The Medium

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 delivers a playable experience in The Medium only at specific settings and resolutions. The data shows a system where the GPU is the primary constraint, with frame rates collapsing at higher presets and 4K resolution. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, the role of the hardware, and the best way to configure the game for this specific combination.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data from the benchmark runs reveals a steep and consistent penalty as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 75.9 FPS, which is the highest score recorded across all configurations. Moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 61 FPS, a reduction of roughly 19.6%, while 4K Low yields 51.4 FPS, a further decline of about 15.7% from the 1440p result. This pattern indicates that even at the lowest graphical preset, the GPU is struggling to maintain throughput as pixel count rises, though the frame rates remain above 50 FPS, which is generally acceptable for a slower-paced horror title.

The scaling behavior at higher settings is far more punishing. At Medium settings, the frame rate falls from 46.5 FPS at 1080p to 41.2 FPS at 1440p, and then drops sharply to 33 FPS at 4K. The High preset shows a similar trajectory: 33.3 FPS at 1080p, 30.8 FPS at 1440p, and a significant collapse to 19.4 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with results of 27.6 FPS at 1080p, 24.5 FPS at 1440p, and a nearly unplayable 16.1 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is a 41.7% loss, demonstrating that the GTX 1070's memory bandwidth and compute resources are saturated by the game's high-resolution assets and effects.

What this scaling tells us is that the limiting component is definitively the GPU. The Intel Core i5-14600KF, which ranks in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs and scores 32889 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core, is not the bottleneck here. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect frame rates to remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU workload would be similar. Instead, the consistent and large drops in FPS from 1080p to 4K at every settings level point directly to the graphics card's inability to keep up with the increasing pixel load. The GTX 1070, with its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and a 256.3 GB/s bandwidth, is a mid-range part from 2016, and The Medium's fixed-camera angles and heavy post-processing likely require more graphics horsepower than this card can provide at high resolutions.

The data suggests that players should avoid 4K entirely unless they are willing to use the Low preset, where the 51.4 FPS average is technically smooth but may come with significant visual compromises. 1440p is a more viable target, with Medium settings delivering a playable 41.2 FPS. However, the most stable experience is clearly at 1080p, where the gap between settings is more manageable.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in The Medium?*

A: Based on the measured frame rates, 1080p is the only resolution that offers a consistently smooth experience across multiple presets. The 1440p and 4K data show frame rates dropping below 30 FPS on High and Ultra presets, which is not ideal for a game that relies on atmospheric tension.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600KF holding back the GTX 1070?

A: No. The benchmark data shows a clear GPU bottleneck. The CPU is a high-end part with a 93rd percentile ranking and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32889. The frame rate drops as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation, not CPU limitation.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of raw benchmark scores?

A: The GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 12331. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro K4200, which scores 12241, a delta of 0.7% in favor of the GTX 1070. It also sits slightly behind the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER, which scores 12504, a delta of -1.4%.

Q: What is the lowest playable setting for 4K resolution?

A: The only 4K setting that produces a playable frame rate is Low, with an average of 51.4 FPS. Medium drops to 33 FPS, High to 19.4 FPS, and Ultra to 16.1 FPS, all of which are below the threshold for a smooth experience.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset averages 75.9 FPS, while Ultra averages 27.6 FPS. This represents a 63.6% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest preset, indicating that the Ultra preset is far too demanding for this GPU.

Q: Does the combo rank highly among all tested systems for this game?

A: No. The combo ranks 1412 out of 1689 tested combinations for The Medium. This places it in the lower percentile of systems, suggesting that while it can run the game at lower settings, it is not competitive with more modern hardware at higher presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the defining component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the benchmark results. The card operates with a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost clock of 1683 MHz, but its performance is more heavily influenced by its memory subsystem. It has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. This is a modest amount by modern standards, and The Medium, which is known for its high-resolution textures and split-screen rendering in some sections, likely exceeds the card's capacity for smooth operation at high settings.

The GPU's compute capability is also a limiting factor. With 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, the GTX 1070 delivers a theoretical FP32 performance of 6.463 TFLOPS. This is sufficient for 1080p gaming but falls short when the render target is increased to 4K. The benchmark data supports this: at 4K Ultra, the card produces only 16.1 FPS, which is a 78.8% drop from the 75.9 FPS seen at 1080p Low. The card's pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s is simply not enough to fill a 4K frame with the complex shaders and effects enabled at Ultra.

The card's 51st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12331, places it in the middle of the pack. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro K4200, scores 12241, showing that the GTX 1070 is just barely ahead of a professional workstation card that is not designed for gaming. The GeForce GTX 880M and GTX 1650 SUPER both score slightly higher, at 12490 and 12504 respectively, indicating that the GTX 1070 is near the bottom of its performance tier. This is why the measured FPS in The Medium are so low at high settings; the card is operating at the edge of its capabilities, and the game's engine pushes it over the limit.

The 8 GB of VRAM is another consideration. While it is not explicitly measured in the FPS data, the large drop from Medium to High settings (e.g., 46.5 to 33.3 FPS at 1080p) suggests that the game is swapping or aggressively compressing textures, which taxes the memory bandwidth. The GTX 1070's 256.3 GB/s bandwidth is a potential bottleneck for a game that uses high-resolution assets, and the data reflects this in the significant performance penalties at higher presets.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance of visual quality and frame rate for this combo is the Medium preset at 1080p. This configuration yields an average of 46.5 FPS, which is above the 30 FPS threshold for a playable experience in a horror game where pacing is more important than raw speed. The Low preset at 1080p offers a much higher 75.9 FPS, but the visual downgrade may be noticeable, especially in a game that relies on lighting and shadow effects to create atmosphere. The Medium preset at 1440p produces 41.2 FPS, which is also acceptable, but the 1080p Medium result is more stable.

The High and Ultra presets are not recommended. At 1080p, High averages 33.3 FPS, which is borderline, while Ultra drops to 27.6 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. At higher resolutions, these presets become untenable: High at 1440p averages 30.8 FPS, and High at 4K averages 19.4 FPS. The data clearly shows that the GTX 1070 does not have the raw power to handle the additional effects and higher-quality textures that these presets enable.

For players who prefer higher resolutions, the Low preset is the only viable option. At 1440p Low, the combo averages 61 FPS, which is a smooth experience, and at 4K Low, it averages 51.4 FPS. While the Low preset will reduce the game's visual fidelity, it allows the game to run at a respectable frame rate, which is crucial for maintaining the intended atmosphere without stutter. The data indicates that the Medium preset at 1440p is a compromise, but the 41.2 FPS result is close to the edge of what is considered smooth, and any slight variation in the game's complexity could cause dips below 30 FPS. The safest recommendation is to stick with 1080p Medium for a balanced experience, or 1440p Low if the player prefers a higher pixel density.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested hardware combinations for The Medium, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks 1412 out of 1689 combinations. This places it in the bottom 16% of tested systems, which is a poor result for a CPU that is otherwise top-tier. The CPU itself scores 49367 in its average benchmark, with a 93rd percentile ranking, but the GPU drags the overall gaming performance down significantly.

The combination of a high-end CPU with a mid-range GPU is a common pairing, but the data shows that it is not effective for this specific game. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-14600K (which scores 49166, a delta of 0.4%) and the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (which scores 49062, a delta of 0.6%), would likely perform similarly in this game because the GPU is the limiting factor. This indicates that the rank is not a reflection of CPU capability but rather the GPU's inability to keep up with the game's demands.

The low rank is particularly telling when compared to the GPU's own benchmark scores. The GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 12331, which is only 0.7% higher than the Quadro K4200 and 1.4% lower than the GTX 1650 SUPER. These are all cards that are not designed for high-end gaming, and their performance in The Medium is predictably poor at high settings. The measured FPS data confirms this, with the combo failing to reach 30 FPS at 4K High and 4K Ultra.

For a game released in 2021, The Medium is demanding on hardware, and this combo does not have the necessary graphics power to provide a high-quality experience. The rank of 1412 out of 1689 is a clear indicator that users with this specific hardware configuration will need to make significant compromises in settings and resolution to achieve playable frame rates. The CPU is not the issue; the GPU is. Upgrading the graphics card would dramatically improve the ranking and the playability of the game, while keeping the CPU would not yield any significant gains.