The Medium

# The Medium: AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a playable but inconsistent experience in The Medium, with average frame rates ranging from 38 FPS at 4K Ultra to 160 FPS at 1080p Low. The combo ranks 483rd out of 2,911 tested combinations, placing it in the top 17% of all tested systems for this title. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the 12-core, 24-thread processor provides ample headroom even at lower settings where frame rates exceed 100 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 72 FPS at 1080p to 60 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 12 FPS, and further to 47 FPS at 4K, representing a cumulative 35% decrease from 1080p to 4K. This scaling behavior indicates that the RTX 5070's rendering workload grows substantially with pixel count, and the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The Medium settings row provides the most complete picture with minimum and maximum frame rate data. At 1080p Medium, the average is 100 FPS with a minimum of 85 FPS and maximum of 115 FPS. Moving to 1440p Medium, the average drops to 84 FPS with a range of 71 to 97 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 and maximum of 76 FPS. The narrowing frame rate range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is working closer to its sustained limit, reducing the variability that comes from CPU-bound scenarios at lower resolutions.

Low settings show the most dramatic resolution scaling: 160 FPS at 1080p, 135 FPS at 1440p, and 106 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 4K, nearly identical to the High settings scaling of 35%. The consistency of this scaling across settings presets suggests that the RTX 5070's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are the limiting factors, rather than any specific graphical feature that might scale differently with resolution.

Ultra settings provide the lowest frame rates and the steepest relative decline: 57 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 38 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 38 FPS is below the generally accepted threshold for smooth gameplay, while the 1080p Ultra result of 57 FPS is marginally playable. The data indicates that Ultra settings impose a heavy load that the RTX 5070 cannot sustain at higher resolutions, with the 4K Ultra average falling 33% below the 1080p Ultra figure.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and RTX 5070 achieves a rank of 483 out of 2,911 tested combinations in The Medium, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all tested systems. This is a strong result, though not a top-tier one, reflecting the balance between a high-end CPU and a mid-to-upper-range GPU in a game that appears to favor GPU performance heavily.

The CPU itself ranks in the 91st percentile among all CPUs based on average benchmark scores, with an average benchmark score of 54,762. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, scores 55,093, a delta of -0.6%, meaning the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is essentially tied with that processor. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K trails by 1.3%, while the Intel Xeon 6505P and Intel Core i7-14700F are 2.0% and 2.1% behind, respectively. These narrow margins indicate that the CPU is not a differentiator in this game, as even a 2% CPU performance difference would be masked by the GPU bottleneck observed in the resolution scaling data.

The GPU's percentile ranking is 82 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40,377. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (40,318, +0.1%), AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (40,063, +0.8%), AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (40,870, -1.2%), and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (39,568, +2.0%). These are workstation and mobile parts with similar average scores, but the RTX 5070's gaming-oriented architecture and 12 GB of GDDR7 memory give it a different performance profile in actual gaming workloads. The combo's 483rd rank out of 2,911 suggests that while the individual components are strong, The Medium's specific demands place this system in the upper-middle tier rather than among the top performers.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor from the 9000 series, based on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename. It operates with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 120 W TDP. The CPU has a 128 MB L3 cache, which is substantial for gaming workloads, and supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus providing 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47,737 and a single-core score of 6,739. The Geekbench multicore score is 22,884, with a single-core score of 3,041. The 3DMark results show scaling from 2,512 with 2 threads to 13,795 with max threads, indicating good thread scaling up to the full 24-thread count. The PassMark multithread score of 56,154 and single-thread score of 4,646 further confirm the CPU's balanced performance.

For The Medium, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU based on the measured FPS data. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 160 FPS, which is likely approaching the CPU's frame delivery limit, but the absence of minimum FPS data for that row makes it impossible to confirm. At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS of 85 with an average of 100 suggests the CPU is maintaining consistent frame delivery. The 12-core configuration with 24 threads exceeds the requirements of a horror title like The Medium, which typically uses fewer than 8 threads effectively, meaning the CPU is unlikely to be a bottleneck in any configuration tested.

The CPU's boost clock of 5.50 GHz provides strong single-thread performance, which is relevant for games that rely on a primary render thread. However, the measured data shows that even at 1080p Low with 160 FPS, the system is still likely GPU-bound, as the RTX 5070's frame rate at that setting exceeds what the GPU can sustain at higher resolutions by a consistent margin. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking and its narrow delta to rivals (all within 2.1%) indicate that processor choice has minimal impact on The Medium's performance with this GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo in The Medium?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 160 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the RTX 5070 sufficient for 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: At 4K Medium, the combo achieves an average of 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS, which is playable. At 4K High, the average drops to 47 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 38 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark performance?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54,762, which is 0.6% below the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (55,093), 1.3% above the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (54,053), 2.0% above the Intel Xeon 6505P (53,701), and 2.1% above the Intel Core i7-14700F (53,620).

Q: What is the frame rate range at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo produces an average of 84 FPS, with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 97 FPS.

Q: Does the combo's ranking in The Medium reflect its overall hardware performance?

A: The combo ranks 483rd out of 2,911 tested combinations in The Medium, while the CPU ranks in the 91st percentile and the GPU in the 82nd percentile among their respective categories, suggesting the game's performance is slightly below the hardware's average capability.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 38 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB205 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units, along with 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz, delivering 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

The memory subsystem consists of 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. This bandwidth is critical for The Medium, which is a horror game with detailed environments and lighting effects that place significant demands on memory throughput. The measured FPS data shows that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is unable to maintain playable frame rates, with the 38 FPS average indicating that both the rendering pipeline and memory bandwidth are saturated.

The GPU's pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s provide theoretical limits that align with the observed performance. At 4K (3840x2160), the pixel count is approximately 8.3 million, and at 47 FPS High settings, the GPU is processing roughly 390 million pixels per second, which is within its theoretical pixel rate but leaves less headroom for other effects. The RTX 5070's TDP of 250 W and dual-slot design with a single 16-pin power connector indicate a power envelope that supports sustained performance, though the suggested PSU of 600 W is a consideration for system builders.

In benchmark terms, the GPU scores 29,137 in PassMark G3D and 5,077 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 172,660 and Vulkan score of 178,923 show strong compute performance. The GPU's 82nd percentile ranking places it above average but not among the top-tier GPUs, which is consistent with its observed performance in The Medium where it achieves playable frame rates at up to 1440p High or 4K Medium, but struggles at Ultra settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rate data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, Medium settings provide a strong balance with an average of 100 FPS and a minimum of 85 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay with good visual quality. The High preset at 1080p delivers 72 FPS average, which is also playable, but the Medium preset's minimum of 85 FPS provides more consistent frame delivery for a horror game where sudden performance drops can be jarring.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings are the recommended choice, with an average of 84 FPS and a minimum of 71 FPS. This provides the best combination of visual fidelity and performance, as the High preset drops to 60 FPS average and the Ultra preset falls to 48 FPS, which may be borderline for some players. The Medium preset at 1440p maintains a minimum above 70 FPS, ensuring no significant stutter during gameplay.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the only viable option for a consistently playable experience, with an average of 66 FPS and a minimum of 56 FPS. The High preset at 47 FPS and Ultra at 38 FPS are below the 60 FPS target and may result in noticeable judder. The Low preset at 4K achieves 106 FPS, but the visual quality reduction may not be worth the performance gain for most players.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience, with minimum frame rates that stay within 15% of the average. Players with high refresh rate monitors at 1080p may prefer Low settings for the 160 FPS average, but for the majority of users, Medium settings at any resolution provide the best measured experience in The Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of the combo's performance in The Medium.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves the highest average frame rate at 160 FPS. The Medium preset averages 100 FPS with a minimum of 85 FPS and maximum of 115 FPS. The High preset averages 72 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 57 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 103 FPS, indicating that settings have a dramatic impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 135 FPS. The Medium preset averages 84 FPS with a range of 71 to 97 FPS. The High preset averages 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 48 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 87 FPS, slightly less than at 1080p, reflecting the GPU's increasing workload.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 106 FPS. The Medium preset averages 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS and maximum of 76 FPS. The High preset averages 47 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 38 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread at 4K is 68 FPS, the smallest of the three resolutions, showing that the GPU becomes the dominant constraint at higher pixel counts.

The complete data set reveals that the combo performs best relative to its own capabilities at lower resolutions and lower settings, with the 1080p Low result of 160 FPS being the only measurement above 150 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 38 FPS is the only measurement below 40 FPS, confirming that the RTX 5070 is not suited for maximum settings at 4K in this game. The Medium preset consistently provides the most stable frame delivery, with minimum-to-average ratios of 0.85 at 1080p, 0.85 at 1440p, and 0.85 at 4K, indicating consistent performance across all resolutions.