The Medium

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 presents a stark contrast in hardware generations within a single system. The database shows this combination achieves playable performance in The Medium at 1080p and 1440p, but the pairing's limitations become apparent at 4K. The data indicates that the aging six-core processor does not bottleneck the flagship GPU to the point of unplayability, yet the system's overall ranking in the database reveals it is not an optimal match for this title.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: Yes. The recorded average FPS at 1080p High is 64 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The database lists High as the best playable setting at this resolution.

Q: What is the highest preset that maintains 60 FPS at 2560x1440?

A: The High preset is the most demanding playable option at 1440p, with an average of 60 FPS. Medium runs at 68 FPS, and Low runs at 82 FPS.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at any resolution?

A: No. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 59 FPS, just below the threshold. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 56 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 51 FPS. The verdict data excludes Ultra from playable settings at all three resolutions.

Q: How does the system perform at 3840x2160 compared to lower resolutions?

A: Performance degrades significantly. At 4K, the playable settings are limited to Low (76 FPS) and Medium (63 FPS). The High preset at 4K drops to 56 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What are the minimum FPS numbers recorded for Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset has recorded min FPS values for all resolutions: 62 FPS at 1080p, 58 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K. These represent the only min/max FPS data points in the measured results.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combination ranks 1283 out of 3724 total tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the upper third of the database.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in The Medium is best understood by examining the FPS scaling across resolutions. The RTX 5090 is a flagship GPU with a 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, while the i5-9400 sits at the 47th percentile among CPUs. This creates a situation where the GPU has far more headroom than the processor can feed at lower resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the CPU's influence is strongest. The average FPS for Low settings is 87 FPS, but High settings only reach 64 FPS, a drop of 23 FPS. This scaling pattern suggests that as settings increase, the workload shifts and the CPU's six threads become a limiting factor. The RTX 5090 is capable of much higher frame rates, but the processor constrains the output. The 1080p Ultra preset confirms this, as it averages 59 FPS, only 5 FPS below High.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take on more of the rendering load, but the CPU still exerts influence. The Low preset averages 82 FPS, which is only 5 FPS lower than at 1080p. High settings at 1440p average 60 FPS, which is 4 FPS lower than at 1080p. The differences between resolutions at the same preset are relatively small, indicating that the CPU is still a bottleneck. If the GPU were fully saturated, the gap between 1080p and 1440p would be larger.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant factor. The RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are taxed heavily. The Low preset drops to 76 FPS, a 6 FPS decrease from 1440p, and High drops to 56 FPS, a 4 FPS decrease. The Medium preset at 4K averages 63 FPS, which is 5 FPS lower than at 1440p. These modest differences suggest that the CPU is no longer the primary constraint; the GPU's rendering work at 4K is the limiting factor.

The recorded data shows a clear transition. At 1080p, the i5-9400 holds the system back, as evidenced by the relatively small FPS gains from lowering resolution. At 4K, the RTX 5090's workload dominates, and the CPU's role diminishes. The system is CPU-bound at lower resolutions and GPU-bound at higher ones.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080

At 1080p, the system delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 87 FPS, the fastest recorded result in the entire dataset. Medium settings average 72 FPS, with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS. High settings average 64 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 59 FPS, which narrowly misses the 60 FPS playable threshold. The spread from Low to Ultra is 28 FPS, showing that the CPU limits the upper range of performance.

2560x1440

At 1440p, the frame rates remain solid but begin to decline. Low settings average 82 FPS, a 5 FPS drop from 1080p. Medium averages 68 FPS, with a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS. High settings average exactly 60 FPS, meeting the playable threshold. Ultra averages 56 FPS, which is below the threshold. The gap between Low and Ultra is 26 FPS, slightly narrower than at 1080p.

3840x2160

At 4K, the system's performance falls further. Low settings average 76 FPS, the highest playable option at this resolution. Medium averages 63 FPS, with a minimum of 54 FPS and a maximum of 73 FPS. High settings drop to 56 FPS, and Ultra falls to 51 FPS. At 4K, only Low and Medium are classified as playable. The difference between Low and Ultra is 25 FPS, and the overall performance shows the GPU struggling with the 4K workload.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have nearby rivals in the database that would behave similarly in this system. For the Intel Core i5-9400, the nearest alternatives are all within a fraction of a percent in average benchmark score. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 has an average score of 2259, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-9400's 2254. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher. Any of these processors would produce nearly identical frame rates in The Medium, meaning the system's performance is representative of this performance class.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, the nearest rivals are unusual in that they are not consumer gaming GPUs but rather professional and mobile parts. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB has an average score of 79605, which is 0.3% lower than the RTX 5090's 79842. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB scores 79396, 0.6% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940, 1.1% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80959, 1.4% higher. These alternatives would deliver comparable raw performance, though their driver and feature support may differ in practice.

The key takeaway is that the system's performance is not unique to the exact CPU and GPU pairing. Substituting any of the listed rivals would yield similar FPS numbers in The Medium. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking and the GPU's 92nd percentile ranking define the performance envelope for this combination.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database provides clear guidance on the best settings for each resolution, defined as the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the best settings are High, with an average of 64 FPS. This is 4 FPS above the playable threshold and 5 FPS below the Low preset's 87 FPS. The Medium preset also clears the threshold at 72 FPS, but High offers better visual quality while remaining playable.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are High, with an average of exactly 60 FPS. This is the minimum playable threshold, so any fluctuation could push it below 60 FPS. Medium is a safer choice at 68 FPS, but High is technically playable and provides the highest visual fidelity at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the best settings are Medium, with an average of 63 FPS. The Low preset runs at 76 FPS, but Medium offers improved visuals while staying above the threshold. High is not playable at 4K, averaging 56 FPS.

The Verdict

The data shows that this system can run The Medium at 1080p and 1440p with playable frame rates, but 4K performance is limited. At 1920x1080, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best option at 64 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same three presets are playable, with High at 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low and Medium are playable, with Medium at 63 FPS.

The Ultra preset is not playable at any resolution. It averages 59 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K. The CPU's age is evident at lower resolutions, where the frame rates do not scale as strongly as the GPU alone would allow. The system is viable for this game, but users targeting 4K must accept Medium settings or lower to stay above 60 FPS.

The overall ranking of 1283 out of 3724 combos places this system in the upper third of all tested configurations. This is notable given the CPU's modest benchmark scores, but the RTX 5090's raw power compensates for the processor's limitations in most scenarios. The system clears the 60 FPS threshold at all three resolutions with at least one preset, making it a functional choice for The Medium.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination ranks 1283 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the 65th percentile of all systems in the database, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of tested configurations. The ranking reflects the system's ability to maintain playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p across multiple presets.

The ranking is heavily influenced by the RTX 5090's 92nd percentile GPU score, which carries the system. The i5-9400's 47th percentile CPU score is below average, and this drags the combo down from what the GPU alone could achieve. The 1283 rank indicates that many systems with stronger processors and weaker GPUs still outperform this pairing in The Medium, likely due to the game's CPU demands at lower resolutions. The system is a functional but imbalanced configuration for this title.