The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers a playable but demanding experience in The Medium, a horror title that heavily taxes both the CPU and GPU. Benchmark data shows that this pairing is most comfortable at 1080p and 1440p resolutions, where it can achieve high frame rates on lower presets, but struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K with maximum settings. The combo ranks in the 54th percentile of all tested configurations, indicating a mid-tier standing for this specific title.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware?*

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 are the most viable options. At 1080p, the system achieves 75 FPS on Medium settings and 103.8 FPS on Low, while at 1440p it delivers 65.2 FPS on Medium and 46.9 FPS on High. The 4K resolution results in sub-60 FPS performance on all but the Low preset.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in The Medium?*

A: Only at the lowest settings. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average FPS is 80. However, moving to Medium drops the average to 52.9 FPS, High settings yield 38.1 FPS, and Ultra settings produce a barely playable 26.4 FPS average.

Q: How does the RTX 3070's 8GB VRAM affect performance in this game?

A: The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with a 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is a limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. While the data does not show a direct VRAM capacity measurement, the significant frame rate drops between Medium and High presets at 4K (from 52.9 to 38.1 FPS) suggest that memory bandwidth and capacity constraints are impacting performance at higher detail levels.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 120.3 FPS, while the Ultra preset only manages 41.4 FPS. This represents a performance scaling of roughly 2.9x in favor of the Low preset.

Q: Is this CPU-GPU combination better suited for high refresh rate or high resolution gaming?

A: The data suggests it is better suited for high refresh rate gaming at 1080p. The system can push past 100 FPS on Low settings at 1080p (120.3 FPS) and 1440p (103.8 FPS), but cannot consistently maintain 60 FPS at 4K on any preset except Low. This makes it a strong 1080p/1440p performer rather than a 4K powerhouse.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 9900X compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X scores an average benchmark of 54450, which places it just 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54681) and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700F (54097) in the provided nearestRivals data.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the Medium preset is the recommended starting point across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, this preset delivers a smooth 75 FPS average, which is well above the standard 60 FPS target. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset still provides a playable 65.2 FPS average, making it the highest settings level that maintains a fluid experience at this resolution.

The High preset is only advisable for users with 60Hz displays who prioritize visual quality over frame rate headroom. At 1080p, High settings yield 56.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable. At 1440p, the High preset drops to 46.9 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter in a horror title where smooth camera movement is crucial for immersion.

For competitive or high-refresh-rate play, the Low preset is the clear choice. It delivers exceptional frame rates of 120.3 FPS at 1080p and 103.8 FPS at 1440p, providing a significant margin over the Medium preset. The Ultra preset is not recommended for this hardware combination, as it produces average frame rates below 42 FPS at all resolutions, which is insufficient for a responsive gaming experience in a title that relies on atmospheric tension.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the primary performance determinant in The Medium, as evidenced by the wide frame rate variations across different settings levels. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its boost clock of 1725 MHz and 5888 shading units contribute to its measured performance, which places it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs.

The RTX 3070's VRAM allocation appears to be a critical factor. The benchmark results show a sharp decline in performance when moving from Medium to High settings, particularly at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 52.9 on Medium to 38.1 on High, a 28% reduction. This pattern suggests that the 8 GB frame buffer is being saturated at higher detail levels, forcing the GPU to manage memory more aggressively.

The GPU's 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 46 RT cores are put to work in The Medium, which uses fixed camera angles and pre-rendered environments. The data indicates that the RTX 3070 is capable of delivering strong performance at lower settings, but its architecture is not optimized for the highest detail levels at 4K resolution, where the Ultra preset yields only 26.4 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the RTX 3070 struggles to maintain playable frame rates on higher presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 80 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K. However, the Medium preset drops to 52.9 FPS, and the High preset falls to 38.1 FPS. The Ultra preset is virtually unplayable at 26.4 FPS average.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance picture improves significantly. The Low preset delivers an excellent 103.8 FPS average, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset provides a solid 65.2 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS target. The High preset yields 46.9 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 39.8 FPS, both of which are below the ideal threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), this combo performs at its best. The Low preset achieves 120.3 FPS, providing a very smooth experience. The Medium preset delivers 75 FPS, which is excellent for most displays. The High preset produces 56.1 FPS, and the Ultra preset manages 41.4 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent performance degradation, with the Ultra preset delivering only about one-third of the frame rate of the Low preset.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested configurations for The Medium, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 780th out of 1689 combos. This places the combination in the middle of the pack, indicating that it is a competent but not exceptional setup for this specific game.

The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations at higher settings, particularly at 4K resolution. While the CPU is a high-end part — its 12 cores and 24 threads, along with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, help it achieve a 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs — the GPU's 72nd percentile ranking holds the combo back.

The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 46438 and a Geekbench single-core score of 3341, show it is more than capable of feeding the GPU. However, the RTX 3070's measured performance in The Medium is the limiting factor. The combo's rank of 780 suggests that many other configurations, likely with more powerful GPUs, achieve higher frame rates in this title. For users targeting 1080p or 1440p gaming, this combination offers a good balance, but it falls short of top-tier performance for 4K gaming with high visual settings.