The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that scales heavily with graphics settings, and the data for the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination shows a wide performance envelope. The measured results indicate that the optimal experience depends entirely on the target resolution and the player's preference for visual fidelity over frame rate. The benchmark data reveals that this specific configuration is best utilized by making deliberate choices about settings, as the gap between the Low and Ultra presets is substantial at every resolution tested.

Settings Recommendations

For this hardware pairing, the Medium preset is the most balanced starting point, though the experience varies significantly by resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 68.5 FPS, which is a solid baseline for smooth gameplay. However, the data shows that the Low preset at this resolution reaches 109.3 FPS, offering a much higher headroom for competitive or fast-paced play, while the High preset at 52 FPS and Ultra at 37.4 FPS show a clear trade-off toward visual quality. Given that the game is a horror title, the smoother motion from the Low preset at 1080p might be preferable, but the Medium preset provides a better balance of detail and performance without dropping below the 60 FPS threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields an average of 58.8 FPS, which is very close to the 60 FPS target but not consistently above it. The Low preset at this resolution jumps to 89.9 FPS, making it the recommended choice for players who prioritize fluidity over graphical detail. The High preset at 42.9 FPS and Ultra at 30.7 FPS are playable but show noticeable compromises in smoothness, which can be detrimental in a game that relies on atmosphere and timing. The data suggests that at 1440p, dropping to Low is the most sensible option to maintain a high frame rate, as the visual difference between Low and Medium may not justify the 34% performance penalty.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset is the only setting that achieves a truly playable average frame rate at 69.4 FPS. The Medium preset at 44.2 FPS and High at 33.1 FPS are below the ideal threshold for smooth gameplay, while the Ultra preset at 23.1 FPS is essentially a slideshow. For 4K gaming, the data clearly indicates that the Low preset is the only viable option for this combination, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Players seeking higher visual fidelity at 4K would need to consider a more powerful GPU, as the RTX 4060's 8 GB of VRAM and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination ranks 966 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This rank reflects a configuration that is capable of running the game at playable frame rates, but it is not optimized for high-end performance. The CPU itself is a strong performer, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443 and a percentile ranking of 94 against all CPUs, indicating that the processor is not the bottleneck in this pairing. The GPU, however, has a percentile ranking of 66 against all GPUs, which is more modest and aligns with the overall combo ranking.

The data shows that the CPU is significantly more powerful than its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, with the i7-14700F scoring 1.7% higher than the AMD EPYC 7313P and 1.2% higher than the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 in average benchmark scores. However, this CPU strength does not translate into exceptional game performance because The Medium is likely GPU-bound at most settings. The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, which scores 0.6% higher on average, and the Intel Arc B580, which scores 0.7% lower. This tight grouping indicates that the RTX 4060 is a mid-range part that performs similarly to its direct competitors, and the combo's rank of 966 out of 1689 suggests that many other configurations, likely with higher-tier GPUs, will outperform it.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the primary driver of The Medium's performance in this configuration, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes strained at 4K, where the higher resolution demands more memory and bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock of 2460 MHz and base clock of 1830 MHz are respectable for its class, and its 3072 shading units and 24 RT cores support the game's DirectX 12 Ultimate feature set.

The benchmark results for the GPU show a PassMark G3D score of 19545 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 101030, which position it as a competent mid-range card. However, the data from The Medium reveals that the GPU's performance scales poorly with increasing resolution and settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS drops to 37.4, while at 4K Ultra it falls to 23.1. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU's strong multi-core scores (e.g., 3572 in Cinebench R15 multi-core) suggest it has ample headroom. The GPU's 66th percentile ranking versus all GPUs confirms that it is not a top-tier part, and its performance in The Medium reflects this positioning.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination shows a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution and settings increase. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 109.3 FPS, which is excellent for a horror game that benefits from smooth camera movement. The Medium preset at 68.5 FPS is still very playable, while High at 52 FPS and Ultra at 37.4 FPS show the cost of higher visual fidelity. The 1080p results indicate that the GPU can handle the game well at lower settings, but the Ultra preset's frame rate is below what many players would consider acceptable for a smooth experience.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops across all settings. The Low preset averages 89.9 FPS, which is still a strong result, but Medium falls to 58.8 FPS, High to 42.9 FPS, and Ultra to 30.7 FPS. The 1440p data shows a more pronounced impact from the GPU's limitations, as the gap between Low and Ultra becomes larger. The Medium preset at 58.8 FPS is borderline, and players may need to choose between a slightly lower frame rate or lower settings to maintain smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the performance is heavily constrained. The Low preset is the only one to exceed 60 FPS, with an average of 69.4 FPS. Medium drops to 44.2 FPS, High to 33.1 FPS, and Ultra to 23.1 FPS. These numbers make it clear that 4K gaming with this combo requires the Low preset for a playable experience, and even then, the frame rate is not exceptionally high. The data shows that the RTX 4060 is not suited for high-fidelity 4K gaming in The Medium, and players should target 1080p or 1440p for the best balance of performance and visuals.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a significant dependence on the GPU. At the Low preset, the transition from 1080p to 1440p results in a drop from 109.3 FPS to 89.9 FPS, a reduction of 17.8%. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings, the frame rate falls from 89.9 FPS to 69.4 FPS, a further 22.8% reduction. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 36.5%, which is substantial but still leaves the game playable at 4K.

The scaling becomes more severe at higher settings. At the Medium preset, the frame rate drops from 68.5 FPS at 1080p to 58.8 FPS at 1440p, a 14.2% decrease, and then to 44.2 FPS at 4K, a further 24.8% decrease. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Medium is 35.5%. At the High preset, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 17.5% (52 to 42.9), and from 1440p to 4K is 22.8% (42.9 to 33.1), for a total reduction of 36.3%. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with frame rates falling from 37.4 at 1080p to 30.7 at 1440p (17.9% drop) and then to 23.1 at 4K (24.8% drop), totaling a 38.2% reduction.

This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the performance loss is relatively consistent across settings when resolution increases. The CPU's strong multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by its 28 threads and 35443 Cinebench R23 score, is not the bottleneck here. Instead, the RTX 4060's 8 GB of VRAM and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the higher pixel counts and texture loads at 4K, leading to the observed frame rate drops. The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming at Medium to High settings, or 1440p at Low to Medium settings, with 4K reserved for the Low preset only.