The Medium

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a formidable combination for The Medium, but the data reveals a clear ceiling: at 4K, this hardware cannot sustain 60 FPS on the highest preset. The benchmark results show a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p, delivering smooth frame rates across nearly all settings, while 4K remains the sole domain where compromises are required. Below is a detailed breakdown of how this combo behaves across resolutions and settings, based strictly on measured performance data.

Best Settings per Resolution

The playable threshold is defined at 60 FPS, and the verdict data identifies the most demanding preset that maintains at least this frame rate at each resolution. The results indicate a distinct pattern: higher resolutions force a step down in visual fidelity to stay fluid.

At 1920x1080, the system achieves its full potential. The Ultra preset delivers an average of 68 FPS, making it the best playable setting. This is the only resolution where the maximum quality tier is viable, and it does so with a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS floor, confirming that the RTX 4080 is not bottlenecked at this level.

Moving to 2560x1440, the High preset is the most demanding option that remains playable, with an average of 72 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution drops to 57 FPS, falling below the threshold. This represents a significant shift: the combination of increased pixel count and the game's demanding Ultra settings proves too much for the hardware to maintain fluidity, but High still provides a smooth experience with room to spare.

At 3840x2160, the situation tightens considerably. The Medium preset is the best playable option, averaging 79 FPS. High dips to 57 FPS, and Ultra falls to 45 FPS, both unplayable under the 60 FPS rule. The Low preset at this resolution averages 127 FPS, which is technically an option but sacrifices visual quality unnecessarily when Medium offers a much higher fidelity at 79 FPS. The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p allows Ultra, 1440p caps at High, and 4K requires Medium.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions and presets reveals how the workload shifts between the Intel Core i5-13400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080. This game demonstrates a classic pattern where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as resolution increases, while the CPU's influence is more apparent at lower resolutions and higher frame rates.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets: 152 FPS on Low, 120 FPS on Medium, 86 FPS on High, and 68 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 84 FPS, indicating that the GPU is handling the graphical workload with significant headroom. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is likely the limiting factor at the lowest settings, as the frame rates approach what the processor can feed to the GPU. The i5-13400F's single-thread score of 960 in 3DMark and 3191 in Cinebench R23 suggests it is more than capable, but at 152 FPS, the CPU's per-core performance becomes the ceiling.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates drop across the board: 144 FPS on Low, 101 FPS on Medium, 72 FPS on High, and 57 FPS on Ultra. The delta between Low and Ultra is 87 FPS, similar to 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower. This indicates the GPU is now doing more work per frame, but the CPU still has enough bandwidth to keep up with the higher frame rates at Low and Medium. The High preset's 72 FPS suggests a balanced workload, while Ultra's drop to 57 FPS shows the GPU struggling with the most demanding settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU takes full control. The frame rates are 127 FPS on Low, 79 FPS on Medium, 57 FPS on High, and 45 FPS on Ultra. The delta between Low and Ultra is 82 FPS, but the key observation is the dramatic falloff at High and Ultra. The RTX 4080, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth, is being pushed to its limits at this resolution. The CPU's role diminishes significantly, as the frame rates are low enough that the i5-13400F's processing power is no longer a bottleneck. The data shows that at 4K, this game is almost entirely GPU-bound, with the CPU contributing little to the performance differences between presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance at each resolution and settings combination. This section details the exact average, minimum, and maximum frame rates where available.

1920x1080:

• Low: Average 152 FPS. No minimum or maximum data provided.
• Medium: Average 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS. The 36 FPS range between min and max indicates some variance, but the average is well above the playable threshold.
• High: Average 86 FPS. No minimum or maximum data provided.
• Ultra: Average 68 FPS. No minimum or maximum data provided. This is the only setting at 1080p that approaches the 60 FPS threshold, but it remains playable.

2560x1440:

• Low: Average 144 FPS. No minimum or maximum data provided.
• Medium: Average 101 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. The 30 FPS range is similar to 1080p, showing consistent performance.
• High: Average 72 FPS. No minimum or maximum data provided.
• Ultra: Average 57 FPS. No minimum or maximum data provided. This falls below the 60 FPS threshold, making it unplayable under the defined rules.

3840x2160:

• Low: Average 127 FPS. No minimum or maximum data provided.
• Medium: Average 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. The minimum of 67 FPS is crucial, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold even during demanding scenes, making this the safest playable option at 4K.
• High: Average 57 FPS. No minimum or maximum data provided. This misses the playable threshold by a narrow margin.
• Ultra: Average 45 FPS. No minimum or maximum data provided. This is the worst-performing setting across all resolutions.

The data shows that the Medium preset at 4K is the only playable option with a measured minimum frame rate, and it maintains a healthy buffer above the threshold. The lack of min/max data for other presets means the average is the only guide, but the pattern is clear: the system's performance degrades predictably as resolution and settings increase.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for both the CPU and GPU provide context for what other hardware would deliver similar performance in this game. These comparisons are based on average benchmark scores and delta percentages, not direct game benchmarks, but they indicate which components are in the same performance class.

CPU Alternatives:

The Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25292 and sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are:

• AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS: Average score 25284, delta 0%. This is essentially a tie in raw compute performance.
• Intel Core 5 120: Average score 25362, delta -0.3%. This is marginally slower, within a negligible margin.
• AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D: Average score 25365, delta -0.3%. Also effectively identical in benchmark terms.
• AMD Ryzen 7 6800H: Average score 25201, delta 0.4%. This is slightly faster, but the difference is under half a percent.

For The Medium, any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios, such as the low-settings 1080p runs. The i5-13400F's performance is well within the noise of these rivals, meaning users with any of these processors would see no meaningful difference in this game.

GPU Alternatives:

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247 and sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are:

• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER: Average score 54209, delta 0.1%. This is effectively the same card, with a negligible performance advantage for the SUPER variant.
• AMD Radeon Pro W5700X: Average score 54828, delta -1.1%. This is slightly faster in average benchmarks.
• AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB: Average score 55698, delta -2.6%. This is a bit faster on average, though the delta is small.
• AMD Radeon 8060S: Average score 55757, delta -2.7%. The fastest of the group, but still within a few percent.

In The Medium, these GPUs would deliver very similar frame rates at all resolutions. The RTX 4080 SUPER would be the closest match, with the AMD options potentially offering a few extra frames per second in GPU-bound scenarios like 4K Ultra, but the differences are minor and unlikely to change the playability verdicts.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K with Ultra settings?*

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 45 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable setting at 4K is Medium, with an average of 79 FPS.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p gameplay?

A: The High preset is the most demanding setting that stays playable at 2560x1440, with an average of 72 FPS. Ultra at this resolution drops to 57 FPS, which is below the threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to the RTX 4080 SUPER for this game?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 54209, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080's 54247. In practice, this means virtually identical performance in The Medium, with no change to playability at any resolution.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes more relevant at 1080p, where frame rates reach 152 FPS on Low settings. The i5-13400F's single-thread benchmark score of 960 in 3DMark indicates strong per-core performance, but at such high frame rates, the CPU is likely the limiting factor, as the GPU has ample headroom.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 4K Medium settings?

A: The measured minimum FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings is 67 FPS, which keeps the experience above the 60 FPS threshold even in demanding scenes. The average is 79 FPS, with a maximum of 91 FPS.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for The Medium?*

A: This combination ranks 287th out of 3724 tested combos, placing it in the top 8% of all systems tested for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination holds a rank of 287 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the upper echelon of systems, roughly in the top 8% of all configurations tested. The ranking reflects the hardware's overall capability, but the game-specific data shows that this is not a top-tier system for 4K gaming.

The CPU's percentile rank of 77 among all CPUs indicates it is a solid mid-to-high-range processor, while the GPU's percentile rank of 86 among all GPUs shows it is a high-end graphics card. Together, they form a balanced pairing, but the 4K performance gap at Ultra settings suggests that even this powerful GPU is not enough for the most demanding scenarios at the highest resolution. The combo's rank of 287 out of 3724 means there are 286 tested systems that perform better in this specific game, likely featuring even more powerful GPUs like the RTX 4090 or the RTX 4080 SUPER, which the data shows is only 0.1% faster on average.

For gamers targeting 1080p or 1440p, this combo ranks exceptionally well, delivering maximum settings at playable frame rates. At 4K, it falls short of the top tier, but it remains a capable system for Medium settings, which still offer a strong visual experience. The ranking underscores that this is a high-performance combination, but not the absolute best for 4K enthusiasts who demand Ultra settings. The data indicates that users seeking 4K Ultra gameplay would need to look at higher-ranked combos, while those satisfied with 1440p or 1080p will find this setup more than adequate.