The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that stresses both CPU and GPU, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 produces a unique performance profile. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but one that also reveals the CPU’s headroom at lower settings. This combination ranks in the 1570th position out of 3724 tested combos, placing it in the upper half of the database, yet the experience varies dramatically depending on your target resolution and quality preset.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 123 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 104 FPS, a reduction of roughly 15.4%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 81 FPS, which is a 34.1% drop from the 1080p Low result. This scaling indicates that while the Ryzen 9 7900X has ample processing power, the RTX 3070 becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

The trend becomes more pronounced at higher settings. At Medium settings, the 1080p average is 77 FPS, while 1440p Medium drops to 65 FPS (a 15.6% decrease), and 4K Medium falls to 51 FPS (a 33.8% reduction from 1080p). This consistent pattern—roughly a 15% penalty from 1080p to 1440p and another 20% from 1440p to 4K—suggests that the RTX 3070’s 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for these loads, but the GPU’s compute throughput is the primary constraint.

The most telling data point comes from the High settings row. At 1080p High, the average is 55 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 46 FPS, and at 4K High, it plummets to 36 FPS. The gap between 1440p and 4K here is a 21.7% reduction, which is steeper than the Low settings scaling. This suggests that the increased texture and shading complexity at High settings amplifies the VRAM pressure and fill-rate demands, making the RTX 3070 work harder relative to the CPU’s capability.

Ultra settings show the most severe resolution scaling, with 1080p Ultra averaging 44 FPS, 1440p Ultra at 37 FPS, and 4K Ultra at just 29 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is 34.1%, identical to the Low settings percentage, but the absolute FPS numbers are far lower, indicating that the GPU is saturated at every resolution when all bells and whistles are enabled. The data clearly shows that this combination is not CPU-limited at any point; the Ryzen 9 7900X’s 12 cores and 24 threads are more than adequate, and the RTX 3070 is the component that determines playability.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1570 out of 3724 tested combinations places it in the 57.8th percentile, meaning it outperforms a majority of systems tested in this game. This is a respectable position, but it is not exceptional for a high-end CPU paired with a mid-range GPU from the previous generation. The ranking reflects the RTX 3070’s overall capabilities, which are further contextualized by its percentile vs all GPUs at 61 and its average benchmark score of 17208.

Looking at the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RTX 3070 sits very close to the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, which has an average score of 17083 and a deltaPct of 0.7%—meaning the RTX 3070 is effectively on par with that card. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037, deltaPct 1%) and AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019, deltaPct 1.1%) are also within striking distance, though those are older architectures. The NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17468, deltaPct -1.5%) is slightly faster in raw compute, but that is a workstation card with different driver optimizations.

On the CPU side, the Ryzen 9 7900X has a percentile vs all CPUs of 91, with an average benchmark score of 53288. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7313P (53206, deltaPct 0.2%) and the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53469, deltaPct -0.3%), which are server-class parts. More relevantly, the Intel Core i7-14700F (53620, deltaPct -0.6%) is nearly identical in performance, meaning the Ryzen 9 7900X offers nothing extra in this game compared to a mainstream Intel chip. The data indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck; the combo’s ranking is almost entirely determined by the RTX 3070’s performance tier.

GPU Role

The RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip, fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It contains 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, with a transistor density of 44.4M per mm². The GPU operates with a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1725 MHz, which are modest figures for a card of this class. These clocks, combined with 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units, give the card a pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s.

The memory subsystem is a critical factor in The Medium’s performance. The RTX 3070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) and a total bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 8 GB capacity becomes a concern at 4K with High or Ultra settings, where the game’s textures and effects can push against the VRAM limit. The measured FPS data supports this: at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 29 FPS, which is below the minimum playable threshold for most users, and the frame pacing likely suffers due to memory pressure.

The RTX 3070 also includes 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, which are relevant for The Medium’s use of ray-traced reflections and shadows. However, the benchmark data does not separate RT on/off scenarios, so the impact of those cores is baked into the overall FPS numbers. The card’s FP32 performance of 20.31 TFLOPS is identical to its FP16 rating (20.31 TFLOPS with 1:1 ratio), indicating that the GPU does not have dedicated half-precision acceleration, which is common for Ampere consumer cards. In practical terms, this means the GPU is doing all its heavy lifting in FP32, and the measured FPS reflects that workload.

The GPU’s power characteristics—a 220 W TDP with a 550 W suggested PSU—are typical for this class, but they do not directly influence the FPS numbers in the data. What matters is that the RTX 3070 is the limiting component across all measured resolutions and settings, as shown by the consistent FPS scaling patterns.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the RTX 3070 delivers playable frame rates across most settings. Low settings yield an average of 123 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium settings average 77 FPS, with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS, indicating that the frame time variance is acceptable. High settings drop to 55 FPS average, which is still playable but shows a significant jump from Medium. Ultra settings average 44 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay, especially in a horror title where sudden frame drops can break immersion.

At 1440p, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings average 104 FPS, which is still smooth, but the margin over 60 FPS is thinner. Medium settings average 65 FPS, with a minimum of 55 FPS and a maximum of 74 FPS, meaning that frame drops below 60 FPS are possible during intense scenes. High settings average 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and may result in noticeable stutter. Ultra settings average 37 FPS, making them unsuitable for a consistent experience.

At 4K, the RTX 3070 struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 81 FPS, which is surprisingly high, but this suggests that the game is not fully utilizing the GPU at these settings, leaving some performance on the table. Medium settings average 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 58 FPS, which is a marginal experience. High settings average 36 FPS, and Ultra settings average 29 FPS, both of which are below the standard 30 FPS floor for playability and will result in a stuttery, unpleasant experience.

The Medium settings rows are the only ones with min and max FPS data, and they reveal that the game has a tendency to drop below the average. At 1080p Medium, the min FPS of 65 is 15.6% below the average, while at 4K Medium, the min FPS of 43 is 15.7% below the average. This consistency suggests that the game has predictable performance spikes, likely related to loading new areas or triggering scripted events.

FAQ

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 7900X bottlenecking the RTX 3070 in The Medium?

A: No. The data shows that FPS scales consistently with resolution and settings, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU’s percentile vs all CPUs is 91, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700F, has a deltaPct of -0.6%, meaning the CPU is not a limiting factor.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average is 104 FPS. At Medium settings, the average is 65 FPS, but the minimum FPS of 55 indicates that you will experience drops below 60 FPS. High and Ultra settings fall below 60 FPS averages.

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

A: 1080p is the sweet spot. At Medium settings, the average is 77 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS, which provides a smooth experience. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 65 FPS, but the min FPS of 55 makes it less stable.

Q: Does the RTX 3070’s 8 GB VRAM cause issues at 4K?

A: The data suggests it does. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 29, and at 4K High it is 36. These are below playable thresholds, and the steep drop from 1440p to 4K (21.7% at High settings) indicates that the VRAM capacity and/or bandwidth are being strained.

Q: How does this combo compare to others in the database?

A: It ranks 1570 out of 3724 combos, placing it in the 57.8th percentile. The GPU’s nearest rival, the RX 7600 XT, has a deltaPct of 0.7%, meaning they are nearly identical in performance.

Q: Is Ultra settings playable at 1080p?

A: The average FPS is 44, which is below the 60 FPS standard. It is technically playable but may suffer from stutter, especially since the data does not include min FPS for Ultra settings to confirm frame consistency.

Settings Recommendations

For a 1080p monitor, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The average of 77 FPS with a minimum of 65 FPS ensures that the game remains smooth even during demanding scenes. High settings at 1080p drop to 55 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for frame drops. Ultra settings at 1080p are not recommended, as the 44 FPS average will likely result in a subpar experience in a horror game where timing and atmosphere are critical.

For 1440p users, the Low preset is the only option that guarantees a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 104 FPS. Medium settings at 1440p are playable, but the minimum FPS of 55 means you will notice occasional stutters. Given that the game is a horror title, where frame pacing is paramount for immersion, the Low preset at 1440p is the safer choice. High and Ultra at 1440p are not viable, as they average 46 and 37 FPS respectively.

At 4K, the RTX 3070 is simply not equipped for this game at any quality preset that maintains visual fidelity. The Low preset averages 81 FPS, which is technically playable, but the visual compromise is severe. Medium at 4K averages 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 FPS, which is below the playability threshold. The data suggests that 4K is not a realistic target for this combo in The Medium, and users should either lower their resolution or accept the Low preset’s visual downgrade.

The overall recommendation is to prioritize frame rate stability over absolute visual quality. The Medium’s horror atmosphere relies on smooth, consistent motion, and the measured FPS data shows that the Medium preset at 1080p or the Low preset at 1440p are the only configurations that provide the necessary stability. The RTX 3070 is a capable card, but its 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the game’s higher-fidelity modes at higher resolutions, making the lower presets the pragmatic choice for a playable experience.