The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title from 2021, presents an interesting stress profile for the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher settings, yet reveals the CPU's capability to push very high frame rates when the graphical load is reduced. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions and presets, interpreting what the numbers mean for the balance between the processor and graphics card.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 154.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 133.2 FPS at 3840x2160, a relatively modest decline of about 13.7%. This suggests that at Low settings, even at 4K, the system is not fully constrained by the GPU, allowing the Core i5-13400F to maintain a high level of output.

However, the scaling behavior shifts dramatically as settings increase. At Medium settings, performance drops from 126.9 FPS at 1080p to 87.2 FPS at 4K, a 31.3% reduction. This gap widens further at High settings, where the 91.9 FPS at 1080p falls to 60.1 FPS at 4K, a 34.6% decrease. The trend peaks at Ultra settings, where the frame rate plummets from 73.7 FPS at 1080p to 46.8 FPS at 4K, a 36.5% drop. This escalating penalty with higher presets indicates that the GeForce RTX 5080 is becoming the limiting component; the increased pixel count and shader complexity at 4K are overwhelming the GPU, while the CPU has ample headroom to spare.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows reveal a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience. At 4K, the Ultra preset is the only one that dips below 60 FPS, averaging 46.8 FPS, which may not be ideal for a smooth experience. The High preset at 4K, averaging 60.1 FPS, is the threshold for a playable 4K experience, though it is right on the edge. For those prioritizing smoothness at 4K, the Medium preset, at 87.2 FPS, offers a significant frame rate advantage over High (a 45% improvement) while likely still providing a visually rich experience.

At 1440p, the situation is more comfortable. The Ultra preset averages 59.3 FPS, which is playable, but the High preset at 77.6 FPS provides a much more fluid experience. The data suggests that High settings at 2560x1440 represent the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, as it is 31% faster than Ultra while still delivering high-quality graphics. At 1080p, all presets are playable, with even the demanding Ultra preset achieving 73.7 FPS, making it a viable option for high-refresh-rate monitors.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific configuration of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 59th out of 1689 tested combos in this game. This top 3.5% placement indicates that this pairing is exceptionally well-suited for The Medium. The high rank is likely a result of the CPU's strong single-threaded performance, which is crucial for game logic, combined with the GPU's immense raw power for rendering. While the GPU is a clear bottleneck at higher settings, the CPU's capability ensures that it does not hold the system back, even at 1080p with Low settings where frame rates are highest. This synergy allows the combo to outperform the vast majority of other pairings in the database.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: The data shows an average of 46.8 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is below the 60 FPS threshold often considered ideal for smooth gameplay, so while it is technically playable, it may not provide a consistently fluid experience.

Q: What is the best preset to use at 2560x1440 resolution?

A: The High preset provides the best balance, with an average of 77.6 FPS. This is significantly higher than the 59.3 FPS seen at Ultra, offering a much smoother experience with a relatively small visual fidelity trade-off.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25236. It is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-13620H, which has a score of 25201 (a 0.1% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D, which has a score of 25365 (a -0.5% delta).

Q: Is the GPU the main limiting factor in this game?

A: Yes, the benchmark results indicate that the RTX 5080 is the primary bottleneck. This is evident from the increasingly steep FPS drops as resolution and settings increase, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation.

Q: What kind of frame rates can be expected at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 126.9 FPS. This suggests the system is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p displays.

Q: Does the game benefit from a high number of CPU threads?

A: The CPU has 10 cores and 16 threads. Given the high frame rates observed, particularly at lower resolutions, it appears the CPU has enough processing power to feed the GPU effectively, but the data does not isolate the specific thread count usage of the game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the dominant force in this pairing, and its specifications align perfectly with the observed performance. With 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, the card offers a substantial 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is likely crucial for The Medium, which renders two simultaneous worlds and uses high-resolution textures that can consume significant video memory. The ample 16 GB capacity ensures that texture streaming is not a bottleneck, even at 4K with High settings.

The card's core configuration, with 10752 shading units and a boost clock of 2617 MHz, delivers the raw compute power required for the game's fixed-camera scenes and lighting effects. The GPU's performance is reflected in its benchmark scores, such as a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637 and a PassMark G3D score of 36565. Its 89th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates this is a top-tier part. The data shows that this GPU is so powerful that at lower settings, it almost becomes underutilized, as the frame rate ceiling is likely influenced by the CPU, but at higher settings, its workload scales as expected. The GPU's 45,600 million transistors on a 5 nm process provide the efficiency and speed to handle the game's demands.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F plays a supporting but critical role. Its 10 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, provide more than enough processing power for The Medium's game logic and scene management. The CPU's strong single-threaded performance, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2301, is particularly important for a game that may not be fully optimized for multi-threading. This is reflected in its ability to push frame rates to 154.4 FPS at 1080p Low, showing that it is not a limiting factor at lower graphical settings.

The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache helps maintain high data throughput for game assets. Its overall performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21279 and a PassMark multithread score of 25032, places it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-13620H, show nearly identical average scores, with a delta of just 0.1%, indicating that the i5-13400F is a very competitive mid-range part. The data suggests that while the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most scenarios, its solid performance ensures that the RTX 5080 is never starved for data, allowing the system to achieve its high overall ranking.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average frame rates is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 154.4 FPS
• Medium: 126.9 FPS
• High: 91.9 FPS
• Ultra: 73.7 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 146.7 FPS
• Medium: 109.4 FPS
• High: 77.6 FPS
• Ultra: 59.3 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 133.2 FPS
• Medium: 87.2 FPS
• High: 60.1 FPS
• Ultra: 46.8 FPS

This data clearly shows a linear progression of performance decline as both resolution and settings increase. The gap between 1080p and 4K performance is most pronounced at the Ultra preset, where the difference is 26.9 FPS. The Low preset at 4K, at 133.2 FPS, is still remarkably fast, indicating that the game can be played at high frame rates even at 4K if graphical fidelity is not a priority. The performance difference between the Medium and High presets at each resolution is particularly notable, often representing a 20-30% performance swing, which is a key consideration for users looking to maximize visual quality while maintaining a high frame rate.