The Medium

Resolution Scaling

The Medium presents a steep performance curve as resolution climbs, and the data for the Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 shows exactly where the bottleneck shifts. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 85.5 FPS, which is the highest average recorded across the entire test matrix. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low settings drops that to 84.4 FPS, a loss of roughly 1.3%, while 3840x2160 at Low yields 75.9 FPS, a further decline of about 10% from the 1440p figure. This relatively mild scaling at Low settings suggests the CPU and GPU are both being exercised, but the frame rate remains playable even at 4K.

The picture changes dramatically when settings are raised. At High settings, the average drops from 49.9 FPS at 1080p to 45.9 FPS at 1440p, then falls to 33.5 FPS at 4K. That represents a 33% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at High, which is a far steeper decline than the Low preset shows. Ultra settings amplify this trend further: 41.9 FPS at 1080p, 34.7 FPS at 1440p, and just 26.8 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is nearly 36%, indicating that the RTX 5060's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus are being saturated by the higher resolution and heavier visual load.

The limiting component becomes clearer when comparing the Medium preset across resolutions. At 1080p, Medium nets 73.3 FPS, which is only about 14% lower than Low. At 1440p, Medium hits 60.8 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 44.7 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Medium is roughly 39% slower, which is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. However, the relatively small delta between Low and Medium at 1080p (85.5 vs 73.3 FPS) hints that the Core i5-9400's six cores and six threads are starting to limit the ceiling at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU is more likely to be the constraint, while at 4K, the GPU's raw throughput and memory bandwidth take over as the primary factor.

Settings Recommendations

For a smoother experience at 1440p, the Medium preset offers the best measured balance. The data shows 60.8 FPS at 2560x1440 on Medium, which is comfortably above the 45.9 FPS on High and the 84.4 FPS on Low. Medium provides a 32% improvement over High while sacrificing only about 28% of the frame rate compared to Low. Given that the game is a horror title where atmosphere matters more than twitch reflexes, the jump from Low to Medium is worth the performance cost.

At 1080p, High settings are viable with 49.9 FPS, but Medium at 73.3 FPS is the more practical choice if you want headroom for dips. Low at 1080p hits 85.5 FPS, but the visual degradation is likely severe. The sweet spot for this combo is clearly Medium at 1080p or 1440p. At 4K, the situation is more constrained. Low settings deliver 75.9 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 44.7 FPS, and High falls to 33.5 FPS. For 4K, Low is the only preset that maintains a consistently fluid frame rate, though Medium is borderline acceptable for a slower-paced horror game.

Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution. The best case is 41.9 FPS at 1080p, which is marginal for a horror game that relies on sudden movements and camera pans. At 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 34.7 FPS, and at 4K it collapses to 26.8 FPS. The data indicates that Ultra pushes the RTX 5060 beyond its comfortable envelope, especially given its 8 GB VRAM capacity and 128-bit memory interface. Stick with Medium for the best experience, or accept Low at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread part based on the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its benchmark results place it at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305. This positions it as a mid-range processor that is competitive with the Intel Core i3-10305, which scores 2300 with a deltaPct of 0.2, and the Intel Core i3-1125G4, also at 2299 with a deltaPct of 0.2. The i5-9400 edges out the Intel Xeon E-2134 by 0.4% and trails the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 85.5 FPS, while at 1440p Low it reaches 84.4 FPS. The fact that these two numbers are so close suggests the CPU is holding the frame rate steady even as the GPU workload increases. If the RTX 5060 were the sole bottleneck, you would expect a more pronounced drop from 1080p to 1440p. Instead, the difference is only 1.1 FPS, indicating that the i5-9400's six threads are keeping pace at lower settings.

However, at higher settings and resolutions, the CPU's limitations become less relevant. The 4K Ultra result of 26.8 FPS is far more dependent on the GPU's rendering capabilities than on the processor. The i5-9400's 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 42.7 GB/s are sufficient for feeding the GPU, but they do not boost the ceiling. The data shows that the CPU is not a major drag in this title, but it also does not provide any headroom for pushing frame rates beyond what the GPU can deliver at 1080p. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 reflect a processor that is adequate but not exceptional for modern games.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 1689 combinations tested in The Medium, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 969th. That places it in the lower-middle portion of the field, which is a meaningful signal given the GPU's individual standing. The RTX 5060 itself sits at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30109. It is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which scores 30097 with a deltaPct of 0, and it is slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 570 at 30158 with a deltaPct of -0.2. The RTX 5060 also beats the NVIDIA Tesla M60 by 0.5% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile by 0.6%.

The rank of 969 out of 1689 suggests that the CPU is holding the combo back from achieving a higher position. If the GPU alone were driving the score, you would expect a better rank given its percentile standing. The i5-9400's 50th percentile ranking among CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305, is a clear weak link. The nearest rivals for the CPU, such as the Core i3-10305 and Core i3-1125G4, are similarly positioned, but they are not paired with a GPU as capable as the RTX 5060 in this dataset. The delta of 0.2% between the i5-9400 and the i3-10305 is negligible, but the overall combo rank indicates that the six-core processor is not extracting the full potential from the graphics card.

This is a case where the GPU is the more capable component, but the CPU's modest single-threaded and multi-threaded scores limit how well the system performs in a game like The Medium, which appears to scale with both resolution and settings. The rank of 969 is not a disaster, but it is a clear warning that pairing a mid-range 2018-era CPU with a 2025 GPU leaves performance on the table. Upgrading the processor would likely move this combo significantly higher in the rankings, but as configured, the system is CPU-bound at lower resolutions and GPU-bound at higher ones.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo if I want to stay above 60 FPS?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 on Medium settings delivers 73.3 FPS, and 2560x1440 on Medium hits 60.8 FPS. Both are above the 60 FPS threshold, but 1080p Medium is the safer choice for consistent performance.

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it averages 75.9 FPS. At Medium 4K, the average drops to 44.7 FPS, and at Ultra 4K it falls to 26.8 FPS, which is not playable for most users.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 30109, which is essentially identical to the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30097, deltaPct 0). It is also 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 570 and 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla M60.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 85.5 FPS, while at 1440p Low it gets 84.4 FPS, a difference of only 1.1 FPS. This suggests the CPU is limiting performance at lower resolutions, but at 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint.

Q: What is the worst-performing preset for this combo?

A: The worst measured result is 3840x2160 on Ultra settings, with an average of 26.8 FPS. This is below playable thresholds for most games and indicates that Ultra settings at 4K are not viable.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300) and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299). It is also 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 85.5 FPS on Low, 73.3 FPS on Medium, 49.9 FPS on High, and 41.9 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is roughly 51%, showing that the RTX 5060 handles the resolution well but struggles with the highest preset. The 1080p results are the strongest overall, with all presets except Ultra staying above 49 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 84.4 FPS on Low, 60.8 FPS on Medium, 45.9 FPS on High, and 34.7 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset is the stand-out here, offering 60.8 FPS, which is the only 1440p result above 60 FPS. High at 1440p is playable but close to the edge, while Ultra is not recommended.

At 3840x2160, the results are 75.9 FPS on Low, 44.7 FPS on Medium, 33.5 FPS on High, and 26.8 FPS on Ultra. Low at 4K is the only preset that maintains a fluid frame rate, and the drop from Low to Medium is a significant 31.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading power are severely taxed at higher settings. The 4K Ultra result of 26.8 FPS is the worst measured value across the entire test matrix.