The Medium

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER sits at rank 600 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the top 16% of all configurations evaluated. That percentile positioning is noteworthy given the pairing of a modest four-core CPU with a high-end Ada Lovelace GPU. The data suggests this combination lands in a solidly upper-tier position for this horror title, though the ranking also hints at potential bottlenecks—the CPU's 68th percentile among all processors contrasts sharply with the GPU's 83rd percentile among all graphics cards, implying the i3-12100F may be holding back the RTX 4070 SUPER in certain scenarios. The benchmark results indicate that while the combo is strong overall, the gap between component capabilities becomes more apparent at lower resolutions where CPU overhead plays a larger role.

CPU and GPU Roles

Examining the scaling between resolutions reveals how the workload shifts between the i3-12100F and the RTX 4070 SUPER across The Medium's settings. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 146 FPS, but dropping to 2560x1440 Low yields 138.4 FPS—only a 5.2% reduction despite a 78% increase in pixel count. This relatively mild drop at Low settings suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, as the GPU has ample headroom to handle the pixel throughput. However, the picture changes dramatically when moving to Ultra settings: 1080p Ultra produces 58 FPS, 1440p Ultra drops to 52.8 FPS, and 2160p Ultra falls to 40.2 FPS. The much steeper decline at Ultra settings—a 30.7% reduction from 1080p to 2160p—indicates the GPU becomes the dominant constraint when rendering quality effects, ray tracing, and higher-resolution textures simultaneously. The Medium preset at 2160p achieves 69.8 FPS, which is 44.6% higher than the 1440p Ultra result of 52.8 FPS, further demonstrating that settings choice matters more than resolution scaling for this title. The data implies that players should prioritize adjusting quality settings over resolution when seeking performance gains, as the gap between Low and Ultra at any given resolution is substantial—at 1080p, Low hits 146 FPS while Ultra drops to 58 FPS, a 151.7% difference.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the benchmark results show a clear hierarchy across presets. Low settings deliver an average of 146 FPS, providing a massive cushion above the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium settings still offer excellent performance at 103.2 FPS, while High settings reach 73.2 FPS—still comfortably playable. Ultra settings, however, dip to 58 FPS, falling just below the 60 FPS line. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p represents a 151.7% performance swing, indicating that The Medium's preset selection has an outsized impact on frame rates at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern shifts slightly. Low settings produce 138.4 FPS, Medium hits 90.3 FPS, and High manages 61.6 FPS—just barely clearing the playable threshold. Ultra drops to 52.8 FPS, which falls short of the 60 FPS target. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 162.1%, a slightly wider spread than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is working harder to fill the additional pixels while also processing higher-quality effects.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4070 SUPER's capabilities become more apparent. Low settings still deliver an impressive 108.7 FPS, Medium achieves 69.8 FPS, and High drops to 48.3 FPS. Ultra bottoms out at 40.2 FPS. The 170.4% gap between Low and Ultra at 4K demonstrates that this resolution demands significant GPU resources, though the card's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth help maintain respectable frame rates even at the higher presets. Notably, the min and max FPS values are not provided in the dataset, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates, which show a consistent trend: the i3-12100F can push high frame rates at lower settings, but the RTX 4070 SUPER's raw compute power (35.48 TFLOPS FP32) becomes the deciding factor at higher presets and resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i3-12100F, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core 3 N355 with a score of 13492 (0% delta), the Intel Core i5-9500 at 13452 (0.3% faster), the Intel Core 5 120UL at 13594 (0.7% slower), and the Intel Core i7-1250U at 13351 (1.1% slower). These CPUs would behave similarly to the i3-12100F in The Medium, meaning that swapping to any of these processors would likely produce nearly identical frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios, particularly at 1080p Low settings where the combo hits 146 FPS. The tight clustering of scores—all within 1.1% of each other—indicates that the i3-12100F's 4-core, 8-thread configuration with a 4.30 GHz boost clock delivers performance on par with these alternatives, making CPU upgrades unlikely to yield meaningful gains in this game.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4070 SUPER's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB at 43262 (0.1% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile at 43268 (0.1% slower), the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 at 43301 (0.2% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile at 43667 (1% slower). These alternatives would produce nearly identical GPU-bound performance in The Medium, meaning that the 4K Medium result of 69.8 FPS and the 1440p High result of 61.6 FPS would remain essentially unchanged with any of these cards. The RTX 4070 SUPER's 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with these close rivals, suggests that the card's Ada Lovelace architecture and 7168 shading units provide a performance envelope that is well-matched to these alternatives. However, the data shows that the GPU is not the bottleneck at 1080p Low (146 FPS) or even 1440p Low (138.4 FPS), where the i3-12100F's single-thread performance (893 in 3dmark single-thread test) likely limits frame rates.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High settings, which achieves an average of 73.2 FPS. This provides a 22% margin above the playable threshold, making it the recommended choice for players seeking a balance between visual quality and smooth performance. The next step down, Medium, offers 103.2 FPS, but High delivers substantially better visual fidelity while still maintaining a comfortable frame rate cushion.

For 2560x1440, the best playable preset is High settings at 61.6 FPS. This is a razor-thin margin of just 2.7% above the 60 FPS threshold, meaning that any significant in-game action or scene complexity could push frame rates below the target. Players who prioritize stability might prefer Medium settings at 90.3 FPS, which offers a much larger safety margin, but High remains the highest-quality option that technically clears the bar.

At 3840x2160, Medium settings at 69.8 FPS represents the best playable preset. This provides a 16.3% margin above the threshold, offering a reasonable balance between 4K visual fidelity and smooth performance. Low settings at 108.7 FPS would deliver a much smoother experience, but Medium's 69.8 FPS result indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER has enough headroom at 4K to handle medium-quality effects without sacrificing playability.

The Verdict

This PC can run The Medium, but the experience varies significantly by resolution and preset. At 1920x1080, the combo clears 60 FPS on Low (146 FPS), Medium (103.2 FPS), and High (73.2 FPS), but falls short on Ultra (58 FPS). At 2560x1440, playable presets include Low (138.4 FPS), Medium (90.3 FPS), and High (61.6 FPS), with Ultra again failing to reach the threshold at 52.8 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low (108.7 FPS) and Medium (69.8 FPS) are playable, while High (48.3 FPS) and Ultra (40.2 FPS) fall well below the 60 FPS target. The verdict is clear: this combination delivers a smooth experience at 1080p and 1440p with High settings, and at 4K with Medium settings, but Ultra presets are not viable at any resolution. The i3-12100F's 4-core design appears sufficient for this title, as the data shows no CPU-specific anomalies—the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, indicating that the RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary performance driver in most scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 60 FPS on Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: No. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo achieves an average of 58 FPS, which falls just below the 60 FPS playable threshold. High settings at 73.2 FPS is the highest playable preset at this resolution.

Q: What is the best 4K preset for this combination?

A: Medium settings at 3840x2160 delivers 69.8 FPS, making it the highest-quality preset that stays above 60 FPS at 4K. Low settings reach 108.7 FPS, but High (48.3 FPS) and Ultra (40.2 FPS) are not playable.

Q: How does the CPU compare to similar processors for this game?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, with its nearest rival being the Intel Core 3 N355 at 13492 (0% difference). The Intel Core i5-9500 is 0.3% faster, and the Intel Core 7-1250U is 1.1% slower, indicating that CPU choice among these alternatives would have minimal impact on frame rates.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU more important for performance at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the data shows a 162.1% spread between Low (138.4 FPS) and Ultra (52.8 FPS), indicating that GPU load dominates at this resolution. The RTX 4070 SUPER's 83rd percentile ranking versus the CPU's 68th percentile suggests the graphics card is the primary performance factor at 1440p.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the average frame rate is 103.2 FPS, which is 72% above the 60 FPS threshold. This preset offers a substantial performance buffer while maintaining moderate visual quality.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination ranks 600th out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the top 16.1% of all configurations evaluated. This ranking reflects the strong GPU performance offset by the relatively modest CPU.