The Medium

The Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 form a mainstream desktop pairing that has been measured in The Medium across three resolutions and four presets. The data shows that this system can clear the 60 FPS playable threshold at 1080p on Medium settings, but at 1440p and 4K only Low settings reach that mark. With a CPU average benchmark score of 13494 (68th percentile among all CPUs) and a GPU average score of 21035 (66th percentile among all GPUs), the combination sits in the lower half of all tested combos for this game, ranking 2299 out of 3724. The following sections break down what that means for playability, settings, and component roles.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1080p, Low settings average 96 FPS and Medium averages exactly 60 FPS. High (43 FPS) and Ultra (34 FPS) fall short of the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 1440p?

A: Only Low settings reach above 60 FPS, averaging 81 FPS. Medium averages 51 FPS, High 36 FPS, and Ultra 29 FPS, all below the playable mark.

Q: Is 4K playable on this hardware?

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, which average 64 FPS. Medium (40 FPS), High (29 FPS), and Ultra (23 FPS) do not meet the 60 FPS requirement.

Q: What is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at 1080p?

A: Medium settings, with an average of exactly 60 FPS. Low is higher at 96 FPS, but Medium is the highest preset that still clears the threshold.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combos in The Medium?

A: It ranks 2299 out of 3724 tested combinations, meaning it performs better than 1425 other combos but worse than 2298. This places it in the lower portion of the field.

Q: What are the launch MSRP values?

A: The CPU has a launch MSRP of $97 and the GPU has a launch MSRP of 249 USD.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU’s nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, are the Intel Core 3 N355 (delta 0%), Intel Core i5-9500 (delta 0.3%), Intel Core 5 120UL (delta -0.7%), and Intel Core i7-1250U (delta 1.1%). These processors all sit within roughly one percent of the i3-12100F’s aggregate score of 13494, meaning that in CPU-bound workloads they would behave nearly identically. For The Medium specifically, the measured frame rates from this combo would likely be reproduced with any of these CPUs, assuming the same GPU and memory configuration.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5050’s nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (delta -0.6%), AMD Radeon HD 8970M (delta -1%), AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (delta 1.6%), and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (delta -1.6%). With a GPU average score of 21035, these cards are within 1.6% of the RTX 5050’s raw compute aggregate. In practice, game-specific optimization can shift performance, but for a title like The Medium—which relies heavily on GPU throughput—these alternatives would produce very similar frame rates at the same settings and resolutions. None of these rivals offer more VRAM or a fundamentally different architecture that would change the playability profile; the 8 GB GDDR6 buffer and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth of the RTX 5050 are the defining factors, and the nearest rivals fall in the same performance band.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern: the GPU is the dominant factor in The Medium’s performance, especially as resolution and preset quality increase. At 1080p, dropping from Low to Medium reduces average FPS from 96 to 60—a 37.5% loss. From Medium to High, FPS falls to 43 (a 28% reduction), and from High to Ultra, it drops to 34 (a 21% reduction). The same relative drops appear at 1440p (Low 81, Medium 51, High 36, Ultra 29) and at 4K (Low 64, Medium 40, High 29, Ultra 23). The largest single step is always from Low to Medium, indicating that the game’s medium preset adds a substantial GPU workload—likely from texture quality, shadows, or post-processing effects.

Resolution scaling further confirms the GPU bottleneck. At Low settings, average FPS goes from 96 at 1080p to 81 at 1440p (a 16% drop) and then to 64 at 4K (a 21% drop from 1440p). At High settings, the progression is 43 → 36 → 29. The consistent decline with resolution is typical of a GPU-limited scenario, because rendering more pixels increases the pixel fill rate demand without adding CPU work. The CPU’s role is less visible here; the i3-12100F’s 4 cores and 8 threads, with a single-thread 3DMark score of 893 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674, are sufficient to push frame rates above 90 at 1080p Low. If the CPU were a limiting factor, we would expect to see frame rates plateau or even drop at low settings across resolutions, but the data shows a smooth scaling that tracks the GPU’s pixel throughput.

At Ultra settings, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed—even at 1080p, it only manages 34 FPS. The RTX 5050’s 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 82.30 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply not enough for the game’s highest quality preset. In contrast, the CPU’s multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multicore 11860) is more than adequate for the game’s logic and draw calls, as evidenced by the high frame rates at Low settings. Therefore, for this combo, the GPU is the primary determinant of playability; any further optimization should focus on GPU settings rather than CPU-side changes.

The Verdict

This PC can run The Medium, but the playable settings are limited. According to the verdict data, at 3840x2160 only Low settings clear 60 FPS, averaging 64 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low is also the only playable preset, averaging 81 FPS. At 1920x1080, both Low (96 FPS) and Medium (60 FPS) meet the 60 FPS threshold. No resolution supports High or Ultra at playable frame rates. In practical terms, if you want to play at 1080p, you can enjoy Medium settings with a steady 60 FPS average. For 1440p or 4K, you must drop to Low to stay above the playable line. The game’s horror atmosphere may benefit from higher detail, but the data shows that this hardware cannot sustain 60 FPS on High or Ultra at any tested resolution.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is as follows:

• 1920x1080: Medium settings, with an average of 60 FPS. Low settings provide a higher 96 FPS, but Medium is the highest preset that still hits the threshold.
• 2560x1440: Low settings, with an average of 81 FPS. Medium drops to 51 FPS, so Low is the only viable choice.
• 3840x2160: Low settings, with an average of 64 FPS. Medium falls to 40 FPS, making Low the only playable preset.

These are the exact settings that keep the game smooth. If you prefer higher visual quality at 1080p, you could try tweaking individual options, but the measured data only supports these presets as playable. The 60 FPS average at 1080p Medium is exactly on the threshold, so any variance in demanding scenes could push it below 60; the minimum FPS recorded for that preset is 51, so occasional dips are possible.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Medium, the Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 2299 out of 3724. This places it in the lower 61.7% of all combos—meaning 2298 systems perform better, while 1425 perform worse. The rank reflects the combination’s overall capability across all resolutions and presets, not just the playable ones. Given that the CPU and GPU both sit near the 66th–68th percentile of their respective component categories, the game’s demanding Ultra preset and high-resolution targets drag the combo down. Many systems with higher-end GPUs or more VRAM will achieve playable frame rates at higher settings. However, the measured data shows that this specific pairing is still viable for 1080p Medium and for Low settings at higher resolutions, making it a functional entry-level choice for The Medium, provided you accept those compromises.