The Medium

The Medium is a demanding title, and this pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600K with the AMD Radeon RX 580 produces a very specific performance profile. The data shows a configuration that is heavily constrained by the graphics card, particularly as resolution increases. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS to show exactly where this combo stands and how to configure it for the best experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, confirming that the RX 580 is the limiting factor in this system. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 49 FPS at 1920x1080 to 41 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 8 FPS. Moving up to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 32 FPS, meaning that from 1080p to 4K, the Low preset loses 17 FPS, or roughly 35% of its performance. This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput and raw compute power at higher resolutions.

The trend is even more pronounced at higher graphical presets. With Medium settings, the average FPS starts at 31 at 1080p, falls to 26 at 1440p, and then plummets to just 20 at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K here is 11 FPS. On the High preset, the averages are 22 FPS at 1080p, 18 FPS at 1440p, and a nearly unplayable 14 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most brutal; it only manages 17 FPS at 1080p, 15 FPS at 1440p, and a mere 11 FPS at 4K. The data indicates that the game's visual complexity at higher settings compounds the load on the GPU, making high-resolution play impossible with this card.

The fact that the CPU is not the bottleneck is clear from the scaling. A system limited by the processor would show similar FPS across different resolutions, but here the frame rate drops significantly with every step up in resolution. For example, the jump from 1080p Medium to 1440p Medium costs 5 FPS, and the jump to 4K Medium costs another 6 FPS. This is a textbook GPU-bound scenario. The i5-14600K is likely waiting on the RX 580 to finish rendering each frame, meaning the CPU's potential is largely untapped in this specific game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the clear performance bottleneck in this combination. Its specifications place it in a specific performance tier, and the measured results reflect its limits. The card features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1257 MHz with a boost clock of 1340 MHz. These are the core numbers that dictate its output, and in a game like The Medium, they are insufficient for high-refresh or high-resolution gaming.

The GPU's position in the market is evidenced by its benchmark scores. It holds a percentile of 53 against all GPUs, putting it just above the median. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, which is 0.1% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, which is 0.4% faster. This places the RX 580 in a performance class that is simply not designed for 4K gaming in modern, demanding titles. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the card produces an average of just 11 FPS, which is a slideshow.

The 8 GB VRAM buffer is also a factor. While not necessarily exhausted at 1080p, the combination of high resolution and high texture settings at 4K can put pressure on the memory capacity. However, the raw compute power is the primary issue. The card's FP32 performance is 6.175 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 42.88 GPixel/s. These figures are simply too low to handle the pixel shading and fill rate demands of The Medium at 4K, regardless of the VRAM available. The card is a capable 1080p performer from a previous generation, but it is out of its depth here.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only playable configuration for this combo is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which yields an average of 49 FPS. This is the only preset at any resolution that approaches a smooth 60 FPS target, and it is the recommended starting point. The Low preset at 1080p provides a playable experience, though users will have to accept significant visual compromises to achieve it.

The Medium preset at 1080p is a borderline option, with an average of 31 FPS. This is playable for a slow-paced horror game, and the minimum FPS of 26 is not a catastrophic dip. For those who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate stability, this could be a viable trade-off. However, the data suggests that the jump from Low to Medium costs 18 FPS, a substantial hit. The High preset at 1080p drops to 22 FPS, which is too low for a consistent experience, and Ultra at 17 FPS is not a viable option.

At 2560x1440, the situation is grim. The Low preset averages 41 FPS, which might be playable for some, but the Medium preset falls to 26 FPS, and High and Ultra are effectively unplayable. At 3840x2160, even the Low preset only manages 32 FPS, which is below the threshold for a comfortable experience. The recommendation is clear: stick to 1080p. For a stable experience, use Low. If you can tolerate lower frame rates for better visuals, Medium is the highest you should go, but be prepared for the performance penalty.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this pairing performs poorly in The Medium. The data places this specific combo at rank 3394 out of 3724 tested combos. This puts it in the bottom 9% of all systems tested, indicating that it is one of the weaker configurations for this particular game. The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations, as the CPU is a top-tier part that is being held back.

The CPU's individual performance does not translate to in-game success here. The Intel Core i5-14600K sits at the 90th percentile when compared to all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48618. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, are all within a 0.8% performance delta. This shows that the processor is a high-end component. However, the GPU's percentile of 53 and an average score of 12928 drags the entire combo down. The RX 580's nearest rivals are all within a 0.6% delta, confirming it is an average card that cannot keep up with the demands of this game.

The discrepancy between the CPU's high rank and the combo's low rank is the key takeaway. This is a classic example of a bottleneck. The i5-14600K is capable of feeding frames much faster than the RX 580 can render them. The data shows that upgrading the GPU would result in a massive performance uplift, as the CPU has ample headroom to support a much more powerful graphics card. This combo is severely unbalanced for this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K plays a supporting role in this configuration, and its performance is largely wasted in The Medium. This processor is a 14-core, 20-thread part based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 24 MB of L3 cache. These are specifications of a very capable modern processor.

Its synthetic benchmark results confirm its strength. In Cinebench R23, it scores 24491 in multi-core and 2064 in single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 16673 in multi-core and 2491 in single-core. These are excellent numbers that place it in the top 10% of all CPUs. However, in this game, these scores do not translate to high frame rates because the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU is likely idling, waiting for the RX 580 to complete its work.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. The FPS scaling with resolution is a clear indicator of a GPU bottleneck. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would be most likely to become a limiting factor, the average FPS is only 49. A processor like the i5-14600K is capable of pushing much higher frame rates in less demanding games. In this case, its 14 cores and high boost clock are underutilized, as the game's frame rate is capped by the graphics card's rendering speed.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete set of measured FPS data for The Medium with this hardware configuration.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Low: Average FPS 49.
• Medium: Average FPS 31, with a minimum of 26 and a maximum of 35.
• High: Average FPS 22.
• Ultra: Average FPS 17.

At 2560x1440, the data shows a significant drop:

• Low: Average FPS 41.
• Medium: Average FPS 26, with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 30.
• High: Average FPS 18.
• Ultra: Average FPS 15.

At 3840x2160, the performance is severely hampered:

• Low: Average FPS 32.
• Medium: Average FPS 20, with a minimum of 17 and a maximum of 23.
• High: Average FPS 14.
• Ultra: Average FPS 11.

The only configuration that provides a consistently playable experience is 1080p Low. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a higher visual quality but at a cost of 18 FPS on average. All other settings and resolutions are either borderline or unplayable. The data paints a clear picture: this is a 1080p, Low-to-Medium settings gaming rig for this specific title. Any attempt to push higher resolutions or presets will result in a poor experience.