The Medium

The Medium presents a significant challenge for this hardware pairing, and the measured data clearly shows that settings and resolution choices are not equal. The Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination ranks 1352 out of 1689 tested configurations, placing it in the lower half of the database. This indicates that while the system is functional, it requires careful tuning to deliver a playable experience. The data suggests that prioritizing the Low preset is the most reliable path to smooth performance, especially at higher resolutions. This is not a system that can brute-force its way through the game’s demanding visuals at maximum quality.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results offer a clear hierarchy of performance, with the Low preset providing the only consistently smooth frame rates across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 86.9 FPS, which is a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at the same resolution drops to 53.6 FPS, which is playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The High preset further reduces the average to 40 FPS, and Ultra falls to 28.7 FPS, making both of these settings less ideal for a consistent experience.

For users with a 1440p display, the situation is more restrictive. The Low preset delivers a solid 71.4 FPS average, which is excellent. The Medium preset manages 46.7 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. High and Ultra settings at this resolution yield 33.8 FPS and 23.4 FPS, respectively, which are not recommended for a responsive experience. At 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option, producing an average of 56.1 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 32.4 FPS, and High and Ultra are effectively unplayable at 22.8 FPS and 19.5 FPS.

The data strongly indicates that the Low preset is the default recommendation for this hardware. It is the only setting that provides a consistently playable frame rate across all resolutions. While the Medium preset at 1080p is acceptable, the significant performance penalty for the visual upgrade is not justified given the system's capabilities. For the best balance of visual quality and performance, users should start with Low and only consider Medium if they are playing at 1080p and are comfortable with frame rates in the mid-40s to low-50s.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the primary component limiting performance in The Medium. The GPU’s memory configuration and clock speeds are directly reflected in the benchmark results. The card features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The base clock is 1626 MHz, with a game clock of 2044 MHz and a boost clock of 2491 MHz. These specifications put the RX 6600 in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25235.

Comparing the RX 6600 to its nearest rivals in the database shows a tight grouping. The AMD Radeon 890M scores 25246, a 0 deltaPct, meaning performance is essentially identical. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP is 0.2% behind, and the AMD Radeon RX 6700M is 0.2% ahead. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is 0.5% ahead with a score of 25120. This data confirms that the RX 6600 is a mid-range performer, and its ability to handle The Medium’s High and Ultra presets is limited.

The performance drop from Low to Ultra is severe, highlighting the GPU's struggle with the game's higher-fidelity assets. At 1080p, the average frame rate drops from 86.9 FPS on Low to 28.7 FPS on Ultra, a reduction of over 65%. This indicates that the Ultra preset's demands on the GPU's shading units (1792) and texture mapping units (112) are too high. The 8 GB VRAM is also a factor, as higher settings likely increase memory pressure, but the core clock speeds are the primary driver of the frame rate differences seen in the data.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F provides a solid foundation for this gaming system, but it is not the bottleneck in The Medium. The processor has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It belongs to the Alder Lake architecture and is built on a 10 nm process. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average score of 19221.

The i5-12400F’s nearest rivals show it is a competent performer. It is 0.1% faster than the Intel Core i7-8700K and 0.3% faster than the Intel Core i5-1335U. It is 0.7% slower than the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS and 1.3% faster than the AMD EPYC 7773X. These results show that the 6-core, 12-thread configuration is sufficient for the game’s CPU demands, as the frame rates scale consistently with GPU load.

The evidence for this is in the resolution scaling. As the resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the frame rate drops, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain relatively constant across resolutions. For example, on the Low preset, the frame rate drops from 86.9 FPS at 1080p to 71.4 FPS at 1440p and then to 56.1 FPS at 4K. This steady decline points to the GPU struggling to keep up with the increased pixel count, while the CPU has enough headroom to feed it data. The CPU’s 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support are adequate for this workload.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the most comfortable resolution. On the Low preset, it delivers 86.9 FPS. The 2560x1440 Low preset is also viable at 71.4 FPS, but 3840x2160 is only playable on the Low preset at 56.1 FPS.

Q: Is the Ultra preset usable on this system?

A: No. The Ultra preset produces average frame rates of 28.7 FPS at 1080p, 23.4 FPS at 1440p, and 19.5 FPS at 4K. These results are consistently below the threshold for smooth, responsive gameplay.

Q: How much of a performance gain is there from using the Low preset over High at 1080p?

A: The Low preset delivers an average of 86.9 FPS, while the High preset averages 40 FPS. This represents a more than 2x increase in frame rate by selecting the Low preset.

Q: Does the CPU limit performance in this game?

A: No. The frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases, which indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The Core i5-12400F has sufficient performance to keep up with the RX 6600.

Q: How does the RX 6600 compare to its closest competitor, the RTX 3060 Ti, in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The average benchmark scores are very close. The RX 6600 scores 25235, while the RTX 3060 Ti scores 25120. This puts the RTX 3060 Ti 0.5% ahead in the database's average score metric.

Q: Is the Medium preset a good middle ground for 1440p gaming?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 averages 46.7 FPS. This is a playable frame rate, but it is not ideal for fast-paced action. The Low preset at this resolution is much smoother at 71.4 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The benchmark data shows a clear and predictable trend in performance scaling across resolutions. For every settings preset, the average frame rate decreases as the resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. This behavior confirms that the system is heavily GPU-bound in The Medium. The CPU’s role is to prepare frames, but the GPU’s rendering speed determines the final output.

On the Low preset, the frame rate drops from 86.9 FPS at 1080p to 71.4 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 17.8%. Moving to 4K, the frame rate falls to 56.1 FPS, which is a 35.4% reduction from the 1080p baseline. The Medium preset shows a similar pattern, dropping from 53.6 FPS at 1080p to 46.7 FPS at 1440p, and then to 32.4 FPS at 4K. The High preset is more demanding, going from 40 FPS at 1080p to 33.8 FPS at 1440p and 22.8 FPS at 4K.

The Ultra preset exhibits the most dramatic scaling, with frame rates of 28.7 FPS at 1080p, 23.4 FPS at 1440p, and 19.5 FPS at 4K. This steep drop-off at 4K, especially compared to the Low preset, highlights the massive increase in pixel shading work required by the Ultra settings. The data indicates that the RX 6600’s 8 GB of VRAM and 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth are sufficient for the lower settings, but the higher settings require more computational power than the GPU can provide, making resolution scaling the primary lever for controlling performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average frame rates measured for the AMD Radeon RX 6600 with the Intel Core i5-12400F in The Medium.

1920x1080

• Low: 86.9 FPS
• Medium: 53.6 FPS
• High: 40 FPS
• Ultra: 28.7 FPS

2560x1440

• Low: 71.4 FPS
• Medium: 46.7 FPS
• High: 33.8 FPS
• Ultra: 23.4 FPS

3840x2160

• Low: 56.1 FPS
• Medium: 32.4 FPS
• High: 22.8 FPS
• Ultra: 19.5 FPS

The data confirms that the Low preset is the only setting that maintains an average frame rate above 60 FPS at any resolution, and it achieves this at both 1080p and 1440p. The Medium preset offers a playable experience at 1080p but falls below 50 FPS at 1440p. The High and Ultra presets are generally not recommended, as they consistently produce average frame rates below 40 FPS even at 1080p, which can lead to a less responsive and immersive experience in a horror title like The Medium.