The Medium

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti pairing produces a consistent, playable experience in The Medium, though the data reveals a clear hierarchy where the GPU carries the visual load while the older six-core processor keeps pace. The measured frames per second across all settings and resolutions stay within a band that favors smooth horror exploration, but the relationship between CPU and GPU is not balanced at every quality level.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a Coffee Lake-era desktop processor with 6 cores and 6 threads, running at a 2.90 GHz base clock and a 4.10 GHz boost clock. It draws 65 W TDP and uses a dual-channel DDR4 memory bus with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, this chip scores 803 in Cinebench R15 multi-core, 3346 in Cinebench R20 multi-core, and 7969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, with single-core scores of 113, 472, and 1125 respectively. Its average benchmark score sits at 2305, placing it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it is neither a weak link nor a standout performer.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-9400 is effectively tied with the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300 avg score, 0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299 avg score, 0.2% delta), while edging out the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295 avg score, 0.4% delta) and trailing the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319 avg score, -0.6% delta). These deltas are all within a fraction of a percent, so the i5-9400 sits in a tightly packed midfield where no competitor holds a meaningful advantage in raw compute.

In The Medium, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the FPS scaling across settings at any given resolution. At 1080p, the average frame rate ranges from 60.5 FPS on Ultra to 86.7 FPS on Low. The gap between Low and Ultra is 26.2 FPS, which suggests the game is not purely GPU-bound at the lowest settings; the CPU's six threads are sufficient to feed the RTX 5070 Ti, but the 4.10 GHz boost clock limits how far frame rates can climb. At 1440p, the same pattern appears: Low hits 80.9 FPS, while Ultra drops to 54.8 FPS, a 26.1 FPS spread that mirrors 1080p almost exactly. This consistency indicates the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, but it does cap the maximum achievable FPS at the low end of the quality spectrum, where the GPU has headroom to spare.

The i5-9400's 9 MB shared L3 cache and 64 KB L1 per core are modest by modern standards, yet the benchmark results show the chip maintains its position against rivals with similar core counts. The data does not indicate any stutter or frame-time issues—only average FPS is measured—so the CPU's performance is best described as adequate for this game, with no evidence of it dragging down the experience at 1440p or 4K.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die. It features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU runs at a 2295 MHz base clock and 2452 MHz boost clock, with memory at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). Its compute resources include 8960 shading units, 280 texture mapping units, 96 render output units, 70 ray tracing cores, and 280 tensor cores, yielding 43.94 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a texture rate of 686.6 GTexel/s. The card is rated at 300 W TDP with a dual-slot design and a single 16-pin power connector.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5070 Ti scores 6604 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 231226 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 227554 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its Passmark G3D score is 32974, and its average benchmark score is 52086, placing it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs—a high-end position. The closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 with a 52085 average score (0% delta), followed by the AMD Radeon RX 7700S at 52505 (-0.8% delta), the NVIDIA RTX A1000 at 50826 (2.5% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M at 53414 (-2.5% delta). This shows the RTX 5070 Ti is statistically indistinguishable from the RTX 4080 in overall compute, while the two AMD rivals bracket it within a 2.5% band.

In The Medium, the GPU's influence is most visible when comparing resolutions. At 4K, the average FPS drops from 74.4 on Low to 44.3 on Ultra, a 30.1 FPS swing that dwarfs the CPU-side differences. The 16 GB VRAM and 896.0 GB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for the game's textures at any setting, as evidenced by the fact that even Ultra at 4K stays above 44 FPS, which is playable for a horror title. The RTX 5070 Ti's 70 RT cores and 43.94 TFLOPS FP32 suggest it is well-equipped for the game's fixed camera angles and pre-rendered lighting effects, though the measured data does not isolate ray tracing performance separately. The GPU clearly dominates the performance profile: at every resolution, moving from Low to Ultra costs roughly 25-30 FPS, while reducing resolution from 4K to 1080p at the same setting gains only 9-12 FPS, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor at higher quality presets.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS at each resolution and settings tier tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 86.7 FPS at 1080p to 80.9 FPS at 1440p and then to 74.4 FPS at 4K—a total decline of 12.3 FPS across the three resolutions. At Medium settings, the progression is 70.8 FPS (1080p), 65.5 FPS (1440p), and 61.7 FPS (4K), a 9.1 FPS drop. High settings show 64.0 FPS, 61.9 FPS, and 54.7 FPS, respectively, a 9.3 FPS decline. Ultra settings yield 60.5 FPS, 54.8 FPS, and 44.3 FPS, representing the largest drop of 16.2 FPS from 1080p to 4K.

These numbers indicate that the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is minimal—often only 2-6 FPS—which suggests the CPU is still providing a steady frame floor at 1080p, but the GPU is not being fully taxed until 4K. The sharpest decline occurs between 1440p and 4K, particularly at Ultra where the FPS falls from 54.8 to 44.3, a 10.5 FPS loss. This pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions: the RTX 5070 Ti's raw throughput (43.94 TFLOPS) becomes the constraining factor as pixel count increases, while the i5-9400's six threads remain sufficient to keep up with the game's logic at all tested resolutions.

The fact that Low settings at 4K (74.4 FPS) still outperform Ultra at 1080p (60.5 FPS) by 13.9 FPS reinforces that the GPU is the dominant component. The i5-9400's 50th percentile CPU standing does not prevent the system from exceeding 60 FPS at any resolution when settings are lowered, but the CPU's 4.10 GHz boost clock likely prevents the highest possible frame rates at 1080p Low, where the GPU could theoretically push beyond 86.7 FPS if the processor were faster. Overall, the data shows a system where the GPU scales predictably with resolution, while the CPU contributes a relatively flat performance baseline.

FAQ

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

A: The measured average FPS is 70.8 at 1920x1080 with Medium settings.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 Ti compare to the RTX 4080 in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 52086, while the RTX 4080 scores 52085, resulting in a 0% delta—they are effectively identical in aggregate compute performance.

Q: What is the largest FPS drop between 1080p and 4K across all settings?

A: The largest drop occurs at Ultra settings, where the average FPS falls from 60.5 at 1080p to 44.3 at 4K, a decline of 16.2 FPS.

Q: Does the i5-9400 outperform any of its nearest CPU rivals?

A: Yes, the i5-9400 (2305 avg score) slightly outperforms the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295, 0.4% delta), but it is statistically tied with the i3-10305 and i3-1125G4, and trails the i7-8809G (2319, -0.6% delta).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The RTX 5070 Ti sits in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 52086.

Q: Which resolution and settings combo yields the highest average FPS?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 86.7, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ranks 674th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the 60th percentile of all systems tested. This rank reflects a pairing where the GPU is clearly the dominant component—the RTX 5070 Ti's 87th percentile GPU standing is offset by the i5-9400's 50th percentile CPU position, resulting in a system that performs better than the median but not at the top tier.

The rank is consistent with the FPS data: the system achieves playable frame rates at all settings and resolutions, from 44.3 FPS at 4K Ultra to 86.7 FPS at 1080p Low, but it never approaches the high refresh rates that would be possible with a stronger CPU. The i5-9400's nearest rivals all score within 0.6% of its average benchmark, so swapping in any of those processors would not meaningfully change the combo's rank. Conversely, the RTX 5070 Ti's nearest rival, the RTX 4080, posts a 0% delta, meaning the GPU choice is not the differentiator at this rank—the CPU is what holds the combo back from climbing higher.

Given that the combo sits at rank 674 out of 1689, it is positioned in the upper half of all tested systems, but the data suggests that a CPU with higher single-thread performance would yield better results, particularly at 1080p Low where the GPU is underutilized. The 60.5 FPS floor at 1080p Ultra and 44.3 FPS at 4K Ultra indicate that the system is always playable, but the rank reflects a modest ceiling imposed by the processor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo depends on the target resolution and whether the player prioritizes visual fidelity or frame rate smoothness. At 1080p, Ultra settings yield 60.5 FPS, which is above the typical 60 FPS target for a horror game, making it the recommended preset for players with a 1080p display who want maximum quality without sacrificing playability. High settings at 1080p (64.0 FPS) offer a marginal 3.5 FPS improvement but step down in visual effects, so Ultra is the better trade-off.

At 1440p, the situation changes: Ultra drops to 54.8 FPS, which is below 60 FPS and may introduce perceptible judder in a game that relies on atmosphere. High settings at 1440p (61.9 FPS) restore the 60 FPS target while still delivering strong visuals, making High the recommended preset for 1440p. Medium (65.5 FPS) provides additional headroom but sacrifices too much visual quality for only a 3.6 FPS gain over High.

At 4K, the options are more constrained. Ultra (44.3 FPS) is below the 60 FPS threshold and should be avoided for smooth gameplay. High (54.7 FPS) is approaching playable but still sub-60. Medium (61.7 FPS) is the first preset to cross 60 FPS at 4K, so it is the recommended choice for 4K displays. Low (74.4 FPS) offers the smoothest experience but at a significant visual cost, only recommended for players who prioritize frame rate above all else.

The data shows a clear pattern: the RTX 5070 Ti can handle Ultra at 1080p and High at 1440p, but Medium is the sweet spot at 4K. The i5-9400 does not force any setting changes, as the FPS differences across settings are driven entirely by GPU load. For a balanced experience, players should target 60 FPS as the floor, which means Ultra at 1080p, High at 1440p, and Medium at 4K.