The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title built around dual-reality rendering, presents a distinctive workload that scales unusually across resolutions and presets. The data for the Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings, yet surprisingly sensitive to preset changes at lower resolutions. The measured results offer a clear narrative about where the performance ceiling lies and how the hardware components interact with this specific game engine.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K is not linear, and the shape of that curve tells a compelling story about the limiting component. At the High preset, the system delivers 83.9 FPS at 1920x1080, drops to 69.4 FPS at 2560x1440, and falls further to 58.6 FPS at 3840x2160. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs 14.5 FPS, while moving from 1440p to 4K costs only 10.8 FPS. This diminishing penalty suggests that the GPU's compute resources are being taxed progressively, but not catastrophically, as pixel count rises. The RTX 4080 SUPER, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth, appears to have sufficient headroom at 4K to avoid a cliff-like drop.

The Low preset shows a different pattern entirely. At 1080p, the system reaches 188.3 FPS, which is remarkably high for a game with The Medium's rendering complexity. Dropping to 1440p reduces this to 159.5 FPS, a 28.8 FPS loss, and 4K still manages 127.4 FPS. The fact that 4K Low exceeds 1080p High (127.4 vs 83.9) indicates that the game's visual effects, not resolution, are the primary driver of GPU load. When settings are minimized, the GPU has ample spare capacity, and resolution scaling becomes the dominant factor. The data implies that at Low settings, the system is approaching a CPU or engine-level bottleneck at 1080p, since the jump to 1440p and 4K does not halve performance as pure pixel-count scaling would suggest.

The Medium preset sits between these extremes. At 1080p, it yields 116.5 FPS, which is 32.6 FPS below Low and 32.6 FPS above High. The 1440p Medium result of 102.5 FPS shows only a 14 FPS drop, while 4K Medium produces 76.6 FPS, a 25.9 FPS decline from 1440p. This steeper 4K penalty at Medium compared to High suggests that the Medium preset's specific combination of effects creates a non-linear GPU workload as resolution increases. The Ultra preset tells the most extreme story: 68.9 FPS at 1080p, 58.5 FPS at 1440p, and just 42.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only sub-60 FPS measurement in the entire dataset, and the 16.1 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K is the largest absolute resolution penalty across all presets.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 SUPER is clearly the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications align with the observed scaling behavior. The GPU's 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores are heavily utilized by The Medium's dual-world rendering technique, which effectively doubles the scene complexity. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient to avoid texture thrashing even at 4K Ultra, as evidenced by the playable 42.4 FPS result at that extreme. The 2550 MHz boost clock provides the raw throughput needed to maintain 58.6 FPS at 4K High, a setting that likely enables ray-traced reflections or similar expensive effects.

The GPU's memory subsystem is particularly relevant to this game's results. With a 256-bit bus and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth, the RTX 4080 SUPER can feed its 112 ROPs efficiently. The Medium's fixed-camera angles often render two perspectives simultaneously, which creates high memory pressure. The fact that 4K Low (127.4 FPS) outperforms 1080p High (83.9 FPS) by 43.5 FPS demonstrates that the GPU's computational capacity is rarely the sole bottleneck — rather, the preset's effect complexity determines how quickly the shading units are saturated. The GPU's 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is substantial, but The Medium's reliance on complex shaders and potentially volumetric effects means that even this firepower is challenged at Ultra settings.

Comparing to the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score of 53610 is only 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53489) and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (53414). This narrow margin in synthetic tests suggests that the 4080 SUPER's advantage is not overwhelming, yet the measured frame rates in The Medium remain strong. The GPU's 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates that it sits comfortably in the upper echelon, but the 4K Ultra result of 42.4 FPS shows that even a top-tier card cannot brute-force every scenario in this game.

FAQ

Q: Why does 4K Low outperform 1080p High by such a wide margin?

A: The 127.4 FPS at 4K Low versus 83.9 FPS at 1080p High shows that preset effects are the dominant performance factor. The Low preset disables or simplifies the expensive rendering features, allowing the RTX 4080 SUPER's 52.22 TFLOPS to process 4K resolution comfortably, while High enables effects that burden the GPU regardless of pixel count.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF holding back the RTX 4080 SUPER in this game?

A: The data suggests minimal CPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 188.3 FPS, which is extremely high and indicates the CPU can feed the GPU adequately. The 20-core, 28-thread processor with a 5.60 GHz boost clock provides ample headroom, and the 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms its capability.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 60 FPS experience?

A: For 60 FPS, the 4K High setting at 58.6 FPS is just short of the target. The 1440p Ultra at 58.5 FPS is also marginal. The 4K Medium at 76.6 FPS comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, making it the highest resolution and quality combination that maintains a smooth experience.

Q: How does the Ultra preset's performance degrade across resolutions?

A: The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling: 68.9 FPS at 1080p, 58.5 FPS at 1440p (a 10.4 FPS drop), and 42.4 FPS at 4K (a 16.1 FPS drop). This pattern indicates that Ultra enables effects that scale super-linearly with pixel count, likely related to the GPU's 80 RT cores being heavily taxed.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM capacity matter for this game?

A: Yes, the 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on the RTX 4080 SUPER is sufficient to prevent VRAM-related stutters, even at 4K Ultra where the game renders two perspectives. The 736.3 GB/s bandwidth ensures that textures and geometry can be streamed quickly, contributing to the stable average frame rates observed.

Q: Why does the 1440p High result (69.4 FPS) seem low relative to 1080p High (83.9 FPS)?

A: The 14.5 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings reflects the increased pixel workload. The 256-bit memory bus and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth handle the extra data, but the shading units are increasingly saturated. The 4K High result of 58.6 FPS shows a further 10.8 FPS decline, indicating a gradual, not exponential, scaling pattern.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 71st out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. That places it in the top 4.2% of all configurations, which is a strong showing for a desktop pair. The ranking is notable because the GPU's 88th percentile score and CPU's 96th percentile score do not perfectly align, yet the combination performs exceptionally well in this game. The rank suggests that the two components complement each other effectively for The Medium's workload, which appears to favor high single-thread performance alongside substantial GPU throughput.

The position relative to other combos can be interpreted through the component benchmarks. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700K, has a nearly identical average score (70074 vs 70104, a 0% delta), meaning the KF variant offers no measurable advantage in synthetic tests. This parity likely extends to gaming, where the 14700KF's 5.60 GHz boost clock and Raptor Lake architecture provide consistent performance. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, is 0.2% behind in average score, yet the 4080 SUPER's superior ray tracing and DLSS capabilities may not be fully captured by The Medium's measured results. The 71st rank implies that only 70 other combinations, likely featuring higher-tier GPUs like the RTX 4090 or newer 50-series cards, achieve better performance in this specific title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience. For 4K displays, the Medium preset at 76.6 FPS is the recommended choice, as it offers a balanced 31.9 FPS improvement over High (58.6 FPS) while maintaining visual quality. The jump from Medium to High at 4K costs 18.0 FPS, which is a significant penalty for presumably modest visual gains. Ultra at 4K should be avoided entirely, as the 42.4 FPS result falls below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

For 1440p resolution, the data suggests that High at 69.4 FPS is acceptable, but Medium at 102.5 FPS provides a far more comfortable margin. The 33.1 FPS difference between these presets is substantial, and the visual fidelity gap between Medium and High in a horror game with dark environments is likely minimal. The 1440p Low setting at 159.5 FPS is unnecessary unless targeting high refresh rates beyond 144 Hz. At 1080p, the Medium preset at 116.5 FPS is the sweet spot for competitive or high-refresh gaming, while High at 83.9 FPS remains viable for those prioritizing visuals. The 1080p Ultra at 68.9 FPS is playable but offers diminishing returns over High.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 188.3 FPS on Low, which is the highest measurement in the entire dataset. The Medium preset produces 116.5 FPS, a 71.8 FPS reduction from Low, indicating that the Medium settings enable significant GPU workload. High drops further to 83.9 FPS, a 32.6 FPS loss from Medium, while Ultra falls to 68.9 FPS, a 15.0 FPS decline from High. The total spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 119.4 FPS, showing the enormous impact of preset selection.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low yields 159.5 FPS, which is 28.8 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result, reflecting the 78% increase in pixel count. Medium produces 102.5 FPS, a 57.0 FPS drop from Low. High reaches 69.4 FPS, a 33.1 FPS reduction from Medium, while Ultra bottoms out at 58.5 FPS, just 10.9 FPS below High. The 1440p Ultra result of 58.5 FPS is nearly identical to the 4K High result of 58.6 FPS, highlighting that resolution and preset can be traded off to achieve similar performance.

At 3840x2160, the 4K resolution imposes the heaviest load. Low still manages 127.4 FPS, which is higher than 1080p High and Ultra, confirming that preset is more impactful than resolution in this game. Medium delivers 76.6 FPS, a 50.8 FPS drop from Low. High falls to 58.6 FPS, an 18.0 FPS reduction, and Ultra reaches just 42.4 FPS, a 16.2 FPS decline from High. The 4K Ultra result is the only measurement below 60 FPS, and the 85.0 FPS gap between 4K Low and 4K Ultra demonstrates the extreme range of performance available.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, provides substantial processing power that is not fully stressed by The Medium. The CPU's base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensure high single-thread performance, which is critical for the game's engine logic and fixed-camera rendering pipeline. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache helps maintain data locality for the game's assets, while the 2 MB per-core L2 cache reduces latency for frequently accessed data structures.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its capability. A Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 and single-core score of 6290 indicate strong performance across both threaded and single-threaded workloads. The Geekbench multi-core score of 19287 and single-core score of 2972 further confirm that the CPU can handle the game's demands without becoming a bottleneck. The PassMark multi-thread score of 52425 and single-thread score of 4480 show that the 14700KF excels in both areas, which is why the 1080p Low result reaches 188.3 FPS.

The CPU's 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs places it near the top of the performance hierarchy. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70420, 0.4% ahead) and Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 (71056, 1.3% ahead), offer comparable or slightly better multi-core scores, but the 14700KF's high boost clock gives it an edge in latency-sensitive gaming scenarios. In The Medium, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage the dual-world logic. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, the CPU maintains sufficient frame pacing to avoid additional drops below the GPU-bound 42.4 FPS. The 188.3 FPS at 1080p Low demonstrates that the CPU can push frame rates far beyond typical display refresh rates, meaning it will not impede the RTX 4080 SUPER in any realistic gaming scenario.