The Medium

The Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination delivers a highly capable setup for The Medium, with the data showing that 1080p Ultra settings are fully playable, while 4K requires a slight reduction to High settings to maintain fluidity. Benchmark results indicate that this pairing is strongest at 1440p, where it offers a substantial performance buffer across all but the most demanding preset. The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, a typical characteristic for a visually driven horror title.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU in this combo each sit near specific rival hardware based on aggregate benchmark scores. The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70163, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, which scores 69996, a negligible delta of 0.2%. This means that in CPU-bound scenarios, the system would behave nearly identically to one using that AMD chip. Other close competitors include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (avg score 69875, delta 0.4%) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (avg score 69515, delta 0.9%), both of which are within one percent of the Intel processor's aggregate performance. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores slightly higher at 70879, representing a delta of -1%, meaning the 14700KF trails it by a single percentage point.

On the graphics side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves an average benchmark score of 56083, landing in the 87th percentile of all GPUs. The AMD Radeon 8060S is the closest rival with a score of 55757 (delta 0.6%), suggesting that a system with that GPU would provide a very similar frame rate profile in The Medium. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB also scores closely at 55698 (delta 0.7%), while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is slightly further behind at 54828 (delta 2.3%). On the higher end, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE outperforms the RTX 5080 slightly with a score of 57367, a delta of -2.2%. For this specific game, choosing any of these rival GPUs would result in comparable performance, though the exact FPS figures would vary with driver optimizations and thermal behavior.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data for The Medium shows a distinct shift in hardware dependency as resolution changes. At 1920x1080, the average frame rate at Low settings is 184.4 FPS, which drops to 88.7 FPS at High settings. This 52% reduction from Low to High at the same resolution indicates that the workload is heavily influenced by graphical settings, but the CPU still plays a significant role in maintaining high frame rates. Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 172.6 FPS, only a 6.4% decrease from the 1080p Low result, while the High preset falls to 76.9 FPS, a 13.3% drop. At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes more pronounced: Low settings produce 136.1 FPS (a 21% decrease from 1080p Low), and High settings drop to 63 FPS (a 29% decrease from 1080p High).

This pattern reveals that the RTX 5080 is the dominant component at 4K, as the pixel throughput demands increase faster than the CPU can feed frames. The CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p, where the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 109.3 FPS (from 184.4 to 75.1), a gap that narrows to 88.7 FPS at 1440p (from 172.6 to 58.9) and 88.7 FPS at 4K (from 136.1 to 47.4). The data suggests that at 1080p, the Core i7-14700KF is sufficient to prevent bottlenecking, as the GPU is still able to produce over 180 FPS on Low settings. At 4K, however, the GPU's raw rasterization limits are reached, and the CPU's role diminishes, making the RTX 5080 the clear performance limiter.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo covers three resolutions and four quality presets. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 47.4 FPS, which falls below the playable threshold of 60 FPS. The High preset at this resolution averages 63 FPS, representing a 33% improvement over Ultra. Medium settings yield 82.7 FPS, and Low settings produce 136.1 FPS. The jump from Medium to Low is substantial, adding 53.4 FPS, which indicates that Medium is already a demanding setting for 4K on this hardware.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 58.9 FPS, just shy of the 60 FPS threshold. High settings improve this to 76.9 FPS, a 30.6% gain. Medium settings reach 108.3 FPS, and Low settings hit 172.6 FPS. The difference between High and Medium at 1440p is 31.4 FPS, showing that the Medium preset is significantly lighter than High. For 1920x1080, all presets are playable, with Ultra averaging 75.1 FPS, High at 88.7 FPS, Medium at 130.1 FPS, and Low at 184.4 FPS. The scaling from Ultra to Low at 1080p is 109.3 FPS, which is the largest absolute range across all resolutions, confirming that the CPU has ample headroom to drive high frame rates when the GPU is not overloaded.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 110th out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium, placing it in the top 3% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the balanced nature of the pairing, as the CPU's 94th percentile score and the GPU's 87th percentile score combine to deliver a system that outperforms the vast majority of tested hardware. The high rank is primarily driven by the strong 1080p and 1440p performance, where the CPU and GPU work in concert to maintain high frame rates. At 4K, the rank is still respectable, but the Ultra preset's sub-60 FPS average would pull the overall score down slightly compared to systems with more powerful GPUs. The data shows that this combo is better suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p than for maxed-out 4K experiences.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K with all settings maxed out?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the average FPS is 47.4, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest playable setting at 4K is High, which averages 63 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware in The Medium?

A: 2560x1440 offers the best balance, with High settings averaging 76.9 FPS and Ultra averaging 58.9 FPS. This resolution provides a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining smooth frame rates.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from Low to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 184.4 FPS, while Ultra averages 75.1 FPS. This represents a 59.3% reduction in average frame rate.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU is the limiting factor. The data shows that going from Low to Ultra at 4K only changes the average FPS from 136.1 to 47.4, indicating that the RTX 5080's rendering capacity is the primary constraint.

Q: Does the combo meet the 60 FPS threshold at 1440p Ultra?

A: No. The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 58.9 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold. Dropping to High settings increases the average to 76.9 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to others tested?

A: It ranks 110th out of 3724 total combinations, placing it in the top 3% of all tested hardware configurations for The Medium.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is High, which delivers 63 FPS. Ultra falls short at 47.4 FPS, so High is the recommended setting for 4K play. At 2560x1440, High settings average 76.9 FPS, making it the best playable option, as Ultra dips to 58.9 FPS. For 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but the Ultra preset delivers 75.1 FPS, allowing for the maximum visual quality while still exceeding the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows that this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K requiring a settings reduction to maintain smooth performance.