The Medium

# The Medium with AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D places this system in the 3rd position out of 2,911 tested combos for The Medium, a horror title released on 2021-01-27. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four settings presets reveal a system with substantial headroom at lower resolutions, while the heaviest Ultra preset at 4K still delivers a playable 54 FPS average. The data set includes complete measurements for Medium settings at all three resolutions, with minimum and maximum FPS values captured, offering the most detailed insight into frame pacing behavior for this pairing.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide clear guidance on which preset delivers the optimal experience for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset produces 144 FPS average with a minimum of 123 FPS and maximum of 166 FPS, representing the best balance between visual fidelity and performance headroom. The Low preset reaches 199 FPS, but the Medium preset's 144 FPS still comfortably exceeds the refresh rate of most displays while providing substantially better visual quality than Low.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again stands out as the recommended choice, delivering 122 FPS average with a minimum of 103 FPS and maximum of 140 FPS. This marks a 55 FPS improvement over the High preset's 87 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 69 FPS. The minimum of 103 FPS at Medium ensures that even demanding scenes maintain triple-digit frame rates, which is particularly valuable for the horror genre's unpredictable pacing.

Moving to 3840x2160, the Medium preset remains the sweet spot with 95 FPS average, 81 FPS minimum, and 110 FPS maximum. The High preset drops to 68 FPS, and Ultra falls to 54 FPS. The data suggests that Medium at 4K offers the best compromise, maintaining a minimum above 80 FPS while still providing the resolution's full visual clarity. The Low preset at 4K reaches 153 FPS, but the Medium preset's 95 FPS is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay.

The consistent pattern across all resolutions indicates that Medium is the optimal preset for this CPU-GPU combination. It provides the largest measured FPS improvement over High while maintaining frame rates that exceed typical display refresh rates. The Ultra preset, while playable at 54 FPS in 4K, sacrifices too much performance for the visual gains it provides. The data shows diminishing returns beyond Medium, making it the clear recommendation for this system.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D brings substantial processing power to this pairing, featuring 16 cores and 32 threads from the Zen 5 architecture on the Granite Ridge codename. The base clock of 4.30 GHz boosts to 5.70 GHz, and the processor includes 128 MB of L3 cache alongside 80 KB L1 and 1 MB L2 per core. This configuration places the CPU in the 95th percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 75,779.

The CPU's benchmark results reveal strong multi-threaded capabilities that align with modern game engine demands. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42,018 and Geekbench multi-core score of 26,736 indicate robust performance across heavily threaded workloads. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 16,374 and max-thread score of 17,184 show consistent scaling when all cores are utilized. Single-thread performance is also solid, with Geekbench single-core at 3,064 and 3DMark single-thread at 1,292.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining frame rates across resolutions. At 1080p, where GPU load is lighter, the system achieves 199 FPS at Low settings and 144 FPS at Medium, suggesting the CPU can feed frames well beyond typical display refresh rates. The processor's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 with an average score of 75,738 (0.1% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D at 75,716 (0.1% delta), indicating this CPU sits at the top of the performance hierarchy.

The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2,549 and 4-thread score of 4,963 demonstrate that even lightly threaded workloads receive strong performance, which matters for games that may not fully utilize all 32 threads. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,737 and physics score of 5,670 further confirm the CPU's capability in gaming scenarios. The data suggests that this processor is unlikely to bottleneck the RTX 5090 D in most gaming scenarios, though the measured FPS patterns provide more direct evidence.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D anchors this system as the primary determinant of frame rates at higher resolutions. This GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB202 chip includes 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, along with 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores. The base clock of 2017 MHz boosts to 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective).

The GPU's benchmark performance shows a 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 77,712. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 376,915 demonstrate strong raw performance. The PassMark G3D score of 44,065 and GPU compute score of 28,396 provide additional context for the GPU's capabilities.

Examining the measured FPS data reveals the GPU's increasing influence as resolution rises. At 1080p, the difference between Low (199 FPS) and Medium (144 FPS) is 55 FPS, while at 4K, the same settings difference is 58 FPS (153 to 95). The Ultra preset shows more dramatic scaling, dropping from 82 FPS at 1080p to 54 FPS at 4K, a 34% reduction. This pattern indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings, while the CPU maintains adequate frame feeding.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT with a score of 78,940 (delta -1.6%), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB at 79,396 (delta -2.1%), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 79,605 (delta -2.4%). This positioning near the top of the GPU hierarchy aligns with the system's 3rd place ranking among 2,911 tested combos for The Medium.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with Medium settings provides 122 FPS average with a 103 FPS minimum, offering an excellent balance between visual quality and performance. For 4K gaming, Medium settings at 95 FPS average with 81 FPS minimum is the recommended choice.

Q: How does the system perform at Ultra settings across different resolutions?

A: Ultra settings produce 82 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K. While 4K Ultra is playable, the significant performance drop compared to Medium settings makes it less desirable for consistent frame rates.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to limit performance in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU becomes the primary limiter at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 199 FPS, suggesting CPU headroom, while dropping to 54 FPS at 4K Ultra shows GPU constraints. The CPU ranks in the 95th percentile, while the GPU ranks in the 92nd percentile.

Q: What frame rates can users expect at 1080p with different settings?

A: At 1920x1080, the measured averages are 199 FPS for Low, 144 FPS for Medium (with 123 FPS minimum and 166 FPS maximum), 103 FPS for High, and 82 FPS for Ultra.

Q: How does the system's ranking compare to other tested combinations?

A: The combination ranks 3rd out of 2,911 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the top 0.1% of all tested configurations.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at Medium settings?

A: Medium settings at all three resolutions show consistent frame pacing: 123-166 FPS range at 1080p, 103-140 FPS range at 1440p, and 81-110 FPS range at 4K, with the minimum frames staying within reasonable distance of the averages.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how performance scales from 1080p to 4K across each settings preset. At Low settings, the system delivers 199 FPS at 1080p, 187 FPS at 1440p, and 153 FPS at 4K, representing a 23.1% drop from 1080p to 4K. Medium settings show 144 FPS at 1080p, 122 FPS at 1440p, and 95 FPS at 4K, a 34% reduction. High settings produce 103 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p, and 68 FPS at 4K, a 34% decrease. Ultra settings deliver 82 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K, a 34.1% drop.

The consistency of the scaling pattern across Medium, High, and Ultra settings suggests the GPU is the limiting component at these presets. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K remains nearly identical at approximately 34% for these three settings, which aligns with the GPU's rendering workload scaling with pixel count. The Low preset shows a smaller 23.1% drop, likely because at lower settings, other factors such as CPU or memory bandwidth begin to play a more significant role.

The resolution scaling data also indicates that this system has substantial headroom at 1080p across all settings. Even at Ultra, the 82 FPS average at 1080p suggests the GPU is not fully saturated, potentially allowing for higher refresh rate displays to be utilized. At 4K, the 95 FPS at Medium shows that this combination can handle high-resolution gaming without compromising playability, though Ultra settings push the system to its limits at 54 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this system in The Medium covers three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 199 FPS at Low settings, 144 FPS at Medium (123 FPS minimum, 166 FPS maximum), 103 FPS at High, and 82 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset provides the most complete data with both minimum and maximum FPS captured, showing a 43 FPS range between minimum and maximum.

At 2560x1440, the measurements show 187 FPS at Low, 122 FPS at Medium (103 FPS minimum, 140 FPS maximum), 87 FPS at High, and 69 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset again provides the full frame range, with a 37 FPS spread between minimum and maximum. This narrower range compared to 1080p suggests more consistent frame pacing at higher resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system delivers 153 FPS at Low, 95 FPS at Medium (81 FPS minimum, 110 FPS maximum), 68 FPS at High, and 54 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a 29 FPS range between minimum and maximum, further tightening as resolution increases. This pattern of decreasing frame range with higher resolution indicates that the GPU's workload becomes more consistent, reducing frame time variance.

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows consistent performance degradation. At 1080p, the drop from Low to Ultra is 117 FPS; at 1440p, it is 118 FPS; and at 4K, it is 99 FPS. The slightly smaller drop at 4K suggests that the Ultra preset's demands are relatively more similar to Low at higher resolutions, where pixel fill rate dominates over other rendering factors.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 3 out of 2,911 tested combinations for The Medium, placing it in the top 0.1% of all configurations. This exceptional ranking reflects the synergy between a CPU that sits in the 95th percentile against all processors and a GPU in the 92nd percentile against all graphics cards.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 75,779 places it slightly above its nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 at 75,738 (0.1% delta), AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D at 75,716 (0.1% delta), AMD EPYC 8224P at 75,582 (0.3% delta), and Intel Core Ultra 9 285 at 75,488 (0.4% delta). This narrow margin over the nearest competitors indicates that the CPU is among the fastest available, though the differences are minimal.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 77,712 sits between the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT at 76,904 (1.1% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78,940 (-1.6% delta). The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe variants score higher at 79,396 (-2.1% delta) and 79,605 (-2.4% delta), though these are data center parts rather than gaming GPUs. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking confirms its position among the top graphics cards.

The combination's 3rd place ranking in The Medium specifically demonstrates that this pairing excels in this particular game's workload characteristics. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings show no obvious bottleneck, with the system delivering playable performance even at the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration. The consistent scaling patterns and high rankings suggest this is one of the most capable configurations available for The Medium, suitable for users seeking maximum performance at any resolution or settings level.