The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that stresses both processor and graphics hardware, and the measured results for the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 reveal a system that is heavily dependent on resolution and settings to deliver a playable experience. The data shows a clear performance ceiling at 4K, while lower resolutions unlock higher frame rates, indicating a complex balance between the CPU's substantial multi-threading capabilities and the GPU's rendering workload.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions is steep and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 107 FPS, which drops to 90 FPS at 1440p and further to 71 FPS at 4K. This progression shows a significant performance cost as pixel count increases, suggesting that the GPU is the primary limiter even at lower resolutions, as the CPU has ample headroom.

Moving to Medium settings, the average frame rates are 67 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 44 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is a 34% reduction in performance, which is substantial but not linear, indicating that while the RTX 5070 is working hard, the scaling is not perfectly consistent. At High settings, the averages fall to 48 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K, showing a similar pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases.

The Ultra preset presents the most demanding scenario, with the system managing only 38 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and a mere 25 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution is massive; for instance, at 1080p, the difference is 69 FPS, and at 4K, it is 46 FPS. This suggests that the game's Ultra settings introduce effects that are particularly taxing on the GPU, pushing the RTX 5070 to its limits and making 4K Ultra essentially unplayable.

The data implies that the limiting component shifts depending on the resolution. At 1080p, the CPU's 16 cores and 32 threads provide enough processing power to keep up with the GPU, but the frame rates are still capped by the graphics card's raw throughput. As resolution increases to 1440p and then 4K, the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck, with the CPU's high boost clock of 5.40 GHz unable to compensate for the increased pixel rendering workload. The result is a system that can deliver high frame rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K, even on lower presets.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience balances visual fidelity with playable frame rates. For 4K resolution, the Low preset is the only viable option, yielding an average of 71 FPS, which is acceptable for a horror game where atmosphere matters more than competitive frame rates. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 44 FPS, which is borderline, while High and Ultra at 32 FPS and 25 FPS respectively are too low for a consistent experience.

At 1440p, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, delivering 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS, which should provide a smooth and stable experience. The High preset at 40 FPS is playable but may suffer from occasional stutters, while Low at 90 FPS is unnecessarily high and sacrifices visual quality. Ultra at 32 FPS is not recommended for 1440p, as the frame rate is too low for the resolution.

For 1080p, the High preset offers a solid 48 FPS, but the Medium preset provides a better balance with 67 FPS and a minimum of 57 FPS. The Ultra preset at 38 FPS is playable but not ideal, while Low at 107 FPS is excessive for most users. The data suggests that Medium is the best choice for 1080p as well, as it provides a substantial frame rate boost over High with only a minor visual trade-off.

The measured minimum frame rates for Medium settings show that the system maintains a stable performance envelope: 57 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K. These minima are close to the averages, indicating no severe frame time spikes. Therefore, the recommended preset is Medium across all resolutions, as it offers the best combination of average FPS and stability, with Low being the fallback for 4K if higher visual fidelity is not required.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This mobile chip is designed for high-performance laptops, and its benchmark results indicate it is a top-tier processor, ranking in the 95th percentile against all CPUs. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42,713 and single-core score of 6,030 demonstrate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is less about raw frame rate generation and more about ensuring the game's logic and physics run without bottlenecking the GPU. The game is not heavily CPU-bound, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale dramatically with resolution and settings, which are GPU-centric variables. However, the processor's high thread count is beneficial for a modern title that may use multiple threads for background tasks and streaming.

The nearest rivals to the 8945HX, such as the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, show a deltaPct of 0.1, meaning the AMD chip is essentially tied in average benchmark score. This indicates that for this game, the CPU is unlikely to be the differentiating factor between systems, as both processors provide ample compute power. The 8945HX's 64 MB of L3 cache also helps with data access, but the game's performance is more heavily influenced by the GPU.

The benchmark results show that the CPU's single-thread performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 at 6,030, is sufficient for driving the game's main thread. The multi-thread score of 42,713 ensures that any background tasks or additional game systems run smoothly. However, the data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution, as the frame rates drop consistently with increased GPU load, confirming that the RTX 5070 is the primary constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 8945HX and the RTX 5070 ranks 1,566 out of 2,911 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the upper half of all systems tested. This rank is respectable but not exceptional, reflecting the fact that while the CPU is high-end, the GPU is a mid-range mobile part that is outperformed by many desktop configurations and higher-tier laptop graphics cards.

The combo's rank suggests that it sits in a competitive position, but there are many other pairings that deliver higher frame rates. This is primarily due to the GPU's performance, as the CPU is in the top 5% of all processors. The 1,566th rank out of 2,911 means that about 46% of tested combos perform better, which is a significant portion, indicating that users with this setup should not expect top-tier performance in this specific game.

The ranking also implies that the system is well-balanced in some respects but not optimized for The Medium's specific demands. The game appears to be highly GPU-intensive, as the CPU's high percentile ranking does not translate into a higher combo rank. This is a common situation where a powerful processor is paired with a mid-range GPU, resulting in a system that is capable but not at the top of the charts.

The data shows that the combo's performance is consistent with what one would expect from the individual components. The CPU's 95th percentile ranking does not boost the combo rank significantly, underscoring the GPU's dominance in this game's performance profile. For users seeking higher frame rates, upgrading the GPU would be more effective than upgrading the CPU, based on this ranking and the resolution scaling analysis.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is a 12 GB GDDR7 graphics card with a 192-bit memory bus and a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. It features 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation pipelines, with a boost clock of 2,512 MHz. The GPU is based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and ranks in the 82nd percentile against all GPUs, indicating it is a solid mid-range performer.

In The Medium, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor in determining frame rates. The resolution scaling data shows that performance drops significantly as the pixel count increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The RTX 5070's 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for the game at all tested settings and resolutions, as there are no reported out-of-memory issues, but the raw computing power is the limiting factor.

The GPU's benchmark scores, such as a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 5,077 and a Passmark G3D score of 29,137, place it in a competitive position against rivals like the AMD Radeon Pro 580, which has a deltaPct of 0.1. This means the RTX 5070 is essentially tied with that card in synthetic benchmarks, but in real-world gaming, its performance is more nuanced.

The frame rates at 1080p and 1440p indicate that the GPU can handle the game well at medium settings, but it struggles at 4K, particularly on higher presets. The Ultra preset at 4K yields only 25 FPS, which is below playable thresholds. This suggests that the RTX 5070, while capable, is not designed for 4K high-fidelity gaming in this title, and users should target 1080p or 1440p for the best experience.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s is ample for the game's textures, but the core clock speed of 2,512 MHz is the primary driver of performance. The data shows that the GPU's performance is consistent with its mid-range positioning, and for this game, it is the component that users should focus on when considering upgrades, as the CPU is not a bottleneck.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p offers the highest frame rates, with 67 FPS on Medium settings, while 1440p is also viable at 56 FPS. 4K is only playable on Low settings at 71 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 8945HX has an average benchmark score of 76,212, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, indicating a near-tie in performance.

Q: Is the GPU a bottleneck in this system?

A: Yes, the data shows that frame rates drop significantly with increased resolution and settings, indicating the RTX 5070 is the primary limiting factor, especially at 4K where even Low settings only reach 71 FPS.

Q: What settings should I use for a stable experience?

A: The Medium preset provides the best balance, with minimum frame rates of 57 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K, ensuring smooth gameplay without major dips.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1,566 out of 2,911 tested combinations, placing it in the upper half but not among the top performers, largely due to the GPU's mid-range positioning.

Q: What is the GPU's VRAM capacity and bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5070 has 12 GB of GDDR7 memory with a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for The Medium at all tested settings.