The Medium

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 is a combination that lands in the lower-middle tier of tested configurations for The Medium, ranking 1365th out of 1689 total combos. This placement indicates that while the CPU is a top-tier performer, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck in this horror title, particularly at higher resolutions and quality settings. The data shows a system capable of smooth gameplay only when settings are managed carefully, making it a practical choice for 1080p gaming rather than a high-refresh-rate or 4K powerhouse.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1365 out of 1689 places it in the bottom 20% of all tested pairings for The Medium. This is a surprisingly low position given the strength of the Intel Core i7-14700K, which sits in the 96th percentile among all CPUs tested. The discrepancy highlights that the AMD Radeon RX 6600, which only reaches the 69th percentile among GPUs, is the limiting factor. Benchmark results indicate that the GPU’s performance ceiling is reached long before the CPU’s potential is tapped, leading to frame rates that are dictated almost entirely by graphics settings and resolution.

Compared to other combos, this pairing behaves like a mid-range GPU strapped to a flagship processor. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-14700KF (0% delta) and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (-0.5% delta), show virtually identical average scores, confirming that the CPU is not the differentiator here. Instead, the GPU’s nearest rivals—like the AMD Radeon 890M (0% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (0.5% delta)—are what truly matter for predicting in-game performance. The data suggests that swapping the CPU for a cheaper model would yield nearly identical FPS, while upgrading the GPU would provide substantial gains.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s base clock is 1626 MHz, with a boost clock of 2491 MHz and a game clock of 2044 MHz. These clocks are moderate by modern standards, and the 1792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs reflect a design aimed at 1080p gaming rather than high-resolution workloads.

In The Medium, the GPU’s memory capacity and bandwidth become critical. The game’s measured FPS drops sharply as resolution increases, which points to the 8 GB frame buffer and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth being insufficient for 4K textures and effects. At 3840x2160, even the Low preset only manages 53.2 FPS, while the Ultra preset falls to a slideshow-like 19 FPS. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 8.928 TFLOPS and texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s are adequate for 1080p, but they cannot sustain playable frame rates at higher resolutions. The data shows a GPU that is clearly optimized for 1920x1080, where it delivers its best results.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only configuration that delivers a consistently smooth frame rate, averaging 85.9 FPS. This is the sweet spot for this combo, providing a 60+ FPS experience that is essential for a horror game where responsiveness matters. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 53.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for maintaining immersion, while High and Ultra fall to 36.8 FPS and 29.6 FPS respectively, making them less suitable for action sequences.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only viable option, averaging 71.8 FPS, but it still falls short of the 1080p Low performance. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 42.3 FPS, which is borderline, and High and Ultra are not recommended due to sub-30 FPS averages. At 3840x2160, no preset is playable; even Low only reaches 53.2 FPS, and Ultra is a non-starter at 19 FPS. The practical recommendation is to stick with 1080p Low or Medium, accepting a trade-off between visual fidelity and smoothness. The data strongly suggests that this combo is not suited for 1440p or 4K gaming in The Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS shows a clear scaling pattern. Low settings deliver 85.9 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded across all resolutions and presets. Medium settings drop to 53.5 FPS, a 37.6% reduction, while High settings yield 36.8 FPS and Ultra settings drop to 29.6 FPS. This progression indicates that the GPU’s shading units and memory bandwidth are quickly saturated as quality increases, with the jump from Low to Medium being particularly steep.

At 2560x1440, the performance decline is more pronounced. Low settings average 71.8 FPS, which is still respectable, but Medium drops to 42.3 FPS, High to 32.9 FPS, and Ultra to 24 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium widens further, showing that resolution scaling taxes the GPU heavily. At 3840x2160, the results are grim: Low averages 53.2 FPS, Medium drops to 34.5 FPS, High to 27.5 FPS, and Ultra to 19 FPS. The data reveals that this GPU cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K under any settings, and even 1440p requires Low settings to approach a smooth experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this CPU/GPU pairing in The Medium?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings provides the highest average FPS at 85.9, making it the only configuration that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. Medium at 1080p is also playable at 53.5 FPS.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 53.2 on Low settings, while Ultra drops to 19 FPS. None of the 4K presets achieve a smooth 60 FPS experience.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 has an average benchmark score of 25235, which is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon 890M (25246, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180, 0.2% delta). It is also very close to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (25120, 0.5% delta).

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700K a bottleneck for the RX 6600 in this game?

A: No, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The i7-14700K ranks in the 96th percentile among CPUs, while the GPU only ranks in the 69th percentile. The GPU’s performance ceiling is reached well before the CPU’s capabilities are exhausted.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings average 71.8 FPS, while Ultra settings average only 24 FPS. This represents a significant drop of 47.8 FPS, or about 66.6% lower performance.

Q: Does this combo have enough VRAM for The Medium at high settings?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 224.0 GB/s bandwidth. At 4K High settings, the average FPS drops to 27.5, suggesting the VRAM and bandwidth are insufficient for high-resolution textures and effects.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It features a 33 MB shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the dual-channel memory bus limits bandwidth for gaming workloads. The CPU’s benchmarks are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44534 and a single-core score of 6287, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, scores 70104 on average, which is effectively identical (0% delta), confirming that the KF variant offers no performance advantage in this context.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is largely passive due to the GPU bottleneck. The game’s measured FPS scales almost entirely with GPU settings and resolution, not CPU load. The i7-14700K’s high single-thread performance, evidenced by a PassMark single-thread score of 4472, would be beneficial for games that rely heavily on one core, but the data does not show this here. Instead, the CPU’s 125W TDP and 10 nm process node indicate a powerful but power-hungry component that is overkill for this pairing. The benchmark results suggest that a less powerful CPU would deliver nearly identical frame rates, making the i7-14700K’s inclusion in this combo more about future-proofing than immediate gaming performance.