The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title from 2021, presents a unique stress profile that separates CPU and GPU demands more clearly than most action games. The measured data for the Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT reveals a configuration that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings, yet unexpectedly CPU-sensitive at lower presets. This analysis interprets the benchmark results, focusing on how the 12 GB frame buffer and the processor's 24 cores interact with the game's dual-reality rendering engine.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance rank of this CPU and GPU combination in The Medium?

A: The combo ranks 856th out of 1689 tested combos, placing it just above the median in the database. This suggests it is a mid-pack performer for this specific title, not a top-tier configuration.

Q: How does the RX 6750 XT compare to its nearest rivals in general GPU benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 35327 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 5600M, which scores 35264 (0.2% slower). It also trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, which scores 35787, by a margin of 1.3%.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Core i9-14900K and its closest rival?

A: The CPU scores 79824 on average, which is 0.7% higher than the Intel Core i9-14900KF’s score of 79245. It also edges out the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, which scores 79102, by a 0.9% margin.

Q: What are the FPS results at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces an average of 48.6 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that still achieves a playable frame rate at this resolution.

Q: Is the GPU capable of handling 4K resolution in this game?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles with higher presets. It manages 73.4 FPS on Low, but drops to 50.1 FPS on Medium and 31.6 FPS on High. Ultra settings at 4K yield only 26 FPS, which is not a smooth experience.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 33.2 FPS, which is significantly lower than the High preset’s 42.6 FPS. This represents a substantial performance cost for the visual uplift provided by Ultra settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the primary driver of frame rate in The Medium, but its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus tells a specific story about the game's demands. The memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s is substantial, yet the data shows that the card's 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs are the limiting factor at high resolutions. The boost clock of 2600 MHz allows for solid performance at lower presets, but the architecture is clearly strained by the game's high-resolution textures and effects.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 79 places it in the upper echelon of all GPUs, but the measured FPS data reveals a more nuanced picture. At 4K, the gap between Low (73.4 FPS) and High (31.6 FPS) settings is a massive 41.8 FPS, indicating that the visual fidelity multipliers heavily tax the RDNA 2.0 architecture. The card's 13.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is adequate, but the game seems to require more raw pixel throughput than the 166.4 GPixel/s pixel rate can provide when effects are maxed out.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient for this title, as the performance drops are more likely linked to compute and shading limitations than memory overflow. The transition from Medium (50.1 FPS) to High (31.6 FPS) at 4K is a 37% reduction, which suggests a specific rendering feature in the High preset (likely volumetric lighting or shadow quality) is disproportionately expensive on this GPU. The card’s nearest rival, the RTX 3080, is only 1.3% faster in synthetic benchmarks, yet the gaming experience at high presets may differ due to driver optimizations and architectural efficiencies in DX12 Ultimate workloads.

How This Combo Ranks

Positioned at rank 856 out of 1689 combos, this configuration sits in the 50th percentile of all tested systems for The Medium. This placement is surprising given the CPU's strength, but it underscores the game's reliance on GPU performance. A combo ranked 856th suggests that the RX 6750 XT is holding back the i9-14900K, as the processor has the headroom to push far more frames if paired with a stronger GPU.

The ranking implies that while this system is far from the bottom, it is also a long way from the top 100 combos that likely feature higher-tier GPUs like the RTX 4080 or RX 7900 XTX. For a horror game that relies on atmosphere and slow pacing, the 856th rank is not a disqualifier, but it does mean users will need to make significant compromises in settings to achieve high refresh rates. The data indicates that the combo is more competitive at 1080p and 1440p, where the CPU's power can help maintain frame times, but the GPU still dictates the average FPS ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear matrix of performance across three resolutions and four presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 116.3 FPS on Low, 70.5 FPS on Medium, 48.6 FPS on High, and 43.2 FPS on Ultra. This shows a steep drop from Low to Medium (39% reduction), followed by a more gradual decline to High and Ultra.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers scale down proportionally: 99.3 FPS on Low, 60.1 FPS on Medium, 42.6 FPS on High, and 33.2 FPS on Ultra. The 1080p to 1440p transition costs roughly 15% of the frame rate at Low settings, but the cost increases to 23% at Ultra settings, highlighting the GPU's struggle with pixel fill rate.

At 3840x2160, the performance collapses at higher presets. Low settings yield 73.4 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium drops to 50.1 FPS. High (31.6 FPS) and Ultra (26 FPS) become cinematic rather than interactive. The gap between 1440p High (42.6 FPS) and 4K High (31.6 FPS) is 11 FPS, which is a 25% reduction, indicating that the GPU is running out of steam as the pixel count quadruples.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario, but with a twist. At Low settings, the drop from 116.3 FPS (1080p) to 99.3 FPS (1440p) is only 14.6%, and then to 73.4 FPS (4K) is a further 26%. This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is still contributing to the frame rate, as the GPU is not fully saturated at 1080p.

However, at High settings, the scaling is more aggressive. The frame rate drops from 48.6 FPS (1080p) to 42.6 FPS (1440p), a 12.3% reduction, and then to 31.6 FPS (4K), a further 25.8% reduction. This pattern indicates that the GPU becomes the sole limiting factor at higher presets, as the CPU's 24 cores and 32 threads are more than capable of feeding frames at any resolution.

The data implies that the limiting component changes based on settings. At Low presets, the RX 6750 XT has enough headroom to let the i9-14900K's raw single-thread performance (boost clock of 6.00 GHz) shine. At High and Ultra, the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed, and the CPU's power is wasted. This is a crucial insight for users who want to maximize performance: the CPU is not the bottleneck, so upgrading it would not improve FPS at High settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a formidable processor for this game, even if the GPU often masks its potential. With 24 cores (8 performance and 16 efficient) and 32 threads, the CPU has a massive parallel processing capability. The benchmark data shows a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872, which places it in the 97th percentile of all CPUs. This raw power is not fully utilized by The Medium, which likely relies on a few primary threads for game logic and rendering calls.

The CPU's boost clock of 6.00 GHz is critical for maintaining consistent frame times in this title. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 116.3 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's limit for this game engine. The fact that the 1440p Low (99.3 FPS) is not proportionally lower than 1080p Low (116.3 FPS) (a 14.6% drop) suggests that the CPU is still a factor at these settings, as a purely GPU-bound scenario would show a larger delta.

The CPU's L3 cache of 36 MB (shared) is also beneficial for the game's asset streaming. The Medium’s fixed-camera angles often require loading large textures and geometry, and the large cache reduces memory latency. The nearest rival, the EPYC 7413, is only 0.3% slower in average score, but the i9-14900K's higher single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7040) is more relevant for gaming. This CPU is not the bottleneck, but it provides a solid foundation that prevents stuttering.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p users with a 60 Hz monitor, the Medium preset (70.5 FPS) is the best choice, as it provides a smooth frame rate while maintaining visual quality. The High preset (48.6 FPS) is playable but does not fully utilize a 60 Hz display, and the Ultra preset (43.2 FPS) offers diminishing returns for the FPS cost.

At 1440p, the Medium preset (60.1 FPS) is again the sweet spot for a 60 Hz display. The Low preset (99.3 FPS) is beneficial for high-refresh-rate monitors (100+ Hz), but the visual downgrade is significant. The High preset (42.6 FPS) is acceptable for slower-paced horror gameplay, but the jump from Medium to High costs 17.5 FPS, which is a 29% reduction.

For 4K, the data suggests that only the Low preset (73.4 FPS) is truly playable for a smooth experience. The Medium preset (50.1 FPS) is borderline, and the High (31.6 FPS) and Ultra (26 FPS) presets are not recommended for interactive play. The performance curve indicates that the game's Ultra preset is poorly optimized for this GPU, as the gap between High and Ultra at 4K is only 5.6 FPS, which is not worth the visual gain. The best overall experience for this combo is 1440p with Medium settings, which balances the CPU's strength and the GPU's capabilities.