The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title, and this pairing of an Intel Core i5-14400F with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER produces a combo that sits comfortably in the upper tier of tested systems. The data places this combination at rank 202 out of 1689 tested combos, putting it in the top 12% of all configurations. This is a strong position that indicates the hardware is well-matched for the game's requirements, though the measured FPS reveals that achieving a perfectly smooth experience depends heavily on the settings chosen. The combination demonstrates that the CPU and GPU work together without a glaring bottleneck, allowing the system to scale predictably as resolution and quality settings change.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 202 out of 1689, this system is positioned within the top tier of all tested configurations for The Medium. This ranking suggests that the pairing offers a high level of performance that will satisfy most users, but it is not at the absolute peak of the leaderboard. The rank implies that a significant number of other systems, likely with higher-end components, can outperform it, but it also shows that this setup is far more capable than the vast majority of tested hardware. The data indicates a balanced system where neither the CPU nor GPU is severely holding the other back, allowing the combo to achieve a high overall standing. In practical terms, this rank means the system is well-suited for high-refresh-rate monitors at lower resolutions and for maintaining playable frame rates at 4K, though it will not dominate at the highest settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the primary driver of frame rates in this title, and its specifications directly explain the measured results. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a substantial 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth. This large memory allocation is crucial for a game like The Medium, which often renders complex scenes that can consume significant video memory at higher resolutions and settings. The 8448 shading units and 66 RT cores, running at a boost clock of 2610 MHz, provide the raw compute power necessary for the game's rendering. The GPU's 44.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a texture rate of 689.0 GTexel/s are high enough to handle the game's visual effects. The 86th percentile ranking versus all GPUs confirms its high-end status, and its average benchmark score of 48704 shows it is a formidable piece of hardware. The performance in The Medium aligns with this, showing a clear scaling pattern as settings are reduced.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance depends on the target resolution. For a 60 FPS target, the "High" preset is not viable at 4K, but "Medium" at 4K achieves 72.5 FPS, which is a better experience. At 1440p, the "High" preset hits 63.8 FPS, which is acceptable, but the "Medium" preset at 91.7 FPS offers a much smoother experience with only a modest visual compromise. For 1080p, the "High" preset delivers 81.7 FPS, making it the best choice for a high-refresh-rate experience without sacrificing too much detail. The "Ultra" preset is only recommended for users with a 1080p monitor who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, as it produces 65 FPS. The "Low" preset provides a massive performance boost at all resolutions, but it is generally unnecessary for this hardware except for achieving extremely high frame rates at 1080p or for a stable 4K experience. The data suggests that "Medium" is the sweet spot for 4K, while "High" is the best choice for 1440p and 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured results show a clear and consistent performance hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 4K (3840x2160), the "Ultra" preset yields an average of 38.5 FPS, which is not smooth enough for a playable experience. Dropping to "High" improves this to 54.2 FPS, which is borderline, but the "Medium" preset is where the game becomes comfortable, reaching 72.5 FPS. The "Low" preset at 4K jumps to 118.8 FPS, showing the game's scalability. At 1440p (2560x1440), the "Ultra" preset produces 53.9 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. The "High" preset brings the average to 63.8 FPS, a solid 60+ experience. The "Medium" preset reaches 91.7 FPS, providing a very smooth experience, and "Low" hits 146.5 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1080p (1920x1080), the "Ultra" preset achieves 65 FPS, which is a good result for maximum quality. The "High" preset is the standout, delivering 81.7 FPS, which is ideal for a 144Hz monitor. The "Medium" preset reaches 107.6 FPS, and "Low" tops out at 153.7 FPS. These figures demonstrate that the system is most efficient at 1440p, where it offers a wide range of playable options, and at 1080p, where it can consistently push high frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play this game with this hardware for a 60 FPS target?

A: At 4K, the "Medium" preset achieves 72.5 FPS, while "High" only reaches 54.2 FPS. At 1440p, the "High" preset achieves 63.8 FPS, making 1440p with "High" settings the optimal choice for a stable 60 FPS experience with good visual quality.

Q: Can this system handle the game at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, it is playable. The data shows that using the "Medium" preset at 4K yields an average of 72.5 FPS. The "High" preset is less comfortable at 54.2 FPS, and "Ultra" is not recommended at 38.5 FPS.

Q: Is the "Ultra" preset worth using with this GPU?

A: The "Ultra" preset is only practical at 1080p, where it achieves 65 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 53.9 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 38.5 FPS, which is not smooth enough for most players.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from "High" to "Medium" at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the "Medium" preset achieves 91.7 FPS, which is a 43.8% increase over the "High" preset's 63.8 FPS. This provides a much smoother experience with a minor visual trade-off.

Q: What is the highest frame rate this combination can achieve in this game?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 153.7, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the "Low" preset. This demonstrates the system's capability for very high refresh rates when settings are lowered.

Q: Does the GPU have enough memory for this game?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER comes with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory. The measured performance at 4K with "High" settings, which averages 54.2 FPS, indicates that the memory capacity is sufficient for this title, as the game runs without issues at high resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F provides the computational foundation for this combo, and its specifications are more than adequate for The Medium. This processor features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. For a horror game that often requires handling complex AI and game logic, these 16 threads ensure the GPU is not starved of data. The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache helps with data retrieval efficiency. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 21914 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3093 in single-core, placing it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. This performance is closely matched by its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-12800H with a delta of 0% and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 with a delta of 0.2%, showing it is a very competitive mid-range processor. The data indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor at 4K, where the GPU is the primary bottleneck, and it has enough headroom to support the high frame rates seen at 1080p and 1440p. The combination of this strong mid-range CPU with a high-end GPU creates a balanced system that delivers the strong performance seen in the measured results.