The Medium

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a playable experience in The Medium, but only under specific conditions. At 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, the combo clears the 60 FPS threshold on Medium settings, while 4K requires dropping to Low to maintain smooth gameplay. The data shows a system that is capable but heavily influenced by the game's demanding visual effects, with performance scaling predictably as resolution and preset quality increase.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo in The Medium spans three resolutions and four quality presets, with only the Medium preset providing full min/max/avg frame time data. At 1920x1080, the system achieves an average of 123 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 77 FPS on Medium with a minimum of 65 FPS and a maximum of 88 FPS. High settings reduce the average to 55 FPS, while Ultra is the most demanding, yielding only 44 FPS on average. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is substantial, representing a 64% reduction in average frame rate when moving from the least to most demanding preset.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues with a 104 FPS average on Low. Medium settings produce an average of 65 FPS, with frame times ranging from 55 FPS minimum to 74 FPS maximum. High settings drop to 46 FPS average, and Ultra falls further to 37 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings costs roughly 16% of the average frame rate, indicating that resolution scaling has a meaningful impact on performance.

The 3840x2160 results show the most significant performance hit. Low settings average 81 FPS, which is still above the playable threshold. Medium settings drop to 51 FPS average, with a minimum of 43 FPS and maximum of 58 FPS. High settings fall to 36 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 29 FPS average. The 4K Ultra result is barely half of the 1080p Low result, demonstrating that this game's visual fidelity demands substantial GPU resources at higher resolutions.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset is the only setting where complete min/max data is available. The frame time variance at Medium is consistent, with the spread between minimum and maximum ranging from 23 FPS at 1080p to 15 FPS at 4K, suggesting that the game maintains relatively stable frame pacing when not pushed to the limits.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in The Medium, with the CPU's role diminishing as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 79 FPS, which is a larger absolute gap than at higher resolutions. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the GPU is under less load, allowing the CPU to feed frames more effectively, but the overall performance ceiling is still set by the graphics card.

When moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 77 to 65, a 15.6% decrease. From 1440p to 4K at Medium, the average drops from 65 to 51, a 21.5% decrease. This increasing percentage loss as resolution rises confirms that the RTX 3070's rendering workload becomes the dominant factor, while the i3-12100F's four cores and eight threads remain sufficient to keep up with the game's CPU demands.

The CPU's benchmark scores support this interpretation. The i3-12100F achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674, with a PassMark multithread score of 14015. These results place the CPU in the 68th percentile among all processors, indicating solid mid-range performance. The GPU, meanwhile, sits in the 61st percentile among all graphics cards with a PassMark G3D score of 22214. The balance between these two components suggests that neither is severely underpowered for this game, but the GPU's workload scales more aggressively with resolution and preset changes.

The scaling between presets at each resolution reinforces this analysis. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra costs 79 FPS. At 1440p, the same preset jump costs 67 FPS. At 4K, the cost is 52 FPS. The diminishing absolute difference at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is already saturated, and further increasing settings has less relative impact because the base frame rate is lower. The CPU's consistent performance across resolutions, as evidenced by its benchmark scores, means it is not the limiting factor in any tested configuration.

Best Settings per Resolution

The verdict data identifies the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS average at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is Medium, which delivers 77 FPS average. This configuration provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold, with the minimum observed frame rate of 65 FPS ensuring that dips remain playable.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is also Medium, achieving 65 FPS average. The minimum of 55 FPS dips slightly below the target, but the average remains above the threshold. This is the most demanding configuration that can be recommended for a consistent experience at this resolution.

For 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, which averages 81 FPS. This is a significant drop from Medium at lower resolutions, but it still provides a smooth experience. The Medium preset at 4K falls to 51 FPS average, which fails to meet the 60 FPS criterion. Users targeting 4K will need to sacrifice visual quality to maintain playable frame rates.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: No. The data shows an average of 55 FPS at 1080p High, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium settings are the highest playable option at this resolution, averaging 77 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 2560x1440?

A: Medium is the best playable setting at 1440p, delivering 65 FPS average. High settings drop to 46 FPS, which is below the playable threshold.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this combination?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which average 81 FPS. Medium settings at 4K fall to 51 FPS average, below the 60 FPS target. Ultra settings are not recommended, averaging just 29 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rivals in overall performance?

A: The RTX 3070's average benchmark score of 17208 places it 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT and 1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690. It trails the NVIDIA Tesla K40c by 1.5%.

Q: Does the i3-12100F bottleneck the RTX 3070 in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. The i3-12100F scores in the 68th percentile among all CPUs, and the performance scaling with resolution indicates the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 65 FPS, with a minimum of 55 FPS and maximum of 74 FPS. This provides a mostly smooth experience, though brief dips below 60 FPS may occur.

The Verdict

This PC can run The Medium, but the playable settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold at Medium settings with 77 FPS average, providing a smooth experience. The same is true at 2560x1440, where Medium averages 65 FPS, though the minimum of 55 FPS means occasional dips below the target. At 3840x2160, only Low settings are playable, averaging 81 FPS. High and Ultra presets are not recommended at any resolution, as they all fall below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict data confirms that Medium is the best settings preset for both 1080p and 1440p, while Low is the only option for 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested CPU and GPU combinations in The Medium, this pairing of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1570th out of 3724 total combinations. This places the system in the top 42% of all tested configurations, indicating that it performs above the median but is not among the top-tier setups. The ranking reflects the balance between the i3-12100F's mid-range CPU performance and the RTX 3070's strong but not flagship GPU capabilities. The CPU's 68th percentile ranking among all processors and the GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all graphics cards suggest that this combo is well-matched for 1080p and 1440p gaming in The Medium, but it will struggle at higher resolutions or maximum quality presets. For users seeking a reliable experience at mainstream resolutions, this combination delivers, but those targeting 4K Ultra or maximum visual fidelity would need to look toward higher-performing components.