The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title, and the pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER produces a specific set of performance characteristics that depend heavily on your resolution and graphics preset. The measured data shows a system that is capable of smooth play at 1080p and 1440p, but which struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, the scaling between settings, and what the data reveals about the balance between the CPU and GPU in this configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, and the data clearly indicates that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases. At the "High" settings preset, the average frame rate falls from 41 FPS at 1920x1080 to 35 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 6 FPS. However, the most significant collapse occurs at 3840x2160, where the average FPS plummets to 27. This represents a 34% drop from the 1080p result and a 23% drop from the 1440p result. The pattern is consistent across all presets, but the severity increases with graphical load.

For instance, at the "Low" preset, the system achieves 92 FPS at 1080p, 77 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 4K. While the 4K result is still playable, the drop from 1080p is 31 FPS, or about 34%. The "Medium" preset shows a similar trend: 57 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 38 FPS at 4K. The most demanding "Ultra" preset is the most punishing, with average frame rates of 33 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and a nearly unplayable 21 FPS at 4K.

The data suggests that the 4K resolution is simply too heavy for the RTX 2060 SUPER in this game, regardless of the settings used. The difference between the "Low" and "Ultra" presets at 4K is a 40 FPS gap, showing that even lowering settings cannot fully compensate for the raw pixel count. Conversely, the relatively small performance gap between 1080p and 1440p at all presets suggests that the CPU is still able to feed the GPU adequately at these resolutions, and the bottleneck is squarely on the graphics card. The scaling shows a typical curve where the GPU's rendering load increases exponentially with resolution, and this GPU hits a wall at 2160p.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings for this combo depend entirely on your target resolution and performance preference. For a smooth 60+ FPS experience, the "Low" preset is the only reliable choice, and it works at every resolution tested. At 1080p, the "Low" preset delivers 92 FPS, which is excellent for a horror game where responsiveness matters. At 1440p, it still achieves a very respectable 77 FPS, and even at 4K, it manages 61 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for most players.

If you prefer higher visual fidelity, the "Medium" preset is the best balance of quality and performance. At 1080p, it delivers 57 FPS, which is smooth and playable. At 1440p, it drops to 48 FPS, which is still acceptable for a slower-paced horror title, though you may notice some minor stutter in intense scenes. The data shows a minimum FPS of 41 at 1440p Medium, so you should be prepared for occasional dips below the average. At 4K, the "Medium" preset falls to 38 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a game that relies on atmosphere and tension.

The "High" and "Ultra" presets are not recommended for this configuration. The "High" preset only achieves 41 FPS at 1080p and 35 FPS at 1440p, which is below the smoothness threshold for most gamers. The "Ultra" preset is even worse, with 33 FPS at 1080p and 27 FPS at 1440p, making it a poor choice for a playable experience. The performance cost of these presets is not justified by the visual improvements, especially when the "Medium" preset offers a much better frame rate with only a modest reduction in graphical quality. For the best experience, use "Low" at 4K or "Medium" at 1080p and 1440p.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of tested system combinations, this specific pairing of the Core i5-11400F and RTX 2060 SUPER ranks at 2606 out of 3724 combos in The Medium. This places it in the lower half of all tested configurations, which is consistent with the performance data showing that it struggles with higher resolutions and presets. The rank of 2606 indicates that while it is not a bottom-tier setup, it is significantly outclassed by many other combinations in this specific game.

The CPU itself is a solid performer, sitting at the 71st percentile when compared to all CPUs in our database. Its average benchmark score of 17177 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 7H12 with a score of 17120 and a delta of 0.3%, and the Intel Core i5-12450H with a score of 17239 and a delta of -0.4%. This shows that the i5-11400F is a well-balanced processor that is not holding back the system in this game.

However, the GPU is a different story. The RTX 2060 SUPER sits at the 62nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18093. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile with a score of 18159 and a delta of -0.4%, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 with a score of 18189 and a delta of -0.5%. The GPU's lower percentile ranking compared to the CPU suggests that it is the component that is dragging the combo's overall rank down in a game as demanding as The Medium. The combination of a mid-range CPU and a mid-range GPU results in a system that is adequate for 1080p gaming but not for high-end 4K performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the most comfortable resolution for this combo. At the "Medium" preset, you can achieve 57 FPS, and at "Low" you can reach 92 FPS. While 2560x1440 is playable, the frame rates drop significantly, making 1080p the recommended choice for a consistent experience.

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

A: Yes, but only at the lowest settings. At 3840x2160 with the "Low" preset, the average FPS is 61, which is playable. However, any increase in settings results in a significant performance hit, with "Medium" at 38 FPS, "High" at 27 FPS, and "Ultra" at 21 FPS, all of which are below the ideal smoothness threshold.

Q: How does the "Medium" preset compare to "High" in terms of frame rate?

A: The "Medium" preset offers a substantial performance advantage. At 1080p, "Medium" provides 57 FPS compared to 41 FPS on "High", a 16 FPS difference. At 1440p, the gap is 13 FPS (48 vs 35), and at 4K it is 11 FPS (38 vs 27). The visual difference is often less noticeable than the frame rate gain.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU's performance is sufficient, as evidenced by its 71st percentile ranking and strong benchmark scores. The GPU, however, ranks lower and shows a steep performance drop as resolution increases, pointing to it as the bottleneck.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1440p?

A: The "Medium" preset is the highest playable option at 2560x1440, with an average FPS of 48 and a minimum of 41. While not a locked 60 FPS, it is a stable and playable experience for a horror game. The "High" preset at 35 FPS is too low for a comfortable experience.

Q: How does this combo's rank compare to other systems tested?

A: This combo ranks 2606 out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium. This places it in the lower half of all systems, indicating that there are many other setups that can run the game better, but it is far from being the worst performer.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the central component in this system's performance, and its characteristics directly explain the observed frame rates. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. In a game like The Medium, which relies on high-resolution textures, this memory capacity is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but it may become a limiting factor at 4K where texture data demands are much higher. The data shows that at 4K, the frame rate drops drastically, suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth and processing power are insufficient for the increased workload.

The GPU's compute capabilities are defined by its 2176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. It also includes 34 ray tracing cores and 272 tensor cores, though the measured FPS data does not specify if these features are enabled. The base clock is 1470 MHz, with a boost clock of 1650 MHz. The GPU's raw processing power is rated at 7.181 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. This level of performance places the GPU at the 62nd percentile among all GPUs, and its benchmark scores are very close to those of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, which is only 0.4% faster in average score.

The performance data shows a clear correlation between the GPU's workload and the frame rates. At 1080p, the GPU is able to maintain playable frame rates on "Medium" and "Low" presets, but it struggles with "High" and "Ultra". This indicates that the GPU's raw processing power is the limiting factor, not the CPU. The steep drop in performance from 1440p to 4K is a classic sign of a GPU that is hitting its memory bandwidth limits or its compute throughput ceiling. The RTX 2060 SUPER is a capable 1080p and entry-level 1440p card, but it is not designed for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming, which is evident in the data.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F plays a supporting role in this configuration, and the data indicates that it is more than capable of keeping up with the GPU in The Medium. The CPU features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This is a modern architecture (Rocket Lake) built on Intel's 14 nm process. The processor has a 12 MB shared L3 cache, which is sufficient for feeding the GPU with data in most gaming scenarios.

The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, placing it at the 71st percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 17177 is within 0.6% of its nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 7H12 and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U. The multi-threaded performance is particularly solid, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14340 and its 3DMark max threads score of 5652. Single-thread performance is also respectable, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2024.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to manage game logic, physics, and draw calls, while the GPU handles the rendering. The measured FPS data shows that the frame rates scale consistently with GPU settings, but there is no evidence of a CPU bottleneck. For example, at 1080p, the frame rate changes from 92 FPS on "Low" to 33 FPS on "Ultra", which is a GPU-driven change. The CPU's high single-thread and multi-thread scores suggest it has enough headroom to handle the game's demands without becoming a limiting factor. The data implies that the i5-11400F is a well-matched partner for the RTX 2060 SUPER, providing a balanced platform for 1080p and 1440p gaming.