The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that stresses both GPU and CPU, and the measured results for the Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT show a clear pattern: settings choice matters more than resolution for achieving smooth gameplay. This combination lands at rank 599 out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the upper third of all systems tested, which indicates a solid, well-balanced pairing for this specific game. The data shows that the RX 7800 XT’s 16 GB of VRAM and the i5-12400F’s six cores provide a strong foundation, but the game’s performance scaling across presets is steep, making preset selection the primary lever for hitting higher frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results make a decisive case for the Low preset at every resolution tested, as it is the only setting that delivers consistently high frame rates across the board. At 1920x1080, Low produces an average of 133.8 FPS, which is more than enough for a 60 Hz or 144 Hz display. At 2560x1440, Low yields 112.7 FPS, maintaining a fluid experience. Even at the demanding 3840x2160 resolution, Low achieves 92.1 FPS, which is remarkably playable for a horror title where atmospheric tension benefits from smooth motion. The jump from Low to Medium is substantial: at 1080p, Medium drops to 83.1 FPS, at 1440p it falls to 73.4 FPS, and at 4K it plummets to 52.9 FPS. While these Medium numbers are still technically playable, they represent a significant sacrifice in headroom. The High preset is less favorable, yielding 62.9 FPS at 1080p, 51.6 FPS at 1440p, and just 41 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the outlier, pushing the system to its limits with 50.2 FPS at 1080p, 41.2 FPS at 1440p, and a demanding 29 FPS at 4K. For the best experience, the data suggests using Low for maximum fluidity, or Medium if visual fidelity is preferred and the user is willing to accept a frame rate drop of roughly 35-40% from Low. Given that the game’s horror atmosphere benefits from consistent frame pacing, the recommendation is to prioritize Low for the highest average FPS, especially at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured scaling. With 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, the card has ample bandwidth (624.1 GB/s) to handle the game’s textures and effects, even at 4K. The GPU’s boost clock of 2430 MHz and game clock of 2124 MHz allow it to push substantial pixel rates (233.3 GPixel/s) and texture rates (583.2 GTexel/s), which are critical for a game like The Medium that relies on detailed environments. The card’s 60 ray accelerators (RT cores) and 3840 shading units provide the raw compute power, evidenced by its 37.32 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. In practice, the GPU’s role is most visible in the frame rate differences between presets. The transition from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 50.7 FPS (from 133.8 to 83.1), which indicates that Medium settings significantly increase the GPU’s workload. The 4K Ultra result of 29 FPS is a clear sign that the card’s limits are reached when all visual features are enabled at maximum resolution. The GPU’s 76th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its benchmark scores (e.g., 24176 in Passmark G3D) confirm it is a high-tier part, but the data shows that The Medium’s Ultra preset is exceptionally demanding. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is a key asset here, as it prevents memory-related stutters that could occur with smaller pools, but it does not overcome the raw shading and ray tracing load at 4K Ultra.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with this CPU/GPU combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings provides the highest average FPS at 133.8, while 2560x1440 with Low is also excellent at 112.7 FPS. For a balance of quality and speed, 1440p Low is recommended, as it maintains high frame rates without the pixel density limitations of 1080p.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 92.1 FPS, which is playable. However, 4K Medium drops to 52.9 FPS, and 4K Ultra falls to 29 FPS, making those presets less suitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High?

A: Ultra is significantly more demanding. At 1080p, Ultra yields 50.2 FPS compared to High’s 62.9 FPS, a difference of 12.7 FPS. At 1440p, the gap narrows slightly (41.2 vs 51.6 FPS), but Ultra remains the weakest performer, indicating diminishing returns for the extra visual fidelity.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more of a bottleneck in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate a GPU-heavy workload. The RX 7800 XT’s frame rates scale dramatically with settings changes, while the i5-12400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads (with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz) appear sufficient to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the high FPS at Low settings across all resolutions.

Q: What is the expected FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 73.4 FPS. This is a solid result for a 60 Hz monitor, but it is considerably lower than the 112.7 FPS seen at Low, showing the cost of enabling higher-quality textures and effects.

Q: How does this combo rank against other systems?

A: It ranks 599th out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the 64th percentile of all configurations tested. This indicates a strong, above-average system for The Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the resolution provides the highest frame rates. The Low preset delivers an average of 133.8 FPS, which is the best result in the entire dataset. Medium drops to 83.1 FPS, a 50.7 FPS reduction. High yields 62.9 FPS, and Ultra is the lowest at 50.2 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 62.5% decrease in performance, showing that the game’s visual options have a massive impact on GPU load.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 112.7 FPS, still very smooth. Medium drops to 73.4 FPS, which is a 39.3 FPS decrease from Low. High produces 51.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 41.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 71.5 FPS, highlighting that 1440p Ultra is a heavy load for this GPU.

At 3840x2160, the results are more constrained. Low still manages 92.1 FPS, which is impressive for 4K. Medium drops to 52.9 FPS, a significant 39.2 FPS loss. High yields 41 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 29 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only sub-30 FPS score in the dataset, confirming that this preset is not viable for a smooth experience at this resolution. Overall, the data shows a consistent trend: Low settings are the only preset that maintains over 90 FPS at all resolutions, while Medium offers a playable but noticeably slower experience.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all 1689 tested combinations for The Medium, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT holds the 599th position. This places it in the upper 35% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The ranking suggests that the system is well above average for this game, likely outperforming many older or lower-tier configurations. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 19221 places it near rivals like the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210) and Intel Core i5-1335U (19167), with a deltaPct of just 0.1% and 0.3% respectively. The GPU’s average score of 32619 is similarly competitive, sitting close to the NVIDIA P104-100 (32747) and AMD FirePro S9300 X2 (32540). This balance between CPU and GPU scores explains why the combo ranks as high as it does; neither component is a clear weak link. In practical terms, the 599th rank means that a large number of tested systems (1090) perform worse, and only a smaller set (598) are faster. For a user with a 1440p monitor, this rank validates the system’s capability to handle the game well at medium-to-high refresh rates, provided settings are adjusted appropriately.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F plays a supporting but crucial role in this configuration. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it offers a solid foundation for gaming, and its boost clock of 4.40 GHz ensures responsive single-threaded performance. The CPU’s benchmark scores are respectable: it achieves 16518 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2332 in single-core, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-8700K (deltaPct 0.1%) and AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (deltaPct -0.7%), showing that it performs on par with older high-end parts. In The Medium, the CPU’s role is less about raw multi-core power and more about maintaining consistent frame delivery. The game’s horror genre often involves complex scene transitions and fixed camera angles, which can be CPU-intensive. However, the measured FPS data shows that at Low settings, the system achieves 133.8 FPS at 1080p, indicating that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck; otherwise, these numbers would plateau regardless of GPU settings. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide sufficient data locality for the game’s assets. The CPU’s 65 W TDP also makes it easy to cool, allowing the GPU to operate without thermal constraints from the processor. In summary, the i5-12400F is a capable partner for the RX 7800 XT, providing enough throughput to avoid stalling the GPU, but the data clearly shows that the GPU’s settings are the deciding factor for overall performance in The Medium.