The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title, presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination. The measured FPS data shows a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck, but the CPU still plays a significant role in determining overall performance. The combination ranks 834 out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the middle of the pack for this specific game.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear and expected pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the system delivers 57.8 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 48.9 FPS, a 15.4% reduction. The jump to 4K is more severe, with the average FPS falling to 37.7, which is a 34.8% drop from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 3070 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (88.2 FPS) and Ultra (46.1 FPS) is 42.1 FPS. At 1440p, this spread grows to 43.4 FPS (82.4 vs 39.0). At 4K, the spread is even more pronounced at 47.8 FPS (79.0 vs 31.2). This increasing delta suggests that the GPU's rendering workload scales significantly with both resolution and quality settings, while the CPU's influence becomes relatively less important.

The data suggests that the RTX 3070, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming with this title. The 4K results are playable but require a significant compromise in settings to achieve a smooth experience. The fact that the 4K Low setting yields 79.0 FPS while 4K Ultra yields only 31.2 FPS demonstrates that the game's visual quality options have a massive impact on performance, far more than the resolution change itself in some cases.

Settings Recommendations

For the Intel Core i5-9400 and RTX 3070 combination, the measured data points to a clear recommendation for the optimal experience. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 57.8 FPS, which is a solid and smooth experience for most players. The Medium preset offers a higher 73.4 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 88.2 FPS. The Ultra preset, at 46.1 FPS, is the only setting that dips below the 60 FPS threshold at this resolution.

At 1440p, the High preset provides 48.9 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The Medium preset, at 64.2 FPS, is the sweet spot for this resolution, offering a good balance between visual fidelity and performance. The Low preset, at 82.4 FPS, is the best choice if a high refresh rate is the priority. The Ultra preset, at 39.0 FPS, is not recommended for a smooth experience.

For 4K, the story changes dramatically. The High preset produces only 37.7 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 31.2 FPS. The Medium preset, at 52.6 FPS, is the best option for a playable 4K experience, while the Low preset at 79.0 FPS is the only way to achieve a consistently smooth frame rate. The data suggests that the High preset is the most balanced choice at 1080p, while Medium is the recommended choice for both 1440p and 4K gaming, unless a higher frame rate is prioritized over visual quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the decisive component in this configuration's performance in The Medium. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, paired with a 256-bit bus and 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, provides the necessary data throughput for the game's high-resolution textures and effects. The GPU's 5888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units are heavily utilized, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops when moving from Low to Ultra settings.

The RTX 3070's clock speeds are also a factor. With a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1725 MHz, the GPU can sustain high performance under load. The card's 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores are present but are not the primary driver of the performance differences seen here, as the game's fixed-camera perspective may not leverage them as heavily as other titles. The GPU's performance is strong, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 28238 is close to that of its nearest rivals.

The data shows that the GPU is the main bottleneck in this combination. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 88.2 FPS, but as resolution and settings increase, the GPU's workload grows exponentially, leading to the observed frame rate drops. The 4K Ultra result of 31.2 FPS highlights the GPU's limitations at the highest settings. The RTX 3070 is a capable card, but The Medium's demanding rendering engine can saturate its resources, particularly at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data shows that 1080p and 1440p are the optimal resolutions. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 57.8 FPS, and at 1440p, the Medium preset achieves 64.2 FPS. The 4K results are lower, with the best playable option being the Medium preset at 52.6 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 28238. This is 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT's score of 27985 and 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti's score of 27956. It is 0.6% lower than the AMD FirePro S7150's score of 28409.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-9400 bottleneck the RTX 3070 in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The FPS scales consistently with resolution and settings, which is a typical sign of a GPU bottleneck. However, the CPU's performance is still a factor, as its 6 cores and 6 threads are sufficient for the game's demands.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS for the 1080p Ultra preset is 46.1 FPS. This is the lowest result at 1080p and is below the 60 FPS target for a smooth experience.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: The difference is significant. The 4K Low preset achieves 79.0 FPS, while the 4K Ultra preset achieves only 31.2 FPS. This represents a 47.8 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset is extremely demanding on the GPU.

Q: What is the overall ranking of this combo for The Medium?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination ranks 834 out of 1689 tested combos for this game. This places it in the middle of the field, indicating that while it is not a top-tier setup, it is also not a low-end one.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 834 out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium. This position in the 49.4th percentile indicates that it is a mid-tier performer for this specific title. The ranking is driven primarily by the GPU's strong but not top-tier performance, combined with a CPU that is adequate but not exceptional for modern gaming.

The RTX 3070's 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs suggests that it is a strong performer, but the CPU's 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs holds the overall combo back. The data shows that many other combinations are faster, likely those with more powerful CPUs that can better feed the GPU, or those with even stronger GPUs. The 834th rank out of 1689 combos means that roughly half of the tested systems are slower, and half are faster.

This ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data. At 1080p, the combo can achieve high frame rates, but it is not a top-tier system for 4K or high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming. The 4K Ultra result of 31.2 FPS is a clear example of its limitations. The combo is a balanced mid-range solution, offering decent performance at mainstream resolutions without excelling at the extreme end of the spectrum.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 plays a supporting role in this configuration, and its influence on The Medium's performance is less pronounced than the GPU's. The CPU has 6 cores and 6 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support with 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth are sufficient for the game's requirements.

The CPU's benchmark scores place it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 7969, and its single-core score is 1125. Its average benchmark score is 2305, which is very close to its nearest rivals. The Intel Core i3-10305 has an average score of 2300, a 0.2% difference, and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 also has a score of 2299, also a 0.2% difference. The Intel Xeon E-2134 scores 2295, a 0.4% difference, and the Intel Core i7-8809G scores 2319, a -0.6% difference.

The data suggests that the i5-9400 is not a bottleneck at 1080p, as the FPS scales with GPU settings as expected. However, at higher resolutions, the CPU's workload remains relatively constant, while the GPU's workload increases. This is why the FPS drops are more attributable to the GPU. The CPU's 6 threads are adequate for The Medium, but a processor with more threads could potentially provide a small performance uplift in certain scenes. The measured results indicate that the CPU is not the primary constraint, but it is also not a high-end part that would push the RTX 3070 to its absolute limits.