The Medium

The Intel Core i3-12100F (launch MSRP $97) paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (launch MSRP 299 USD) was measured in The Medium, a horror game released on 2021-01-27. The data set includes average, minimum, and maximum frame rates across three resolutions—1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160—and four quality presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. The playable threshold is set at 60 FPS, and the following analysis relies solely on the recorded values.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The i3-12100F's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, are the Intel Core 3 N355 (avgScore 13492, deltaPct 0), the Intel Core i5-9500 (avgScore 13452, deltaPct 0.3), the Intel Core 5 120UL (avgScore 13594, deltaPct -0.7), and the Intel Core i7-1250U (avgScore 13351, deltaPct 1.1). A positive deltaPct indicates the i3-12100F is faster than the rival; a negative deltaPct means it is slower. Thus, the i3-12100F is 0.3% faster than the i5-9500, 0.7% slower than the Core 5 120UL, and 1.1% faster than the i7-1250U. The Core 3 N355 is effectively identical. These CPUs have average scores within 1.1% of the i3-12100F's 13494, so systems built with them would likely produce similar frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios, though game-specific optimization can shift the balance.

For the GPU, the RTX 5060's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon 860M (avgScore 26401, deltaPct -0.3), the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (avgScore 26421, deltaPct -0.3), the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (avgScore 26553, deltaPct -0.8), and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (avgScore 26011, deltaPct 1.2). The RTX 5060's average benchmark score is 26331. It is 0.3% slower than the 860M and MX550, 0.8% slower than the RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary, and 1.2% faster than the RX 6750 XT. All four rivals fall within 1.2% of the RTX 5060's score, meaning they would deliver nearly identical overall performance in The Medium, assuming no driver or architectural quirks.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings?

A: The average FPS is 72, with a minimum of 61 and a maximum of 83.

Q: Which resolution and preset combination yields the highest average FPS?

A: The highest recorded average is 116 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Is 4K (3840x2160) playable at 60 FPS?

A: Only at the Low preset, which averages 76 FPS. Medium averages 48 FPS, High 34, and Ultra 27—all below the threshold.

Q: What is the best preset at 2560x1440 that stays above 60 FPS?

A: Medium, with an average of 61 FPS. Low averages 97 FPS, but Medium is the most demanding preset that still clears the threshold.

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

A: It ranks 1670 out of 3724 tested combinations.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance in Cinebench R23?

A: The i3-12100F scores 1674 in the single-core test.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The table below lists every recorded measurement. Minimum and maximum values were captured only for the Medium preset; other presets report only the average.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|---------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 34 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 76 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 48 | 41 | 55 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 27 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | High | 44 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 97 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 61 | 52 | 70 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 35 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | High | 52 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 116 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 72 | 61 | 83 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 41 | — | — |

The Verdict

This system can run The Medium at 60 FPS in several configurations. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves an average above the threshold, with 76 FPS. Medium drops to 48, High to 34, and Ultra to 27. At 2560x1440, both Low (97 FPS) and Medium (61 FPS) are playable, while High (44) and Ultra (35) are not. At 1920x1080, Low (116) and Medium (72) clear the threshold; High (52) and Ultra (41) fall short. It is notably at 1440p Medium, the minimum FPS is 52, so the frame rate can dip below 60 during demanding scenes, despite the average being above. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 61, keeping the experience consistently above the threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

In The Medium, this CPU-GPU combination ranks 1670 out of 3724 tested combos. Since 1670 is less than half of 3724, the combo sits in the lower half of the database. This indicates that a majority of tested systems deliver higher frame rates in this title. The rank reflects the system's overall performance across all tested settings and resolutions, not just the playable configurations.

Best Settings per Resolution

The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at each resolution is as follows:

• 3840x2160: Low, with an average of 76 FPS.
• 2560x1440: Medium, with an average of 61 FPS.
• 1920x1080: Medium, with an average of 72 FPS.

For each resolution, any preset higher than these falls below the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K, only Low is viable; at 1440p and 1080p, Medium provides the best visual quality while maintaining an average above 60 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling of frame rates across resolutions and presets reveals which component is the limiting factor. At 1920x1080 Low, the average FPS is 116, far above the 60 FPS threshold. This high value suggests the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently at low settings, and the GPU is not heavily taxed. Moving to 2560x1440 Low, the average drops to 97, and at 3840x2160 Low it falls to 76. The gradual decline with increasing resolution indicates that the GPU's rendering workload scales with pixel count, while the CPU's workload remains relatively constant. The same pattern holds for Medium, High, and Ultra: from 1080p to 4K, the average FPS drops from 72 to 48, 52 to 34, and 41 to 27, respectively.

At 1080p, the CPU's single-thread score of 1674 (Cinebench R23) and multi-thread score of 11860 indicate ample processing power for this title. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 116 FPS supports this—the CPU is not the bottleneck at that setting. However, at 1080p Ultra, the average is 41 FPS, which is lower than the 76 FPS seen at 4K Low. This demonstrates that the quality preset has a larger impact on frame rate than resolution alone, and that the GPU's capabilities are stressed more by graphical effects (such as shadows, reflections, and post-processing) than by raw pixel count.

At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant factor. The consistent FPS reduction from 1080p to 4K across all presets—116 to 76, 72 to 48, 52 to 34, 41 to 27—shows that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints as resolution rises. The RTX 5060's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for Low and Medium presets at 1440p, but they are not enough to sustain 60 FPS at High or Ultra at any resolution. In summary, at 1080p and 1440p, the GPU is the limiting factor at higher presets, while the CPU can keep pace at lower presets. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck across all settings, as even Low produces only 76 FPS.