The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT produces a broad spread of performance across its four quality presets. Data from the benchmark database shows that this pairing ranks 338th out of 1689 tested combinations for this title, placing it in the top 20% of systems. The measured results reveal a configuration that is heavily influenced by graphics settings, with frame rates ranging from a highly playable 142.4 FPS at 1080p Low to a challenging 36.4 FPS at 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down the specific contributions of the CPU and GPU, examines the FPS data by resolution and preset, and provides guidance on the optimal settings for this hardware.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this CPU-GPU combo in The Medium?

A: The highest recorded average frame rate is 142.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: At what resolution and settings does the system fail to maintain a 60 FPS average?

A: The system drops below 60 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings (50.2 FPS), 3840x2160 with Medium settings (66.3 FPS is above, but Ultra is 36.4 FPS), and at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings (48.1 FPS). At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset yields 55.8 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 38358, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, showing a delta of 0.0%. It is also 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 70HX.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rate drops from 138.4 FPS on Low settings to 48.1 FPS on Ultra settings. This represents a performance reduction of approximately 65% when switching to the highest quality preset.

Q: What is the processor's single-threaded performance score?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 scores 2249 points in the Cinebench R23 single-core test and 910 points in the 3DMark single-thread test.

Q: Does the CPU's multi-threaded performance place it near any specific rival processors?

A: Yes, the i5-12400's average benchmark score of 19850 is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-9700's score of 19831, and 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-11600K's score of 19771.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is the primary driver of frame rate in The Medium, as evidenced by the significant scaling of performance with graphical settings. This GPU is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture and features 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. The card's boost clock is listed at 2394 MHz, with a game clock of 2025 MHz. These specifications allow the GPU to handle the game's high-resolution textures and effects, but the data shows that the Ultra preset presents a substantial load.

In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU holds a percentile ranking of 82 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 38358. Its nearest rival in the database is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, which scores 38349, a negligible 0.0% difference. This suggests the RX 7900 XT's raw compute capabilities are well-matched with that mobile part, though its desktop-class power envelope of 300 W allows for sustained performance. The GPU's FP32 compute is listed at 51.48 TFLOPS, which is a theoretical peak, and its real-world impact is seen in the measured FPS data. For instance, at 1920x1080, the jump from Medium (100.2 FPS) to High (69.9 FPS) shows a 30% performance cost, highlighting the GPU's sensitivity to specific rendering features toggled by these presets. The card's role becomes the sole bottleneck at higher resolutions, where the CPU's workload remains constant but the GPU's rendering load increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides the processing foundation for this configuration. It is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. While the GPU handles most of the rendering, the CPU's job is to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage game logic. The benchmark data indicates that this processor is not a limiting factor at lower resolutions and settings, as frame rates scale dramatically with GPU load. For example, at 1080p Low, the system hits 142.4 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate to suggest the CPU can keep pace with the GPU's output.

The CPU's synthetic performance shows a balanced profile. It scores 15935 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2249 in single-core. Its average benchmark score of 19850 places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700 (avg score 19831, 0.1% slower) and the Intel Core i5-11600K (avg score 19771, 0.4% slower). This indicates that the i5-12400 offers competitive processing power for modern games. In The Medium, the CPU's role is more apparent at 1080p, where the difference between Low and Medium settings is 42.2 FPS (from 142.4 to 100.2). This suggests that while the GPU is still the primary bottleneck, the CPU's ability to process the increased number of objects and physics interactions at Medium settings is sufficient to avoid dropping the frame rate even further. The system's 18 MB of shared L3 cache likely helps in maintaining consistent frame pacing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination shows a clear hierarchy of performance based on resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 142.4 FPS on Low, 100.2 FPS on Medium, 69.9 FPS on High, and 55.8 FPS on Ultra. This shows a steady decline in performance as visual fidelity increases, with the Ultra preset bringing the frame rate below the 60 FPS threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates are 138.4 FPS (Low), 86.7 FPS (Medium), 62.8 FPS (High), and 48.1 FPS (Ultra). The Low preset remains highly playable, but the gap between Medium and High narrows to 23.9 FPS. At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily taxed: the system produces 109 FPS on Low, 66.3 FPS on Medium, 50.2 FPS on High, and 36.4 FPS on Ultra. The 4K data reveals that even the Medium preset, which is often a balanced choice, only manages 66.3 FPS, indicating that 4K gaming requires significant compromises for this title on this hardware.

The data shows that the Ultra preset is consistently the most demanding, with the largest performance drop from High. At 1080p, the drop from High to Ultra is 14.1 FPS; at 1440p, it is 14.7 FPS; and at 4K, it is 13.8 FPS. This pattern suggests that the Ultra preset enables a specific set of effects that have a uniform cost across resolutions, likely tied to ray tracing or advanced post-processing.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K provides insight into the system's bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 142.4 at 1080p to 109 at 4K, a reduction of 23%. This relatively modest drop indicates that at Low settings, the system is not purely GPU-bound; the CPU is able to maintain a high frame rate, and the GPU's performance scales down as resolution increases. In contrast, at Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (100.2 FPS) to 4K (66.3 FPS) is a 34% reduction. This steeper decline suggests that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as the resolution increases.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at High settings, where the frame rate drops from 69.9 FPS at 1080p to 50.2 FPS at 4K, a 28% decrease. At Ultra settings, the system falls from 55.8 FPS at 1080p to 36.4 FPS at 4K, a 35% reduction. The consistency of this ~30-35% drop for Medium, High, and Ultra presets indicates that the GPU is heavily saturated at these quality levels, with the increased pixel count at 4K directly translating into lower frame rates. The fact that the Low preset shows a smaller relative drop (23%) reinforces the idea that at Low settings, the CPU's max frame rate capability (around 142 FPS) is the ceiling, and the GPU can still handle the 4K load without a major performance hit.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and the user's preference for frame rate versus visual quality. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the data suggests the following: at 1920x1080, the High preset is the best choice, as it delivers 69.9 FPS, with Ultra falling short at 55.8 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset provides 62.8 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS target, making it the recommended setting for this resolution. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset is the only option that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 66.3 FPS.

For users with high refresh rate monitors at 1080p, the Medium preset offers a significant boost to 100.2 FPS, which is a 43% improvement over High, while still providing a substantial upgrade in visual quality over Low. The Low preset at 1080p (142.4 FPS) and 1440p (138.4 FPS) is only recommended for competitive play or when maximum frame rates are desired, as the visual sacrifices are considerable. The Ultra preset is not recommended for any resolution, as it fails to hit 60 FPS even at 1080p (55.8 FPS), and its performance at 4K (36.4 FPS) is not suitable for a fluid experience. The data clearly indicates that the High preset at 1080p and 1440p offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, while 4K users should stick to Medium to maintain a playable frame rate.