The Medium

The Medium presents a uniquely demanding workload, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT produces a specific performance profile that is heavily dictated by graphics settings and resolution. This analysis breaks down the measured data for this pairing, focusing on how the CPU and GPU interact within the game's fixed-camera horror framework. The benchmark results indicate a system that is capable of smooth playable framerates, but only when settings are managed carefully, as the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher visual presets.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It features 18 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In The Medium, the CPU's role is to feed the Radeon RX 5700 XT with draw calls and manage the game's simulation logic. The data suggests that at lower resolutions and settings, the CPU is more than adequate, allowing the GPU to be the limiting factor.

Benchmark results for the i5-12400 show a strong single-threaded performance, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 910 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2257. This is relevant because The Medium, like many horror titles, often relies on a primary thread for critical tasks. The multi-threaded capabilities are also robust, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 and a Passmark multithread score of 18747. This ensures that background tasks and the game's overall engine load do not introduce stutter.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals based on average benchmark score, the i5-12400 is effectively tied with the AMD EPYC 7643 (-0.1% delta) and the Intel Core i7-1355U (-0.3% delta). It is slightly ahead of the Intel Core i3-14100F by 0.9%. The processor holds a 72nd percentile ranking against all CPUs, placing it in the upper tier of general processing power. In the context of The Medium, the CPU's performance is sufficient to prevent it from becoming the primary constraint; the measured FPS drops are far more closely tied to GPU load and settings changes than to CPU limitations.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average framerate achievable with this combo at 1920x1080?

A: The highest measured average FPS at 1920x1080 is 89, achieved with the Low settings preset. The Medium preset yields 56 FPS, while High and Ultra produce 40 FPS and 32 FPS, respectively.

Q: Does the 3840x2160 resolution provide a playable experience at Medium settings?

A: At 4K with Medium settings, the average FPS is 37, with a minimum measured FPS of 31 and a maximum of 43. This is borderline playable, but the frame rate may dip below 30 FPS during demanding scenes, which could impact the game's atmosphere.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400 compare to the Intel Core i3-14100F in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683, while the i3-14100F has an average score of 18519. This makes the i5-12400 0.9% faster on average according to the deltaPct data.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 75 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 27 FPS. This represents a drop of 48 FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and size, and does it appear sufficient for the game's demands?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Given the measured performance, this configuration is sufficient for the game's needs at the tested settings, though the GPU's compute power is the more significant factor in performance.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data for this combo suggests that the "Medium" preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium produces an average of 56 FPS, which is a significant improvement over High's 40 FPS and Ultra's 32 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 33 FPS (from 89 to 56), but the visual quality improvement is typically substantial. The Medium preset also provides the only data row with both minimum and maximum FPS values (48 min, 64 max at 1080p), indicating a more stable frame time delivery.

For users targeting 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the only viable option for a consistently smooth experience, yielding 47 FPS on average. High settings drop to 34 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for many users, and Ultra falls to 27 FPS. At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. Medium settings provide an average of 37 FPS, which is the highest playable average outside of Low (59 FPS). However, the minimum FPS of 31 at 4K Medium suggests that frame pacing may be inconsistent. The data indicates that for the best combination of visual fidelity and performance at this resolution, users should select the Medium preset, while accepting that the experience will not be a locked 60 FPS. Low settings are recommended if a higher, more consistent frame rate is prioritized over visual quality, especially at 1440p and 4K.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT has a combo rank of 2776 out of 3724 tested combinations for The Medium. This places the system in the lower third of all tested configurations, indicating that while it is not a low-end performer, it is significantly outclassed by many other CPU-GPU pairings in this specific title. The rank reflects the demanding nature of the game on the GPU, as the RX 5700 XT is a mid-range card from a previous generation.

This ranking does not imply the system is inadequate; rather, it shows that there are many more powerful combinations available. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with medium-to-high settings. The fact that the GPU's percentile ranking against all GPUs is 59, while the CPU's is 72, suggests that the GPU is the component holding the combo back in this rank. The i5-12400 is a more modern and capable part relative to its peers than the RX 5700 XT is to its own, which is a key takeaway from the performance data. The low rank is a direct result of the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions and settings in The Medium.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data across resolutions provides clear evidence that the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the primary limiting component in this system for The Medium. Looking at the Medium preset, the average FPS at 1920x1080 is 56. This drops to 47 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 9 FPS (approximately 16%). Moving from 1440p to 3840x2160, the average FPS drops further to 37, another reduction of 10 FPS (approximately 21%).

This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU, with its strong single-threaded performance, is not being overwhelmed by the increased resolution; instead, the GPU's fill rate and shader processing capabilities are being taxed more heavily. The difference between Low and Medium settings at 1080p is 33 FPS (89 vs. 56), which is a larger gap than the resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings (19 FPS difference). This suggests that the game's visual effects have a more significant impact on the GPU load than the sheer number of pixels being rendered. The 8 GB of VRAM on the RX 5700 XT is likely sufficient, but the GPU's raw compute power, measured at 9.754 TFLOPS, is the deciding factor in these framerate drops.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The complete set of measured FPS data is as follows, providing a full picture of the system's capabilities:

1920x1080:

• Low: 89 avg FPS
• Medium: 56 avg FPS (48 min, 64 max)
• High: 40 avg FPS
• Ultra: 32 avg FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 75 avg FPS
• Medium: 47 avg FPS (40 min, 54 max)
• High: 34 avg FPS
• Ultra: 27 avg FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 59 avg FPS
• Medium: 37 avg FPS (31 min, 43 max)
• High: 26 avg FPS
• Ultra: 21 avg FPS

The data shows a clear and consistent hierarchy. At every resolution, Low is the fastest, followed by Medium, High, and finally Ultra. The margin between Medium and High is substantial, typically around 10 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is smaller, around 5-8 FPS. The minimum FPS data, available only for Medium settings, shows that the frame rate can dip noticeably below the average, indicating potential for stutter during intense scenes. For example, at 1080p Medium, the minimum is 48 FPS, which is 8 FPS below the average. This data point is crucial for understanding the real-world smoothness of the experience.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture, using the Navi 10 chip fabricated on a 7 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 1605 MHz, a game clock of 1755 MHz, and a boost clock of 1905 MHz. The GPU's memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. With 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, the card has a theoretical FP32 performance of 9.754 TFLOPS.

In The Medium, the GPU's performance is the dominant factor in the measured FPS. The card's 59th percentile ranking against all GPUs places it in the mid-range tier, and its average benchmark score of 16361 puts it in a near-tie with the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (0.1% delta) and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (-0.3% delta). The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures at the tested settings, as the performance drops are more closely linked to the shader and fill-rate demands than to memory capacity. The data strongly suggests that reducing the preset from High to Medium is the most effective way to improve performance, as the 9.754 TFLOPS of compute power is the main constraint on achieving higher frame rates. The GPU's 225 W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with its mid-range positioning, but its performance in this title is clearly the bottleneck.