The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title built around a dual-reality mechanic, places unusual demands on hardware. This specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F and the AMD Radeon RX 570 produces results that are decisively at the bottom of the database. The data positions this combo at rank 1628 out of 1689 tested pairings, placing it in the 4th percentile of all configurations. This is not a system for high-refresh-rate terror; it is a configuration that struggles to maintain playable frame rates even at lower resolutions and settings, with the data suggesting the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark database shows this combination is one of the weakest performers for The Medium. With a rank of 1628 out of 1689 combos, the data indicates that more than 96% of tested systems deliver higher average frame rates. The score is heavily dragged down by the GPU, which sits at the 74th percentile among all GPUs but is clearly insufficient for this game's rendering load. The CPU, by contrast, is at the 75th percentile among all processors, showing that the processor is not the limiting factor here. The combination creates a stark imbalance: a mid-range CPU paired with a GPU that the game's engine simply overwhelms. The measured results show no configuration in this test reaches the 60 FPS threshold, and only the lowest settings at 1080p approach a console-like 41.8 FPS. This ranking is a warning for anyone considering this hardware for modern horror titles, as the data suggests the experience will be a slideshow in demanding scenes.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the decisive component in this pairing, and the numbers confirm it is the bottleneck. The GPU features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its architecture, GCN 4.0, is built on a 14 nm process with 2048 shading units. Clock speeds are modest, with a base of 1168 MHz and a boost of 1244 MHz, while memory runs at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective). These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s, but the compute throughput of 5.095 TFLOPS is the key metric. For The Medium, which renders two simultaneous perspectives, the GPU's raw compute is insufficient. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Ultra, the combo averages only 18.8 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 10.9 FPS. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is also a concern, as the game's high-resolution textures likely exceed this limit, causing performance to crater. The GPU sits at the 74th percentile among all GPUs, but its nearest rivals in the database (such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT) show how far behind it is, with deltaPct values near zero suggesting those cards are not meaningfully faster in synthetic tests but likely far more capable in gaming workloads.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for playability. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 41.8 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches a smooth experience. The Medium preset drops to 27 FPS, a significant 35% reduction, while High and Ultra fall to 18.2 and 18.8 FPS respectively. The data shows that no preset at any resolution achieves a locked 60 FPS. For 1440p, the Low preset yields 38.8 FPS, which is borderline playable for a slower-paced horror game, but Medium drops to 25.6 FPS, and High/Ultra fall below 17 FPS. At 4K, all settings are effectively unplayable, with Low averaging 31.1 FPS and Ultra at 10.9 FPS. The recommendation from the data is unambiguous: use 1080p Low for the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, as it is the only configuration that stays above 30 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p is a compromise for those who prioritize visuals, but the 27 FPS average will likely cause noticeable stutter in the game's dual-reality scenes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The raw data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution and settings increase. At 1920x1080, the averages are: Low 41.8 FPS, Medium 27 FPS, High 18.2 FPS, and Ultra 18.8 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs 14.8 FPS, a 35% penalty, while the difference between High and Ultra is negligible (0.6 FPS), suggesting the Ultra preset adds little beyond High. Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers fall further: Low 38.8 FPS, Medium 25.6 FPS, High 16.4 FPS, and Ultra 10.6 FPS. The 1440p Low result is only 3 FPS below the 1080p Low, indicating the GPU is not purely resolution-bound at lower settings; instead, the game's rendering complexity dominates. At 3840x2160, the results are grim: Low 31.1 FPS, Medium 18.2 FPS, High 11.1 FPS, and Ultra 10.9 FPS. The 4K Low preset is the only one that stays above 30 FPS, but the visual quality is severely reduced. The data shows a pattern: the gap between Low and Medium is always significant (around 35-40%), while the gap between High and Ultra is minimal, meaning players should either accept Low for performance or High for visuals, with Ultra offering no measurable benefit.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is telling about the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 41.8 at 1080p to 38.8 at 1440p (a 7% drop) and then to 31.1 at 4K (a 25% drop from 1440p). This scaling is surprisingly gentle, indicating that the CPU is helping to maintain frame rates at lower resolutions, but the GPU is still the constraint. At Medium settings, the drop is steeper: 27 FPS at 1080p, 25.6 at 1440p, and 18.2 at 4K, a 33% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the numbers fall from 18.2 to 16.4 to 11.1, a 39% drop from 1080p to 4K. The Ultra preset shows the worst scaling: 18.8 to 10.6 to 10.9 FPS, which is nearly flat between 1440p and 4K. This pattern suggests that at higher settings, the GPU's 4 GB VRAM and 5.095 TFLOPS compute are completely saturated, and resolution scaling becomes non-linear. The fact that 1080p Ultra (18.8 FPS) is barely better than 4K Ultra (10.9 FPS) indicates the GPU is hitting a hard computational wall, not a memory bandwidth limit. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is not the issue, as evidenced by the 3dmark scores showing strong multi-threaded performance (5619 for 16 threads), but the GPU's texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s is insufficient for the game's dual-scene rendering.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and setting for this combo?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 with Low settings provides the highest average FPS at 41.8, making it the only playable configuration.

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 31.1 on Low, but Medium drops to 18.2, and Ultra is 10.9 FPS, which is not playable.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its rivals in this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17189) and Intel Core i7-1260P (17212), with deltaPct values within 0.2%, meaning the CPU is not the limiting factor.

Q: Is the GPU's 4 GB VRAM enough for this game?

A: The data suggests it is not. The RX 570's 4 GB GDDR5 memory is likely exceeded at High and Ultra settings, as evidenced by the severe FPS drops (e.g., 18.2 FPS at 1080p High versus 41.8 at Low).

Q: Why is the FPS difference between High and Ultra so small?

A: At 1080p, High averages 18.2 FPS and Ultra averages 18.8 FPS, a difference of only 0.6 FPS, indicating the GPU is already saturated and Ultra settings add no visual benefit without a performance cost.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 sits at the 74th percentile among all GPUs, but its nearest rivals (e.g., RTX 5060, RX 7700 XT) have nearly identical average benchmark scores, showing synthetic tests do not reflect its gaming weakness.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, built on a 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.60 GHz with a boost of 4.40 GHz, and it has 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus and a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. Benchmark results show strong performance: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14372 and a single-core score of 2029, placing it at the 75th percentile among all CPUs. In the context of The Medium, the data indicates the CPU is not the bottleneck. The 3dmark scores, such as 5619 for 16 threads and 868 for single-thread, show robust processing power. The game's fixed-camera angles and dual-reality rendering rely more on GPU throughput than CPU logic, and the measured FPS patterns confirm this. At 1080p Low, the CPU can feed the GPU enough frames to reach 41.8 FPS, but as settings increase, the GPU's compute limits take over. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U and Intel Core i7-1260P, have average scores within 0.2% of the i5-11400F, meaning a CPU upgrade would not improve this combo's FPS. The bottleneck is unequivocally the GPU, with its 150 W TDP and 5.095 TFLOPS being insufficient for the game's demands.