The Medium

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a robust performance profile in The Medium, with benchmark data showing a clear path to smooth gameplay across most resolutions and settings. The measured FPS results indicate that this combination handles the game’s fixed-camera horror presentation with significant headroom at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K requires a modest compromise on settings to maintain a consistent 60 FPS target.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo spans three resolutions and four quality presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the results are consistently high. The Low preset delivers an average of 178 FPS, making it the fastest configuration tested. Medium raises the visual fidelity while still producing an average of 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS. High settings yield 86 FPS on average, and even the most demanding Ultra preset holds at 68 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected impact of increased resolution. The Low preset averages 161 FPS, while Medium hits 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. High settings produce an average of 72 FPS, which still clears the playable threshold. However, Ultra drops to 57 FPS, falling just below the 60 FPS target and indicating that this preset is not suitable for a locked 60 FPS experience at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the demands of 4K resolution become apparent. The Low preset averages 127 FPS, demonstrating that the RTX 4080 has substantial raw power even at this high resolution. Medium achieves 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS, making it the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. High settings slip to 57 FPS, and Ultra drops further to 45 FPS, showing that these higher presets are not viable for smooth gameplay at 4K.

The data reveals a clear pattern: the gap between Low and Ultra presets widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 110 FPS, while at 4K, the same comparison shows an 82 FPS difference. This indicates that the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the pixel count increases faster than the preset overhead.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the Core i7-14700F and RTX 4080 achieves a combo rank of 227 out of 3724 tested combos. This places the system in the top 6.1% of all configurations benchmarked for The Medium, indicating that it outperforms the vast majority of systems in the database.

The CPU itself sits in the 91st percentile when compared against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 53620. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6505P, which scores 53701 and is 0.2% ahead, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, which scores 53288 and is 0.6% behind. The GPU is in the 86th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average score of 54247. Its closest competitor, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54209, just 0.1% behind, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% ahead with a score of 54828.

This ranking context is important because it shows that while the combo is strong overall, neither component is at the absolute top of its class. The CPU’s performance is nearly identical to the Xeon 6505P, and the GPU is essentially on par with the RTX 4080 SUPER. This suggests that the system’s gaming performance is well-balanced, with no single component acting as a significant weak link.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals distinct roles for the CPU and GPU depending on the resolution and preset. At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a more significant role, as the lower pixel count places less strain on the GPU. The jump from Low to Ultra at this resolution shows a performance drop from 178 FPS to 68 FPS, a 110 FPS difference that reflects the increased GPU load from higher-quality effects. However, the CPU’s strong single-thread and multi-thread performance, as indicated by its Cinebench R23 scores of 4958 single-core and 35122 multi-core, ensures that it can keep up with the GPU’s frame output.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take on a more dominant role. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at High settings shows a drop from 86 FPS to 72 FPS, a 16.3% reduction that is primarily attributed to the increased pixel count. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 57 FPS, below the 60 FPS threshold, while the same preset at 1080p holds at 68 FPS. This indicates that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth become limiting factors as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the primary constraint. The RTX 4080’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game’s textures, but the sheer pixel count of 4K demands more from the rendering pipeline. The Low preset at 4K averages 127 FPS, showing that the GPU can handle the resolution when visual effects are reduced. However, the jump to Medium (79 FPS) and then High (57 FPS) demonstrates that each incremental preset increase has a significant impact, with the GPU’s 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance being the deciding factor.

The CPU’s role is more consistent across resolutions, as its 20 cores and 28 threads provide ample headroom for the game’s logic and AI. The Cinebench R20 scores of 2082 single-core and 14751 multi-core show that the CPU is not a bottleneck even at 1080p where frame rates exceed 170 FPS. The data suggests that for this game, the GPU is the component that determines the maximum playable settings at each resolution.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 4K with maximum settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 45, which falls well below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest playable preset at this resolution is Medium, which achieves an average of 79 FPS.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: The best setting at 2560x1440 is High, which delivers an average of 72 FPS. Ultra at this resolution drops to 57 FPS, just below the playable threshold, making High the most demanding preset that maintains a 60 FPS average.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its direct successor in this context?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209, a difference of only 0.1%. This indicates that the two cards perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks, with the non-SUPER model holding a negligible lead.

Q: Is the Core i7-14700F a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: The CPU’s benchmark results show it ranks in the 91st percentile among all processors, with an average score of 53620. The data indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops when increasing resolution at the same preset.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only presets with recorded minimum FPS values are Medium settings. At 1080p, the minimum is 102 FPS, at 1440p it is 86 FPS, and at 4K it is 67 FPS. These minimums indicate that the system maintains stable frame delivery without significant drops.

Q: How large is the performance gap between Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 178 FPS, while Ultra averages 68 FPS. This represents a 110 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset imposes a significant additional load on the GPU despite the relatively modest resolution.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of 60 FPS or higher is as follows:

At 3840x2160, the best setting is Medium, with an average FPS of 79. This preset provides a solid visual upgrade over Low while keeping frame rates well above the playable threshold. The High preset at this resolution drops to 57 FPS, which is below the target, and Ultra falls to 45 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the best setting is High, delivering an average of 72 FPS. This allows for enhanced visual quality while maintaining smooth gameplay. Ultra at this resolution averages 57 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target, making High the optimal choice for a locked experience.

At 1920x1080, the best setting is Ultra, with an average of 68 FPS. This enables the maximum visual fidelity the game offers while still clearing the 60 FPS threshold. The headroom is modest, but the average of 68 FPS indicates that most scenes will play smoothly.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 can run The Medium at playable frame rates across all tested resolutions, provided the settings are adjusted appropriately. The verdict by resolution shows that at 1920x1080, all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable, with Ultra achieving 68 FPS on average. This makes 1080p the resolution where the system can fully unlock the game’s visual potential.

At 2560x1440, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best option at 72 FPS. Ultra falls below the threshold at 57 FPS, so users seeking maximum quality at this resolution would need to accept a slightly lower frame rate or drop to High. At 3840x2160, only Low and Medium are playable, with Medium offering the best experience at 79 FPS.

The overall verdict is that this system is well-suited for The Medium. It excels at 1080p and 1440p, providing high frame rates and the ability to use demanding presets. At 4K, it requires a reduction to Medium settings, but the resulting 79 FPS average demonstrates that the hardware is still capable of a smooth experience. The combo’s rank of 227 out of 3724 tested configurations confirms that it is among the top performers for this title, making it a strong choice for gamers who want high-fidelity horror gameplay without compromising on frame rate.