The Medium

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is a well-balanced combination for The Medium, landing in the 1612th position out of 3724 tested combos. That places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested systems, meaning it is capable of running the game comfortably at most settings, though it will be pushed hard at 4K Ultra. The data shows a clear pattern: this system is excellent for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but 4K requires significant settings compromises to maintain smooth frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 1612 out of 3724 tested combos, this setup sits in the 43rd percentile of all possible CPU-GPU pairings tested for The Medium. That is a solid mid-pack position, indicating the combination is neither a budget compromise nor a top-tier enthusiast build. The ranking reflects the balance between the i5-12600KF and the RTX 3070: the CPU is strong enough to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, while the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions and demanding presets.

The i5-12600KF itself holds the 79th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27799. Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database are the Intel Core i9-10900K (score 27872, just 0.3% higher), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (score 27896, 0.3% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (score 27887, 0.3% higher). The i5-12600KF effectively trades blows with these chips, meaning any of them would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in this game. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom for The Medium's fixed-camera horror scenes, where the workload is spread across multiple threads.

On the GPU side, the RTX 3070 sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (score 17083, 0.7% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (score 17037, 1% lower), and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (score 17019, 1.1% lower). The RTX 3070 leads these alternatives by a narrow margin, confirming that it is the primary performance driver for this game. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for The Medium's textures at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K High and Ultra presets likely exceed the card's comfortable capacity.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the CPU and GPU shifts dramatically as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the CPU plays a more significant role, as the RTX 3070 is not fully taxed at lower pixel counts. The data shows that at 1080p, the average FPS scales from 124.7 at Low to 45.2 at Ultra, a spread of 79.5 FPS. This wide range indicates that settings changes have a massive impact at this resolution, and the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output even at Low settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The average FPS at Low drops to 104.3 (down 20.4 FPS from 1080p), while Ultra falls to 38.1 (down 7.1 FPS from 1080p). The diminishing gap between Low and Ultra at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is working harder relative to the CPU. At 1440p Medium, the system maintains 63.8 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint. The average FPS at Low is 78.6, but Medium drops to 51.7, High to 34.4, and Ultra to a stutter-prone 27.2. The CPU's workload does not increase significantly with resolution, so the i5-12600KF has ample headroom at 4K. The RTX 3070, however, is simply outclassed by the pixel count and the game's visual effects at 4K High and Ultra. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings shows a 12.1 FPS drop (from 63.8 to 51.7), a 19% reduction, which is a typical penalty for quadrupling the pixel count.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest performance alternatives are all within 0.3% of the i5-12600KF's average score. The Intel Core i9-10900K, AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and AMD Ryzen 7 6800U all deliver nearly identical multi-threaded performance, so any of these would behave the same in The Medium's CPU-bound scenes. The 5800X3D's 3D V-Cache does not provide a measurable advantage in this game, as the benchmark delta is negligible. If you were to swap the i5-12600KF for any of these chips, you would not notice a difference in frame rates.

On the GPU side, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is the closest rival, with an average score 0.7% lower than the RTX 3070. This means the RX 7600 XT would produce nearly identical FPS numbers at every resolution and preset in The Medium. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 and AMD Radeon HD 7970M are also within 1.1% of the RTX 3070's score, though these are older architectures that may lack modern feature support. For practical purposes, the RTX 3070 and RX 7600 XT are interchangeable in this game, with the RTX 3070 holding a slight edge.

It is notably the RTX 3070's nearest rivals are all older or lower-tier cards, which confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor in this combo. The CPU's rivals are all high-end chips from previous generations, underscoring that the i5-12600KF is not holding back the system. If you were to pair the same GPU with a weaker CPU, you would see a drop in 1080p Low performance, but at higher resolutions the GPU would still be the bottleneck.

The Verdict

This system can run The Medium, but the playable settings depend heavily on your target resolution. The data clearly shows that 60 FPS is achievable at 1080p and 1440p with the right preset, while 4K requires a significant compromise.

At 3840x2160, the only playable setting is Low, which delivers 78.6 FPS on average. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra dropping to a choppy 27.2 FPS. If you own a 4K display, you will need to accept Low settings for a smooth experience, or you will have to lower the resolution.

At 2560x1440, the system clears the 60 FPS bar at Low (104.3 FPS) and Medium (63.8 FPS). High (47.4 FPS) and Ultra (38.1 FPS) are not playable at this resolution. Medium is the recommended sweet spot, offering a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while retaining more visual fidelity than Low.

At 1920x1080, the system is at its best. Low (124.7 FPS) and Medium (75.7 FPS) both clear 60 FPS with ease. High (54.8 FPS) falls just short, and Ultra (45.2 FPS) is not playable. Medium provides the best balance of visual quality and performance at 1080p, with a 15.7 FPS cushion above the playable threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how this combo scales across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 124.7 at Low to 45.2 at Ultra. The step from Low to Medium costs 49 FPS (down to 75.7), while the step from Medium to High costs another 20.9 FPS (down to 54.8). The final step to Ultra costs an additional 9.6 FPS, landing at 45.2. This shows diminishing returns as you increase settings, with the largest performance hit occurring between Low and Medium.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS spans from 104.3 at Low to 38.1 at Ultra. The Low to Medium step costs 40.5 FPS (down to 63.8), the Medium to High step costs 16.4 FPS (down to 47.4), and the High to Ultra step costs 9.3 FPS (down to 38.1). The pattern is consistent: each settings tier costs progressively less FPS, but the base frame rate at Low is already lower than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 78.6 at Low to 27.2 at Ultra. The Low to Medium step costs 26.9 FPS (down to 51.7), the Medium to High step costs 17.3 FPS (down to 34.4), and the High to Ultra step costs 7.2 FPS (down to 27.2). At 4K, even Low is far below the 1080p Low score, and the Ultra preset is essentially unplayable.

Best Settings per Resolution

For the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, the data points to a single choice at each resolution.

At 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Low, which delivers 78.6 FPS. This is the only preset that clears the 60 FPS threshold at 4K. Medium (51.7 FPS), High (34.4 FPS), and Ultra (27.2 FPS) all fall short. If you are gaming on a 4K display, Low is the only option that provides smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is Medium, with an average of 63.8 FPS. This gives you a 3.8 FPS margin above the 60 FPS threshold, which is tight but playable. Low (104.3 FPS) offers a much larger safety margin, but Medium provides a better visual experience while still meeting the playable threshold.

At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is also Medium, with an average of 75.7 FPS. This provides a 15.7 FPS cushion, making it a more comfortable choice than the 1440p Medium setting. Low (124.7 FPS) is overkill for most players, and High (54.8 FPS) just misses the threshold. Medium at 1080p is the clear recommendation for a smooth, visually pleasing experience with this hardware.