The Medium

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1232nd out of 1689 tested combinations in The Medium. This places the combo in the lower third of the database, suggesting that while the hardware is competent for general workloads, it struggles to deliver high-end performance in this specific title. The ranking reflects a configuration that sits below the median tested setup, and the measured frame rates confirm that this pairing is better suited for 1080p or low-to-medium settings at higher resolutions rather than pushing maximum visual fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1232 out of 1689 tested combinations places it in the 27th percentile of all tested hardware pairings for The Medium. This is a below-average result, indicating that the system will require compromises in settings or resolution to achieve smooth gameplay. The data shows a significant gap between the CPU and GPU performance classes: the i7-14700F ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 3060 Ti sits in the 69th percentile among GPUs. This imbalance suggests the graphics card is the primary bottleneck, dragging the overall combo ranking down despite the processor’s strength. The measured frame rates reinforce this, as the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth struggle with the game’s demands at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads remain largely underutilized.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F brings substantial processing power to the table, featuring 20 cores and 28 threads from its Raptor Lake architecture. Its base clock of 2.10 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz, combined with a 33 MB shared L3 cache, allow it to handle complex scenes without becoming a limiting factor. Benchmark results show the CPU scoring 35443 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5003 in single-core, with a Passmark multi-thread score of 41765 and a single-thread score of 4261. These numbers place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (0.6% faster) and the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (1.2% slower). For The Medium, this means the CPU can easily feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations, but the measured frame rates do not improve proportionally with CPU capability — the bottleneck lies elsewhere. The processor’s 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support are adequate for gaming, but the game’s performance is clearly not CPU-bound.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the decisive component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured results. Built on the Ampere architecture with 4864 shading units, 152 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, the card operates at a base clock of 1410 MHz and boosts to 1665 MHz. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, but this capacity becomes a liability at higher resolutions. The GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 20349 places it in the 69th percentile, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (0.5% faster) and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (0.7% faster). The 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is respectable, but The Medium’s horror environments with dense lighting effects and shadow calculations push the card to its limits. At 4K Ultra, the GPU manages only 22.6 FPS, while at 1080p Low it reaches 93.8 FPS — a clear indication that the RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB frame buffer and memory bandwidth are the constraining factors rather than raw compute power.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p is the most viable resolution. At 1080p Low the combo achieves 93.8 FPS, while 1440p Low drops to 76.1 FPS and 4K Low reaches 62 FPS. For consistent performance above 60 FPS, 1080p is recommended.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 54097, which is 0.6% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (54450) and 1.7% higher than the AMD EPYC 7313P (53206). This indicates the CPU performs nearly identically to the 9900X in general benchmarks.

Q: Does the GPU outperform its closest competitor in the database?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 25120, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180) and 0.5% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (25235). The differences are minimal, placing the card in a tight performance cluster.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the measured average FPS is 31.5. This is below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that High settings at 1440p are not playable for smooth gameplay with this hardware.

Q: Is there a large performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: Yes, the gap is substantial. At 4K, Low settings yield 62 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 22.6 FPS — a difference of 39.4 FPS. Medium settings provide 39.9 FPS, showing a steep curve as quality increases.

Q: How does the combo rank overall in the database?

A: The combo ranks 1232nd out of 1689 tested combinations in The Medium. This places it in the bottom 27% of all tested hardware pairings for this game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling across resolutions. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 39.2 FPS, which drops to 31.5 FPS at 1440p High (a 19.6% reduction) and further to 25.6 FPS at 4K High (a 34.7% reduction from 1080p). The trend is consistent across all settings: at Low settings, 1080p yields 93.8 FPS, 1440p yields 76.1 FPS, and 4K yields 62 FPS. This scaling behavior indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the frame rate drops proportionally with pixel count rather than remaining stable. The CPU’s high single-thread score of 5003 in Cinebench R23 and Passmark single-thread score of 4261 suggest it can handle the game’s logic at any resolution, but the RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become saturated at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 22.6 FPS versus 4K Low of 62 FPS shows that texture and shading loads at high presets exceed the card’s memory capacity, causing severe performance degradation.

Settings Recommendations

The data supports a clear hierarchy of playable settings for this combo. For a smooth experience above 60 FPS, 1080p Low is the only preset that consistently delivers, with 93.8 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the frame rate drops to 59.4 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target but still playable for many users. The 1080p High setting yields 39.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 29.4 FPS — both are below acceptable thresholds for most gameplay. At 1440p, Low settings provide 76.1 FPS, making this a viable option for users with 1440p displays who are willing to sacrifice visual quality. Medium at 1440p drops to 45.8 FPS, and High to 31.5 FPS. For 4K, only Low settings reach 62 FPS, while Medium falls to 39.9 FPS, High to 25.6 FPS, and Ultra to 22.6 FPS. The optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance is 1080p Medium, which offers 59.4 FPS with moderate quality improvements over Low. Users prioritizing frame rate over graphics should select 1080p Low, while those with 1440p monitors can use Low settings without sacrificing playability. The RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB VRAM is the limiting factor at higher presets, so reducing texture quality and shadow details will yield the most significant performance gains.