The Medium

The Medium presents a uniquely demanding workload, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 produces a dataset that clearly illustrates the balance between CPU and GPU limitations. The measured frames per second (FPS) across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that is consistently capable of playable performance, but the margins between settings and resolutions are highly variable. This analysis breaks down the measured results, focusing on what the numbers indicate about the limiting components and the optimal configuration for this specific hardware pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a predictable decline in average FPS as resolution increases, but the rate of decline is not uniform across all quality settings. At the Low preset, the progression from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 results in a modest drop from 87 FPS to 82 FPS, a reduction of roughly 6%. Scaling further to 3840x2160 brings the average down to 76 FPS, which is still a highly playable frame rate. This relatively shallow curve at Low settings suggests that the system is not entirely GPU-bound at lower resolutions; the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to maintain high frame rates.

The scaling behavior changes dramatically when the preset is increased to Ultra. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 57 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops this to 48 FPS, a 16% reduction. The most severe drop occurs when stepping up to 3840x2160, where the average plummets to 38 FPS. This represents a 33% performance loss from the 1440p figure and a 33% loss from the 1080p figure. This steep decline at higher resolutions indicates that the RTX 5070 is becoming the primary limiting factor, as the sheer pixel count and increased graphical fidelity of the Ultra preset place a massive load on the GPU.

The Medium and High presets exhibit intermediate scaling behavior. The Medium preset shows a steady decline from 72 FPS at 1080p to 68 FPS at 1440p, and then to 63 FPS at 4K. The High preset averages 64 FPS at 1080p, 60 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K. The 4K result for High is notably lower than the 1440p result, suggesting that the jump to 4K is where the GPU begins to struggle significantly even on High settings.

The data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p with lower presets, the Core i5-9400's six cores are sufficient to keep the RTX 5070 reasonably fed. However, the widening gap between resolutions at higher presets points to the GPU being the definitive bottleneck in 4K scenarios. The CPU's performance ceiling appears to be reached only when the GPU is not under extreme stress, as evidenced by the relatively small FPS gains from 1440p to 1080p on the Low preset. The limiting component shifts from a balanced state at lower resolutions to a clearly GPU-bound state at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 87 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is the RTX 5070 capable of running The Medium at 4K?

A: Yes, but with caveats. The data shows an average of 76 FPS at 4K on Low settings, which is playable. At 4K on High settings, the average drops to 47 FPS, and on Ultra, it falls to 38 FPS, which may not provide a smooth experience for all users.

Q: How does the CPU's core count affect performance in this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads. The data implies this configuration is sufficient to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions and settings, but it does not appear to be the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions where the GPU load is significantly higher.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 82 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 48 FPS. This represents a 34 FPS difference, indicating a substantial performance cost for the highest visual quality settings.

Q: Does the 12 GB of VRAM on the RTX 5070 seem sufficient for this game?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, there is no indication of VRAM-related performance stutters or crashes. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution, which suggests that the 12 GB VRAM is not being exhausted at the tested settings.

Q: Which resolution provides the most balanced experience between frame rate and visual fidelity?

A: The 2560x1440 resolution with the High preset appears to be a strong balance, averaging 60 FPS. This provides a smooth frame rate while using a higher quality preset than Low or Medium.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, operating with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its benchmark scores place it at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, which is 0.2% faster, and the Intel Core i7-10710U, which is 0.3% slower, indicating that this CPU sits in a well-populated performance tier.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is evident in the frame rate scaling at lower resolutions. The jump from 2560x1440 to 1920x1080 on the Low preset only yields a 5 FPS increase (82 to 87 FPS). This small gain suggests that the CPU is nearing its limit in feeding frames to the GPU, and the system is not purely GPU-bound at 1080p. The 6 threads are managing the game's logic and draw calls, but they cannot push the frame rate much higher than 87 FPS on the Low preset.

However, the CPU's influence wanes as the GPU becomes more stressed. At 4K resolution, the frame rate differences between presets are stark, with a 38 FPS difference between Low (76 FPS) and Ultra (38 FPS). This wide gap is a hallmark of a GPU bottleneck, where the CPU has more headroom to process data but the GPU cannot render frames fast enough. The Core i5-9400's performance, while not top-tier, is adequate to avoid becoming a severe limiting factor in this specific game, especially at higher resolutions and graphical settings.

The single-core performance of the i5-9400, reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935, is also relevant. Many games rely heavily on a few threads for main game logic. The data shows that this CPU can maintain a 60 FPS average at 1440p High, which is a common target for gamers. The fact that it achieves this without the GPU being fully maxed out suggests a reasonable balance, but the CPU is likely preventing the RTX 5070 from reaching its full potential at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a clear picture of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low preset produces 87 FPS, Medium produces 72 FPS, High produces 64 FPS, and Ultra produces 57 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution has a minimum FPS of 62 and a maximum of 83, showing a 21 FPS variance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates shift downward: Low preset averages 82 FPS, Medium averages 68 FPS, High averages 60 FPS, and Ultra averages 48 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS, indicating a 21 FPS range. This consistency in variance suggests that frame pacing is relatively stable at these settings.

At 3840x2160, the averages continue to decline: Low preset averages 76 FPS, Medium averages 63 FPS, High averages 47 FPS, and Ultra averages 38 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum FPS of 54 and a maximum of 73, which is a 19 FPS variance. All other presets at 4K lack min/max data, but the averages alone show a clear trend.

The Low preset is the only one that maintains an average above 60 FPS at all three resolutions. The Medium preset stays above 60 FPS at 1080p and 1440p, but dips to 63 FPS at 4K. The High preset only exceeds 60 FPS at 1080p, while the Ultra preset never reaches 60 FPS at any resolution, peaking at 57 FPS at 1080p. This breakdown highlights that the Low preset is the only configuration that guarantees a consistently high frame rate across all tested resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is a powerful graphics card with 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. It has a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz. Its benchmark scores place it at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40377. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% slower) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (1.2% faster), are close in synthetic benchmarks, but the RTX 5070's real-world performance is what matters here.

The GPU's role in The Medium is clearly the dominant factor at higher resolutions. The significant frame rate drops from 1440p to 4K on the High and Ultra presets are direct evidence of the GPU's workload increasing. The RTX 5070's 12 GB of VRAM appears to be sufficient, as the performance scales predictably without any anomalies that would indicate memory swapping or capacity issues.

The card's raw compute power, while substantial, is challenged by the game's rendering demands at 4K Ultra. The 48 FPS average at 4K Medium and 38 FPS at 4K Ultra show that the GPU is working hard but cannot maintain high refresh rates at these settings. The 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is being fully utilized, yet the game's complexity at 4K resolution proves to be a significant hurdle.

At 1080p, the GPU has more headroom, but it is still the main driver of performance differences between presets. The 30 FPS gap between Low (87 FPS) and Ultra (57 FPS) at 1080p is a result of the increased shading, texture, and post-processing demands of the Ultra preset. The RTX 5070 is a high-end card, but The Medium is a heavy game, and the data shows that even this GPU requires settings adjustments to achieve specific frame rate targets.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the user's target resolution and frame rate preference. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option, as it averages 76 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 63 FPS, which is also acceptable for many players, but it has a minimum FPS of 54, which could lead to occasional stutters. For a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, Low is the safest recommendation.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the best choice for a balance of visual quality and performance. It averages exactly 60 FPS, which is the standard target for many gamers. The Medium preset at this resolution offers a higher average of 68 FPS, which could be preferred for those with high refresh rate monitors, but the visual fidelity is reduced. The Ultra preset at 1440p, averaging 48 FPS, is not recommended for a smooth experience.

For users at 1920x1080, the High preset is the best overall option, providing an average of 64 FPS. This preset offers a significant visual improvement over Medium and Low while maintaining a playable frame rate. The Ultra preset at 1080p is also viable, averaging 57 FPS, but the performance hit from High to Ultra is steep (7 FPS) for what may be a marginal visual gain. The data suggests that the High preset at 1080p is the sweet spot for this combo, delivering a stable experience without pushing the GPU to its limits. The Medium preset at 1080p (72 FPS) is a good alternative for those seeking higher frame rates, but High is the recommended default.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, the combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 1461 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the top 39% of all tested systems. This ranking is notable because it shows that while the RTX 5070 is a high-end GPU, the older Core i5-9400 CPU holds the combo back from achieving a higher position.

The GPU's high percentile (82nd) is not fully realized in this ranking due to the CPU's lower percentile (47th). The data suggests that if the RTX 5070 were paired with a more powerful processor, the combo's ranking in this game would likely be significantly higher. The CPU's 6 cores and 6 threads are a limiting factor in maximizing the GPU's potential, especially in a game that may have CPU-intensive scenes.

The combo's rank of 1461 out of 3724 indicates that it outperforms the majority of systems tested, but it is not near the top. The overall system performance in The Medium is good, with playable frame rates at most settings, but the potential of the RTX 5070 is not fully unlocked. The bottleneck analysis from the resolution scaling tests confirms this: the CPU limits performance at low resolutions and settings, while the GPU limits performance at high resolutions and settings. This results in a system that is well-rounded but not optimized for maximum performance in this specific title.