The Medium

The Medium, released on 2021-01-27, presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience where the combination of an Intel Core i5-11400F and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 produces a wide spread of frame rates depending on resolution and quality preset. The measured data, derived from 12 distinct configurations, shows this pairing ranks 488th out of 1689 tested combos, placing it comfortably in the upper quartile of all systems tested. This analysis breaks down the role of each component, how resolution scaling affects performance, and which settings deliver the optimal experience based strictly on the benchmark results.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, drawing a 65 W TDP. The chip features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. Its memory bandwidth is rated at 51.2 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR4 bus, and it supports PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14372 and a single-core score of 2029, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 7579 and single-core score of 1979.

Relative to its nearest rivals in the broader CPU benchmark database, the i5-11400F's average benchmark score of 17181 places it within a tight cluster. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700U scores 17189, a delta of 0%, while the Intel Core i7-1260P and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U each score 17212 and 17215 respectively, both showing a delta of -0.2%. The Intel Core i5-1240U scores 17141, a delta of 0.2%. This places the i5-11400F effectively at parity with these competitors, with a 75th percentile ranking against all CPUs. For The Medium, the CPU's 12 threads and 4.40 GHz boost clock provide sufficient processing headroom to avoid bottlenecking the GPU, as the game's performance scaling across resolutions indicates a primarily graphics-limited workload. The single-thread score of 2029 in Cinebench R23 suggests strong per-core performance, which is relevant for the game's logic and scene management, though the measured FPS data shows that resolution and settings have a far greater impact on output.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process node, featuring 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. It comes with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1920 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, and memory operates at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed. It houses 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units, along with 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. The card delivers 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s.

In the GPU benchmark hierarchy, the RTX 4070's average score of 37283 places it at an 81st percentile against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 with a score of 37507 (delta -0.6%), the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A with 38008 (delta -1.9%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile with 38135 (delta -2.2%), and the AMD Radeon RX 5300M with 36371 (delta 2.5%). This data shows the RTX 4070 is positioned between these mobile and older desktop parts, with the 12 GB VRAM being a critical asset for The Medium at higher resolutions. The game's measured FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 37.4, while at Low it jumps to 100.2, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are the primary determinants of performance at 4K. The 504.2 GB/s bandwidth ensures texture streaming and scene rendering remain fluid, though the Ultra preset clearly taxes the hardware heavily.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent and predictable scaling pattern across the three tested resolutions. At 1080p, the Ultra preset yields an average of 51.2 FPS, Medium produces 95.2, High 65.7, and Low 127. Moving to 1440p, the same presets deliver 44.1 (Ultra), 79.1 (Medium), 53.3 (High), and 115.6 (Low). At 4K, performance drops further: Ultra averages 37.4, Medium 62, High 45.9, and Low 100.2.

The percentage drops from 1080p to 4K are substantial. For Ultra, the frame rate falls from 51.2 to 37.4, a reduction of approximately 27%. Medium drops from 95.2 to 62, a 35% decrease. High falls from 65.7 to 45.9, a 30% reduction, and Low goes from 127 to 100.2, a 21% decrease. These figures indicate that the RTX 4070 is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance remains constant while the GPU's workload increases with pixel count. The relatively smaller drop in Low settings (21%) compared to Medium (35%) suggests that at Low, the game is less GPU-bound, allowing the i5-11400F's 12 threads to maintain a higher floor. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system falls below the 40 FPS threshold, while at 4K Medium it remains playable at 62 FPS. The scaling pattern confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this configuration, with the CPU providing adequate support across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 achieves a rank of 488 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 29% of all systems benchmarked. This ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's 75th percentile standing and the GPU's 81st percentile, with the overall combo performing slightly below what the individual component percentiles might suggest. The gap between the 81st percentile GPU and the 488th rank indicates that other factors, such as memory configuration or driver optimization, may influence the game's performance, but the data shows this is a solid mid-to-upper tier setup.

In practical terms, a rank of 488 out of 1689 means the system outperforms approximately 71% of all tested combinations. For a horror game like The Medium, which relies on atmospheric detail and lighting, this ranking ensures that the hardware can handle the game's visual demands at most settings. The performance at 1440p Medium (79.1 FPS) and 4K Medium (62 FPS) demonstrates that the combo is well-suited for high-resolution gaming, while the 1080p Low (127 FPS) shows headroom for competitive or high-refresh-rate play. The ranking also suggests that users with this setup can expect consistent performance without needing to compromise heavily on visual quality, provided they select appropriate presets.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based strictly on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's resolution and performance priorities. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 95.2 FPS, which is significantly above the 60 FPS threshold and offers a substantial improvement over High (65.7 FPS) and Ultra (51.2 FPS). The Low preset at 127 FPS is available for those seeking maximum smoothness, but Medium provides a better balance of visual fidelity and performance. For 1440p, the Medium preset at 79.1 FPS is the recommended choice, as it maintains a high frame rate while High (53.3 FPS) and Ultra (44.1 FPS) fall below the desired 60 FPS mark. Low at 115.6 FPS is viable but compromises visual quality unnecessarily.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. The Medium preset at 62 FPS is the only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the clear recommendation for 4K gaming. High at 45.9 FPS and Ultra at 37.4 FPS are playable but will exhibit noticeable stutter in fast-paced scenes, while Low at 100.2 FPS sacrifices too much visual detail for a horror game that relies on atmosphere. The data indicates that the Medium preset across all resolutions offers the most consistent experience, with 95.2 FPS at 1080p, 79.1 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. This consistency suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this hardware combination, providing a smooth experience without the dramatic frame rate drops seen in High and Ultra. For users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, High at 1440p (53.3 FPS) is acceptable, but Medium remains the best overall choice based on the measured rows.