The Medium

The Medium presents a uniquely demanding workload, and the combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti demonstrates a clear hierarchy of performance constraints. The benchmark data indicates a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides a stable foundation that rarely limits frame rates. The measured results show that this pairing is capable of delivering playable performance, but only with careful attention to settings and resolution, as the gap between the lowest and highest quality presets is substantial.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the GPU-bound nature of this title. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 89.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings reduces that figure to 79.7 FPS, a modest decline. However, the transition to 4K at Low settings brings the average down to 58.8 FPS. This pattern indicates that while the RTX 3060 Ti can handle lower resolutions with headroom, the sheer pixel count at 4K begins to overwhelm the graphics processor, even on the least demanding preset.

The scaling becomes more aggressive as settings increase. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 41.8 FPS at 1080p to 33.4 FPS at 1440p, and then to 26.1 FPS at 4K. This represents a significant 37.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K at the High preset. The Ultra preset shows a similar trend, falling from 34.4 FPS at 1080p to 25.8 FPS at 1440p and finally to 23.7 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that the game’s rendering load, which includes complex lighting and shadow effects, scales heavily with both resolution and quality settings, placing the RTX 3060 Ti under considerable strain at 4K.

The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU. The fact that the average frame rate at 4K Ultra is just 23.7 FPS, while the same preset at 1080p yields 34.4 FPS, points to a fill-rate and shading bottleneck. The RTX 3060 Ti’s 80 ROPs and 253.1 GTexel/s texture rate are insufficient to maintain fluid motion at that pixel density. Conversely, the relatively small performance gap between 1080p and 1440p at lower settings (89.9 FPS vs. 79.7 FPS) suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor here, as the frame rates remain high and the scaling is proportional to the pixel count increase. The data shows that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combo, with 4K reserved for those willing to accept lower frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip fabricated on an 8 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for The Medium’s asset streaming, but the benchmark results show that the card’s compute capabilities are the deciding factor in performance. The GPU has a base clock of 1410 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, with 4864 shading units and 152 texture mapping units.

The VRAM capacity is adequate for the tested resolutions, as the game does not appear to exceed the 8 GB allocation at any setting. However, the 4K results indicate that the memory bandwidth is not the primary constraint; rather, it is the raw processing power. The RTX 3060 Ti’s FP32 performance of 16.20 TFLOPS is insufficient for The Medium’s heavy use of volumetric effects and ray-traced shadows at 4K Ultra. The difference between 4K Low (58.8 FPS) and 4K High (26.1 FPS) is a 55.6% reduction, which is far larger than the difference at 1080p between the same settings (89.9 FPS vs. 41.8 FPS). This suggests that the higher settings introduce shader complexity that scales non-linearly with pixel count.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 69th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 25120. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180, 0.2% higher) and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (25235, 0.5% higher), indicating that the RTX 3060 Ti is positioned in a dense performance tier. In The Medium, this translates to playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the card’s 200 W TDP and dual-slot design are clearly geared toward mainstream gaming rather than 4K enthusiast workloads. The data confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the CPU is capable of feeding the card at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 89.9 FPS at 1080p with Low settings. This is the only preset in the data that approaches the 90 FPS mark, while Medium, High, and Ultra produce 58.3, 41.8, and 34.4 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K with the highest quality settings?

A: At 4K Ultra, the system averages 23.7 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Even at 4K High, the average is only 26.1 FPS, indicating that 4K is not a viable resolution for this title with this hardware unless settings are reduced significantly.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The data shows a 48.9 FPS average at 1440p Medium. Given that the frame rate scales down from 58.3 FPS at 1080p Medium, the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU would be able to maintain higher frame rates if the graphics load were lighter.

Q: What is the difference in performance between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial, with Low settings producing 89.9 FPS and Ultra producing 34.4 FPS. This represents a 61.7% reduction in average frame rate when moving to the highest quality preset, highlighting the significant cost of the game’s visual effects.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its nearest rival in raw GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 25120, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180) and 0.5% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (25235). These are marginal differences, indicating that the cards are functionally equivalent in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the frame rate at 4K Low settings, and is it playable?

A: The system achieves 58.8 FPS at 4K Low, which is a playable frame rate. This is a significant jump from the 36.2 FPS at 4K Medium, suggesting that lowering settings is the only way to achieve playable performance at this resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance envelope is broad. Low settings yield an average of 89.9 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded for any configuration. Medium settings drop the average to 58.3 FPS, a 35.1% reduction from Low. High settings produce 41.8 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 34.4 FPS. This spread of over 55 FPS between the lowest and highest presets demonstrates the GPU’s sensitivity to the game’s quality options. The 1080p results show that the RTX 3060 Ti can deliver smooth gameplay at Low and Medium, but the higher presets require compromises.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 79.7 FPS for Low, 48.9 FPS for Medium, 33.4 FPS for High, and 25.8 FPS for Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 38.6%, which is consistent with the 1080p scaling. However, the Ultra preset at 1440p is only 25.8 FPS, which is barely above the 4K High result. This indicates that the game’s Ultra preset includes effects that are particularly taxing on the GPU’s shading units, regardless of resolution. The 1440p data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for a balance of visual quality and performance, as it maintains nearly 50 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are 58.8 FPS for Low, 36.2 FPS for Medium, 26.1 FPS for High, and 23.7 FPS for Ultra. The Low preset is the only one that breaks the 60 FPS barrier, and even that is marginal. The difference between Medium and High at 4K is 10.1 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is just 2.4 FPS. This compression at the top end of the settings range suggests that the game’s Ultra preset adds minimal visual benefit at 4K while costing significant performance. The data shows that 4K gaming with this combo requires Low settings for a consistent experience, as Medium and above fall below 40 FPS.

CPU Role

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 has 18 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In The Medium, this CPU provides ample headroom for the GPU at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 89.9 FPS result at 1080p Low. The processor’s single-thread performance, measured at 910 in 3DMark, is strong enough to handle the game’s main thread, which is typical for a title of this genre.

The CPU’s benchmark scores show it is a solid performer, with an average benchmark score of 19850 and a percentile ranking of 77 among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700 (19831, 0.1% lower) and the Intel Core i7-8700 (19894, 0.2% higher), indicating that the i5-12400 is competitive with older i7 parts. In The Medium, the CPU’s role is to maintain a stable frame delivery, and the data suggests it does so effectively. At 1080p Low, the 89.9 FPS average is likely close to the CPU’s maximum output, as the GPU is not heavily taxed at that resolution and settings combination.

The multi-threaded performance of the i5-12400, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935, ensures that background tasks and the game’s streaming systems do not cause frame hitches. However, the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. The frame rates at 4K are far below what the CPU could deliver, confirming that the RTX 3060 Ti is the bottleneck. The data shows that the CPU’s 65 W TDP and efficient 10 nm process provide a reliable platform, but the gaming performance is ultimately dictated by the graphics card. The 12 threads are more than sufficient for The Medium, which is not a heavily threaded title, and the processor’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz ensures responsive gameplay at lower resolutions where frame rates are high.