The Medium

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX delivers a playable experience in The Medium, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling tied to the CPU. At 4K, the combo averages 52 FPS on High settings, which drops to 41 FPS at Ultra, indicating a graphics-heavy load. However, the scaling from 1080p to 4K exposes a bottleneck pattern: at 1080p Low, the system hits 125 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it falls to 62 FPS. This 50.4% drop when moving from Low to Ultra at the same resolution shows that the GPU is the primary limiter at high settings, while the CPU holds up well enough at lower settings to push frame rates past 120 FPS.

The 4K Medium result of 72 FPS versus 4K Low at 109 FPS is a 33.9% reduction, confirming that the Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the dominant factor in higher-fidelity scenarios. The 1080p to 4K transition at Medium settings shows a drop from 104 FPS to 72 FPS, a 30.8% loss, which is substantial but still leaves the game playable. Interestingly, the 1440p Low result of 118 FPS is only 5.6% lower than the 1080p Low result of 125 FPS, suggesting that the CPU can sustain high frame rates even when pixel count increases, but the GPU starts to struggle as resolution climbs. The data points to a system where the RX 7900 XTX’s 24 GB of GDDR6 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient, but the i5-11400F’s six cores and 12 threads may limit the upper bounds of performance in less demanding scenes.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS values show a predictable pattern: performance degrades as resolution increases, but the rate of degradation is not uniform across settings. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 125 FPS at 1080p to 118 FPS at 1440p (a 5.6% loss), and then to 109 FPS at 4K (a 12.8% loss from 1440p). This relatively mild scaling at Low settings indicates that the CPU is keeping pace with the GPU’s output, and the RX 7900 XTX is not yet saturated. At Medium settings, the drop is steeper: 104 FPS at 1080p falls to 92 FPS at 1440p (an 11.5% loss), and then to 72 FPS at 4K (a 21.7% loss from 1440p). This suggests that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as shader complexity increases.

The High settings scaling is even more pronounced: 78 FPS at 1080p, 66 FPS at 1440p (a 15.4% loss), and 52 FPS at 4K (a 21.2% loss from 1440p). At Ultra, the pattern holds with 62 FPS at 1080p, 52 FPS at 1440p (a 16.1% loss), and 41 FPS at 4K (a 21.2% loss from 1440p). The consistent 20%+ loss from 1440p to 4K across High and Ultra settings confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 41 FPS is just below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that this combo is better suited for medium-to-high settings at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader database of tested combinations, this pairing ranks 695th out of 3,724 combos for The Medium, placing it in the top 18.7% of all tested systems. This rank reflects a strong overall performance, but it is not elite. The CPU alone sits at the 71st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17,177, while the GPU is at the 64th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19,410. The GPU’s lower percentile relative to the CPU suggests that the RX 7900 XTX is not performing at its full potential in this game, likely due to the CPU’s limitations in certain scenes.

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the i5-11400F is nearly identical in average score to the AMD EPYC 7H12, with a delta of 0.3% in favor of the EPYC, and it trails the Intel Core i5-12450H by just 0.4%. This tight grouping indicates that the i5-11400F is a mid-pack performer in synthetic benchmarks, but in The Medium, the combination’s rank suggests that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB, which is only 0.4% slower in average score, and the NVIDIA TITAN Xp, which is 1.2% faster. These comparisons highlight that the RX 7900 XTX’s raw compute power is immense, but the game’s engine may not fully utilize it, leading to the observed FPS figures.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, 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 provide adequate bandwidth for gaming, but the 14 nm process node and 65 W TDP suggest it is not a high-end part. In synthetic tests, the CPU scores 14,340 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,024 in single-core, which are respectable but not top-tier numbers. The 3DMark results show a scaling from 1,691 in the 2-thread test to 5,652 in the max-thread test, indicating that the processor benefits from additional threads but does not scale perfectly.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is likely to be more critical at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the 125 FPS result suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU enough frames, but the 4K Ultra result of 41 FPS implies that the GPU is fully saturated. The CPU’s 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with rivals like the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (0.6% slower) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (0.6% faster), indicates it is a solid mid-range performer. However, the data shows that the CPU’s six cores and 12 threads may be a limiting factor in scenes with heavy AI or physics, as the 1080p to 4K scaling at Low settings is less steep than at High settings, suggesting the CPU is not the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 125 FPS on Low, 104 FPS on Medium, 78 FPS on High, and 62 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS, indicating a stable frame delivery. The gap between Low and Ultra is 63 FPS, which is a 50.4% reduction, highlighting the GPU’s sensitivity to settings at this resolution. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop to 118 FPS on Low, 92 FPS on Medium, 66 FPS on High, and 52 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS, which is still a smooth experience for most players.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained: 109 FPS on Low, 72 FPS on Medium, 52 FPS on High, and 41 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS, which is playable but with occasional dips below 60 FPS. The 4K High result of 52 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, while 4K Ultra at 41 FPS is noticeably less fluid. The data shows a clear hierarchy: Low settings are always above 100 FPS at all resolutions, Medium settings are above 70 FPS, High settings are above 50 FPS, and Ultra is above 40 FPS. This suggests that the RX 7900 XTX has enough headroom for high refresh rate at 1080p, but at 4K, only Low and Medium settings provide a consistently smooth experience.

FAQ

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

A: At 1440p Medium, the combo averages 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold and offers a good balance between visual quality and performance. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS, which is still playable but closer to the edge.

Q: Can this system handle 4K Ultra settings?

A: No, the 4K Ultra result is 41 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The data indicates that Ultra settings are best avoided at 4K unless the player accepts a lower frame rate.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo hits 125 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower settings. However, at 1080p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 62 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor as settings are increased.

Q: Is the RX 7900 XTX fully utilized in this game?

A: The GPU’s 64th percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with the 4K scaling, suggests it is heavily used at higher resolutions. The 4K Low result of 109 FPS versus 4K Ultra at 41 FPS shows a 62.4% drop, indicating the GPU is the primary bottleneck at Ultra settings.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Medium averages 92 FPS while High averages 66 FPS, a 28.3% reduction. This shows that the step from Medium to High has a significant impact on performance, likely due to increased graphical effects.

Q: Does the combo rank well compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 695th out of 3,724 combos, which puts it in the top 18.7% of all tested systems. This is a strong result, but not the top tier, as the CPU and GPU both sit in the 60-70th percentile range for their respective component categories.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience, the Medium preset is the sweet spot across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 104 FPS with a minimum of 88 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a fluid experience. At 1440p, Medium averages 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS. At 4K, Medium averages 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS, which is playable but with occasional dips near the 60 FPS line. High settings are viable at 1080p (78 FPS) and 1440p (66 FPS), but at 4K, High drops to 52 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but is not ideal for fast-paced action.

Ultra settings are only recommended at 1080p, where the combo achieves 62 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra averages 52 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 41 FPS, both of which are below the 60 FPS target. Given the data, the best experience is to use Medium settings at 4K for a balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, or High settings at 1440p for a higher-quality image. For players prioritizing frame rate over visuals, Low settings at 4K (109 FPS) or 1440p (118 FPS) are excellent choices. The Medium preset is the recommended default, as it provides the most consistent performance across all three resolutions without sacrificing too much graphical quality.