The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding workload that scales aggressively with both resolution and quality settings. For the combination of an Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, the data reveals a system that is capable of solid 1080p and 1440p performance but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with higher presets. The measured results show a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, while the CPU’s six cores provide a stable foundation across all tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all quality presets, indicating that the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the limiting component at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 127.3 at 1920x1080 to 105.3 at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 17%, and then to 83.3 at 3840x2160, which is a 35% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU’s pixel throughput is the dominant constraint rather than the CPU.

Moving to High settings amplifies this trend. The average FPS at 1080p is 57.0, dropping to 48.2 at 1440p (a 15% loss) and then to 37.4 at 4K (a 34% loss from 1080p). The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic decline: 45.9 FPS at 1080p, 36.8 at 1440p, and 27.5 at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K remains proportionally similar across presets, which is a hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, you would expect the FPS to plateau or show smaller differences at higher resolutions, but the data consistently shows large penalties, confirming that the Radeon RX 7700 XT is working at its limit.

The difference between Low and Medium settings also widens with resolution. At 1080p, the gap is 47.5 FPS (127.3 vs 79.8), but at 4K, the gap narrows to 29.0 FPS (83.3 vs 54.3). This compression at higher resolutions further supports the idea that pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors, as the GPU cannot fully compensate for the increased workload when moving from Low to Medium at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows indicate that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo at most resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 79.8 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while High drops to 57.0 FPS and Ultra falls to 45.9 FPS. The jump from Medium to High costs 22.8 FPS at 1080p, which is a significant penalty for what is typically a modest visual upgrade in The Medium’s fixed-camera horror scenes.

At 2560x1440, Medium produces 63.9 FPS, which remains playable, while High drops to 48.2 FPS and Ultra to 36.8 FPS. The data suggests that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot for this hardware, as it maintains a playable frame rate without sacrificing too much detail. For 4K, the situation is more challenging. Low settings yield 83.3 FPS, which is smooth, but Medium falls to 54.3 FPS, which is borderline for a horror game where timing matters. High at 4K is 37.4 FPS and Ultra is 27.5 FPS, both of which are too low for comfortable play.

For users prioritizing frame rate, Low at 1080p (127.3 FPS) or 1440p (105.3 FPS) provides headroom for high refresh rate displays. However, given the game’s atmospheric nature, Medium at 1440p is the recommended target, as it offers a 63.9 FPS average that balances the visual fidelity of the game’s dual-reality mechanics with responsive controls.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the clear driver of performance in this configuration, and its specifications align with the observed scaling. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results show that it becomes a constraint, particularly at Ultra settings where the average FPS drops to 27.5. The memory clock is listed at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed, and the boost clock reaches 2544 MHz, which helps maintain performance at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully saturated.

The GPU’s 3456 shading units and 96 ROPs are put to heavy use in The Medium, which relies on complex lighting and shadow effects. Benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 22547 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3316, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 with a deltaPct of 0, indicating near-identical average benchmark scores. This parity suggests that the RX 7700 XT is a mainstream performer, and the game’s measured FPS reflects that positioning: strong at 1080p, adequate at 1440p, and weak at 4K with high presets.

The GPU’s 54 ray tracing cores are present, but the measured FPS data does not specify whether ray tracing is enabled. Given the significant frame rate drops at higher settings, it is likely that enabling ray tracing would further reduce performance, but the data does not confirm this. The card’s 35.17 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability is the theoretical peak, but the real-world results show that The Medium’s rendering demands exceed this at 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT ranks 706th out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the 42nd percentile of all systems. This mid-pack ranking is consistent with the hardware’s individual standing: the CPU sits in the 75th percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 73rd percentile. The combo rank suggests that while each component is above average, their pairing does not create any synergistic advantage for this specific game, which is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions.

In terms of practical impact, this ranking means that many other systems will deliver higher frame rates, particularly those with more powerful GPUs. The CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (deltaPct 0), Intel Core i7-1260P (deltaPct -0.2), and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (deltaPct -0.2), all of which have similar average benchmark scores. The GPU’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (deltaPct 0), indicating that this combo is essentially equivalent to a system with that newer card. For The Medium, the 706th rank implies that users should expect average performance relative to the broader test pool, with the understanding that 4K Ultra is out of reach.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F provides a solid foundation for this GPU, but its role in The Medium is secondary to the graphics card. The CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for feeding the GPU, as evidenced by the high frame rates at Low settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 127.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target, indicating that the CPU is not holding back performance in lighter scenes.

Benchmark results for the CPU show a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 and a single-core score of 2029. These figures place it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs, with a Passmark multithread score of 16908. The nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (avgScore 17189, deltaPct 0) and Intel Core i7-1260P (avgScore 17212, deltaPct -0.2), showing that the i5-11400F is competitive with newer mobile parts despite being a desktop chip from an older generation.

In The Medium, the CPU’s 6 cores are sufficient to maintain frame pacing, as the game is not heavily multithreaded. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5619 and 8-thread score of 4691 indicate that scaling beyond 6 cores is limited, but the game does not appear to require it. The fact that FPS drops significantly at 4K regardless of settings confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck, not the CPU. At 4K Low, the system hits 83.3 FPS, which is still high, proving that the i5-11400F can keep up with the RX 7700 XT even when the GPU is under heavy load. The CPU’s 65W TDP and LGA 1200 socket make it a practical pairing, but users should note that it is end-of-life, so upgrade paths are limited.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with Medium settings delivers 63.9 FPS, which is the highest playable frame rate above 60 FPS at a resolution above 1080p. At 1920x1080, Medium hits 79.8 FPS, but the visual upgrade to 1440p is worth the small performance trade-off.

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

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 83.3 FPS. At Medium, 4K drops to 54.3 FPS, and at High or Ultra, it falls to 37.4 and 27.5 FPS respectively, which are not smooth enough for reliable gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent across all presets, and the CPU’s performance at Low settings (127.3 FPS at 1080p) shows it has headroom that the GPU cannot use at higher resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: It ranks 706th out of 1689 combos, placing it in the middle of the pack. The GPU’s nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 with a deltaPct of 0, meaning performance is nearly identical to that card.

Q: What settings should I use for a consistent 60 FPS experience?

A: At 1080p, Medium delivers 79.8 FPS, which is safe. At 1440p, Medium gives 63.9 FPS, which is just above 60. For the most consistent experience, use Medium at 1440p or High at 1080p (57.0 FPS), though the latter is slightly below 60.

Q: Does the CPU’s 6-core configuration limit performance in The Medium?

A: No. The game’s frame rates at Low settings are high (127.3 FPS at 1080p), and the CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 shows it has enough processing power. The bottleneck is the GPU’s pixel throughput, not the CPU’s core count.