The Medium

# How This Combo Ranks

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600KF with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT lands at rank 610 out of 1,689 tested combos for The Medium. That places this configuration in the upper-middle tier of the database, meaning it outperforms roughly 64% of all recorded system pairings while still leaving substantial headroom above the lower quartile. The rank is noteworthy because it reflects a balance between a strong modern CPU and a capable contemporary GPU rather than a lopsided pairing where one component bottlenecks the other.

What makes this ranking more interesting is the context of the individual components. The CPU itself sits at the 93rd percentile among all processors tested, while the GPU is at the 76th percentile among all graphics cards. The gap between these percentiles suggests the GPU is the more limiting factor in this specific game, pulling the combo's overall rank below what the CPU alone might achieve. This is a common pattern in horror titles where fixed camera angles and pre-rendered elements often shift the load toward the graphics subsystem.

# GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT brings 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. For The Medium, which renders dual-world scenes simultaneously, this memory capacity is directly relevant — the game's signature mechanic of showing two realities at once can inflate VRAM usage well beyond typical horror titles. The 16 GB allocation provides a comfortable buffer against stutter from memory spilling, even at higher resolutions where texture detail demands grow.

Clock behavior also matters here. The card's base clock runs at 1295 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz and a boost clock of 2430 MHz. The relatively wide gap between base and boost — over 1,100 MHz — means the GPU can aggressively ramp up under sustained load. In The Medium's measured results, this headroom translates into meaningful FPS gains when settings drop from Ultra to High, suggesting the card is thermally and power-limited at the top preset rather than hitting an architectural ceiling. The 60 ray tracing cores and RDNA 3.0 architecture are present, but the data shows the card's raw rasterization performance through its 37.32 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is what drives the majority of the frame rate.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression across resolutions reveals a clear picture of where the bottleneck sits. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 131.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 114.1 FPS — a 13.5% reduction. At 4K Low, the score falls to 86.7 FPS, another 24% decline from 1440p. This scaling pattern indicates that even at low settings, the GPU is becoming the dominant constraint as pixel count rises, since the CPU workload for The Medium likely stays relatively constant across resolutions.

The situation inverts when looking at Ultra settings. From 1080p Ultra at 48.2 FPS to 1440p Ultra at 38.5 FPS, the drop is 20.1%. From 1440p to 4K Ultra, it falls further to 33.5 FPS, another 13% reduction. The diminishing percentage drops at higher resolutions suggest that at Ultra settings, the game is already heavily GPU-bound even at 1080p, so adding pixels produces smaller relative declines. The overall pattern points to a system where the CPU (14 cores, 20 threads, boosting to 5.30 GHz) is never the primary limiter across this resolution range — instead, the RX 7800 XT's raw throughput defines the ceiling, particularly at 4K where Ultra settings barely hold 33.5 FPS.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the full settings sweep shows a wide performance envelope. Low settings deliver 131.9 FPS, which drops to 86.4 FPS at Medium — a 34.5% penalty for the visual upgrade. High settings reduce that further to 58.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 48.2 FPS. The step from Medium to High (28.2 FPS loss) is larger than from High to Ultra (10 FPS loss), indicating that the High preset captures most of the visual improvements while Ultra adds diminishing returns for its cost.

Moving to 1440p, the same pattern holds but with compressed absolute numbers. Low runs at 114.1 FPS, Medium at 71.4 FPS, High at 49.4 FPS, and Ultra at 38.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium widens to 42.7 FPS here, while the Medium-to-High drop is 22 FPS. Notably, 1440p High (49.4 FPS) nearly matches 1080p Ultra (48.2 FPS), suggesting that at these settings, resolution scaling and preset complexity trade blows almost equally.

At 4K, the numbers reveal a system nearing its practical limit. Low settings still manage 86.7 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 56.8 FPS, High to 43.1 FPS, and Ultra to 33.5 FPS. The 4K Medium result (56.8 FPS) actually exceeds 1440p High (49.4 FPS), which is counterintuitive until you consider that the Low-to-Medium jump at 4K may involve less aggressive shadow and post-processing changes than the High preset does at 1440p. The data consistently shows that this combo can handle 4K only at Low or Medium settings for smooth frame rates, while 1440p offers a broader playable range.

# Settings Recommendations

For 60 FPS targets, the measured data suggests 1080p is the only resolution where multiple presets qualify. At 1080p, Medium (86.4 FPS) and High (58.2 FPS) both fall within or near the 60 FPS mark, though High sits below it. For locked 60 FPS gameplay, Medium is the safer choice, while High may be acceptable for those tolerant of slight dips. At 1440p, Medium (71.4 FPS) is the only preset that clears 60 FPS comfortably; High (49.4 FPS) falls short, and Low (114.1 FPS) is overkill for most displays.

At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The best option for playability is Low at 86.7 FPS, but this sacrifices the atmospheric lighting that defines The Medium's horror aesthetic. Medium at 56.8 FPS is borderline playable for those who prioritize visuals over smoothness, while High and Ultra (43.1 and 33.5 FPS respectively) are best reserved for screenshots or slow-paced exploration. Given the game's fixed-camera design, frame rates around 40-50 FPS can still feel acceptable, making 4K High a viable compromise for players who value image quality over motion fluidity. The sweet spot for this combo appears to be 1440p Medium, which balances the game's dual-world rendering demands with responsive frame pacing.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF provides 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) give it substantial headroom for feeding the GPU in The Medium. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 32,889 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,643 in single-core, with an average benchmark score of 49,367. This places it 0.4% ahead of the Core i5-14600K, 0.6% ahead of the Ryzen 9 5950X, and 1.4% ahead of the Xeon Gold 5318H among its nearest rivals.

For The Medium specifically, the CPU's role appears secondary based on the FPS scaling. The game's measured results show that dropping from 1080p to 4K at the same settings reduces FPS by roughly 20-35%, which is characteristic of GPU-bound workloads. The CPU's PassMark multi-thread score of 38,697 and data compression score of 485,140 suggest it can handle the game's background loading and streaming without stutter, but the frame rate ceiling is clearly set by the RX 7800 XT. The 5.30 GHz boost clock also ensures that single-threaded game logic — common in horror titles with scripted sequences — runs without bottlenecking the GPU's output.

# FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings (86.7 FPS) or Medium settings (56.8 FPS). High and Ultra presets produce 43.1 FPS and 33.5 FPS respectively, which fall below typical smoothness thresholds.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: 1440p offers the widest playable range, with Medium at 71.4 FPS and Low at 114.1 FPS. The 1080p Medium result (86.4 FPS) also provides a strong experience, but 1440p adds more visual detail without sacrificing frame pacing.

Q: How does the RX 7800 XT's VRAM affect The Medium?

A: The 16 GB GDDR6 allocation with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth helps manage the game's dual-world rendering, which can increase memory pressure. The measured results show no catastrophic frame drops even at 4K Ultra, indicating the memory pool is sufficient.

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

A: The GPU is the primary limiter. The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K (e.g., 131.9 to 86.7 FPS on Low) align with GPU-bound scaling, while the CPU's 14 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock provide ample headroom for the game's logic.

Q: What settings should I use for 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Medium settings are the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS at 1440p (71.4 FPS). High settings fall short at 49.4 FPS, so Medium is the recommended choice for locked 60 FPS gameplay.

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

A: It ranks 610th out of 1,689 combos, placing it above the median. The CPU's 93rd percentile and GPU's 76th percentile among all tested components explain this upper-middle position, with the GPU pulling the overall rank down from what the CPU alone could achieve.