The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title with heavy pre-rendered backdrops and real-time 3D layers, presents a unique load profile. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT across three resolutions and four quality presets. The data reveals a system that is decisively GPU-limited at higher settings, but whose performance scaling across resolutions suggests a more complex interaction than a simple pixel-count bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and non-linear, which is the first sign that the rendering load is dominated by pixel processing. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 (a 4x increase in pixel count) reduces the average frame rate from 92 FPS to 62.9 FPS, a drop of roughly 32%. This is a smaller relative decline than the theoretical 4x pixel load would suggest, indicating that at Low settings, the game is not purely fill-rate limited; other factors like CPU draw calls or bandwidth begin to matter.

The picture changes dramatically at higher presets. Moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings, the average FPS falls from 36.2 to 25.1, a 31% reduction. However, the absolute gap between 1080p High (42.5 FPS) and 4K High (25.1 FPS) is 17.4 FPS. This shows that as quality increases, the GPU's compute and memory subsystems become the primary constraint. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Medium (57.8 to 47.9 FPS) is a 17% drop, while the jump to 4K Medium (38.2 FPS) is another 20% drop. This consistent degradation across all settings confirms that the RX 6600 XT's 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 10.60 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are being saturated by the game's increased shader complexity.

The most telling data point is the Ultra preset. At 4K Ultra, the system manages only 22 FPS, while at 1440p Ultra it hits 29.4 FPS. The difference between 1080p Ultra (29.5 FPS) and 1440p Ultra is negligible (0.1 FPS), suggesting the GPU has hit a hard computational wall. This plateau indicates that at Ultra settings, the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU's raw shading throughput, not memory or CPU. The CPU, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is likely idle, waiting for the GPU to finish each frame.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip. Its specifications—8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, a boost clock of 2589 MHz, and a game clock of 2359 MHz—paint a picture of a mid-range part. The benchmark results show it sits in the 71st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27985. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, scores nearly identically, being just 0.1% ahead. This places the RX 6600 XT in a performance tier that is capable of 1080p gaming but struggles with the demands of 4K.

The measured FPS data directly reflects this. At 1080p Low, the GPU delivers a smooth 92 FPS, proving it has ample headroom for lighter loads. However, the moment the resolution or settings increase, the frame rate craters. At 4K High, the 25.1 FPS average is a direct consequence of the GPU's limited 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 128-bit memory bus is a critical bottleneck; the game's texture streaming and buffer operations at high resolution outpace the data transfer rate. The 8 GB VRAM capacity, while sufficient for 1080p, may also be a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the 22 FPS result suggests the card is not just computationally bound but possibly swapping data.

The GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as its 16461 score in Passmark G3D and 1804 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, corroborates the gaming data. These scores indicate a card that is a strong 1080p performer but is out of its depth at 4K. The boost clock of 2589 MHz is high, but it cannot compensate for the narrow memory bus and limited ROP count (64). The data clearly shows that the GPU is the dominant performance limiter in this configuration for all settings above Low.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a powerhouse, with 20 cores (8 performance and 12 efficiency), 28 threads, and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70074. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, is effectively identical (0% delta), and it is 0.5% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X. This is a top-tier processor that is unlikely to bottleneck any mainstream GPU in most scenarios.

In this game's data, the CPU's role becomes apparent only when the GPU is under less stress. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 92 FPS. This is a high frame rate, but not exceptionally so, suggesting the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU. However, the fact that the FPS does not scale higher at 1080p Low, despite the GPU having headroom, hints that the game's engine may have a single-threaded dependency or a draw-call limit. The i7-14700K's single-core performance, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6287, is exceptional, yet the game may still be limited by its own engine logic.

As resolution increases, the CPU's influence wanes. The consistent FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are entirely attributable to the GPU. The CPU's multi-core strength, shown by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44534, is largely irrelevant here because The Medium is not a heavily threaded game. The 28 threads and 33 MB of shared L3 cache are not being utilized to their full potential. The data suggests that the i7-14700K is overkill for this specific game, providing a massive performance buffer that ensures it is never the limiting factor. The bottleneck is entirely on the GPU side, which means the CPU's 125W TDP and high clock speeds are not the reason for the low FPS at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 1191 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the bottom 30% of all system configurations. This low ranking is surprising given the high performance of the CPU. The data indicates that the ranking is dragged down almost entirely by the GPU's inability to handle the game's heavy visual load.

A rank of 1191 out of 1689 means the majority of tested systems perform better. This is not a reflection of the CPU, which is in the top 4% of all CPUs. Instead, it highlights how a pairing a top-tier CPU with a mid-range GPU creates a significant imbalance. The benchmark results for the GPU, which place it in the 71st percentile, are the primary driver of this combo's low rank. The CPU's percentile ranking (96th) is nearly irrelevant to the game's final FPS because the GPU is the bottleneck.

The data implies that to move up this ranking, a user would need a more powerful GPU. The i7-14700K has so much headroom that it could easily support a GPU that is 50% faster without becoming the limiting factor. The combo's rank is a cautionary tale about pairing components with mismatched performance tiers. The CPU is a "halo" product, while the GPU is a mainstream product, and the game's performance reflects the lower-performing component. The 1191 rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's measured FPS, which are all below 60 FPS at 1440p and higher.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the playable experience is heavily dependent on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Low preset provides an excellent 92 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p still delivers a very playable 57.8 FPS. The High preset at 1080p drops to 42.5 FPS, which is acceptable but not ideal for a game that may have fast camera cuts. The Ultra preset at 1080p is a poor choice, yielding only 29.5 FPS.

At 1440p, the choices narrow. The Low preset is the only one that maintains a high frame rate, hitting 75.2 FPS. The Medium preset at 47.9 FPS is borderline playable, but it may suffer from noticeable stutter. The High preset at 36.2 FPS is too low for a smooth experience. At 4K, all presets are below 60 FPS. The Low preset at 62.9 FPS is technically playable, while the Medium preset (38.2 FPS), High (25.1 FPS), and Ultra (22 FPS) are not recommended for a comfortable experience.

The best experience per the data is to target 1080p with the Medium preset, balancing visual quality with a solid 57.8 FPS. For a higher visual fidelity, 1080p High at 42.5 FPS is the highest quality setting that remains consistently playable. At 1440p, the Low preset is the only sensible choice for a smooth frame rate. The data suggests that this system is best used at 1080p, where the GPU's performance is sufficient to avoid severe frame rate dips. Pushing to 1440p or 4K requires sacrificing quality to the Low preset, which negates the visual benefits of a higher resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the system produces an average of 92 FPS on Low, 57.8 FPS on Medium, 42.5 FPS on High, and 29.5 FPS on Ultra. The difference between Low and Medium is 34.2 FPS, showing a significant performance hit from modest quality increases. The jump from High to Ultra is a smaller 13 FPS drop, but it pushes the frame rate below the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS is 75.2 on Low, 47.9 on Medium, 36.2 on High, and 29.4 on Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 27.3 FPS. The performance hit from 1080p to 1440p is 16.8 FPS on Low, 9.9 FPS on Medium, 6.3 FPS on High, and 0.1 FPS on Ultra. The negligible difference on Ultra (29.5 to 29.4 FPS) confirms the GPU is completely saturated, with no headroom to handle the extra pixels.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS is 62.9 on Low, 38.2 on Medium, 25.1 on High, and 22 on Ultra. The transition from 1440p to 4K costs 12.3 FPS on Low, 9.7 FPS on Medium, 11.1 FPS on High, and 7.4 FPS on Ultra. The Low preset is the only one that remains above 60 FPS at 4K. The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution increase costs a similar amount of FPS at higher settings, but at Low settings the GPU has enough bandwidth to mitigate the impact slightly.

FAQ

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

A: The data indicates 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 57.8 FPS and the Low preset delivers 92 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset (75.2 FPS) provides a frame rate above 60 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700K or the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT the bottleneck?

A: The GPU is the definitive bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 71st percentile. The FPS drops consistently with resolution and settings, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU's performance is so high that it is never the limiting factor.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 62.9 FPS on the Low preset. All other presets at 4K are below 40 FPS, with Ultra at 22 FPS. The GPU's 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 10.60 TFLOPS of compute cannot keep up with the 4K pixel count.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 1191 out of 1689 tested combinations. This low rank is primarily due to the GPU's performance, as it places the system in the bottom 30% of all configurations, despite having a top-tier CPU.

Q: What is the impact of the GPU's memory bandwidth on the results?

A: The GPU's 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is a critical limiting factor. The data shows a steep FPS drop when moving to higher resolutions, which increases memory pressure. The 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are unable to efficiently handle the texture loads at 4K, contributing to the low frame rates.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever playable with this hardware?

A: No. The Ultra preset only achieves 29.5 FPS at 1080p, 29.4 FPS at 1440p, and 22 FPS at 4K. These frame rates are below the acceptable threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating the Ultra preset is not viable with the RX 6600 XT in this title.