The Medium

The Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers a highly capable experience in The Medium, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling shift as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combo achieves a 152 FPS average on Low settings, but this drops to 120 FPS at Medium, 86 FPS at High, and 68 FPS at Ultra. Moving to 1440p, the averages are 144 FPS (Low), 101 FPS (Medium), 72 FPS (High), and 57 FPS (Ultra). At 4K, the scaling tightens further: 127 FPS (Low), 79 FPS (Medium), 57 FPS (High), and 45 FPS (Ultra).

The most telling metric is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at the same settings. At Low, the drop is from 152 FPS to 127 FPS, a 25 FPS reduction. At Medium, it falls from 120 FPS to 79 FPS, a 41 FPS loss. At High, the drop is from 86 FPS to 57 FPS, a 29 FPS loss. At Ultra, it goes from 68 FPS to 45 FPS, a 23 FPS loss. The steepest percentage decline occurs between Medium and High settings at 4K, where the average falls from 79 FPS to 57 FPS, indicating a significant GPU workload spike. Conversely, the relatively small delta between 1080p and 4K at Low settings (152 vs 127 FPS) suggests that at the lowest preset, the CPU begins to exert more influence on the frame rate, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling pattern demonstrates that this combo is heavily GPU-limited at higher settings, but the CPU becomes a more prominent factor at lower settings. When comparing 1080p Low (152 FPS) to 4K Low (127 FPS), the performance loss is only 16.4%, which is modest for a 4x pixel increase. This indicates that at Low settings, the rendering workload is light enough that the Intel Core i5-13400F’s 10 cores and 16 threads can keep the RTX 4080 fed, but the GPU’s raw throughput is still the primary constraint. The 4K Low result of 127 FPS is notably higher than the 1080p Ultra result of 68 FPS, showing that settings play a larger role than resolution in this title.

At Medium settings, the scaling is more pronounced. The 1080p average of 120 FPS drops to 101 FPS at 1440p and then to 79 FPS at 4K. The 41 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium is the largest absolute gap among all settings, underscoring that the RTX 4080’s memory bandwidth and shading units are being pushed harder. The Medium preset at 1440p (101 FPS) is the only sub-4K configuration that comes close to maintaining a triple-digit average, while the 4K Medium result of 79 FPS still provides a smooth experience for a horror title.

At High settings, the scaling reveals a tighter band. The 1080p average of 86 FPS drops to 72 FPS at 1440p and then to 57 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result of 57 FPS is just below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that players targeting 4K will need to rely on Medium settings or accept a slightly lower frame rate. The Ultra preset shows the most predictable scaling, with 68 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. The 45 FPS at 4K Ultra is the lowest measured result for this combo, and it indicates that the RTX 4080, despite its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, cannot maintain a fluid experience at maximum settings in The Medium at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 287th out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium, placing it in the top 7.7% of all configurations. This percentile position is consistent with the hardware’s specifications: the RTX 4080 sits in the 86th percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-13400F is in the 77th percentile among all CPUs. The ranking suggests that while the GPU is the dominant performance driver, the CPU does not bottleneck the system in this game, as the combo’s overall position is higher than the CPU’s individual percentile.

The combo’s rank of 287 indicates that the vast majority of tested systems (over 92%) produce lower frame rates in The Medium. This is expected given the RTX 4080’s position near the top of the GPU hierarchy, but the rank also reflects the game’s demanding nature at higher settings. The 4K High average of 57 FPS and the 4K Ultra average of 45 FPS are the weakest results, and these likely drag the combo down from a potentially higher rank. In contrast, the 1080p Low result of 152 FPS and the 1440p Low result of 144 FPS are strong showings that help secure the top-tier ranking.

The data shows that the combo is more competitive at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p and 1440p with Low or Medium settings, the averages exceed 100 FPS, which would place the combo in a much higher percentile if those were the only metrics. However, the 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS is a clear outlier that pulls the overall rank down. This suggests that the combo is best suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p, where it can maintain 101 FPS at Medium and 72 FPS at High, rather than for 4K maxed-out gaming.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the primary performance driver in this pairing. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for The Medium’s high-resolution textures and effects. The GPU’s 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units work together to handle the game’s fixed-camera horror scenes, which often feature complex lighting and particle effects. The base clock of 2205 MHz and boost clock of 2505 MHz are high for a 40-series card, and the 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance ensures that the GPU can process the game’s DirectX 12 workload efficiently.

The RTX 4080’s 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores are relevant to The Medium, which uses ray-traced reflections and shadows in certain scenes. However, the measured FPS data indicates that the game’s standard rasterization workload is the primary bottleneck, as the 4K High average of 57 FPS and the 4K Ultra average of 45 FPS suggest that the GPU’s raw compute and memory bandwidth are being fully utilized. The RTX 4080’s 45,900 million transistors on a 5 nm process from TSMC allow it to maintain high clock speeds, but the game’s demands at 4K Ultra exceed what this card can deliver at a smooth 60 FPS.

The GPU’s 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247, confirms its position as a high-end part. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, has a delta of just 0.1% in average score, indicating that the two cards are nearly identical in synthetic benchmarks. In The Medium, this means the performance difference between the RTX 4080 and the RTX 4080 SUPER would be negligible, and the measured FPS values for this combo are representative of what players can expect from either card. The GPU’s end-of-life production status and its launch MSRP of 1,199 USD position it as a premium component, and its performance in this game justifies that positioning for 1440p gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 152 FPS, which is the highest measured result for this combo. The Medium preset produces 120 FPS with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS, providing a rock-solid experience for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset drops to 86 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 68 FPS. The spread of 84 FPS between Low and Ultra at 1080p highlights how much of a performance impact the game’s settings have on the CPU and GPU load.

At 1440p, the results are still strong but show the expected decline. The Low preset averages 144 FPS, which is only 8 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. The High preset drops to 72 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 57 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result of 57 FPS is notable because it matches the 4K High result, indicating that the Ultra preset at 1440p is just as demanding as the High preset at 4K.

At 4K, the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates at the upper settings. The Low preset averages 127 FPS, which is still very playable and demonstrates the RTX 4080’s strength at lower settings. The Medium preset averages 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that provides a consistent 60+ FPS experience. The High preset drops to 57 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 45 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS is the weakest measurement in the entire dataset, and it indicates that players should avoid this setting combination unless they prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and setting combination for this combo in The Medium?*

A: The data shows that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot, delivering an average of 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with a balance of visual quality and performance. For 4K, the Medium preset is the only option that stays above 60 FPS, averaging 79 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The 4K Ultra preset yields an average of 45 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This is the lowest measured result for the combo, and it indicates that the RTX 4080 is fully maxed out at this setting.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F, with 10 cores and 16 threads, does not appear to be a bottleneck at higher settings. The 1080p Low result of 152 FPS is the highest measured, and the 4K Low result of 127 FPS shows that the CPU can still feed the GPU at lower resolutions. However, the 1080p Low to 4K Low drop of 25 FPS suggests some CPU influence at the lowest preset.

Q: What is the combo’s ranking compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 287th out of 3724 tested combinations, placing it in the top 7.7% of all systems tested in The Medium. This is consistent with the high-end positioning of the RTX 4080.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in this game?

A: The RTX 4080’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, has an average benchmark score that is only 0.1% higher. In The Medium, this would translate to a negligible difference in measured FPS, meaning players would see nearly identical performance from either card.

Q: What are the minimum frame rates for the Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 102 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 86 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 67 FPS. These minimums indicate that the combo maintains stable frame rates even in demanding scenes.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F plays a supporting role in this combo, but its specifications are sufficient to avoid major bottlenecks in The Medium. The CPU features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This Raptor Lake architecture chip has 20 MB of shared L3 cache, which helps reduce memory latency during gameplay. The CPU’s 3DMark scores are strong: 7314 in the 16-thread test, 5591 in the 8-thread test, and 3459 in the 4-thread test, showing that it scales well across different thread counts.

The CPU’s single-thread performance is also solid, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1996. This is important for The Medium, which relies on a few main threads for game logic and camera control. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 indicates that the CPU can handle heavy multi-threaded workloads, but the game’s measured FPS data suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios. The 1080p Low result of 152 FPS is the only measurement that approaches the CPU’s potential ceiling, as higher settings shift the bottleneck to the GPU.

The i5-13400F’s 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25292, places it in the upper mid-range. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS with a delta of 0%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H with a delta of 0.4%. These results show that the i5-13400F is competitive with mobile high-end chips, but its desktop socket and 65 W TDP provide more consistent performance in sustained gaming sessions. In The Medium, the CPU’s role is to maintain a stable frame delivery, which it does effectively, as evidenced by the 4K Medium minimum of 67 FPS. The CPU’s 16 threads are likely underutilized in this game, but the 10 cores provide enough headroom to prevent stuttering during complex scenes with many dynamic objects.