The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that stresses both GPU and CPU depending on resolution and settings. This analysis covers the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER combination, using measured data to show how the parts interact across the three most common gaming resolutions and four quality presets.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear shift in performance bottlenecks. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 177 FPS, which drops to 149 FPS at 2560x1440 and then to 117 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 34% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a further 21% drop moving to 4K. The scaling pattern here indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as pixel count rises, but the CPU still has headroom to push high frame rates at lower resolutions.

With Medium settings, the measured frame rates are 110 FPS at 1080p, 93 FPS at 1440p, and 73 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 15% from 1080p to 1440p and 22% from 1440p to 4K. This tighter scaling suggests the workload is becoming more balanced, with both the processor and graphics card contributing to the overall performance envelope)Skip. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER’s 672.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16 GB of GDDR6X VRAM become more relevant as texture detail and resolution increase.

At High settings, the frame rates fall to 79 FPS (1080p), 67 FPS (1440p), and 52 FPS (4K). The scaling here is more gradual: a 15% drop from 1080p to 1440p, then a 22% drop to 4K. This pattern is typical for a GPU-bound scenario where the graphics card’s raw compute throughput, rated at 44.10 TFLOPS FP32, is the primary constraint. The 4K High result of 52 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced sequences, while 1440p High at 67 FPS offers a smoother experience.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling. Frame rates are 63 FPS at 1080p, 53 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 16%, and from 1440p to 4K it is 21%. The 4K Ultra result of 42 FPS is the lowest measured in this dataset, indicating that this preset demands more from the GPU than it can deliver at native 4K. The data suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the limiting component at 4K, especially when ray tracing effects and high-resolution textures are enabled, while the i7-14700KF has sufficient single-thread performance to avoid becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i7-14700KF and RTX 4070 Ti SUPER ranks 361st out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 10% of all configurations, which is a strong result for a high-end desktop setup. The percentile ranking reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, as neither component is dramatically weaker than the other.

The i7-14700KF’s average benchmark score is 70163, which places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, which scores 69996 (0.2% slower), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69875 (0.4% slower). The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is 1% faster with a score of 70879. This narrow spread indicates that the CPU is not a weak link in this pairing, as its performance is comparable to other top-tier processors.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER has an average benchmark score of 31087, placing it in the 76th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (31206, 0.4% faster) and the NVIDIA TITAN RTX (31676, 1.9% faster). The GPU’s percentile ranking is lower than the CPU’s, which suggests that in some scenarios, the graphics card may be the limiting factor. However, the combo rank of 361 out of 3724 shows that this pairing is well above average for The Medium, outperforming the vast majority of tested systems.

The rank relative to other combos indicates that this configuration is well-suited for the game’s demands. The data shows that the i7-14700KF provides enough CPU headroom to feed the GPU at 1080p and 1440p, while the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivers playable frame rates at 4K with adjusted settings. The overall ranking reflects a balanced system that does not have a significant bottleneck in either component.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 110 FPS with a minimum of 94 FPS and a maximum of 127 FPS. This is a smooth, responsive experience that maintains high frame rates even during demanding scenes. The Low preset at 177 FPS is unnecessarily high, and the visual quality loss is not worth the extra frames. The Ultra preset at 63 FPS is playable but does not provide the same level of smoothness as Medium, and the visual improvement is marginal.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset again stands out as the best balance. It produces 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the minimum frame rate ensures that there are no significant stutters. The High preset at 67 FPS is also acceptable, but it is close enough to the Medium result that the visual difference may not justify the 28% frame rate reduction. The Ultra preset at 53 FPS is below ideal for a horror title, where smooth camera movement is important for immersion.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 117 FPS is the only option that provides a high refresh rate experience. However, the visual quality at Low settings is likely to be disappointing on a 4K display. The Medium preset at 73 FPS is the best compromise, offering a playable frame rate with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS. This is sufficient for a smooth experience, though users with high refresh rate 4K monitors may want to consider dropping to Low. The High preset at 52 FPS and Ultra at 42 FPS are both below the 60 FPS threshold)Skip, making them less suitable for consistent gameplay.

The data indicates that the Medium preset is the optimal choice across all three resolutions. It provides the best combination of visual fidelity and frame rate, with the minimum FPS staying above 60 at both 1080p and 1440p. At 4K, the Medium preset’s minimum of 62 FPS is just above the playable threshold, making it the recommended setting for this resolution as well.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates range from 177 FPS at Low to 63 FPS at Ultra. The Low preset provides the highest headroom for competitive play or high refresh rate monitors, but the Medium preset at 110 FPS is more balanced. The Medium preset’s minimum of 94 FPS ensures that there are no significant drops during gameplay, while the maximum of 127 FPS shows that the system can push beyond the average in less demanding scenes. The High preset at 79 FPS is a middle ground, but it does not offer the same smoothness as Medium. The Ultra preset at 63 FPS is the lowest at this resolution, but it is still playable for users who prioritize visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the results follow a similar pattern. The Low preset at 149 FPS remains the fastest, but the Medium preset at 93 FPS is the standout choice. Its minimum of 79 FPS and maximum of 107 FPS show consistent performance. The High preset at 67 FPS is acceptable, though the gap between it and Medium is notable. The Ultra preset at 53 FPS is the weakest at this resolution, and users should avoid it if they want to maintain a stable frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 117 FPS is surprisingly strong, indicating that the GPU has enough raw power to handle lower settings at 4K. The Medium preset at 73 FPS is the recommended option, with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS. The High preset at 52 FPS and Ultra at 42 FPS are both below the 60 FPS target, making them less desirable for smooth gameplay. The data shows that the jump from Medium to High at 4K costs 29% of the frame rate, which is a significant trade-off for the visual improvements.

The overall pattern across all resolutions is that the Medium preset offers the best performance-per-visual-quality ratio. The Low preset is unnecessarily fast, while the High and Ultra presets demand too much from the GPU at higher resolutions. The measured data provides a clear recommendation: use Medium settings for a consistent experience on this hardware.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the primary driver of frame rates in The Medium, especially at higher resolutions and quality settings. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth. This is sufficient for the game’s texture-heavy environments, even at 4K with High settings. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz with an effective data rate of 21 Gbps, which helps maintain consistent performance in scenes with large amounts of geometry and effects.

The GPU’s compute capabilities are substantial, with 8448 shading units, 264 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. The FP32 performance of 44.10 TFLOPS indicates strong raw processing power, which is evident in the frame rate scaling from Low to Ultra settings. The boost clock of 2610 MHz allows the GPU to reach its maximum performance under load, while the base clock of 2340 MHz provides a baseline for sustained operation.

The GPU’s role becomes more pronounced at 4K, where the measured frame rates drop significantly from Low to Ultra. At 3840x2160, the difference between Low (117 FPS) and Ultra (42 FPS) is 64%, showing that the graphics card is the limiting factor at this resolution. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is also relevant, as The Medium’s high-resolution textures can consume significant memory, and the GPU’s capacity ensures that there are no frame drops due to memory swapping.

The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER’s percentile ranking of 76 against all GPUs indicates that it is a capable card, but not the absolute fastest. In this game, the data shows that it can handle 1440p Medium at 93 FPS and 4K Medium at 73 FPS, which are both playable. The GPU’s performance is consistent with its position in the product stack, and it does not appear to be a bottleneck when paired with the i7-14700KF at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF provides the processing foundation for this configuration, and its role in The Medium is less critical than the GPU’s at higher resolutions. The CPU has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This high boost clock is beneficial for the game’s single-threaded aspects, as horror titles often have sequences that rely on a single core for physics or AI calculations.

The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is important for maintaining consistent frame times during gameplay. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the measured performance does not specify which type was used. The dual-channel memory bus provides sufficient bandwidth for the game’s data transfer needs.

The i7-14700KF’s benchmark results show a strong single-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6235 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2578. These scores indicate that the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s demands at 1080p, where the measured frame rates are highest. At 1920x1080 Low, the 177 FPS result suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor, as the GPU is still able to produce high frame rates without being starved of data.

The CPU’s multi-threaded performance is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167 and a Passmark multithread score of 52425. While The Medium may not fully utilize all 20 cores, the additional threads provide headroom for background processes and ensure that the game’s main thread is not starved for CPU resources. The CPU’s percentile ranking of 94 against all CPUs, with a score of 70163, places it among the top processors, and its nearest rivals show that it is competitive with the fastest AMD and Intel options.

The data suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this configuration. At 4K, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, the CPU’s role is to maintain stable frame times and avoid any stutters. The high boost clock and large cache help achieve this, and the measured minimum frame rates at 4K Medium (62 FPS) indicate that the CPU is providing consistent performance. The CPU’s role becomes more significant at lower resolutions, where the higher frame rates place more demand on the processor to feed the GPU with data.