The Medium

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor based on the Alder Lake-S architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz, and it boosts to 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong multi-threaded capabilities, scoring 16,518 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5,912 in 3DMark max-threads, while its single-thread performance reaches 2,332 in Cinebench R23 single-core. The processor's average benchmark score is 19,221, placing it in the 77th percentile against all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, scores 19,210, a delta of just 0.1%, meaning the i5-12400F is statistically tied with that older flagship in general compute tasks. The AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS is 0.7% faster, while the AMD EPYC 7773X trails by 1.3%.

For The Medium, a horror title that relies heavily on fixed camera angles and pre-rendered environments, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage game logic. The measured FPS data reveals that the processor is not the bottleneck in this pairing. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 90.8 FPS, and at 4K with Low settings, it still manages 58.7 FPS. These numbers indicate that even when the GPU is under minimal load, the i5-12400F's six physical cores and 12 threads are sufficient to maintain playable frame rates. The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4/DDR5) provide adequate bandwidth for the game's streaming needs. Given that the 3DMark 16-thread score of 5,895 is only slightly below the max-threads score of 5,912, the processor scales well with thread count, which aligns with modern game engines that utilize multiple cores for physics and AI.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings provides a clear picture of what the Radeon RX 7600 can deliver with the i5-12400F in The Medium. At 1080p, the Medium preset yields 60.1 FPS, which is the only setting at that resolution that achieves a 60 FPS average. Low settings push to 90.8 FPS, but High drops to 43 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35.1 FPS. The data indicates that the Medium preset is the optimal balance for 1080p, providing a smooth experience without sacrificing visual quality to the Low preset.

At 1440p, the situation changes. Medium settings produce 48.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Low settings are the only option that surpasses that mark, delivering 80.2 FPS. High settings yield 34.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 28.9 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS target at 1440p, the Low preset is the only viable choice. However, if the user accepts a 30 FPS target, Medium at 48.5 FPS offers a more visually rich experience while still being playable.

At 4K, the frame rates are substantially lower. Low settings achieve 58.7 FPS, which is close to 60 FPS but not quite there. Medium drops to 37.7 FPS, High to 28.2 FPS, and Ultra to 21.8 FPS. The data suggests that 4K is only feasible with the Low preset, and even then, the average FPS is borderline. For the best experience per the measured rows, the Medium preset at 1080p is the recommended setting, as it is the only configuration that hits a 60 FPS average while retaining moderate visual fidelity. The Low preset at 1440p is a secondary recommendation for users prioritizing resolution over quality.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU-bound nature of The Medium in this configuration. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 90.8 FPS at 1080p to 58.7 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 35.4%. At Medium settings, the drop is from 60.1 FPS to 37.7 FPS, a 37.3% reduction. High settings fall from 43 FPS to 28.2 FPS, a 34.4% drop, and Ultra settings decline from 35.1 FPS to 21.8 FPS, a 37.9% reduction. The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings indicates that the limiting component is the GPU's rendering throughput, not the CPU or memory bandwidth.

The Radeon RX 7600's memory configuration includes 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The game's data shows that the GPU's fill rate and texture rate, 169.9 GPixel/s and 339.8 GTexel/s respectively, are the primary constraints at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 21.8 FPS is particularly telling, as it suggests the GPU is overwhelmed by the pixel count and the game's fixed camera rendering style. Interestingly, the scaling from 1440p to 4K at Low settings (80.2 FPS to 58.7 FPS) is a 26.8% drop, which is less severe than the 1080p to 1440p drop (90.8 FPS to 80.2 FPS, an 11.7% drop). This non-linear scaling suggests that at lower resolutions, the i5-12400F's single-thread performance (2,332 in Cinebench R23) begins to play a minor role, but at 4K, the GPU's pixel processing becomes the dominant factor.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p with the Medium preset is the only configuration that achieves a 60 FPS average (60.1 FPS). At 1440p, the Low preset is required for 60 FPS (80.2 FPS), and at 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS, with the highest being Low at 58.7 FPS.

Q: How does the i5-12400F compare to its nearest rival in CPU benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19,221, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K (19,210). It is 0.3% faster than the Intel Core i5-1335U (19,167) and 0.7% slower than the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (19,364).

Q: Is the Radeon RX 7600 better than the RX 7600 XT?

A: No. The RX 7600 has an average benchmark score of 20,258, while the RX 7600 XT scores 20,146. The RX 7600 is actually 0.6% ahead of the RX 7600 XT in the benchmark data, despite the XT typically being a higher-tier product.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 35.1. This is below the 60 FPS target but above the 30 FPS minimum for playability.

Q: Does the game become more CPU-bound at lower resolutions?

A: The data suggests a minor CPU influence at 1080p. The FPS drop from 1080p Low (90.8 FPS) to 1440p Low (80.2 FPS) is 11.7%, while the drop from 1440p Low to 4K Low is 26.8%. The smaller relative drop at lower resolutions indicates that the CPU is more capable of keeping up, but the GPU remains the primary bottleneck.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is in the 63rd percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20,258.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, using the Navi 33 chip on a 6 nm process from TSMC. It features 2,048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 32 ray tracing cores. The GPU's clocks are a base of 1720 MHz, a game clock of 2250 MHz, and a boost clock of 2655 MHz. Memory is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's compute performance is 21.75 TFLOPS for FP32, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6.

In The Medium, the GPU's role is decisive. The measured FPS data shows a clear correlation between resolution and performance, with the GPU's pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s being the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 21.8 FPS, which is less than a quarter of the 1080p Low result (90.8 FPS). The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, has an average benchmark score of 20,146, which is 0.6% lower than the RX 7600's 20,258. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20,534, which is 1.3% higher, and the Intel Arc B570 scores 20,556, 1.5% higher. These small deltas indicate that the RX 7600 is positioned closely to these competitors in raw compute, but the game's specific rendering workload—likely heavy on pixel shaders and texture filtering—determines the actual FPS. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's fixed-camera scenes, as the data does not show a sudden drop in performance that would indicate memory swapping.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings produce 90.8 FPS, Medium produces 60.1 FPS, High produces 43 FPS, and Ultra produces 35.1 FPS. The progression shows a steady decline of roughly 20-30% with each step up in quality. The Medium setting is the only one to hit exactly 60 FPS, making it the baseline for a smooth experience.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly. Low settings deliver 80.2 FPS, which is the only 1440p setting above 60 FPS. Medium settings produce 48.5 FPS, High produces 34.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 28.9 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium at 1440p is 39.6%, which is larger than the 1080p delta between Low and Medium (33.8%). This indicates that the GPU's shading units and TMUs are increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

At 3840x2160, the performance is heavily constrained. Low settings achieve 58.7 FPS, just shy of 60. Medium settings yield 37.7 FPS, High produces 28.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 21.8 FPS. The data shows that the GPU cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K under any setting. The FPS difference between 1440p Low (80.2) and 4K Low (58.7) is a 26.8% reduction, while the difference between 1440p Ultra (28.9) and 4K Ultra (21.8) is a 24.6% reduction. These figures confirm that the RX 7600's 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs are the primary constraint, as the game's resolution scaling is consistent with a fill-rate-limited workload. The overall combo rank for this CPU-GPU pairing in The Medium is 1,136 out of 1,689 possible combinations, placing it in the lower third of tested configurations.