The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT produces a wide spread of performance depending on how you configure it. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily influenced by resolution and preset selection, with the GPU clearly acting as the primary bottleneck at higher settings. This analysis breaks down the frame rate behavior across the three tested resolutions and four quality presets, offering a clear picture of what this specific pairing delivers.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data for this combo shows a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases, but the extent of the drop is significant. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 149 FPS, which falls to 126 FPS at 1440p and further to 99 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at the lowest preset, a substantial hit that indicates the GPU is already working hard even when graphical demands are reduced.

Moving to Medium settings reveals a similar trend with a steeper curve. The average frame rate starts at 93 FPS at 1080p, drops to 79 FPS at 1440p, and then falls to 62 FPS at 4K. The jump from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, showing a 21.5% performance loss, which is a clear sign that the Radeon RX 9070 XT is being pushed to its limits at the higher pixel count. The minimum frame rates at Medium settings also illustrate this stress: 79 FPS at 1080p, 67 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K, with the gap between average and minimum widening as resolution climbs.

The High preset shows the most dramatic scaling penalty. At 1080p, the average is 67 FPS, which is already a moderate figure. This drops to 56 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 44 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is barely playable, and the trend clearly shows that this resolution is not viable for a smooth experience on this preset. The scaling from 1080p to 4K here is a 34% loss, identical in percentage to the Low preset, but the absolute numbers are far lower, making the impact feel much more severe.

Ultra settings are the most demanding, and the data confirms that this combo cannot handle them at higher resolutions. The average frame rate at 1080p is 53 FPS, which is already below the 60 FPS target. At 1440p, it falls to 45 FPS, and at 4K, it reaches just 35 FPS. This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 4K, consistent with the other presets, but the starting point is so low that the 4K result is effectively unplayable. The pattern across all presets shows that the limiting component is the GPU, as the frame rate scales almost entirely with resolution and graphical load, with no sign of a CPU bottleneck even at 1080p Low where the frame rate is highest.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and the desired smoothness. For a 1080p display, the Medium preset offers the best balance, delivering an average of 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS. This provides a significant cushion above 60 FPS, ensuring consistent gameplay without the steep performance cost of High or Ultra. The Low preset at 1080p achieves 149 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate displays, but the visual quality trade-off may not be worth it for most players.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is again the recommended choice, with an average of 79 FPS and a minimum of 67 FPS. This keeps the experience above the 60 FPS threshold in most scenes, though the minimum frame rate suggests occasional dips. The High preset at 1440p yields 56 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a horror game where smooth motion is crucial for immersion. The Low preset at 1440p offers 126 FPS, but the graphical compromises are substantial. The data shows that Medium is the sweet spot for 1440p, providing a strong balance between visual fidelity and performance.

For 4K gaming, this combo struggles to maintain high frame rates. The Low preset is the only option that provides a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 99 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 62 FPS, which is technically playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, and the minimum of 53 FPS confirms that stutters will occur. The High preset at 4K is not recommended, as the 44 FPS average falls below acceptable standards for action, and the Ultra preset at 35 FPS is effectively unplayable. Therefore, for 4K, users must either accept Low settings for fluidity or make significant compromises on quality.

The data indicates that the Medium preset is the most efficient choice across all resolutions. It consistently provides the highest frame rate that remains at or near the 60 FPS target, while the jump to High or Ultra yields diminishing returns in visual quality for a substantial performance cost. The measured minimum frame rates at Medium also show that the experience is stable, with the 1440p result of 67 FPS being particularly solid.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the defining component in this system's performance, and the benchmark results clearly show its capabilities and limitations. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. This memory configuration is ample for The Medium, as the game's demands at 4K High are handled with 44 FPS, indicating that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor. The clock speeds are high, with a base of 1660 MHz and a boost of 2970 MHz, and the game clock is rated at 2400 MHz. These clocks, combined with 4096 shading units, contribute to the GPU's raw compute power, which is rated at 48.66 TFLOPS for FP32 operations.

The GPU's performance in this game is directly tied to its rendering pipeline. The pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s are substantial, but the frame rate drops at higher resolutions suggest that the ROPs and TMUs are being saturated. The data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in nearly all tested configurations, as the frame rate scales almost exclusively with resolution and preset changes. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU has the most headroom, the GPU still manages to produce 149 FPS, which is a strong result but not high enough to indicate a CPU limitation.

The Radeon RX 9070 XT's position in the broader market is modest, as its percentile ranking among all GPUs is 55, and its average benchmark score is 13543. In this specific game, the GPU's performance is more nuanced. The nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, such as the AMD Radeon HD 7770M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, have average scores that are within 0.2% of the RX 9070 XT, but these are legacy parts with vastly different architectures. This comparison highlights that the GPU's synthetic scores do not fully capture its gaming performance, as the real-world results in The Medium show a capable card that can handle 1440p Medium well but struggles at 4K High and Ultra.

The GPU's power characteristics are also relevant, with a TDP of 304 W and a suggested PSU of 700 W. This indicates that the card is power-hungry, and the performance results suggest that this power is being used effectively at lower resolutions but is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K on demanding presets. The dual-slot cooler and 2x 8-pin power connectors are standard for this class of GPU, and the PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensures adequate bandwidth. Overall, the data shows that the RX 9070 XT is a strong mid-to-high-end GPU that excels at 1080p and 1440p Medium settings in this game, but it is not a 4K powerhouse.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 857th out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 23% of all tested systems, which is a solid result for a mid-range to high-end pairing. The rank reflects the system's overall capability, but the specific frame rate data provides more context. The combo achieves playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p Medium, which is likely what pushes it into the upper quartile of results.

The rank of 857 is notable because it suggests that while this combo is capable, there are many other systems that perform better. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, and the rank likely suffers from the system's inability to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra or High. In contrast, combos with more powerful GPUs would rank higher due to their ability to handle those demanding settings. The rank also reflects the CPU's contribution, which is solid but not exceptional for gaming, as the i5-14600K's synthetic benchmarks show it is a strong processor but not the absolute top tier.

The combo's ranking is also influenced by the game's specific requirements. The Medium is a horror game with a fixed-camera perspective, which can be more GPU-intensive than CPU-intensive. This means that the GPU's performance has a larger impact on the rank than the CPU's. The RX 9070 XT's 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs is a limiting factor, as many other GPUs in the database have higher scores. However, the combo still manages to rank in the top 23%, which indicates that the i5-14600K's strong single-threaded performance helps to boost the overall result.

The nearest rivals for the CPU in synthetic benchmarks, such as the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and AMD EPYC 4345P, have average scores that are within 0.8% of the i5-14600K. This shows that the CPU is competitive with many other processors, but it is not a standout performer. The combo's rank of 857 is therefore a reflection of the balanced performance of both components, with the GPU providing adequate graphics power and the CPU ensuring that the system is not bottlenecked at lower resolutions. The data suggests that this combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is not designed for 4K enthusiasts.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K plays a supporting role in this system's performance in The Medium, but its capabilities are nonetheless important. The CPU has 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This configuration provides strong multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24491 and Geekbench multicore score of 16673. The single-threaded performance is also excellent, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2491, which is crucial for gaming workloads.

The data from the measured frame rates shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the system achieves 149 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would require a capable CPU to maintain. The i5-14600K's high boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures that it can keep up with the GPU's output, and the 24 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample storage for game data. The CPU's memory support for DDR4 and DDR5, with a dual-channel bus, also helps to ensure that data can be fed to the GPU efficiently.

The CPU's synthetic benchmarks show that it ranks in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48618. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and AMD EPYC 4345P, which have average scores within 0.8% of the i5-14600K. This indicates that the CPU is a strong performer, but not the absolute best. In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to provide enough processing power to avoid limiting the GPU, and the frame rate data confirms that it succeeds in this regard.

The CPU's architecture, Raptor Lake-R, is built on a 10 nm process and features a die size of 257 mm². It has an integrated GPU, the UHD Graphics 770, which is not used for gaming but provides basic display output. The CPU's TDP is 125 W, which is moderate for a desktop processor, and its socket is Intel Socket 1700. The launch MSRP is $319, which positions it as a mid-range processor. In this game, the CPU's performance is more than sufficient, as the frame rates are consistently GPU-limited, and the i5-14600K's strong single-threaded performance ensures that it can handle the game's logic and physics without issue.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: The Medium preset is the best choice for 1440p, delivering an average of 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS. This provides a smooth experience above 60 FPS, while the High preset drops to 56 FPS and Ultra to 45 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K at playable frame rates?

A: At 4K, the Low preset is the only option that provides a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 99 FPS. The Medium preset averages 62 FPS, but the minimum of 53 FPS indicates potential stutters, while High and Ultra are not recommended due to averages of 44 and 35 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the GPU's memory configuration affect performance in this game?

A: The Radeon RX 9070 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. This is sufficient for The Medium, as the frame rate drops at higher resolutions are due to GPU compute limits rather than memory capacity.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p with this setup?

A: No, the data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 149 FPS, and the frame rate scales with resolution and preset changes, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor.

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

A: This combo ranks 857th out of 3724 tested systems, placing it in the top 23% of all results. This is a solid ranking, but the GPU's performance at 4K High and Ultra limits its overall position.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the average frame rate drops from 93 FPS at 1080p to 79 FPS at 1440p and then to 62 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33% reduction from 1080p to 4K, showing the significant impact of resolution on performance.