The Medium

The Medium presents a unique technical challenge, blending fixed-camera angles with a split-world mechanic that renders two scenes simultaneously. This analysis examines the performance of the Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, using measured data to understand how this hardware handles the game’s demands.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 149 FPS at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This drops to 125 FPS at 2560x1440 and 98 FPS at 3840x2160 on the same settings.

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

A: The Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48618, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H’s 48698 and 0.3% higher than the AMD EPYC 4345P’s 48470. It sits in the 90th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile and its closest competitor?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti falls in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, which has an average score of 40870, just 0.8% lower than the RTX 3080 Ti’s 41187.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between settings at 1080p?

A: The difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1920x1080 is significant. The Low preset averages 149 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 53 FPS, representing a 96 FPS swing based on settings alone.

Q: Does the combo rank in the top quarter of tested systems for this game?

A: Yes. The combo ranks 901st out of 3724 tested combinations, placing it in the top 24.2% of all recorded system configurations for The Medium.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440 with the Medium preset, the average FPS is 78, with a recorded minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 90 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the primary driver of visual fidelity in this configuration. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s, which is crucial for streaming the high-resolution textures The Medium uses for its detailed environments. The GPU’s GA102 chip, built on Samsung’s 8 nm process, contains 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores, the latter being relevant for any ray-traced effects the game might employ, though the measured data focuses on standard rasterization presets.

The GPU’s clock behavior shows a base of 1365 MHz and a boost of 1665 MHz. The performance scaling across resolutions indicates that this card is the limiting factor at higher settings. For instance, at the Medium preset, the average frame rate drops from 93 FPS at 1080p to 78 FPS at 1440p, and further to 61 FPS at 4K. This consistent decline as pixel count increases points to the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth being taxed. The RTX 3080 Ti’s PassMark G3D score of 26896 places it in the 83rd percentile, and its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, trails by a mere 0.8% in average benchmark score, suggesting that this card is positioned at a performance plateau where small architectural differences matter more than raw specs.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals a clear trade-off between visual quality and frame rate. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, delivering only 35 FPS at 3840x2160 and 53 FPS at 1920x1080. These numbers are below the 60 FPS threshold often considered ideal for smooth gameplay, so this preset is not recommended for this combo if fluid motion is a priority.

The High preset offers a better balance but still struggles at higher resolutions. It achieves 67 FPS at 1080p and 56 FPS at 1440p, but drops to 44 FPS at 4K. This preset is viable for 1080p and 1440p gaming where a solid frame rate is desired.

The Medium preset appears to be the optimal choice for this hardware. It provides a comfortable 93 FPS at 1080p, a playable 78 FPS at 1440p, and a respectable 61 FPS at 4K. The minimum FPS recorded for this preset at 1080p is 79, indicating that frame pacing remains consistent even during demanding scenes. For users targeting 4K, the Medium preset is the only one that consistently breaks the 60 FPS barrier, making it the recommended setting for a smooth experience at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti achieves a rank of 901 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places the system in the upper quartile of all configurations, indicating a strong overall performance level. The ranking suggests that while this hardware is not at the absolute top end, it outperforms the majority of systems tested for this specific title.

This rank is a composite of both CPU and GPU capabilities. The CPU’s 90th percentile standing and the GPU’s 83rd percentile standing are both high, but their combined performance is slightly lower than the sum of their parts might suggest. This could be due to the game’s engine being more sensitive to one component over the other, or it could reflect the specific optimization of The Medium for different hardware architectures. The data indicates a balanced system that is well-suited for this game, but with room for improvement if a user were to upgrade to a more powerful GPU to push into the top 500.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a clear and predictable decline as resolution increases. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 149 FPS at 1080p to 125 FPS at 1440p, a decrease of 16%. Moving to 4K, the frame rate falls to 98 FPS, a further 21.6% drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU-bound scenario at low settings.

However, the scaling behavior changes at higher presets. At the Medium preset, the frame rate goes from 93 FPS at 1080p to 78 FPS at 1440p (a 16.1% drop) and then to 61 FPS at 4K (a 21.8% drop from 1440p). At the Ultra preset, the numbers are 53 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. The consistent percentage drops across presets indicate that the RTX 3080 Ti is the primary bottleneck throughout.

The fact that the FPS does not halve when going from 1080p to 4K (which quadruples the pixel count) suggests that the game’s rendering load is not purely pixel-bound. This could be due to the split-world mechanic, where the CPU is responsible for managing two separate scenes, or it could be that the game’s shaders are more complex than simple fill-rate tests. The data implies that while the GPU is the main limiting factor, the CPU’s ability to feed it data also plays a role in this scaling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance. The Low preset yields an average of 149 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 and a maximum of 107. The High preset produces 67 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 53 FPS. This shows a wide range of playability, from highly competitive frame rates to more cinematic ones.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down. The Low preset averages 125 FPS. The Medium preset averages 78 FPS, with a minimum of 67 and a maximum of 90. The High preset averages 56 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 45 FPS. This resolution is a strong middle ground, offering high refresh rate potential on lower settings and solid 60+ FPS performance on Medium.

At 3840x2160, the strain on the GPU is evident. The Low preset averages 98 FPS, which is still very playable. The Medium preset averages 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 and a maximum of 71, indicating that it can dip below 60 FPS in intense moments. The High preset averages 44 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the most demanding, averaging just 35 FPS. This resolution is best suited for the Low or Medium presets to maintain a smooth experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core processor with 20 threads, built on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz can boost up to 5.30 GHz, providing strong single-thread performance that is often critical for game logic. The CPU’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is likely amplified by the game’s unique dual-world rendering. The game must track the player’s position and state in two different realms simultaneously, which increases the workload on the CPU’s game logic and scene management threads. The i5-14600K’s 20 threads provide ample parallelism for these tasks, and its high boost clock ensures that the main game thread remains responsive.

Benchmark data shows the CPU has a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064. Its PassMark multithread score is 38682, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rival, the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, has a nearly identical average score, just 0.2% higher. This suggests that the i5-14600K provides top-tier CPU performance that is more than sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 3080 Ti in this title, allowing the GPU to be the primary determinant of frame rate.