The Medium

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 produces a combination that ranks near the lower-middle of the tested field for The Medium, sitting at 1353rd place out of 1689 tested combinations. This places the combo in the 20th percentile of all tested systems, which is a notable result given the CPU's high-end positioning. The discrepancy between the processor's capabilities and the overall gaming outcome is stark, indicating that the graphics card is the primary constraint in this pairing. The data suggests that while the CPU can feed frames at a high rate, the GPU cannot translate that into playable performance at higher visual presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1353 out of 1689 tested combinations establishes it firmly in the lower quartile of systems tested for The Medium. This is a surprisingly low position for a configuration featuring a top-tier processor. The data indicates that this pairing is significantly hampered by its graphics component. In practical terms, this means the system will struggle to maintain competitive frame rates against the majority of other tested hardware configurations. The ranking reflects a system that is fundamentally unbalanced for this specific title, where the GPU becomes the bottleneck that limits the entire experience. The result is a placement that is more consistent with entry-level gaming rigs than with a flagship CPU build.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the limiting factor in this configuration. It features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its memory operates at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective. The card's base clock is 1365 MHz, with a boost clock of 1680 MHz. In the context of The Medium, these specifications are insufficient for high-resolution or high-detail gaming. The GPU holds an average benchmark score of 16074, placing it at the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 with a deltaPct of -1.7 and the AMD Radeon RX 7600S with a deltaPct of 0.5, showing it is closely matched with mid-range mobile and workstation parts. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is particularly problematic for this game, as the benchmark results show a sharp decline in performance when settings are increased, which is a classic sign of memory bandwidth or capacity limitations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K provides an immense amount of processing headroom that goes largely unused in this pairing. It features 24 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. The CPU's multi-core performance is exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872 and a single-core score of 7040. Its average benchmark score is 79824, placing it at the 97th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7413, has a deltaPct of -0.3, indicating near-identical performance. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this system; the measured FPS differences across resolutions are almost entirely attributable to the GPU. The processor's capabilities are far beyond what the RTX 2060 can utilize, meaning the system's performance ceiling is set by the graphics card, not the central processor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU limitation. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 85.2 FPS, which is the highest average recorded across all configurations. Moving to Medium settings drops the frame rate to 52.8 FPS, and High settings further reduce it to 35.9 FPS. Ultra settings at 1080p yield 31.1 FPS. At 1440p, the results are lower across the board: Low settings produce 67.4 FPS, Medium produces 44.7 FPS, High produces 33.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 26.4 FPS. At 4K, the performance becomes marginal: Low settings achieve 55.2 FPS, Medium drops to 36.6 FPS, High falls to 27.9 FPS, and Ultra is nearly unplayable at 17.9 FPS. These numbers show that the system can handle the game at lower presets, but it falls below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay at Medium settings and above in most resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K illustrates the GPU's dominance as the performance limiter. When moving from 1080p Low (85.2 FPS) to 4K Low (55.2 FPS), the frame rate drops by 35.2%. This is a significant reduction, but the game remains playable. However, when looking at Ultra settings, the drop is more severe: from 31.1 FPS at 1080p to 17.9 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 42.4%. This pattern indicates that the RTX 2060 is being overwhelmed by the combination of increased resolution and higher detail settings. The data shows that the CPU's performance headroom is not being taxed; the frame rate differences are almost entirely due to the GPU's rendering load. The system's behavior is consistent with a pure GPU bottleneck, where the processor is waiting on the graphics card to complete its work.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience for this combo is found at Low settings across all resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 85.2 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. At 1440p Low, the frame rate drops to 67.4 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS target. Even at 4K Low, the system manages 55.2 FPS, which is close to acceptable for less demanding play. Moving to Medium settings presents a trade-off: 1080p Medium yields 52.8 FPS, 1440p Medium yields 44.7 FPS, and 4K Medium yields 36.6 FPS. These are playable but not ideal. High settings are not recommended, as they produce 35.9 FPS at 1080p and 27.9 FPS at 4K, which is below the threshold for a comfortable experience. Ultra settings should be avoided entirely, as the best case scenario is 31.1 FPS at 1080p. The data strongly indicates that Low is the only preset that consistently provides a frame rate that can be considered acceptable for a horror game, where smoothness is critical for immersion. The Medium preset offers a visual upgrade but requires accepting a significant performance penalty.