The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER in The Medium presents a dataset that clearly separates the workloads of the CPU and GPU. The measured frames per second across resolutions and settings show a system that is firmly GPU-limited at higher quality presets, while the CPU demonstrates ample headroom to push frame rates when graphical load is reduced. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data, the role of each component, and how this particular combination ranks against other tested configurations in the database.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, which points directly at the GPU as the primary bottleneck. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 99.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 86.5 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 13.2 FPS, and then further down to 64.6 FPS at 3840x2160. This progression shows a 35.1 FPS drop from 1080p to 4K, indicating that even at the lowest graphical load, the RTX 2070 SUPER struggles to maintain high frame rates at the highest resolution. The data suggests that the GPU’s rendering capacity is the limiting factor, as the CPU is unlikely to be a constraint at these lower settings.

At Medium settings, the pattern holds, with 62.7 FPS at 1080p dropping to 55.8 FPS at 1440p, and then to 45.1 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 4K is 17.6 FPS, which is a smaller absolute drop than at Low settings but still represents a 28% reduction in performance. This scaling indicates that the GPU is still the limiting component, but the increased load from Medium settings does not cause a disproportionate collapse in frame rates.

High settings show a different characteristic. The average FPS at 1080p is 45.7, which drops to 36.7 at 1440p, and then to 31.4 at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K is only 5.3 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is nearing its limits at these higher resolutions. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 9 FPS, which is significant, but the subsequent drop to 4K is less severe, indicating a flattening of the performance curve as the GPU becomes saturated.

Ultra settings present the most extreme case. The frame rate at 1080p is 33.6 FPS, which falls to 31.4 at 1440p, and then to 23.7 at 4K. The difference between 1080p and 1440p is just 2.2 FPS, meaning the GPU is already fully loaded at 1080p Ultra. The drop to 4K is 7.7 FPS, which is a notable decline, but the overall pattern shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER cannot handle Ultra presets at any resolution with playable frame rates. The data strongly suggests that resolution scaling is governed by the GPU, with the CPU providing no visible limitation in any scenario.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate is 45.7 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that the combination is not ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming at this preset.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER perform at 4K with Low settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average FPS is 64.6. This is the only 4K configuration that achieves a playable frame rate above 60 FPS, showing that the GPU can handle 4K only with significant graphical compromises.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 8400F a bottleneck in this game?

A: Based on the FPS scaling, the CPU does not appear to be a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the frame rate reaches 99.7 FPS, which is a high value, and the consistent drop as resolution increases points solely to GPU limitations. The CPU’s multi-threaded score of 20851 in Cinebench R23 suggests it has ample processing power.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings produce an average of 55.8 FPS, while High settings produce 36.7 FPS. This is a difference of 19.1 FPS, indicating that the step up from Medium to High has a substantial impact on GPU load.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combination ranks 1033 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the lower half of the database, reflecting the GPU’s mid-range standing and the game’s demanding nature.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60 FPS?

A: The only settings that achieve an average of 60 FPS or higher are 1080p Low (99.7 FPS), 1080p Medium (62.7 FPS), and 4K Low (64.6 FPS). At 1440p, no setting reaches 60 FPS, with Low being the closest at 86.5 FPS, but Medium and High fall below.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the defining component in this dataset. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient for the game’s textures, but the core clock speeds of 1605 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost dictate the raw rendering speed. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the primary constraint at all settings above Low. The frame rate at 1080p Ultra is 33.6 FPS, which is a low value for a 1080p resolution, indicating that the GPU’s 2560 shading units are overwhelmed by the game’s visual effects.

The GPU’s performance relative to its rivals is modest. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A400, has an average benchmark score of 22307, which is 0.5% higher than the RTX 2070 SUPER’s score of 22206. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 scores 21670, which is 2.5% lower, showing that the RTX 2070 SUPER sits in a tight competitive band. The GPU’s percentile rank of 65 out of 100 places it above the median, but the game’s high demands mean that even a GPU in the 65th percentile cannot maintain high frame rates at higher settings. The 12 nm process node and 13,600 million transistors contribute to a 215 W TDP, which is a high power draw for the performance delivered, but the focus here is on the measured FPS results.

The 4K Low setting result of 64.6 FPS is particularly telling. It shows that when the GPU is not burdened by high-quality shadows and reflections, it can still deliver playable frame rates at 4K. However, the drop to 45.1 FPS at Medium and 31.4 FPS at High demonstrates how quickly the GPU saturates as settings increase. The data indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER is a capable 1080p and 1440p GPU for lower presets, but it is not suited for Ultra settings at any resolution in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 99.7 FPS for Low, 62.7 FPS for Medium, 45.7 FPS for High, and 33.6 FPS for Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium is a 37 FPS drop, which is substantial, while the drop from Medium to High is 17 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 12.1 FPS. This shows that the Low preset offers a significantly lighter load, while the Medium and High presets have a more moderate impact on performance. The Ultra preset is clearly the most demanding, with a frame rate that is below 34 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the results are 86.5 FPS for Low, 55.8 FPS for Medium, 36.7 FPS for High, and 31.4 FPS for Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 30.7 FPS, which is a steep decline. The difference between Medium and High is 19.1 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 5.3 FPS, showing that the GPU is progressively more limited as resolution increases. The Ultra setting at 1440p is only 2.2 FPS lower than at 1080p, which suggests the GPU is already at its limit regardless of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 64.6 FPS for Low, 45.1 FPS for Medium, 31.4 FPS for High, and 23.7 FPS for Ultra. The Low preset is the only one that stays above 60 FPS, while Medium is playable at 45 FPS but not ideal. The High setting matches the 1440p Ultra result of 31.4 FPS, indicating that 4K High is equivalent in load to 1440p Ultra. The Ultra setting at 4K is the lowest measured at 23.7 FPS, which is below playable thresholds for most users. The data shows a clear pattern: the RTX 2070 SUPER delivers playable frame rates only at Low settings for 4K, and at Low or Medium settings for lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1033 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the 61st percentile of all configurations, meaning it outperforms about 61% of tested systems but lags behind the top performers. The rank reflects the GPU’s mid-range position, as the CPU is a recent and capable part. The Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25064, which places it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, but the GPU’s 65th percentile score of 22206 drags the overall combo ranking down.

The combo’s ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data. The system cannot maintain 60 FPS at 1080p High or Ultra, which is a common target for many games, and this limitation is directly attributable to the GPU. The CPU’s performance is not a factor in this ranking, as its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, has a nearly identical average score of 25057 with a delta of 0%, indicating that the 8400F is not a weak link. The combination ranks below many systems with newer GPUs, but it is not in the bottom quartile, suggesting it is a usable mid-range setup for less demanding titles.

The data shows that the combo is best suited for 1080p gaming at Medium settings, where it achieves 62.7 FPS, or 4K at Low settings with 64.6 FPS. The rank of 1033 out of 1689 means that there are 656 better-performing combos, which is a significant number, but also that there are 656 worse-performing combos. This places the system in the middle of the pack, with its main strength being the CPU’s headroom and its main weakness being the GPU’s inability to handle high graphical loads.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its performance in synthetic benchmarks is strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20851 and a single-core score of 2943. These scores indicate that the CPU has ample processing power for gaming, and the measured FPS data confirms that it is not a limiting factor in The Medium. The highest measured frame rate in the dataset is 99.7 FPS at 1080p Low, which is a high value that demonstrates the CPU’s ability to feed frames to the GPU.

The CPU’s 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide sufficient data throughput for the game’s logic and streaming. The 65 W TDP is low, which is typical for a 6-core part, but this does not affect performance in this context. The CPU’s percentile rank of 82 out of 100 places it well above the median, and its nearest rivals, such as the Ryzen 7 2700X, have nearly identical scores, showing that the 8400F is a competitive part for its price point.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU’s role is to handle the game’s simulation and rendering calls, but the data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck in all but the lowest settings. At 1080p Low, the frame rate of 99.7 FPS is likely near the CPU’s limit for this game, but it is still above the 60 FPS target. At higher settings, the GPU reduces the frame rate to below 50 FPS, giving the CPU no chance to become a constraint. The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are more than enough for this title, as the game does not appear to be heavily multithreaded based on the scaling data. The combination of a strong CPU and a mid-range GPU means that the system’s performance is dictated by the GPU, and the CPU’s headroom could be used with a more powerful graphics card in future upgrades.