The Medium

The benchmark data for The Medium with the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 reveals a combination that is strictly bound by its graphics processor, with the CPU providing ample headroom. The measured results indicate that achieving a smooth 60 FPS experience is possible only when settings are aggressively reduced, and the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and RDNA 2 architecture are the primary determinants of performance. This analysis breaks down the FPS scaling, ranking, and component roles based solely on the provided data.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The transition from 1080p to 4K produces a dramatic and consistent drop in frame rates across all settings, which is a clear indicator that the AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the limiting factor in this pairing. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 84.6 at 1920x1080 to 70.1 at 2560x1440, and then plummets to 52.9 at 3840x2160. This represents a 37.5% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at the lowest preset, a scaling pattern that is typical for a GPU that is saturated by pixel count.

The scaling becomes even more punitive at higher settings. At High, the average FPS drops from 38.3 at 1080p to 35.1 at 1440p, and then falls further to 26.3 at 4K. The Ultra preset shows an even steeper decline, with frame rates starting at 31.5 at 1080p, dropping to 23 at 1440p, and reaching a playable-but-barely 21.5 at 4K. The pattern is consistent: the gap between 1080p and 1440p is relatively small, while the jump to 4K causes a significant additional loss, suggesting the GPU’s fillrate and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed at that resolution.

These results indicate that the Intel Core i5-14400F is not the bottleneck. The CPU, with its high multi-threaded and single-threaded benchmark scores, is clearly capable of feeding the GPU. The fact that FPS scales so heavily with resolution and settings proves that the workload is entirely graphics-bound. The data shows that for a 60 FPS target, the user must remain at 1080p and use Low settings, as the 84.6 average FPS is the only measured result that achieves this goal. Any attempt to raise resolution or quality will immediately sacrifice frame rate, confirming the GPU as the sole performance ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 1355 out of 1689 combos for The Medium. This places it in the bottom 20% of all tested systems, which is a low position that underscores the GPU’s limitations in this title. The rank is a direct consequence of the RX 6600's position in the GPU hierarchy, as the CPU’s own percentile rank is much higher.

The CPU itself is a strong performer, sitting in the 88th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32508. This places it on par with its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-12800H, which has an average score of 32513 and a deltaPct of 0, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, which scores 32446 with a deltaPct of 0.2. The CPU is clearly not the weak link. Conversely, the GPU is in the 69th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25235. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon 890M, which scores 25246 with a deltaPct of 0, and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, which scores 25287 with a deltaPct of -0.2.

The disparity between the CPU’s high percentile (88) and the GPU’s lower percentile (69) is the reason for the low combo rank. The data shows that this combination is severely unbalanced for The Medium, as the CPU’s potential is left untapped while the GPU struggles. The combo rank of 1355 out of 1689 is a clear verdict: this configuration is not optimized for this specific game, and the performance is dictated by the graphics card.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, there is a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and playability. For a standard 60 FPS target, the only viable option is the Low preset at 1920x1080, which delivers an average of 84.6 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above the target and is the only setting that ensures smooth gameplay. Moving to Medium at 1080p drops the average to 53.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and may result in noticeable stutter.

For users with a 1440p monitor, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset at 2560x1440 yields an average of 70.1 FPS, which is playable, but the Medium preset drops to 43.9 FPS, and High falls to 35.1 FPS. Neither of these latter options is suitable for a smooth experience. At 4K, the results are poor across the board: Low averages 52.9 FPS, Medium 33.7 FPS, High 26.3 FPS, and Ultra 21.5 FPS. Only the Low preset at 4K approaches playability, but it is still below the 60 FPS target.

The data suggests that the best experience for this combination is achieved by prioritizing frame rate over visual quality. The High preset at 1080p, with an average of 38.3 FPS, is not recommended for action-heavy sequences. The Ultra preset, which averages 31.5 FPS at 1080p, is equally unsuitable. The analysis indicates that the Low preset at 1080p is the only configuration that delivers a consistently smooth experience, while the Medium preset at 1080p is a compromise for those who want slightly better visuals and can tolerate a 53.5 FPS average.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 84.6 FPS, Medium averages 53.5 FPS, High averages 38.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 31.5 FPS. This shows a steep drop-off as settings increase, with a 62.8% reduction in FPS from Low to Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. The Low preset averages 70.1 FPS, which is the only result above 60 FPS at this resolution. Medium averages 43.9 FPS, High averages 35.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 23 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 67.2%, indicating that the visual presets have a massive impact on the GPU load.

At 3840x2160, the performance is consistently below the playable threshold for most settings. Low averages 52.9 FPS, Medium averages 33.7 FPS, High averages 26.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 21.5 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 59.4%, and notably, the Ultra preset at 4K is only 9.2% faster than the High preset at 4K, showing diminishing returns at the highest quality levels. These exact numbers confirm that the RX 6600 is not capable of handling high-quality rendering at 4K, as even the lowest settings fail to reach 60 FPS.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6600’s specifications directly explain the measured performance patterns. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is a likely contributor to the severe performance drops at 4K, as the higher resolution demands more memory bandwidth and capacity. The data shows that the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p, but the frame rate collapse at higher resolutions suggests that memory pressure is a limiting factor.

The GPU’s clock speeds are also relevant. The boost clock of 2491 MHz and the game clock of 2044 MHz are the advertised speeds, and the measured FPS reflects the GPU’s ability to sustain these clocks under load. The RDNA 2 architecture, built on a 7 nm process, provides 28 ray tracing cores and 1792 shading units, which are utilized by The Medium's rendering engine. However, the raw compute power of 8.928 TFLOPS is not sufficient for high-end settings at high resolutions, as evidenced by the low FPS numbers at 4K.

The GPU’s benchmark scores corroborate its mid-range status. With a percentile of 69 against all GPUs, it sits just behind the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP and is virtually identical to the AMD Radeon 890M, with a deltaPct of 0. The Passmark G3D score of 15096 is a modest figure, and the 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1492 is low, indicating that the card is not built for heavy 4K workloads. The data clearly shows that the RX 6600 is the bottleneck, and its 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are the primary hardware constraints in this game.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 84.6, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset. This is the only configuration that exceeds the 60 FPS target.

Q: How does this combo rank against all other tested combinations in The Medium?

A: This combination ranks 1355 out of a total of 1689 tested combos in the game, placing it in the lower percentile of all tested systems.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU has a high percentile rank of 88, while the GPU has a lower rank of 69. The FPS scales heavily with resolution and settings, which is a sign of a GPU bottleneck.

Q: What is the average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with the High preset, the measured average FPS is 35.1. This is not a smooth experience for most players.

Q: What is the GPU's memory size and bus width?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. This configuration is a likely cause of the performance drop at 4K.

Q: What is the average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset, the average FPS is 21.5, which is the lowest measured result across all configurations.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-14400F’s specifications show that it is more than capable of handling the demands of The Medium, and the data confirms that it is not the source of the performance bottleneck. This CPU features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. These specifications are substantiated by strong benchmark results, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 32508 places it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, indicating high performance.

The CPU’s nearest rivals are the Intel Core i7-12800H and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, which have average scores of 32513 and 32446, respectively. The deltaPct of 0 and 0.2 for these rivals shows that the i5-14400F is statistically tied with them in general processing power. However, in The Medium, the CPU’s power is irrelevant because the frame rates are so low. The measured FPS at 1080p High is 38.3, and at 4K Ultra it is 21.5, which are numbers that would be far higher if the CPU were the limiting factor.

The data shows that the CPU is running with a significant amount of headroom. The L3 cache of 20 MB shared and the 10-core architecture provide sufficient processing power for the game’s logic and physics, but the GPU cannot keep up. The high single-threaded performance, as evidenced by the Geekbench single-core score of 2333, ensures that the CPU can process game instructions quickly, but it is waiting on the GPU to render frames. Ultimately, the Intel Core i5-14400F is a strong component that is being held back by the AMD Radeon RX 6600, and the combination’s low rank is entirely due to the GPU’s limitations.