The Medium

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a high-performance experience in The Medium, with benchmark data showing that the combination is capable of surpassing the 60 FPS playability threshold across most settings at all three tested resolutions. The measured FPS values indicate that this system is heavily GPU-bound at higher presets, while still maintaining strong frame rates that position it well within the top tier of tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the data shows a clear scaling pattern across the four quality presets. On Low settings, the system produces an average of 135.2 FPS, which drops to 90.3 FPS on Medium. High settings yield 67.8 FPS, while the most demanding Ultra preset falls to 48.4 FPS, placing it below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The gap between Low and Medium is substantial at 44.9 FPS, while the transition from Medium to High represents a 22.5 FPS reduction, and High to Ultra costs another 19.4 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates improve across the board. Low settings deliver 146.1 FPS, Medium reaches 116.3 FPS, High produces 82.6 FPS, and Ultra maintains 68.6 FPS. Notably, the Ultra preset at this resolution stays above the 60 FPS threshold, which is a significant advantage over the 4K results. The scaling from Low to Medium shows a 29.8 FPS drop, Medium to High costs 33.7 FPS, and High to Ultra reduces performance by 14.0 FPS, indicating that the transition from Medium to High is the most demanding step at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the combination performs even more strongly. Low settings achieve 157.4 FPS, Medium reaches 128.2 FPS, High delivers 98.2 FPS, and Ultra still holds 80.7 FPS. The frame rate deltas between presets are more moderate here: Low to Medium drops 29.2 FPS, Medium to High costs 30.0 FPS, and High to Ultra reduces by 17.5 FPS. All presets clear the 60 FPS mark comfortably, with even the most demanding setting leaving substantial headroom.

The pattern across resolutions reveals that the RTX 5090 is the primary performance driver, as the frame rate differences between presets remain consistent regardless of resolution. The data shows that the GPU's capabilities are stretched most at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, where the 48.4 FPS result indicates the only configuration that fails to meet the playability threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 67.8 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above the threshold while still delivering enhanced visual quality over Medium's 90.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 48.4 FPS is not viable for smooth gameplay at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are Ultra, which maintains 68.6 FPS. This is particularly noteworthy because the same preset at 4K drops below 60 FPS, showing that the resolution reduction allows the GPU to handle the full visual feature set. The 8.6 FPS margin above the threshold is sufficient for consistent performance.

For 1920x1080, Ultra is also the recommended preset, achieving 80.7 FPS. This provides a 20.7 FPS buffer over the playability threshold, ensuring stable frame pacing even in demanding scenes. The data suggests that this resolution is the sweet spot for maximizing visual fidelity without compromising smoothness.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K with the highest settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combination produces an average of 48.4 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The highest playable preset at this resolution is High, with 67.8 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings deliver 157.4 FPS while Ultra provides 80.7 FPS, representing a 76.7 FPS reduction. This indicates that the Ultra preset costs roughly half the frame rate of Low, yet still remains well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 bottleneck the i5-14400F in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions and presets. The frame rate scaling between Low and Ultra remains consistent across all resolutions, and the 4K Ultra result of 48.4 FPS shows the GPU's limits are reached before the CPU becomes a constraint.

Q: Is 1440p Ultra a better choice than 4K High?

A: Yes, based on the measured data. 2560x1440 Ultra achieves 68.6 FPS, while 3840x2160 High produces 67.8 FPS. The 1440p Ultra configuration provides similar frame rates with higher visual quality settings, though at a lower native resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings?

A: At High settings, 1920x1080 delivers 98.2 FPS while 3840x2160 produces 67.8 FPS, a 30.4 FPS reduction. For Ultra settings, the drop is more severe: 80.7 FPS at 1080p versus 48.4 FPS at 4K, a 32.3 FPS reduction.

Q: What frame rate can be expected with Medium settings at 4K?

A: Medium settings at 3840x2160 produce an average of 90.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. This represents a strong balance between visual quality and performance for users who prioritize frame rate at 4K.

The Verdict

This PC configuration can absolutely run The Medium, with the verdictByResolution data showing playable performance across nearly all tested scenarios. At 3840x2160, the system clears 60 FPS on Low, Medium, and High presets, with High being the best playable option at 67.8 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution is the only configuration that fails to meet the threshold, producing 48.4 FPS.

At 2560x1440, all four presets achieve playable frame rates, with Ultra delivering 68.6 FPS. This makes 1440p the recommended resolution for users who want the full visual experience without sacrificing smoothness. At 1920x1080, every preset clears 60 FPS, with Ultra achieving 80.7 FPS and even Low reaching 157.4 FPS, indicating that the system has substantial headroom at this resolution.

The data confirms that this combination is more than sufficient for The Medium, with the only sub-60 FPS result occurring at the most demanding configuration of 4K Ultra. For users with 4K displays, dropping to High settings provides a playable experience, while 1440p and 1080p users can enjoy maximum settings with confidence.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear division of labor between the Intel Core i5-14400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in The Medium. The scaling between resolutions shows that the GPU is the dominant performance factor, as the frame rate differences between Low and Ultra presets remain proportionally similar across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the gap between Low (157.4 FPS) and Ultra (80.7 FPS) is 76.7 FPS, while at 3840x2160 the same comparison shows 135.2 FPS versus 48.4 FPS, a difference of 86.8 FPS.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is less stressed. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the 157.4 FPS result suggests that the i5-14400F is capable of feeding frames quickly enough to keep the RTX 5090 utilized. However, the fact that the frame rates scale almost linearly with resolution and preset changes indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck at higher quality settings.

The transition from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 at High settings shows a 14.8 FPS drop (82.6 to 67.8 FPS), which is a 17.9% reduction. This is less than the resolution's pixel count increase, suggesting that other factors such as memory bandwidth and shader complexity play a role. The RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for this game, as evidenced by the strong performance at 4K.

At 1080p, the CPU's contribution is more noticeable. The difference between Low (157.4 FPS) and Medium (128.2 FPS) at 1080p is 29.2 FPS, while the same transition at 4K costs 44.9 FPS. This larger delta at 4K indicates that the GPU is working harder at higher resolutions, reinforcing the conclusion that the GPU is the primary driver of performance in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 115th out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium, placing it in the top 3.1% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the strong performance demonstrated by the measured FPS data, particularly the ability to maintain high frame rates at 1440p and 1080p with Ultra settings.

The combination's high ranking is driven primarily by the RTX 5090's exceptional performance, as the GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. The CPU, while not as dominant in its percentile ranking at 83rd, is more than adequate for this title, as the data shows no significant CPU bottleneck at any resolution or preset.

The combo's position at rank 115 suggests that there are only 114 configurations that outperform it, which is a small fraction of the 3724 total combinations tested. This indicates that the i5-14400F and RTX 5090 pairing is among the most capable systems for running The Medium at high frame rates and quality settings.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Examining the nearestRivals data for both components provides insight into what other hardware would behave similarly. For the Intel Core i5-14400F, the closest matching CPUs in terms of average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% higher score), Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% higher), AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.2% lower), and Intel Core i7-12800H (0.5% higher). These processors would likely deliver comparable CPU performance in The Medium, though the game's GPU-bound nature means the differences would be minimal in most scenarios.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, the nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (0.3% higher score), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (0.6% higher), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.1% higher), and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X (1.4% lower). These GPUs would produce similar frame rates in The Medium, though the Tesla P100 variants are data center products with different driver optimizations.

Users seeking comparable performance to this specific combo could consider pairing the i5-14400F with a GPU from the RTX 5090's rival list, or alternatively using one of the similar CPUs with the RTX 5090. The benchmark data indicates that the frame rates would be within a few percentage points of the measured results, making these viable alternatives for achieving the same playable experience in The Medium.