The Medium

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a playable but inconsistent experience in The Medium, with performance heavily dependent on the preset selected. The data shows a combo that ranks in the 77th percentile (833rd of 3724 tested combinations), indicating solid mid-to-high-tier capability, yet the frame rates at 4K Ultra reveal a clear ceiling. This analysis breaks down the processor’s role, answers key questions, and provides setting recommendations based solely on the measured results.

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

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor built on Intel’s 10 nm Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its L3 cache is 33 MB shared, and it supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5 and a single-core score of 2160, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 69355 puts it within 0.1% of the AMD EPYC 9115 and 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, showing it trades blows with top-tier rivals in raw compute.

For The Medium, a horror game that relies on fixed camera angles and heavy environmental detail, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and maintain frame pacing. The 14700K’s high boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for the game’s logical thread. The 28 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks, but the measured FPS data suggests that the game is not heavily multi-threaded; otherwise, we would see less variance between CPU-bound and GPU-bound scenarios.

The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the limiting factor in most tested configurations. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 150 FPS average, which is a strong indicator that the CPU can drive high frame rates without bottlenecking. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 35 FPS, and at 4K High it is 44 FPS — these are GPU-bound results. The CPU’s 33 MB of shared L3 cache helps with texture streaming in large scenes, but the 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on the RTX 4070 is more relevant for the 4K resolutions. The CPU’s passmark multithread score of 52392 further confirms its capacity, yet the game’s engine appears to scale more with GPU load, as evidenced by the FPS drops when resolution increases.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 150, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration to break the 150 FPS mark, and it shows the combo’s maximum capability in this game.

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

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 69355, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 9115 (69288) and 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515). This places it in a statistical tie with those processors, with differences of less than 1%.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 a bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, the data indicates a GPU bottleneck at 4K. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 35 (Ultra) to 99 (Low), while at 1080p, the same settings yield 53 to 150 FPS. The drastic drop with resolution increases points to the GPU being the limiting component, not the CPU.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at 1440p Medium?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo produces an average of 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. This 24 FPS spread indicates moderate frame pacing, but the minimum stays above 60 FPS, making it a viable option.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 833rd out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 77.6% of all configurations. This is a strong result, though not elite-tier.

Q: Does the CPU’s 20-core count translate to better FPS in this game?

A: No, not directly. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 150 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 35 FPS. The CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads do not prevent these drops; the performance scaling follows GPU load, not core count.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 150 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 126 FPS, and at 4K Low it falls to 99 FPS. This represents a 34% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is a relatively modest drop compared to higher presets. For Medium settings, the scaling is steeper: 93 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K — a 33% drop from 1080p to 4K.

The High and Ultra presets show the most severe scaling. At High, the combo goes from 67 FPS at 1080p to 56 FPS at 1440p and 44 FPS at 4K, a 34% reduction overall. At Ultra, the numbers are 53 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K, which is a 34% drop as well. This consistent ~34% reduction across all settings indicates that the RTX 4070 is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the CPU’s performance headroom (evidenced by the 150 FPS at 1080p Low) is not being fully utilized.

The data suggests that the GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the 192-bit bus width and 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance become strained. The RTX 4070’s 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs (average benchmark score 37648) places it near the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.4% faster) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (1.3% slower), but these rivals would likely show similar scaling patterns. The conclusion is that for 4K gaming, this combo requires reduced settings to maintain playable frame rates, while 1080p and 1440p are the sweet spots.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The comboRankInGame field shows a rank of 833 out of 3724 total combos, which translates to roughly the 77.6th percentile. This is a strong showing for a mid-to-high-end pairing, but it is not near the top of the database. The rank suggests that in The Medium, there are 832 combinations that achieve better average FPS across all tested settings and resolutions. This is expected given that the RTX 4070, while capable, is not a flagship GPU; its percentileVsAllGpus of 81% and the presence of faster cards in the database explain the rank.

Comparatively, the CPU’s percentileVsAllCpus of 94% is much higher than the GPU’s 81%, which reinforces that the GPU is the weaker link in this combo. The CPU’s nearest rivals — the AMD EPYC 9115 (0.1% faster) and AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.2% faster) — would likely push the combo to a slightly higher rank if paired with a stronger GPU, but with the RTX 4070, the rank is capped by GPU performance. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 150 FPS, which is likely near the top of what the RTX 4070 can deliver in this game, even with a faster CPU. Thus, the rank of 833 is a fair representation of the GPU’s capabilities, not a reflection of CPU inadequacy.

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

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings presets. Starting at 1920x1080, the combo achieves an average of 150 FPS on Low, 93 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 79 and maximum of 108), 67 FPS on High, and 53 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset is the only one at 1080p with min/max data, showing a 29 FPS spread that indicates some frame time variability but still a playable experience.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop as expected: 126 FPS on Low, 79 FPS on Medium (min 67, max 91), 56 FPS on High, and 45 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset again has the only min/max data, with a 24 FPS spread, slightly tighter than at 1080p. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls below 60 FPS, which may be noticeable for some players, but the Low and Medium presets remain smooth.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit: 99 FPS on Low, 62 FPS on Medium (min 53, max 71), 44 FPS on High, and 35 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 53 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, but the average of 62 FPS is borderline acceptable. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are not recommended for smooth gameplay, as they average 44 and 35 FPS respectively. The data shows a clear trend: for 4K, only Low and Medium settings provide average FPS above 60, while at 1080p, even Ultra stays above 50 FPS.

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

Based on the measured FPS, the best experience depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the best balance: 93 FPS average with a minimum of 79 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 67 FPS is also viable, but the 26 FPS drop from Medium to High may not justify the visual gains. The Ultra preset at 53 FPS is playable but borders on the edge of smoothness, so Medium is the recommended choice for a consistent experience.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset leads with 126 FPS, but that comes with reduced visual quality. The Medium preset at 79 FPS (min 67) is the best recommendation for a balance of quality and performance, as it maintains an average above 75 FPS with a minimum above 60. The High preset at 56 FPS is below the 60 FPS mark, and Ultra at 45 FPS is not recommended. For players prioritizing visual fidelity over raw FPS, High is acceptable, but Medium is the safer choice.

For 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset at 99 FPS is the only one that provides a wide margin above 60 FPS, but it sacrifices significant visual detail. The Medium preset at 62 FPS (min 53) is technically above 60 on average, but the minimum dips below, which could cause occasional stutters. The High (44 FPS) and Ultra (35 FPS) presets are not recommended for standard gameplay. The best experience at 4K is Medium, if the player can tolerate occasional dips to 53 FPS, or Low for guaranteed smoothness. Overall, the data suggests that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, offering 79 FPS with a minimum of 67, which provides a smooth and visually rich experience without the compromises required at 4K.