The Medium

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 1228th out of 1689 tested combinations in The Medium. That places it in the lower half of the database, and the data reflects a system that can run the game but struggles to deliver a consistent high-refresh experience at demanding settings. The combo's percentile standing is modest—the CPU sits at the 72nd percentile among all processors, while the GPU holds the 71st percentile among all graphics cards—yet the measured frame rates show this pairing is often limited by the graphics card rather than the processor, especially at higher resolutions.

The ranking is not flattering, but the context matters. The Medium is a horror title with heavy visual effects and fixed-camera scenes that tax the GPU significantly. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 32.9 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold most players target. The CPU's strong single-thread performance—a 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681—does not rescue the experience when the GPU is overwhelmed. The data shows a system that is capable of playable frame rates only when settings are lowered, and the ranking reflects that limitation.

# Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows make the optimal settings clear: Low is the only preset that consistently delivers playable performance across all resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 94.1 FPS average, which is comfortably above 60 FPS and suitable for smooth gameplay. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 77.1 FPS, still playable, while 4K Low yields 62.5 FPS, which is borderline but acceptable for a slower-paced horror title.

Medium settings are a compromise that only works at 1080p, where the average is 54.9 FPS—close to 60 but not quite there. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 48.9 FPS, and at 4K Medium it plummets to 35.5 FPS. High settings are not recommended: even at 1080p, the average is 39.4 FPS, and at 4K it drops to 24.5 FPS. Ultra is the worst performer, with 32.9 FPS at 1080p and 23.6 FPS at 4K. For a stable experience, Low at 1080p is the clear choice, with Low at 1440p as a viable alternative if the user prefers higher resolution over maximum smoothness.

# Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this pairing. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 94.1 FPS at 1080p to 77.1 FPS at 1440p, a 18% decrease, and then to 62.5 FPS at 4K, a further 19% decrease. This pattern indicates that the RX 6600 XT's rendering workload scales almost linearly with pixel count, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario.

At Medium settings, the drop is steeper: 54.9 FPS at 1080p to 48.9 FPS at 1440p (11% decrease) and then to 35.5 FPS at 4K (27% decrease). The larger 4K penalty at Medium suggests that memory bandwidth and GPU compute are being saturated. The RX 6600 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p but strained at 4K with higher settings. The CPU, with its 4 cores and 8 threads running at a 4.30 GHz boost, shows no signs of limiting performance, as the frame rate differences between resolutions are consistent with GPU-bound behavior. The conclusion is clear: the RX 6600 XT is the limiting component, and the i3-12100F has headroom to spare.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 94.1 FPS on Low, 54.9 FPS on Medium, 39.4 FPS on High, and 32.9 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium is a 41% performance hit, while High to Ultra costs only 16%, indicating diminishing returns at the top end. The 1080p results show that Low is the only preset that clears 60 FPS, and even Medium falls short by 5.1 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 77.1 FPS on Low, 48.9 FPS on Medium, 34.2 FPS on High, and 26.7 FPS on Ultra. The Low preset remains the only playable option, and the gap between Medium and High is 14.7 FPS, showing that each settings tier extracts a significant toll. At 3840x2160, the results are 62.5 FPS on Low, 35.5 FPS on Medium, 24.5 FPS on High, and 23.6 FPS on Ultra. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is negligible at less than 1 FPS, which suggests that the GPU has hit a hard performance wall above Medium.

The data shows a clear trend: the RX 6600 XT can handle Low settings at any resolution up to 4K, but anything above Medium is reserved for 1080p, and even then with sub-60 FPS averages. The minimum FPS values are not provided, but the averages alone indicate that stutter-prone scenes in a horror game would likely push frame rates lower.

# FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings. At 1080p Low, the average is 94.1 FPS, and at 1440p Low it is 77.1 FPS. At 4K Low, it drops to 62.5 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS but with no headroom.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing?

A: 1080p is the safest choice. The data shows 54.9 FPS on Medium at 1080p, while 1440p Medium drops to 48.9 FPS and 4K Medium falls to 35.5 FPS. Low settings at 1440p are also viable at 77.1 FPS.

Q: Is Ultra settings ever playable?

A: No. The highest average at Ultra is 32.9 FPS at 1080p, which is far below the 60 FPS target. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 26.7 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it is 23.6 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 27985, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27956) and 0.9% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (28238). This places it in a competitive mid-range tier.

Q: How does the CPU perform relative to similar processors?

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534) and 1.8% higher than the Intel Core i7-7700K (13280). It sits at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a GPU-bound pattern, with performance dropping as pixel count increases. The CPU's 4 cores and 8 threads with a 4.30 GHz boost are sufficient to feed the GPU.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz, with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, and it has 12 MB of shared L3 cache. The chip supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. In The Medium, the CPU's role is secondary, as the game's rendering demands fall primarily on the GPU.

Benchmark results show the i3-12100F is a competent performer for its class. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 11912, while the single-core score is 1681. The 3DMark 8-thread score is 4026, and the single-thread score is 893. These numbers indicate that the CPU can handle the game's logic and scene management without becoming a bottleneck. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-10105, has an average score of 13430, which is 0.6% lower, confirming that the 12100F is a solid entry-level choice. The 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs means it outperforms most processors on the market, and in this game, the data shows no evidence of CPU-induced frame rate dips.

# GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 23 chip, manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1968 MHz, with a boost clock of 2589 MHz and a game clock of 2359 MHz. It has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, along with 32 ray-tracing cores. The card delivers 10.60 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate.

In The Medium, the RX 6600 XT is the limiting factor. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU struggles with higher settings, particularly at 1440p and 4K. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p, but the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth appears strained at 4K Medium and above, where frame rates drop sharply. The GPU's average benchmark score of 27985 places it at the 71st percentile, and it trades blows with the GTX 980 Ti (27956) and RTX 3070 (28238). The 160 W TDP and dual-slot design are modest, but the performance ceiling is clear: Low settings are the only path to smooth gameplay, and even then, 4K is a marginal experience at 62.5 FPS. The data indicates that this GPU is best paired with 1080p displays for this title, where it can deliver playable frame rates without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.