The Medium

The Medium presents a unique stress profile, combining fixed camera angles with heavy post-processing and a dual-reality rendering technique that can suddenly double the scene complexity. For the combination of an Intel Core i7-13700K and an AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, the measured data reveals a system that is decisively bound by the graphics card at higher resolutions, yet shows surprising headroom at 1080p where the CPU's strengths become more apparent. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS rows to understand where the bottleneck shifts and how to get the most out of this specific hardware pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is steep and tells a clear story about the limiting component. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 95 FPS at 1080p to 80 FPS at 1440p, a 15.8% reduction, and then to 63 FPS at 4K, another 21.3% drop from the 1440p figure. This progressive decline is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario; as the pixel count increases, the Radeon RX 6650 XT has to work proportionally harder to fill those pixels, and the frame rate scales accordingly.

The pattern holds across all settings, but the severity of the drop changes. With Medium settings, the descent from 59 FPS at 1080p to 50 FPS at 1440p is a 15.3% reduction, and then to 39 FPS at 4K is a further 22% drop. At High settings, the numbers shift from 43 FPS to 36 FPS (a 16.3% drop) and then down to 28 FPS (a 22.2% drop). The consistency of this scaling, roughly 15-16% for the first step and 21-22% for the second, is a strong indicator that the rendering workload is scaling almost linearly with resolution, which is a hallmark of a GPU-limited pipeline.

The most telling data point is the Ultra preset. At 1080p, the system manages 34 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 28 FPS, and at 4K, the average collapses to 22 FPS. The fact that the 1080p Ultra score is already below 60 FPS suggests that even at the lowest tested resolution, the GPU is being saturated by the game's most demanding visual features. The CPU, an Intel Core i7-13700K, is not the primary constraint here; its high boost clock and core count are sufficient to feed the GPU, but the RX 6650 XT simply cannot maintain a high frame rate when the game's effects are piled on.

The data implies that for this combo, the GPU is the limiting component across the entire resolution spectrum tested. The CPU's headroom is evident in the Low settings results, where the frame rate is high enough that the gap between 1080p and 4K is a massive 32 FPS, indicating the CPU is not holding back the GPU. The game is clearly pixel-bound, and any attempt to improve performance must target the graphics card's workload, either through lower settings or by reducing the internal rendering resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores are formidable, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30745 and a single-core score of 2116tons. In the context of The Medium, this hardware is vastly overqualified for the task at hand, as the game's fixed camera angles and scripted sequences do not typically require massive thread counts or extreme single-thread performance.

The data supports this conclusion. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 95 FPS, a figure that is likely limited by the GPU's raw throughput rather than the CPU's ability to issue draw calls or process game logic. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to be more consistent across different resolutions, but the data shows a clear decline as resolution increasesikuha. The CPU's role is to ensure the GPU is never starved of data, and with benchmarks like Passmark's multithread score of 45887 and data compression score of 595292, it is more than capable of doing so.

The only scenario where the CPU might become more relevant is at 1080p with Low settings, where the 95 FPS average is the highest in the dataset. However, even here, the GPU is likely the limiting factor, as the frame rate is not exceptionally high and the CPU has plenty of headroom. The core clock speed of 3.40 GHz base and 5.40 GHz boost is more than sufficient for The Medium's engine, which is not known for being particularly CPU-intensive in the same way as a massive strategy game or a physics-heavy simulator. The data shows a system where the CPU is a silent partner, enabling the GPU to perform to its full potential but never becoming the primary constraint on frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and the desired frame rate. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1920x1080, the Low preset is the only option, delivering an average of 95 FPS. This is a significant margin above the 60 FPS target, suggesting there is room to increase some settings, but the data for the next step up, Medium, shows a drop to 59 FPS. That is technically playable but right on the edge of the 60 FPS threshold, and the minimum FPS of 51 in the Medium preset could be noticeable in more demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset averages 80 FPS, which is comfortable, but the Medium preset drops to 50 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. The High preset at 1440p yields 36 FPS, which is a significant compromise. For a 1440p display, the Low preset is the only way to achieve a consistently high frame rate, and the 80 FPS average provides enough headroom to avoid most stutter, even if the visual quality is reduced.

At 3840x2160, the story is bleak for high refresh rates. The Low preset averages 63 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS targethare, making it the only viable option for 4K. The Medium preset drops to 39 FPS, which is playable but not ideal, and the High and Ultra presets at 28 FPS and 22 FPS respectively are best avoided for any serious gameplay.

The data suggests that the "Medium" preset is a poor middle ground for this GPU. At 1080p it nearly hits 60 FPS but with a low minimum, and at higher resolutions it falls into the 39-50 FPS range, which is neither smooth nor visually impressive enough to justify the performance hit over Low. The best experience per the measured rows is to use the Low preset at either 1080p or 1440p, depending on the display, as this provides the largest margin over the 60 FPS target and ensures the most stable frame pacing. For users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, the Medium preset at 1440p is a possible choice, but it requires accepting a 50 FPS average and a minimum of 43 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only with significant compromises. At 3840x2160 with the Low preset, the combo averages 63 FPS, which is playable. Any higher preset results in average frame rates below 40 FPS, with Ultra dipping to 22 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1080p monitor?

A: For a consistent 60 FPS experience, the Low preset is the safest choice, averaging 95 FPS. The Medium preset averages 59 FPS but has a minimum of 51 FPS, which could cause occasional dips below the refresh rate.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-13700K holding back the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT?

A: The data indicates no. The CPU's benchmark scores are very high, and the FPS scales consistently with resolution changes. This pattern shows the GPU is the primary bottleneck, not the CPU.

Q: How does the combo's performance at 1440p compare to 1080p?

A: The drop is significant. On Low settings, the average FPS falls from 95 at 1080p to 80 at 1440p, a 15.8% reduction. On Medium settings, it falls from 59 to 50, a 15.3% reduction.

Q: Is the Ultra preset usable at any resolution?

A: The data suggests it is not. The highest average FPS for Ultra is 34 at 1080p, which drops to 28 at 1440p and 22 at 4K. These frame rates are below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What does the minimum FPS data tell us about frame pacing?

A: The measured minimums are only available for the Medium preset. At 1080p, the min is 51 FPS against an average of 59, and at 1440p the min is 43 against an average of 50. This indicates a variance of roughly 13-14%, which is noticeable but not extreme for a horror game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is the clear bottleneck in this pairing for The Medium. This RDNA 2.0 GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2635 MHz, and its FP32 performance is rated at 10.79 TFLOPS. These specifications place it in the middle of the performance pack, and the game's demands at higher resolutions quickly exceed its capabilities.

The VRAM capacity of 8 GB is a potential concern, especially at 4K. While the data does not show explicit texture streaming issues, the large gap in performance between Low and Medium settings at 3840x2160 (63 FPS vs 39 FPS) suggests that the GPU is not only filling more pixels but also potentially managing a larger working set of textures. The GPU's 64 ROPs and 128 TMUs are sufficient for 1080p, but as the resolution climbs, the pixel fill rate and texture filtering demands become more punishing.

The measured FPS data paints a clear picture of a GPU that is struggling at higher settings. The 4K Ultra average of 22 FPS is a stark illustration of its limits. The GPU's benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 17166, place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, but The Medium's rendering techniques appear to be particularly heavy on the shading and pixel processing units. The fact that the 1080p High preset (43 FPS) is not significantly faster than the 1440p High preset (36 FPS) suggests that the GPU's compute and memory subsystems are being saturated, rather than just the rasterizer. The data shows a component that is well-matched for 1080p gaming on lower presets but is quickly overwhelmed by the demands of 1440p and 4K gaming on this specific title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 95 FPS average. This is the highest score in the dataset and provides the smoothest experience.
• Medium: 59 FPS average, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS. This is playable but close to the 60 FPS target.
• High: 43 FPS average. A significant drop from Medium, indicating a heavy performance cost for these settings.
• Ultra: 34 FPS average. This is not a playable frame rate for this type of game.

2560x1440:

• Low: 80 FPS average. The only preset at this resolution that provides a high refresh rate experience.
• Medium: 50 FPS average, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 58 FPS. This is a compromise between visual quality and performance.
• High: 36 FPS average. This is below the 60 FPS target and will feel sluggish.
• Ultra: 28 FPS average. This is not recommended for gameplay.

3840x2160:

• Low: 63 FPS average. This is the only preset that allows for a 60 FPS experience at 4K.
• Medium: 39 FPS average, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS. This is a playable but not ideal frame rate.
• High: 28 FPS average. This is too low for a smooth experience.
• Ultra: 22 FPS average. The lowest score in the dataset, indicating a slideshow-like experience.

The data reveals a clear pattern: the performance cost of each settings tier is substantial. Moving from Low to Medium costs roughly 36-38% of the frame rate at any given resolution. The gap between Medium and High is smaller but still significant, and the jump to Ultra is another severe drop. This indicates that the game's presets are not linearly scaled; the Ultra preset includes features that are disproportionately expensive on this GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested combinations for The Medium, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is ranked 2434 out of 3724 combos. This places it in the lower third of all tested systems, which is a poor result given the CPU's high-end status. The ranking is likely dragged down by the GPU's performance, as the CPU is more than capable of handling the game's logic.

The combo's rank of 2434 out of 3724 means that a significant majority of other tested systems achieve higher frame rates. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 and Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375, have very similar average scores (46971 and 47022 vs the i7's 46881), with deltas of -0.2% and -0.3% respectively. This means the CPU is not a differentiator in this comparison; it is a standard high-end part. The GPU's rivals also show a similar pattern, with the NVIDIA Tesla K40m being 0.6% slower and the AMD FirePro W7000 being 0.7% slower, indicating the RX 6650 XT is squarely in the average performance band for its class.

The low rank is therefore a direct consequence of the GPU's inability to push high frame rates in The Medium, particularly at higher resolutions. The data shows that a combo with this CPU but a more powerful GPU would likely rank significantly higher. The 2434th position is a warning that this GPU is not suited for a demanding title like The Medium at high settings, and users looking for a better experience would need to consider a different graphics card, as the CPU has ample headroom to support a more powerful one.