The Medium

The Medium on this system presents a fascinating case of GPU-bound scaling, where the RTX 2070 SUPER’s capabilities are pushed to their absolute limits before the Intel Core i3-12100F ever becomes a concern. The measured frame rates across the three resolutions reveal a component that is working exceptionally hard, with the data showing a clear progression of performance degradation as pixel count rises.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking observation is the dramatic frame rate collapse when moving from 1440p to 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the combination produces an average of 45.8 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same preset drops the average to 38.4 FPS, a reduction of 7.4 FPS. However, the jump to 3840x2160 is where the real bottleneck emerges, with High settings falling to just 29.5 FPS. This represents a 16.3 FPS loss from 1080p, or a 35.6% decrease in performance—a clear sign that the GPU is struggling to fill the additional pixels.

The pattern becomes even more telling when examining the Low preset. At 1080p, the system achieves a smooth 100.7 FPS average, but 1440p drops that to 82.9 FPS. The 4K Low result of 64.6 FPS shows a total 36.1 FPS reduction from 1080p. This scaling behavior is characteristic of a GPU that is working near its memory bandwidth ceiling. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory are being saturated at 4K, causing the frame rate to fall disproportionately compared to the resolution increase.

What does this say about the limiting component? The data strongly suggests the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K, while the CPU’s role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. The fact that 1080p Low produces 100.7 FPS while 4K High produces only 29.5 FPS indicates that the graphics card is unable to sustain high frame rates when pixel count quadruples. The CPU, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, may still be capable of feeding frames at 1080p, but the GPU simply cannot keep up with the 4K workload.

GPU Role

The RTX 2070 SUPER is the star of this analysis, and its specifications directly correlate with the measured results. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, built on the TU104 chip with 2560 shading units. This configuration delivers 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which explains why the card handles 1080p Low with such ease at 100.7 FPS.

However, the 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus proves to be a limiting factor at 4K. The memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is substantial, but The Medium’s horror environments likely demand high-resolution textures that consume VRAM rapidly. The 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS is telling—this is a frame rate that suggests the GPU is not just compute-bound but also potentially memory-bound. The gap between 4K Medium (42.1 FPS) and 4K High (29.5 FPS) is 12.6 FPS, showing that each settings tier adds significant pressure.

Comparing to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RTX 2070 SUPER posts an average benchmark score of 22206. This places it just 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX A400 (22307) and 2.3% behind the RTX 4060 Mobile (22729). Notably, it outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 5700 by 2.5%. These deltas are small, indicating that the 2070 SUPER sits in a competitive performance band, but its 4K results in this game suggest it is better suited for 1440p gaming than 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for this hardware combination. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 60.6 FPS, which is a solid baseline for smooth gameplay. However, the Low preset achieves 100.7 FPS, offering nearly double the headroom for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity. The High preset’s 45.8 FPS is playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes.

For 1440p, the Low preset’s 82.9 FPS is the standout choice, providing excellent fluidity while maintaining the resolution’s benefits. The Medium preset’s 54.9 FPS is also viable for players who want a balance between visual quality and performance. The High preset’s 38.4 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold and may feel sluggish in a horror title where smooth movement is crucial.

At 4K, the data is unambiguous: only the Low preset (64.6 FPS) achieves a playable frame rate. The Medium preset’s 42.1 FPS is borderline, but the High (29.5 FPS) and Ultra (24 FPS) results are too low for a satisfying experience. The recommendation is clear: prioritize Low or Medium at 1080p and 1440p, and only attempt 4K with the Low preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks at 1042 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the bottom 38% of all configurations, which is a surprisingly low position given the individual components’ benchmark scores. The CPU’s percentile vs all CPUs is 72, and the GPU’s percentile vs all GPUs is 65, both indicating above-average hardware.

The disparity between component rankings and the combo ranking suggests that this pairing is inefficient for this specific game. The i3-12100F’s 4 cores and 8 threads may be insufficient to fully utilize the RTX 2070 SUPER’s capabilities, or The Medium may not be optimized for this combination. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-7700K, is only 1.8% faster in average benchmark score (13280 vs 13280), yet the combo rank suffers. This indicates that The Medium is particularly sensitive to core count or thread scheduling, and the i3’s 4-core design is a bottleneck despite its solid single-thread performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F presents an interesting case. With 4 cores, 8 threads, and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, it delivers strong single-thread performance—evidenced by its 3dmark single-thread score of 893 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681. Its multi-threaded scores are respectable for a 4-core chip, with Cinebench R23 multicore reaching 11912 and Geekbench multicore at 7413.

However, The Medium’s results suggest the CPU may be underutilized or inefficiently utilized. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 100.7 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s frame generation limit for this game. The fact that 1440p Low drops to 82.9 FPS and 4K Low to 64.6 FPS indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, but the CPU is not completely off the hook.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 13516 places it 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534) and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462). This is remarkable for a 4-core part, but the combo rank reveals that raw benchmark scores don’t translate directly to gaming performance in The Medium. The CPU’s 12 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4, DDR5) are adequate, but the 4-core limitation may cause stuttering or frame pacing issues in this horror title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1440p Low provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, achieving 82.9 FPS. For higher settings, 1080p Medium (60.6 FPS) is the recommended choice.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 64.6. The Medium preset drops to 42.1 FPS, and High/Ultra fall below 30 FPS, making them unplayable.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as frame rates drop dramatically with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU may limit performance, given the combo rank of 1042 out of 1689.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 1042 out of 1689 combos, placing it in the bottom 38%. This is surprising given the individual component benchmark scores.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The Low preset averages 100.7 FPS, while Ultra averages 36.1 FPS, a difference of 64.6 FPS. This shows a massive performance cost for max settings.

Q: Does the RTX 2070 SUPER perform better than its rivals in this game?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 22206 is 0.5% below the RTX A400 and 2.3% below the RTX 4060 Mobile, but 2.5% above the RX 5700. The data doesn’t provide direct in-game comparisons.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured data for this system in The Medium is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 100.7 FPS
• Medium: 60.6 FPS
• High: 45.8 FPS
• Ultra: 36.1 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 82.9 FPS
• Medium: 54.9 FPS
• High: 38.4 FPS
• Ultra: 32.2 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 64.6 FPS
• Medium: 42.1 FPS
• High: 29.5 FPS
• Ultra: 24.0 FPS

The pattern is consistent across all settings: 1080p offers the highest frame rates, with Low exceeding 100 FPS. The 1440p results show a performance penalty of approximately 18-25% compared to 1080p at each settings tier. The 4K results reveal a more severe penalty, with High and Ultra falling below the playable threshold. The data clearly shows that this hardware is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p as a viable option at lower settings, while 4K should be reserved for Low preset only.