The Medium

The Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers a playable experience in The Medium at 1080p and 1440p, but it falls short of the 60 FPS threshold at 4K with the settings tested. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1440p Medium, where it achieves an average of 65 FPS, while 1080p Medium offers a smoother 77 FPS average. At 4K, only the Low preset clears the playable threshold, with an 81 FPS average, as the higher presets are too demanding for this GPU.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160 (4K), the only tested preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS is Low, which delivers 81 FPS. The next step up, Medium, drops to 51 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. Therefore, Low is the recommended setting for 4K, providing the best balance of visual quality and performance available in the measured data.

For 2560x1440 (1440p), the Medium preset is the most demanding option that stays at or above 60 FPS, achieving an average of 65 FPS. This is the optimal choice for this resolution, as it offers a substantial visual upgrade over Low while still maintaining a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target. The High preset falls short at 46 FPS, making Medium the clear winner for playable performance.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the Medium preset is again the best choice, with an average of 77 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. While Low offers a higher average of 123 FPS, Medium is the most demanding preset that still clears the playable bar, making it the recommended setting for the best visual fidelity at this resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the primary bottleneck for this combo in The Medium, especially at higher resolutions. This is evident from the scaling between presets and resolutions. At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 123 on Low to 44 on Ultra, a decrease of 79 FPS. This steep decline highlights that the RTX 3070's workload increases significantly with each preset level, while the Core i5-13400F appears to keep pace without becoming the limiting factor.

When moving from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS at Medium settings drops from 77 to 65, a 12 FPS reduction. This 15.6% performance loss is typical of GPU-bound scenarios, where the rendering resolution directly impacts the frame rate. The CPU's role becomes less prominent as resolution increases, as the same scene requires more GPU work per frame. At 4K, this trend continues, with the Medium preset delivering only 51 FPS, showing the GPU is struggling to maintain playable frame rates.

The CPU's capabilities, such as its 10 cores and 16 threads, are sufficient to feed the GPU in this game. The data shows that the i5-13400F does not create a bottleneck at any resolution, as the FPS differences between presets are consistent with GPU-bound performance. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely the limiting factors at 4K, where the higher memory demands of the Ultra preset cause the average FPS to plummet to 29.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the performance varies widely across presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 81 FPS. Moving up to Medium, the average drops to 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 and a maximum of 58. The High preset averages 36 FPS, while the Ultra preset falls to 29 FPS. This data shows a clear performance cliff between Low and Medium, indicating that the GPU cannot sustain playable frame rates at higher quality levels in 4K.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 104 FPS. The Medium preset averages 65 FPS, with a minimum of 55 and a maximum of 74. The High preset averages 46 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 37 FPS. The step from Medium to High represents a 19 FPS drop, which is a significant reduction that pushes the experience below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 123 FPS. The Medium preset averages 77 FPS, with a minimum of 65 and a maximum of 88. The High preset averages 55 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 44 FPS. The data shows that 1080p Medium is the sweet spot, offering a playable average with the minimum FPS still above the 60 FPS threshold.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only at the Low preset, which achieves an average of 81 FPS. The Medium, High, and Ultra presets all fall below the 60 FPS threshold, with averages of 51, 36, and 29 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: The Medium preset is the best choice for 1440p, as it is the most demanding option that keeps the average FPS at or above 60, delivering 65 FPS. The High preset only manages 46 FPS.

Q: Is 1080p Medium a good option for this combo?

A: Yes, the data shows that 1080p Medium provides an average of 77 FPS, with a minimum of 65 FPS. This ensures a smooth experience that stays above the playable threshold even during demanding scenes.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 44 FPS, which is well below the 60 FPS threshold. This makes it unplayable according to the benchmark data, despite being the highest quality setting.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Medium at 4K?

A: The Low preset averages 81 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 51 FPS. This is a 30 FPS difference, showing that the jump to Medium at 4K results in a substantial performance hit.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The consistent FPS drops across increasing resolutions and presets point to the RTX 3070 being the bottleneck, while the Core i5-13400F's performance appears sufficient to avoid CPU-related limitations.

The Verdict

This PC can run The Medium, but the playable experience depends heavily on the chosen resolution and settings. At 1080p, the combo is fully capable, with the Medium preset delivering a solid 77 FPS average, which is the best playable setting according to the data. The Low preset also remains viable, offering 123 FPS for higher refresh rate displays.

At 1440p, the combo remains playable, with the Medium preset achieving 65 FPS. This is the recommended setting for this resolution, as it provides a good balance of visual quality and performance. The Low preset is also playable at 104 FPS, but the Medium preset is the most demanding option that clears the 60 FPS bar.

At 4K, the combo is only playable on the Low preset, which averages 81 FPS. The Medium, High, and Ultra presets all fail to reach 60 FPS, with averages of 51, 36, and 29 FPS respectively. Therefore, the verdict is that this system is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, while 4K requires significant settings reductions to remain playable.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1570 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the upper-middle tier of tested systems, indicating that it performs better than a majority of other configurations.

The GPU's percentile ranking is 61, meaning it outperforms 61% of all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score of 17208 is close to its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT with a score of 17083, a 0.7% difference. The CPU's percentile ranking is 77, outperforming 77% of all CPUs, with an average score of 25292. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, scores 25284, a 0% difference. This data suggests that the CPU is a stronger relative performer than the GPU, but both components work together to provide a competent gaming experience in this title.