The Medium

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT ranks 1707th out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the 54th percentile of all systems tested. This is a mid-pack result that shows the combination is capable of solid 1080p and 1440p playable frame rates, but it struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K with higher settings. The data indicates a system that handles the horror title's fixed-camera scenes well at mainstream resolutions, though the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1707 out of 3724 tested combinations places it just past the halfway point of all tested systems, which is a respectable position given the balance of components. The ranking reflects a pairing where the CPU is substantially stronger than the GPU, and benchmark results confirm that the graphics card limits overall performance in most scenarios. The Intel Core i5-14600K sits in the 90th percentile of all CPUs tested, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT sits in the 71st percentile of all GPUs tested, creating a notable imbalance that shows up in the measured frame rates.

Looking at the GPU's nearest rivals provides context for its position. The RX 6750 XT is 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M395X, 0.6% ahead of the AMD FirePro W7100, 0.7% ahead of the AMD FirePro D700, and 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile in average benchmark scores. These are extremely tight margins, meaning the GPU is competing with a cluster of similarly-performing cards rather than dominating its segment. On the CPU side, the i5-14600K is 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4345P, 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX, and 0.8% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, showing that the processor is well-matched with its immediate competitors.

The measured FPS data reinforces that this combo performs best at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 115 FPS average, which is 43% higher than the 1080p High result of 52 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is substantial, with Ultra delivering only 41 FPS, meaning the GPU's rendering load scales dramatically with preset quality. This pattern continues at 1440p and 4K, where the combination becomes progressively less capable of maintaining high frame rates at demanding settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this combo?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 60 FPS across multiple settings, with Low at 115 FPS, Medium at 72 FPS, and High at 52 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low (97 FPS) and Medium (61 FPS) reach playable levels, while 4K results are much lower.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48618, which is 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698), 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4345P (48470), 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (48287), and 0.8% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48995).

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT sits in the 71st percentile of all GPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 26011. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon R9 M395X, scores 25891, which is only 0.5% behind.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 1440p Medium settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows 61 FPS average at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS. This is the only 1440p setting besides Low that reaches the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How much faster is the combo at 1080p Low compared to 4K Ultra?

A: The 1080p Low result of 115 FPS is 326% higher than the 4K Ultra result of 27 FPS, representing a massive performance swing of 88 FPS between the most and least demanding configurations tested.

Q: What are the CPU's core and thread specifications?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K features 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It has 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K brings substantial processing power to this combo, with 14 cores and 20 threads derived from its Raptor Lake architecture on a 10 nm process. The CPU's base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, which is relevant for The Medium's fixed-camera scenes that often rely on fewer threads. The processor's benchmark results confirm its capability, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064, alongside a Geekbench multicore score of 16673.

The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs tested indicates it is far stronger than the GPU in this pairing. The measured frame rates show that the CPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios, as the performance drops are consistent with GPU-bound behavior when resolution increases. The processor has 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core, along with 80 KB of L1 cache per core, which helps feed the GPU efficiently in this horror title.

The i5-14600K supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory through a dual-channel memory bus, with ECC memory support available. It uses the Intel Socket 1700 and includes integrated UHD Graphics 770, though the discrete RX 6750 XT handles all rendering duties in this configuration. The CPU's 125 W TDP and active production status indicate it is a mainstream desktop part, and its unlocked multiplier allows for overclocking, though the measured results reflect stock performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings, providing a comprehensive view of this combo's performance in The Medium. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 115 FPS on Low, 72 FPS on Medium, 52 FPS on High, and 41 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting at 1080p shows a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS, indicating playable performance with some headroom for variance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results drop noticeably: Low produces 97 FPS, Medium delivers 61 FPS, High falls to 43 FPS, and Ultra drops to 34 FPS. The Medium setting at 1440p shows a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS, meaning the system can dip below the 60 FPS threshold during demanding scenes. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 63 FPS, showing that preset selection has a major impact on playability.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at higher settings. Low produces 76 FPS, Medium delivers 48 FPS, High falls to 34 FPS, and Ultra drops to 27 FPS. The Medium setting at 4K shows a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 55 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 49 FPS, and the system cannot reach 60 FPS at any setting other than Low at this resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound system where resolution increases cause proportionally larger frame rate drops. At Low settings, the combo goes from 115 FPS at 1080p to 97 FPS at 1440p (a 15.7% drop) and then to 76 FPS at 4K (a 33.9% drop from 1080p). At Medium settings, the progression is 72 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p (a 15.3% drop), and 48 FPS at 4K (a 33.3% drop from 1080p).

The High settings show a steeper decline: 52 FPS at 1080p, 43 FPS at 1440p (a 17.3% drop), and 34 FPS at 4K (a 34.6% drop from 1080p). Ultra settings follow a similar pattern with 41 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p (a 17.1% drop), and 27 FPS at 4K (a 34.1% drop from 1080p). These consistent percentage drops across settings indicate that the GPU's rendering capabilities scale predictably with resolution, rather than being affected by CPU limitations.

The fact that the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K remains relatively stable around 33-35% across all settings suggests the GPU is the bottleneck. The RX 6750 XT's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth and 192-bit bus is sufficient for the game's textures, but the raw compute power of 13.31 TFLOPS FP32 is not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K with demanding presets. The 1080p results, where the combo achieves 115 FPS on Low and 72 FPS on Medium, demonstrate that the system is well-suited for mainstream gaming resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the best experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which delivers 72 FPS average with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS. This configuration provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining visual quality. The 1080p High setting at 52 FPS is playable but lacks the smoothness of Medium, and 1080p Ultra at 41 FPS sacrifices too much performance for marginal visual gains.

For users with 1440p displays, the Medium setting at 61 FPS average is the only option that reaches the 60 FPS target, though the minimum of 52 FPS indicates occasional dips below that mark. The 1440p Low setting at 97 FPS offers a smoother experience but at reduced visual fidelity. Players who prioritize frame rate over graphics should choose Low at 1440p, while those who want a balance should accept the minor dips of Medium.

At 4K, the combo is only viable with Low settings, producing 76 FPS average. The 4K Medium setting at 48 FPS is playable for less demanding users, but the 4K High (34 FPS) and 4K Ultra (27 FPS) settings are not recommended for smooth gameplay. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with Medium or High settings, with 1440p Medium serving as a reasonable alternative for users willing to accept occasional frame rate dips. The system's performance ceiling is clearly defined by the GPU, so users should prioritize resolution and settings that keep the RX 6750 XT within its comfortable operating range.