The Medium

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 presents a fascinating case study in The Medium, a horror title known for its fixed camera angles and dual-reality rendering. The measured data reveals a configuration that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, yet shows surprising headroom at 1080p. The benchmark results indicate a system that can handle the game’s atmospheric demands, but only with careful settings management, as the gap between presets is stark and instructive.

Resolution Scaling

The progression from 1080p to 4K in The Medium exposes a classic GPU-bound scenario, but with an unusual twist in the magnitude of the performance drop. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 48 FPS at 1920x1080 to 40 FPS at 2560x1440, a decrease of 8 FPS or roughly 17%. However, pushing further to 3840x2160 yields a mere 32 FPS, which is a 20% drop from the 1440p figure and a 33% decline from the 1080p baseline. This steepening curve suggests that the RTX 5070’s memory bandwidth and processing power are being saturated as pixel count increases, with the 4K resolution demanding a significant amount of the GPU’s resources.

The Low preset provides a clearer picture of the scaling behavior. Here, the system achieves 107 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 90 FPS at 1440p (a 16% reduction) and then to 71 FPS at 4K (a 21% reduction from 1440p). The relative consistency of these percentage drops, compared to the High preset, indicates that at Low settings, the bottleneck shifts slightly, but the GPU remains the primary limiting factor. The data implies that the game’s rendering engine, particularly its unique split-screen mechanic for the spirit world, is exceptionally demanding on the rasterization pipeline, and the RTX 5070 begins to struggle as the fill rate requirements multiply.

The most telling data point comes from the Medium preset, which is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum frame times. At 1920x1080, the average is 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the average drops to 56 FPS, with the minimum falling to 48 FPS and the maximum to 65 FPS. Finally, at 3840x2160, the average plummets to 44 FPS, with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS. This data shows that not only does the average performance suffer, but the frame pacing consistency also degrades. The variance between min and max FPS shrinks proportionally, indicating that the GPU is working at its limits and cannot maintain high peak performance. The 4K result, with a minimum of 37 FPS, suggests that the experience can become noticeably stuttery during intense scenes, which is critical for a horror game where smooth motion is essential for immersion.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured rows, the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution, but the data strongly suggests that Medium settings provide the best balance of visual fidelity and playability for most users. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 67 FPS, which is comfortably above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The jump to High reduces this to 48 FPS, a significant 28% performance hit that may not be justified by the visual improvements in a game with such a dark and moody aesthetic. Ultra at 1080p yields 38 FPS, which is borderline unplayable for a title requiring precise timing and atmospheric tension.

For 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. Medium provides 56 FPS, which is still respectable, but users seeking a more stable experience might consider Low at 90 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at this resolution is 40 FPS to 56 FPS, representing a 29% performance loss. The data suggests that High at 1440p is a poor trade-off, as the frame rate dips below the 60 FPS target, while Medium keeps the experience fluid. The Ultra preset at 1440p, at 32 FPS, is not viable for serious play.

At 4K, the situation is dire for high-fidelity gaming. Medium is the only preset that breaks the 40 FPS barrier at 44 FPS, but it still falls short of a smooth 60 FPS experience. Low at 71 FPS is the only way to achieve a truly playable frame rate at this resolution. The data implies that 4K is not the intended resolution for this combo with The Medium on higher settings. The Ultra preset at 25 FPS is a slideshow, and even High at 32 FPS is a compromised experience. The measured results indicate that for a consistent 60+ FPS experience, players should stick to 1080p with Medium or High settings, or 1440p with Low or Medium. The Low preset at 1440p (90 FPS) is the best way to leverage the system's power for high refresh rate monitors, while Medium at 1080p offers the best visual-per-frame-cost ratio.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is a mobile powerhouse with 16 cores and 32 threads, built on the Zen 5 architecture. Its benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35314 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 20992. The CPU’s performance percentile of 95 versus all CPUs indicates it is a top-tier processor. However, in The Medium, the CPU's role appears to be secondary. The data shows that frame rates are heavily influenced by resolution and settings, which are primarily GPU-side variables. The fact that the FPS scales linearly with resolution and inversely with settings quality points to a GPU bottleneck.

The CPU’s single-thread performance is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2044. This is important because The Medium likely relies on a few primary threads for game logic and rendering commands. The boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures that these threads have ample processing power. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution or setting tested. For instance, the drop from 67 FPS at 1080p Medium to 44 FPS at 4K Medium is a 34% decrease, which is far greater than any CPU performance variance. The CPU is simply feeding the GPU with enough data, but the GPU cannot keep up at higher resolutions.

The L3 cache of 64 MB shared is a large pool that likely helps with the game’s streaming assets, especially in the dual-world sequences. However, the benchmark results imply that the CPU’s vast multi-threading capabilities are underutilized. The game genre, Horror, often has more modest CPU demands than massive strategy or simulation titles. The data indicates that this CPU is overqualified for the task, providing a stable foundation that ensures no CPU-induced stutters, but its raw power does not translate into higher FPS when the GPU is saturated. The Memory Bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s from the Quad-channel LPDDR5X is a potential advantage, but its impact is likely minimal in this GPU-bound scenario.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 and RTX 5070 finds itself in the middle of the pack. The combo rank is 1566 out of 2911 total combos tested for The Medium. This places it in the 54th percentile, meaning it outperforms slightly more than half of all tested configurations, but it is far from the top. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the high individual performance of both components. The CPU ranks in the 95th percentile against all CPUs, and the GPU in the 82nd percentile against all GPUs, yet their combined performance in this specific title is more modest.

The discrepancy between the high component percentiles and the lower combo rank suggests that The Medium is a demanding game that does not scale perfectly with raw hardware strength. The game’s unique rendering techniques might be creating a bottleneck that neither the CPU nor GPU can fully overcome individually. The data implies that many other combos, perhaps those with more balanced specifications or higher-end GPUs, achieve better results. The RTX 5070’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (with a 0.1% score delta), are professional-grade cards, but the RTX 5070’s gaming architecture should theoretically excel here. The rank indicates that while this system is capable, it does not dominate the leaderboard in this title, suggesting that the game may favor other hardware configurations.

The combo’s position at 1566 out of 2911 illustrates that there is a significant amount of performance headroom above it. The data shows that while it can play the game, it requires compromises at higher resolutions. This ranking is a useful data point for potential buyers, indicating that this specific CPU-GPU pairing is competent but not exceptional for The Medium. It highlights that the GPU is the limiting factor, and that a more powerful graphics card would likely yield a much better rank, as the CPU has plenty of headroom to spare. The measured data confirms that the system is more than capable for 1080p gaming, but its 4K ambitions are firmly checked by the RTX 5070's performance ceiling.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium at with this hardware?*

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the most consistent resolution. At Medium settings, it achieves 67 FPS, and even High settings yield 48 FPS, which is playable. 2560x1440 is viable with Medium at 56 FPS, but 4K requires dropping to Low settings (71 FPS) to achieve a smooth frame rate.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 CPU holding back the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 in this game?

A: No, the benchmark results suggest the CPU is not the bottleneck. The frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, which are GPU-centric variables. The CPU’s powerful multi-core and single-core scores (e.g., 35314 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) provide ample headroom, indicating the GPU is the limiting component.

*Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K smoothly?*

A: Not with high visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 4K produces 25 FPS, and High produces 32 FPS, both of which are not smooth. The Medium preset at 44 FPS is the best high-quality option, but it still falls short of a standard 60 FPS target. Only the Low preset at 71 FPS provides a smooth experience.

*Q: How does the RTX 5070's performance in The Medium compare to its closest rivals?*

A: The RTX 5070's average benchmark score of 40377 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon Pro 580, which has a 0.1% higher score. It also edges out the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 by 0.8%. This indicates that its raw compute performance is on par with these professional cards, though gaming performance may vary.

Q: Why is the frame rate so much lower on the Ultra preset compared to Medium?

A: The data shows a significant performance cost for the highest settings. For example, at 1080p, Medium achieves 67 FPS while Ultra drops to 38 FPS, a 43% reduction. This suggests that the Ultra preset enables computationally expensive effects that heavily tax the GPU, making it a poor choice for this configuration.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at the Medium preset?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 67. At 4K Medium, it drops to 44 FPS. This represents a 34% decrease in performance, highlighting the rendering load increase at higher resolutions. The minimum FPS also drops from 57 to 37, indicating less stable frame pacing at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured average frames per second for each resolution and settings combination:

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | :---------- |

| 3840x2160 | High | 32 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 71 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 44 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 25 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 40 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 90 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 56 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 32 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 48 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 107 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 67 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 38 |

The Medium preset also includes min and max FPS data. At 1920x1080, the frame rate ranges from 57 to 77 FPS. At 2560x1440, it ranges from 48 to 65 FPS. At 3840x2160, it ranges from 37 to 51 FPS. This data shows a clear downward trend in both average and peak performance as resolution increases, with the minimum frame rate at 4K dipping below 40 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the definitive bottleneck in this configuration. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth are substantial, but they are not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K in The Medium. The GPU's average benchmark score of 40377 and its 82nd percentile ranking against all GPUs show it is a strong performer, yet the game’s demands are significant. The data shows that the GPU's role is to render the complex dual-world scenes, and its performance degrades rapidly with increased resolution. The drop from 107 FPS at 1080p Low to 71 FPS at 4K Low highlights this strain.

The RTX 5070's architecture, Blackwell 2.0, is designed for efficiency, but the measured results indicate that it is not sufficient for maxed-out settings at high resolutions. The Ultra preset at 4K (25 FPS) is a clear indicator that the GPU's raw compute power is overwhelmed. The 48 RT cores and 192 Tensor cores are present, but the game may not be fully utilizing them, as the performance scaling suggests a pure rasterization bottleneck. The boost clock of 2512 MHz is high, but it cannot compensate for the sheer volume of pixels at 4K.

The GPU’s memory configuration, with a 192-bit bus, is a potential limitation for a game that requires high memory bandwidth for texture streaming. While 12 GB is a healthy amount of VRAM, the bandwidth may be the constraining factor. The data supports this, as the performance gap between resolutions is more pronounced than what would be expected from a purely compute-bound scenario. The GPU is working at its limits, and the benchmark results suggest that for more demanding titles, a higher-tier GPU would be necessary to achieve consistently high frame rates at 1440p and above. The passmark_g3d score of 29137 is impressive, but it does not translate to a top-tier ranking in this specific game, underscoring that synthetic benchmarks do not always predict real-world gaming performance.