The Medium

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 presents a stark contrast in processing roles. The CPU is a 4-core, 8-thread part based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 12 MB L3 cache. In synthetic testing, this processor achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674, while its Geekbench scores are 7252 multi-core and 1932 single-core.

These CPU figures help explain the frame rates seen in The Medium, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is less likely to be the primary bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 144 FPS, but this is the absolute ceiling observed in the data; all other settings at 1080p produce lower averages. The 4-core design, while efficient for single-threaded tasks, appears to be a limiting factor in this horror title. The data shows that at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS drops to 75, which is a significant decline from the Low preset, suggesting that the CPU cannot keep up with the increased draw calls and physics calculations that the Ultra preset demands, even though the RTX 4090 is more than capable of rendering the frames. The processor's passmark physics score of 985 and its overall percentile ranking of 68% against all CPUs indicate it is a mid-tier part, which aligns with its performance ceiling in this test.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience in The Medium with this hardware combination. The most striking observation is the performance drop from the Low preset to the Medium preset. At 1080p, the average FPS falls from 144 at Low to 120 at Medium. This 24 FPS drop is substantial, but the jump from Medium to High at 1080p is even more severe, dropping from 120 to 95 FPS. The leap from High to Ultra at 1080p is another significant 20 FPS decline, settling at 75 FPS.

Given these numbers, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot for a balanced experience. At 1080p, the Medium settings deliver an average of 120 FPS with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS. This frame rate is high enough to ensure smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors while maintaining visual fidelity that is clearly superior to the Low preset. The Low preset, while hitting 144 FPS, likely sacrifices too much visual quality for a marginal gain over Medium. The Ultra preset, at 75 FPS at 1080p, is playable but introduces a significant performance cost for what may be diminishing visual returns.

At higher resolutions, the story changes. At 1440p, the Medium preset yields an average of 111 FPS (min 95, max 128), which is still excellent. At 4K, the Medium preset falls to an average of 87 FPS (min 74, max 101). This suggests that for 4K gaming, users might prefer the High preset, which averages 63 FPS, to ensure a more stable experience. However, for the best combination of fluidity and detail, the Medium preset at 1440p provides the most compelling data point, offering nearly 120 FPS while retaining the benefits of medium-level graphical effects. The data indicates that High and Ultra settings are punishing on this CPU-bound configuration, especially at lower resolutions, making Medium the recommended preset for most users.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the dynamic between the CPU and GPU in this configuration. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 120 at 1080p, to 111 at 1440p, and finally to 87 at 4K. This represents a 27.5% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K. The relatively modest drop from 1080p to 1440p (120 to 111 FPS) suggests that the CPU is still a significant limiting factor at these resolutions. The GPU has enough headroom to handle the increased pixel count without causing a massive frame rate collapse.

However, the drop from 1440p to 4K (111 to 87 FPS) is more pronounced, indicating that the RTX 4090 is starting to work harder. This is typical behavior for a system where the CPU is the bottleneck at lower resolutions, but the GPU becomes more relevant as resolution increases. The data at Low settings supports this theory: 1080p Low hits 144 FPS, while 1440p Low drops to 136 FPS, and 4K Low drops to 125 FPS. The scaling here is much gentler, suggesting that even with minimal graphical load, the CPU is holding back the frame rate at 1080p.

The Ultra preset shows a different pattern. At 1080p, the average is 75 FPS; at 1440p, it is 63 FPS; and at 4K, it drops to 50 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p (12 FPS) is similar to the gap between 1440p and 4K (13 FPS). This linear decline suggests that with the Ultra preset, both CPU and GPU are heavily loaded, and neither is the sole dominant bottleneck. Overall, the benchmark results indicate that the CPU is the primary limiting component at 1080p and 1440p, while the GPU becomes more of a co-limiting factor at 4K, especially on the Medium preset where the 4K result is the lowest relative to 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations for The Medium, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i3-12100F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 holds a combo rank of 232 out of 3724 tested combos. This places it in the top 6.2% of all configurations, which is a strong result. However, the ranking must be interpreted with the understanding that the GPU is a flagship part, while the CPU is a budget-oriented quad-core. The high rank is likely more attributable to the sheer power of the RTX 4090 than the i3-12100F's processing capabilities.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core 3 N355, which has a nearly identical average score, and the Intel Core i5-9500, which is just 0.3% slower. This shows that the i3-12100F is competitive with older mid-range processors, but it is far from the top-tier CPUs that would typically be paired with an RTX 4090. The combo rank of 232 suggests that while the system is fast, there are hundreds of other combinations that perform better, likely those with more powerful CPUs that can better feed the GPU.

The data implies that this combination is somewhat imbalanced. The RTX 4090, with its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, is capable of far higher frame rates than what the CPU allows in CPU-bound scenarios. The 232nd place ranking out of 3724 combos is respectable, but it is not a reflection of the GPU's full potential. It confirms the GPU's brute force that the combo still ranks this high despite the CPU's limitations. If the goal is to maximize the system's ranking in The Medium, a more powerful processor would be necessary to push the combo higher.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications underscore its capacity to handle demanding titles. It is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, with a massive 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. Its memory subsystem is equally impressive, featuring 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s.

In the context of The Medium, the GPU's role is to render the game's horror atmosphere, which likely includes complex lighting and shadow effects. The data shows that at 4K with the Ultra preset, the average FPS is 50. This is the lowest recorded result in the measured FPS table. The frame rate at 4K Medium is 87 FPS, which is still playable. The GPU's near-rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the Intel Arc Pro A60 and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48, but these comparisons are based on average benchmark scores and do not reflect in-game performance.

The RTX 4090's high pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s suggest it is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. The fact that 4K Ultra produces only 50 FPS while 4K Low produces 125 FPS indicates that the game's Ultra settings are extremely demanding on the GPU. The 24 GB of VRAM is unlikely to be a limiting factor, as The Medium is not known for massive texture packs. The GPU's performance in this game is therefore more influenced by the settings preset than by resolution, with the CPU limiting the lower-resolution performance and the GPU taking over as the limiter at 4K Ultra.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The average FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 111, with a minimum of 95 and a maximum of 128.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: Yes, the data suggests so. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 144 FPS, but this is the maximum recorded. The drop to 120 FPS at Medium settings indicates the CPU is struggling to keep up with the increased workload, as the RTX 4090 is more than capable of higher frame rates.

Q: What is the worst-performing preset for this combo?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 yields the lowest average FPS at 50. This is the most demanding configuration tested and results in the lowest frame rate.

Q: How does the i3-12100F compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-9500?

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score that is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-9500, making them effectively equivalent in synthetic performance.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's VRAM a limiting factor in this game?

A: No, the data does not suggest VRAM is a limiting factor. The RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, and the performance drops are more likely due to the CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions and the game's graphical settings at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at for a high frame rate?

A: For the highest frame rate, 1920x1080 with Low settings provides an average of 144 FPS. For a balance of quality and speed, 2560x1440 with Medium settings offers an average of 111 FPS, which is likely the best compromise.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured FPS values for the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination in The Medium.

Resolution: 1920x1080

• Ultra: Average 75 FPS
• High: Average 95 FPS
• Medium: Average 120 FPS (Minimum 102, Maximum 138)
• Low: Average 144 FPS

Resolution: 2560x1440

• Ultra: Average 63 FPS
• High: Average 80 FPS
• Medium: Average 111 FPS (Minimum 95, Maximum 128)
• Low: Average 136 FPS

Resolution: 3840x2160

• Ultra: Average 50 FPS
• High: Average 63 FPS
• Medium: Average 87 FPS (Minimum 74, Maximum 101)
• Low: Average 125 FPS

The data shows a clear performance hierarchy: lower resolutions and lower settings yield higher frame rates. The Medium preset at 1080p provides a solid 120 FPS average, while the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 50 FPS. The consistent pattern across all resolutions is that the Low preset offers the highest frame rates, but the Medium preset seems to be the most reasonable for a quality experience, balancing visual fidelity with playable frame rates. The minimum FPS values for the Medium preset across all resolutions (102 at 1080p, 95 at 1440p, and 74 at 4K) indicate that the game remains smooth even in demanding scenes.