The Medium

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT delivers a playable but inconsistent experience in The Medium, with performance heavily dictated by settings and resolution. The data shows a stark drop from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s substantial core count ensures it never becomes a bottleneck. This combo ranks in the 48th percentile among all tested configurations, placing it squarely in the middle of the pack for this horror title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 116.7 FPS average, but this falls to 98.5 FPS at 1440p and 79 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings represents a 32.3% reduction in frame rate, showing that even at the lowest graphical load, the GPU struggles to maintain pace as pixel count increases. At High settings, the scaling is even more aggressive: 52 FPS at 1080p drops to 44 FPS at 1440p (a 15.4% decrease) and then plummets to 32.4 FPS at 4K (a 37.7% decrease from 1440p). This pattern indicates that the RX 6750 XT’s 12 GB VRAM and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but 4K pushes the GPU past its comfort zone. The Ultra preset tells a similar story: 41.7 FPS at 1080p falls to 32.6 FPS at 1440p and bottoms out at 28 FPS at 4K, making 4K Ultra unplayable. The scaling factor between Medium and High at each resolution is consistent, suggesting that the game’s rendering pipeline scales predictably with resolution rather than hitting a memory or bandwidth wall until 4K Ultra, where the 28 FPS result confirms the GPU is overwhelmed.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Benchmarks show a single-thread score of 1136 in 3dmark and 5505 in Cinebench R23, while multi-thread results reach 12412 in 3dmark max threads and 39000 in Cinebench R23. These numbers indicate exceptional headroom for a game like The Medium, which is not CPU-intensive. The processor’s 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data locality for game logic and asset streaming. In The Medium, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage the game’s fixed-camera horror sequences, which rarely stress more than a few threads. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 116.7 FPS, a figure that is likely near the game’s engine limit rather than a CPU ceiling. The i7-13700K’s 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 47282, places it just 0.1% behind the Intel Core i7-13700KF and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i9-12900F, confirming that the processor is a non-issue in this pairing. At 4K, the CPU’s single-thread performance becomes even less relevant, as the GPU’s rendering load dominates the frame time.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the clear performance limiter in this combo, and the measured FPS confirms it. With 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 432.0 GB/s bandwidth, the GPU has enough memory capacity for 1080p and 1440p textures, but 4K Ultra demands more than its 13.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute can deliver. The GPU’s base clock of 2150 MHz and boost clock of 2600 MHz, along with 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs, produce a 166.4 GPixel/s pixel rate. At 4K High, the combo manages 32.4 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold for console-like smoothness but technically playable. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K—from 79 FPS to 46.3 FPS—shows a 41.4% performance cost for the graphical uplift, while the jump from Medium to High at 4K—from 46.3 FPS to 32.4 FPS—costs another 30% of performance. The GPU’s 79th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35327, places it 0.2% ahead of the Radeon RX 5600M and 1.3% behind the GeForce RTX 3080, which is a much more powerful card. In The Medium, the RX 6750 XT’s RDNA 2.0 architecture with 40 ray accelerators handles the game’s lighting effects, but the 4K Ultra preset at 28 FPS shows that the GPU’s 250 W TDP is not enough to sustain high frame rates at maximum settings.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT ranks 810th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the 48th percentile. This means that 48% of all tested hardware combinations perform better, while 52% perform worse. The rank is a reflection of the GPU’s mid-range status rather than the CPU’s high-end capabilities. The i7-13700K’s percentile vs all CPUs is 93, but the RX 6750 XT’s percentile vs all GPUs is only 79, which drags the combo down. In practical terms, this combo sits below systems pairing the same CPU with higher-tier GPUs like the RTX 3080, which ranks 1.3% higher in GPU benchmark scores. The combo’s 810th rank suggests it is suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming at medium-to-high settings, but it will struggle to compete with top-tier 4K rigs. The deltaPct values for the CPU’s nearest rivals show that swapping the i7-13700K for the i7-13700KF would yield a negligible 0.1% performance difference, while replacing the GPU with an RTX 3080 would provide a meaningful uplift. The data indicates that this combo is a balanced mid-range pairing, not a high-end one, and users should set expectations accordingly.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this combo?

A: The data shows 1080p is the most comfortable resolution, with 52 FPS at High settings and 116.7 FPS at Low. 1440p is playable at Medium (62.8 FPS) but drops to 44 FPS at High. 4K is only viable at Low settings (79 FPS), as Medium (46.3 FPS) and High (32.4 FPS) fall below smooth thresholds.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 47282, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i7-13700KF (47334) and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i9-12900F (47081). The differences are negligible for gaming.

Q: Is the GPU’s 12 GB VRAM enough for 4K in this game?

A: The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo achieves 28 FPS, indicating that VRAM capacity is not the primary bottleneck—compute power is. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game’s assets, but the GPU’s 13.31 TFLOPS cannot sustain high frame rates at 4K.

Q: What settings should I use for a 60 FPS target?

A: At 1080p, Medium settings produce 72 FPS, which is above 60 FPS. At 1440p, Medium settings produce 62.8 FPS, just barely meeting the target. At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS; the closest is Low at 79 FPS, but it drops to 46.3 FPS at Medium.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 810th out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the 48th percentile. It is not a top-tier performer, but it is not at the bottom either, making it a typical mid-range setup.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance relative to its nearest rival in benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT has an average benchmark score of 35327, which is 0.2% higher than the Radeon RX 5600M (35264) and 1.3% lower than the GeForce RTX 3080 (35787). The RX 6750 XT is also 0.3% ahead of the RTX 5070 Ti Mobile (35435).

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. For 1080p, the High preset at 52 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and smoothness, though users prioritizing frame rate can drop to Medium for 72 FPS. At 1440p, Medium settings at 62.8 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a 60+ FPS experience without sacrificing too much detail; High at 44 FPS is playable but noticeably less smooth. For 4K, Low settings at 79 FPS is the only way to maintain a fluid experience, as Medium (46.3 FPS) and High (32.4 FPS) fall below the 50 FPS threshold for fast-paced scenes. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it only achieves 41.7 FPS at 1080p, 32.6 FPS at 1440p, and 28 FPS at 4K, all of which are too low for comfortable play. The data shows that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this combo, offering 72 FPS at 1080p and 62.8 FPS at 1440p, which are the two highest frame rates above 60 FPS across all settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 116.7 FPS on Low, 72 FPS on Medium, 52 FPS on High, and 41.7 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a clear progression: dropping from Low to Ultra reduces performance by 64.3%. At 2560x1440, the results are 98.5 FPS on Low, 62.8 FPS on Medium, 44 FPS on High, and 32.6 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p Medium result is 12.8% lower than the 1080p Medium result, while the 1440p High result is 15.4% lower than the 1080p High result. At 3840x2160, the performance falls to 79 FPS on Low, 46.3 FPS on Medium, 32.4 FPS on High, and 28 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low result is 32.3% lower than the 1080p Low result, and the 4K Ultra result is 32.9% lower than the 1080p Ultra result. Across all resolutions, the Low settings provide the highest frame rates, with a maximum of 116.7 FPS at 1080p and a minimum of 79 FPS at 4K. The Ultra settings provide the lowest frame rates, with a maximum of 41.7 FPS at 1080p and a minimum of 28 FPS at 4K. The data shows that the gap between Low and Medium narrows as resolution increases: a 38.3% difference at 1080p, 36.2% at 1440p, and 41.4% at 4K, indicating that the GPU’s workload becomes more uniform at higher pixel counts.