The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER produces a distinctive performance profile in The Medium, a horror title from 2021 that stresses both CPU and GPU depending on the selected resolution and quality preset. The measured data reveals a system that scales predictably across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, with the CPU’s substantial cache and core count playing a significant role at lower resolutions while the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor at higher settings. This combination ranks 137th out of 2911 tested combos in this specific game, placing it in the top 5% of all configurations evaluated, a strong result that reflects the balance between the 12-core processor and the 16 GB graphics card.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K in The Medium shows a classic GPU-bound curve, but with some interesting nuances at the Low preset. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 190 FPS, which drops to 160 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 126 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 16% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 34% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The fact that the 4K Low result remains above 120 FPS indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER has substantial headroom even at the highest resolution when graphical fidelity is minimized.

The Medium preset tells a different story about scaling efficiency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 119 FPS, falling to 100 FPS at 1440p and 79 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops here are 16% and 21% respectively, showing a more linear progression that suggests the Medium preset balances load between CPU and GPU more evenly. The minimum FPS data available for Medium settings shows 101 FPS at 1080p, 85 FPS at 1440p, and 67 FPS at 4K, with corresponding maximums of 137, 115, and 90 FPS. These ranges indicate consistent frame pacing, with the gap between min and max widening slightly at higher resolutions.

High settings exhibit the steepest scaling curve. Starting at 85 FPS in 1080p, the average drops to 72 FPS at 1440p (a 15% reduction) and then to 56 FPS at 4K (a 22% reduction from 1440p). This pattern suggests that the High preset introduces effects that disproportionately impact the GPU at higher pixel counts. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic falloff: 68 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 16%, while the 1440p to 4K drop is 21%, mirroring the Medium preset’s scaling ratio but at a lower absolute performance level.

The limiting component shifts across these configurations. At 1080p Low, the CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads are likely providing enough throughput to keep the GPU fed, but the 190 FPS ceiling suggests some CPU constraint. By 4K Ultra, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck, as the 45 FPS average represents a 76% reduction from the 1080p Low figure, a magnitude that only a pixel-bound workload could produce. The RTX 4080 SUPER’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth appear sufficient for all tested settings, as no VRAM-related stutters are evident in the min FPS data.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 2560x1440 as the sweet spot. At Medium settings, it delivers 100 FPS average with an 85 FPS minimum, which is 27% faster than the 4K Medium result while still offering higher pixel density than 1080p. The 1440p High preset also holds above 72 FPS, making it viable for smoother gameplay.

Q: How does the Low preset compare to Ultra at 4K?

A: The difference is substantial. Low settings at 3840x2160 produce 126 FPS average, while Ultra delivers only 45 FPS. That is an 81 FPS gap, meaning the Low preset is 2.8 times faster than Ultra at the same resolution, indicating that Ultra’s additional visual effects carry a heavy performance cost.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: At 1080p, the CPU’s role is more prominent, as evidenced by the 190 FPS Low result. However, the GPU becomes the dominant factor at 4K Ultra, where the 45 FPS average shows the RTX 4080 SUPER working at its limit. The 12-core, 24-thread processor with 128 MB of L3 cache provides ample headroom for the game’s threading model.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 101 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 85 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 67 FPS. These figures show that even the lowest recorded frames stay above 60 FPS, which is important for maintaining smooth playback in a horror title with sudden scene changes.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 137th out of 2911 total combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 4.7% of all pairings tested. This high rank reflects the balanced performance of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and RTX 4080 SUPER across the full range of settings and resolutions.

Q: Does the game benefit from the CPU’s 3D V-Cache technology?

A: The 128 MB L3 cache on the Ryzen 9 9900X3D likely helps maintain the high minimum FPS values observed, particularly at 1080p Medium where the 101 FPS floor is close to the 119 FPS average. The cache reduces memory latency, which can benefit games with large asset streams like The Medium.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a rank of 137 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium, which places it in the 95.3rd percentile of all configurations evaluated. This is a strong showing for a pairing that brings together a 12-core Zen 5 processor with an Ada Lovelace GPU, and it suggests that the system is well-matched for this particular horror title.

Looking at the CPU’s broader benchmark performance provides context for this ranking. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D scores 54762 on average across all benchmark tests, with a percentile ranking of 91 against all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, scores 55093, which is 0.6% higher. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K trails by 1.3%, and the Intel Xeon 6505P is 2% behind. This places the AMD processor in a tight competitive cluster where small differences in synthetic scores translate to negligible real-world impact in most games.

For the GPU, the RTX 4080 SUPER averages 54209 across benchmark tests, ranking in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest competitor is the standard RTX 4080, which scores 54247, a mere 0.1% difference. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% faster in synthetic tests, while the Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and Radeon 8060S are 2.7% and 2.8% faster respectively. These rival deltas are small, but the game-specific ranking of 137 out of 2911 suggests that the combination performs better in The Medium than the synthetic averages might imply.

The rank relative to other combos indicates that this pairing excels in scenarios where both CPU and GPU resources are heavily utilized. The 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS, while low in absolute terms, is consistent with a system that prioritizes frame consistency over raw speed. The 1080p Low result of 190 FPS shows that the combo can reach high refresh rates when needed, making it versatile across different display configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear hierarchy across settings. Low settings produce an average of 190 FPS, which is the highest figure in the entire dataset. Medium settings drop to 119 FPS average, with a minimum of 101 FPS and a maximum of 137 FPS. High settings yield 85 FPS average, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 68 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 122 FPS, which represents a 64% reduction in performance when moving from the least to the most demanding preset.

The 2560x1440 results follow a similar pattern but with lower absolute values. Low settings average 160 FPS, a 16% reduction from the 1080p Low figure. Medium settings average 100 FPS with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. High settings drop to 72 FPS, and Ultra settings average 57 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 103 FPS, a 64% reduction that mirrors the 1080p scaling.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve steepens. Low settings still manage 126 FPS, which is a 21% drop from the 1440p Low result. Medium settings average 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 90 FPS. High settings fall to 56 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 45 FPS. The Low to Ultra gap at 4K is 81 FPS, a 64% reduction consistent with the other resolutions, showing that the relative performance penalty for Ultra settings is uniform across pixel counts.

The Medium preset provides the most complete data, with min and max values at all three resolutions. At 1080p, the 101-137 FPS range shows a 36 FPS spread. At 1440p, the 85-115 FPS range narrows to 30 FPS. At 4K, the 67-90 FPS range tightens further to 23 FPS. This trend indicates that frame time variance decreases as resolution increases, which is atypical and suggests that the CPU is introducing more variability at lower resolutions where it is less constrained.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D brings 12 cores and 24 threads to the test bench, built on the Zen 5 architecture with a 4 nm process. Its base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz provide the raw computational throughput needed for The Medium’s scene complexity. The 128 MB L3 cache is a defining feature of this processor, and it likely contributes to the high minimum FPS values observed at 1080p Medium, where the 101 FPS floor suggests consistent data access patterns.

The CPU’s synthetic benchmark results reinforce its capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 47737 in multicore and 6739 in singlecore. The Geekbench scores are 22884 multicore and 3041 singlecore. These figures place the processor in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54762. The 3DMark tests show scaling from 1269 single-thread to 13795 max-threads, indicating strong multi-threaded performance that matches the 24-thread configuration.

In The Medium, the CPU’s influence is most apparent at 1080p Low, where the 190 FPS result cannot be achieved without sufficient per-core performance and cache bandwidth. The 5.50 GHz boost clock helps maintain high single-thread performance, which is critical for games that rely on a primary render thread. The 12 cores ensure that background tasks and physics calculations do not starve the main game loop, a factor that becomes more important as resolution decreases and the GPU becomes less of a bottleneck.

The processor’s 120 W TDP and DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth provide a solid foundation for the GPU’s data requests. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 lanes offers ample bandwidth for the RTX 4080 SUPER, though the GPU itself runs on PCIe 4.0 x16, which does not limit performance in this title based on the measured results. The CPU’s Radeon Graphics integrated solution is not utilized in this discrete GPU configuration.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that Medium settings offer the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. At 1080p, Medium delivers 119 FPS average with a 101 FPS minimum, which is smooth enough for high-refresh-rate displays while maintaining more visual fidelity than Low. The 1440p Medium result of 100 FPS average with an 85 FPS minimum is particularly compelling, as it provides a 25% performance buffer above 60 FPS while using a resolution that leverages the GPU’s 16 GB memory capacity effectively.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset is the clear choice. It achieves 190 FPS at 1080p and 160 FPS at 1440p, both of which are well above the thresholds for competitive or fast-paced gameplay. Even at 4K, Low settings maintain 126 FPS, which is suitable for high-refresh-rate 4K monitors. The performance headroom offered by Low suggests that the game’s effects at this preset are minimal, but the horror genre benefits from smooth motion to maintain atmosphere.

The High preset is viable at 1440p, where it averages 72 FPS, but the 4K High result of 56 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for comfortable play. The Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p, where it achieves 68 FPS, but even this is marginal. At 1440p Ultra, the 57 FPS average and at 4K Ultra, the 45 FPS average, indicate that Ultra settings are not practical for this combo unless the user is willing to accept lower frame rates for maximum visual quality.

The Medium preset’s min FPS data is reassuring. The 85 FPS minimum at 1440p and 67 FPS minimum at 4K show that the combination can avoid major frame dips, which is critical in a horror game where sudden visual changes can cause stutter. The maximum FPS values of 137 at 1080p, 115 at 1440p, and 90 at 4K indicate that there is occasional headroom beyond the average, allowing for brief bursts of higher performance during less demanding scenes.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary driver of The Medium’s visual output, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus with 736.3 GB/s bandwidth. Its Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process, includes 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores, which handle the game’s lighting and reflection effects. The GPU’s boost clock of 2550 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz provide the computational foundation for the measured FPS results.

The GPU’s benchmark scores show strong performance across different APIs. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 6600. Geekbench scores are 219065 in OpenCL and 260075 in Vulkan. Passmark G3D scores 34245, and GPU compute scores 19822. These figures place the GPU in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54209. The nearest rival, the RTX 4080, scores 54247, a 0.1% difference, confirming that the SUPER variant offers minimal performance uplift in synthetic tests.

In The Medium, the GPU’s 16 GB VRAM appears sufficient for all tested settings. The 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS suggests that the GPU is compute-bound rather than memory-bound, as the 736.3 GB/s bandwidth and 16 GB capacity should handle the game’s texture demands without paging. The pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s indicate that the GPU can process the necessary fill rates at 4K, but the 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the limiting factor at Ultra settings.

The GPU’s end-of-life production status and release in January 2024 do not affect its performance in this 2021 game, but they contextualize its position in the market. The RTX 4080 SUPER’s 320 W TDP and suggested 700 W PSU requirement are not reflected in the FPS data, which shows consistent performance across all resolutions. The triple-slot cooler and 310 mm length are physical characteristics that do not influence the measured results but are relevant for system builders.