The Medium

# The Medium with Intel Core i7-14700F + AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT

The benchmark data for The Medium on this combination of an Intel Core i7-14700F and an AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT shows a system that is firmly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, yet capable of delivering playable frame rates at 1080p with the right settings. The measured results span four presets and three resolutions, revealing a clear performance hierarchy where the graphics card's 8 GB memory and mid-range positioning dictate the experience more than the processor's substantial compute resources.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are steep and consistent, indicating that the Radeon RX 6650 XT is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 95 FPS at 1920x1080 to 80 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 15 FPS, and then further to 63 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 33.7% drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is a substantial hit but still leaves the game playable at 4K on the lowest preset.

The Medium settings tell a similar story with a more pronounced decline. At 1920x1080 Medium, the average is 59 FPS, dropping to 50 FPS at 2560x1440 and then to 39 FPS at 3840x2160. The 4K Medium result is only 39 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold that most users would consider smooth, and the minimum frame rate of 33 FPS at 4K Medium suggests noticeable stutter in demanding scenes.

High settings amplify the resolution penalty further. The average at 1080p High is 43 FPS, which drops to 36 FPS at 1440p and then to 28 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K here is 15 FPS, a 34.9% reduction, showing that the GPU's rendering load scales almost linearly with pixel count. Ultra settings are the most punishing: 34 FPS at 1080p, 28 FPS at 1440p, and only 22 FPS at 4K. This pattern across all four presets confirms that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, with the RX 6650 XT's compute and memory bandwidth being stretched thin as pixel counts rise.

The data suggests that the Intel Core i7-14700F is not the bottleneck in any configuration tested. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads, combined with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, provide far more processing headroom than this horror title requires. The consistent FPS declines with resolution, rather than any irregularity or CPU-related stalling, point to the GPU as the limiting component throughout the resolution range.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all presets stay above 30 FPS on average. At 1440p, the High and Ultra presets fall to 36 FPS and 28 FPS respectively, while 4K only manages playable frame rates on Low settings.

Q: How does the RX 6650 XT handle 4K in this game?

A: The 4K results are mixed. Low settings achieve 63 FPS average, which is playable, but Medium drops to 39 FPS, High to 28 FPS, and Ultra to 22 FPS. The 4K Medium minimum of 33 FPS indicates that even the mid-range preset can have frame time spikes.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700F holding back the GPU in this game?

A: No. The benchmark data shows a pattern of FPS decreasing with resolution, which is characteristic of GPU limitation. The CPU's strong multi-core performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122, far exceeds what The Medium requires.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings average 95 FPS while Ultra averages 34 FPS. This is a difference of 61 FPS, representing a 179% performance uplift when using the Low preset compared to Ultra.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS in The Medium?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p Low, which averages 95 FPS, and at 1440p Low, which averages 80 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset averages 59 FPS, just short of 60, with a minimum of 51 FPS. No other preset or resolution combination reaches a 60 FPS average.

Q: How does the 8 GB VRAM affect performance in this game?

A: The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 280.3 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at most settings, but the sharp FPS drops at 4K suggest the memory capacity and bandwidth are stressed at higher resolutions, particularly on Ultra settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of which preset delivers the best experience per the recorded rows. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset is the most balanced choice, averaging 59 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS. This is close to the 60 FPS target while offering significantly better visual quality than Low, which averages 95 FPS but likely sacrifices too much detail for a horror game where atmosphere matters. The High preset at 1080p drops to 43 FPS average, which is playable but not smooth, while Ultra at 34 FPS average is borderline for a game that benefits from stable frame pacing.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visuals, 1440p Low is an excellent option, delivering 80 FPS average. This resolution provides more screen detail than 1080p while maintaining a high refresh rate experience. The 1440p Medium preset at 50 FPS average is a reasonable compromise, though the 43 FPS minimum suggests occasional dips in demanding scenes. At 4K, only the Low preset is viable, with a 63 FPS average, while Medium at 39 FPS and above becomes increasingly unplayable.

The best overall experience according to the data is 1080p Medium, which stays above 50 FPS even in minimum frame rate terms. This preset balances the game's visual atmosphere with performance, keeping the frame rate within a range where the horror gameplay remains responsive. Users with high refresh rate monitors should consider 1440p Low, which offers 80 FPS, but the 1080p Medium setting provides a more consistent experience without the visual compromises of the Low preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of presets shows a wide performance spread. Low settings achieve the highest average at 95 FPS, making this the only configuration in the entire test matrix to approach triple-digit frame rates. Medium settings drop to 59 FPS average, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 68 FPS, representing a tight band that indicates stable performance. High settings reduce the average to 43 FPS, while Ultra further lowers it to 34 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a stepwise decline of roughly 20-30% per preset tier.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings average 80 FPS, which is still highly playable and only 15 FPS less than the 1080p Low result. Medium at 1440p averages 50 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 58 FPS, showing a similar consistency to the 1080p Medium result but at a lower absolute level. High settings at 1440p average 36 FPS, while Ultra drops to 28 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 52 FPS, slightly narrower than at 1080p but still substantial.

At 3840x2160, the RX 6650 XT is clearly overextended for anything beyond Low settings. Low averages 63 FPS, which is respectable for 4K on a mid-range GPU. Medium falls to 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS, indicating that even the average frame rate is below the smoothness threshold. High settings at 4K average 28 FPS, and Ultra is nearly unplayable at 22 FPS average. The 4K results show a compression of the performance range, with only 41 FPS separating Low from Ultra, compared to 61 FPS at 1080p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is the defining component in these benchmark results. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes strained at 4K. The GPU's clock speeds are relatively high, with a base of 2055 MHz, a game clock of 2410 MHz, and a boost clock of 2635 MHz, giving it 10.79 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance. These specifications place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs according to the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 19765.

The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's compute capabilities are the primary constraint across all resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 22 FPS average represents only 23% of the 1080p Low result of 95 FPS, highlighting how the pixel throughput demands overwhelm the RDNA 2.0 architecture's 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs. The 128 TMUs and 32 ray accelerators are sufficient for the game's visual effects at lower resolutions, but the 4K results indicate that the memory bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s becomes a bottleneck when fill rate requirements quadruple.

The GPU's 176 W TDP and dual-slot design with a single 8-pin connector suggest it is a power-efficient solution for this class of performance, but the benchmark results make clear that it is not a 4K-capable card for modern titles like The Medium. The 65th percentile ranking versus all GPUs places it in the upper-mid range, and the nearest rival comparisons show it trading blows with older workstation cards like the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 and AMD FirePro W7000, which differ by less than 1% in average score.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a high-end desktop processor with 20 cores and 28 threads, based on the Raptor Lake architecture on a 10 nm process. Its base clock of 2.10 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz provide substantial single-thread performance, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4958 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2429. Multi-core performance is equally strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 19620, placing the CPU in the 91st percentile of all processors.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, as the benchmark data shows no signs of CPU bottlenecking. The FPS differences between resolutions are consistent and proportional to pixel count, which would not be the case if the processor were limiting performance. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 cache per core provide ample data storage for game logic, while the DDR4/DDR5 dual-channel memory support ensures the CPU can feed the GPU without stalling.

The CPU's benchmark scores place it in close competition with other high-end processors. The nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, which has an average score of 53288 compared to the i7-14700F's 53620, a difference of 0.6%. The Intel Xeon 6505P scores 53701, just 0.2% higher, while the Xeon Phi 7290 and EPYC 7313P are 0.3% and 0.8% lower respectively. This grouping indicates that the CPU is performing at the expected level for its class, but in this game, its capabilities are largely untapped due to the GPU limitation.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 2434 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the 34.6th percentile of all combinations. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning, as the CPU is far more capable than the graphics card in this pairing. The rank suggests that while this combo can play the game, it does so with significant compromises at higher resolutions and settings.

The ranking is driven primarily by the GPU's 65th percentile standing among all GPUs, which is the limiting factor in this game's performance. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking is not fully utilized because The Medium's engine does not heavily tax multi-core processors, as evidenced by the consistent resolution-based scaling in the measured FPS data. The combo's rank of 2434 out of 3724 means that roughly two-thirds of tested combinations deliver better performance in this title, which is expected given the RX 6650 XT's position in the GPU hierarchy.

The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve playable frame rates on Medium settings with a 59 FPS average, or excellent performance on Low settings at 95 FPS. At 1440p, it can still deliver a smooth experience on Low settings at 80 FPS, but higher presets fall below the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K results are only viable on Low settings, making this combo a 1080p-focused configuration for The Medium. The rank of 2434 reflects this reality, positioning it as a capable but not exceptional performer for this particular game.