The Medium

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D presents a fascinating case study in system bottlenecking within The Medium. This pairing of a 2021 mid-range CPU with a flagship 2025 GPU creates a significant performance imbalance. The benchmark data indicates that while the RTX 5090 D is capable of immense graphical throughput, its potential is frequently constrained by the i5-11400F, particularly at lower resolutions. This analysis will dissect the measured FPS data to understand where the limits of this system lie, how the components interact, and what the optimal settings are for a playable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear trend in how this system scales across resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 125 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings, the average drops to 118 FPS, a modest 5.6% decrease. When pushing to 4K at Low settings, the average falls further to 109 FPS, another 7.6% drop from the 1440p figure. This relatively small performance penalty from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is a strong indicator that the CPU is the primary limiting factor at these lower graphical loads. The GPU is not being fully utilized, as it could easily render more frames if the CPU could feed it data faster.

The situation changes dramatically when we examine higher settings. At Ultra settings, the average FPS at 1080p is 82, which drops to 69 FPS at 1440p (a 15.9% decrease) and then further to 54 FPS at 4K (a 21.7% decrease from 1440p). This much steeper decline with resolution at Ultra settings shows the GPU becoming the decisive bottleneck. The RTX 5090 D is now being pushed to its limits by the demanding visual effects, and its performance is scaling more predictably with the pixel count. The data suggests that at lower settings, the CPU holds the system back, but at higher settings, the GPU becomes the limiting component.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings also widens with resolution. At 1080p, the difference is 43 FPS (125 vs 82). At 1440p, this gap grows to 49 FPS (118 vs 69). By 4K, the difference is 55 FPS (109 vs 54). This pattern reinforces the idea that the CPU bottleneck is more pronounced at lower resolutions, where it artificially caps the maximum FPS. As resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and the CPU has more time to prepare frames, allowing the GPU's performance ceiling to become the dominant factor in determining the final frame rate.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a monster of a graphics card, featuring 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its core is clocked at a base of 2017 MHz with a boost of 2407 MHz. In The Medium, the data shows that this immense memory pool and bandwidth are not necessarily the primary drivers of performance at lower settings. The fact that the FPS at 1080p Low (125 FPS) is only marginally higher than at 4K Low (109 FPS) suggests that the card's raw compute power is being underutilized. The game is not demanding enough at these settings to require the full might of the GPU, leaving its vast resources idle.

However, the GPU's role becomes unmistakable when the settings are cranked up. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS plummets to 54, a 50.5% reduction from the 4K Low average of 109 FPS. This massive performance hit demonstrates the sheer computational cost of the Ultra preset. The RTX 5090 D's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is being heavily taxed by the advanced lighting, shadows, and post-processing effects. The 32 GB of VRAM is also likely a non-issue at any of these settings, as The Medium is not known for being a VRAM hog, but the card's compute units are clearly working overtime at the highest quality preset.

The benchmark results indicate that the RTX 5090 D is a card that thrives when given a heavy workload. Its performance scaling from Medium to Ultra at any given resolution is steep, showing that it has a wide performance envelope. The card's overall percentile rank is 92, meaning it outperforms 92% of all GPUs in the database, and its average benchmark score of 77712 confirms its raw power. In this specific game, however, the CPU partner prevents it from showcasing that power at lower settings, making the GPU's role more about providing a stable, high-quality experience at higher resolutions and settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the "Medium" preset offers the most balanced experience for this specific CPU-GPU combination. At 1080p, Medium provides an average of 104 FPS, which is a solid 12.6% slower than Low but a massive 21.2% faster than Ultra. The data for Medium is also the most complete, including min and max FPS values. At 1080p, the min FPS is 88 and the max is 120, indicating a reasonably stable frame delivery. This is the only preset with min/max data, which may suggest it was the primary tested configuration.

Moving to 1440p, the Medium preset hits an average of 98 FPS, which is still very smooth for a horror game. The min FPS at this resolution is 83, with a max of 113. This level of performance is ideal for a game like The Medium, which relies on atmosphere and tension rather than twitch reflexes. The 4K Medium result of 91 FPS (with a min of 77 and max of 104) is also respectable, and for users with a high-refresh-rate 4K display, this setting provides a playable experience without the significant frame rate drop seen at Ultra.

The High preset is a middle ground, but the data shows it offers diminishing returns. At 4K, High averages 68 FPS, which is a 25.3% drop from Medium's 91 FPS. At 1080p, High averages 92 FPS, which is 11.5% slower than Medium. Given that the visual difference between High and Medium in many games is often subtle, the performance cost here appears steep. For this system, the Medium preset seems to be the sweet spot, providing a high frame rate that avoids the CPU bottleneck seen at Low while also avoiding the heavy GPU load that cripples the Ultra preset.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the extensive database of over 2,900 tested CPU-GPU combinations for The Medium, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks at 206. This places it in the top 7.1% of all tested combos, which is a very strong showing. The high rank is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's dominance. The RTX 5090 D is in the 92nd percentile for all GPUs, and its raw performance is more than enough to carry the system to a high ranking, even when paired with a less capable processor.

However, this rank also highlights the potential that is being left on the table. While 206th out of 2911 is excellent, it is not reflective of what the RTX 5090 D is capable of when paired with a top-tier CPU. The low FPS at 1080p Low (125) compared to what a more balanced system could achieve shows that the i5-11400F is holding the combo back. The CPU's 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177, is a clear indicator that it is a mid-range part. In this pairing, it is the weakest link, preventing the combo from climbing even higher in the rankings. The data suggests that a user with this GPU would see a significant performance uplift in CPU-bound scenarios by upgrading the processor.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 D in The Medium?

A: Yes, the data strongly suggests this. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 125 FPS, but at 4K Low, it still hits 109 FPS. The relatively small performance drop with a large resolution increase indicates that the CPU is limiting the frame rate at lower resolutions, preventing the GPU from working to its full potential.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with this combo?

A: Based on the data, 1440p offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. It provides a high average FPS across all settings (69-118 FPS) and avoids the CPU bottleneck more effectively than 1080p, while being less demanding than 4K.

Q: How much faster is the Ultra preset compared to Low at 4K?

A: The Ultra preset is significantly slower. At 4K, the Low preset averages 109 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages only 54 FPS. This represents a 50.5% reduction in frame rate when switching from Low to Ultra settings.

Q: What is the frame rate stability like at 1080p Medium?

A: The data shows a minimum of 88 FPS and a maximum of 120 FPS, with an average of 104 FPS. This indicates a relatively stable experience, with the frame rate not dropping below a very playable 88 FPS.

Q: How does this combo's overall performance rank against other tested systems?

A: This specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 206th out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 7.1% of all systems, which is a very strong result driven mostly by the high-performing graphics card.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of VRAM make a difference in this game?

A: Based on the provided data, it is impossible to determine the direct impact of VRAM capacity. The benchmark results focus on FPS across different settings and resolutions. The data does not include VRAM usage metrics, so any conclusion about VRAM's specific role would be speculative.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS figures for each tested resolution and settings configuration. The data is derived directly from the measured results.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|:--------- |:------- |:------ |:------ |:------ |

| 3840x2160 | High | 68 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 109 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 91 | 77 | 104 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 54 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 87 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 118 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 98 | 83 | 113 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 69 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 92 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 125 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 104 | 88 | 120 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 82 | - | - |

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 12 MB of shared L3 cache. In The Medium, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings. The performance plateau observed when moving from 1080p to 4K at Low settings (125 to 109 FPS) is a classic sign of a CPU limit. The processor is likely maxing out its single-thread performance, which is essential for game logic and draw calls, preventing the GPU from rendering more frames.

The CPU's benchmark scores provide context for its performance. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 14340, and its single-core score is 2024. Its 3DMark max-thread score is 5652. While these numbers are respectable for a 6-core part, they are far below what a modern high-end CPU would achieve. The CPU's percentile rank is 71, and its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7H12 and the Intel Core i5-12450H, with performance deltas of less than 1%. This shows that the i5-11400F is a competent, mid-range processor, but it is simply outclassed by the sheer power of the RTX 5090 D.

This imbalance is the central finding of this analysis. The data shows that the CPU is the limiting factor in CPU-bound scenarios (low resolution/settings), while the GPU takes over as the bottleneck in GPU-bound scenarios (high resolution/settings). For a user with this specific combo, the system is leaving performance on the table at 1080p. The 125 FPS average at Low settings is likely much lower than what a more balanced CPU would allow. The system's overall rank of 206th reflects the GPU's strength, but the CPU's limitations prevent it from being a top-tier performer. The measured data suggests that to fully unlock the potential of the RTX 5090 D in this game, a more powerful processor would be required.