The Medium

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT achieves a combo rank of 1392 out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium. This places the setup in the 63rd percentile of all tested combos, meaning it outperforms roughly 63% of the configurations in the database while remaining behind the top-tier hardware. The ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component is dramatically over- or under-powered for this title, but there is clear headroom for improvement if the goal is maxing out the game's demands.

The CPU itself sits at the 72nd percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 18683. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7643 (avg score 18697, delta -0.1%), the Intel Core i7-1355U (avg score 18730, delta -0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (avg score 18811, delta -0.7%), all of which are marginally ahead. Interestingly, the Intel Core i3-14100F trails by 0.9% with an avg score of 18519. These narrow deltas indicate that the i5-12400 sits in a highly competitive cluster where small performance differences separate adjacent options.

The GPU, meanwhile, holds the 67th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 22549. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (avg score 22435, delta +0.5%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (avg score 22729, delta -0.8%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (avg score 22895, delta -1.5%). The AMD Radeon RX 5700 sits 1.7% behind with an average score of 22170. These comparisons show the RX 7700 XT trading blows with mobile and older desktop cards, though the desktop-focused architecture gives it an edge in sustained workloads.

In The Medium specifically, the combo's rank of 1392/3724 suggests it handles the game's fixed-camera horror presentation competently, but the measured frame rates reveal that Ultra settings at higher resolutions push the system to its limits. The data indicates a configuration that is well-suited for High and Medium presets at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K requiring compromises in fidelity to maintain playable performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT brings 12 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 192-bit bus, yielding 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory capacity is generous for The Medium, which relies on streaming detailed environments and baked lighting rather than texture-heavy open worlds. The 12 GB allocation provides ample headroom for the game's asset streaming at 1440p and even 4K, though the data shows that raw compute becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions rather than memory capacity.

Clock speeds are set at a base of 1435 MHz, a game clock of 2171 MHz, and a boost clock of 2544 MHz. The memory operates at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective throughput. These figures translate to a pixel rate of 244.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 549.5 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 35.17 TFLOPS. In The Medium, which uses DirectX 12 Ultimate features, the GPU's 54 ray-tracing cores and 3456 shading units are relevant for the game's lighting effects, though the measured data does not isolate RT-specific performance.

Looking at the measured frames in The Medium, the GPU's behavior is telling. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 126 FPS, but this drops to 79 FPS at Medium, 56 FPS at High, and 45 FPS at Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 64% performance reduction, indicating that the GPU is heavily taxed by the game's higher-fidelity settings. At 4K, the pattern intensifies: 83 FPS at Low, 52 FPS at Medium, 37 FPS at High, and just 30 FPS at Ultra. The 4K Low result of 83 FPS versus 1080p Low of 126 FPS shows a 34% drop purely from resolution scaling, highlighting the GPU's compute limits.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 22549, with a PassMark G3D score of 22547, places it in a competitive position. However, in The Medium, the Ultra preset at 1440p yields only 38 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target most players prefer. This suggests that the RX 7700 XT, while capable, does not have enough headroom for maximum settings at high resolutions in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for The Medium shows clear resolution scaling trends. At Low settings, the combo delivers 126 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 83 FPS at 4K. This represents a 16% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 22% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low is 34%, which is relatively modest because Low settings reduce the GPU workload significantly, allowing the CPU to keep up more easily.

At Medium settings, the frame rates are 79 FPS at 1080p, 66 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 16%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 21%. The overall reduction from 1080p to 4K is 34%, similar to Low. However, the absolute numbers at 4K Medium (52 FPS) approach the playable threshold, with a minimum of 44 FPS recorded.

High settings tell a steeper story: 56 FPS at 1080p, 47 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 16%, but from 1440p to 4K it is 21%, totaling a 34% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At 4K High, the system averages 37 FPS, which is below the 40 FPS threshold many consider the floor for playable horror titles. Ultra settings are the most demanding: 45 FPS at 1080p, 38 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. The scaling pattern holds at 16% and 21% drops, with a 33% total reduction from 1080p to 4K.

The consistent 34% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings suggests that neither the CPU nor GPU is the sole bottleneck. The i5-12400's six cores and 12 threads provide enough processing power at lower settings, but the GPU's compute resources are the primary constraint as resolution increases. The fact that the percentage drop is similar across presets indicates that the workload scales uniformly with resolution, pointing to a balanced system where the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience per the data is achieved at Medium settings across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. This frame rate comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS target and maintains smooth motion even in demanding scenes. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. This is still playable, though the minimum approaches the lower bound of smooth gameplay.

For 4K, the Medium preset yields 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 60 FPS. While not a locked 60 FPS experience, the average is above 50 FPS, which is acceptable for a cinematic horror title like The Medium. Players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate could consider High at 1080p, which delivers 56 FPS, but the drop to 47 FPS at 1440p and 37 FPS at 4K makes High less attractive at higher resolutions.

Ultra settings are not recommended based on the data. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 45 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 38 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 30 FPS. These numbers indicate that Ultra is only viable for players who accept sub-60 FPS performance and prioritize visual maximums. The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings, where the 1080p minimum of 67 FPS and 1440p minimum of 56 FPS demonstrate that Medium maintains consistent performance without severe frame dips.

The Low preset, while delivering high frame rates (126 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, 83 FPS at 4K), sacrifices too much visual quality for a game that relies on atmosphere and lighting. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot, offering a balance between performance and fidelity that keeps frame rates above 50 FPS even at 4K while maintaining acceptable visual quality.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in The Medium?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 with AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT ranks 1392 out of 3724 tested combos, placing it in the 63rd percentile of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at Medium or Low settings. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 52 with a minimum of 44, while at 4K Low it reaches 83 FPS. 4K High averages 37 FPS, and 4K Ultra averages 30 FPS, both below the 40 FPS threshold for comfortable play.

Q: How does the RX 7700 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 22549. It is 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (22435), 0.8% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22729), 1.5% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895), and 1.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (22170).

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo?

A: Medium is the recommended preset. At 1080p Medium, the average is 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it is 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS. These results provide the best balance of frame rate and visual quality.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The CPU is not a significant bottleneck. The i5-12400's 6 cores and 12 threads deliver a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 and a single-core score of 2257. The consistent 34% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the i5-12400 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683. It is 0.1% behind the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697), 0.3% behind the Intel Core i7-1355U (18730), 0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18811), and 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i3-14100F (18519).

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, fabricated on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support includes both DDR4 and DDR5 in a dual-channel configuration, though the measured FPS data does not specify which memory type was used.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with geometry and draw calls. The game's fixed-camera angles and pre-rendered environments reduce the CPU load compared to open-world titles, allowing the i5-12400 to maintain high frame rates at lower settings. The 3DMark scores illustrate the CPU's threading capabilities: 5873 in the 16-thread test, 4745 in the 8-thread test, and 3012 in the 4-thread test. These scores indicate strong multi-threaded performance that can handle the game's background tasks while keeping the main thread responsive.

The single-thread performance is solid, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2257. This matters for The Medium, which likely has a primary game thread that drives the simulation. The PassMark single-thread score of 3456 further confirms the CPU's capability in lightly-threaded workloads. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 126 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's frame rate ceiling for this game, as the GPU is far from saturated at these settings.

The CPU's 72nd percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 18683, places it in a strong position for its price class. However, in The Medium, the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher settings and resolutions. The measured FPS at 1440p High (47 FPS) and 4K High (37 FPS) are well below what the CPU alone could deliver, confirming that the RX 7700 XT is the limiting component in this pairing for this specific game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average FPS across settings:

• Low: 126 FPS
• Medium: 79 FPS (minimum 67, maximum 91)
• High: 56 FPS
• Ultra: 45 FPS

The 1080p results show a clear progression from Low to Ultra, with Medium providing the most balanced experience. The gap between Low and Medium is 47 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 23 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 11 FPS. This diminishing return indicates that each step up in settings yields smaller performance gains, with Ultra being the least efficient.

At 2560x1440, the measured results are:

• Low: 106 FPS
• Medium: 66 FPS (minimum 56, maximum 76)
• High: 47 FPS
• Ultra: 38 FPS

The 1440p results show a 16% drop from 1080p at each settings level. The Medium preset maintains an average above 60 FPS, making it the preferred choice for 1440p gaming. High drops below 50 FPS, and Ultra falls to 38 FPS, which is marginal for a horror game that benefits from smooth camera movement.

At 3840x2160, the measured results are:

• Low: 83 FPS
• Medium: 52 FPS (minimum 44, maximum 60)
• High: 37 FPS
• Ultra: 30 FPS

The 4K results show the GPU's limitations most clearly. Low is the only setting that exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium averages 52 FPS with a maximum of 60 FPS, indicating that frame pacing may be inconsistent. High and Ultra both fall below 40 FPS, making them unsuitable for a responsive experience. The data suggests that 4K players should stick to Medium or Low, with Medium offering the best visual quality per frame rate.

The minimum FPS data is only provided for Medium settings across all resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum of 67 FPS shows solid consistency; at 1440p, the minimum of 56 FPS is acceptable; and at 4K, the minimum of 44 FPS approaches the edge of playability. These minimums indicate that Medium settings deliver stable performance without severe frame dips, which is crucial for maintaining immersion in a horror game where sudden stutters can break tension.