The Medium

The Medium on this Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combo ranks 1648th out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database for this horror title. This position reflects a pairing where the GPU, while modern in architecture, carries a modest memory configuration that limits its ceiling in a game known for its fixed-camera scenes and layered rendering. The data shows a system capable of smooth 1080p play at lower presets, but one that struggles to maintain fluidity as resolution and quality demands escalate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1648 out of 2911 tested combinations places it in the 57th percentile of all CPU-GPU pairings tested in The Medium. This is a middling result, suggesting that while the system is far from the bottom of the barrel, it lacks the headroom to push into the upper echelons of performance. Benchmark results indicate that the limiting factor is not the CPU, which ranks in the 83rd percentile among all processors, but rather the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM buffer and 128-bit memory interface, which prove restrictive at higher settings and resolutions.

Compared to its nearest CPU rivals, the Core i5-14400F shows a balanced profile. It sits 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i9-11900, while being 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800H. These deltas are negligible in real-world gaming, indicating that the processor is not a differentiator in this combo’s overall ranking. The GPU, however, tells a different story. The Radeon RX 9060’s average benchmark score of 16014 is 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, 1% above the AMD Radeon R9 370X, 1% above the AMD Radeon RX 7700, and 2.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro W5500. The gap to the RTX 3060 Ti is small enough to be considered parity, yet in The Medium, the RX 9060’s 8 GB frame buffer becomes a bottleneck that the RTX 3060 Ti’s similar capacity would also face.

The rank itself suggests that this combo is better suited to 1080p gaming than to higher resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system delivers playable framerates on Medium and High, but at 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, performance drops sharply, particularly on Ultra settings. This pattern aligns with the GPU’s 59th percentile ranking among all GPUs, which indicates a mid-range part that can handle mainstream gaming but not enthusiast-level workloads. The CPU’s high percentile ranking does little to compensate for the GPU’s limitations in this title, where the rendering load is primarily on the graphics card.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 44 chip, fabricated on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It features 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 28 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. Memory runs at 2250 MHz, delivering 18 Gbps effective speed across a 128-bit bus, which yields a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The 8 GB GDDR6 frame buffer is the most critical specification for The Medium, as the game’s high-resolution textures and dual-reality rendering can exceed this capacity at higher settings.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its mid-range positioning. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 3322, while Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores are 88183 and 39476, respectively. PassMark G3D and GPU Compute scores are 17631 and 9919, with DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 scores of 182 and 44. The PassMark DirectX 9 score of 280 is notably higher, suggesting better performance on older APIs. These numbers place the GPU in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16014. The pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s indicate adequate fill rates for 1080p, but the 128-bit memory bus limits data throughput in memory-intensive scenes.

In The Medium, the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM becomes a constraint at 3840x2160. At this resolution with Medium settings, the average FPS is 42, with minimum and maximum of 35 and 48, respectively. At High settings, the average drops to 30 FPS, and at Ultra, it falls to 24 FPS. These numbers suggest that the GPU is running out of memory bandwidth and capacity, causing stuttering and reduced framerates. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient for 4K textures, which require higher throughput to maintain smooth performance. At 2560x1440, the situation improves but remains constrained, with High settings yielding 38 FPS and Ultra dropping to 30 FPS. Only at 1920x1080 does the GPU show its full potential, with Low settings reaching 101 FPS and Medium achieving 63 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in The Medium compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1648th out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle range of the database for this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i9-11900, 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS, and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800H in average benchmark scores.

Q: What is the GPU’s VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s.

Q: What framerate can the system achieve at 1920x1080 on Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the system averages 63 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti?

A: The Radeon RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, which is 0.7% below the RTX 3060 Ti’s score of 16129.

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

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary limitation, as its 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus struggle at higher resolutions, while the CPU ranks in the 83rd percentile and shows no bottleneck in gaming scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system achieves its highest framerates. On Low settings, the average FPS is 101, which is the best result across all tested configurations. Medium settings yield an average of 63 FPS, with a minimum of 53 and maximum of 72, indicating a smooth experience with some headroom. High settings drop the average to 45 FPS, which is still playable but less fluid. Ultra settings reduce the average to 36 FPS, which may feel choppy in fast-paced scenes. The gap between Low and Ultra is 65 FPS, showing that the GPU has significant headroom at low quality but quickly becomes constrained as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably. Low settings produce an average of 85 FPS, which is 16 FPS lower than at 1080p. Medium settings average 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 and maximum of 61, providing a stable but less responsive experience. High settings drop to 38 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS. The step from Medium to High is a 15 FPS reduction, while High to Ultra is only 8 FPS, suggesting that the GPU hits a memory bandwidth wall at this resolution. The minimum FPS of 45 on Medium indicates occasional dips that could be noticeable during scene transitions.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable framerates. Low settings average 67 FPS, which is the only 4K preset above 60 FPS. Medium settings average 42 FPS, with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 48, which is borderline for a horror game where smooth motion matters. High settings drop to 30 FPS, and Ultra falls to 24 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for comfortable gameplay. The 4K results show a steep drop-off from 1080p, with Low settings losing 34 FPS and Medium losing 21 FPS. The data indicates that the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is insufficient for 4K textures, causing the system to rely on slower memory swaps and reducing overall throughput.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and uses the Intel Socket 1700. It has a launch MSRP of $196 and its benchmark scores are strong for a mid-range part.

In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 21645 in multicore and 3055 in single-core tests. Geekbench scores are 11268 for multicore and 2058 for single-core. PassMark tests show a multithread score of 25470, a single-thread score of 3701, and a physics score of 1523. The average benchmark score is 32279, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. These results indicate that the processor has ample compute power for gaming, with high single-thread performance that is crucial for game logic and physics.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU, as the game is graphically intensive rather than CPU-bound. The processor’s 10 cores and 16 threads provide enough parallelism for modern game engines, and its boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensures fast response times. The data shows that the combo’s rank is more closely tied to the GPU’s performance, as the CPU’s percentile ranking is significantly higher than the GPU’s. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and Intel Core i9-11900, have nearly identical average scores, indicating that processor choice has minimal impact on this combo’s results. The CPU’s 20 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel memory support are sufficient for the game’s data needs, but the GPU’s 288.0 GB/s bandwidth becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired framerate. At 1920x1080, Medium settings provide the best balance, with an average FPS of 63 and a minimum of 53. This preset offers smooth gameplay with enough visual detail to appreciate the game’s atmosphere. Low settings at 1080p deliver 101 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual quality may be too reduced for a horror game that relies on mood and lighting. High settings at 45 FPS are playable but may cause noticeable stutter during intense scenes, while Ultra at 36 FPS is below the ideal range for this genre.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings are the recommended choice, with an average of 53 FPS and a minimum of 45. This preset maintains a consistent framerate that is acceptable for most players. Low settings at 85 FPS are smoother but sacrifice visual fidelity, while High and Ultra at 38 and 30 FPS, respectively, are too low for a comfortable experience. The 1440p data suggests that the GPU is near its limits at this resolution, and Medium is the highest preset that avoids significant frame drops.

At 3840x2160, Low settings are the only viable option for playable framerates, with an average of 67 FPS. Medium settings at 42 FPS may be tolerable for some, but the minimum of 35 FPS indicates potential dips below 30 FPS during heavy scenes. High and Ultra at 30 and 24 FPS are not recommended for gameplay, as they fall below the threshold for smooth motion. For 4K, the system requires reduced settings to maintain playability, and even then, the experience is not as fluid as at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals the system’s scaling behavior and its limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 101 at 1080p to 85 at 1440p and 67 at 4K, representing a 34% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the averages are 63, 53, and 42 FPS, a 33% drop. High settings see averages of 45, 38, and 30 FPS, a 33% reduction. Ultra settings have averages of 36, 30, and 24 FPS, also a 33% drop. This consistent percentage reduction across all presets indicates that the GPU is scaling linearly with resolution, which is typical for a graphics-bound workload.

The absolute FPS differences are more telling. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by 16 at Low, 10 at Medium, 7 at High, and 6 at Ultra. From 1440p to 4K, the drops are 18 at Low, 11 at Medium, 8 at High, and 6 at Ultra. The larger drops at lower settings suggest that the GPU is not limited by VRAM capacity at low quality, allowing it to scale more with resolution. At higher settings, the 8 GB VRAM buffer fills up at 1440p, causing the GPU to hit a memory wall that limits further scaling. This is particularly evident at Ultra settings, where the 6 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K is smaller than the drop at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is already near its performance ceiling at 1440p.

The scaling pattern implies that the GPU is the limiting component in this combo. The CPU’s high percentile ranking and strong benchmark scores suggest it could handle higher framerates if the GPU were more capable. The 4K results, where Low settings achieve 67 FPS but Ultra drops to 24 FPS, show that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and capacity are the primary constraints. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient for 4K textures, and the 8 GB VRAM is too small for the game’s high-resolution assets. This analysis is supported by the GPU’s 59th percentile ranking, which is significantly lower than the CPU’s 83rd percentile, indicating that the graphics card is the bottleneck in this pairing. For players seeking higher resolutions, the data suggests that reducing settings is necessary, and even then, 4K performance may not meet expectations for a smooth experience.