The Medium

Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B570, a combination ranked 2999th out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium, delivers playable performance only at lower settings. Benchmark data shows this pairing is positioned in the 20th percentile of tested combinations, indicating that while it can run the game, it does so with substantial compromises in visual fidelity. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and presets reveal a system that is consistently bound by the GPU, with the CPU rarely acting as the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2999th out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the bottom 20% of all tested configurations, a position that reflects the demanding nature of this horror title. The Intel Core i3-12100F itself sits at the 68th percentile among all CPUs, while the Intel Arc B570 ranks at the 65th percentile among all GPUs — both components are mid-pack performers individually, but their combined result in this specific game falls well short of the top quartile.

Data from the measured FPS table shows why this combo struggles: at 1080p Ultra the average drops to 28 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it falls to 18 FPS. These figures are far below the 60 FPS playable threshold used for this analysis. The combo's rank suggests that many other hardware pairings will deliver smoother experiences, particularly those with higher-end GPUs, as the game's rendering load appears to scale heavily with resolution and settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data clearly indicates that the Intel Arc B570 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration for The Medium. Evidence for this comes from the scaling behavior across resolutions: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 78 FPS, but at 4K Low it drops to 52 FPS — a 33% reduction in performance with a 4x increase in pixel count. This pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload grows faster than the CPU's influence on frame rate.

At 1440p Low, the system produces 66 FPS, while at 1080p Low it reaches 78 FPS — the gap between these two resolutions is only 15%, suggesting the GPU still has headroom at lower resolutions. However, when moving from Low to Ultra settings at any given resolution, the frame rate collapses: at 1080p, the drop from Low (78 FPS) to High (35 FPS) represents a 55% reduction, and from High to Ultra (28 FPS) another 20% loss. These steep declines with settings increases confirm that the GPU's shading units, texture units, and raster operations are the limiting resources.

The Intel Core i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, provides sufficient processing power for this game's demands. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and single-core score of 1674 indicate a capable budget processor, but the frame rates do not change dramatically between low and high CPU stress scenarios. The CPU's percentile rank of 68 suggests it is adequate for most games, yet the measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low — where CPU load is relatively higher compared to GPU load — the system only reaches 78 FPS, implying the GPU still holds back performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 60 FPS on a 1080p monitor?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings is 78 FPS. At Medium settings, the average drops to 49 FPS, and at High it falls to 35 FPS — both below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?

A: The verdict data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings is the only configuration that clears the 60 FPS playable threshold comfortably, with an average of 78 FPS. At 2560x1440 Low, it still achieves 66 FPS, but 3840x2160 has no playable settings.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the best average FPS is 52 FPS at Low settings, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings yield 32 FPS, High yields 23 FPS, and Ultra drops to 18 FPS. The verdict lists no playable settings at this resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: The data points to the GPU as the limiting factor. Frame rates scale dramatically with resolution and settings changes — from 78 FPS at 1080p Low to 23 FPS at 4K High — while the CPU's 4-core/8-thread configuration appears sufficient, given that the i3-12100F ranks in the 68th percentile and shows no signs of bottlenecking.

Q: What settings should I use for a smooth experience at 1440p?

A: Low settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 66 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings drop to 41 FPS, so Low is the only viable option for this resolution.

Q: Does this combo ever reach 60 FPS at higher quality presets?

A: No. Across all tested resolutions and settings, only the Low preset at 1080p (78 FPS) and Low at 1440p (66 FPS) exceed 60 FPS. The next closest is 1080p Medium at 49 FPS, which falls short.

The Verdict

The Intel Core i3-12100F with Intel Arc B570 can run The Medium, but only under strict conditions. The verdict by resolution shows that 1920x1080 is playable at Low settings with an average of 78 FPS, and 2560x1440 is playable at Low settings with an average of 66 FPS. At 3840x2160, no settings achieve the 60 FPS threshold — the best case is Low at 52 FPS, which is below the playable mark. For users with 1080p monitors, this combo works, but it requires accepting the lowest visual quality preset. At 1440p, the same limitation applies. The game's horror atmosphere may rely heavily on lighting and shadow effects, but the data indicates these features must be sacrificed to maintain smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a consistent pattern across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Low settings deliver an average of 78 FPS, Medium drops to 49 FPS with minimum and maximum values of 41 and 56, High falls to 35 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 28 FPS. The spread between Low and Medium at 1080p is 29 FPS, suggesting that the Medium preset introduces rendering features that heavily tax the Arc B570.

Moving to 2560x1440, Low settings produce 66 FPS, Medium averages 41 FPS (min 35, max 47), High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 23 FPS. The 1440p numbers are roughly 15-20% lower than their 1080p counterparts, which aligns with the increased pixel count. At 3840x2160, Low drops to 52 FPS, Medium to 32 FPS (min 27, max 37), High to 23 FPS, and Ultra to 18 FPS. The 4K Low result of 52 FPS is notable — it is the closest this combo gets to 60 FPS at 4K, but it still falls short.

The minimum FPS data, available only for Medium settings, shows that frame pacing can be inconsistent: at 1080p Medium, the minimum of 41 FPS is 16% below the average, while at 1440p Medium, the minimum of 35 FPS is 15% below average. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 27 FPS is 16% below the average. This variance suggests potential stuttering in demanding scenes, which could be problematic for a horror game that relies on tension.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 78 FPS. Medium falls to 49 FPS, so it cannot be recommended for smooth play. At 2560x1440, Low is again the only playable option, achieving 66 FPS on average. The 3840x2160 resolution has no settings that meet the 60 FPS threshold — the best case is Low at 52 FPS, but this still fails the playability criteria. These results indicate that users must prioritize frame rate over visual quality, as the Arc B570 does not have enough headroom for higher presets at any resolution.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i3-12100F's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core 3 N355 with an average score of 13492 (0% difference), the Intel Core i5-9500 at 13452 (0.3% higher), the Intel Core 5 120UL at 13594 (0.7% lower), and the Intel Core i7-1250U at 13351 (1.1% higher). These processors would likely produce similar frame rates in The Medium, as their benchmark scores are nearly identical — the largest delta among them is just 1.1%. Users upgrading from any of these CPUs would see negligible performance changes in this game.

For the GPU side, the Intel Arc B570's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile with an average score of 20534 (0.1% higher), the Intel Arc A750 at 20582 (0.1% lower), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M at 20480 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X at 20662 (0.5% lower). The Arc A750 is particularly relevant as a desktop alternative — its nearly identical score suggests it would deliver almost the same FPS numbers in The Medium. The RTX 3070 Mobile, despite being a laptop part, also falls within 0.1% of the Arc B570's performance, meaning users with any of these GPUs can expect similar playability outcomes: playable at Low settings for 1080p and 1440p, but not at 4K.