The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title from 2021, presents an interesting stress profile for the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 pairing. The benchmark data for this combination reveals a system where the GPU is heavily utilized at higher resolutions, but the performance scaling suggests the CPU begins to assert its influence as resolution drops. This analysis examines the measured FPS across presets and resolutions, the role of the components, and how this specific combo ranks against the broader database.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS deltas across the three tested resolutions clearly indicate a GPU-bound scenario at 4K, with the CPU becoming a more significant factor as the pixel count decreases. At High settings, the average frame rate moves from 57 FPS at 3840x2160 to 72 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 78 FPS at 1920x1080. The jump from 4K to 1440p represents a 26.3% performance increase, while the jump from 1440p to 1080p is a much smaller 8.3% increase. This pattern is typical of a system where the graphics card is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, but the CPU's capability caps the potential gains at 1080p.

Looking at the Low preset, the scaling is even more revealing. The system produces 93 FPS at 4K, 100 FPS at 1440p, and 106 FPS at 1080p. The difference between 1440p and 1080p here is only 6 FPS, or 6.0%. This small delta at lower graphical loads suggests that the Intel Core i5-10400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is nearing its limit in this particular title. The data implies that the RTX 4080 is being held back to a degree at 1080p; the GPU is capable of rendering more frames, but the CPU cannot feed it data fast enough to realize the full potential.

The Medium's use of fixed cameras and its dual-reality rendering mechanic, where two worlds are often displayed simultaneously, likely contributes to a high CPU workload. The 3DMark benchmark scores support this notion, as the processor scores 4,748 in the 16-thread test and 4,735 in the max-thread test, showing moderate scaling but not a massive multithreaded advantage. The single-thread score of 688 suggests that individual core performance is adequate but not exceptional, which can be a limiting factor in games that rely on a few primary threads for scene management.

At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 45 FPS, a 41.6% decrease from the 77 FPS seen at Medium settings. This steep drop-off is almost entirely due to the GPU's rendering load, as the RTX 4080's 16 GB of VRAM and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth are tasked with higher-resolution textures and more complex shading. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra (68 to 45 FPS, a 33.8% reduction) further confirms that the graphics card is the dominant constraint when visual fidelity is maxed out.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the "Medium" preset offers the most balanced experience for this specific hardware combination, particularly at 1440p and 4K. At 2560x1440, Medium delivers an average of 84 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS. This provides a smooth, playable experience while still maintaining a level of visual quality above the Low preset. The 4K Medium preset, at 77 FPS average, is also quite viable for a horror title where a stable frame rate is more critical than absolute visual fidelity.

For players targeting 1080p, the High preset at 78 FPS is a solid choice, but the Ultra preset at 68 FPS is also within the playable range. The step from High to Ultra at 1080p is a 12.8% performance penalty, which may not be worth the incremental visual gains in a game with a slower, more atmospheric pace. However, the Low preset, while achieving the highest frame rates (106 FPS at 1080p), likely compromises the game's intended eerie atmosphere through reduced lighting and shadow quality.

The data points to a significant performance cliff between High and Ultra settings. Across all resolutions, the average FPS drops by roughly 20-25% when moving from High to Ultra. This suggests that the Ultra preset includes effects that are particularly taxing on the RTX 4080's compute resources. For a game like The Medium, which relies on fixed camera angles and pre-rendered lighting to build tension, the High preset appears to be the 'sweet spot' for maximizing visual quality without incurring the steep performance cost of Ultra. The 1440p High setting, at 72 FPS, is perhaps the most visually impressive configuration that maintains a high refresh rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the clear workhorse of this pairing, and its VRAM capacity is a defining feature. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, the card provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. In The Medium, which is known for its high-resolution textures and the potential for rendering two views of the world simultaneously, this memory allocation is likely crucial for avoiding stutters and texture pop-in at 4K. The 45,900 million transistors on the 5 nm process node provide ample raw power, reflected in the 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 2205 MHz and a boost of 2505 MHz, are high, and the benchmark results show the card performing well. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,567 and a Passmark G3D score of 34,457 place it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its performance is remarkably close to its nearest rivals; the data shows it is just 0.1% faster than the RTX 4080 SUPER in average benchmark scores)Skip to content, and it outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by 1.1%. This indicates that the RTX 4080 in this system is performing exactly as expected, without any thermal or driver-related throttling.

In the game itself, the GPU's role is most apparent in the resolution scaling. The fact that 4K Medium (77 FPS) is slower than 1440p Ultra (57 FPS) is counter-intuitive until you consider the settings' impact on rendering features. It's more likely that the 4K resolution is stressing the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth, whereas the Ultra preset adds computationally heavy effects that also impact the GPU. The measured data shows the RTX 4080 is the primary determinant of frame rate at 4K, as evidenced by the large FPS swings between presets (93 Low vs 45 Ultra).

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across different configurations. At 1920x1080, the system achieves an average of 106 FPS on Low, 89 FPS on Medium, 78 FPS on High, and 68 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS, indicating a stable frame time distribution with no severe dips.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 100 FPS (Low), 84 FPS (Medium), 72 FPS (High), and 57 FPS (Ultra). The Medium preset again offers tight frametimes, with a minimum of 71 FPS and a maximum of 96 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra at this resolution is 15 FPS, a 20.8% reduction, highlighting the cost of the highest settings.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the results are more demanding. The average FPS is 93 on Low, 77 on Medium, 57 on High, and 45 on Ultra. The Medium preset provides a playable experience with a minimum of 66 FPS and a maximum of 89 FPS. The Ultra preset, with a 45 FPS average, is the only configuration that dips below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The difference between Low and High at 4K is a significant 36 FPS, underscoring the GPU's dominance in this resolution range.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 pairing holds a rank of 778 out of 3,724 total combos for this game. This places it in the top 20.9% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing. The rank reflects the overall average performance across all settings and resolutions, and it suggests that the combination is well-balanced for The Medium, even if the CPU is not the most powerful option available.

The high rank is likely driven by the GPU's excellent performance at 4K, which is a key metric for many users. The RTX 4080's ability to maintain an average of 57 FPS at High settings on a 4K display is a significant achievement for a horror game, and this is a primary reason the combo ranks so highly. The CPU, while not a top-tier part, is sufficient to avoid being a major bottleneck at the higher resolutions that are likely the target for this GPU.

The data implies that this combo is in the upper echelon of systems for this game. The 778th rank out of 3,724 means the system outperforms 79.1% of all tested combinations. This ranking confirms the fact that the RTX 4080 is capable of carrying the system in this title. The CPU's limitations at 1080p are a minor blemish, but they do not significantly detract from the overall high performance level.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 in The Medium?

A: The data suggests a partial bottleneck at 1080p. The FPS scaling from 1440p to 1080p on Low settings is only 6 FPS (100 to 106), indicating that the CPU's limits are being reached. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the primary limiter.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve a stable 60+ FPS experience?

A: Based on the measured data, both 1080p and 1440p are excellent choices. At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 84 FPShare, and the High preset averages 72 FPS, both above 60 FPS. At 4K, only the Low and Medium presets exceed 60 FPS.

Q: How well does the RTX 4080 perform in synthetic benchmarks relative to its rivals?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score is 54,247. It is 0.1% faster than the RTX 4080 SUPER (54,209) and 1.1% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54,828). It is 2.6% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance, and why does it matter?

A: The Core i5-10400F scores 688 in the 3DMark single-thread test and 1,451 in Cinebench R23 single-core. This performance is adequate but not class-leading, which is why the game's frame rate scaling slows down at 1080p, where the CPU's per-core performance becomes more critical.

Q: Does the game benefit from the 16 GB of VRAM on the RTX 4080?

A: While the measured FPS data doesn't directly test VRAM usage, the card's 16 GB capacity and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth are substantial. For a game like The Medium that can render two worlds at once, this memory is likely a key factor in maintaining smooth performance at 4K without stutter.

Q: How does the combo's in-game rank compare to its position in the overall hardware percentile?

A: The combination ranks 778th out of 3,724 combos, placing it in the top 20.9% for this game. The GPU itself is in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, showing it is a high-performing part. The CPU is in the 68th percentile, indicating it is a mid-to-high-range part, but the combo's overall game rank is still very strong.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.90 GHz, and it can boost up to 4.30 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 and 256 KB of L2 per core, with a shared 12 MB L3 cache. It supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to manage the game's logic, physics, and the rendering of the two simultaneous worlds. The 3DMark results show a max-thread score of 4,735, which is very close to the 16-thread score of 4,748. This indicates that the processor does not scale perfectly with more threads, but it still provides a solid amount of multithreaded capability. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10,283 is respectable for a 6-core part.

The bottleneck at 1080p is likely due to the game's reliance on a few main threads for game logic, which is where the i5-10400F's single-thread performance (688 in 3DMark, 1,451 in Cinebench R23) becomes a limiting factor. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 14 nm process are modest by modern standards, but it is sufficient to feed the RTX 4080 at higher resolutions. The data confirms this is a pairing where the GPU is the star, but the CPU is a capable, if not spectacular, supporting player that holds the system back just slightly at the lowest resolution.