The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER produces a highly variable experience in The Medium, one that is dictated almost entirely by the graphics preset selected. The measured data reveals a configuration that can handle the game at high frame rates on lower settings, but which struggles to maintain playable performance when visual fidelity is pushed to its maximum, particularly at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K in The Medium is steep and directly exposes the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At the Medium preset, the average frame rate falls from 63 FPS at 1920x1080 to 53 FPS at 2560x1440, a 10 FPS reduction, and then plummets to 42 FPS at 3840x2160. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a system where the graphics card is saturated; the CPU has ample headroom, but the renderer cannot keep pace with the increasing pixel count.

The trend is even more pronounced at the High preset. The data shows a drop from 45 FPS at 1080p to 38 FPS at 1440p, a modest 7 FPS decline, but then a sharper fall to 30 FPS at 4K. The fact that the 4K High result (30 FPS) is only half the 1080p Low result (101 FPS) underscores how resolution scaling interacts with the settings load. The 5.60 GHz boost clock of the Ryzen 9 9900X is not the limiting factor here; the 8 GB VRAM and the TU104 chip's compute throughput are.

The most telling data point is the Low preset scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 101 FPS. At 1440p Low, it still manages 85 FPS, and at 4K Low, it maintains 67 FPS. The delta between 1080p and 4K at Low is 34 FPS, which is a significant drop, but the absolute numbers remain playable. This indicates that when the visual workload is reduced, the GPU can still deliver, but the headroom is thin. The jump from Low to Ultra at any resolution is a cliff, not a slope, suggesting that the Ultra preset introduces effects that the RTX 2070 SUPER's 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance cannot handle smoothly.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested configurations for The Medium, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 9 9900X and the RTX 2070 SUPER holds a combo rank of 2162 out of 3724 total combos. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems, which is a surprising result given the modern CPU. The ranking suggests that while the processor is a top-tier part, the overall gaming experience is dragged down by the GPU.

Comparing this to the GPU's own standing, the RTX 2070 SUPER sits in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, which is respectable but not high-end. The combo rank implies that a significant majority of systems tested with this game outperform this pairing. The data suggests that the CPU's potential is largely unrealized in this specific game due to the graphics card's limitations. The rank of 2162 indicates that users with this CPU but a more powerful GPU would likely see a much higher ranking, while those with the same GPU but a weaker CPU might see a similar rank, proving the GPU is the constraining factor.

The delta between the combo's rank and the CPU's own performance percentile (92nd) is stark. It shows that the Ryzen 9 9900X is not the reason for the mid-pack placement. The bottleneck is clear: the RTX 2070 SUPER, which ranks in the 65th percentile, is holding the entire system back from achieving a higher position in the game-specific leaderboard.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the deciding component in this configuration. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. In The Medium, a game with fixed camera angles and heavy post-processing, this memory capacity appears to be sufficient at lower settings but becomes a limiting factor as texture quality and effects are increased at 4K, where the 24 FPS Ultra result suggests the renderer is starved for resources.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1605 MHz and a boost of 1770 MHz, are the physical drivers of its performance. The measured results show that these clocks are not enough to maintain 60 FPS at 1440p on High settings, where the average sits at 38 FPS. The gap between the 1080p Medium (63 FPS) and 1440p Medium (53 FPS) is a 16% drop, consistent with a GPU that is hitting its compute limits. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1651 and the Passmark G3D score of 18169 provide synthetic baselines that align with the in-game results, indicating the GPU is performing as expected without any anomalies.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present, but the data does not specify if ray tracing is enabled in the measured rows. Given the low FPS at Ultra, it is plausible that the Ultra preset leverages these features, which would explain the severe performance penalty. The 2560 shading units are simply overwhelmed by the workload at 4K Ultra, resulting in the 24 FPS average. The GPU is the clear bottleneck, and its 65th percentile ranking reflects its mid-range status in 2024, struggling with a demanding title from 2021 at maximum settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete matrix of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the combo ranges from a highly playable 101 FPS on Low to a cinematic 36 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset offers a balanced 63 FPS (min 54, max 72), which is the only 1080p setting that consistently stays above 60 FPS. High settings at 1080p drop to 45 FPS, which is a noticeable step down from the 101 FPS Low result, showing the performance cost of the High preset's enhancements.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance ceiling lowers. The Low preset still provides a smooth 85 FPS, but Medium drops to 53 FPS (min 45, max 61). High settings yield 38 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS. The 1440p Medium result is the best balance of quality and speed at this resolution, but it is still below the 60 FPS threshold that many users target. The data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in settings costs roughly 15-20 FPS at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2070 SUPER is out of its depth. The Low preset is the only playable option at 67 FPS. Medium drops to 42 FPS (min 35, max 48), which is borderline. High settings produce 30 FPS, and Ultra produces an unplayable 24 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings shows a drop from 53 FPS to 42 FPS, a 21% reduction, which is less severe than the drop from 1080p to 1440p, indicating the GPU is already heavily loaded. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming is only feasible with the Low preset for this combo.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 60 FPS on a 4K monitor?*

A: No. The highest recorded average FPS at 3840x2160 is 67 FPS on the Low preset. All other settings at 4K fall below 60 FPS, with Medium at 42 FPS, High at 30 FPS, and Ultra at 24 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves an average of 63 FPS, which is the only setting/resolution combination that exceeds 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 85 FPS, but the Medium preset falls to 53 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its rivals in synthetic tests?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X has an average benchmark score of 57498. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 9015, has a score of 57555, which is 0.1% higher. The Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115, which is 1.1% higher, while the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M scores 58323, which is 1.4% higher.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The RTX 2070 SUPER ranks in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU ranks in the 92nd percentile. The measured FPS drops significantly with resolution and settings, which is typical of a GPU-limited scenario.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 85 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 30 FPS. This is a 55 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset is nearly three times more demanding than Low.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for the Ultra preset?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 24, which suggests the memory capacity or bandwidth is insufficient for the highest texture and effect settings at that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience for this combo is the Medium preset at 1920x1080, which delivers an average of 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS. This is the only configuration that provides a consistent frame rate above the 60 FPS target, making it the best choice for smooth gameplay. The 1080p High preset at 45 FPS is a significant downgrade in smoothness for a modest visual improvement, so it is not recommended.

For users with a 1440p monitor, the Low preset is the only option that provides a high frame rate (85 FPS), but it sacrifices visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 53 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Given the horror genre's reliance on atmosphere, the 1440p Medium preset at 53 FPS (min 45, max 61) is a reasonable compromise, but it will not feel as fluid as the 1080p Medium result.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset at 67 FPS is the only playable option. The Medium preset at 42 FPS is borderline, and the High and Ultra presets are too slow for a good experience. The recommendation is to use the Low preset at 4K if resolution is the priority, or to drop to 1440p Medium for a better visual balance. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as the 24 FPS average at 4K and 30 FPS at 1440p are below playable thresholds. The data suggests that the Medium preset at 1080p is the "sweet spot" for this hardware combination.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, running on the AMD Socket AM5 platform. Its base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz provide substantial single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2253 and Geekbench single-core score of 3010. In The Medium, however, this processing power is largely underutilized.

The game's performance scaling with resolution and settings points to a GPU-bound workload. The CPU's high multi-threaded capabilities, shown by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32172, are not stressed by this title. The measured FPS does not improve at lower resolutions (which would indicate a CPU bottleneck); instead, it scales linearly with the GPU load. The 101 FPS at 1080p Low versus the 24 FPS at 4K Ultra is a clear indication that the graphics card is the limiting factor, not the 12 cores.

The Ryzen 9 9900X's 64 MB of L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s ensure that the CPU can feed data to the GPU without becoming a bottleneck. The processor's 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs further confirms that it is a high-end part. In this specific game, the CPU's role is to provide a stable platform that does not interfere with the GPU's work. The data shows that even with a weaker GPU, the CPU's performance headroom is never fully taxed, meaning users upgrading their GPU in the future would see significant FPS gains without needing to change the processor. The CPU is a future-proofing asset, but it is not the star of the show in The Medium.