The Medium

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination delivers a playable experience in The Medium, but the margin for error is tight. The data shows that this pairing is heavily reliant on graphics settings and resolution to maintain smooth performance. At 1080p, the system can hit the 60 FPS target with medium settings, but at higher resolutions, only the lowest preset keeps the frame rate above the playability threshold. The CPU sits in the 47th percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 66th percentile, indicating a combination where the graphics card has more headroom relative to its peers than the processor. This balance shapes the entire performance profile of the game, as the recorded measurements show a consistent pattern of diminishing returns when moving up in resolution or quality preset.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database groups the Intel Core i5-9400 alongside several processors with nearly identical average benchmark scores. The closest match is the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, which scores 2259 compared to the i5-9400's 2254, a difference of only 0.2 percent. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 is just 0.4 percent slower with a score of 2246, while the Intel Core i3-10305 is 0.4 percent faster at 2264. The Intel Core i7-10710U rounds out the group with a score of 2248, sitting 0.3 percent behind the i5-9400. For The Medium, any of these CPUs would likely produce very similar frame rates when paired with the same RTX 5050, as the differences between them are within the margin of measurement error.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5050's nearest rivals in the database are a more scattered group. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL scores 21153, which is 0.6 percent below the RTX 5050's 21035. The AMD Radeon HD 8970M is 1 percent slower at 21237, while the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT sits 1.6 percent faster at 20713. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile is 1.6 percent quicker with a score of 21379. These deltas are small enough that a system builder swapping between any of these cards could expect nearly identical performance in The Medium, assuming the rest of the system remains unchanged. The practical takeaway is that the RTX 5050's performance class is well established, and the game's demands do not push it into a unique tier.

FAQ

Q: Can the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 run The Medium at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only under specific conditions. At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the combination averages exactly 60 FPS. At 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, only the Low preset clears the 60 FPS threshold, with averages of 81 FPS and 64 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the best setting for 1080p gameplay?

A: Medium is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at 1920x1080, with an average of 60 FPS. The recorded minimum is 51 FPS and the maximum is 69 FPS.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 64 FPS. Medium drops to 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 FPS and a maximum of 46 FPS. High averages 29 FPS and Ultra averages 23 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more of a bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system averages 87 FPS, but this drops to 81 FPS at 1440p Low and 64 FPS at 4K Low, showing a clear scaling pattern tied to resolution rather than processor load.

Q: What frame rates can be expected on the High preset?

A: High settings produce an average of 43 FPS at 1920x1080, 36 FPS at 2560x1440, and 29 FPS at 3840x2160. None of these reach the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: How does this combination rank among all tested systems?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 and RTX 5050 combination ranks 2434 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the lower third of the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data provides a complete picture of how this system handles The Medium across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 87 FPS. Medium drops to 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 and a maximum of 69. High falls to 43 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 34 FPS. The 1080p results show a steep curve where each step up in quality costs roughly 20 to 25 percent of the frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 81 FPS. Medium averages 51 FPS with a documented range of 43 to 58 FPS. High averages 36 FPS, while Ultra averages 29 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium at this resolution is a drop of 30 FPS, which is a significant jump in visual quality cost. The gap between Medium and High is 15 FPS, and the gap between High and Ultra is 7 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 64 FPS. Medium averages 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46. High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 23 FPS. The 4K results demonstrate that the RTX 5050 simply does not have enough bandwidth or compute headroom for demanding presets at this resolution. The Medium preset at 4K shows the only recorded minimum and maximum values outside of the 1080p and 1440p Medium runs, indicating that the frame pacing is consistent but the overall performance is below the playability threshold.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: Low is always playable, Medium is only playable at 1080p, and High and Ultra are never playable. The delta between Low and Medium grows as resolution increases, from 27 FPS at 1080p to 30 FPS at 1440p and 24 FPS at 4K.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i5-9400 with the RTX 5050 can run The Medium, but the playable envelope is narrow. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold on both Low and Medium presets, with the Medium preset averaging exactly 60 FPS. This is the only resolution where the user has a choice between two playable quality settings. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset is playable, averaging 81 FPS. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset is playable, averaging 64 FPS. The verdict by resolution is clear: 1080p allows Low and Medium, 1440p allows only Low, and 4K allows only Low. The best settings per resolution are Medium at 1080p with 60 FPS, Low at 1440p with 81 FPS, and Low at 4K with 64 FPS. The game is playable on this hardware, but the user must accept significant visual compromises at higher resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance data reveals how the RTX 5050's workload scales with resolution and preset. At 1080p Low, the system averages 87 FPS. At 1440p Low, it averages 81 FPS, a drop of 6 FPS. At 4K Low, it averages 64 FPS, a drop of 17 FPS from 1440p. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not change significantly between these settings. The i5-9400, with its six cores and six threads, is capable of feeding the RTX 5050 at 1080p, but the frame rate drops are clearly tied to the GPU's rendering load.

The preset scaling reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 27 FPS, from Medium to High costs 17 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 9 FPS. At 1440p, the same steps cost 30 FPS, 15 FPS, and 7 FPS. At 4K, the steps cost 24 FPS, 11 FPS, and 6 FPS. The diminishing returns at higher presets are a classic sign of GPU saturation, not CPU limitation. If the i5-9400 were the bottleneck, the frame rate would plateau regardless of resolution. Instead, the recorded numbers show that the RTX 5050's performance scales predictably with the number of pixels and the quality level, confirming that the graphics card is the primary determinant of frame rate in The Medium.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings, where the frame rate ceiling is higher. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 87 FPS, which is close to what the i5-9400 can sustain in single-threaded workloads. The processor's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935 and multicore score of 6629 suggest that it has enough headroom for this game, but the GPU still sets the overall pace. The data does not show any scenario where the CPU causes a frame rate collapse, even at the lowest settings and resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of exactly 60 FPS. The recorded minimum of 51 FPS means there will be occasional dips below the target, but the average is sufficient for playable performance. At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is Low, which averages 81 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves room for framerate fluctuations without dropping below playability. At 3840x2160, the best playable setting is also Low, averaging 64 FPS. The margin here is thinner, only 4 FPS above the threshold, so users should expect occasional dips below 60 FPS during demanding scenes.

The gap between the best playable setting and the next tier up is significant. At 1080p, the jump from Medium to High costs 17 FPS, which would drop the average to 43 FPS. At 1440p, the jump from Low to Medium costs 30 FPS, landing at 51 FPS. At 4K, the jump from Low to Medium costs 24 FPS, landing at 40 FPS. These large deltas mean that even a small increase in visual quality comes at a steep performance cost, and the system cannot bridge that gap with any adjustments to other settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination ranks 2434 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the 65th percentile of the database, meaning roughly 65 percent of tested systems perform better in this game. The rank reflects the hardware's position in the broader performance landscape: the CPU is in the 47th percentile of all processors, and the GPU is in the 66th percentile of all graphics cards. The combination's overall rank is pulled down by the CPU's relatively modest standing, but the GPU's stronger percentile helps keep the system from falling further.

The practical consequence of this rank is that the system is firmly in the mid-range tier for The Medium. It can handle the game at playable frame rates, but it does not have the headroom for high-refresh-rate displays or high-quality presets at higher resolutions. The recorded data shows that the system's best case is 1080p Medium at 60 FPS, which is a solid but unremarkable result for a game released in this genre. The RTX 5050's performance is sufficient to carry the system through the game's low and medium presets, but the CPU's age and six-thread limit prevent it from pushing into higher performance tiers. Users with this combination should target 1080p or 1440p with conservative settings to maintain a consistent experience.