The Medium

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER lands in the 1258th position out of 1689 tested combinations for The Medium. That places this setup in the lower-middle tier of the database, meaning it is not a top-tier performer for this title, but it is far from the bottom of the barrel. The data shows this combo is capable of playable frame rates, but only when settings are managed carefully, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

With a rank of 1258 out of 1689 combos, this system sits in the 74th percentile of all tested configurations for The Medium. This is a clear signal that while the CPU is a high-end part, the overall gaming experience is heavily constrained by the graphics card. The ranking reflects a system that can handle the game's fixed-camera horror scenes at 1080p and 1440p with adjusted settings, but it will not deliver the high-refresh-rate or max-quality experience that top-tier rigs achieve. The combination is practical for a 60 FPS target at 1080p on Medium settings, but pushing beyond that requires compromises that become evident in the measured FPS data. The gap between this combo and the top performers is substantial, underscoring that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting factor in this pairing.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the defining component in this combo's gaming performance. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1470 MHz with a boost clock of 1650 MHz, and it houses 2176 shading units. In the context of The Medium, a game that relies on heavy ambient occlusion and lighting effects, the GPU's 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores are present but their impact is limited by the overall compute power. The card's FP32 performance is 7.181 TFLOPS, which explains why the frame rates drop sharply when moving from Low to Ultra settings. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS collapses to 18.5, while at 4K Low it reaches 57.4, indicating the GPU's raw throughput is insufficient for the highest fidelity at that resolution. The 8 GB VRAM is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the performance scaling suggests that memory bandwidth and shading power are the primary constraints rather than capacity.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear guide for optimal settings. For a 60 FPS target, the only viable option is 1080p with Low settings, which yields an average of 90.7 FPS. However, a more balanced experience is achieved at 1080p with Medium settings, producing 58.3 FPS on average. This is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a significant visual upgrade over Low while maintaining a frame rate that is close to the 60 FPS standard. At 1440p, the Medium preset drops to 45.8 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a smooth experience. For those prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate, 1080p High at 42.5 FPS is acceptable, but the Ultra preset at 34.2 FPS is not recommended due to the steep performance cost. At 4K, the data suggests avoiding anything above Low settings, as even Medium drops to 36.8 FPS. The practical recommendation is to use the Medium preset at 1080p for the best balance of image quality and performance, or Low at 1440p for a sharper image at 79.8 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern of performance scaling across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 90.7 FPS on Low, 58.3 FPS on Medium, 42.5 FPS on High, and 34.2 FPS on Ultra. This shows a clear drop-off from Low to Ultra, with the Medium setting providing a 35% reduction in performance compared to Low, while Ultra is nearly 62% slower than Low. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 79.8 FPS on Low, 45.8 FPS on Medium, 33.9 FPS on High, and 25.9 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p results indicate that the GPU struggles more with the increased pixel count, with the Medium setting falling below the 60 FPS threshold. At 3840x2160, the performance is considerably weaker: 57.4 FPS on Low, 36.8 FPS on Medium, 26 FPS on High, and 18.5 FPS on Ultra. The 4K data confirms that this combo is not suited for high-fidelity gaming at that resolution, as even the Low preset barely reaches 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset is virtually unplayable. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at the same settings shows a performance hit of roughly 37% for Low, 37% for Medium, 39% for High, and 46% for Ultra, indicating that higher settings exacerbate the resolution penalty.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for a smooth experience?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides an average of 58.3 FPS, which is the closest to the 60 FPS target while offering better visuals than Low. At 2560x1440, the Low preset gives 79.8 FPS, but a more balanced experience is not available since Medium drops to 45.8 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which yields an average of 57.4 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 36.8 FPS, and the Ultra preset is unplayable at 18.5 FPS. For a playable 4K experience, Low settings are required.

Q: How does the GPU's memory configuration affect performance?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The data indicates that this is sufficient for the game's needs at 1080p and 1440p, as the performance drops are more closely tied to the GPU's shading power than memory capacity, given the consistent frame rate scaling across settings.

Q: Is the Ultra preset viable at any resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra produces 34.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, it drops to 25.9 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 18.5 FPS. Based on the measured data, the Ultra preset is not recommended for this combo due to the significant performance cost.

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

A: This combo ranks 1258 out of 1689 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle range. The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations, as the CPU is a high-end part that is not the bottleneck in this game.

Q: What is the difference in performance between Low and High settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset averages 90.7 FPS, while the High preset averages 42.5 FPS. This is a performance reduction of over 53% when moving from Low to High, showing that the GPU's workload increases significantly with higher graphical fidelity.

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. It features 30 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is less critical than the GPU's, as evidenced by the combo's rank. The processor's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39000 and a single-core score of 5505, indicate it is more than capable of feeding the GPU with data. The game's fixed-camera angles and slower pacing mean that the CPU is unlikely to be a limiting factor, especially when compared to the GPU's performance at higher settings. The data shows that the i7-13700K is positioned near the top of the CPU hierarchy, with a percentile rank of 93 against all CPUs, and it is only 0.1% behind the Intel Core i7-13700KF in average benchmark score. This means that the CPU's performance headroom is substantial, and the frame rate drops observed in the measured data are almost entirely attributable to the RTX 2060 SUPER's rendering capabilities. For this game, the i7-13700K provides a solid foundation, but the overall experience is dictated by the graphics card's ability to handle the game's visual effects.