The Medium

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers a strongly playable experience in The Medium, though the data shows that the most demanding preset at 4K will test the limits of this combination. Across the three resolutions tested, the system consistently clears the 60 FPS playable threshold at multiple quality settings, with the only exception being the Ultra preset at 3840x2160, which drops to an average of 47 FPS. The measured results indicate a clear performance hierarchy: lower resolutions and lower settings yield proportionally higher frame rates, but the gap between Medium and Ultra at each resolution is substantial, suggesting that the RTX 5080’s raw power is best utilized with a balanced settings profile.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination produces its highest frame rates across the board. The Low preset averages 155 FPS, which is the fastest result recorded for this hardware pairing. Moving up to Medium, the average drops to 124 FPS, with the measured range spanning from a minimum of 105 FPS to a maximum of 143 FPS. The High preset delivers 89 FPS on average, while the Ultra preset still manages a comfortable 70 FPS average. All four settings at this resolution remain well above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with even the most demanding preset leaving nearly 17% headroom over the playable mark.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the performance scales predictably but retains excellent playability. The Low preset averages 147 FPS, only slightly behind the 1080p Low result. Medium produces an average of 104 FPS, with a minimum of 89 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS, showing that even the worst-case frame times stay far above the threshold. High settings yield 75 FPS on average, which is still a solid margin above the 60 FPS target. However, the Ultra preset at this resolution drops to exactly 59 FPS on average, placing it just one frame per second below the playable threshold. This makes 1440p Ultra the first setting that fails to clear the bar, despite the High preset remaining fully playable.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low settings average 131 FPS, which is remarkably high for 4K and indicates that the RTX 5080 has ample headroom when visual effects are reduced. Medium settings average 82 FPS, with a minimum of 70 FPS and a maximum of 94 FPS, providing a stable experience that stays comfortably above 60 FPS throughout. High settings average 59 FPS, landing just under the playable threshold. The Ultra preset averages 47 FPS, which is the lowest recorded result in the entire dataset and represents a 43% reduction compared to the Medium preset at the same resolution. The data clearly shows that while 4K is playable at Low and Medium, the two higher presets fall short of the 60 FPS target.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but only at Low and Medium settings. The data shows 4K Low averages 131 FPS, while 4K Medium averages 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 FPS. Both High and Ultra at 4K fail to reach 60 FPS, with averages of 59 FPS and 47 FPS respectively.

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

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 averages 75 FPS, which makes it the most demanding playable option at that resolution. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 59 FPS, just below the threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 perform at 1080p Ultra in this game?

A: The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 averages 70 FPS, which is fully playable. The data shows this is the only resolution where Ultra clears the 60 FPS threshold, while 1440p Ultra and 4K Ultra both fall short.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Medium and Ultra at 4K?

A: The gap is substantial. Medium at 3840x2160 averages 82 FPS, while Ultra at the same resolution averages 47 FPS. This represents a 35 FPS drop, or roughly a 43% reduction in average frame rate.

Q: Is the frame pacing stable at playable settings?

A: For settings where min/max data is available, the Medium preset shows stable ranges. At 1080p, the range spans from 105 to 143 FPS; at 1440p, from 89 to 120 FPS; and at 4K, from 70 to 94 FPS. These ranges indicate consistent frame delivery without severe dips.

Q: Does the 1440p Medium preset stay above 60 FPS at all times?

A: Yes. The 2560x1440 Medium preset has a minimum recorded FPS of 89 and a maximum of 120, with an average of 104 FPS. The lowest measured frame rate remains 29 FPS above the playable threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU benchmarks place the Intel Core i5-14400F in close competition with several other processors. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U scores 32233, which is only 0.1% lower than the i5-14400F’s average of 32279. The Intel Core i9-11900 scores 32226, a 0.2% deficit, while the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS scores 32354, putting it 0.2% ahead. The Intel Core i7-12800H scores 32121, which trails by 0.5%. These four rivals form a tight cluster where the i5-14400F sits near the middle, meaning that swapping to any of these alternatives would produce nearly identical CPU-bound performance in The Medium.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 has an average benchmark score of 56083, placing it among similarly performing graphics cards. The AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757, which is 0.6% lower than the RTX 5080. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, a 0.7% deficit. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, trailing by 2.3%. On the other side, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores 57367, which is 2.2% higher than the RTX 5080. For gamers considering alternatives, the RX 9070 GRE would deliver slightly higher frame rates, while the Radeon 8060S or RX 6750 GRE would perform within one percentage point of the RTX 5080, meaning the measured FPS results in this analysis would be nearly identical with those GPUs installed.

The Verdict

This combination can run The Medium at all three tested resolutions, but the playable settings vary significantly by resolution. At 1920x1080, the system clears 60 FPS at every preset, including Ultra, which averages 70 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 75 FPS and is the most demanding playable option, while Ultra falls just short at 59 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset averages 82 FPS and is the best playable setting, with Low also exceeding the threshold at 131 FPS. The verdict by resolution confirms that gamers targeting 4K should stick to Medium settings for a smooth experience, while 1440p users can safely use High, and 1080p users can max out the game at Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested combinations in The Medium, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 243rd out of 3724 total combinations. This places the system in roughly the top 6.5% of all tested hardware pairings, indicating that it outperforms the vast majority of configurations. The high rank reflects the strong synergy between the CPU’s 83rd percentile standing among all processors and the GPU’s 87th percentile among all graphics cards. While the RTX 5080 is clearly the dominant component in this pairing, the i5-14400F provides sufficient throughput to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at the settings where the system remains playable.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, which produces an average of 82 FPS. This setting delivers the best visual quality while maintaining a 22 FPS margin over the playable threshold. At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best choice, averaging 75 FPS. This provides a 15 FPS cushion above the 60 FPS target while offering noticeably improved visuals over Medium. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 70 FPS, making it the recommended setting for maximum quality. This is the only resolution where Ultra clears the playable threshold, and the 10 FPS margin above 60 FPS ensures a stable experience. In all cases, the data supports selecting these presets as the optimal balance between visual fidelity and frame rate performance for this hardware combination.