The Medium

The Medium presents a unique challenge for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB paired with the Intel Core i7-14700F. This title’s fixed camera angles and heavy post-processing place an unusual strain on the graphics pipeline, and the benchmark data confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck across all tested configurations. The measured frames per second (FPS) reveal a system that is capable of delivering playable experiences only at lower settings, with the 4 GB VRAM buffer proving to be a significant limitation at higher resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured performance data to show exactly where this combination stands.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the rate of that decline is the key indicator of system balance. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 65 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same Low preset drops the average to 54 FPS, a reduction of roughly 17%. At 4K, the Low preset average falls further to 43 FPS, which is a 21% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload increases with pixel count.

However, the scaling becomes more punishing at higher quality presets. At Medium settings, the transition from 1080p (40 FPS) to 1440p (34 FPS) is a 15% loss, but the jump to 4K (27 FPS) is a 21% loss. For the High preset, the system goes from 29 FPS at 1080p to 24 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 19 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, with 23 FPS at 1080p dropping to 19 FPS at 1440p and then to 15 FPS at 4K. The data indicates that while the GPU is the limiting component at all resolutions, its capacity is so constrained that even the 1440p to 4K transition at Low settings causes a performance collapse that makes the game unplayable at the highest resolution.

The performance deltas between presets at a single resolution further confirm the GPU bottleneck. At 1080p, the difference between Low (65 FPS) and Ultra (23 FPS) is a 65% reduction in average frame rate. This massive gap is not typical of a CPU-limited scenario; it directly illustrates that the RTX 3050's shading units and memory bandwidth are being saturated by the game's visual effects. The GPU is unquestionably the limiting component, and the CPU is not a factor in these results.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this hardware configuration?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 65, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is this system capable of running The Medium at 4K resolution at a playable frame rate?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best average FPS recorded is 43 on Low settings, but the Medium preset yields only 27 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets fall to 19 and 15 FPS respectively. These figures are below standard playability thresholds.

Q: How does the performance at 1440p compare to 1080p at the Medium preset?

A: At 2560x1440 Medium, the average FPS is 34, with a minimum of 29 and a maximum of 39. At 1920x1080 Medium, the average FPS is 40, with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 65 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 23 FPS. This represents a 42 FPS drop, or approximately a 65% decrease in average frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: Does the RTX 3050 4 GB have enough VRAM for this game at high settings?

A: The data suggests it does not. While no VRAM usage metrics are provided, the steep performance drop from Low to High presets at all resolutions is indicative of a GPU with limited memory resources struggling to maintain frame times when texture quality and asset streaming demands increase.

Q: What is the expected frame time consistency at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured range is between 29 FPS and 39 FPS, with an average of 34 FPS. This shows a variance of 10 FPS, which can lead to noticeable stuttering in a game with a fixed camera perspective.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is the definitive performance ceiling in this configuration. Its specifications—2048 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units—are paired with a 128-bit memory bus and 4 GB of GDDR6 memory. The memory bandwidth is rated at 192.0 GB/s, which is a modest figure for modern titles. The GPU has a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1740 MHz, delivering a peak FP32 performance of 7.127 TFLOPS.

The benchmark results show that this GPU architecture is not well-suited for the demands of The Medium. The game’s reliance on high-resolution textures and complex lighting models appears to exceed the RTX 3050’s memory capacity and bandwidth. The 4 GB VRAM is the most likely culprit for the severe performance penalties observed at higher presets. The difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is 25 FPS (65 to 40), but the gap between Medium and High is only 11 FPS (40 to 29). This non-linear scaling suggests that once the VRAM buffer is exceeded, the GPU is forced to swap data, causing a disproportionate hit to frame rates.

The RTX 3050's 16 ray tracing cores and 64 tensor cores are present on the die, but the data shows that even without ray tracing enabled, the rasterization performance is insufficient for smooth gameplay at high quality. The GPU’s 90 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a low-power part, and the measured FPS aligns with its position in the performance hierarchy. The pixel rate of 55.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 111.4 GTexel/s are the theoretical limits, but the actual performance is far below these figures due to the game's specific rendering requirements.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only acceptable setting for a consistently playable experience is the Low preset at 1080p. This configuration yields an average of 65 FPS, which provides a smooth frame rate for the game’s cinematic style. The Medium preset at 1080p is a compromise, offering an average of 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 FPS. While this is playable, the frame time variance (34 to 46 FPS) may cause noticeable judder in a game that relies on slow, deliberate camera movements.

At 1440p, the Low preset is the only viable option, with an average of 54 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p drops to 34 FPS, which is on the edge of playability but risks frequent dips below 30 FPS. For users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, the High preset at 1080p (29 FPS) and Medium at 1440p (34 FPS) are the highest quality settings that maintain an average above 30 FPS. However, it is critical to avoid the Ultra preset entirely, as it fails to maintain a 30 FPS average at any resolution tested (23 FPS at 1080p, 19 FPS at 1440p, 15 FPS at 4K).

The recommendation is to use the Low preset. The performance headroom at 1080p Low is substantial enough to ensure that the game remains responsive during intense scenes with multiple character models and particle effects. The data does not support using higher presets unless the user accepts significant compromises in frame pacing and overall smoothness.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

The best results for this system are found at this resolution. The Low preset delivers a strong 65 FPS average, making it the only preset to break the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings yield 40 FPS average, with a minimum of 34 and maximum of 46 FPS. High settings produce 29 FPS average, which is below the ideal playability target. Ultra settings are the worst, with only 23 FPS average.

2560x1440:

Performance drops noticeably at 1440p. The Low preset gives a 54 FPS average, which remains playable. Medium settings drop to 34 FPS average (29 min, 39 max). High settings fall to 24 FPS average, and Ultra plummets to 19 FPS. The data shows that the 1440p High and Ultra presets are not viable for a consistent experience.

3840x2160:

The 4K resolution is beyond the reach of this GPU. The Low preset is the only option that approaches playability, with a 43 FPS average. Medium settings drop to 27 FPS (23 min, 31 max). High settings are at 19 FPS, and Ultra is at 15 FPS. All 4K results except Low are unplayable.

The data reveals a clear linear degradation from 1080p to 4K, but the gap between Low and Medium presets widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 25 FPS. At 1440p, it is 20 FPS. At 4K, it is 16 FPS. This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth is being consumed by the higher resolution framebuffer, leaving less headroom for the increased texture detail of the Medium preset.

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. It has a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with 33 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are impressive, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and a single-core score of 4958. The CPU’s percentile vs all CPUs is 91, indicating it is in the top 9% of processors.

However, in The Medium, the CPU's role is minimal. The measured FPS data is entirely GPU-bound, as evidenced by the massive frame rate swings between graphics presets. If the CPU were a limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively constant regardless of the resolution or quality settings. The data shows the opposite: FPS changes dramatically with GPU load. The i7-14700F provides ample headroom for the RTX 3050 to be the sole bottleneck.

The CPU’s high single-thread performance (4958 in Cinebench R23) is more than sufficient for the game's logic and camera systems. The massive multi-threading capability (35122 in R23) is not utilized by this title, but it ensures that background tasks will not interfere with game performance. The data confirms that the i7-14700F is not a limiting factor in this configuration, and any performance issues are directly attributable to the graphics card.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB ranks at 3275 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the bottom 12% of all configurations tested, which is a poor result for a system with a modern high-end CPU. The ranking is almost entirely due to the GPU’s low performance in this specific title.

The CPU itself is a top-tier part, with an average benchmark score of 53620 and a percentile rank of 91. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, which has an average score of 53288 (0.6% lower), and the AMD EPYC 7313P, which scores 53206 (0.8% lower). The i7-14700F outperforms these CPUs, but this does not translate to game performance because of the GPU constraint.

The low combo rank highlights the severe mismatch between the CPU’s capability and the GPU’s performance in this game. The data shows that this combo is not suitable for playing The Medium at high quality settings or high resolutions. The 4 GB VRAM of the RTX 3050 is a critical weakness, and the benchmark results confirm that this configuration is best suited for 1080p gaming at Low or Medium settings. For a game like The Medium, which has a fixed camera and complex visuals, the 3275 rank accurately reflects the system's inability to deliver a high-fidelity experience.