The Medium

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boosts up to 4.40 GHz, with 18 MB of shared L3 cache and a 65 W TDP. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16,518 and a single-core score of 2,332, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 9,138 and single-core score of 2,221. Its Passmark multithread score is 19,433, and its single-thread score is 3,481. The processor sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19,221.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-12400F is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-8700K, which scores 19,210 (a delta of 0.1%), and the Intel Core i5-1335U at 19,167 (0.3% delta). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7% (19,364) but leads the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3% (18,979). This means the CPU is operating in a tightly clustered performance band where no single rival holds a decisive edge.

For a horror title like The Medium, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining consistent frame pacing and supporting the game's fixed-camera transitions. The 12 threads provide enough parallelism for background tasks, but the game's workload is not heavily multithreaded. The single-core performance, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and a Passmark singlethread score of 3,481, indicates that the i5-12400F can handle the primary game logic without bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the measured frame rates reveal the CPU's sufficiency: even at Low settings, the combo reaches 123.1 FPS, which is far beyond what a CPU-limited scenario would produce if the processor were the constraint.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. It features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1,435 MHz, with a boost clock of 2,544 MHz and a game clock of 2,171 MHz. Memory runs at 2,250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). The card has 3,456 shading units, 216 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units, along with 54 ray accelerators. Its compute capability is rated at 35.17 TFLOPS FP32.

In benchmark suites, the RX 7700 XT scores 33,16 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 127,549 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 132,758 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its Passmark G3D score is 22,547, with a GPU compute score of 12,912. The GPU ranks at the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30,097. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (30,109, 0% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 570 (30,158, -0.2% delta), the NVIDIA Tesla M60 (29,969, 0.4% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (29,928, 0.6% delta). The RX 7700 XT is essentially indistinguishable from the RTX 5060 in aggregate performance, which positions it as a mainstream-to-upper-midrange part.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity is significant for The Medium, a game known for its dual-reality rendering where two worlds are displayed simultaneously. That technique places heavy demands on memory bandwidth and capacity. The 432.0 GB/s bandwidth appears adequate for the game's streaming needs, as evidenced by the measured FPS scaling. The GPU's ray accelerator count of 54 suggests some ray tracing capability, though the game's performance at High and Ultra settings indicates that the rendering load is substantial regardless of RT features.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data shows a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 123.1 FPS at 1080p to 104.6 FPS at 1440p (a 15% reduction) and then to 83.3 FPS at 4K (a 20% further reduction). At Medium settings, the progression is 76.9 FPS at 1080p, 66.2 FPS at 1440p (a 14% drop), and 53.9 FPS at 4K (a 19% drop). High settings show 55.9 FPS at 1080p, 45.2 FPS at 1440p (a 19% drop), and 34.5 FPS at 4K (a 24% drop). Ultra settings go from 45.1 FPS at 1080p to 37.5 FPS at 1440p (a 17% drop) and 31.2 FPS at 4K (a 17% drop).

The percentage drops are relatively consistent across settings, which indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at all resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain flat when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and the drop would only appear at 4K. Instead, the steady decline with resolution scaling points to the RX 7700 XT being the constraint. The fact that Low settings at 4K (83.3 FPS) still outperform Ultra at 1080p (45.1 FPS) further confirms that the game's rendering settings have a more significant impact on performance than resolution alone. This is typical for a game with heavy post-processing and volumetric effects, where the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are taxed more by quality presets than by pixel count.

The data also reveals that the i5-12400F is not limiting the combo at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the 123.1 FPS result is high enough to suggest that the CPU has headroom remaining. The lack of a plateau between 1080p and 1440p at any settings level reinforces that the processor is delivering consistent frame data to the GPU without introducing a bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 123.1, Medium 76.9, High 55.9, and Ultra 45.1. The gap between Low and Medium is 46.2 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 21.0 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 10.8 FPS. The diminishing returns as settings increase indicate that the most significant performance cost comes from moving off Low, with subsequent steps being progressively less punishing.

At 2560x1440, the values are: Low 104.6, Medium 66.2, High 45.2, and Ultra 37.5. The gradient between Low and Medium is 38.4 FPS, Medium to High is 21.0 FPS, and High to Ultra is 7.7 FPS. The pattern mirrors 1080p, though the absolute numbers are lower. Notably, the High to Ultra delta at 1440p (7.7 FPS) is smaller than at 1080p (10.8 FPS), suggesting that Ultra's additional effects are less demanding relative to the resolution's base load.

At 3840x2160, the values are: Low 83.3, Medium 53.9, High 34.5, and Ultra 31.2. The Low to Medium drop is 29.4 FPS, Medium to High is 19.4 FPS, and High to Ultra is 3.3 FPS. At 4K, the Ultra preset barely differs from High, indicating that the GPU is already saturated and the extra settings have minimal marginal cost. The 4K Low result of 83.3 FPS is notably high for a game with The Medium's rendering complexity, which suggests that the Low preset disables many of the most expensive effects.

The combo's overall rank in this game is 753 out of 1,689 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the field. This ranking reflects a system that can handle the game at playable frame rates across most settings but falls short of the top-tier hardware that would push Ultra 4K past 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 60 FPS on 1080p High settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 55.9, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. To achieve 60 FPS at 1080p, you would need to use Medium settings, which deliver 76.9 FPS.

Q: What is the highest resolution at which Ultra settings remain playable?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 45.1, and at 2560x1440 it drops to 37.5. Neither is above 60 FPS, but 45.1 FPS at 1080p is generally considered acceptable for a horror game where atmosphere matters more than competitive responsiveness.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this combination?

A: The GPU is the limiting component. The evidence is the consistent frame rate drop as resolution increases across all settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, raising the resolution would not change the FPS. The i5-12400F's 3DMark 16-thread score of 5,895 and single-thread score of 909 indicate it has ample headroom.

Q: How does the RX 7700 XT compare to its closest rival in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 30,097, which is statistically tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at 30,109 (0% delta). It is also within 0.6% of the RTX 5070 Mobile (29,928) and 0.4% of the Tesla M60 (29,969).

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p if I prioritize frame rate?

A: Low settings at 2560x1440 deliver 104.6 FPS, which is the highest frame rate available at that resolution. Medium settings drop to 66.2 FPS, still above 60 FPS. If you want 60 FPS, Medium is the highest preset that achieves it.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM cause any issues at 4K with this game?

A: The data does not show VRAM-related stutters or crashes. The 4K Low preset runs at 83.3 FPS, and 4K Medium runs at 53.9 FPS, indicating that the 12 GB capacity is sufficient for the game's memory demands at these settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution and frame rate preference. For 1920x1080, Medium settings at 76.9 FPS provide the best balance of visual quality and performance, as High settings fall to 55.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. If you insist on the highest visual fidelity, Ultra at 45.1 FPS is playable but not smooth.

For 2560x1440, Medium settings at 66.2 FPS are the highest preset that maintains 60 FPS. Low settings at 104.6 FPS are overkill for most displays and sacrifice too much visual quality. High at 45.2 FPS and Ultra at 37.5 FPS are both below the 60 FPS mark, making them less desirable unless frame rate is not a priority.

For 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. Low settings at 83.3 FPS are the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS. Medium at 53.9 FPS is close to 60 but not quite there, while High at 34.5 FPS and Ultra at 31.2 FPS are substantially lower. Given that the High to Ultra delta at 4K is only 3.3 FPS, there is little reason to choose Ultra over High at this resolution. The recommended approach is to start with Low at 4K for smooth performance, or Medium if you can tolerate frame rates in the mid-50s.

Across all resolutions, the data shows that the Medium preset offers the most consistent experience relative to the cost of the next step up. The jump from Low to Medium costs roughly 37-46% of the frame rate, but the visual improvement in a horror game with fixed camera angles and atmospheric lighting is often worth it. The jump from Medium to High costs another 27-36%, which is harder to justify. The Ultra preset is only recommended when you have a display that supports variable refresh rates and you prioritize image quality over smoothness.