The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title, presents a unique challenge that stresses both the GPU and CPU in distinct ways. This analysis examines the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination, a pairing of a high-core-count desktop processor with a current-generation mid-high-range graphics card. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings provide a clear picture of where this system excels and where it falls short.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER achieves a rank of 546 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the top 15% of all tested systems, a strong showing that reflects the capacity of both the CPU and GPU. This rank is not an absolute measure of speed but a relative one within the database, considering that the data is measured across a wide range of hardware.

The GPU's percentile rank is 83, meaning it is above the performance level of 83% of all GPUs, while the CPU's percentile rank is 91, outperforming 91% of all CPUs. The combo rank is lower than each individual percentile, which is typical; it shows that the game's performance is not solely dependent on the hardware's theoretical maximum but on how the specific components work together. The RTX 4070 SUPER's nearest rivals highlight its position: it is slightly above the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB by 0.1% in average score, and less than 1% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile. This tells us that the desktop 4070 SUPER is a highly competitive chip, sitting in a very tight band of performance.

For the CPU, the Ryzen 9 7900X is nearly matched by the AMD EPYC 7313P, with a delta of just 0.2%. This means in the game's CPU-related tasks, the two are effectively interchangeable. The Intel Core i7-14700F is 0.6% below the Ryzen 9, which is a negligible difference. This data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in most scenarios, as its performance headroom is massive. It is a top-tier processor, and the primary limiter in this game will almost certainly be the GPU.

GPU Role: VRAM, Clocks, and Performance

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the 5nm process, with a die size of 294 mm² and 35,800 million transistors. It has a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The memory subsystem is a crucial factor for this game. The card has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, which provides a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. For a game like The Medium, which features fixed-camera angles and detailed environments, the 12 GB VRAM is a comfortable size. At 4K resolution, high-texture packs and shadow quality can consume a lot of memory, and 12 GB is typically enough to avoid dropping textures to a lower quality setting.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial. It has 7168 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 35.48 TFLOPS. These specs translate into a very capable card for raw rasterization. In The Medium, the data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences. For instance, at 1080p with Low settings, the average frame rate is 167 FPS, which is very high. This indicates that at low settings and lower resolutions, the game is not heavily taxing the GPU, allowing for high frame rates.

The RTX 4070 SUPER's nearest rivals show a very tight cluster of performance, with the Quadro M6000 24GB and the RTX 5050 Mobile both being within 0.2% of the 4070 SUPER's average score. This suggests that the card is in a performance class where minor variations in game optimization can lead to different relative placements. For The Medium, the RTX 4070 SUPER is clearly capable of running the game at high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, and it can even handle 4K at medium settings with a playable average.

FAQ

Q: What is the best setting to use with this combo for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The data shows that at 4K, the Medium setting achieves an average of 69 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS. This is the only 4K setting that consistently stays above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the best for a 60 FPS target at that resolution. At 1440p, the Medium setting averages 88 FPS, and at 1080p it averages 104 FPS. Therefore, the "Medium" preset is the safe choice for a 60 FPS experience across all resolutions.

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average frame rate is 39 FPS. This is below the common 60 FPS target and will result in a noticeably stuttery experience. To get a better experience at 4K, you would need to drop to the High preset, which averages 49 FPS, or the Medium preset, which averages 69 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance drop is there from 1080p to 4K on the High preset?

A: The drop is substantial. At High settings, the average frame rate is 75 FPS at 1080p, 63 FPS at 1440p, and 49 FPS at 4K. From 1080p to 4K, the frame rate drops by 26 FPS, which is a 35% reduction. This indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU is powerful enough to handle the extra load.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 7900X a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 SUPER in this game?

A: The data suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 7900X has a very high multi-core score, with a Cinebench R23 score of 29300, and its nearest rivals are within 0.6% of its performance. In the measured FPS, the frame rates are directly tied to the GPU settings and resolution, which is a sign that the CPU is not holding back the GPU. The 7900X's 12 cores and 24 threads are more than enough to feed the GPU's data.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded in the data, and at what settings?

A: The minimum frame rate recorded is 59 FPS, which occurs at 4K resolution with Medium settings. This minimum is only 1 FPS below the average, indicating that the frame time is stable. The other settings do not list a minimum, but the Medium settings across all resolutions show a minimum that is around 70-80% of the average, which is typical.

Q: What is the performance difference between the RTX 4070 SUPER and its closest rival, the RTX 4090 Mobile?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile has an average score that is 1% higher than the RTX 4070 SUPER. In the game's measured FPS, this means the 4070 SUPER is a very close performer to a top-tier laptop GPU. The 4070 SUPER is 0.2% below the Quadro M6000 24GB, but the differences are minimal, showing that the 4070 SUPER is a high-end performer.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of the system's capabilities across three resolutions and four settings presets. We will examine each.

At 1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 167 FPS. This is the highest frame rate in the entire dataset, showcasing the system's ability to push frames when the load is light.
• Medium: 104 FPS (min 88, max 120). This setting provides a very smooth experience, with a minimum that is well above 60 FPS.
• High: 75 FPS. The step up in quality costs a significant performance hit, but it remains a very good experience for high refresh rate monitors.
• Ultra: 59 FPS. This is just below the 60 FPS threshold, so you might see the occasional hiccup on a 60Hz display.

At 2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 38 FPS. The system can push very high frame rates at 1440p when the settings are low, but the medium preset is more realistic for a balanced experience.
• Medium: 88 FPS (min 75, max 101). This is the sweet spot for 1440p, providing a high average and good minimum.
• High: 63 FPS. This is a solid result, just a few frames below the 60 FPS target, but it is still very playable.
• Ultra: 43 FPS. This setting is not recommended as it falls below the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 110 FPS. The system can hit a high frame rate at 4K only at the lowest settings, which confirms the GPU's power.
• Medium: 69 FPS (min 59, max 79). This is the best 4K setting; it is the only one that stays above 60 FPS on average.
• High: 49 FPS. This is a playable frame rate, but it is not ideal for fast-paced action.
• Ultra: 39 FPS. This is too low for a smooth experience, and the performance is not sufficient for a 60Hz monitor.

The pattern is clear: the RTX 4070 SUPER can handle The Medium at 4K, but only at Medium settings. At 1440p, the system is very capable, and at 1080p, it can easily push high frame rates. The Ultra preset is not playable at any resolution, with the highest being 59 FPS at 1080p.

CPU Role: Cores, Clocks, and Gameplay

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, clocked at a base of 4.70 GHz and a boost of 5.60 GHz. It has 64 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory. Its performance is exceptionally high, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29300 and a single-core score of 2016.5. The Geekbench multi-core score is 19267, and the single-core score is 2617. The 3DMark 16-thread score is 10972, and the max-thread score is 12536.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is to process game logic, physics, and the rendering submissions from the GPU. The data shows that the system is not CPU-bound. The frame rate scales directly with GPU settings and resolution, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see frame rate drops at lower resolutions where the CPU has to work harder to prepare frames for the GPU. Instead, the frame rate increases as the resolution and settings are lowered, which means the CPU is fast enough to keep up with the GPU's demand.

The Ryzen 9 7900X's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its 2016.5 Cinebench R23 single-core score, is important for games that are not well-threaded. The Medium, being a horror game with fixed camera angles, might not be heavily multi-threaded, so the 7900X's high single-core speed is a benefit. The data shows the CPU is not holding back the RTX 4070 SUPER, as the frame rates are consistently high.

Settings Recommendations: Balancing Quality and Frame Rate

The data indicates that the Medium preset is the most balanced choice across all resolutions. At 1080p, it yields 104 FPS (min 88, max 120) which is a very smooth experience for any display. At 1440p, it averages 88 FPS (min 75, max 101), which is excellent for high-refresh-rate gaming. At 4K, the Medium preset averages 69 FPS (min 59, max 79), which is the only setting that stays above the 60 FPS target at that resolution. The High preset is also a strong option, but the Medium is the one that offers a safe 60+ FPS experience across all resolutions.

If you are on a 60Hz screen and want to maximize visual quality, the High preset is a good choice at 1080p (75 FPS) and 1440p (63 FPS), but at 4K it drops to 49 FPS, which might not be ideal. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as it only reaches an average of 59 FPS at 1080p, 50 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K. The Low preset is not recommended, as it sacrifices too much visual quality for a small frame rate boost.

Resolution Scaling: The GPU's Burden

The data on resolution scaling is a clear indicator of the system's strengths and weaknesses. The FPS drops as resolution increases, but the rate of drop is not linear. From 1080p to 1440p, the average frame rate on Medium settings drops from 104 to 88, a 15% decrease. From 1440p to 4K, the average drops from 88 to 69, a 21% decrease. However, the more telling data is the drop from 1080p to 4K: a 34% decrease, from 104 to 69 FPS on Medium. This is a significant drop, and it points to the GPU being the limiting factor.

The GPU must render and process a large number of pixels at 4K, which is four times the pixels of 1080p. The RTX 4070 SUPER, with its 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, is powerful, but it is not a top-tier card. The data shows that at 4K, the performance is the most constrained. The Low setting at 4K achieves 110 FPS, which indicates the GPU is not fully utilized at low settings, but the CPU is not the bottleneck. The drop in FPS is entirely due to the GPU rendering more pixels, as the CPU's workload is similar across resolutions.

This pattern is typical for a system with a very strong CPU. The Ryzen 9 7900X has no issue keeping up with the GPU, and the performance is ultimately determined by the GPU. The recommendation is clear: to get the best experience, either lower the resolution or lower the settings. The Medium preset at 1440p is the best balance of quality and performance, providing 88 FPS average. For 4K, the Medium preset (69 FPS) is the only playable option, and it is a good one.