The Medium

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers a robust performance profile in The Medium, with benchmark data showing 60+ FPS across nearly all tested configurations. At 4K, the combo maintains playability through High settings, while at 1440p and 1080p, it reaches the demanding Ultra preset comfortably. The measured frame rates reveal a system that scales predictably with resolution and preset changes, though the gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution indicates where the GPU’s headroom begins and ends.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the frame rate trajectory is steep and consistent. Low settings produce an average of 131.7 FPS, which drops to 82.8 FPS at Medium, 61.4 FPS at High, and finally 50.9 FPS at Ultra. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold, making it the only non-playable configuration in the entire dataset. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 61.4% reduction in average FPS, showing a heavy reliance on GPU shading and texture work at this resolution.

Dropping to 2560x1440 yields a notable uplift across all presets. Low settings average 168.1 FPS, Medium reaches 105.2 FPS, High hits 79.2 FPS, and Ultra settles at 62.6 FPS. The 1440p results show that Ultra clears the 60 FPS bar by a margin of 2.6 FPS, which is a tight but functional buffer. The scaling from 4K to 1440p at Ultra is particularly telling: the 11.7 FPS gain indicates that the RTX 5080 is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, not the CPU.

At 1920x1080, the combo performs at its peak. Low settings average 178 FPS, Medium reaches 129.4 FPS, High achieves 93.9 FPS, and Ultra delivers 72 FPS. The 1080p Ultra result is 11.1% higher than the 1440p Ultra figure, and 41.5% higher than the 4K Ultra figure. The 1080p Low result of 178 FPS suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU well beyond what most displays can show, given the i7-14700F’s 20 cores and 28 threads.

Across all resolutions, the delta between Medium and High is smaller than the delta between High and Ultra. For instance, at 1440p, the Medium-to-High drop is 26 FPS, while the High-to-Ultra drop is 16.6 FPS. This non-linear scaling suggests that Ultra settings in The Medium introduce disproportionately heavy effects, likely volumetric lighting or ray-traced reflections, which the RTX 5080 handles but with diminishing returns.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU’s nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, provide context for its role in this combo. The Intel Xeon 6505P scores 53701, a 0.2% difference from the i7-14700F’s 53620 average. The Intel Xeon Phi 7290 trails by 0.3% with a score of 53469, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X sits 0.6% behind at 53288. The AMD EPYC 7313P rounds out the group at 53206, a 0.8% gap. These deltas are negligible in gaming terms—any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in The Medium, as the game’s workload does not appear to stress 20-core processors to their limits.

For the GPU, the RTX 5080’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 8060S, which scores 55757 against the RTX 5080’s 56083 average, a 0.6% difference. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 0.7% behind at 55698, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X sits 2.3% lower at 54828. Interestingly, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores 57367, which is 2.2% higher than the RTX 5080. This means a system with an RX 9070 GRE would likely see slightly higher average FPS in The Medium, though the difference would be within a few frames per second at most settings.

In practical terms, swapping the RTX 5080 for an RX 6750 GRE 12 GB would drop performance by roughly 1-2 FPS at 4K High, which is imperceptible. The CPU alternatives are even closer, with the Ryzen 9 7900X offering nearly identical headroom for GPU-bound scenarios. For users seeking similar behavior, the Ryzen 9 7900X and RX 9070 GRE combination would be the closest match, delivering comparable scores without the Intel/NVIDIA branding.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate changes across resolutions, while the CPU maintains a consistent baseline. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 178 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 131.7 FPS—a 46.3 FPS gap that is entirely attributable to pixel throughput and fill rate demands on the RTX 5080. The CPU’s role is more visible in the Low preset results: at 1080p Low, 178 FPS versus 1440p Low’s 168.1 FPS shows only a 5.9% drop, indicating that the CPU can sustain high frame rates even when the GPU is less burdened.

The scaling between presets further clarifies the split. At 4K, moving from Low to Medium reduces FPS by 48.9, while from Medium to High reduces it by 21.4, and from High to Ultra by 10.5. This pattern suggests that the GPU is being saturated progressively, with each preset tier adding more shading work. At 1080p, the same transitions show drops of 48.6, 35.5, and 21.9 FPS respectively, meaning the GPU has more headroom at lower resolutions but still dominates the frame time budget.

The CPU’s influence becomes apparent in the 1080p Low result of 178 FPS, which is the highest measured value. Since the RTX 5080 is not fully utilized at this setting, the i7-14700F’s boost clock of 5.40 GHz and 33 MB of L3 cache help maintain high minimum frame rates, even if the average is capped by the game engine’s physics and draw call processing. However, at 4K Ultra, the CPU’s contribution is minimal—the 50.9 FPS result is constrained by the GPU’s raw compute and memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s, not by any lack of CPU throughput.

For resolution scaling, the data shows that 1440p Ultra is the sweet spot where the GPU and CPU balance each other. The 62.6 FPS result at 1440p Ultra is only 8.4% lower than the 1080p Ultra result of 72 FPS, while 4K Ultra is 29.4% lower than 1440p Ultra. This indicates that the RTX 5080’s 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 256-bit bus are sufficient for 1440p Ultra, but 4K Ultra pushes past the GPU’s limits.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination ranks 117th out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 3.1% of all systems benchmarked. This percentile position is consistent with the measured FPS results, which show playable performance at every resolution except 4K Ultra. The rank reflects the GPU’s strong showing in the game’s benchmark suite, where it scores 36565 in Passmark G3D and 8637 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, both of which are above the 87th percentile for all GPUs.

The combo’s rank is likely driven more by the RTX 5080 than the CPU, given that the i7-14700F’s 91st percentile is slightly lower than the GPU’s 87th percentile. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 53620 sits comfortably above the 50th percentile, but the GPU’s 56083 average is what pushes the combo into the top 117. For comparison, a system with a weaker GPU but the same CPU would likely rank several hundred places lower, as the game’s frame rates are GPU-bound at higher presets.

The rank of 117 out of 3724 also implies that there are 3607 combos that perform worse, which is a strong endorsement for this pairing. However, the 4K Ultra result of 50.9 FPS means the combo is not among the top 116 systems that can handle max settings at 4K. Users seeking 4K Ultra would need a more powerful GPU, such as one with higher benchmark scores than the RTX 5080’s 56083 average.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K with High settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 High is 61.4 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold by 1.4 FPS. This is the highest playable preset at 4K.

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

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 62.6 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the most demanding preset that remains playable at this resolution.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 1080p Ultra?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 Low is 178, while at 1920x1080 Ultra it is 72. This represents a 106 FPS difference, or 147% higher performance at Low settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: The data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 50.9, which is below the playable threshold. The CPU’s performance is not the limiting factor, as it achieves 178 FPS at 1080p Low.

Q: Does the combo rank in the top 100 tested systems?

A: No. The combo ranks 117th out of 3724 tested combos, which places it in the top 3.1% but not the top 100.

Q: What is the playable settings list for 4K?

A: The playable settings at 3840x2160 are High, Low, and Medium, with average FPS of 61.4, 131.7, and 82.8 respectively. Ultra is not playable at 4K because it averages 50.9 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 61.4 FPS. Medium settings offer more headroom at 82.8 FPS, while Low reaches 131.7 FPS, but High is the highest quality option that maintains playability. Ultra at 4K falls short at 50.9 FPS, so it should be avoided.

For 2560x1440, Ultra settings are playable with an average of 62.6 FPS. This is the best visual configuration available at this resolution, as it clears the 60 FPS threshold by 2.6 FPS. The lower presets—High at 79.2 FPS, Medium at 105.2 FPS, and Low at 168.1 FPS—all provide additional margin but sacrifice visual fidelity.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings deliver 72 FPS, which is 12 FPS above the playable threshold. This is the recommended configuration for 1080p, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a comfortable frame rate. The High preset at 93.9 FPS, Medium at 129.4 FPS, and Low at 178 FPS are all viable but unnecessary given the Ultra headroom.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 can run The Medium, with playable performance at every resolution except 4K Ultra. At 3840x2160, the combo clears 60 FPS on High, Low, and Medium presets, with High being the best visual option at 61.4 FPS. At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, and Ultra is recommended at 62.6 FPS. At 1920x1080, Ultra settings achieve 72 FPS, making this the most straightforward resolution for maxing out the game.

The only configuration that fails the 60 FPS test is 4K Ultra, which averages 50.9 FPS. Users who prioritize 4K resolution must accept High settings or lower. For anyone targeting 1440p or 1080p, this combo provides a fully playable experience with room to spare. The rank of 117 out of 3724 combos confirms that this is a well-matched pair for The Medium, with the GPU shouldering most of the workload and the CPU providing ample headroom for high frame rates at lower resolutions.