The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title known for its dual-reality rendering, presents a demanding workload that scales sharply with image quality. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, using verified benchmark data. The results show a configuration that is exceptionally fast at lower settings but which struggles to maintain high refresh rates at maximum quality presets, revealing a distinct performance ceiling dictated by the graphics card.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 71.6 FPS. This is the most demanding preset at this resolution, and while playable, it does not fully utilize the high refresh rate potential of the CPU.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average frame rate is 83.2 FPS. This represents a significant step up from the High preset at the same resolution, which yields 59.8 FPS, indicating that the Medium preset offers a strong balance for 4K gameplay.

Q: What is the best-case scenario for high frame rates in this game?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 178.7 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 1440p, the Low preset still delivers a very high 169.9 FPS, showing that the CPU can drive substantial frame rates when the GPU load is reduced.

Q: How large is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: The delta is substantial. At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 169.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 62.9 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of over 60% when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: Is the RTX 5080 a bottleneck at lower resolutions?

A: The data suggests that at 1080p and Low settings, the frame rate of 178.7 FPS is likely approaching a limit where other components or the game engine's frame pacing become more influential. However, the consistent scaling of frame rates with resolution and settings confirms that the GPU remains the primary limiting factor in most scenarios.

Q: Where does this combination rank among all tested systems?

A: This specific configuration ranks 44th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 2.6% of all systems benchmarked for this title, indicating a very high overall performance tier.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the undisputed performance driver in this configuration for The Medium. Its role is defined by its Blackwell 2.0 architecture and a substantial 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. This memory subsystem is critical for the game's high-resolution textures and the simultaneous rendering of two distinct worlds, a hallmark feature of the title. The GPU's base clock of 2295 MHz and boost clock of 2617 MHz provide the raw processing speed necessary to handle the complex shader and lighting calculations.

The benchmark results clearly show the GPU's influence. At 4K with Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls to 46.9 FPS, a clear sign that the GPU's compute and pixel throughput are being saturated. The game’s reliance on the GPU is further evidenced by the performance scaling: moving from Low to Ultra at any resolution incurs a massive performance cost. For instance, at 1440p, the frame rate drops from 169.9 FPS to 62.9 FPS, a decline of over 100 FPS.

This data indicates that while the RTX 5080 is a high-end part—its 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is considerable—The Medium’s Ultra preset is exceptionally punishing. The 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores are present, but the game’s demands at maximum settings appear to stress the traditional ROP and shader units more heavily. The GPU's 89th percentile ranking among all GPUs in the database underscores its capability, yet the measured results reveal that even this hardware must yield to the game's most extreme visual settings. The card’s 360 W TDP and dual-slot design are indicative of its performance class, but the data speaks to a clear ceiling: 4K Ultra is not a smooth experience, while 4K High is borderline playable at 59.8 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern. As resolution increases, the frame rate drops, but the magnitude of the drop is heavily influenced by the quality preset. This indicates that the RTX 5080 is the primary bottleneck, with the CPU having ample headroom.

At Low settings, the scaling is the most linear. From 1080p (178.7 FPS) to 1440p (169.9 FPS), the drop is only 8.8 FPS. Moving to 4K (137.1 FPS) from 1440p results in a larger drop of 32.8 FPS. The relatively small penalties suggest that even at 4K, the game is not fully taxing the GPU, and the CPU is still able to feed it frames efficiently.

With Medium settings, the pattern shifts. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 22.2 FPS (from 126.5 to 104.3 FPS), and the 1440p to 4K drop is 21.1 FPS (from 104.3 to 83.2 FPS). The steeper decline from 1080p indicates that the increased pixel count is now starting to demand more from the GPU's shading units.

At High and Ultra settings, the scaling becomes more aggressive, particularly at 4K. The 1440p to 4K drop for High settings is 14.6 FPS (from 74.4 to 59.8 FPS). For Ultra settings, the drop is 16.0 FPS (from 62.9 to 46.9 FPS). The fact that the 1080p to 1440p drop for Ultra is 8.7 FPS (from 71.6 to 62.9 FPS) shows that the performance cost is spread across resolutions, but the 4K Ultra result of 46.9 FPS confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor. This data suggests that for 1440p and 4K gaming, the RTX 5080 is the definitive performance ceiling, and the i5-14600K is not a limiting factor in any of these scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the measured average frame rates for the Intel Core i5-14600K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 configuration in The Medium.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 178.7 FPS
• Medium: 126.5 FPS
• High: 90.3 FPS
• Ultra: 71.6 FPS

At 1080p, the configuration excels. The Low preset delivers an exceptionally high frame rate of 178.7 FPS, more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor. Even the Medium preset, at 126.5 FPS, provides a very smooth experience. The High preset (90.3 FPS) and Ultra preset (71.6 FPS) are both comfortably playable, but the significant drop from Medium to High (36.2 FPS) indicates that the High preset introduces heavy visual effects that cost substantial performance.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 169.9 FPS
• Medium: 104.3 FPS
• High: 74.4 FPS
• Ultra: 62.9 FPS

The 1440p results show a similar trend but with a lower overall ceiling. The Low preset remains extremely fast at 169.9 FPS, ideal for competitive or high-refresh gaming. The Medium preset, at 104.3 FPS, is still excellent. The High preset (74.4 FPS) is very good, while the Ultra preset (62.9 FPS) is playable but not ideal for 144Hz+ displays. The performance gap between Low and Ultra is 107 FPS, highlighting the massive cost of the game's highest quality settings.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 137.1 FPS
• Medium: 83.2 FPS
• High: 59.8 FPS
• Ultra: 46.9 FPS

At 4K, the GPU's limits become apparent. The Low preset, at 137.1 FPS, is still very fast and playable. The Medium preset (83.2 FPS) is a solid target for 4K gaming, providing a good balance of visual quality and performance. The High preset drops to 59.8 FPS, which is right at the edge of smooth 60 FPS gameplay. The Ultra preset, at 46.9 FPS, falls below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this setting is not recommended for a consistently smooth experience at this resolution with this hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested combinations for The Medium, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a rank of 44th out of 1,689 total configurations. This places it in the top 2.6% of all systems, a signal of its high-end performance.

The CPU itself has a percentile rank of 93 compared to all CPUs, and its average benchmark score is 49,166. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which has an average score of 49,062 (a delta of 0.2%), and the Intel Core i5-14600KF, which scores 49,367 (a delta of -0.4%). This indicates that the CPU is a top-tier performer, but its contribution to the game's FPS is secondary to the GPU.

The GPU’s percentile rank is 89, with an average benchmark score of 59,188. Its nearest rivals in the synthetic benchmarks are the Intel Arc A570M (58,239, +1.6%) and the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, -1.9%). While these synthetic benchmarks show close competition, the measured results in The Medium demonstrate that the RTX 5080 is well ahead of these lower-tier competitors in actual gaming workloads.

The rank of 44th is driven primarily by the GPU. The i5-14600K, while powerful, is not the performance limiter in this title, as evidenced by the consistent FPS scaling with resolution. A higher-ranked combo would likely feature a more powerful GPU, such as a higher-tier 50-series card, to push 4K Ultra frame rates above the 60 FPS threshold. This configuration’s rank is a strong indicator that it is a top-tier gaming system for this title, particularly for high-refresh 1440p gaming and solid 4K gaming at Medium or High settings.