The Medium

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 presents a distinct combination for running The Medium, a horror title that demands both CPU and GPU resources. The measured data across three resolutions and four quality presets reveals a system that can handle the game comfortably at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K requires careful settings adjustments. The combination sits at rank 532 out of 3,724 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 15% of all configurations recorded in the database. This page examines the recorded FPS results, the balance between processor and graphics card workload, and the practical settings recommendations derived from the measurements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for this combination covers three resolutions: 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160. Each resolution was tested at Low, Medium, High, and Ultra settings, with average FPS reported for every configuration. Minimum and maximum FPS values appear only for the Medium preset at each resolution.

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers an average of 125 FPS on Low settings. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 104 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS. High settings produce an average of 86 FPS, while Ultra settings yield an average of 68 FPS. No minimum or maximum values are recorded for Low, High, or Ultra at this resolution, but the averages indicate that every preset stays above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 118 FPS. Medium averages 98 FPS, with a minimum of 83 FPS and a maximum of 113 FPS. High settings average 72 FPS, and Ultra drops to an average of 57 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. This means Ultra is not playable at 1440p according to the database's playable threshold, while High remains comfortably above it.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 109 FPS. Medium averages 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. High settings average 57 FPS, falling just short of the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra averages 45 FPS, which is significantly below playable. The Medium preset at 4K is the highest playable option, with its minimum of 67 FPS indicating that even the worst-case frame times stay above the threshold.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent reduction in FPS across all presets. For example, High settings drop from 86 FPS at 1080p to 72 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 14 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced: High falls from 72 FPS to 57 FPS, a reduction of 15 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 98 FPS, while at 4K it averages 79 FPS, a 19 FPS difference. These reductions are typical for a game that scales with resolution, and the RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth handle the increased pixel workload without evident memory bottlenecks.

How This Combo Ranks

The database records this CPU and GPU combination at rank 532 out of 3,724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the 85th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms roughly 85% of the recorded combinations. The rank reflects the balance between the Intel Core i5-11400F and the RTX 4080, where the GPU provides the majority of the rendering power but the CPU's six cores and twelve threads keep up at lower resolutions.

The i5-11400F has a percentile rank of 71 among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 17,177 across all tests. Its nearest rivals in the CPU database include the AMD EPYC 7H12, which scores 17,120 and is 0.3% behind, and the Intel Core i5-12450H, which scores 17,239 and is 0.4% ahead. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17,278, 0.6% ahead, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U scores 17,074, 0.6% behind. These small deltas indicate that the i5-11400F sits in a tightly packed group of CPUs with similar multi-threaded performance, so any of these would produce nearly identical frame rates in this game.

The RTX 4080 has a percentile rank of 86 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,247. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores 54,209 and is 0.1% behind, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, which scores 54,828 and is 1.1% ahead. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55,698, 2.6% ahead, and the AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55,757, 2.7% ahead. The RTX 4080's position in this group means that swapping to any of these GPUs would result in nearly identical performance in The Medium, with differences well under 3%.

The combination rank of 532 out of 3,724 suggests that while the GPU is strong, the CPU holds the system back slightly in this title, particularly at 1080p where the processor's single-thread performance of 868 in the 3DMark single-thread test and 2,024 in Cinebench R23 single-core becomes more relevant. At 4K, the GPU workload dominates, and the rank would likely be higher if the CPU were not a limiting factor.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear shift in component importance as resolution changes. At 1080p, the CPU plays a more significant role because the GPU has spare capacity at lower pixel counts. The average FPS at Ultra settings is 68, which is only slightly above the 60 FPS threshold. If the CPU were stronger, the Ultra preset might maintain a higher average, but with the i5-11400F's single-thread score of 868 in 3DMark, the processor becomes a bottleneck in scenes with many on-screen entities or complex physics.

At 1440p, the GPU begins to take over as the primary performance driver. The average FPS at Ultra drops to 57, which is below playable, while High stays at 72. The gap between High and Ultra at 1440p is 15 FPS, compared to a 18 FPS gap at 1080p (86 to 68). This indicates that the GPU's workload increases with resolution, and the RTX 4080's 9,728 shading units and 112 ROPs are handling more pixels, but the CPU still contributes to the frame pacing.

At 4K, the GPU is almost entirely responsible for the performance. The Low preset averages 109 FPS, which is high enough that the CPU is not limiting, but the Medium preset averages 79 FPS with a minimum of 67. The Ultra preset averages 45 FPS, a 34 FPS drop from Medium, showing that the RTX 4080's compute resources are saturated by the combination of 4K resolution and Ultra quality settings. The i5-11400F's multi-thread score of 14,340 in Cinebench R23 is sufficient to feed the GPU at this resolution, so the FPS differences between presets come from the GPU's rendering workload.

The scaling between resolutions reinforces this analysis. At High settings, the FPS drops from 86 at 1080p to 72 at 1440p (a 16% reduction) and then to 57 at 4K (a 21% reduction from 1440p). At Low settings, the drop is from 125 at 1080p to 118 at 1440p (a 6% reduction) and then to 109 at 4K (an 8% reduction). The smaller percentage drops at Low settings suggest that the CPU can keep up with lower GPU workloads, while the larger drops at High and Ultra reflect the GPU becoming the bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: What is the best playable preset at 4K for this combination?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 averages 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. This is the highest preset that stays above the 60 FPS threshold at 4K.

Q: Can this combo run Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: No. The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 57 FPS, which falls below the playable threshold of 60 FPS. The High preset averages 72 FPS and is the best playable option at this resolution.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17,177. Its closest rival, the AMD EPYC 7H12, scores 17,120, which is 0.3% lower. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17,239, 0.4% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17,278, 0.6% higher. All these CPUs would deliver nearly identical performance in The Medium.

Q: What is the lowest FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average FPS is 45 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 67 at 4K Medium, and 83 at 1440p Medium, and 88 at 1080p Medium. No minimum values are recorded for other presets.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: No. At 1080p, the CPU is more likely to limit performance because the GPU has spare capacity. The Ultra preset averages 68 FPS, and the i5-11400F's single-thread score of 868 in 3DMark indicates that the processor handles game logic and draw calls, which becomes a bottleneck when the GPU can render frames quickly.

Q: How many total combos are ranked for this game?

A: The database records 3,724 tested combos for The Medium. This combination ranks 532, placing it in the top 15% of all recorded configurations.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in the database are the AMD EPYC 7H12, Intel Core i5-12450H, AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G, and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U. The AMD EPYC 7H12 scores 17,120, which is 0.3% behind the i5-11400F's 17,177. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17,239, 0.4% ahead, and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17,278, 0.6% ahead. The Intel Core Ultra 7 164U scores 17,074, 0.6% behind. In practical terms for The Medium, any of these CPUs would produce frame rates within 1% of the i5-11400F in this combination, so swapping the processor would not change the measured FPS meaningfully.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, and AMD Radeon 8060S. The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209, which is 0.1% behind the RTX 4080's 54,247. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54,828, 1.1% ahead, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55,698, 2.6% ahead. The AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55,757, 2.7% ahead. The RTX 4080 SUPER is essentially identical in performance, so users with that card would see the same FPS values. The AMD options are slightly faster in synthetic benchmarks, but the differences under 3% would translate to only one or two frames per second in The Medium.

If a user has the i5-11400F and wants to match this combination's performance, any of these CPUs would work. Conversely, if the user has the RTX 4080 and a different CPU, the frame rates would depend on that processor's single-thread and multi-thread scores, but the GPU would deliver the same rendering capability at 4K.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, meaning they average at or above 60 FPS. The most demanding preset that stays playable is Ultra, which averages 68 FPS. This is the recommended setting for 1080p, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above the playability threshold.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset averages 72 FPS and is the best playable option. This provides a significant improvement in visual fidelity over Medium (which averages 98 FPS) while keeping the frame rate above playable.

At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 57 FPS and the Ultra preset averages 45 FPS, both below the threshold. The Medium preset averages 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS, making it the best playable choice. This gives users a solid 4K experience with medium quality settings, and the minimum FPS of 67 indicates that even demanding scenes stay above playable.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visual quality, the Low preset at each resolution provides the highest averages: 125 FPS at 1080p, 118 FPS at 1440p, and 109 FPS at 4K. However, for a balanced experience, the recommended settings are Ultra at 1080p (68 FPS), High at 1440p (72 FPS), and Medium at 4K (79 FPS). These settings offer the best trade-off between image quality and performance, as measured in the database.