The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding workload that scales sharply with resolution and settings, and the pairing of the Intel Core i5-13400F with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT reveals a system where the graphics card is the primary performance limiter. This combination lands at rank 1101 out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. The data indicates that while the CPU provides ample headroom, the GPU's capabilities dictate the playable experience, particularly at higher resolutions and quality presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern: performance degrades significantly as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 95.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same Low preset drops the average to 79.3 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls further to 64.3 FPS. This progression illustrates a 16.9% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and a 32.7% decrease from 1080p to 4K, indicating that even at the lowest quality settings, the resolution increase places a substantial burden on the GPU.

The scaling becomes more severe at higher settings. At Medium quality, the average FPS drops from 62.9 at 1080p to 48.7 at 1440p, and then to 36.7 at 4K. This represents a 22.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 41.7% drop from 1080p to 4K. The pattern intensifies with High settings, where the averages are 45.4 FPS, 34.7 FPS, and 28 FPS respectively. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic falloff, with averages of 31.7 FPS at 1080p, 27.3 FPS at 1440p, and a borderline unplayable 23.5 FPS at 4K.

This scaling behavior strongly suggests that the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is the limiting component. The frame rate drops are disproportionate to the pixel count increase, a hallmark of GPU-bound scenarios. The CPU's performance, which remains consistent across these resolutions, cannot compensate for the GPU's workload. The data points to a system where the graphics card is saturated at 1440p and overwhelmed at 4K, particularly when visual fidelity is prioritized.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores indicate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21279 and a single-core score of 3004. These figures place the CPU in the 82nd percentile of all processors tested, a position that suggests it is not a bottleneck in this configuration.

The CPU's role in The Medium is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics data. The benchmark results show that the CPU can maintain high frame rates when the GPU is not the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 95.6 FPS average at 1080p Low. This indicates that the processor has sufficient headroom to handle the game's logic at lower resolutions. However, as the resolution increases, the GPU's rendering time becomes the dominant factor, and the CPU's contribution to the overall frame rate diminishes.

The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support provide adequate bandwidth for gaming workloads. The data suggests that the i5-13400F is not the constraining element in this combo; its performance is more than sufficient to keep pace with the RX 6650 XT's output. The bottleneck clearly resides on the graphics side, a conclusion reinforced by the consistent frame rates observed across different resolutions with identical settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT achieves a rank of 1101 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This positions it in the 35th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that a significant majority of other configurations deliver higher average frame rates. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-tier standing rather than a deficiency in the CPU.

The RX 6650 XT's average benchmark score of 29024 places it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals being the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (deltaPct 0), AMD Radeon RX 470 (deltaPct 0.1), Intel Arc A370M (deltaPct -0.5), and AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH (deltaPct -0.6). These close margins indicate that the GPU's performance is tightly clustered with several other cards, and its position in the combo ranking is largely determined by this competitive field.

The combo rank is further influenced by the CPU's pairing. The i5-13400F, with its 82nd percentile standing, does not drag the system down. Rather, the combination's rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's capabilities in this specific title. The data shows that the CPU is capable of supporting higher-performing GPUs, but the RX 6650 XT's limits define the system's overall standing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality settings. At 1080p, the combo delivers an average of 95.6 FPS on Low settings, 62.9 FPS on Medium, 45.4 FPS on High, and 31.7 FPS on Ultra. This shows a clear performance hierarchy, with the Low preset offering a smooth experience and the Ultra preset dipping below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1440p, the averages are 79.3 FPS on Low, 48.7 FPS on Medium, 34.7 FPS on High, and 27.3 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium at this resolution is substantial, representing a 38.6% decrease in frame rate. The High and Ultra presets become increasingly demanding, with the Ultra setting falling below 30 FPS, which is generally considered the minimum for playable performance in a horror title.

At 4K, the situation becomes more challenging. The averages are 64.3 FPS on Low, 36.7 FPS on Medium, 28 FPS on High, and 23.5 FPS on Ultra. The Low preset remains playable, but the Medium setting is borderline, and both High and Ultra are below the 30 FPS threshold. This data indicates that the RX 6650 XT is only suitable for 4K gaming at the lowest quality settings, and even then, the frame rate is not consistently smooth.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is the decisive factor in this combo's performance. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 2055 MHz and a boost clock of 2635 MHz, with a game clock of 2410 MHz. These specifications, combined with 2048 shading units and 32 ray accelerators, define its rendering capabilities.

The GPU's role in The Medium is evident from the resolution scaling analysis. The card's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at most settings, but the data suggests it may struggle with texture and geometry data at 4K Ultra, where the average frame rate drops to 23.5 FPS. The memory bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s is a limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the GPU must fetch more data per frame.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its mid-tier positioning. Its PassMark G3D score of 17166 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1859 indicate moderate performance. The nearest rivals, including the RX 6800M and RX 470, show that the card sits in a competitive but not dominant position. In The Medium, this translates to a GPU that can handle 1080p gaming with high settings and 1440p with medium settings, but it is not equipped for 4K gaming beyond the lowest quality presets. The data clearly shows that the GPU, not the CPU, dictates the system's performance ceiling in this title.