The Medium

The Medium presents a distinctive technical challenge, blending fixed-camera angles with a dual-reality rendering mechanic that can heavily tax both the GPU and CPU. The data for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination reveals a system that is capable of high refresh rates at lower resolutions but struggles to maintain smooth performance at the highest visual settings in 4K. The measured results indicate a hardware pairing where the GPU's capabilities are the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU's substantial thread count ensures consistent frame delivery across all tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate this combo achieves in The Medium?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 168 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is a significant jump from the 107.8 FPS recorded at 4K with Low settings, showing a clear scaling path for competitive or high-refresh-rate play.

Q: How does the combo perform at the standard 1440p resolution?

A: At 2560x1440, the results are strong but varied. The average frame rate ranges from 139.1 FPS on Low settings down to 51.1 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting provides a balanced 91.1 FPS, which is well-suited for a smooth experience on most displays.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data strongly suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The frame rate drops dramatically as resolution increases (from 168 FPS at 1080p Low to 107.8 FPS at 4K Low), while the Ryzen 9 9900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, provides ample processing power to avoid being a limiting factor in these scenarios.

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

A: At 1920x1080, moving from Low to Ultra settings results in a 107.3 FPS drop, from 168 FPS down to 60.7 FPS. This represents a performance penalty of over 60% for the highest visual fidelity, highlighting the significant cost of the game's advanced rendering features.

Q: How does this specific hardware combination rank against all others tested?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combo holds the 240th position out of 1689 tested combinations for The Medium, placing it in the top 14.2% of all systems benchmarked for this title.

Q: Is the frame rate consistent between the Medium and High presets?

A: No, there is a notable performance gap. At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 91.1 FPS, while High drops to 62.7 FPS. This 28.4 FPS difference indicates that the High preset introduces significant visual effects that have a substantial performance cost.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the central figure in this game's performance story. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, is a key asset for The Medium's high-resolution textures. The data shows that the GPU's memory subsystem is well-utilized, as the frame rate scales predictably with resolution. The core clock speeds, with a base of 1980 MHz and a boost of 2475 MHz, are the primary drivers of the raw rendering power.

The benchmark results illustrate the GPU's workload. At 4K Ultra, the combo delivers only 41.7 FPS, a demanding scenario that pushes the card to its limits. However, at 1080p Low, the same GPU is able to produce 168 FPS, showcasing the headroom available when the rendering load is reduced. The GPU's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 42576, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (-0.2% delta), confirm that it is a high-end part. The performance in this game suggests that the RTX 4070 SUPER is most comfortable at 1440p, where it can maintain high frame rates on Medium settings, but it will require compromises at 4K to achieve playable performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X provides an exceptionally strong foundation for this gaming workload. Its 12 cores and 24 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture, ensure that the game's logic and physics threads are never starved for processing power. With a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, the CPU is more than capable of feeding the GPU with data. The large 64 MB of shared L3 cache is also beneficial for maintaining high minimum frame rates, though specific minimum FPS data is not available.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its top-tier status. A Cinebench R23 multicore score of 46438 and a Geekbench single-core score of 3341 demonstrate its immense processing power. Its 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 54450, which is only 0.4% behind the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, show that it is a performance leader. In The Medium, the CPU's role is to ensure that the GPU is the limiting factor, which the data confirms. The smooth scaling of frame rates with resolution changes would not be as clean if the CPU were struggling to keep up, indicating that the Ryzen 9 9900X is performing its role flawlessly.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for The Medium, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER achieves a rank of 240 out of 1689 total combinations. This places the system in the top 14.2% of all tested rigs, which is a strong showing for a single-GPU setup. The ranking is a composite measure, indicating that while the individual components are powerful, the overall combination is not at the absolute top tier, which would be occupied by multi-GPU or top-end enthusiast configurations.

The data implies that the 240th rank is a result of the GPU's position rather than the CPU's. The RTX 4070 SUPER, while excellent, is not the most powerful GPU available, and its 84th percentile ranking reflects this. When paired with the 94th percentile CPU, the system's overall standing in a game like The Medium confirms the balance of the build. It is a high-performance combination that will deliver a great experience in most scenarios, but it will not outperform systems equipped with higher-tier graphics cards at the most demanding settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear and consistent pattern as resolution increases, providing insight into the system's bottleneck. At Low settings, the performance scales from 168 FPS at 1080p, to 139.1 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 107.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35.8% drop in performance from 1080p to 4K, which is a relatively modest decrease and suggests that the CPU is handling the increased pixel count efficiently.

However, at Ultra settings, the scaling is much more severe. The frame rate drops from 60.7 FPS at 1080p, to 51.1 FPS at 1440p, and down to 41.7 FPS at 4K. This 31.3% drop from 1080p to 4K is accompanied by much lower absolute frame rates. This steep decline at Ultra settings is a clear indicator that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The increased resolution, combined with the demanding Ultra effects, saturates the RTX 4070 SUPER's processing capabilities. The data shows that while the CPU can handle the resolution scaling, the GPU's rendering power is what ultimately determines the playable frame rate at higher settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for this combo provides a detailed view of its performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings yield 168 FPS, Medium settings drop to 103 FPS, High settings achieve 71.8 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 60.7 FPS. This resolution offers the most flexibility, allowing for high refresh rates at lower presets or a solid 60 FPS experience at Ultra.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance adjusts accordingly: Low settings produce 139.1 FPS, Medium settings deliver 91.1 FPS, High settings reach 62.7 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 51.1 FPS. The 1440p Medium setting appears to be a sweet spot, offering a smooth frame rate without sacrificing too much visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits: Low settings still achieve a playable 107.8 FPS, but Medium settings drop to 70.2 FPS, High settings fall to 50.1 FPS, and Ultra settings are the most demanding at 41.7 FPS. The 4K data clearly shows that the Ultra preset is not a viable option for this combination, while Low and Medium settings provide a more enjoyable experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings for this hardware combination depend heavily on the user's display and performance priorities. For users with a 1080p display, the Ultra preset is a viable choice, as the 60.7 FPS average is generally considered the minimum for a smooth experience. However, those with high-refresh-rate monitors may prefer the Medium preset, which delivers 103 FPS and provides a much more responsive feel.

For 1440p users, the Medium preset stands out as the best overall choice. The 91.1 FPS average is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a significant visual improvement over Low settings. The High preset, while offering better visuals, drops to 62.7 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. At 4K, the Low preset is the only configuration that provides a consistently high frame rate at 107.8 FPS. The Medium preset, at 70.2 FPS, is also a good option for those who want improved visuals, but the High and Ultra presets are not recommended due to their sub-60 FPS averages. The data suggests that prioritizing frame rate at this resolution is necessary to maintain smooth gameplay.