The Medium

The Medium with the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 presents a fascinating case study in system bottlenecking. The data reveals a configuration where the CPU’s immense processing power is frequently held back by the GPU’s 8 GB memory capacity and mid-range compute capabilities. This analysis examines the measured FPS data across resolutions and settings to understand where the true limits of this pairing lie.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a significant and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the pattern of the drop reveals crucial information about the system's limiting components. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 96 FPS. Scaling up to 1440p at the same settings reduces the average to 81 FPS, a 15.6% decrease. Moving to 4K at Low settings results in 64 FPS, which is a 33.3% drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling behavior indicates that the game becomes increasingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, as the pixel count grows exponentially.

The impact of resolution is even more pronounced at higher graphical presets. At High settings, the system delivers 43 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 36 FPS at 1440p (a 16.3% decrease) and then to 29 FPS at 4K (a 32.6% decrease from 1080p). This consistent scaling pattern suggests that the RTX 5050’s rendering pipeline is the primary constraint as the workload shifts from CPU-bound at lower resolutions to heavily GPU-bound at 4K. The fact that the drop from 1080p to 1440p is smaller than the drop from 1440p to 4K in both Low and High presets points to the exponential increase in pixel count being the dominant factor.

The data implies that the Intel Core i7-14700K is not the limiting factor in these scenarios. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU has the most headroom to work, the system only reaches 96 FPS. Given the CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 33440.5 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4472, the processor is clearly capable of far higher frame rates in less demanding titles. The RTX 5050, sitting in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, is the bottleneck. The difference between the 1080p Low and 4K Low results (96 FPS vs 64 FPS) shows a 33% performance loss, which is a direct consequence of the GPU's fillrate and memory bandwidth limits at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo can achieve in The Medium?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 96 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the data that achieves over 90 FPS, indicating that the system’s maximum output is well below what the CPU could theoretically support.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain smooth gameplay on higher presets. It achieves 64 FPS on Low, 40 FPS on Medium, 29 FPS on High, and only 23 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results show that this is not a viable resolution for a high-fidelity experience with this hardware configuration.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700K a bottleneck for the RTX 5050 in this game?

A: The benchmark data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. The system’s frame rates are moderate even at 1080p Low, and the RTX 5050’s performance percentile (66th) is significantly lower than the CPU’s (94th). When a CPU is the bottleneck, frame rates typically remain static across different resolutions, which is not the case here.

Q: At 1440p, what are the playable settings options?

A: At 2560x1440, the system provides 81 FPS on Low, 51 FPS on Medium, and 36 FPS on High settings. The Medium preset offers a balanced 51 FPS, which is above 60 FPS thresholds for smoother play. The Ultra preset drops to 29 FPS, which is likely too low for a comfortable experience.

Q: How does the RTX 5050's VRAM capacity affect the results?

A: The RTX 5050 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The performance drop from Medium to High settings at each resolution (e.g., from 40 FPS to 29 FPS at 4K) suggests that the game’s higher presets may be exceeding the memory capacity or bandwidth, forcing the GPU to manage assets less efficiently.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the difference is substantial. The Low preset achieves 96 FPS, while the Ultra preset is only capable of 34 FPS. This represents a 64.6% reduction in average frame rate, highlighting the significant graphical workload increase that the Ultra preset imposes on the GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the clear performance limiter in this configuration. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, the GPU has a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. While this is sufficient for lower settings, the data suggests it becomes a constraint as the game's visual complexity increases. The measured FPS drop from Medium to High settings is consistent across all resolutions: a 22.5% drop at 4K (40 to 29 FPS), a 29.4% drop at 1440p (51 to 36 FPS), and a 28.3% drop at 1080p (60 to 43 FPS). This pattern indicates that the High preset introduces a heavy load on the GPU’s shading units and memory system.

The GPU’s clock speeds, with a base of 2317 MHz and a boost of 2572 MHz, are relatively high. However, the underlying chip, GB207, has only 2560 shading units and 32 ROPs. This limits the pixel throughput, which is calculated at 82.30 GPixel/s. The benchmark results show this limitation clearly, as the GPU’s performance is in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 21035 is comparable to rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, which has a score of 20713. This places the RTX 5050 in a performance tier that is ill-suited for the demands of a modern horror title like The Medium at high resolutions.

The data implies that the 8 GB VRAM is a primary culprit for the poor scaling at higher settings. The transition from Medium to High likely increases texture quality and shadow detail, which consumes additional memory. With only 8 GB, the GPU may be forced to swap data in and out of system memory, creating a significant performance penalty. The fact that the 4K Ultra preset only achieves 23 FPS, while 4K Low achieves 64 FPS, suggests that the Ultra preset’s memory footprint is simply too large for this GPU to handle efficiently.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience balances visual fidelity with playable frame rates. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, the only viable option is 1080p with Low settings, which delivers 96 FPS. If a user prefers higher visual quality, the 1080p Medium preset offers a solid 60 FPS average, with minimums of 51 FPS and maximums of 69 FPS. This provides a good baseline for a smooth experience without significant graphical compromises.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the most balanced choice, providing an average of 51 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS target but remains playable for a slow-paced horror game. The High preset at 1440p drops to 36 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter and is not recommended for a comfortable experience. For 4K gaming, the Low preset is the only option that approaches playability, with an average of 64 FPS. However, the 4K Medium preset, at 40 FPS, could be acceptable for users prioritizing resolution over smoothness.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution. It yields 34 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. These frame rates are below 30 FPS for 1440p and 4K, which is generally considered the minimum for a playable experience in a story-driven game. The data clearly suggests that the RTX 5050 is not powerful enough to handle the Ultra preset’s demands in The Medium, and users should stick to Medium or Low settings to maintain performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1765th out of 2911 tested combinations in The Medium. This places the combo in the bottom 40% of all configurations. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU’s limitations. While the CPU is a top-tier performer, ranking in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, the GPU’s 66th percentile ranking anchors the overall system performance.

The data shows a significant mismatch in the capabilities of the two components. The CPU is capable of handling far more complex workloads, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X. However, the GPU’s performance is more comparable to lower-tier cards like the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT. This pairing results in a system that is heavily GPU-bound in The Medium, meaning that the CPU’s power is largely wasted in this specific title.

The rank of 1765 indicates that most other tested combinations, even those with significantly weaker CPUs, would perform better in this game if paired with a stronger GPU. The bottleneck is so pronounced that the system’s performance is essentially determined by the RTX 5050’s capabilities. For users seeking a better experience in The Medium, upgrading the GPU would yield far more significant gains than upgrading the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates reveal a clear hierarchy of performance based on resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 96 FPS on Low, 60 FPS on Medium (with min 51 and max 69), 43 FPS on High, and 34 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease to 81 FPS on Low, 51 FPS on Medium (with min 43 and max 58), 36 FPS on High, and 29 FPS on Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. The system delivers 64 FPS on Low, 40 FPS on Medium (with min 34 and max 46), 29 FPS on High, and 23 FPS on Ultra. The lack of min/max data for most configurations suggests that the tests were likely run with frame time variance in mind, but the averages provide a clear picture of the system’s capabilities.

The data shows that the jump from Low to Medium settings has a consistent penalty of roughly 33% at each resolution (96 to 60 at 1080p, 81 to 51 at 1440p, and 64 to 40 at 4K). This is a significant increase in visual quality for a manageable performance cost. The jump from Medium to High results in a smaller penalty of about 28% (60 to 43, 51 to 36, and 40 to 29). The jump to Ultra is the most punishing, with an additional 20% drop from High (43 to 34, 36 to 29, and 29 to 23).

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a formidable processor, featuring 20 cores and 28 threads. Its architecture, Raptor Lake, is built on a 10 nm process and supports a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it excels, scoring 33440.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2160 in single-core. It also achieves a Passmark multi-thread score of 52392 and a single-thread score of 4472. These results place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, indicating exceptional processing power.

However, in The Medium, this power is largely untapped. The highest frame rate achieved is 96 FPS at 1080p Low, which is a modest result for a CPU of this caliber. The benchmark data suggests that the game is not heavily threaded, or that the GPU is simply too slow to feed the CPU with enough frames to utilize its full potential. The CPU’s performance is so far ahead of the GPU that it is never the limiting factor in any of the tested configurations.

The data implies that the CPU’s role in this system is to provide a stable platform without introducing any bottlenecks. Its high single-thread performance, evidenced by the Cinebench R15 single-core score of 313.5, ensures that the game's main logic thread is processed efficiently. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache also helps with data locality. Yet, the system’s frame rates are capped by the RTX 5050. The CPU is effectively waiting for the GPU to complete its rendering tasks, making the processor a silent partner in a system where the graphics card is the star, albeit a dim one.