The Medium

The Medium presents an unusually heavy load for a modern mid-range pairing. The data for the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT shows a system that is playable but requires strict settings discipline, especially at higher resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across the three standard resolutions and four presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at the highest resolution. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 (136.4 FPS) to 2560x1440 (114.8 FPS) represents a 15.8% performance loss, while the jump to 3840x2160 (91.6 FPS) costs another 20.2% from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU with a 256-bit memory bus and 16 GB of GDDR6, as the rendering workload increases geometrically with pixel count.

The High preset shows a more dramatic collapse at 4K. The average frame rate at 1920x1080 is 62.2 FPS, which drops to 49.8 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 19.9% reduction) and then plummets to 42.2 FPS at 3840x2160 (a further 15.3% drop). This suggests that the High preset introduces effects that disproportionately tax the GPU's 60 ray accelerators and 96 ROPs as resolution climbs. The Ultra preset is the most punishing: 45.6 FPS at 1080p falls to 38.1 FPS at 1440p and bottoms out at 34 FPS at 4K. The data indicates that the RX 7800 XT's 2430 MHz boost clock cannot compensate for the raw pixel throughput demands at 4K Ultra.

The Medium preset offers the most linear scaling. From 84.8 FPS at 1080p, it drops to 72.8 FPS at 1440p (14.2% loss) and then to 57.6 FPS at 4K (20.9% loss from 1440p). This consistency implies that Medium settings keep the GPU's shading units (3840) fully occupied without hitting memory bandwidth walls. The 624.1 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for Medium, but the 4K High and Ultra results suggest the 16 GB frame buffer becomes a limiting factor with higher-quality textures and post-processing.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience at 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 136.4 FPS, which is far beyond what a horror title needs for fluidity. However, the Medium preset at 84.8 FPS is the sweet spot for visual fidelity without sacrificing responsiveness. The High preset at 62.2 FPS is still playable, but the jump from Medium to High costs 26.6% of the frame rate while the visual gains in a slow-paced horror game are often marginal.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset (72.8 FPS) is the recommended choice for most users. It provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS and avoids the sharp downturn seen with High (49.8 FPS) and Ultra (38.1 FPS). The Low preset at 114.8 FPS is there for competitive play or if the user prioritizes maximum fluidity, but the Medium settings offer a balanced trade-off.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes restrictive. The Low preset (91.6 FPS) is the only setting that maintains a high refresh rate experience. The Medium preset (57.6 FPS) is borderline playable but will produce noticeable stutter during camera pans. The High (42.2 FPS) and Ultra (34 FPS) presets are not recommended for 4K gaming with this combo, as the frame pacing will suffer in a game that relies on atmospheric tension. The data suggests that 4K users should stick to Low or Medium and consider the 57.6 FPS figure as the practical ceiling for this pairing.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 brings six cores and twelve threads to the table, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The benchmark results show a strong single-threaded performance profile, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2249. This matters for The Medium because the game's engine often relies on a main simulation thread, and the i5-12400's architecture handles this efficiently.

The multi-threaded results are equally relevant. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15935 and a 3DMark max-threads score of 5890 indicate that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately across all tested resolutions. The data shows no evidence of a CPU bottleneck at 1080p Low, where the GPU produced 136.4 FPS. If the processor were the limiting factor, we would expect the frame rate to plateau at higher resolutions, but the consistent scaling from 1080p to 4K across all presets points to the GPU as the primary constraint.

The i5-12400's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 or DDR5) provide sufficient bandwidth for the game's asset streaming. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5873 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 5890, confirming that the CPU's 12 threads are fully utilized without thermal or power throttling. The 65 W TDP means the processor stays within its power envelope, allowing the boost clock to sustain 4.40 GHz during extended gaming sessions. For this title, the CPU is a capable partner that does not hinder the GPU's performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 587th out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the 65th percentile of all configurations, which is a respectable position for a mid-range pairing. The rank reflects that this combo outperforms a significant majority of systems but falls short of high-end configurations that use flagship CPUs and GPUs.

The CPU's individual standing supports this ranking. The i5-12400 has a percentile of 77 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19850. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700 (avg score 19831, deltaPct 0.1), Intel Core i7-8700 (avg score 19894, deltaPct -0.2), AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX (avg score 19928, deltaPct -0.4), and Intel Core i5-11600K (avg score 19771, deltaPct 0.4). These deltas are all within 0.4%, meaning the i5-12400 performs on par with a range of older high-end and current mid-range processors. The fact that it trades blows with the Threadripper PRO in average score (a 0.4% difference) highlights that The Medium is not CPU-intensive in a way that favors massive core counts.

The GPU's ranking is similar. The RX 7800 XT holds a percentile of 76 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32619. Its nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 (avg score 32540, deltaPct 0.2), NVIDIA P104-100 (avg score 32747, deltaPct -0.4), NVIDIA T600 Mobile (avg score 32849, deltaPct -0.7), and AMD FirePro S10000 (avg score 32388, deltaPct 0.7). Again, the deltas are minimal, indicating that the GPU's raw compute power is competitive with a wide field. The combo's 587th rank out of 1689 suggests that while each component is average for its class, the pairing is well-balanced for a game like The Medium, which demands more from the GPU than the CPU.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured frame rates. The GPU features 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs, running at a base clock of 1295 MHz and a boost clock of 2430 MHz. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the game's textures but becomes strained at the highest settings.

The performance data shows that the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K. The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces 34 FPS, which is less than half the 45.6 FPS seen at 1080p Ultra. This 25.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings indicates that the GPU's pixel fill rate (233.3 GPixel/s) is insufficient for the 8.3 million pixels of 4K when combined with heavy shading. The High preset at 4K (42.2 FPS) fares better but still falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

The ray tracing capabilities of the RDNA 3.0 architecture, with 60 ray accelerators, are a double-edged sword. The Medium uses ray-traced reflections and shadows, and the data suggests that enabling these effects at 4K High and Ultra causes the frame rate to crater. The 37.32 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is substantial, but the ray tracing workload is distinct from traditional rasterization. The 4K Low preset (91.6 FPS) shows that when ray tracing is disabled or minimized, the GPU has ample headroom. The 5 nm process node from TSMC keeps power draw reasonable at 263 W TDP, allowing the boost clock to sustain performance without excessive throttling.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with Medium settings (72.8 FPS) provides the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. At 1080p, Medium (84.8 FPS) is also excellent, but 4K requires Low settings (91.6 FPS) for a good experience.

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K Ultra?

A: No. The measured average frame rate at 3840x2160 Ultra is 34 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for a horror game that benefits from smooth camera movement. The Medium preset at 4K (57.6 FPS) is the highest playable option.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-9700 (19831) and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-11600K (19771). It trails the Intel Core i7-8700 by 0.2% and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX by 0.4%.

Q: Is the GPU underperforming compared to its rivals?

A: The Radeon RX 7800 XT has an average score of 32619, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 (32540) and 0.7% higher than the AMD FirePro S10000 (32388). It is 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA P104-100 (32747) and 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA T600 Mobile (32849). These differences are negligible.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 62.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 49.8 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 42.2 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a total loss of 32.2% from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: No. The frame rate scaling is consistent across resolutions, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's 3DMark max-threads score of 5890 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15935 provide ample headroom, as evidenced by the 136.4 FPS achieved at 1080p Low.