The Medium

The Core i5-10400F and RTX 3080 pairing in The Medium presents a clear case of GPU-bound performance at higher resolutions, but the data reveals a surprising bottleneck shift at 1080p. Across the board, the RTX 3080’s raw power is evident, yet the game’s demanding visual features create wide performance gaps between presets.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, confirming that The Medium is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls from 49.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 44.6 FPS at 2560x1440, then plunges to 31.5 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 36% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial hit that points directly at the graphics card as the limiting factor. The RTX 3080’s 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated by the game’s high-resolution textures and effects.

The scaling pattern changes dramatically when moving to lower presets. At Low settings, the frame rate only drops from 107.4 FPS at 1080p to 97.5 FPS at 1440p, and then to 94.9 FPS at 4K. This is a much gentler decline, suggesting that at Low settings, the CPU begins to play a larger role, particularly at 1080p where the i5-10400F’s six cores and twelve threads are more likely to become a constraint. The gap between 1440p and 4K at Low settings is just 2.6 FPS, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom once the graphical load is reduced.

Medium settings show a middle ground. The 1080p result of 88.8 FPS drops to 73.9 FPS at 1440p and then to 58.3 FPS at 4K. This pattern shows that the RTX 3080 is still the dominant factor, but the scaling is more linear than at Ultra, where the 4K result is particularly punishing. The data implies that players targeting 4K will need to accept significant compromises, as even High settings only deliver 44.6 FPS at 3840x2160, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that most consider smooth.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and playable frame rates, Medium settings at 1440p is the standout choice. The measured 73.9 FPS average provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while still offering a meaningful upgrade over Low settings. At 1080p, Medium settings deliver 88.8 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate displays and shows that the combo has plenty of headroom for this resolution.

High settings are playable but require resolution sacrifices. At 1440p, High yields 56.1 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay, while 1080p High hits 66.3 FPS, a safer option. The jump from Medium to High costs roughly 17 FPS at 1080p and 18 FPS at 1440p, which is a significant penalty for the visual improvements. Ultra settings are largely impractical for this game, as the best result is 49.4 FPS at 1080p, and 4K Ultra drops to an unplayable 31.5 FPS.

Low settings are surprisingly effective for competitive play or when chasing maximum frame rates. The 107.4 FPS at 1080p and 97.5 FPS at 1440p are both strong results, and even 4K Low at 94.9 FPS is technically playable. The data suggests that Low settings are the only way to achieve a stable 60+ FPS experience at 4K with this hardware combo.

GPU Role

The RTX 3080 is the primary driver of performance in The Medium, and its specifications explain the observed results. The GPU features 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines, with a boost clock of 1710 MHz. The memory configuration is particularly relevant: 10 GB of GDDR6X on a 320-bit bus provides 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for a game that appears to be memory-hungry at higher resolutions.

The 68 ray tracing cores and 272 tensor cores are present, but the benchmark data does not isolate their impact. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 29.77 TFLOPS gives it substantial compute power, and the 465.1 GTexel/s texture rate suggests it can handle complex scenes. The pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s is also notable, though the 4K Ultra result of 31.5 FPS indicates that even this level of fill rate is insufficient for the game’s most demanding settings.

The RTX 3080’s 80th percentile ranking among all GPUs confirms its high-end status. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, which scores 0.9% higher, and the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, which is 0.2% faster. The performance gap between the RTX 3080 and the AMD Radeon 880M is just 0.4%, showing that the 3080 sits in a competitive mid-to-high tier. However, the game’s results show that even this GPU struggles with Ultra settings, emphasizing that The Medium is exceptionally demanding.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p at Medium settings offers the best experience with 73.9 FPS average, providing a balance between visual quality and smooth gameplay.

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

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which yields 94.9 FPS. Medium settings drop to 58.3 FPS, High to 44.6 FPS, and Ultra to an unplayable 31.5 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3080 scores 0.9% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE and 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, while being 0.4% faster than the AMD Radeon 880M.

Q: Is the Core i5-10400F a bottleneck for the RTX 3080?

A: The data suggests yes at 1080p, where the frame rates are unusually close across resolutions at Low settings. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: Low settings deliver 107.4 FPS, while Ultra drops to 49.4 FPS, a difference of 58 FPS.

Q: Does the game perform better at 1440p than at 1080p?

A: No, the 1080p results are consistently higher, but the 1440p results at Medium (73.9 FPS) are more balanced than the 1080p Ultra result (49.4 FPS).

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 621st out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 37% of all configurations, which is a respectable position given the game’s demanding nature. The ranking reflects the GPU’s strength but is held back by the CPU’s limitations at lower resolutions.

The i5-10400F itself scores a 73rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14168. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7552, which is 0.4% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C, which is 0.8% slower. The CPU’s six cores and twelve threads, with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, are sufficient for most gaming scenarios but may not fully saturate the RTX 3080’s capabilities at 1080p.

The GPU’s individual ranking is stronger, at 80th percentile, with an average score of 35787. The combo’s 621st place out of 1689 suggests that the pairing is well-matched for higher resolutions but leaves performance on the table at 1080p. Players with this setup should prioritize 1440p gaming to maximize the potential of both components.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F plays a supporting role in The Medium, but its impact is visible in the data. The CPU features six cores and twelve threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide adequate bandwidth for the game, but the 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth is modest by modern standards.

The CPU’s benchmark results show a strong single-thread score of 1453 in Cinebench R23, but its multicore score of 10297 is less impressive. This suggests that while the CPU can handle individual tasks well, it may struggle to feed the RTX 3080 in CPU-bound scenarios. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1350 and 4-thread score of 2560 indicate that the CPU’s performance scales reasonably with thread count, but the 8-thread score of 3929 shows diminishing returns.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role becomes more apparent at 1080p with Low settings, where the frame rate of 107.4 FPS is only slightly higher than the 4K Low result of 94.9 FPS. This narrow gap suggests that the CPU is limiting performance at lower resolutions, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential. The CPU’s 65W TDP and 14 nm process node are modest, but the architecture is adequate for this game’s demands.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-8500, which is 1.1% slower, and the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546, which is 1.2% slower. The i5-10400F’s 73rd percentile ranking places it comfortably above average, but it is not a top-tier processor. For this game, the CPU is sufficient to maintain playable frame rates at all settings, but it is the bottleneck at 1080p, particularly at lower presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the results show a clear hierarchy across settings. Low settings deliver 107.4 FPS, which is the highest result in the entire dataset. Medium settings produce 88.8 FPS, a 17.3% reduction from Low. High settings drop to 66.3 FPS, and Ultra falls to 49.4 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 54% performance loss, which is substantial.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with lower absolute numbers. Low settings yield 97.5 FPS, which is 9.9 FPS less than the 1080p result. Medium settings hit 73.9 FPS, High reaches 56.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 44.6 FPS. The difference between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra is just 4.8 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is becoming the primary constraint at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results are more compressed. Low settings still manage 94.9 FPS, which is surprisingly close to the 1440p result. Medium settings produce 58.3 FPS, while High settings fall to 44.6 FPS, identical to the 1440p Ultra result. Ultra settings drop to 31.5 FPS, the lowest score in the dataset. The 4K results show that the RTX 3080’s memory bandwidth and compute power are stretched to their limits, but the GPU remains capable at lower settings.