The Medium

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT lands at rank 1296 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. That places this configuration in the bottom quarter of all tested systems, a competitive position that reflects the GPU's age more than the CPU's capability. The CPU itself sits in the 93rd percentile among all processors, but the graphics card trails at the 68th percentile among all GPUs, pulling the combined result down.

Benchmark results indicate a system that can run the game, but not comfortably at demanding settings. The rank of 1296 suggests that most other tested combinations deliver higher average frame rates. This is not a top-tier horror gaming rig; it is a mid-pack performer where the user must make deliberate choices about resolution and quality to get playable results. The data shows a clear ceiling: this combo will not excel at 4K Ultra, but it can hold its own at 1080p with adjusted settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the limiting factor in this pairing. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for The Medium's horror environments but not generous. The GPU's base clock runs at 1605 MHz, with a game clock of 1755 MHz and a boost clock reaching 1905 MHz. These clocks are modest by current standards, and the RDNA 1.0 architecture lacks dedicated ray tracing cores, which matters in a game like The Medium that uses fixed-camera angles and layered reality transitions.

The GPU's benchmark profile reinforces its role as the bottleneck. Its Passmark G3D score of 16277 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2134 are respectable for its generation but place it behind more modern parts. The nearest rivals show just how tight the competition is: the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile scores 24763 (0.1% ahead), the Intel Arc A350M scores 24647 (0.3% behind), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile scores 24592 (0.6% behind). This clustering means the RX 5700 XT is not decisively faster than its immediate competitors, and in The Medium, that translates to frame rates that depend heavily on resolution and preset.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep drop as resolution increases, confirming the GPU-bound nature of this combo. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 89 FPS, but at 4K Low, it falls to 57.4 FPS — a 35.5% reduction. The scaling is even more punishing at higher settings. At High settings, the drop from 1080p (37.7 FPS) to 4K (28.7 FPS) is a 23.9% loss, while at Ultra, it falls from 29.8 FPS at 1080p to 24 FPS at 4K, a 19.5% decline.

The pattern indicates that the RX 5700 XT simply runs out of pixel-pushing capability beyond 1080p. The CPU, with 14 cores and 20 threads, is not the constraint here; the frame rate differences across resolutions are almost entirely attributable to the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth. The 4K Medium preset (34.7 FPS) is barely above the 1080p Ultra result (29.8 FPS), showing that resolution scaling has a greater impact than quality settings once the resolution climbs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce 89 FPS, which is smooth for a horror title. Medium settings drop to 54.6 FPS, still playable. High settings yield 37.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 29.8 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a 38.7% performance loss, while the jump from Medium to High is a 31.0% loss, and High to Ultra is a 21.0% loss. These diminishing returns suggest that the GPU's shading units (2560) and texture units (160) struggle with the game's higher-quality shaders and texture filtering.

At 2560x1440, the results are more constrained. Low settings hit 78.6 FPS, which is the only 1440p preset above 60 FPS. Medium drops to 47.8 FPS, High to 36.8 FPS, and Ultra to 25 FPS. The 1440p Medium result is 12.5% lower than the 1080p Medium result, showing that the extra pixels cost more than the quality bump saves.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles. Low settings manage 57.4 FPS, which is borderline playable. Medium falls to 34.7 FPS, High to 28.7 FPS, and Ultra to 24 FPS. The 4K Low result is actually higher than 1080p Ultra, indicating that resolution matters more than preset once you cross into 4K territory. The 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS is effectively a slideshow for a game that relies on atmospheric tension.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1080p?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it reaches 89 FPS. Medium settings drop to 54.6 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system?

A: 1080p is the most practical resolution. At 1440p, only Low settings exceed 60 FPS (78.6 FPS), and at 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS.

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

A: The RX 5700 XT scores 24731 on average, with the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile 0.1% ahead and the Intel Arc A350M 0.3% behind. The differences are marginal, so performance in The Medium will be similar across these parts.

Q: Is the CPU holding the GPU back?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores — including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32889 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2778 — are far above what The Medium requires. The frame rates scale with resolution, which indicates a GPU bottleneck.

Q: What is the highest preset that stays above 30 FPS at 1080p?

A: High settings deliver 37.7 FPS at 1080p, which is above 30 FPS. Ultra drops to 29.8 FPS, just below that threshold.

Q: How does this combo rank overall in the game?

A: It ranks 1296 out of 1689 tested combinations, placing it in the lower 23% of all systems tested for The Medium.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.50 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU's L3 cache is 24 MB shared, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32889 and single-core score of 4643 place it in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is secondary. The game is not thread-hungry in a way that stresses 20 threads, and the measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 89 FPS, which is likely near the game's engine cap for this GPU. The CPU's nearest rivals — the Intel Core i5-14600K (0.4% ahead) and the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (0.6% ahead) — show that this processor is already near the top of its class. The bottleneck is unequivocally the GPU.

The CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads provide headroom for background tasks or streaming, but in this game, they are not the determining factor. The benchmark data shows that resolution scaling affects frame rates more than any CPU-related variable, confirming that the i5-14600KF is not the limiting component in this pairing.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data supports a clear recommendation: use 1080p with Medium or High settings for the best balance of visual quality and playability. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 54.6 FPS, which is smooth enough for a horror game where pacing matters more than twitch reaction. High settings at 1080p drop to 37.7 FPS, which is still playable but noticeably less fluid. Low settings at 1080p reach 89 FPS, but the visual downgrade is unnecessary for a game that thrives on atmosphere.

At 1440p, the only viable option is Low settings at 78.6 FPS. Medium at 1440p (47.8 FPS) is borderline, and High (36.8 FPS) or Ultra (25 FPS) are not recommended. At 4K, the system cannot maintain playable frame rates at any preset above Low, where it reaches 57.4 FPS. The 4K Medium result of 34.7 FPS is too choppy for comfortable play.

The data suggests that users should prioritize resolution over preset. Dropping from 1440p to 1080p at the same settings yields a significant FPS gain: at Medium, 47.8 FPS becomes 54.6 FPS; at High, 36.8 FPS becomes 37.7 FPS. Conversely, dropping from High to Medium at the same resolution yields a smaller gain: at 1080p, 37.7 FPS becomes 54.6 FPS, but at 1440p, the gain is from 36.8 to 47.8 FPS. The best experience is 1080p with High settings, balancing visual fidelity with a frame rate above 30 FPS. For those who prefer smoother motion, 1080p Medium is the optimal choice.