The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title from 2021, presents an interesting stress profile for modern hardware. Based on the measured data, the combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 produces a wide performance envelope that is heavily dictated by graphical settings. The data shows a system capable of high refresh rate gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, but one that encounters a significant bottleneck at 4K with maximum settings, where the GPU’s immense raw power is challenged by the game’s rendering demands.

Resolution Scaling

The performance delta between 1080p and 4K is substantial and reveals a clear shift in system limitations. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 157.4 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings yields 146.1 FPS, a modest reduction of approximately 7%. However, the jump to 4K at Low settings brings the average down to 135.2 FPS, representing a 14% drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern suggests that at lower settings, the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU, and the frame rate is relatively stable across resolutions.

The situation changes dramatically when moving to higher settings. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls from 80.7 FPS at 1080p to 68.6 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 48.4 FPS at 4K. This represents a 40% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K. The data indicates that the game’s Ultra preset introduces rendering features that scale heavily with pixel count, making the GPU the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The frame rate curve flattens considerably at 4K, suggesting that the RTX 5090 is approaching its performance ceiling in this title, while at 1080p, the CPU’s capability is more likely to be the constraining factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a flagship-class GPU with a 32 GB GDDR7 memory pool and a 512-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. Its architecture, Blackwell 2.0, is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, housing 92,200 million transistors. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. The benchmark results for this GPU show a PassMark G3D score of 39650, positioning it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs. This data suggests the RTX 5090 has immense compute resources, but the measured FPS in The Medium shows it is not uniformly utilized.

The GPU’s memory configuration plays a critical role in this game. With 32 GB of VRAM, capacity is not a limiting factor, even at 4K Ultra. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 48.4, which is a low figure for a GPU of this class. This indicates that the game’s engine is likely bottlenecked by other factors, such as shader complexity or specific rendering paths, rather than memory bandwidth or capacity. The RTX 5090’s performance in this title is only 0.1% ahead of the RTX 5090 D and 0.2% ahead of the RTX 5050 Mobile in average benchmark scores, showing that its dominance is not absolute in every scenario.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F 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 4.70 GHz, it provides strong single-thread performance, as indicated by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3093. The processor’s multi-core capabilities are also solid, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914. It sits in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32508, placing it in a tight competitive group with the Intel Core i7-12800H and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is most evident at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 157.4 FPS, which is the highest measured average across all configurations. This suggests that the CPU can sustain high frame rates when the GPU is not heavily loaded. However, the fact that the frame rate does not increase further when lowering resolution from 1440p to 1080p at Low settings (146.1 to 157.4 FPS) implies that the CPU is approaching its limit in feeding the GPU with draw calls. The CPU’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support are adequate for this workload, but the data shows that it is the secondary bottleneck in this configuration.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination.

At 1920x1080, the performance ranges from a high of 157.4 FPS on Low settings to a low of 80.7 FPS on Ultra. The Medium settings produce 128.2 FPS, while High settings yield 98.2 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 49% reduction in frame rate, indicating that the Ultra preset includes effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU, even at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the results are more compressed. Low settings produce 146.1 FPS, Medium produces 116.3 FPS, and High produces 82.6 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 68.6 FPS. The difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings is a 16% reduction, while at Ultra it is a 15% reduction, showing a more consistent scaling pattern as the resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit. Low settings still manage 135.2 FPS, but Medium drops to 90.3 FPS, High to 67.8 FPS, and Ultra to 48.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 64%, which is the largest scaling penalty observed. This data clearly shows that 4K Ultra is the most demanding configuration, and the RTX 5090 cannot maintain a 60 FPS average in this scenario. The system ranks 37th out of 1689 tested combinations for this game, indicating that while it is a high performer, it is not the absolute top configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate this system can achieve in The Medium?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 157.4, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with High settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings is 67.8, which is above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra?

A: The average frame rate drops from 80.7 FPS at 1080p Ultra to 48.4 FPS at 4K Ultra, representing a 40% reduction in performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at this configuration. The frame rate of 157.4 FPS does not scale significantly when lowering resolution to 1080p from 1440p, indicating the CPU is nearing its maximum output capability.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its closest rival in average benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 84306, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 5090 D and 0.2% higher than the RTX 5050 Mobile.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this system?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 48.4 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.