The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 produces a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average frame rate ranges from 124.5 FPS on Low settings down to 46.3 FPS on Ultra, showing that even at 1080p, the Ultra preset is a heavy burden. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages shift to 103.6 FPS on Low and 36.9 FPS on Ultra, a noticeable drop. At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes steep: the Low preset maintains 82.5 FPS, but Medium falls to 51.7 FPS, High drops to 34.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 29 FPS.

The pattern across resolutions indicates that this combo is heavily GPU-limited in The Medium. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 78.2 FPS, while at 4K that gap narrows to 53.5 FPS, yet the absolute ceiling at 4K is far lower. The data shows that the RTX 3070 is the primary constraint; the CPU’s substantial 16-core, 32-thread configuration and 128 MB of L3 cache do not translate into higher frame rates when the GPU is saturated. At 1080p Low, the 124.5 FPS result suggests the CPU can feed frames quickly, but at 4K Ultra, the 29 FPS average reveals that the GPU cannot keep pace with the game’s visual load, regardless of the processor’s headroom. The scaling from 1440p to 4K on High settings, dropping from 47.2 FPS to 34.4 FPS, reinforces that resolution is the dominant factor affecting performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent downward trend as resolution increases, but the rate of decline is not uniform across settings. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the High preset falls from 57.1 FPS to 47.2 FPS, a reduction of 9.9 FPS. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, the same preset drops further to 34.4 FPS, a steeper decline of 12.8 FPS. This acceleration in frame rate loss at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU’s pixel throughput—rated at 165.6 GPixel/s—becomes the limiting factor as the pixel count rises.

For the Low preset, the drop is more pronounced in absolute terms: 124.5 FPS at 1080p falls to 103.6 FPS at 1440p, then to 82.5 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar pattern, with 74.6 FPS at 1080p, 62.7 FPS at 1440p, and 51.7 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, however, exhibits the most severe scaling issues: 46.3 FPS at 1080p, 36.9 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K on Ultra is 17.3 FPS, which is smaller than the Low preset’s 42 FPS drop, but the Ultra results are already below playable thresholds at 1080p.

Benchmark results indicate that the limiting component is the GPU’s compute and memory bandwidth. The RTX 3070’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for lower settings, but the High and Ultra presets at 4K push the card to its limits, resulting in average FPS in the 29-34 range. The CPU’s single-thread score of 8430 in Cinebench R23 suggests it is not a bottleneck at any resolution, as even the 4K Low result of 82.5 FPS implies the processor can deliver frames well above the GPU’s capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 772 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places the combo in the middle of the database’s performance distribution, which is notable given the CPU’s high standing. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D sits in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 71660. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 with an average score of 71056 and a delta of 0.9%, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X at 70420 with a 1.8% delta, and the Intel Core i7-14700KF at 70104 with a 2.2% delta. This indicates the CPU is competitive with top-tier processors in synthetic tests.

However, the GPU holds the combo back. The RTX 3070’s average benchmark score is 28238, placing it in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro S7150 at 28409 with a -0.6% delta, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT at 27985 with a 0.9% delta, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti at 27956 with a 1% delta. The GPU’s performance is therefore mid-pack, which aligns with the combo’s overall rank of 772. The data suggests that pairing a high-end CPU with a mid-range GPU does not boost the combo’s standing in this game, as the GPU’s limitations dominate the final frame rates.

The rank of 772 out of 1689 means that roughly 54% of tested combos perform better in The Medium. This is a direct consequence of the GPU’s 8 GB memory capacity and its 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 compute, which are adequate for 1080p but insufficient for high-fidelity 4K gaming. The CPU’s contribution is minimal in this context, as the game’s performance is not CPU-bound in the measured scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the defining component in this combo’s gaming performance. Its specifications include 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs, with a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1725 MHz. The memory operates at 1750 MHz with a 14 Gbps effective rate, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 256-bit bus. These figures translate to a pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s.

In The Medium, the GPU’s 8 GB frame buffer is a critical factor. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 29, which is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for playable frame rates. The High preset at 4K yields 34.4 FPS, still marginal. The data shows that the GPU’s memory capacity is a constraint at higher resolutions, as the game’s textures and effects likely exceed 8 GB. In contrast, the Low preset at 4K achieves 82.5 FPS, indicating that reducing texture quality and effects alleviates the memory pressure and allows the GPU to perform more efficiently.

The GPU’s FP32 performance of 20.31 TFLOPS is moderate for its generation, and the 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores provide ray tracing and DLSS capabilities, though the measured FPS data does not include ray tracing results. The card’s end-of-life production status and its predecessor/successor relationship with the GeForce 20 and 40 series, respectively, place it as a last-generation mid-range option. The benchmark results show that its DirectX 12 score of 85 and Vulkan score of 120664 are functional, but not exceptional, for modern titles.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset provides an average of 74.6 FPS, which is smooth for a horror game where atmospheric pacing is important. The High preset at 57.1 FPS is also viable, offering better visual fidelity while staying above 55 FPS. The Ultra preset at 46.3 FPS is playable but may feel less fluid during fast camera transitions.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 62.7 FPS, which is the best balance of quality and performance. The High preset at 47.2 FPS is acceptable but approaches the lower bound of smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 103.6 FPS is overkill for this title and sacrifices visual quality unnecessarily. The Ultra preset at 36.9 FPS is not recommended, as it dips below the 40 FPS threshold that typically indicates a compromised experience.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only setting that provides a consistently playable frame rate, with an average of 82.5 FPS. The Medium preset at 51.7 FPS is borderline, and the High preset at 34.4 FPS is too low for comfortable play. The Ultra preset at 29 FPS is not viable. Therefore, for 4K gaming, users should stick to Low or Medium settings, accepting reduced visual quality to maintain frame rates above 50 FPS. The data clearly shows that the RTX 3070 is not suited for High or Ultra settings at 4K in The Medium.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 57.1 FPS. This is a playable frame rate, but it is noticeably lower than the Medium preset’s 74.6 FPS.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves an average of 82.5 FPS, while the Medium preset drops to 51.7 FPS. High and Ultra settings yield 34.4 FPS and 29 FPS, respectively, which are not recommended.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D has an average benchmark score of 71660, which is 0.9% higher than the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 and 1.8% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X. It trails the Intel Xeon 6517P by 1.9% but leads the Intel Core i7-14700KF by 2.2%.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration and how does it affect performance?

A: The RTX 3070 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. In The Medium, this capacity becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS is 29, indicating the frame buffer is saturated.

Q: Which resolution offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo delivers 62.7 FPS, which provides a good balance. At 1080p, the Medium preset’s 74.6 FPS is also strong, but 1440p offers higher visual detail without a significant performance penalty.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank among tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 772 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This mid-pack position is primarily due to the GPU’s mid-range standing, as the CPU ranks in the 96th percentile among all processors.