The Medium

The Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti combo ranks in the 65th percentile for The Medium, placing 1304th out of 3724 tested combinations. This is a solid mid-to-upper tier position, but the data reveals that the experience is highly dependent on resolution and settings, with the 8 GB VRAM buffer of the RTX 3070 Ti acting as a significant constraint at higher quality presets.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3,724 tested hardware combinations for The Medium, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti lands at rank 1304. That places it comfortably in the upper third of all tested systems, indicating a capable setup for this horror title. However, the rank is more reflective of the GPU's raw compute power than the CPU's contribution; the i5-13400F itself sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 3070 Ti is at the 75th percentile among all GPUs. The combo's overall rank is slightly lower than either component's individual percentile, suggesting that the game's engine does not fully utilize the available hardware headroom, particularly at higher settings where the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

The CPU's benchmark scores show a strong multi-threaded performance profile, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22,604 and a 3DMark max-threads score of 7,307. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, scores nearly identically with a delta of 0%, while the Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D are each just 0.3% behind. This means the processor is more than sufficient to feed the GPU in most scenarios. The RTX 3070 Ti's PassMark G3D score of 23,356 places it just 0.1% ahead of the RTX 5070 Mobile and 0.5% behind the RX 6800, positioning it as a high-end 1440p-class card. In The Medium specifically, the ranking indicates that this combo will deliver playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p with adjustments, but will struggle to maintain smooth performance at 4K Ultra.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s. This bandwidth is generous, but the 8 GB capacity is the primary bottleneck in The Medium at high resolutions and settings. The GPU's boost clock of 1770 MHz and 6144 shading units deliver a peak FP32 throughput of 21.75 TFLOPS, which is ample for the game's fixed-camera perspectives and pre-rendered backgrounds. The 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are present, but The Medium's implementation of ray tracing is limited, so the traditional rasterization performance is what matters most here.

The data shows a clear pattern: as settings increase from Low to Ultra, the average frame rate drops drastically, and the gap between 1080p and 4K widens. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages just 30 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K Medium, it climbs to 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS, showing that the GPU can handle the resolution if the texture quality is reduced. The 8 GB VRAM is likely the culprit for the steep drop at Ultra, as the game's high-resolution textures can exceed that buffer, forcing the system to swap data and causing stutters. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 23,356 and its proximity to the RTX 2080 Ti (0.5% faster) and RX 6800 (0.5% slower) reinforce that this is a card designed for high-refresh 1440p gaming, not native 4K at maximum settings.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 81 FPS on average with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. At 1440p, Medium yields 68 FPS with a minimum of 58 FPS, which is still well within playable territory. Even at 4K, Medium produces 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS, making it the only preset that offers a playable experience at that resolution without dropping to Low.

The High preset is a marginal upgrade in visuals but costs a significant amount of performance. At 1080p, High drops to 58 FPS, a 28% reduction from Medium. At 1440p, it falls to 49 FPS, and at 4K, it drops to 38 FPS, which is borderline unplayable. The Ultra preset is not recommended for any resolution: it yields 46 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p, and just 30 FPS at 4K. These numbers indicate that the jump from Medium to High or Ultra demands more memory bandwidth and capacity than the 8 GB frame buffer can comfortably provide. The Low preset, while delivering 129 FPS at 1080p and 109 FPS at 1440p, sacrifices too much visual quality for a game that relies heavily on atmosphere and environmental detail. Therefore, Medium is the sweet spot, offering a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 1080p and 1440p, and a playable 53 FPS at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo shows a wide performance spread across settings. Low averages 129 FPS, which is more than enough for high-refresh monitors. Medium averages 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS, ensuring no noticeable dips during intense scenes. High averages 58 FPS, which is still playable but begins to show the GPU's limitations. Ultra averages 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and indicates that the GPU is struggling with the highest texture and shadow quality settings.

Moving to 1440p, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 109 FPS, still excellent for competitive play. Medium averages 68 FPS with a minimum of 58 FPS, which is a solid experience for a single-player horror title. High drops to 49 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. Ultra averages 39 FPS, which is a noticeable step down and suggests that the 8 GB VRAM is being saturated.

At 4K, the results are more extreme. Low averages 85 FPS, which is surprisingly high and indicates that the GPU's compute power is not the bottleneck at lower settings. Medium averages 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS, offering a playable experience for those willing to compromise on quality. High averages 38 FPS, which is stuttery. Ultra averages 30 FPS, which is the minimum acceptable for a cinematic experience but not for active gameplay. The medium preset's minimum FPS values (45 at 4K, 58 at 1440p, 69 at 1080p) are consistently about 15% below the average, suggesting that the game has occasional frame rate hitches that are likely tied to loading new areas or streaming textures.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the GPU as the primary limiting component. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 81 at 1080p to 68 at 1440p (a 16% drop) and then to 53 at 4K (a 35% drop from 1440p). This scaling is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the increased pixel count demands more from the renderer. At Low settings, the drop is less severe: 129 FPS at 1080p to 109 FPS at 1440p (15% drop) and then to 85 at 4K (22% drop). The smaller percentage drop at Low settings indicates that the CPU and memory bandwidth are keeping up, and the GPU is still the main constraint.

However, the High and Ultra presets show an even steeper decline. At High, the FPS drops from 58 at 1080p to 49 at 1440p (16% drop) and then to 38 at 4K (22% drop). At Ultra, it goes from 46 at 1080p to 39 at 1440p (15% drop) and then to 30 at 4K (23% drop). The consistent ~15% drop from 1080p to 1440p across all settings suggests that the GPU is scaling linearly with pixel count. The larger drop from 1440p to 4K, particularly at Medium and above, points to the 8 GB VRAM being a hard ceiling. The data shows that the i5-13400F is not the bottleneck here; its strong multi-threaded scores (e.g., 22,604 in Cinebench R23) ensure it can keep up with the GPU's frame generation. The limiting factor is the RTX 3070 Ti's memory capacity, as evidenced by the disproportionate penalty at higher settings where texture data exceeds 8 GB.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo good for 1440p gaming in The Medium?

A: Yes, at Medium settings the combo delivers 68 FPS on average with a minimum of 58 FPS, which is a smooth and immersive experience. At High settings, it drops to 49 FPS, which is still playable but less fluid.

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

A: Only at Medium or Low settings. At 4K Medium, the average is 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS. At 4K High, it falls to 38 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it is just 30 FPS, which is not recommended for active play.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this game?

A: The Medium preset is the best balance of quality and performance. It provides 81 FPS at 1080p, 68 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K, with minimums that stay above 45 FPS in all cases.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 Ti compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 29,945 is 0.1% higher than the RTX 5070 Mobile and 0.5% lower than the RX 6800. It is also 0.5% higher than the RTX 2080 Ti, indicating it sits in a competitive mid-high-end tier.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-13400F a bottleneck for the RTX 3070 Ti?

A: The benchmark data suggests it is not. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22,604 and its 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicate it has ample headroom, and the frame rate scaling across resolutions is consistent with a GPU-bound workload.

Q: Why does performance drop so steeply from High to Ultra?

A: The steep drop is likely due to the GPU's 8 GB GDDR6X memory buffer being exceeded at Ultra settings. At 4K Ultra, the average is 30 FPS, while at 4K High it is 38 FPS and at 4K Medium it is 53 FPS, showing a clear penalty for the highest texture quality presets.