The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination delivers a performance profile in The Medium that is heavily dictated by resolution and graphics settings, with the GPU acting as the primary scaling factor from 1080p upward. The measured data shows a clear hierarchy where the RTX 4070 Ti’s rendering capabilities dominate the experience, while the six-core Zen 4 processor provides sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a consistent and predictable pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 79 FPS at 1080p to 68.4 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 10.6 FPS, and then further to 52.7 FPS at 4K, representing a cumulative 33.3% decline from the baseline 1080p figure. This scaling behavior is typical for a title where pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, and the data indicates the RTX 4070 Ti’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are being utilized effectively without memory capacity constraints.

The Low settings curve tells a similar story but with steeper absolute drops. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 155.9 FPS, which falls to 146.8 FPS at 1440p (a 5.8% reduction) and then to 115.9 FPS at 4K (a 25.7% reduction from 1080p). The smaller relative decline between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings suggests the CPU begins to play a more significant role at lower graphical loads, as the Ryzen 5 8400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads are capable of feeding the GPU enough data to maintain high frame rates. However, the substantial 30.9 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K at Low settings confirms that even with minimal graphical overhead, the RTX 4070 Ti’s pixel fill rate becomes the dominant constraint at 4K.

Ultra settings exhibit the most pronounced resolution sensitivity. The average frame rate at 1080p Ultra is 60.3 FPS, which drops to 54.8 FPS at 1440p and 43.8 FPS at 4K. The 4K figure represents a 27.4% reduction from 1080p, indicating that the most demanding settings amplify the GPU’s workload disproportionately. This pattern suggests that The Medium’s Ultra preset introduces effects that scale superlinearly with pixel count, likely including ray-traced features or high-resolution shadow maps that stress the RTX 4070 Ti’s 60 RT cores and 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 8400F, with its 6 cores, 12 threads, and boost clock of 4.70 GHz, provides a solid foundation for The Medium’s multithreaded workload. The processor’s 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth ensure that data feeding the GPU is not a limiting factor in most configurations. Benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20851 and a single-core score of 2943, positioning the CPU at the 82nd percentile versus all processors, which indicates it has sufficient compute headroom for a game that is primarily GPU-bound.

The data supports this assessment through the frame rate deltas between settings at a fixed resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 95.6 FPS (155.9 vs 60.3), a massive gap that demonstrates the GPU is the primary performance driver. If the CPU were the bottleneck, this gap would be compressed, as the processor would cap frame rates regardless of graphical load. The fact that Low settings exceed 155 FPS at 1080p while Ultra drops to 60.3 FPS confirms the CPU is not imposing a hard ceiling on performance.

However, the 8400F’s role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions and settings. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6091 and the PassMark multithread score of 24530 indicate the processor can sustain high instruction throughput, but the 4K Low result of 115.9 FPS versus the 1080p Low result of 155.9 FPS shows a 40 FPS gap that cannot be attributed to CPU limitations alone. This gap is purely a GPU resolution scaling effect, as the CPU workload does not change with pixel count. The processor’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X with a delta of 0% and the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F with a delta of 0.3%, confirming that the 8400F sits in a performance tier that is more than adequate for this title.

FAQ

Q: Does the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F bottleneck the RTX 4070 Ti in The Medium?

A: No, the data shows the GPU is the primary constraint. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 155.9 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it drops to 60.3 FPS, a 95.6 FPS spread that indicates the GPU scales with settings while the CPU maintains consistent throughput. The processor’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20851 places it well above the threshold needed for this title.

Q: What is the best resolution for smooth gameplay with this combo?

A: For 60 FPS targets, 1440p High delivers 68.4 FPS and 1440p Medium achieves 90.6 FPS, both comfortably above the threshold. At 4K, High settings produce 52.7 FPS, which is playable but not locked to 60. For maximum visual fidelity at 60 FPS, 1080p Ultra at 60.3 FPS is the most demanding configuration that still meets this target.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti perform at 4K in this game?

A: The GPU delivers 43.8 FPS at 4K Ultra, 52.7 FPS at 4K High, 72.4 FPS at 4K Medium, and 115.9 FPS at 4K Low. These figures indicate that 4K gameplay requires dropping to Medium settings for a 60 FPS experience, while High settings are viable for 50-55 FPS gameplay.

Q: Is the 12 GB VRAM on the RTX 4070 Ti sufficient for The Medium?

A: The measured data shows no evidence of VRAM capacity limiting performance across any resolution or settings combination. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the game’s requirements, as evidenced by the consistent scaling patterns from 1080p to 4K without anomalous drops.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 8400F compare to its direct rivals in CPU benchmarks?

A: The 8400F’s average benchmark score of 25064 places it within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (24993) and within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 (25099). It matches the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (25057) with a delta of 0%, indicating parity in overall CPU throughput.

Q: What settings should be used for a locked 60 FPS experience at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Ultra settings produce 54.8 FPS, which is below 60, while High settings achieve 68.4 FPS. For a stable 60 FPS with headroom, High settings are recommended, or Medium settings at 90.6 FPS for extra margin and improved frame pacing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 155.9 FPS, Medium settings achieve 109.9 FPS, High settings reach 79 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 60.3 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 61.3% reduction in performance, highlighting the significant cost of the highest graphical preset.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down proportionally. Low settings average 146.8 FPS, Medium settings achieve 90.6 FPS, High settings reach 68.4 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 54.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 92 FPS, slightly smaller than at 1080p due to the increased pixel workload reducing the relative impact of settings changes.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4070 Ti’s limits become apparent. Low settings average 115.9 FPS, Medium settings achieve 72.4 FPS, High settings reach 52.7 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 43.8 FPS. The 4K Ultra figure is the lowest recorded in the dataset, falling 27.4% below the 1080p Ultra result and indicating that this configuration is not suitable for 4K Ultra gameplay.

The settings scaling at each resolution is consistent, with Medium settings providing approximately 70-75% of the Low settings performance, High settings providing approximately 45-50%, and Ultra settings providing approximately 38-40%. This consistent ratio across resolutions confirms that the game’s settings presets have a uniform impact on GPU workload, independent of pixel count.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Medium, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 200th out of 1689 tested combos. This places the configuration in the top 11.8% of all tested systems, indicating that it delivers above-average performance for this title. The rank reflects the combination’s ability to maintain playable frame rates across all tested configurations, with the worst-case scenario being 4K Ultra at 43.8 FPS, which is still above the threshold for console-equivalent performance.

The ranking is influenced by both components’ positions in their respective performance hierarchies. The GPU sits at the 85th percentile versus all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 44900, while the CPU sits at the 82nd percentile versus all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 25064. The combination of two above-average components results in a system that places in the top tier of tested configurations, though the 4K Ultra result of 43.8 FPS indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti is not a top-tier 4K card in this specific title.

Comparatively, the GPU’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile with a delta of -0.6% and the Intel Arc A730M with a delta of -1.5%, placing the RTX 4070 Ti in a competitive position against mobile and lower-tier desktop parts. The CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X with a delta of 0% and the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F with a delta of 0.3%, confirming that the 8400F provides performance parity with established desktop processors. The 200th rank out of 1689 combos reflects a well-balanced system where neither component significantly underperforms relative to the other, allowing the GPU to scale consistently with resolution and settings as the measured data demonstrates.