The Medium

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is a mid-range combination that delivers a clear, but narrow, path to playable performance in The Medium. Measured data shows that this combo clears the 60 FPS threshold only at specific settings and resolutions, with the most demanding presets pushing frame rates well below playable levels. Across all three tested resolutions, the pattern is consistent: Low settings provide a comfortable margin, Medium is viable only at 1920x1080, and High and Ultra presets fall short of the 60 FPS target everywhere except for a single 4K Low outlier.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo’s best showing comes at Low settings, where the average frame rate reaches 115.4 FPS. Dropping to Medium still yields a playable 72.1 FPS average, which is 43.3 FPS lower than Low. High settings at 1080p produce a 51.5 FPS average, which misses the 60 FPS target by 8.5 FPS. Ultra is the worst performer at this resolution, with an average of 41.9 FPS, representing a 63.5 FPS deficit compared to Low. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a steep decline of 73.5 FPS, indicating that each preset increase costs a significant chunk of performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates drop across the board. Low settings deliver 94.6 FPS, which is 20.8 FPS lower than the same preset at 1080p. Medium at 1440p falls to 59.8 FPS, just 0.2 FPS shy of the 60 FPS threshold, making it technically unplayable by the strict standard. High settings at this resolution average 40.5 FPS, a 19.3 FPS drop from Medium. Ultra at 1440p is the second-worst result in the entire dataset, with an average of 37.1 FPS, which is 57.5 FPS below Low. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 57.5 FPS, slightly smaller than the 73.5 FPS gap seen at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the pattern becomes more extreme. Low settings are the only playable option, averaging 75.7 FPS. Medium at 4K drops to 47.4 FPS, which is 28.3 FPS below Low and well under the playability threshold. High settings at 4K average 34.3 FPS, a 13.1 FPS drop from Medium. Ultra at 4K is the worst result in the entire dataset, averaging just 28.5 FPS, which is 47.2 FPS below Low. The resolution scaling is harsh: moving from 1080p Low to 4K Low costs 39.7 FPS, while moving from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra costs only 13.4 FPS, suggesting that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The data also reveals that min and max FPS values are not recorded for any configuration, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates. This means the consistency of frame pacing cannot be assessed from the available metrics. The lack of min/max data is a notable gap, as it prevents a full picture of stutter or frame-time spikes, but the averages alone are sufficient to determine playability at the 60 FPS threshold.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 60 FPS on a 4K monitor?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the measured average FPS is 75.7, which clears the 60 FPS target. Medium, High, and Ultra at 4K all fall below 60 FPS, with averages of 47.4, 34.3, and 28.5 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 2560x1440?

A: Low settings are the only playable option at 1440p, delivering a 94.6 FPS average. Medium settings at this resolution average 59.8 FPS, which is just 0.2 FPS below the 60 FPS threshold, so it misses the playable standard by a razor-thin margin.

Q: How does the 1080p Medium preset compare to the 1440p Low preset?

A: The 1080p Medium preset averages 72.1 FPS, while the 1440p Low preset averages 94.6 FPS. This shows that dropping the resolution from 1440p to 1080p while raising the preset from Low to Medium actually reduces performance by 22.5 FPS, indicating that resolution has a stronger impact on frame rate than preset level in this range.

Q: Is Ultra settings ever playable with this hardware?

A: No. Across all three tested resolutions, Ultra settings fail to reach 60 FPS. The best Ultra result is 41.9 FPS at 1920x1080, with 37.1 FPS at 1440p and 28.5 FPS at 4K. Ultra remains the most demanding preset at every resolution.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra at 1920x1080?

A: High settings average 51.5 FPS at 1080p, while Ultra averages 41.9 FPS. The difference is 9.6 FPS, which is smaller than the gap between Medium and High (20.6 FPS) but still substantial enough to push the frame rate further from the playable threshold.

Q: Does the combo’s rank in-game suggest it is a top-tier performer?

A: The combo ranks 1795 out of 3724 tested combinations, placing it in the middle of the pack. This percentile position indicates that while it can handle the game at lower presets, it is far from the best-performing hardware available for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1795 out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium, which places it just below the median performer. With 3724 total combos, a rank of 1795 means roughly 48% of tested systems perform better, while 52% perform worse. This middle-of-the-road position aligns with the measured FPS data, which shows playable performance only at Low settings for 1440p and 4K, plus Medium at 1080p. The ranking reflects that this is a capable but not exceptional pairing for this specific game.

The CPU itself holds a 73rd percentile ranking among all tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19039. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (avgScore 19047, a 0% delta), the Intel Core 3 201E (avgScore 19056, a -0.1% delta), the Intel Core i5-1335U (avgScore 18982, a 0.3% delta), and the AMD EPYC 7773X (avgScore 18979, a 0.3% delta). These deltas are all within a fraction of a percent, meaning the i5-12400F is statistically tied with those processors in synthetic benchmarks.

The GPU holds a 72nd percentile ranking among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26331. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 860M (avgScore 26401, a -0.3% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (avgScore 26421, a -0.3% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (avgScore 26553, a -0.8% delta), and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (avgScore 26011, a 1.2% delta). The 1.2% lead over the RX 6750 XT is the largest margin among these rivals, but it remains a slim advantage in real-world terms.

The combination of a mid-pack CPU and GPU produces a combo rank that is slightly below average for this game. The data suggests that the RTX 5060 is the more influential component in determining playability, as the CPU’s performance is tightly clustered with its rivals, while the GPU’s scaling across resolutions shows a more significant impact on frame rates.

The Verdict

The data shows that this PC can run The Medium, but only under specific conditions. At 1920x1080, Medium settings deliver a 72.1 FPS average, which comfortably clears the 60 FPS threshold, making it the best playable preset at this resolution. Low settings at 1080p are also playable, with a 115.4 FPS average. High and Ultra at 1080p are not playable, with averages of 51.5 and 41.9 FPS respectively.

At 2560x1440, the only playable preset is Low, which averages 94.6 FPS. Medium at this resolution averages 59.8 FPS, missing the 60 FPS target by just 0.2 FPS, so it is not considered playable. High and Ultra at 1440p average 40.5 and 37.1 FPS, both well below the threshold.

At 3840x2160, Low settings are the sole playable option, with an average of 75.7 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra at 4K all fall short, averaging 47.4, 34.3, and 28.5 FPS respectively. The verdict is clear: for a smooth 60 FPS experience, users must stick to Low settings at 1440p or 4K, while 1080p users have the choice between Low and Medium. No configuration at High or Ultra reaches 60 FPS, so those presets should be avoided for playable frame rates.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the GPU plays the dominant role in determining frame rates in The Medium, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom to avoid becoming the bottleneck. Evidence for this comes from the resolution scaling: as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, the average FPS at every preset drops substantially. At Low settings, the drop is from 115.4 FPS at 1080p to 94.6 FPS at 1440p (a 20.8 FPS loss) and then to 75.7 FPS at 4K (a further 18.9 FPS loss). This pattern is consistent with GPU-bound performance, where higher resolutions increase the rendering load on the graphics card.

At High settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 51.5 FPS at 1080p drops to 40.5 FPS at 1440p (an 11 FPS loss) and then to 34.3 FPS at 4K (a 6.2 FPS loss). The diminishing absolute drops at higher resolutions suggest that the GPU is nearing its limits, and the preset level has a larger relative impact at lower resolutions. For instance, moving from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 43.3 FPS, while the same preset change at 4K costs 28.3 FPS.

The CPU’s role is less visible in the data but still relevant. The i5-12400F has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, and its benchmark scores show it performs well in multithreaded workloads, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 12380. However, the game’s frame rates at 1080p Low (115.4 FPS) are not exceptionally high, suggesting that the CPU is not preventing the GPU from reaching higher frame rates at lower resolutions. The lack of min/max FPS data makes it impossible to assess CPU-related frame drops, but the average FPS figures do not indicate a CPU bottleneck.

At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as the frame rates scale down with resolution increases. At 1080p, the GPU still appears to be the primary constraint, given that Ultra settings drop to 41.9 FPS, which is a significant reduction from Low. The CPU’s performance headroom is likely sufficient for all tested configurations, meaning that any frame rate improvements would require a stronger GPU rather than a faster processor.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, which delivers an average of 72.1 FPS. Low settings are also playable at 115.4 FPS, but Medium offers a better visual quality while still maintaining a 12.1 FPS margin above the threshold. High and Ultra at 1080p are not viable, as they average 51.5 and 41.9 FPS respectively.

At 2560x1440, the only preset that meets the 60 FPS requirement is Low, with an average of 94.6 FPS. Medium at 1440p averages 59.8 FPS, which is 0.2 FPS below the target, so it cannot be recommended for playable performance. High and Ultra at this resolution average 40.5 and 37.1 FPS, both far below the threshold.

At 3840x2160, Low settings are the sole playable option, averaging 75.7 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra at 4K all fail to reach 60 FPS, with averages of 47.4, 34.3, and 28.5 FPS respectively. For users prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate, the 1080p Medium preset is the best balance, while 1440p and 4K users must accept Low settings to maintain playable performance.