The Medium

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT produces a playable but demanding experience in The Medium, with performance heavily dictated by the GPU. The data shows a clear pattern: the combination of a high-end 16-core CPU and a mid-range RDNA 3 GPU results in framerates that scale directly with resolution and settings, placing the bottleneck firmly on the graphics card. At 1080p, the system delivers strong triple-digit performance at lower presets, but the game’s heavy visual load at 4K Ultra pushes the RX 7700 XT to its limits, yielding an average of only 30.3 FPS. This analysis breaks down the measured results, contextualizes the hardware’s standing, and provides actionable settings guidance based solely on the benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance gradient as resolution increases, confirming that the RX 7700 XT is the primary limiting factor in this configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 126.5 FPS, which drops to 104 FPS at 1440p and further to 83.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34% reduction in framerate from 1080p to 4K at the lowest preset, indicating that even at lower graphical loads, the GPU’s rendering throughput is being taxed significantly by the increase in pixel count. The scaling is even more pronounced at higher settings; moving from 1080p High (59 FPS) to 4K High (40 FPS) results in a 32% performance loss, while the Ultra preset sees a decline from 44.1 FPS at 1080p to 30.3 FPS at 4K, a 31% drop.

The data suggests that the CPU is not a constraint at any resolution, as the framerate consistently falls with resolution increases, a classic sign of GPU-bound operation. The i7-13700K’s high single-thread and multi-thread capabilities, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 scores of 5505 and 39000 respectively, are more than sufficient to feed the GPU at all tested settings. The most telling indicator is the Low preset at 1080p: the 126.5 FPS average shows that the CPU can push well beyond 120 FPS, but the GPU cannot maintain that level at higher resolutions. The gap between 1080p Low and 4K Low (42.8 FPS difference) highlights the pixel fill-rate demands of The Medium, a game that relies heavily on fixed camera angles and pre-rendered environments, which increases the GPU’s workload per frame.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, with its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is the deciding factor in this game’s performance. The card’s boost clock of 2544 MHz and game clock of 2171 MHz drive its 3456 shading units, but the measured data shows that the memory subsystem and raw compute power are stressed by The Medium’s visual fidelity. The GPU’s 35.17 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is substantial, yet the game’s use of high-resolution textures and volumetric effects at Ultra settings proves too demanding, as evidenced by the 30.3 FPS average at 4K Ultra.

The VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor at the tested resolutions, as the 12 GB buffer is sufficient for 4K textures in this title. However, the bandwidth becomes a bottleneck when settings are increased, particularly at 4K. The performance drop from Medium to High at 1440p (66.7 to 44.8 FPS) and at 4K (54.4 to 40 FPS) demonstrates that the GPU’s memory bandwidth is saturated by the increased texture and shader complexity. The RX 7700 XT’s 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the upper-mid range, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, has an identical average benchmark score with a 0% deltaPct, indicating that these two cards are essentially performance peers. The data shows that while the RX 7700 XT can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming with ease, 4K Ultra is beyond its comfortable range, making settings adjustments necessary for a smooth experience at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 126.5, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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’s score of 47334, making them statistically identical in performance.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck at 4K Ultra, as the average FPS drops to 30.3, while the CPU’s high multi-thread score of 39000 in Cinebench R23 indicates it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 59 at 1920x1080 to 40 at 3840x2160, representing a 32% performance reduction.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all tested GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT ranks in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30097.

Q: What is the FPS at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 66.7, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

In the specific context of The Medium, this combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT ranks 718th out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the upper half of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU’s mid-range status, as the CPU is a top-tier performer with a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs. The discrepancy between the CPU’s high percentile and the combo’s overall rank underscores that the GPU is the limiting factor in this game. The i7-13700K’s average benchmark score of 47282 is nearly 1.6 times higher than the GPU’s average score of 30097, indicating a significant imbalance in raw processing power.

The combo’s performance in The Medium is competitive but not exceptional, as the game’s demanding visuals require more GPU horsepower for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming. The rank of 718 out of 1689 suggests that while this setup is capable of delivering playable framerates at most settings, it falls short of the top-tier configurations that can maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra. The data indicates that users with this combo should expect to play at 1080p or 1440p for the best experience, as the 4K Ultra preset’s 30.3 FPS average is below the threshold for smooth, responsive gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data provides a comprehensive look at the combo’s performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the framerates are consistently high across all presets. The Low preset delivers an average of 126.5 FPS, making it the only settings level that exceeds 120 FPS. Medium settings yield 76.6 FPS, which is sufficient for high-refresh-rate monitors. High settings produce 59 FPS, a solid result for standard 60 Hz displays. The Ultra preset drops to 44.1 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance decreases noticeably. Low settings maintain a high average of 104 FPS, while Medium settings drop to 66.7 FPS. High settings fall to 44.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and Ultra settings produce only 34.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at this resolution is 37.3 FPS, highlighting the significant impact of the Medium preset’s increased graphical load.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overburdened. Low settings produce an average of 83.7 FPS, which is still playable. Medium settings drop to 54.4 FPS, and High settings fall to 40 FPS. The Ultra preset yields a meager 30.3 FPS, which is below the threshold for a smooth experience. The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution increase at the same preset level results in a roughly 20-30% framerate reduction, confirming the GPU-bound nature of this configuration.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired framerate.

For 1920x1080, the High preset is the best balance, providing 59 FPS which is ideal for standard 60 Hz monitors. Users with high-refresh-rate displays can drop to Medium settings for 76.6 FPS, which offers a smoother experience without a major visual compromise. The Ultra preset’s 44.1 FPS is not recommended, as the visual uplift does not justify the significant framerate cost.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the sweet spot, delivering 66.7 FPS which is comfortably above the 60 FPS target. The High preset’s 44.8 FPS is playable but may feel less responsive, while the Low preset’s 104 FPS is excessive for most displays. The Ultra preset at 34.7 FPS should be avoided, as it falls well below the playable threshold.

For 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only viable option, yielding 83.7 FPS. The Medium preset’s 54.4 FPS is marginal, and the High and Ultra presets are not recommended due to their sub-45 FPS averages. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming with this combo requires significant settings reductions to maintain playable framerates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K plays a supporting role in this configuration, providing ample processing power that never becomes a bottleneck in The Medium. With 16 cores and 24 threads, this Raptor Lake-S processor offers substantial multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39000. The CPU’s single-thread performance is equally impressive, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5505 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2850, ensuring that the game’s main thread is never starved for processing power.

The CPU’s 30 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 provide a solid foundation for feeding the GPU with data. The 3dmark scores further illustrate the CPU’s capabilities: a single-thread score of 1136, a 2-thread score of 2262, and a 4-thread score of 4469, demonstrating strong scaling across low-thread-count workloads. The Passmark multithread score of 45887 and the Geekbench multi-core score of 17731 confirm that the i7-13700K is a top-tier processor, ranking in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs.

However, the benchmark results show that this CPU power is largely untapped in The Medium. The framerate consistently drops with resolution and settings increases, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU’s performance headroom is so large that even at 1080p Low with 126.5 FPS, the processor is likely not fully utilized. The i7-13700K’s nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i7-13700KF and AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945, have nearly identical average scores with deltas of -0.1% and -0.5% respectively, suggesting that any of these CPUs would perform similarly in this game. Ultimately, the data shows that while the CPU is a high-end component, its role in The Medium is to provide a stable platform, with the GPU dictating the final framerate.