The Medium

# Intel Core i7-14700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060: The Medium Benchmark Analysis

This pairing of Intel's 14th-generation Core i7 processor and NVIDIA's entry-level Ada Lovelace GPU presents a compelling mid-range configuration. The data indicates a system built for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming and smooth 1440p experiences, but one that must carefully manage settings at 4K. The benchmark results from The Medium paint a clear picture: this combo excels at lower resolutions, yet the demands of 4K reveal its limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this configuration across resolutions and presets shows a consistent pattern of scaling.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the data shows a demanding scenario. The Ultra preset averages 25 FPS, making it unplayable. The High preset improves to an average of 30.7 FPS, which remains critically below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium reaches 42.8 FPS, still insufficient for a fluid experience. The Low preset is the only playable option, hitting an average of 73 FPS. This represents a 192% lead over the Ultra preset's average. The data shows a clear linear scaling from Low to Medium to High, but the jump from High to Ultra is steeper, suggesting a significant increase in GPU load at the higher settings.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the situation improves meaningfully. The Ultra preset averages 32.9 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. High improves to 38.9 FPS, still not reaching 60 FPS. Medium is the first playable preset at 54.5 FPS, though it's tight against the 60 FPS cap. Low is the only preset with a comfortable margin, delivering 93.4 FPS, a 184% performance uplift over Ultra. Notably, the gap between Medium and High (16.5 FPS) is smaller than the gap between High and Ultra (6 FPS), suggesting the CPU is not the bottleneck at this resolution.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the system truly comes into its own. The High preset averages 47.7 FPS, which is still "playable" but not ideal. Medium breaks past 60 FPS with an average of 69.9 FPS, providing a smooth experience. Low rockets to 106.1 FPS, a 122% increase over High. The scaling from 1440p to 1080p is consistent: roughly a 1.42x performance improvement at the same settings, which speaks to the RTX 4060's rendering capabilities as the resolution drops.

FAQ

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

A: No. The data shows the Ultra preset averages 25 FPS, which is far below the 60 FPS needed for smooth gameplay. Even the High preset at 30.7 FPS is not viable. The GPU simply lacks the raw shading power for 4K at high image quality.

Q: What is the best 4K setting?

A: The Low preset is the only setting that clears the 60 FPS bar, averaging 73 FPS. This requires dropping most of the visual fidelity at this resolution, but it is the sole path to a playable frame rate.

Q: Is 1440p playable?

A: Yes, but with limits. The Medium preset achieves 54.5 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target and may present minor stutters. For a locked 60 FPS experience, the Low preset at 93.4 FPS offers a large safety margin.

Q: How does this combo perform at 1080p?

A: Very well. The Medium preset runs at 69.9 FPS, comfortably clearing the 60 FPS bar. The High preset is close at 47.7 FPS but may dip below 60 in busy scenes. Low provides a frame rate of 106.1 FPS, ideal for high-refresh displays.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data illustrates a clear division of labor between the Core i7-14700KF and the RTX 4060. At 4K, the GPU is the decisive component. The CPU, with a multi-core score of 44,167 in Cinebench R23 and 18,550 in Cinebench R20, is powerful, but the GPU's shading workload is the wall.

The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is telling. At 1080p Medium, the system hits 69.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p Medium drops to 54.5 FPS, a 22% reduction. This moderate drop indicates that the GPU is still capable, but the fill-rate and shading demands are rising. However, at 4K, the RTX 4060's 118.1 GPixel/s pixel rate and 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are simply too limited.

The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads provide ample headroom for game logic and physics. The Geekbench multicore score of 21,462 suggests this CPU will not be the limiting factor in most scenes. The Passmark CPU Mark of 70,163 places it in the top 4% of all CPUs. Yet, the game's horror visuals and heavy post-processing are GPU-centric, meaning the RTX 4060 is the primary determinant of the final output.

The RTX 4060's 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores are not fully leveraged by this title. The game does not use DLSS. It relies on traditional rasterization, making the 2,304 shading units the key hardware. The 15.11 TFLOPS for FP32 is a modest figure compared to higher-end Ada chips.

The Verdict

Can this PC run The Medium? The answer is nuanced by resolution. At 1080p, the system clears the 60 FPS bar on Medium settings with 69.9 FPS average. Push to the High preset and you will fall to 47.7 FPS, which is acceptable but not ideal. For a locked experience, Medium is the best choice. For maximum smoothness, Low at 106.1 FPS offers headroom.

At 1440p, this config drops out of the 60 FPS barrier. The Medium preset is the only playable one, hitting 54.5 FPS, but it barely scrapes by the threshold. The Low preset, at 93.1 FPS, is the safe pick. The High and Ultra presets are not playable at this resolution.

At 4K, the story is grim. The Low preset is the only one that achieves playability, with 73 FPS. All other settings are far below the threshold. This is not a 4K gaming configuration for modern titles. The GPU's limited bandwidth and pixel rate are the key constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

This combo ranks #2051 out of 3,724 tested game-combos in our database. This places it in the upper half of tested configurations. The average benchmark score of 17,639 puts it in the mid-range of tested GPUs, which is expected for an RTX 4060. The CPU, ranking in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, is the stronger component. The GPU is more of a mid-range part, ranking in the 61st percentile.

The pairing is balanced for 1080p and entry-level 1440p. It is not a high-end 4K setup. The strongest data point is the 1080p Medium result at 69.9 FPS, showing the system's ability to handle the game at mainstream settings. The RTX 4060's 272 GB/s memory bandwidth and 8GB VRAM are sufficient for the game's textures at 1080p/1440p.

Best Settings per Resolution

For the best locked-60 experience, use the following settings per resolution:

• 3840x2160: Low — 73 FPS average. The only playable setting at this resolution.
• 2560x1440: Low — 93.4 FPS average. This offers a high margin and is the best choice; Medium is also viable with 54.5 FPS average, but you may see small drops.
• 1920x1080: Medium — 69.9 FPS average. This is the sweet spot: it clears 60 FPS and preserves acceptable visual quality. High is close at 47.7 FPS but may suffer from dips.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearestRival data for the CPU shows that the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a very close match, with an average score of 69,996, a mere 0.2% difference. This chip would behave nearly identically in CPU-bound scenes. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (avg 69,875, +0.4%) is also a near-equivalent for multi-threaded workloads.

On the GPU side, the closest rivals are older or lower-tier cards. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 (avg 17,666, -0.2%) is the most similar in raw score. The AMD Radeon 780M (17,588, +0.3%) would offer similar GPU-bound performance, indicating that the RTX 4060's position is solidly middle-tier. The AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17,551, +0.5%) is also near. Among NVIDIA's own lineup, the previous-generation equivalent is the closest in this data, but no exact match is listed. For this game, any of these would deliver a comparable experience, meaning you need an RTX 4060-class part for 1080p Medium and a tier above for 1440p Low.