The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 pairing in The Medium presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics, where the sheer graphical horsepower of the RTX 5090 is constantly challenged by a mid-range CPU. This combination lands at rank 45 out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the top 3% of all systems benchmarked for this title. The data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher settings, but the CPU’s architectural limits become increasingly apparent as resolution drops and frame rates climb.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 (Phoenix) architecture, built on a 4 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, which are healthy frequencies for gaming workloads. Its 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide a solid foundation, but the processor’s benchmark scores reveal its positioning. In 3DMark single-thread testing, it scores 951, while in the 16-thread test it reaches 6091 and max-thread score is 6165. Cinebench R23 results show 2943 single-core and 20851 multi-core.

The CPU’s percentile ranking is 82nd among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 25064. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, scores 25057, a 0% delta, indicating nearly identical overall performance. The Ryzen 5 7500F is a close competitor at 24993 (0.3% delta), and the Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 trails slightly at 25099 (-0.1%). This places the 8400F in a performance bracket that is entirely adequate for 60+ FPS gaming but is not in the top tier for high-refresh-rate scenarios.

In The Medium, the CPU’s influence is most evident at 1080p with lower settings. At 1080p Low, the system produces 152 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded across all configurations. This suggests the CPU can push well beyond 150 FPS when the GPU is not the limiting factor. However, the gap between 1080p Medium (131.3 FPS) and 1080p High (98.5 FPS) is a massive 32.8 FPS drop, indicating that even at this resolution, the GPU is beginning to throttle performance as settings increase. The 8400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for the game’s demands, but the data shows that it is the RTX 5090, not the CPU, that dictates the experience at High settings and above.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a flagship Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU on a 5 nm process, featuring 21,760 shading units, 170 RT cores, and 680 tensor cores. It comes with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering a massive 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The core clocks are 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). This hardware produces a Passmark G3D score of 39650 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14411, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU’s average benchmark score is 84306, and its nearest rivals are the RTX 5090 D at 84241 (0.1% delta) and the RTX 5050 Mobile at 84171 (0.2% delta). Interestingly, the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 scores 83209 (1.3% delta), and the NVIDIA CMP 40HX scores 85637 (-1.6% delta). These deltas are all within 2%, showing that the RTX 5090 sits at the very top of the performance hierarchy, even if its closest measured competitors are not direct gaming counterparts.

In The Medium, the RTX 5090’s role is dominant. At 4K Ultra, the system manages 49.4 FPS, which is a demanding workload that stresses the GPU’s raw compute and memory bandwidth. Dropping to 4K High yields 62.9 FPS, and 4K Medium reaches 88.2 FPS. The 32 GB VRAM is a clear asset here; the game’s high-resolution textures and effects can easily consume large memory pools, and the 5090 has headroom to spare. The 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and scene complexity at 4K do not cause stuttering, as evidenced by the stable average FPS figures. The GPU’s 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the driving force behind the playable frame rates at 4K High and Medium.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of settings. At 4K, the Medium preset delivers 88.2 FPS, which is an excellent experience for a horror game that relies on atmosphere and smooth camera movement. High settings reduce this to 62.9 FPS, a 25.3 FPS drop, while Ultra tanks to 49.4 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider ideal. Given that the visual difference between Medium and High in The Medium is often subtle in dimly lit scenes, the Medium preset at 4K offers the best balance of smoothness and fidelity.

At 1440p, the Medium preset hits 115.1 FPS, which is well into high-refresh-rate territory. High settings at 1440p produce 84.3 FPS, still smooth, but the jump to Ultra drops to 63.3 FPS. For players with 144Hz monitors, Medium at 1440p is the recommended choice, as it keeps frame rates above 100 FPS. At 1080p, the situation is reversed; the CPU begins to limit performance. Medium hits 131.3 FPS, and Low achieves 152 FPS, but High drops to 98.5 FPS. The recommendation here is to use High settings if the goal is visual quality, as the 98.5 FPS is still very playable, but Medium is better for competitive smoothness. Ultra at 1080p is 76.8 FPS, which is a poor trade-off for the extra visual effects.

The data strongly suggests that the “sweet spot” for this combo is the Medium preset across all resolutions. It provides the most consistent performance uplift over High, with a 25.3 FPS gain at 4K, a 30.8 FPS gain at 1440p, and a 32.8 FPS gain at 1080p. This indicates that Medium settings reduce the GPU load enough to prevent it from becoming the sole bottleneck, allowing the system to maintain higher frame rates.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K with 60+ FPS?*

A: Yes, but only at the Medium preset, which averages 88.2 FPS at 3840x2160. The High preset drops to 62.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 49.4 FPS, so 4K60 is only reliably achievable with Medium settings.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 overkill for this game?

A: The data suggests it is not overkill, but rather necessary for high-refresh-rate 4K. At 4K Medium, the GPU delivers 88.2 FPS, and at 1440p Medium it hits 115.1 FPS. These are strong results, but the 5090’s power is clearly being utilized, as Ultra settings at 4K still only produce 49.4 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the CPU becomes more significant. The 8400F allows 152 FPS on Low settings and 131.3 FPS on Medium, but High and Ultra drop to 98.5 and 76.8 FPS respectively. This shows the CPU is sufficient for high frame rates, but it cannot offset the GPU load increase from higher settings.

Q: Should I use the High or Medium preset for the best experience?

A: Based on the measured FPS, Medium is the best choice. It offers a 25-33 FPS improvement over High across all resolutions, which is a substantial smoothness gain. The visual sacrifice is minimal in a game like The Medium where lighting and shadows dominate the aesthetic.

Q: How does this combo rank against other systems?

A: This pairing ranks 45th out of 1689 tested combinations for The Medium, placing it in the top 2.7% of all systems. This is consistent with the RTX 5090’s 94th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Medium settings, the frame rate drops from 131.3 at 1080p to 115.1 at 1440p, a 12.3% decrease, and then to 88.2 at 4K, a further 23.4% decrease from 1440p. This gradual decline shows that the GPU is the primary limiter, as the additional pixel count directly impacts rendering load. The RTX 5090’s 32 GB VRAM and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the bandwidth requirements, but the raw compute power needed to fill 4K pixels is what drives the FPS down.

At High settings, the scaling is steeper. 1080p yields 98.5 FPS, 1440p drops to 84.3 (a 14.4% decrease), and 4K falls to 62.9 (a 25.4% decrease from 1440p). The percentage drop increases at higher resolutions, which is expected as the GPU becomes more saturated. At Ultra settings, the trend is similar: 76.8 FPS at 1080p, 63.3 at 1440p (17.6% drop), and 49.4 at 4K (22% drop from 1440p). This consistent pattern confirms that the RTX 5090 is the limiting component at these settings, not the CPU. The CPU’s role is only visible at Low settings, where 1080p hits 152 FPS and 1440p reaches 148.7 FPS, showing a minimal 2.2% drop that indicates the CPU is starting to cap performance.

The data indicates that the 8400F can sustain frame rates well above what is needed for 60 FPS gaming, but it cannot push beyond ~150 FPS. This means that for players targeting 120+ FPS, the CPU is the ceiling, but for 4K60 or 1440p100, the GPU is the deciding factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The full dataset for the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in The Medium is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 152.0 FPS
• Medium: 131.3 FPS
• High: 98.5 FPS
• Ultra: 76.8 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 148.7 FPS
• Medium: 115.1 FPS
• High: 84.3 FPS
• Ultra: 63.3 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 134.3 FPS
• Medium: 88.2 FPS
• High: 62.9 FPS
• Ultra: 49.4 FPS

The most striking data point is the 4K Low result of 134.3 FPS, which is only 17.7 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. This indicates that at Low settings, the GPU is so far ahead of the workload that resolution scaling has a minimal impact. Conversely, the 4K Ultra result of 49.4 FPS is a stark contrast, showing that Ultra settings at 4K are a significant challenge even for the RTX 5090. The delta between 1080p Ultra (76.8 FPS) and 4K Ultra (49.4 FPS) is 27.4 FPS, which is a 35.7% performance loss. This highlights that players should avoid Ultra at 4K unless they have a VRR display capable of handling the lower frame rates. The Medium preset at 1440p (115.1 FPS) and 4K (88.2 FPS) are the standout measurements, offering the best balance in their respective resolution classes.