The Medium

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It operates with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, backed by a 24 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881 and a single-core score of 4642, alongside a Geekbench multi-core score of 15846. Its performance is closely matched by the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which scores 49062 in the aggregate benchmark compared to the i5-14600K’s 49166, a mere 0.2% difference. The i5-14600K also trails the Intel Core i5-14600KF by 0.4% and the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.9%, while leading the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 1.0%. For a game like The Medium, a horror title that relies on fixed camera angles and heavy environmental storytelling, the CPU’s role is primarily to maintain consistent frame pacing and handle background tasks. The 14-core configuration with 20 threads ensures that even if the game engine spawns multiple worker threads for physics or streaming, the processor has ample headroom. The 5.30 GHz boost clock is particularly relevant for single-threaded rendering calls, which can become a bottleneck in older or less optimized game engines. Given that the CPU sits in the 93rd percentile among all processors, it is far from a limiting factor in most gaming scenarios. In practical terms, the data suggests that the i5-14600K provides more than enough computational power to feed the GPU, meaning any performance dips observed in The Medium’s benchmark results are more likely attributable to the graphics card or the game’s own optimization rather than CPU throughput.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC’s 5 nm process, with a chip containing 35,800 million transistors and a die size of 294 mm². It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU’s boost clock is rated at 2475 MHz, with a memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). In terms of rasterization throughput, it offers 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s. The RTX 4070 SUPER sits in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42576. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A6000, scores 42653, which is 0.2% higher; the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE is 0.3% ahead, while the AMD Radeon Pro 580X is 1.4% behind and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 is 1.6% behind. For The Medium, which is a game known for its dual-reality rendering technique that can heavily tax the GPU, the 12 GB VRAM capacity is a critical asset. The game’s high-resolution textures and potential for rendering two worlds simultaneously can push memory usage, and 12 GB provides a comfortable buffer to avoid stuttering from VRAM overflow. The 2475 MHz boost clock also helps sustain high frame rates in scenes with complex lighting and shadow effects. The data shows that this GPU is well-suited for the game, but its performance is not uniform across all settings, as the measured FPS results will reveal.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for The Medium shows a clear progression as resolution increases, which highlights the GPU-bound nature of the workload. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 75.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the frame rate drops to 65.3 FPS, a reduction of 13.6% from 1080p. At 4K, the High settings result falls to 48.9 FPS, which is a 35.3% drop from 1440p and a 44.1% drop from 1080p. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-limited scenario, where the CPU has enough headroom to keep up with the increased pixel count, but the GPU’s shading and memory bandwidth become the constraining factors. The same trend is visible at Medium settings: 102.9 FPS at 1080p, 85.4 FPS at 1440p, and 70.5 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 17.0% from 1080p to 1440p, and 17.4% from 1440p to 4K, indicating a steeper decline at higher resolutions. For Low settings, the 1080p result is 163.9 FPS, falling to 138.9 FPS at 1440p and 108 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 15.3%, and from 1440p to 4K is 22.2%, showing that even at Low settings, the GPU is still the primary limiting factor. At Ultra settings, the pattern continues with 60.6 FPS at 1080p, 52 FPS at 1440p, and 38.5 FPS at 4K, representing declines of 14.2% and 26.0% respectively. The consistent double-digit percentage drops across all settings confirm that the RTX 4070 SUPER is the bottleneck, while the i5-14600K’s high single-thread performance ensures that the CPU does not introduce additional frame time variability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Examining the exact measured FPS values, the combo delivers its highest frame rate at 1920x1080 with Low settings, hitting an average of 163.9 FPS. This is a strong result that suggests the game is highly playable at this resolution even with minimal graphical fidelity. Moving up to Medium settings at 1080p, the average FPS is 102.9, which is a 37.2% reduction from Low, indicating that the game’s Medium preset adds a significant load on the GPU. High settings at 1080p produce 75.6 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 60.6 FPS. This progression shows a steep drop from Low to Medium, but a more gradual decline from Medium to High and High to Ultra, suggesting that the biggest performance hit comes from enabling medium-level effects. At 2560x1440, the Low setting delivers 138.9 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium settings at 1440p average 85.4 FPS, High settings average 65.3 FPS, and Ultra settings average 52 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result is particularly noteworthy, as it falls just below the 60 FPS mark, indicating that players seeking a locked 60 FPS experience may need to adjust settings or rely on upscaling techniques. At 3840x2160, the performance drops further. Low settings produce 108 FPS, which is playable, but Medium settings average 70.5 FPS, and High settings average 48.9 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K are the most demanding, yielding only 38.5 FPS. This 4K Ultra result is the lowest in the entire dataset, confirming that the RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are stretched thin when the game’s highest quality presets are combined with a 4K resolution. The data indicates that for a consistent 60 FPS experience, the combo is best suited for 1080p High or 1440p Medium, while 4K gaming requires sacrificing settings to Medium or Low.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 250th out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the top 14.8% of all configurations, which is a strong showing. The rank is determined by the measured FPS across all resolutions and settings, and it reflects the balanced nature of the pairing. A higher rank would typically require a more powerful GPU, such as an RTX 4080 or higher, which would push the 4K Ultra numbers above the 60 FPS threshold. Conversely, a lower rank might come from a weaker CPU, but the i5-14600K’s performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 4070 SUPER. The fact that the GPU has a percentile rank of 84 and the CPU has a percentile rank of 93 suggests that the combo is slightly CPU-heavy in terms of theoretical capability, but in practice, the game’s GPU-bound workload means the graphics card determines the final ranking. The 250th position out of 1689 combos indicates that while there are many faster configurations, this pairing offers a solid balance for The Medium, capable of delivering high frame rates at lower resolutions and respectable performance at 4K with adjusted settings. The data shows that the combo is not at the top of the charts, but it is firmly in the upper quartile, making it a viable option for gamers who prioritize resolution flexibility over absolute maximum frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and setting combination for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The data shows that 1440p Medium achieves 85.4 FPS and 4K Medium achieves 70.5 FPS, both above 60 FPS. For a locked 60 FPS at 4K, High settings are borderline at 48.9 FPS, so Medium is recommended.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 49166, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X’s 49062. It is 0.4% lower than the Intel Core i5-14600KF and 0.9% lower than the AMD EPYC 4345P, while being 1.0% higher than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H.

Q: Is the GPU’s VRAM sufficient for The Medium at 4K?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory with a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The measured results show 4K Medium at 70.5 FPS and 4K High at 48.9 FPS, indicating that the VRAM is adequate for Medium settings but becomes a limiting factor at High and Ultra presets.

Q: What is the performance drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the combo achieves 75.6 FPS at 1080p, 65.3 FPS at 1440p, and 48.9 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35.3% drop from 1440p to 4K and a 44.1% drop from 1080p to 4K.

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

A: The combo ranks 250th out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the top 14.8% of all configurations tested in the database.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor for this game?

A: The resolution scaling data shows consistent FPS drops as resolution increases across all settings, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU’s high single-thread score of 4642 in Cinebench R23 ensures it can keep up with the GPU’s demands.