The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 delivers a playable but heavily GPU-bound experience in The Medium, with the data showing that the CPU’s substantial multi-threaded headroom is largely irrelevant to the final frame rates. The GTX 1070 is the definitive bottleneck across all tested resolutions and settings, as evidenced by the dramatic FPS swings tied to graphics presets. The combo ranks in the 2400th position out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the lower percentile of systems for this title, a result driven almost entirely by the aging graphics card.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. It features a substantial 128 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory, making it a top-tier desktop component with a percentile rank of 91 against all CPUs. Its synthetic benchmark scores are formidable, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737 and a single-core score of 6739, alongside a Geekbench multi-core score of 22884. These figures place it in direct competition with Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF and Intel Core i7-14700F, where it trades narrow leads and deficits of less than 2.2% in average benchmark scores.

However, the measured FPS data for The Medium reveals that this CPU power is not the limiting factor. Across all settings at 1080p, the frame rates are dictated by the graphics card, not the processor. For instance, at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 75 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 27 FPS. This massive 48 FPS gap is a clear sign that the GPU is struggling to process the increased graphical load, while the CPU sits idle with ample capacity. The CPU’s 3DMark scores, such as 12490 for 16 threads and 13795 for max threads, are exceptional, but they do not translate into higher frame rates in this scenario because the GTX 1070 cannot feed frames fast enough to utilize the Ryzen 9's capabilities.

The game’s horror genre often relies on fixed camera angles and pre-rendered environments, which can be more CPU-light, but the data here shows that even the most demanding CPU scenarios are not being reached. The 12 cores and 24 threads of the 9900X3D are designed for heavy multi-threaded workloads like video encoding or 3D rendering, not for the single-threaded or lightly-threaded tasks that typically govern game logic. In The Medium, the CPU’s role is to maintain a stable floor, ensuring that there are no hitches or stutters from processing AI or physics, but it cannot raise the FPS ceiling that the GPU determines. Therefore, the benchmark results indicate that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a severely overpowered partner for this GPU in this specific title, with its performance headroom going entirely unused.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the primary driver of the frame rates observed in The Medium, and its age and specifications are the root cause of the combo’s low ranking. This Pascal-architecture GPU features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. Its base clock is 1506 MHz with a boost clock of 1683 MHz, and it offers 1920 shading units. With a percentile rank of just 47 against all GPUs, it sits in the lower half of the performance spectrum, and its synthetic benchmarks, such as a Passmark G3D score of 13498, place it near rivals like the AMD FirePro W5000 and NVIDIA Quadro M2000M, with performance deltas of less than 1%.

The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is a critical factor. At 4K Ultra settings, the game likely exceeds the memory capacity, leading to the abysmal 18 FPS average. Even at 4K High, the average FPS is only 22, indicating that the GPU is both fill-rate limited and possibly memory-limited. The 256-bit memory bus and 256.3 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the high-resolution textures and effects that The Medium throws at it. The data shows a stark contrast: at 1080p Low, the GTX 1070 manages 75 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it collapses to 18 FPS, a 76% reduction in performance. This is not a subtle degradation; it is a hard wall where the GPU’s processing power and memory bandwidth are completely overwhelmed.

The GPU’s compute capabilities, rated at 6.463 TFLOPS FP32, are a generation behind modern cards, and it lacks dedicated ray tracing or tensor cores. While The Medium does not heavily rely on ray tracing, its fixed camera angles and complex lighting effects still demand significant pixel throughput. The GTX 1070’s 64 ROPs and 120 TMUs are simply not enough to maintain smooth framerates at higher settings. The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the unequivocal performance bottleneck, as every increase in graphical fidelity results in a disproportionate drop in FPS, regardless of the powerful CPU sitting beside it. The GPU’s end-of-life production status and 2016 release date are clearly reflected in its inability to handle modern game demands at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data provides a textbook example of a GPU-bound system. Moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings reveals a dramatic collapse in frame rates, directly correlating with the increase in pixel count and memory pressure. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 47 at 1080p to 40 at 1440p, and then plunges to 31 at 4K. The scaling is even more punishing at High settings, where the average FPS goes from 34 at 1080p to 28 at 1440p, and finally to 22 at 4K. This pattern is a clear indicator that the GTX 1070’s rendering pipeline is saturated, and the CPU is not a contributing factor.

The most telling data point is the Low settings comparison. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 75 FPS, which is playable. However, at 4K Low, the average FPS drops to 50, and at 4K Medium, it is 31. This shows that even at the lowest graphical fidelity, the GPU cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K due to the sheer number of pixels it must process. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates across resolutions at the same settings, since the CPU workload does not scale with resolution. Instead, the FPS drops significantly, confirming that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors.

The minimum FPS data, available only for Medium settings, further supports this analysis. At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 40, which drops to 34 at 1440p and 26 at 4K. These minimums indicate that the GPU is not only struggling with average throughput but also experiencing more severe frame time spikes at higher resolutions, likely due to memory swapping or texture streaming bottlenecks. The conclusion is unambiguous: the Ryzen 9 9900X3D has no influence on the resolution scaling behavior, and the GTX 1070 is the sole determinant of performance. For a playable experience, users must stick to 1080p with Low or Medium settings, as 1440p and 4K offer sub-30 FPS averages at anything above Low settings.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this CPU and GPU in The Medium?*

A: The data shows that 1080p Low yields the highest average FPS at 75, and 1080p Medium is also playable with an average of 47 FPS and a minimum of 40 FPS. Higher resolutions at any setting result in averages below 34 FPS, which is not ideal for a smooth experience.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D bottlenecking the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 in this game?

A: No, the benchmark results indicate the opposite. The CPU is vastly more powerful than the GPU, as shown by its 91st percentile ranking and high multi-core scores. The FPS drops are entirely tied to GPU settings and resolution, confirming the GTX 1070 is the bottleneck.

*Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems in The Medium?*

A: This specific combo ranks 2400 out of 2911 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 18% of systems, a low rank that reflects the GPU’s age and inability to handle the game’s demands at higher settings.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 4K, the average FPS drops from 50 on Low settings to 18 on Ultra settings. This 32 FPS difference shows that the GTX 1070 can barely manage a playable frame rate at Low, but is completely overwhelmed at Ultra.

Q: Does the GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM cause issues in this game?

A: The data suggests yes. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is only 18, and the minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 26. These low numbers, combined with the severe performance drop from 1080p to 4K, indicate the 8 GB VRAM and 256-bit memory bus are insufficient for high-resolution textures.

Q: Is the GTX 1070’s performance close to any other GPUs in this combo’s benchmark range?

A: Based on synthetic benchmarks, the GTX 1070’s average score of 9780 is within 0.7% of the AMD FirePro W5000, NVIDIA Quadro M2000M, and NVIDIA Tesla M10. However, these are professional cards not typically used for gaming, and their real-world game performance may vary.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 achieves a rank of 2400 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places the system in the lower 17.5% of all tested configurations, a position that is almost entirely attributable to the graphics card. The CPU’s 91st percentile ranking against all CPUs is meaningless in this context, as the GPU’s 47th percentile ranking drags the entire system down. The data indicates that this is a mismatched pairing for this specific game, where the CPU’s immense power is wasted.

The rank is not a reflection of the CPU’s capabilities, but rather a signal of the GPU’s limitations. The GTX 1070, with its end-of-life status and 2016 release date, is simply not equipped to handle the graphical demands of The Medium at higher settings. The benchmark results show that the combo is only capable of delivering acceptable frame rates at 1080p with Low or Medium settings. Any attempt to push the resolution to 1440p or 4K, or to enable High or Ultra settings, results in average frame rates below 34 FPS, which is a poor experience for a horror game that relies on atmosphere and smooth camera movement.

Comparing this rank to the CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF or Intel Core i7-14700F, would show identical frame rates in this game, as the GPU would still be the bottleneck. The rank is therefore a measure of the GPU’s age, not the CPU’s performance. The 2400th rank out of 2911 combos is a clear verdict: this system is not suited for playing The Medium at high fidelity, and users with this hardware should expect to make significant compromises to achieve playable performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following table presents the exact measured average FPS values for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination in The Medium. The data is provided for each resolution and settings preset, with minimum and maximum FPS listed where available.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: Average FPS of 75. This is the highest performance point for this combo, indicating a playable experience.
• Medium: Average FPS of 47, with a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 54. This is the most balanced setting for a consistent frame rate.
• High: Average FPS of 34. This is a noticeable drop from Medium, showing the GPU’s strain.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 27. This is on the edge of playability and shows a significant performance penalty.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: Average FPS of 63. A solid drop from 1080p Low, but still playable.
• Medium: Average FPS of 40, with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 45. The minimum FPS suggests some stutter may occur.
• High: Average FPS of 28. This is below the 30 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 22. This is not a good experience for a story-driven horror game.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: Average FPS of 50. This is surprisingly high for 4K but still below the 60 FPS target.
• Medium: Average FPS of 31, with a minimum of 26 and a maximum of 36. This is barely playable with frequent dips.
• High: Average FPS of 22. This is a slideshow-like experience, indicating the GPU is overwhelmed.
• Ultra: Average FPS of 18. This is the worst performance point, making the game nearly unplayable.

The data clearly shows a linear degradation from 1080p to 4K, with the GTX 1070’s limitations becoming more pronounced at higher resolutions. The only configurations that offer a consistently smooth experience are 1080p Low and 1080p Medium, as all other settings and resolutions fall below the 30 FPS average mark. This breakdown confirms that the GPU is the definitive bottleneck, and the powerful CPU cannot compensate for its lack of graphics processing power.