The Medium

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti delivers a highly capable, yet distinctly GPU-bound experience in The Medium. The data indicates that while the CPU provides ample headroom, the graphics card is the primary determinant of frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings. This combination ranks in the 91st percentile (147th out of 1,689 combos) in this game, placing it firmly in the upper echelon of tested systems, though the specific bottleneck shifts decisively toward the GPU as resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, operating at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its 33 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a robust foundation for gaming workloads. In this benchmark suite, the processor demonstrates exceptional raw capability, scoring 44,557 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6,290 in single-core tests. Its Passmark single-thread score of 4,480 and multithread score of 52,425 place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, indicating that it is not a limiting factor in this title.

The benchmark results for The Medium show that the CPU has a minimal impact on frame rate variance. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 172.4 FPS, whereas at 4K with Ultra settings, it drops to 42.8 FPS. This dramatic scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The processor’s performance relative to its nearest rivals reinforces this interpretation; the i7-14700KF scores within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X and is statistically tied with the Intel Core i7-14700K (0% delta). Such proximity in synthetic benchmarks, combined with the game’s performance scaling, suggests that any of these high-end CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in The Medium, as the workload is not CPU-intensive. The CPU’s role here is to provide a stable, high-frequency platform that ensures the GPU receives data without stutter, rather than to actively push frame rates higher.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 Ti in The Medium?*

A: No, the data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The system scales from 172.4 FPS at 1080p Low to 42.8 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is a classic GPU-bound pattern. The CPU’s 96th percentile ranking and high single-thread scores (6,290 in Cinebench R23) suggest it has ample headroom to feed the GPU.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a 60 FPS average?

A: Based on the measured rows, the only resolution/settings combination that falls below a 60 FPS average is 4K Ultra (42.8 FPS). All other settings at 4K achieve at least 54.2 FPS (High). At 1440p, even the Ultra preset delivers 51.2 FPS, while Medium and High exceed 60 FPS (92 and 64.9 FPS respectively). For a strict 60 FPS floor, 1440p Medium or 4K High are the highest fidelity options.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700K?

A: The benchmark data shows a 0% delta in average score between the i7-14700KF and i7-14700K, meaning they are functionally identical in performance for this analysis. The i7-14700KF is also only 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, indicating that these processors are in the same performance tier.

Q: Does increasing the resolution from 1080p to 4K cause a proportional frame rate drop?

A: The frame rate drop is significant but not perfectly proportional. At High settings, the game runs at 80.7 FPS at 1080p, 64.9 FPS at 1440p, and 54.2 FPS at 4K. This represents a 19.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 16.5% drop from 1440p to 4K, showing that the GPU is being tasked more heavily at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile relative to other graphics cards?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti scores in the 85th percentile of all GPUs. In its benchmark, it is 1.5% behind the Intel Arc A730M and 1.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580, placing it in a competitive mid-to-high range tier.

Q: Is the combo’s ranking of 147 out of 1689 considered good?

A: Yes, with a rank of 147 out of 1,689, this combo sits in the top 8.7% of all tested combinations in The Medium. This indicates that the system provides a very high level of performance relative to the broader database of hardware pairings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p, the system achieves its highest frame rates, ranging from 172.4 FPS at Low to 64.7 FPS at Ultra. Moving to 1440p, the averages drop by approximately 20% across all settings: from 80.7 to 64.9 FPS at High, and from 107.6 to 92 FPS at Medium. The most substantial impact is seen at 4K, where the Ultra preset falls to 42.8 FPS, a 33.8% reduction from its 1440p counterpart. This pattern indicates that the limiting component is the GPU, as the CPU’s performance ceiling is not being approached at any resolution. The RTX 4070 Ti’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated by the game’s visual demands at higher resolutions, particularly at Ultra settings. The data shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution: at 1080p, the difference is 107.7 FPS, while at 4K, it is 76.3 FPS. This suggests that the GPU’s compute resources, not memory capacity alone, are the primary constraint, as the game becomes more demanding on shader and pixel throughput at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

For an optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot for this hardware combination. At 1440p, Medium yields 92 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience. At 4K, the Medium preset delivers 75.2 FPS, which is also highly playable. The High preset is a viable alternative for those prioritizing image quality over headroom, with 64.9 FPS at 1440p and 54.2 FPS at 4K. However, the Ultra preset is not recommended for any resolution if a consistent 60 FPS is desired, as it only achieves 64.7 FPS at 1080p and drops to 51.2 FPS at 1440p and 42.8 FPS at 4K. The Low preset, while offering high frame rates (150.1 FPS at 1440p and 119.1 FPS at 4K), likely reduces visual quality too significantly for a horror title that relies on atmosphere. Therefore, Medium is the recommended preset, as it provides a significant performance margin over High while maintaining a level of detail that is not excessively compromised.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti achieves a rank of 147 out of 1,689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 8.7% of all systems in the database, indicating a high-performance pairing. The rank reflects the synergy of a top-tier CPU (96th percentile) with a strong GPU (85th percentile), but the game’s results are predominantly driven by the latter. The CPU’s performance is nearly identical to its direct rival, the i7-14700K, and it is only 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, meaning that swapping to these alternatives would likely not change the combo’s rank. The GPU’s position relative to its rivals is more varied: it is 1.5% behind the Intel Arc A730M and 1.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580, suggesting that the 4070 Ti’s specific strengths in this title are comparable to those of its closest competitors. The high ranking reflects the overall balance of the system, but the data clearly shows that anyone seeking higher frame rates at 4K Ultra would need a more powerful GPU, as the CPU is not the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 172.4 FPS on Low settings, 107.6 FPS on Medium, 80.7 FPS on High, and 64.7 FPS on Ultra. These figures show that the game is highly playable at all settings on 1080p, with even the most demanding preset exceeding 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 150.1 FPS (Low), 92 FPS (Medium), 64.9 FPS (High), and 51.2 FPS (Ultra). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with the Ultra preset being the only one that falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 119.1 FPS (Low), 75.2 FPS (Medium), 54.2 FPS (High), and 42.8 FPS (Ultra). This resolution exposes the GPU’s limitations at the highest fidelity settings, with only Low and Medium presets maintaining a playable frame rate above 60 FPS. The data shows a clear progression: the system is fully capable at 1080p, very strong at 1440p with medium settings, and requires compromise at 4K to maintain smooth performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the primary performance driver in this system for The Medium. It is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 7,680 shading units, 60 RT cores, and 240 tensor cores, operating at a boost clock of 2,610 MHz. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s, which is sufficient for the game’s textures but becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 31,624 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 5,024 place it in the 85th percentile of all graphics cards. In the game’s benchmark, the GPU’s performance is directly reflected in the FPS scaling: at 1080p, the system is capable of 172.4 FPS at Low, but this drops to 64.7 FPS at Ultra, showing a 62.5% reduction due to increased pixel and shader workload. At 4K, the Ultra preset’s 42.8 FPS result indicates that the GPU’s compute resources are fully saturated. The RTX 4070 Ti’s closest rival, the Intel Arc A730M, scores 1.5% higher in synthetic benchmarks, but the 4070 Ti’s 85th percentile ranking and the measured in-game results suggest it is a strong performer for this title, albeit one that requires settings adjustments at higher resolutions.