The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that stresses both GPU and CPU, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 produces a wide range of performance depending on how you configure it. The data shows a system that can deliver smooth gameplay at lower resolutions and settings, but it struggles significantly when pushed to 4K with high graphical presets. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across different resolutions and settings to help you find the best balance between visual fidelity and playability.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop when moving from 1080p to 4K is steep, and it clearly identifies the GPU as the primary limiting factor in this pairing. At 1080p with Medium settings, the system achieves an average of 63 FPS, which is a solid baseline. When you jump to 1440p at the same Medium preset, the average frame rate falls to 53 FPS, a reduction of 10 FPS. The climb to 4K at Medium settings is far more punishing, dropping the average down to 42 FPS, which represents a 33% decrease from the 1440p result.

The pattern holds across other settings, but the severity of the drop is most dramatic at the extremes. At Low settings, the system manages an excellent 101 FPS at 1080p, which falls to 85 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 67 FPS at 4K. This 4K Low result is still playable, but the transition from 1440p to 4K costs 18 FPS, or about 21% of the performance. At High settings, the same scaling shows 45 FPS at 1080p, 38 FPS at 1440p, and only 30 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding just 36 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and a nearly unplayable 24 FPS at 4K.

What this scaling tells us is that the RX 9060’s capabilities are quickly exhausted as the pixel count increases. The 4K Medium result of 42 FPS is below the 60 FPS target most builders prefer, and the 4K High and Ultra results are firmly in slideshow territory. The data suggests that this card is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in The Medium, with 4K reserved for Low or Medium settings if you absolutely must use that resolution. The fact that the 1080p Low result is 101 FPS, while 4K Low is 67 FPS, shows that even the least demanding preset cannot fully compensate for the massive increase in pixel workload at 4K.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K smoothly?

A: At 4K, the highest average FPS recorded is 67 on Low settings, but this falls to 42 FPS on Medium and 30 FPS on High. None of the 4K presets achieve a consistent 60 FPS, so 4K is not recommended for a smooth experience.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 60 FPS target?

A: The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where you can hit 60 FPS or above on multiple presets. Low settings yield 101 FPS and Medium yields 63 FPS at 1080p. At 1440p, only the Low preset (85 FPS) exceeds 60 FPS.

Q: How much of a difference does the Ultra preset make compared to High?

A: At every resolution, the Ultra preset is significantly slower than High. At 1080p, Ultra averages 36 FPS versus 45 FPS on High. At 1440p, it is 30 FPS versus 38 FPS. At 4K, it is 24 FPS versus 30 FPS. The jump to Ultra costs roughly 20% of the frame rate.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the low FPS at 4K?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU has a high average benchmark score of 48618, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU, however, only reaches the 59th percentile. The dramatic FPS drops as resolution increases are characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario.

Q: What is the performance difference between the RX 9060 and its closest rivals?

A: The RX 9060’s average benchmark score is 16014. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, scores 16129, which is 0.7% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 15852, which is 1% lower. The performance is essentially comparable to these cards.

Q: Does the 8 GB of VRAM on the RX 9060 cause any issues?

A: While the data does not show direct VRAM usage, the memory configuration includes 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus with a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. Given that the GPU is already a limiting factor at 4K, the 8 GB capacity is a likely contributor to the severe performance drop at higher resolutions and settings.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with this hardware, the data points to 1080p as the target resolution. The Medium preset at 1080p provides an average of 63 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS. This is the sweet spot for smooth, responsive gameplay without sacrificing too much visual quality. The 53 FPS minimum is a little low, but the average is comfortably above 60, making it the most balanced option.

If you require higher visual fidelity, the High preset at 1080p averages 45 FPS. This is playable but not ideal for a game that relies on atmosphere and tension, where frame pacing is important. For a more stable experience, the Low preset at 1080p hits an average of 101 FPS, which is excellent for high refresh rate monitors, but it will look noticeably worse. At 1440p, the Medium preset drops to 53 FPS, which is borderline for a horror game, and the Low preset is the only one that breaks 60 FPS, hitting 85 FPS.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution. Even at 1080p, it only averages 36 FPS, which is a poor experience. The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely, as even the Low preset cannot maintain a stable high frame rate, and the Medium preset dips to 42 FPS. In summary, the best experience is found at 1080p with the Medium preset, which balances the 63 FPS average with acceptable visual quality. If you can tolerate lower visuals, the 1080p Low preset is the most performant option.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across all combinations of resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 101 FPS. The Medium preset averages 63 FPS, with a measured minimum of 53 FPS and a maximum of 72 FPS. The High preset averages 45 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 36 FPS. This shows a clear progression where each step up in settings costs roughly 15-20 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. The Low preset averages 85 FPS. The Medium preset averages 53 FPS, with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS. The High preset drops to an average of 38 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 30 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at this resolution is 15 FPS, which is significant.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed. The Low preset averages 67 FPS, which is the only playable option at this resolution. The Medium preset averages 42 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS. The High preset averages just 30 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 24 FPS. The data shows that the jump from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings causes a 21% performance loss, and at High settings, it causes a 21% loss as well, confirming the GPU bottleneck.

The complete table of results is as follows:

• 1920x1080, Low: 101 FPS average
• 1920x1080, Medium: 63 FPS average (53 min, 72 max)
• 1920x1080, High: 45 FPS average
• 1920x1080, Ultra: 36 FPS average
• 2560x1440, Low: 85 FPS average
• 2560x1440, Medium: 53 FPS average (45 min, 61 max)
• 2560x1440, High: 38 FPS average
• 2560x1440, Ultra: 30 FPS average
• 3840x2160, Low: 67 FPS average
• 3840x2160, Medium: 42 FPS average (35 min, 48 max)
• 3840x2160, High: 30 FPS average
• 3840x2160, Ultra: 24 FPS average

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the decisive component in this system's performance in The Medium. Its architecture is RDNA 4.0, built on a 4 nm process, and it features 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The card has a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. These specifications put it in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16014.

The GPU's memory configuration is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The 8 GB capacity is a key factor in the game's performance at higher resolutions. The data shows that the card's performance is competitive with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which scores 0.7% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700, which scores 1% lower. The RX 9060 also has 28 ray tracing cores, but the benchmark data does not indicate how much of a load these put on the card in this specific title.

In practical terms, the GPU is the reason for the steep FPS drops at 4K. At 1080p Medium, the card produces 63 FPS, but at 4K Medium, it only produces 42 FPS. This 33% loss in performance when going from 1440p to 4K is a clear sign that the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are being overwhelmed. The card’s FP32 performance is 21.43 TFLOPS, which is respectable, but it is not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K in a game like The Medium. The data suggests that this is a 1080p and 1440p card, with 4K being a stretch goal for less demanding presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a powerful processor that is not the bottleneck in this configuration. It is a 14-core, 20-thread part based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's average benchmark score is 48618, and it sits in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a high-performing part.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, and its performance is more than sufficient. The benchmark results show that the FPS scales almost entirely with resolution and settings, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would see similar frame rates regardless of resolution, but the data clearly shows a massive drop from 1080p to 4K.

For example, at 1080p High, the system gets 45 FPS. At 4K High, it gets 30 FPS. This 33% reduction is unlikely to be caused by the CPU, as its workload does not increase with resolution. The CPU has plenty of headroom, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491. The nearest rival in terms of CPU benchmark scores is the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, which is only 0.2% faster, and the AMD EPYC 4345P, which is 0.3% slower. This shows the i5-14600K is at the top of its class, and for The Medium, the data indicates that the GPU is the component that determines playability.