The Medium

# The Medium with Intel Core i5-10400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER

The Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER pairing delivers a playable but uneven experience in The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title that stresses both CPU and GPU depending on resolution. The combo ranks in the 42nd percentile of tested configurations, with benchmark results showing a wide performance spread from 24 FPS at 4K Ultra to 101 FPS at 1080p Low. The data reveals a system that can handle the game at medium settings across most resolutions, but struggles to maintain smooth framerates at higher presets.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows 1080p is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 60 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average is 63 FPS, while 1440p Medium drops to 53 FPS and 4K Medium falls to 42 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER perform relative to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20,282, placing it 1% behind the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 1.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile. It sits 1.3% ahead of the Intel Arc B570 and 1.5% ahead of the Intel Arc A750.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary limiter at lower resolutions. The i5-10400F scores 4,748 in 3DMark 16-thread tests and 10,283 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, which is sufficient for this title. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 101 FPS, indicating the GPU is still the dominant factor.

Q: What is the largest FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At Medium settings, the average FPS falls from 63 at 1080p to 53 at 1440p, then to 42 at 4K. This represents a 33% reduction from 1080p to 4K, showing the GPU becomes progressively more stressed as resolution increases.

Q: Does the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM cause issues at 4K?

A: The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth appears adequate, as the game runs at 4K Medium with 42 FPS average. However, at 4K Ultra the framerate drops to 24 FPS, suggesting memory bandwidth or compute limits rather than capacity issues.

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

A: The combo ranks 2,162 out of 3,724 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier. This ranking reflects the RTX 2070 SUPER's 65th percentile standing among all GPUs and the i5-10400F's 68th percentile among all CPUs.

GPU Role

The RTX 2070 SUPER brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card operates at a base clock of 1605 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and its 2,560 shading units process geometry through 160 texture mapping units and 64 raster output units. The memory runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective, and the card's 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance places it in the upper-midrange of the GeForce 20-series lineup.

In The Medium, the GPU's role becomes apparent when comparing settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra drops the average from 101 FPS to 36 FPS, a 64% reduction. This steep scaling indicates the game's visual effects—likely including ray-traced lighting and volumetric effects—heavily tax the Turing architecture. The RTX 2070 SUPER includes 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, which are designed to accelerate these workloads, yet the data shows even with this hardware, Ultra presets at higher resolutions push the card to its limits.

The GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20,282, positions it close to the RTX 3070 Mobile and Intel Arc B570. In practice, this means the card is competitive with those parts but lacks the headroom for demanding 4K Ultra gaming. The measured results confirm this: at 4K Ultra, the combo produces only 24 FPS, which is below playable thresholds, while 4K Medium reaches 42 FPS—marginally acceptable for a slow-paced horror title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 63 at 1080p to 53 at 1440p, then to 42 at 4K. This translates to a 16% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 21% reduction from 1440p to 4K, for a cumulative 33% drop from 1080p to 4K.

The pattern changes when examining Low settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 101 FPS, while 1440p Low reaches 85 FPS and 4K Low produces 67 FPS. The percentage drops are more pronounced here: 16% from 1080p to 1440p, then 21% from 1440p to 4K. The fact that 4K Low still delivers 67 FPS suggests the game scales well with reduced graphical fidelity, and the GPU can handle lower-end settings even at high resolutions.

At High settings, the scaling becomes more dramatic. The average FPS at 1080p is 45, dropping to 38 at 1440p and 30 at 4K. This represents a 16% drop to 1440p and a 21% drop to 4K, mirroring the Medium setting pattern. However, the absolute values are much lower, indicating that High settings push the GPU into territory where even 1080p barely maintains 45 FPS average. The Ultra preset shows the steepest degradation: 36 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K, with the latter two being nearly unplayable.

The resolution scaling data strongly suggests that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting component across all resolution and settings combinations. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, maintains consistent performance regardless of resolution, as evidenced by the uniform percentage drops between resolutions. This indicates the game is GPU-bound at every tested configuration, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2,162 out of 3,724 tested configurations, placing it in the 42nd percentile of all combinations. This ranking reflects the individual performance of both components: the i5-10400F sits in the 68th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 2070 SUPER ranks in the 65th percentile among all GPUs. The combined rank is slightly lower than either component's individual percentile, suggesting that the pairing does not extract maximum performance from either part.

The i5-10400F's nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6756E, which scores 14,163 on average (0.2% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7552, which scores 14,115 (0.5% lower). The CPU's average benchmark score of 14,185 places it in a tight cluster with these parts, indicating that the i5-10400F is competitive with server-class processors in synthetic benchmarks but may lack the sustained performance needed for extended gaming sessions.

For the GPU, the RTX 2070 SUPER's nearest rivals are all within 1.5% of its average score of 20,282. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M is 1% faster, the RTX 3070 Mobile is 1.2% faster, and the Intel Arc B570 and Arc A750 are 1.3% and 1.5% slower, respectively. This tight grouping shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER is positioned in a crowded midrange segment where small differences in architecture and driver optimization can shift performance rankings.

The combo's 2,162nd rank out of 3,724 suggests that many other configurations deliver better performance in The Medium specifically. This is not surprising given that the game launched in 2021, after the RTX 2070 SUPER's 2019 release, and newer GPUs would naturally outperform it. However, the rank also reflects that the i5-10400F, released in 2020, is adequate but not exceptional for this title, which may benefit from higher single-thread performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 101 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium settings achieve 63 FPS average with a minimum of 54 FPS and maximum of 72 FPS, providing a consistent experience. High settings drop to 45 FPS average, while Ultra falls to 36 FPS, indicating that the game's highest preset is only suitable for players who prioritize visual fidelity over framerate smoothness.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance decreases across all settings. Low settings still deliver a respectable 85 FPS average, making this the only 1440p preset that exceeds 60 FPS. Medium settings produce 53 FPS average with a range of 45 to 61 FPS, which is borderline playable for a horror game where slower pacing can mask frame drops. High settings drop to 38 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for comfortable gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overextended. Low settings achieve 67 FPS average, which is playable but represents a significant drop from 1080p. Medium settings produce 42 FPS average with a range of 35 to 48 FPS, which is acceptable for The Medium's slow, atmospheric gameplay. High settings drop to 30 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 24 FPS, both of which are too low for a smooth experience.

The Medium settings across all resolutions show the most complete data, with minimum and maximum FPS recorded. At 1080p, the 54-72 FPS range indicates decent frame pacing, while at 1440p the 45-61 FPS range shows more variance. At 4K, the 35-48 FPS range suggests that while the average is playable, there are moments where performance dips noticeably, which could be problematic during cutscenes or action sequences.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS, the data clearly points to 1080p Medium as the sweet spot. This configuration delivers an average of 63 FPS with a minimum of 54 FPS, ensuring that most of the gameplay remains above the 60 FPS threshold. The 1440p Low preset also achieves 85 FPS average, but the visual quality reduction may not be worth the resolution increase for most players.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the most balanced option, producing 53 FPS average with a range of 45 to 61 FPS. While this falls short of 60 FPS, The Medium's fixed-camera perspective and methodical pacing make 50 FPS averages acceptable. Players with variable refresh rate monitors will benefit from the 45-61 FPS range, as frame drops are less noticeable when the display can adapt.

For 4K gaming, the Low preset is the only viable option, delivering 67 FPS average. The Medium preset at 42 FPS is playable but requires tolerance for occasional drops to 35 FPS. The High and Ultra presets at 30 FPS and 24 FPS respectively are not recommended, as they fall below the minimum threshold for acceptable frame pacing in a game that relies on atmosphere and tension.

The Ultra preset is consistently the worst performer across all resolutions, with 36 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. Given that the Medium preset at 1080p delivers nearly double the framerate of Ultra at 1080p, the visual quality difference is unlikely to justify the performance cost. Players should avoid Ultra unless they have a strong preference for maximum graphical fidelity over smoothness.

The High preset offers a middle ground, but the data shows it delivers only marginal improvements over Medium at the cost of significant performance. At 1080p, High produces 45 FPS versus 63 FPS for Medium, a 29% reduction. This pattern repeats at higher resolutions, making High a poor choice for this combo. The recommended configuration is 1080p Medium for the best balance of visual quality and performance, with 1440p Medium as a viable alternative for players with higher-resolution displays who can tolerate slightly lower framerates.