The Medium

Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 deliver a playable experience in The Medium, but the definition of "playable" shifts dramatically across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, this combination comfortably clears the 60 FPS threshold at High settings, while at 2560x1440, Medium is the ceiling for smooth gameplay. At 4K, only Low settings provide a frame rate above 60, with Ultra proving too demanding for the GPU's 10 GB memory configuration and Ampere architecture. The measured data shows a system that scales predictably with resolution, with the CPU's strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6235) ensuring that frame rates are largely dictated by GPU load at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data presents a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four presets. At 1920x1080, the system is GPU-bound at higher presets but still delivers solid results. Low settings produce an average of 142.2 FPS, which drops to 91.7 FPS at Medium, 66.3 FPS at High, and 49.8 FPS at Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium is 50.5 FPS, while the drop from Medium to High is 25.4 FPS — indicating diminishing returns as settings increase. At 1080p Ultra, the average falls below 60 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay despite the CPU's headroom.

Moving to 2560x1440, the scores compress noticeably. Low settings average 118.8 FPS, which is still excellent, but Medium drops to 77.6 FPS, and High falls to 57.2 FPS — just under the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra averages 42 FPS, a 35.6 FPS reduction from Medium. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs approximately 23.4% performance at Medium (from 91.7 to 77.6 FPS), highlighting the GPU's bandwidth constraints at higher pixel counts.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 3080's 10 GB memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are stretched. Low settings yield 97.2 FPS, which is remarkable for 4K, but Medium drops to 58.7 FPS, and High plummets to 42.5 FPS. Ultra averages 32.2 FPS, making it borderline unplayable. The scaling from Medium to High at 4K is a 16.2 FPS loss, while High to Ultra is a further 10.3 FPS loss. These numbers suggest that the game's visual effects at Ultra impose a significant memory and compute overhead that the RTX 3080 cannot sustain at 4K.

The absence of min/max FPS data means the analysis relies solely on averages, which typically mask frame-time spikes. However, the consistent pattern across resolutions — where Low presets always exceed 90 FPS and Ultra always falls below 50 FPS — indicates a well-behaved performance curve without anomalous bottlenecks.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 60 FPS on High settings?

A: Yes, but only at 1920x1080. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 66.3, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440 High, the average drops to 57.2 FPS, and at 3840x2160 High, it falls to 42.5 FPS — both below playable levels.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 2560x1440?

A: Medium is the best playable setting at 1440p, delivering an average of 77.6 FPS. Low settings also work (118.8 FPS), but Medium offers a better visual quality while still maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this combination?

A: Only at Low settings, which averages 97.2 FPS. Medium at 4K drops to 58.7 FPS, just under the playable threshold, and High/Ultra fall to 42.5 and 32.2 FPS respectively. If 4K is the target, Low is the only viable preset.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance in The Medium?

A: The i7-14700KF's single-thread score of 6235 in Cinebench R23 and multi-thread score of 44167 indicate minimal CPU bottlenecking. The FPS scaling between resolutions (e.g., 1080p Medium at 91.7 vs 4K Medium at 58.7) shows GPU dominance, meaning the CPU is not the limiting factor.

Q: What is the combo's rank among tested configurations?

A: This CPU-GPU combination ranks 1000th out of 3724 tested combos, placing it in the top 27% of all configurations. This percentile is consistent with a mid-range to upper-mid-range gaming setup that can handle most titles but not max-out 4K Ultra.

Q: Does the RTX 3080's 10 GB VRAM matter for this game?

A: The data suggests it does at higher presets. The steep performance drop from Medium to High at 4K (58.7 to 42.5 FPS) aligns with memory capacity and bandwidth stress, as the game likely exceeds 10 GB at Ultra settings, causing the GPU to spill into slower memory.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear division of labor between the i7-14700KF and RTX 3080 depending on resolution. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the primary limiter at Ultra (49.8 FPS), but the CPU's capabilities allow Low and Medium presets to exceed 90 FPS. The 1080p Low score of 142.2 FPS is close to the CPU's practical frame-rate ceiling for this game, indicating that further GPU upgrades would yield diminishing returns at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the GPU becomes more dominant, as evidenced by the 41.2 FPS spread between Low (118.8) and Ultra (42). The CPU's single-thread performance (Cinebench R15 single-core score of 628) is sufficient to feed the GPU at these frame rates, but the RTX 3080's 320W TDP and 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are the limiting factors at High and Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is almost entirely responsible for performance. The scaling from Low (97.2) to Ultra (32.2) shows a 65 FPS range, which is purely a GPU-bound phenomenon. The CPU's multi-thread score of 44167 in Cinebench R23 is irrelevant here, as frame rates are constrained by pixel throughput and memory bandwidth (760.3 GB/s). Notably, the RTX 3080's 10 GB GDDR6X memory is likely a bottleneck at 4K Ultra, where the game's texture and geometry data exceeds the available VRAM, causing stutter and reduced averages.

The presets themselves also reveal the roles: at Low settings, the game reduces draw distance and effects, allowing the GPU to work at lower utilization, which lets the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads (with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz) shine. At Ultra, the GPU's 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores are engaged, but the raw shading performance (29.77 TFLOPS) is insufficient to maintain 60 FPS at 4K.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the i7-14700KF's nearest rivals include several AMD and Intel options with comparable average benchmark scores. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F scores 69996, just 0.2% lower than the i7-14700KF's average of 70163, making it a near-identical performer in multi-threaded tasks. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875) and Ryzen 9 7950X (69515) are 0.4% and 0.9% behind, respectively, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 70879, which is 1% higher. In The Medium, these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, since the game is not CPU-bound at those resolutions. At 4K, the differences would be negligible, as the GPU dominates.

For the GPU, the RTX 3080's nearest rivals are less conventional. The NVIDIA P106-100 (avg score 23249) is 0.3% higher, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (23250) and Radeon RX 6600M (23273) are 0.3% and 0.4% higher respectively. The AMD Radeon R9 M290X (23276) is 0.4% higher. These rivals are not direct gaming equivalents — some are workstation or mobile parts — but their benchmark scores suggest similar raw compute capability. In practice, the RTX 3080's 10 GB GDDR6X and 68 RT cores would provide better ray tracing performance in The Medium, which uses fixed camera angles and pre-baked lighting, so the difference may be minimal. Users seeking similar performance could consider these parts, but the RTX 3080's driver support and feature set make it the stronger choice for this title.

The Verdict

The i7-14700KF + RTX 3080 can run The Medium, but the playable settings vary by resolution. At 1920x1080, High settings average 66.3 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold; Low and Medium also work, at 142.2 and 91.7 FPS respectively. Ultra at 1080p averages 49.8 FPS, so it is not recommended for smooth gameplay. At 2560x1440, Medium is the best playable preset at 77.6 FPS, while Low (118.8 FPS) is also viable. High at 1440p averages 57.2 FPS, which is below the playable threshold, and Ultra drops to 42 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low settings provide a playable experience at 97.2 FPS; Medium (58.7), High (42.5), and Ultra (32.2) all miss the 60 FPS target.

The data indicates that this system is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming. At 1080p, users can enjoy High settings without compromise, while at 1440p, Medium settings offer a balanced experience. For 4K, the system is limited to Low presets, which still deliver a respectable 97.2 FPS average, but this sacrifices visual fidelity. The 60 FPS playable threshold is consistently met at 1080p High and 1440p Medium, making this combo a solid choice for the game's fixed-camera horror presentation, which benefits from stable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 3724 tested CPU-GPU combinations, this pair ranks 1000th, placing it in the 73rd percentile. This is a strong showing, given that the ranking includes both older and newer hardware. The i7-14700KF's percentileVsAllCpus of 94 indicates it outperforms 94% of all CPUs, while the RTX 3080's percentileVsAllGpus of 68 means it beats 68% of all GPUs. The combined rank of 1000/3724 suggests that while the CPU is a top-tier part, the GPU is mid-range by current standards, pulling the overall combo down slightly. In The Medium specifically, the rank reflects the GPU's limitations at 4K Ultra, but the system remains highly capable at lower resolutions. The data shows that this combo is a balanced pairing for 1440p gaming, with enough CPU headroom for future GPU upgrades without bottlenecking. Users seeking higher 4K performance would need a more powerful GPU, but for the target resolutions of this game, the rank is appropriate.