The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is a capable 1440p-oriented configuration for The Medium, though its performance at 4K reveals the game’s demanding nature. The data shows a clear hierarchy across settings and resolutions, with the combo ranking in the top 20% of all tested configurations. This analysis breaks down the specific frame rates, component roles, and the optimal settings for this hardware pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 as the sweet spot. At Medium settings, it delivers an average of 84 FPS, which is smooth and well above the 60 FPS threshold. While 1920x1080 offers higher frame rates, the visual jump to 1440p is significant, and the combo maintains playable performance there.

Q: Can this setup handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 3840x2160, the High preset yields 47 FPS average, and Medium yields 66 FPS. Ultra drops to 38 FPS, which is below the ideal smoothness threshold. The Low preset at 4K hits 106 FPS, but sacrifices visual fidelity.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080, the difference is 97 FPS (154 FPS on Low vs 57 FPS on Ultra). At 2560x1440, the gap is 87 FPS (135 vs 48). At 3840x2160, the gap is 68 FPS (106 vs 38). The scaling is consistent, showing that Ultra is nearly three times more demanding than Low.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 8400F bottleneck the RTX 5070 in this game?

A: The benchmark data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The CPU's multi-threaded performance is strong enough to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the high frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 154 FPS, suggesting the GPU is the primary driver of performance.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for the Medium preset?

A: The data provides min FPS for the Medium preset across all resolutions: 85 FPS at 1080p, 71 FPS at 1440p, and 56 FPS at 4K. These minimums are all above 50 FPS, indicating stable frame pacing without severe dips.

Q: Is this combo more CPU-bound or GPU-bound in The Medium?

A: The performance scaling suggests this is a GPU-bound scenario. Moving from Low to Ultra at any resolution changes the average FPS dramatically, which is characteristic of a GPU-heavy workload. The CPU’s role is consistent, providing a stable base for the GPU to render.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the primary driver of performance in The Medium. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is essential for the game’s high-resolution textures and streaming. The GPU’s 6144 shading units and 48 RT cores handle the game's rendering demands, with a boost clock of 2512 MHz. The data clearly shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher settings.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 5070 shows its limits. The High preset averages 47 FPS, while Ultra drops to 38 FPS. This is a stark contrast to the Low preset, which hits 106 FPS. The 4K resolution requires substantial memory bandwidth and pixel throughput, and the data indicates that the GPU’s 80 ROPs and 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are stretched thin at Ultra settings. The 672.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is clearly being saturated at this resolution.

The 2560x1440 results paint a more balanced picture. Here, the GPU has enough headroom to deliver 60 FPS on High and 84 FPS on Medium. The jump from 1080p to 1440p is significant, but the RTX 5070 manages it well. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is also sufficient for this resolution, as the game likely loads more assets without hitting memory limits. The 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power provides a solid foundation for the game's pixel and texture work.

At 1920x1080, the RTX 5070 is clearly not stressed. The Low preset achieves 154 FPS, and even Ultra maintains 57 FPS. This demonstrates that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution, making it an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors. The data suggests that the GPU’s performance is more than adequate for the game’s demands at this resolution, with the bottleneck shifting towards the game engine’s single-threaded limits.

The GPU’s 250 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this performance class. The PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensures no bandwidth limitations. The data shows a clear performance ceiling at 4K Ultra, which is likely due to the game’s rendering techniques, such as volumetric lighting and complex shaders, that stress the GPU’s compute and memory subsystems.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F provides a solid foundation for this gaming configuration. With 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, it offers a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The 16 MB of shared L3 cache is moderate, but the 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth from dual-channel DDR5 support ensures the GPU receives data promptly.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is to maintain a stable frame pipeline. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low, where the GPU is less stressed, the combo reaches 154 FPS. This suggests the CPU can handle the game’s logic and draw calls without becoming a bottleneck. The 3DMark scores support this: the max threads score of 6165 and single-thread score of 951 indicate a well-rounded processor for gaming.

The CPU’s performance relative to its rivals is noteworthy. The nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, has an average score of 24964, which is only 0.2% higher than the 8400F’s 25005. This means the 8400F is effectively tied with the 7500F in synthetic benchmarks. The Intel Core i7-13620H is 0.4% behind, while the AMD EPYC 9474F is 0.4% ahead. This places the 8400F in a competitive position within its performance tier.

The CPU’s 65 W TDP is efficient, and its boost clock of 4.70 GHz provides adequate single-thread performance for games that rely on a few cores. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1874 shows strong dual-core performance, which is relevant for older game engines. In The Medium, the CPU likely handles the game’s fixed timestep logic and entity updates without issue.

The 4 nm process node and 25,000 million transistors indicate a modern design. The 8400F’s lack of integrated graphics is irrelevant for this build, as the RTX 5070 handles all rendering. The CPU’s 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that it is a capable gaming processor, and the benchmark results show no signs of it holding back the RTX 5070 in this title.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. The data shows a clear trade-off between visual quality and performance. For a balance of fidelity and smoothness, the Medium preset is the recommended choice across all resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 100 FPS average with a minimum of 85 FPS. This is an excellent experience for fast-paced gameplay. High settings yield 72 FPS, which is still playable, but the jump to Medium provides a 28 FPS improvement with a negligible visual difference. Ultra at 57 FPS is borderline for smooth gameplay, making Medium the best value in terms of frame rate.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset again stands out. The 84 FPS average and 71 FPS minimum provide a smooth experience. High settings at 60 FPS are also viable, but the Medium preset offers a 24 FPS improvement. Low settings at 135 FPS are excessively high, suggesting that the visual downgrade is not worth the performance gain. Ultra at 48 FPS dips below the ideal threshold for action-heavy scenes.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the only sensible choice. The 66 FPS average is playable, and the minimum of 56 FPS is acceptable. High settings at 47 FPS are stuttery, and Ultra at 38 FPS is too low for a horror game where smooth camera movement is crucial. Low settings at 106 FPS are smooth, but the visual quality takes a massive hit, making the game look dated.

The data indicates that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this hardware. It provides a substantial improvement over High and Ultra settings while maintaining a higher minimum FPS. The measured min FPS for Medium across all resolutions is above 50, ensuring a stable experience. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p, the Medium preset maximizes the available headroom. At 1440p, it is the recommended setting for a consistent 60+ FPS experience. At 4K, it is the only preset that provides a truly playable frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 709th out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the 81st percentile of all configurations, indicating that it performs better than the vast majority of systems tested. This rank is impressive, given that the game is demanding on GPU resources.

This ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU’s performance. The RTX 5070’s 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs is the primary driver of this combo’s high position. The CPU’s 77th percentile ranking is slightly lower, but it does not detract from the overall result. The data suggests that the combo is well-balanced, with the GPU providing the bulk of the performance.

Comparing to other combos, the RTX 5070’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are professional-grade cards like the AMD Radeon Pro 580 and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile. These are not gaming-focused parts, and their performance in games is typically lower than their synthetic scores suggest. This means the RTX 5070’s actual gaming performance is likely superior to what the raw benchmark numbers indicate.

The combo’s rank of 709 out of 3724 is a strong result. It means that the 8400F and RTX 5070 pairing outperforms roughly 81% of all tested systems in this specific title. This confirms the efficiency of the RTX 5070’s Blackwell architecture and the 8400F’s solid Zen 4 foundation. The rank suggests that this is a high-end configuration that can handle The Medium with ease at most settings.

The percentile rankings for both components confirm that this is a high-performance pairing. The GPU’s 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs is particularly notable, as it places it within the top 20% of all graphics cards. The CPU’s 77th percentile is also strong, ensuring no bottleneck. The combo’s overall rank is a direct reflection of these component strengths.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at how this combo performs across different resolutions and settings. The data is complete for the Medium preset, which includes min and max FPS figures, while other presets only have average FPS.

1920x1080:

• Low: 154 FPS average. This is the highest frame rate measured, showing no CPU or GPU limitations.
• Medium: 100 FPS average, with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. The min-max range of 30 FPS indicates some variance, but the minimum is still high.
• High: 72 FPS average. This is a significant drop from Medium, showing the cost of higher-quality textures and effects.
• Ultra: 57 FPS average. This is playable, but the lowest frame rate at this resolution.

2560x1440:

• Low: 135 FPS average. A 19 FPS drop from 1080p, showing the increased GPU load.
• Medium: 84 FPS average, with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 97 FPS. The 26 FPS range is similar to 1080p, indicating consistent performance.
• High: 60 FPS average. This is exactly at the 60 FPS threshold, making it a borderline choice.
• Ultra: 48 FPS average. This is below the ideal smoothness threshold, making it less desirable.

3840x2160:

• Low: 106 FPS average. This is surprisingly high, showing the GPU’s capability at 4K with reduced settings.
• Medium: 66 FPS average, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. The 20 FPS range is tighter than at lower resolutions, showing a more stable experience.
• High: 47 FPS average. This is below 60 FPS, making it a less smooth experience.
• Ultra: 38 FPS average. This is the lowest measured frame rate, showing the game’s extreme demands at 4K Ultra.

The data shows a clear pattern: the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality. The min FPS figures for Medium are all above 50, ensuring a stable experience. The Low preset provides high frame rates but sacrifices visual fidelity. The High and Ultra presets are only recommended for users who prioritize visuals over frame rate. The scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent, with an average performance drop of approximately 30% for each resolution step up, based on the Medium preset averages.