The Medium

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics within The Medium. The benchmark data reveals a system where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, yet the scaling patterns across resolutions suggest the CPU has enough headroom to push frame rates significantly higher if the graphics card could keep pace. This combination, ranking 1250th out of 1689 tested combos, places it in the lower-middle tier, but the performance deltas between settings tell a story of untapped potential.

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

The frame rate degradation from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 87.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 61 FPS at 3840x2160 — a drop of 30.2%. Moving to High settings, the decline is from 42.7 FPS down to 27.4 FPS, a 35.8% reduction. The most punishing preset, Ultra, sees the 1080p average of 34.2 FPS plummet to a barely playable 22.2 FPS at 4K, a 35.1% loss.

These percentages are remarkably uniform, hovering around the 30-36% mark regardless of the preset. This consistency is telling; if the CPU were the limiting factor, the drop would be much less severe when moving from 1440p to 4K, as the resolution increase would not add significant load to the processor. Instead, the data shows that every pixel increase directly taxes the RX 5700 XT, confirming the GPU as the primary constraint. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on the card is likely being saturated at higher resolutions, particularly with the more demanding textures of High and Ultra presets. The implication is that the i7-14700KF is not the bottleneck here; it is waiting for the Radeon card to deliver frames.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

With a combo rank of 1250 out of 1689 total combinations, this system sits in the 26th percentile of all tested configurations. This is a low placement, but it does not reflect poorly on the CPU. The i7-14700KF is a top-tier processor, and its benchmark scores confirm this; it holds a 96th percentile ranking against all CPUs. The GPU, however, is a different story. The RX 5700 XT is placed in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 24731 places it in a dead heat with rivals like the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile and the Intel Arc A350M.

The deltaPct values for the GPU's nearest rivals are all within a single percentage point, indicating that the RX 5700 XT is performing exactly as expected for its class. The system's low overall rank, therefore, is a direct consequence of pairing an exceptionally strong CPU with a mid-range GPU. The data suggests that this combination is heavily unbalanced for The Medium, leaving significant performance on the table. In a game that is not particularly CPU-intensive, the i7-14700KF's power is largely wasted, while the RX 5700 XT struggles to maintain high frame rates at demanding settings.

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

The benchmark results point towards Low settings as the only viable option for a consistently smooth experience, particularly at higher resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 87.4 FPS, which is excellent. However, the Medium preset drops to 54.4 FPS, and High falls further to 42.7 FPS. The Ultra preset is the worst offender, averaging just 34.2 FPS at 1080p.

Given that The Medium is a horror game where atmosphere is paramount, the visual quality loss from Low settings is a real trade-off. Nevertheless, the data is clear: Medium settings at 2560x1440 produce 47 FPS, which is borderline for a smooth experience. The optimal compromise for visual fidelity and performance appears to be Medium at 1080p, which provides 54.4 FPS — a playable frame rate that retains more graphical detail. At 4K, only the Low preset with 61 FPS is acceptable, as Medium falls to 35.7 FPS, High to 27.4 FPS, and Ultra to 22.2 FPS. For this hardware, the sweet spot is either Low at 1440p for higher fidelity or Medium at 1080p for a balance.

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

The complete dataset provides a clear picture of the system's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are as follows: Low averages 87.4 FPS, Medium averages 54.4 FPS, High averages 42.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 34.2 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 75.7 FPS for Low, 47 FPS for Medium, 33.9 FPS for High, and 29.1 FPS for Ultra. At the demanding 3840x2160 resolution, the numbers fall further: Low averages 61 FPS, Medium averages 35.7 FPS, High averages 27.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 22.2 FPS.

The scaling between Low and Ultra is significant at every resolution. At 1080p, the difference is 53.2 FPS; at 1440p, it is 46.6 FPS; and at 4K, it is 38.8 FPS. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming the absolute limiting factor, and the extra work from the Ultra preset is simply too much for the card to handle. The data shows a linear progression of performance degradation as settings increase, with no anomalies or unexpected spikes, reinforcing the consistency of the GPU-bound behavior.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1605 MHz, with a game clock of 1755 MHz and a boost clock of 1905 MHz. These specifications dictate the card's performance ceiling, and the benchmark data shows it struggling to maintain high frame rates in The Medium at higher settings.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor. The Medium is known for rendering two worlds simultaneously, which can be taxing on memory. The frame rate collapse from Low to Medium settings at 4K (61 FPS to 35.7 FPS) suggests that the card is hitting a memory bandwidth or capacity wall. The card's 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is respectable for its generation, but it is clearly insufficient for the demands of this title at high presets. The GPU's percentile ranking of 68 against all GPUs, and its average benchmark score being nearly identical to its nearest rivals, confirms that it is performing to spec; the issue is that the spec is simply not high enough for this game's requirements.

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

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a powerhouse with 20 cores and 28 threads, running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It has a large 33 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 and a single-core score of 6290. The CPU's percentile ranking of 96 against all CPUs places it in the top 4% of all processors.

Despite this immense power, the CPU's role in The Medium appears minimal. The frame rates are clearly dictated by the GPU. The CPU's nearest rival, the Core i7-14700K, has an average score that is effectively identical, and the deltaPct values for other rivals are all within 1.3%. This indicates that even a slightly stronger CPU would not improve the in-game performance. The i7-14700KF is providing more than enough processing power to feed the RX 5700 XT; the bottleneck is unequivocally the graphics card. The data implies that a user could swap in a much weaker CPU and see virtually the same frame rates in this specific game, highlighting the GPU-bound nature of the workload.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?*

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings yields an average of 54.4 FPS, while Low settings at the same resolution provide 87.4 FPS. For a balance of quality and performance, 1080p is the most reliable choice.

Q: Can this system run the game at 4K smoothly?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages only 22.2 FPS, and High averages 27.4 FPS. Only the Low preset, at 61 FPS, is playable at that resolution.

Q: How does the RX 5700 XT compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 24731 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, which scores 24763 with a deltaPct of -0.1. The Intel Arc A350M is 0.3% behind, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile is 0.6% behind.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF a bottleneck for this game?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores are in the 96th percentile, and the frame rate scaling across resolutions is consistent with a GPU bottleneck. The i7-14700KF has ample headroom.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 75.7 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 29.1 FPS. This represents a performance drop of 46.6 FPS when switching to the highest quality settings.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to High at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 87.4 FPS, which is 44.7 FPS faster than the High preset's 42.7 FPS average.