The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title, presents a unique stress profile for the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX combination. The data places this pairing at rank 457 out of 1689 tested configurations, which is a strong showing, but the performance distribution across resolutions and settings reveals a system that is heavily dictated by the graphics card's immense power, with the older CPU occasionally acting as a limiting factor. This analysis breaks down exactly where the bottleneck lies and what the measured frames tell us about the experience.

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

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It features a 12 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. In synthetic workloads, this chip demonstrates a balanced profile; its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10297 and single-core score of 1453 indicate a capable performer for its generation. The data shows its average benchmark score of 14168 places it at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, with its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7552, being just 0.4% away.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU’s role is pivotal but not dominant. The game's fixed-camera angles and narrative-driven scenes often rely on single-thread performance for draw calls and game logic. The i5-10400F’s boost clock of 4.30 GHz helps in this regard, but the benchmark results suggest that at lower resolutions, the processor is struggling to keep pace. At 1080p Low settings, the average FPS is 107.2, which is only a modest increase over the 1080p Medium result of 86.7 FPS. This relatively small gap between Low and Medium, compared to the larger jump in GPU load from High to Ultra, implies that the CPU is nearing its limit in feeding the Radeon RX 7900 XTX. The synthetic data supports this; the CPU’s Passmark single-thread score of 2541 is respectable but not elite, and its 3DMark single-thread score of 688 is a clear indicator that it will cap frame rates in less GPU-intensive scenarios. The Core i5-10400F ensures the game runs, but it is the 7900 XTX that defines the upper bounds of the experience.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the undisputed heavyweight in this pairing. Built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a 5 nm process, it boasts 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering a staggering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its 6144 shading units and 96 ray accelerators provide immense compute power, and the boost clock of 2498 MHz pushes its FP32 performance to 61.39 TFLOPS. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 44019 places it at the 85th percentile, and its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (2% behind) and the RTX 4090 Mobile (0.8% ahead), show it sits in a high-performance tier.

In The Medium, the GPU’s massive memory pool and bandwidth are crucial. The game’s dual-reality mechanic, which renders two worlds simultaneously, is a known VRAM and bandwidth hog. The 24 GB frame buffer ensures there is no capacity stutter at any resolution, allowing the 7900 XTX to maintain consistent frame times. The measured data confirms this; at 4K Ultra, the system still produces 43.4 FPS, which is a demanding load. The GPU is clearly the primary driver of performance scaling. As settings increase from Low to Ultra, the frame rate drops consistently, showing the GPU is scaling its workload as expected. The GPU’s high texture fill rate (959.2 GTexel/s) and pixel rate (479.6 GPixel/s) are essential for maintaining detail in the game’s dark, texture-heavy environments. The data strongly suggests that the 7900 XTX is not the bottleneck until you push to 4K Ultra, where it begins to show the strain of the game’s heavy rendering demands.

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

The FPS scaling across resolutions is the most telling indicator of the system’s balance. Starting at 1080p High, the system achieves 76 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the average drops to 65.9 FPS, a decrease of approximately 13%. However, when moving from 1440p High to 4K High, the frame rate falls to 53.8 FPS, a further drop of about 18%. This pattern of diminishing returns at higher resolutions points directly to the GPU becoming the sole limiting factor at 4K.

The story is even clearer at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the system hits 107.2 FPS, but at 1440p Low, it only drops to 98.1 FPS. This small 8.5% penalty from 1080p to 1440p indicates that the CPU is holding the GPU back at 1080p. The GPU has headroom to render more frames, but the CPU cannot issue draw calls fast enough. However, when scaling from 1440p Low to 4K Low, the frame rate drops sharply from 98.1 to 91.1 FPS. This is a smaller absolute drop than at High settings, but it still shows the GPU taking over the bottleneck role. The data suggests that at 1080p, the Core i5-10400F is the primary constraint, while at 4K, the RX 7900 XTX is fully saturated. The 1440p resolution appears to be the sweet spot where the CPU and GPU workloads are more evenly balanced, though the CPU still exerts a noticeable influence on the lower settings.

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

Examining the measured rows, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the most compelling balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. With an average of 85.1 FPS, it provides a fluid experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold, while still delivering a significant upgrade in shadows and texture quality over Low settings. The High preset at 1440p, at 65.9 FPS, is also very playable and represents a more visually rich experience, but it comes with a 22.6% performance penalty over Medium.

For 4K displays, the situation is more nuanced. The Medium preset at 4K yields 73.1 FPS, which is excellent for a 4K experience and is likely the best choice for most users. The High preset at 4K drops to 53.8 FPS, which is still playable but may feel less responsive. The Ultra preset at 4K is harsh at 43.4 FPS, making it difficult to recommend for a game that relies on atmosphere and pacing. At 1080p, the Low preset at 107.2 FPS is the only way to truly maximize the refresh rate of a high-Hz monitor, as the CPU begins to limit higher settings. The data indicates that Medium or High at 1440p is the optimal experience, with Medium at 4K being the best way to leverage the GPU’s power without suffering from CPU-related frame pacing issues.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is ranked 457th out of 1689 tested combinations in The Medium. This places it in the top 27% of all systems tested, which is a strong result given the CPU is from an older generation. This rank suggests that while the GPU is a top-tier performer, the overall system is pulled down by the CPU’s relative age. The 73rd percentile CPU score and the 85th percentile GPU score confirm this mismatch.

The data implies that many of the 456 combos ranked above this one likely pair the 7900 XTX with a more modern, higher-clocked processor. The 0.4% difference in average score between the i5-10400F and the AMD EPYC 7552 shows that the CPU is competitive with server-class silicon in synthetic tests, but in a gaming workload like The Medium, the raw single-thread performance of newer architectures would yield higher frame rates. This rank is not a failure; it is a reflection of the CPU being a bottleneck in a system with an otherwise overpowered GPU. The high GPU percentile is what keeps the combo in the top quartile, but the CPU prevents it from breaking into the top 200.

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

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance envelope.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers the following average frame rates: Low settings produce 107.2 FPS, Medium settings drop to 86.7 FPS, High settings result in 76.0 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 64.4 FPS. This shows a clear, steady decline as graphical complexity increases.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales as follows: Low settings average 98.1 FPS, Medium settings average 85.1 FPS, High settings average 65.9 FPS, and Ultra settings average 54.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium narrows here, but the drop to High is severe.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals the GPU’s limits: Low settings hit 91.1 FPS, Medium settings stay playable at 73.1 FPS, High settings drop to 53.8 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 43.4 FPS. The variance between Low and Medium at 4K is 18 FPS, while the variance between High and Ultra is just 10.4 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset adds significant cost for little relative gain.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F a bottleneck for the Radeon RX 7900 XTX in The Medium?

A: Yes, the data indicates a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 107.2 FPS, but at 1440p Low it only drops to 98.1 FPS, a small 8.5% penalty. This suggests the CPU is limiting the GPU’s output at 1080p, preventing it from pushing even higher frame rates.

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured rows, 2560x1440 with Medium settings (85.1 FPS) or High settings (65.9 FPS) offers the best balance. It avoids the CPU bottleneck seen at 1080p and the heavy GPU load seen at 4K, providing a smooth and visually detailed experience.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XTX compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 44019, which is 0.8% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile and 2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti. This places it in a high-performance tier, with its closest competitor being the AMD Radeon Pro 580, which is 0.4% behind.

Q: Can this system handle 4K Ultra settings in The Medium?

A: Yes, but with a caveat. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 43.4 FPS. This is playable but not smooth, and the frame rate is below the 60 FPS target. The data suggests that 4K Medium (73.1 FPS) is a much better target for a fluid experience.

Q: What is the CPU's performance percentile compared to all other processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F is in the 73rd percentile for all CPUs based on its average benchmark score of 14168. This indicates it is a solid mid-range performer, but it is not in the top tier of processors available.

Q: Is the 7900 XTX's 24 GB of VRAM necessary for this game?

A: While not strictly necessary, the 24 GB of VRAM ensures that The Medium’s dual-reality rendering, which requires significant memory, never causes texture pop-in or stutter. The high memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s also helps maintain consistent frame times at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the stable performance at 4K Medium.