The Medium

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a formidable combination for The Medium, delivering playable frame rates at every resolution tested. The data shows this combo achieves a 62.9 FPS average at 4K High settings, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold, while 1440p and 1080p both comfortably exceed it at their most demanding presets. This pairing ranks in the 96.4th percentile of all tested combos, placing it among the top performers for this title, though the CPU and GPU each play distinct roles depending on resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the combination produces an average of 149.4 FPS on Low settings, dropping to 129.1 FPS on Medium, 99.7 FPS on High, and 76.3 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is substantial, representing a 73.1 FPS difference, which indicates that the GPU is scaling well with the increased graphical workload while maintaining high frame rates throughout.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 144.8 FPS on Low, 113.2 FPS on Medium, 83.6 FPS on High, and 68.9 FPS on Ultra. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 4.6 FPS on Low settings, but the penalty grows to 7.4 FPS on Ultra, showing that higher resolutions amplify the performance hit from demanding presets. The Ultra preset at 1440p still holds above 60 FPS, which is notable given the resolution increase.

The 3840x2160 results show the most significant drop-off. Low settings average 135 FPS, Medium drops to 90.1 FPS, High falls to 62.9 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 50.8 FPS. The 84.2 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is the largest of any resolution, and Ultra is the only preset across all three resolutions that falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data indicates that 4K Ultra is the sole configuration where this combo cannot maintain smooth gameplay, while every other combination of resolution and preset remains viable.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the best settings that stay at or above 60 FPS are High, which delivers an average of 62.9 FPS. The verdict data confirms High is the optimal choice at this resolution, as Ultra drops to 50.8 FPS and Medium, while playable, offers diminishing returns compared to the visual fidelity of High. The 62.9 FPS average leaves only a narrow margin above the threshold, so players seeking consistent performance might prefer Medium at 90.1 FPS for additional headroom.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is the best settings choice, achieving an average of 68.9 FPS. This is particularly impressive because it means the most demanding preset remains playable at a resolution that balances visual quality with performance. The 68.9 FPS figure is 8.9 FPS above the playable threshold, providing a modest but adequate buffer for scene-to-scene variation. Medium and High also clear the threshold easily, but Ultra represents the maximum visual quality available without sacrificing playability.

For 1920x1080, Ultra is again the best settings, with an average of 76.3 FPS. This is the highest average among the three resolutions at their best settings, and the 16.3 FPS margin above the threshold offers comfortable headroom. The data shows that 1080p Ultra not only meets but exceeds the playability requirement by a wider margin than either 1440p or 4K, making it the most forgiving resolution for maxing out graphical options.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 135th out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the top 3.6% of all configurations. The comboRankInGame of 135 with a total of 3724 combos means this pairing outperforms roughly 3589 other tested setups, which is an exceptionally strong showing. This ranking reflects the RTX 5090's position in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, while the Core i5-13400F sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, indicating that the GPU is the primary driver of this high placement.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce this dominance. The RTX 5090 achieves a Passmark G3D score of 39650 and an average benchmark score of 79842, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18355. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 and single-core score of 3191 provide solid supporting performance, but the GPU's 92nd percentile ranking versus the CPU's 77th percentile shows where the combo's strength lies. The 135th rank out of 3724 combos is consistent with a top-tier GPU paired with a capable mid-range CPU, outperforming many combinations that feature higher-end processors but weaker graphics cards.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearestRivals data for the CPU, the Intel Core i5-13400F has several close performance counterparts. The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS matches it almost exactly with an average score of 25284 versus 25292, a 0% difference. The Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D are both within 0.3% of the i5-13400F's score, with averages of 25362 and 25365 respectively. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800H trails by 0.4% with a score of 25201. Any of these CPUs paired with the RTX 5090 would produce nearly identical results in The Medium, as the performance delta is negligible.

For the GPU, the nearestRivals list shows the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB as the closest match with an average score of 79605, just 0.3% behind the RTX 5090's 79842. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB sits 0.6% lower at 79396, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.1% behind at 78940. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X actually scores higher at 80959, representing a 1.4% advantage over the RTX 5090. These deltas are all under 1.5%, meaning any of these GPUs combined with the i5-13400F would deliver essentially the same frame rates in this game, though the RTX 5090's higher percentile ranking suggests it has more headroom in other titles.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear shift in component importance as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a more significant role relative to the GPU, as evidenced by the smaller frame rate differences between presets. The 1080p results show a 149.4 FPS at Low versus 76.3 FPS at Ultra, a 73.1 FPS spread that is the smallest of the three resolutions, suggesting the CPU is keeping pace with the GPU's output at lower resolutions. The single-thread score of 3191 in Cinebench R23 and the 3DMark single-thread score of 960 indicate strong per-core performance that prevents the CPU from bottlenecking at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU becomes more influential. The frame rate spread between Low and Ultra widens to 75.9 FPS, and the overall averages drop from the 1080p results, indicating the GPU is working harder to fill the additional pixels. The 1440p Ultra average of 68.9 FPS versus the 1080p Ultra average of 76.3 FPS shows an 7.4 FPS penalty from the resolution increase, which is a modest cost that highlights the RTX 5090's bandwidth advantage from its 1.79 TB/s memory throughput and 512-bit bus width.

At 3840x2160, the GPU dominates the performance equation. The 4K Low average of 135 FPS is only 14.4 FPS lower than the 1080p Low average, but the 4K Ultra average of 50.8 FPS falls 25.5 FPS below the 1080p Ultra figure. This disproportionate drop at higher presets indicates the GPU's compute resources, specifically its 21760 shading units and 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance, are the limiting factor at 4K Ultra. The CPU's role diminishes further at this resolution, as the frame rates become increasingly bound by the GPU's pixel throughput and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K with all settings maxed out?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo averages 50.8 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best playable setting at 4K is High, which achieves 62.9 FPS.

Q: What is the highest preset that stays above 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 68.9 FPS, making it the most demanding preset that remains playable at this resolution.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F scores 25292 on average, which is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS at 25284 and 0.3% behind the Intel Core 5 120 at 25362. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D is also 0.3% ahead, while the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H trails by 0.4%.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 significantly faster than its closest GPU alternatives in this game?

A: The performance difference is minimal. The RTX 5090's average score of 79842 is just 0.3% above the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 79605 and 1.1% above the Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78940. The Radeon Pro Vega 64X actually leads by 1.4% at 80959.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1080p with High settings?

A: The combo delivers 99.7 FPS on average at 1920x1080 with High settings, which provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold and allows for smooth gameplay even during demanding scenes.

Q: Which component limits performance at 4K Ultra?

A: The GPU is the primary constraint at 3840x2160 Ultra, as the 50.8 FPS average reflects the RTX 5090's rendering workload. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 92nd percentile suggests the processor is not the bottleneck at this resolution.