The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience, and the benchmark data for the Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 reveals a configuration that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions. The measured FPS across the board indicates that while the CPU has ample headroom, the RTX 5050's performance dictates the playability envelope, making resolution and settings management critical for a smooth experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and clearly illustrates where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 96 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same Low setting drops the average to 81 FPS, a reduction of 15 FPS. Pushing further to 4K at Low settings yields an average of 64 FPS, which is exactly half the 1080p figure. This scaling curve is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario; the RTX 5050's rendering workload increases significantly with pixel count, while the CPU's role remains largely static.

The trend is even more pronounced at higher graphical presets. At Medium settings, the average frame rate falls from 60 FPS at 1080p to 51 FPS at 1440p, and then to 40 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings is a 20 FPS difference, highlighting how the combination of higher resolution and increased shader complexity compounds the load on the graphics card. The data suggests that the RTX 5050 is the limiting component in this configuration, as the scaling pattern aligns with pure GPU throughput limitations rather than any CPU constraint.

The most telling data point is the High preset, where the average frame rate at 1080p is 43 FPS, at 1440p is 36 FPS, and at 4K is 29 FPS. This consistent, linear degradation across all resolutions confirms that the RTX 5050 is saturated at every step. The CPU, with its 16 cores and 24 threads, is not the limiting factor here; the difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings is a 14 FPS drop, which is proportional to the increase in pixel count. For a player targeting higher resolutions, the data shows that the GPU will need to be the primary focus of any performance tuning, as the CPU is clearly not the bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience for this hardware combination is found at 1080p with Medium settings. This preset delivers an average of 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS, providing a smooth and consistent frame rate that is ideal for a narrative-driven horror game. The Low preset at 1080p pushes the average to 96 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant. The Medium preset offers a far better balance between visual fidelity and performance, ensuring that the game remains fluid during its most intense moments.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the highest playable option, yielding an average of 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 FPS. While this is playable, the frame rate is less stable than at 1080p, and players sensitive to stutter may find the 43 FPS minimum a concern. The High preset at 1440p drops to an average of 36 FPS, which is below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience in a game that relies on atmospheric tension. The Low preset at 1440p, with an average of 81 FPS, is the safest choice for maintaining a high frame rate, but it negates the benefits of the higher resolution.

For 4K, the data is clear: the RTX 5050 is not capable of delivering a consistently playable experience at any setting. The Low preset averages 64 FPS, but the Medium preset falls to 40 FPS, and the High preset drops to 29 FPS. The Ultra preset, which averages 23 FPS at 4K, is not viable. The best recommendation for 4K is the Low preset, but even that may not provide a stable enough frame rate for all users. The benchmark results indicate that this configuration is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p being a viable but more demanding alternative.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the defining component in this system's performance in The Medium. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is a critical factor in the game's performance at higher resolutions. The data shows that the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth are strained as resolution increases, contributing to the significant frame rate drops observed. The card's 2560 shading units and 80 TMUs are tasked with rendering the game's fixed-camera scenes, and the benchmark scores indicate a mid-range performer.

The RTX 5050's benchmark results, such as a Passmark G3D score of 17326 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 90334, place it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, which has a deltaPct of 1.6, and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile, which has a deltaPct of -1.6. This positioning confirms that the RTX 5050 is a capable 1080p card but lacks the raw compute power and memory bandwidth for higher resolution gaming.

The clock speeds of the GPU, with a base of 2317 MHz and a boost of 2572 MHz, are relatively high, but they do not compensate for the limited memory interface. The 8 GB VRAM is a particular concern at 4K, where the High and Ultra presets likely exceed the available memory, causing the frame rate to plummet to 29 FPS and 23 FPS, respectively. The data suggests that the RTX 5050's performance in this game is a direct reflection of its hardware specifications, and it should be considered a 1080p-oriented solution for demanding titles like The Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete FPS data for this configuration across all resolutions and settings is as follows:

• 3840x2160 (4K): The Ultra preset averages 23 FPS. The High preset averages 29 FPS. The Medium preset averages 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 FPS and a maximum of 46 FPS. The Low preset averages 64 FPS.

• 2560x1440 (1440p): The Ultra preset averages 29 FPS. The High preset averages 36 FPS. The Medium preset averages 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 58 FPS. The Low preset averages 81 FPS.

• 1920x1080 (1080p): The Ultra preset averages 34 FPS. The High preset averages 43 FPS. The Medium preset averages 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. The Low preset averages 96 FPS.

The data reveals a clear hierarchy. The Ultra preset is only playable at 1080p, and even then, the 34 FPS average is below the ideal for a smooth experience. The High preset is a marginal option at 1080p but becomes increasingly less viable as resolution increases. The Medium preset is the sweet spot for 1080p and 1440p, offering the best balance of performance and quality. The Low preset is the only option that provides high frame rates across all resolutions, but it sacrifices significant visual detail. The minimum and maximum values for the Medium preset show that the frame rate is relatively stable, with only a 15-18 FPS variance between the lowest and highest recorded frames.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this hardware in The Medium?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings is the optimal choice, delivering an average of 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: At 4K, the highest average frame rate is 64 FPS on Low settings. The Medium preset drops to 40 FPS, and the High preset falls to 29 FPS, indicating that 4K is not a viable option for high-quality play with this GPU.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-13700K a bottleneck for the RTX 5050 in this game?

A: No, the benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's high performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745 and 89th percentile ranking, means it has more than enough headroom to feed the GPU.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of overall benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5050 has an average benchmark score of 21035. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, has an average score of 21153, with a deltaPct of -0.6, making the performance nearly identical.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1440p with High settings?

A: The average frame rate at 2560x1440 with High settings is 36 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS target, but it may be acceptable for those who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate stability.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at any resolution?

A: The Ultra preset averages 34 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. While it is technically playable at 1080p, the frame rate is not smooth enough for a comfortable experience in a game that relies on atmosphere.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a high-end desktop processor that provides a robust foundation for gaming. With 16 cores and 24 threads, it offers significant multi-threaded capability, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745 and Passmark multithread score of 45887. Its boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 singlecore score of 2116. In The Medium, this CPU is more than sufficient to handle the game's logic and physics, ensuring that it does not become a performance bottleneck.

The benchmark data confirms that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this configuration. The frame rates are consistently dictated by the GPU's capabilities, as seen in the resolution scaling. The CPU's high performance, ranking in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, means it has ample headroom to maintain stable frame times even when the GPU is under heavy load. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 with a deltaPct of -0.2, show that the i7-13700K is competitively positioned at the top of the performance stack.

The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide a versatile platform. The data suggests that in The Medium, the CPU's role is to provide a stable and high-frequency platform that allows the RTX 5050 to operate at its full potential. The game's fixed-camera angles are not particularly CPU-intensive, and the 16 cores are likely underutilized. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10717 and max-thread score of 12412 indicate that the processor has significant untapped potential in this specific title, reinforcing that the GPU is the primary driver of the measured frame rates.