The Medium

The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination delivers an exceptionally strong performance profile in The Medium, with the data indicating this setup is positioned at rank 90 out of 3,724 tested combinations. Across the three primary resolutions, the system consistently exceeds the 60 frames-per-second playability threshold at most settings, with only the 4K Ultra preset dipping below that mark. The measured frame rates reveal a clear scaling pattern: resolution reductions yield substantial performance gains, while the gap between Low and Ultra presets at each resolution demonstrates the GPU's substantial headroom. This analysis examines the measured FPS data, optimal settings, and the relative contribution of each component to overall performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the Intel Core i7-13700K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 in The Medium shows distinct performance tiers across the three resolutions and four settings presets. At 3840x2160, the system produces an average of 63.8 FPS on High settings, which comfortably clears the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at this resolution yields 86.3 FPS, representing a 35.3% improvement over High, while Low settings jump to 142.4 FPS, a 123.2% increase relative to High. The Ultra preset, however, drops to 50 FPS on average, falling below the playable threshold by 10 FPS. This 4K data reveals a steep performance curve between Medium and Ultra, with the gap between those two presets measuring 36.3 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance envelope expands considerably. High settings produce 78.5 FPS on average, while Medium reaches 109.9 FPS and Low scales to 168.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution achieves 63.1 FPS, which just barely exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by 3.1 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1440p shows a consistent step-down: Low to Medium represents a 34.7% reduction, Medium to High a 28.6% reduction, and High to Ultra a 19.6% reduction. This suggests diminishing performance penalties as settings increase, but the Ultra preset still maintains playability at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its strongest performance. High settings average 97.4 FPS, Medium reaches 132.4 FPS, and Low peaks at 183.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 77.6 FPS, which is 15.4 FPS above the 4K High result and 14.5 FPS above the 1440p Ultra result. The scaling from 4K to 1080p at Ultra settings shows a 55.2% improvement in average FPS, from 50 to 77.6 FPS. At Low settings, the jump from 4K to 1080p is more modest at 28.9%, from 142.4 to 183.6 FPS, indicating that lower settings are less resolution-sensitive. The min and max FPS values are not available in the data, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 50 FPS, which falls 10 FPS short of the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict by resolution lists only High, Low, and Medium as playable settings at this resolution, with Ultra excluded.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The Ultra preset is playable at 2560x1440 with an average of 63.1 FPS, making it the best settings choice. This is the only resolution where Ultra clears the 60 FPS threshold, though the margin is slim at just 3.1 FPS above the playable mark.

Q: How does the 4K Medium preset compare to 1440p Ultra?

A: The 4K Medium preset produces 86.3 FPS on average, while 1440p Ultra averages 63.1 FPS. The 4K Medium result is 36.8% higher, indicating that resolution scaling has a greater impact on frame rate than the transition from Medium to Ultra settings at a lower resolution.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between consecutive settings?

A: The largest gap occurs at 3840x2160 between Medium and Ultra, where the average FPS drops from 86.3 to 50, a difference of 36.3 FPS. This represents a 42.1% reduction, which is more severe than the equivalent gap at any other resolution.

Q: Is the system more limited by resolution or settings?

A: The data shows resolution has a larger impact. At Ultra settings, moving from 4K to 1440p improves FPS by 26.2% (50 to 63.1 FPS), while moving from 1440p to 1080p improves FPS by 23% (63.1 to 77.6 FPS). In contrast, at 4K, moving from Ultra to High improves FPS by 27.6% (50 to 63.8 FPS), showing comparable but slightly smaller gains.

Q: Does this combination maintain 60 FPS at every resolution?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset fails to reach 60 FPS, averaging 50 FPS. All other settings at 4K, and all settings at 1440p and 1080p, achieve 60 FPS or higher.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that remains at or above 60 FPS is High, which averages 63.8 FPS. This setting clears the threshold by 3.8 FPS, leaving limited headroom for scene complexity fluctuations. The Medium preset at this resolution offers a more comfortable margin at 86.3 FPS, but High represents the maximum visual quality that sustains playability.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is the best choice, averaging 63.1 FPS. This is the highest-quality setting that maintains 60 FPS at this resolution, though the margin is comparable to the 4K High result. The data indicates that 1440p Ultra is the maximum fidelity configuration that remains playable, with a 3.1 FPS buffer above the threshold.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 77.6 FPS, making it the clear best setting for 1080p displays. This provides a 17.6 FPS margin above the playable threshold, offering substantial headroom for demanding scenes. The 1080p Ultra result is 14.5 FPS higher than the 1440p Ultra result, demonstrating that this resolution allows the system to run at maximum settings with confidence.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 90 out of 3,724 tested combinations in The Medium. This places the system in the top 2.4% of all tested configurations, indicating that only 89 other hardware combinations deliver higher measured performance in this game. The percentile ranking for the CPU alone is 89, meaning it outperforms 89% of all tested processors, while the GPU percentile is 88, outperforming 88% of all tested graphics cards. This near-identical percentile positioning suggests a balanced pairing, though the game appears to benefit slightly more from CPU performance based on the rank data. The combination's rank of 90 is notably higher than either component's individual percentile would suggest, implying that the synergy between the 16-core, 24-thread processor and the 24 GB GDDR6X GPU produces particularly favorable results in The Medium's specific rendering workload.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on the nearest rivals for each component, several hardware combinations would behave similarly to the i7-13700K and RTX 4090. For the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 shows an average benchmark score of 46,971 compared to the i7-13700K's 46,881, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the Ryzen performs essentially identically. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 scores 47,022, a -0.3% delta, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX scores 46,654, a 0.5% delta in favor of the Intel chip. The Intel Xeon w3-2535 also scores 46,653, matching the Ryzen 9 7845HX nearly exactly. Any of these processors would produce near-identical frame rates when paired with the RTX 4090.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc Pro A60 has an average score of 60,326 versus the RTX 4090's 60,347, a delta of 0%, making it the closest match. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60,140, a 0.3% delta, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61,896, a -2.5% delta indicating the RTX 4090 is slightly faster. The AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58,657, a 2.9% delta in favor of the RTX 4090. Swapping the RTX 4090 for any of these GPUs while keeping the i7-13700K would yield very similar measured FPS in The Medium, with the W6600M potentially producing marginally higher frame rates. The combination of the i7-13700K with a Ryzen 9 5900-class CPU and a W6600M-class GPU would represent the closest alternative configuration.

The Verdict

This system can run The Medium across all three tested resolutions, but not at every settings preset. At 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best choice at 63.8 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution fails to reach 60 FPS, averaging 50 FPS, so it is not recommended for 4K play. At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, including Ultra at 63.1 FPS, which is the recommended maximum quality setting. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable with Ultra at 77.6 FPS, providing the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate performance. The verdict by resolution confirms these results, designating High, Low, and Medium as playable at 4K, and all four presets as playable at 1440p and 1080p. For users prioritizing maximum visual quality, 1440p Ultra is the highest-fidelity configuration that maintains 60 FPS. For users with 4K displays, High settings are the ceiling, though Medium offers a more stable experience with 86.3 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions and presets reveals which component carries more weight in The Medium. The RTX 4090's substantial rendering resources are evident in the 4K results: at Ultra settings, the system achieves 50 FPS, and reducing to High yields 63.8 FPS, a 27.6% improvement. This setting sensitivity at 4K indicates the GPU is the primary constraint at high resolutions, as the i7-13700K's 16 cores and 24 threads provide ample processing headroom. The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings (183.6 vs 77.6 FPS) is 106 FPS, while at 4K the same settings gap is 92.4 FPS. This convergence suggests the CPU begins to limit frame rates at 1080p Low settings, where the GPU can produce 183.6 FPS but the processor may not sustain higher output.

The resolution scaling data further clarifies component roles. Moving from 4K to 1440p at Ultra settings improves FPS from 50 to 63.1, a 26.2% gain, while moving from 1440p to 1080p at Ultra improves from 63.1 to 77.6, a 23% gain. These similar incremental improvements indicate the GPU remains the dominant factor even at 1080p Ultra. However, at Low settings, the 4K to 1440p transition yields 142.4 to 168.3 FPS (18.2% gain), while the 1440p to 1080p transition yields 168.3 to 183.6 FPS (9.1% gain). The diminishing returns at Low settings suggest the CPU becomes more influential as the GPU workload decreases. The i7-13700K's single-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,116, likely prevents it from becoming a severe bottleneck, but the data indicates the GPU is the primary driver of performance across most settings and resolutions. At 4K, the GPU is overwhelmingly the limiting factor, while at 1080p Low, the CPU's contribution to overall frame rate becomes measurable.