The Medium

The benchmark data for The Medium with the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 reveals a configuration that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but shows increasing CPU influence as resolution drops. This combination delivers strong performance across all tested settings, though the scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 5080 is the primary driver of frame rates at 4K, with the i7-14700F providing ample headroom at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, but the magnitude of that drop varies significantly depending on the quality preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 178 FPS at 1080p to 131.7 FPS at 4K, representing a 26% reduction. This relatively modest drop suggests that at Low settings, the system is not fully constrained by the GPU, and the CPU is capable of feeding frames at a high rate even at 4K resolution.

The scaling behavior changes dramatically when moving to High settings. The average FPS at 1080p High is 93.9, which drops to 79.2 at 1440p and further to 61.4 at 4K. The percentage decline from 1080p to 4K at High settings is approximately 35%, indicating that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as pixel count increases. This is expected behavior for a graphically intensive horror title like The Medium, which features complex lighting and shadow effects that scale with resolution.

At Ultra settings, the resolution scaling is most pronounced. The 1080p Ultra average of 72 FPS falls to 62.6 at 1440p and then to 50.9 at 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is roughly 29%, which is actually smaller than the drop seen at High settings. This counterintuitive result suggests that at Ultra settings, the GPU is already heavily loaded even at 1080p, and the additional pixel count at 4K has a relatively smaller marginal impact compared to the jump from Low to High settings.

The Medium preset shows the most linear scaling pattern across resolutions. Starting at 129.4 FPS at 1080p, the frame rate drops to 105.2 at 1440p and 82.8 at 4K. This represents a 36% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is the largest relative drop among all settings presets. This suggests that the Medium preset strikes a balance where both CPU and GPU resources are utilized more evenly, making the system more sensitive to resolution changes.

Overall, the data indicates that the RTX 5080 is the dominant performance limiter at 4K across all settings, while at 1080p the CPU has more influence, particularly at Low and Medium settings where frame rates exceed 129 FPS. The i7-14700F with its 20 cores and 28 threads provides sufficient processing power to avoid becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions, but the GPU workload scales consistently with resolution as expected.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 plays a central role in determining the performance envelope for this configuration. With 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, the GPU has ample memory resources for The Medium at all tested resolutions. The game's horror genre typically involves detailed environments with high-resolution textures, and the 16 GB capacity ensures that texture data does not become a limiting factor even at 4K Ultra settings.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 2295 MHz and boost of 2617 MHz, provide the computational throughput necessary to maintain playable frame rates at 4K. The RTX 5080's 10752 shading units and 112 ROPs contribute to its pixel processing capabilities, which are reflected in the measured 4K Ultra average of 50.9 FPS. While this is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered ideal, it remains within a playable range for a slower-paced horror title.

The GPU's performance percentile of 89 relative to all GPUs places it in the upper tier of available graphics cards. The benchmark results show a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637 and a Passmark G3D score of 36565, confirming that the RTX 5080 is a high-end part. However, the nearest rival data for the GPU shows that the Intel Arc A570M has an average score of 58239, which is 1.6% higher than the RTX 5080's average benchmark score of 59188 when adjusted for the deltaPct values.

In the context of The Medium, the GPU's role is most evident in the difference between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution. At 4K, the Low preset achieves 131.7 FPS while Ultra drops to 50.9 FPS, representing a 61% reduction. This dramatic scaling demonstrates that the RTX 5080's raw compute power is heavily taxed by the game's high-quality visual effects, including ray-traced elements and volumetric lighting. The GPU's 84 RT cores are likely utilized in the game's lighting calculations, contributing to the performance gap between presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 39th out of 1689 tested combinations in The Medium. This places the configuration in the top 2.3% of all tested systems, indicating that it delivers exceptional performance relative to the broader hardware landscape. The rank reflects the synergistic balance between the CPU and GPU, where the i7-14700F provides sufficient single-threaded and multi-threaded performance to feed the RTX 5080 without creating a bottleneck.

The CPU's own ranking data shows that it sits at the 94th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54097. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, has an average score of 54450, representing a delta of -0.6%, meaning the i7-14700F is only 0.6% behind this rival in CPU benchmarks. Similarly, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is 1.1% ahead, while the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 is 1.2% behind and the AMD EPYC 7313P is 1.7% behind. These small deltas indicate that the i7-14700F is highly competitive with top-tier CPUs in general compute tasks.

For the GPU, the RTX 5080 ranks at the 89th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 59188. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A570M, has an average score of 58239, placing the RTX 5080 1.6% ahead. The Intel Arc Pro A60 is 1.9% ahead of the RTX 5080, while the Intel Arc A580 is 2.5% behind and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X is 2.6% behind. These modest deltas suggest that in synthetic GPU benchmarks, the RTX 5080 is closely matched with mid-range Intel Arc parts, although the real-world gaming performance in The Medium may differ due to driver optimizations.

The combo rank of 39 out of 1689 indicates that this specific pairing is better suited for The Medium than 97.7% of all tested combinations. This is a strong result, especially considering that the game was released in 2021 and may not fully utilize the latest hardware features. The high rank suggests that both the CPU and GPU contribute effectively to the game's performance, with neither component significantly limiting the other.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the configuration delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 178 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset reaches 129.4 FPS, while High drops to 93.9 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 72 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 106 FPS, demonstrating the significant impact of quality settings on performance at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease but remain highly playable. The Low preset averages 168.1 FPS, a modest 5.6% drop from 1080p. The Medium preset reaches 105.2 FPS, while High produces 79.2 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 62.6 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 105.5 FPS, nearly identical to the spread at 1080p, indicating that the GPU's workload scales proportionally with resolution.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop more substantially. The Low preset averages 131.7 FPS, which is still very high for 4K gaming. The Medium preset reaches 82.8 FPS, while High drops to 61.4 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K produces 50.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but may still be acceptable for a game like The Medium that relies on atmosphere rather than fast-paced action. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 80.8 FPS, which is narrower than at lower resolutions, confirming that the GPU is becoming the primary constraint.

Settings Recommendations

For the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 offers an optimal balance between visual quality and performance. The measured average of 105.2 FPS at 1440p Medium provides a smooth frame rate that exceeds the 60 FPS target by a comfortable margin, while the Medium settings likely retain most of the game's visual fidelity without the performance penalty of High or Ultra presets. This resolution and settings combination also leaves headroom for potential frame rate dips in more demanding scenes.

At 4K resolution, the Medium preset is the recommended choice for players who prioritize resolution over maximum visual quality. The 82.8 FPS average at 4K Medium is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a significantly better experience than the 61.4 FPS at High settings or the 50.9 FPS at Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K involves a 37% performance reduction but likely delivers substantial visual improvements, making Medium the sweet spot for 4K gaming.

For players with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p, the High preset at 93.9 FPS is a strong option, as it maintains a frame rate above 90 FPS while offering better visual quality than Medium. The Ultra preset at 1080p is also viable at 72 FPS, which is still smooth for most gaming scenarios. However, the data suggests that the performance difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is 23%, which may not justify the visual gains for all users.

The Low preset is rarely necessary with this hardware, as even the most demanding Ultra setting at 4K maintains an average above 50 FPS. However, for those seeking maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1440p delivers 168.1 FPS, which could be beneficial for competitive play or for users with 144Hz or higher refresh rate displays. Overall, the benchmark data indicates that this configuration excels at 1440p Medium or 4K Medium, providing the best combination of visual fidelity and smooth performance for The Medium.