The Medium

The Medium presents a significant challenge for the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination, with benchmark results indicating a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions. The data shows a playable experience is achievable, but only by carefully managing settings, as the gap between the game’s Low and Ultra presets is substantial at every resolution tested. This pairing lands in the 516th position out of 1689 tested combinations for this title, placing it in the top third of all systems evaluated, though its performance ceiling is clearly defined by the GPU’s workload.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, revealing that the Radeon RX 9070 is the primary limiting factor in this configuration. At the High preset, the average frame rate falls from 64.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 53.5 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 39.6 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 38.8% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, a scaling pattern typical of a GPU-bound scenario where the pixel count outpaces the rendering capabilities of the graphics card.

The pattern is even more pronounced at the Ultra preset, where the frame rate drops from 48.3 FPS at 1080p to 42.5 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 31.5 FPS at 4K. The 34.8% decrease from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings indicates that the game’s most demanding visual features place an enormous burden on the GPU. Conversely, at the Low preset, the system shows much better scaling, with 144.2 FPS at 1080p, 118.8 FPS at 1440p, and 95.4 FPS at 4K. This 33.8% drop suggests that even when the visual load is minimized, the GPU remains the bottleneck, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames.

The data indicates that the Core i5-14400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is not the constraint here. The consistent frame rate drops across all settings as resolution increases point directly to the RX 9070’s rendering limits. For a 4K experience, users must accept either the Low preset for smooth performance or the Medium preset for a more balanced visual experience, as the High and Ultra presets fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a 60 FPS average?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the High preset exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 64.7 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 53.5 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it falls to 39.6 FPS, so 1080p is required for a stable 60 FPS experience at High settings.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to Medium in terms of performance cost?

A: The performance cost is substantial. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset delivers 75.9 FPS, while Ultra drops to 42.5 FPS, a 44% reduction in performance for the higher visual quality. At 3840x2160, the difference is even more stark, with Medium at 59.9 FPS and Ultra at 31.5 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. The 4K Low preset averages 95.4 FPS, which is very smooth, and the 4K Medium preset averages 59.9 FPS, which is borderline playable. However, the High and Ultra presets at 4K are not playable, averaging 39.6 FPS and 31.5 FPS respectively.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14400F holding back the Radeon RX 9070?

A: The benchmark data suggests not. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and single-core score of 3093 indicate strong processing power. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent decline that is characteristic of GPU limitation, not CPU bottlenecking.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The gap is enormous. The Low preset at 2560x1440 averages 118.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages just 42.5 FPS. This 64.2% performance difference highlights how demanding the Ultra preset is on the GPU.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems for this game?

A: The combination ranks 516th out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the 69th percentile of all systems. This indicates that it performs better than the majority of configurations tested for The Medium, though it is not at the top tier.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination holds the 516th rank out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the top 30.5% of all systems. This ranking is respectable, indicating that the hardware is well-suited for the game’s demands compared to a broad field of other processors and graphics cards. The CPU itself sits in the 88th percentile against all processors, and the GPU is in the 79th percentile against all graphics cards, suggesting that both components are above-average performers individually.

The pairing’s ranking is likely driven by the GPU’s solid 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290 and its Passmark G3D score of 25381. These synthetic benchmarks suggest strong rasterization performance, which translates to the measured frame rates in The Medium. The CPU’s high percentile ranking ensures that it does not drag down the overall system performance in this title. The data shows that this combo is a mid-to-upper-tier option for horror gaming, capable of delivering high refresh rate experiences at 1080p and playable frame rates at 1440p with adjusted settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its full potential. The Low preset achieves a very high average of 144.2 FPS, making it ideal for high refresh rate monitors. The Medium preset delivers 87.7 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. The High preset averages 64.7 FPS, providing a good balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset, however, drops to 48.3 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target for many players.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance impact of the higher resolution becomes clear. The Low preset still manages 118.8 FPS, which is excellent. The Medium preset averages 75.9 FPS, ensuring a fluid gameplay experience. The High preset falls to 53.5 FPS, which is playable but not perfectly smooth. The Ultra preset averages just 42.5 FPS, making it a less desirable choice for action-heavy sequences.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s workload becomes the dominant factor. The Low preset remains playable with an average of 95.4 FPS. The Medium preset hits 59.9 FPS, which is right at the edge of the 60 FPS target. The High preset drops to 39.6 FPS, and the Ultra preset bottoms out at 31.5 FPS, both of which are too slow for a smooth experience. The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, the gap between the Low and Ultra presets widens, emphasizing the need for settings adjustment at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the Medium preset provides the most balanced performance across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, it delivers 87.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and offers a significant visual upgrade over the Low preset. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset still achieves 75.9 FPS, making it the optimal choice for high-resolution gaming without sacrificing smoothness. Even at 3840x2160, the Medium preset manages 59.9 FPS, which is a playable frame rate for a horror title that relies on atmosphere rather than fast-paced action.

The High preset is a viable option only at 1920x1080, where it averages 64.7 FPS. At higher resolutions, its performance drops below 60 FPS, making it a less attractive choice. The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combination, as it fails to reach 60 FPS at any resolution, with its best result being 48.3 FPS at 1080p. The data suggests that the visual fidelity gains from Ultra are not worth the significant performance penalty, especially when the game’s horror atmosphere benefits more from consistent frame pacing than from marginal graphical improvements.

For users prioritizing frame rate above all else, the Low preset offers exceptionally high performance, reaching 144.2 FPS at 1080p and 95.4 FPS at 4K. However, this preset likely strips away many of the visual effects that contribute to the game’s tense atmosphere. The Medium preset is the clear sweet spot, offering a 60 FPS experience at 1440p and a near-60 FPS experience at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz provide solid single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3093. The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914, which is within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13705H.

For The Medium, a horror game that relies on predictable rendering workloads, the CPU’s 16 threads are more than sufficient. The measured FPS data shows that the system is not CPU-bound, as frame rates scale directly with resolution, which is a GPU-dependent variable. The CPU’s Passmark multi-thread score of 25783 and its 88th percentile ranking against all CPUs indicate that it has ample headroom for this title. The processor’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory ensure that it can feed data to the GPU without becoming a bottleneck. In this configuration, the Core i5-14400F serves as a stable foundation, allowing the Radeon RX 9070 to be the primary determinant of performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the dominant component in this system’s gaming performance. Built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture using a 4 nm process at TSMC, it features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. The GPU’s boost clock of 2520 MHz and game clock of 2070 MHz drive its 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. This hardware configuration yields a Passmark G3D score of 25381 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290, placing it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs.

The data from The Medium clearly shows that the RX 9070 is the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU’s 16 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for the game’s textures, as the performance drops are consistent with compute and pixel throughput limits rather than memory capacity issues. The substantial frame rate differences between the Low and Ultra presets, such as the 48.3 FPS versus 144.2 FPS at 1080p, highlight the GPU’s workload sensitivity to the game’s visual effects. The GPU’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA A2, has a negligible 0.2% higher average score, indicating that the RX 9070 is competitively positioned in its performance class. For this game, the GPU dictates the experience, and users must tailor their settings to its capabilities to achieve the desired frame rates.