the scene complexity is reduced.

The Medium preset shows intermediate scaling. At 1080p Medium, the average frame rate is 99.8 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 87.7 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it falls to 64.5 FPS. The difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium is approximately 35%, which closely mirrors the High preset's scaling. Ultra settings produce the lowest absolute numbers: 56.2 FPS at 1080p, 49.3 FPS at 1440p, and 40.5 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K drop at Ultra is 28%.

The limiting component shifts depending on settings. At Low presets across all resolutions, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU's ability to issue draw calls becomes more relevant, yet the 5950X with its 16 cores and 32 threads keeps performance above 108 FPS even at 4K. At Ultra presets, the GPU is clearly the constraint, as even 1080p cannot exceed 56.2 FPS, which is far below what the CPU could theoretically support. The scaling data shows that the RTX 5070 has ample headroom at lower settings, but the game's Ultra preset imposes a heavy rendering cost that dominates performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 5000-series processor built on the Zen 3 architecture with the Vermeer codename. It features 16 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. The processor has a 64 MB L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. Its benchmark scores place it in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49062.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is best understood by looking at the frame rates across resolutions at the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 148.1 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. At 1440p Low, it drops to 136.4 FPS, and at 4K Low, it still produces 108.7 FPS. These numbers suggest that the CPU is not a limiting factor at low graphical loads, as the frame rates remain high even when the GPU has less work to do. The 5950X's single-thread performance, indicated by a 3DMark single-thread score of 944 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5450, is sufficient to drive the game's logic without creating a bottleneck.

Comparing the 5950X to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks shows it is closely matched with the Intel Core i5-14600K, which has an average score of 49166 and a delta of -0.2%, meaning the 5950X is slightly behind by 0.2%. Against the Intel Core i5-14600KF, the delta is -0.6%, and against the AMD EPYC 4345P, the delta is -1.1%. The 5950X is 0.7% ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H. These small deltas indicate that the CPU's computational throughput is competitive with modern mid-range and workstation parts, but the game's frame rates are more dependent on other factors.

The game's performance at Medium and High presets shows less CPU sensitivity. At 1080p Medium, the frame rate is 99.8 FPS, and at 1080p High, it is 70.4 FPS. The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, reflected in a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 38607 and a PassMark multithread score of 45424, do not translate into proportionally higher frame rates in this title, as the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as settings increase. The data indicates that the 5950X provides a solid foundation for this game, but its high core count is not fully utilized by The Medium's workload.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU with 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. It operates with a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz. The card is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. Its FP32 performance is rated at 30.87 TFLOPS, and it features 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores. The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41687.

The GPU's impact on The Medium's performance is most evident when comparing settings at a fixed resolution. At 1080p, the frame rate ranges from 56.2 FPS at Ultra to 148.1 FPS at Low, a 2.6x difference. At 1440p, the range is from 49.3 FPS at Ultra to 136.4 FPS at Low, a 2.8x difference. At 4K, the range is from 40.5 FPS at Ultra to 108.7 FPS at Low, a 2.7x difference. This consistent scaling across resolutions indicates that the GPU's rendering throughput is the primary factor determining performance when settings change.

The RTX 5070's memory subsystem plays a role at higher resolutions. With 12 GB of VRAM and a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, the card has sufficient capacity for The Medium's textures, but the performance drop from Medium to Ultra at 4K (64.5 FPS to 40.5 FPS) suggests that the Ultra preset increases memory pressure or shading complexity beyond what the GPU can handle efficiently. The 192-bit bus width is narrower than some high-end cards, but the GDDR7 memory's effective speed of 28 Gbps compensates with high bandwidth.

Comparisons to rival GPUs show the RTX 5070 is closely grouped with several other cards. It is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, and 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 580X. It is 0.5% behind the NVIDIA Tesla M40. These small deltas in synthetic benchmarks mask the real-world differences in The Medium, where the RTX 5070's modern architecture likely provides better game-specific performance than its overall benchmark score suggests. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting component at Ultra settings, where even 1080p cannot exceed 56.2 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The highest 4K average frame rate is 108.7 FPS, achieved with the Low preset. The Medium preset produces 64.5 FPS, High produces 47 FPS, and Ultra produces 40.5 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X has an average benchmark score of 49062. It is 0.2% behind the Intel Core i5-14600K, which scores 49166, and 0.6% behind the Intel Core i5-14600KF, which scores 49367. It is 0.7% ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM capacity limit performance at 4K?

A: The RTX 5070 has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory. The data shows that at 4K High, the frame rate is 47 FPS, while at 4K Medium, it is 64.5 FPS. The difference suggests that the Ultra preset's demands, which reduce 4K performance to 40.5 FPS, are more taxing on the GPU's rendering pipeline than on VRAM capacity alone.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average frame rate is 70.4 FPS. At 4K High, it is 47 FPS. This represents a 33% reduction in performance when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 rank against the RTX 3090 in overall GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 41687, which is 0.6% higher than the RTX 3090's score of 41441. This places the RTX 5070 slightly ahead in the aggregate benchmark data.

Q: Which resolution provides the best frame rate at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the frame rate is 99.8 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it is 87.7 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 64.5 FPS. The 1080p resolution delivers the highest frame rate at Medium settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 325th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places the system in the top 19% of all combinations, indicating that it performs well relative to the broader database. The rank reflects the measured frame rates across all settings and resolutions, with the system's strengths showing at lower presets where the CPU and GPU work in balance.

The ranking is notable because the CPU is in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs. The gap between these percentiles suggests that the CPU is a stronger component than the GPU in absolute terms, but the game's performance is limited by the GPU at higher settings. The combo's rank of 325 indicates that many other combinations achieve higher frame rates in The Medium, likely due to more powerful GPUs that can handle the Ultra preset more effectively.

The data shows that this combo's best performance is at Low settings, where it achieves 148.1 FPS at 1080p and 108.7 FPS at 4K. These figures are competitive with systems that might rank higher, but the Ultra preset performance, ranging from 56.2 FPS at 1080p to 40.5 FPS at 4K, drags the overall rank down. The system's position in the 325th spot out of 1689 combos suggests it is a mid-to-upper-tier configuration for this title, with the CPU providing ample headroom for future GPU upgrades.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of which preset offers the best experience for this hardware combination. The Low preset delivers the highest frame rates across all resolutions, but it likely sacrifices visual quality that the game's horror atmosphere benefits from. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 148.1 FPS, which is smooth and responsive, but at 4K Low, the frame rate drops to 108.7 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable play.

The Medium preset strikes a balance between visual fidelity and performance. At 1080p Medium, the frame rate is 99.8 FPS, which is excellent for most displays. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 87.7 FPS, still very playable. At 4K Medium, the frame rate is 64.5 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target and provides a good experience on 4K displays. The Medium preset appears to be the optimal choice for this system, as it maintains playable frame rates at all resolutions while providing more visual detail than Low.

The High preset is viable at 1080p and 1440p, with frame rates of 70.4 FPS and 64.1 FPS respectively. However, at 4K High, the frame rate drops to 47 FPS, which may feel less smooth for action sequences. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with frame rates ranging from 56.2 FPS at 1080p to 40.5 FPS at 4K. These numbers are below the 60 FPS target at all resolutions, making Ultra a poor choice for this hardware unless the user prioritizes visual quality over frame rate.

For the best experience, the Medium preset at 1440p is recommended, as it provides 87.7 FPS with a good balance of quality and performance. Alternatively, the Medium preset at 4K yields 64.5 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced horror gameplay. Users with 1080p displays can comfortably use the High preset at 70.4 FPS. The data indicates that the system is well-suited for Medium settings, with Low serving as a high-refresh-rate option and High as a visual-quality option at lower resolutions.