The Medium

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the Intel Arc B570 presents a specific performance profile in The Medium. The CPU is a 6-core, 12-thread Alder Lake-S desktop processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, featuring 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The GPU is Intel's Battlemage-generation Arc B570, built on a 5 nm process with 2,304 shading units and 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus. In this title, the combination's measured frame rates reveal that the GPU is the dominant constraint at higher settings, while the CPU's strong synthetic scores—such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 12,380 and a single-core score of 1,680—ensure it is not the primary bottleneck at lower graphical presets. The data shows a system that can deliver playable performance at 1080p with tuned settings, but which struggles to maintain fluid motion at 4K with high visual fidelity.

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

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings a balanced 6-core, 12-thread configuration to the test bench. Its performance in synthetic benchmarks is respectable, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs tested in the database. The processor's multi-threaded capabilities are highlighted by a Geekbench multi-core score of 9,472 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 19,433, while its single-thread performance, evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 1,964, handles the primary game logic and rendering thread demands. For The Medium, a horror title that relies heavily on fixed-camera angles and pre-rendered environments, the CPU's workload is less about massive simulation and more about maintaining consistent frame pacing and feeding the GPU.

The relationship between the CPU's clock speeds and the game's measured results is telling. The 4.40 GHz boost clock provides sufficient headroom for the game's main thread, as indicated by the 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and the 3DMark 2-thread score of 1,699. When the graphical load is lightened—such as dropping to Low settings—the frame rate jumps dramatically. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 78 FPS, a 123% increase over the 35 FPS seen at 1080p High. This scaling pattern strongly suggests that the CPU can push far more frames than the GPU can render at higher settings, meaning the i5-12400F is not the limiting factor in this pairing. The CPU's headroom is further confirmed by its 3DMark 16-thread score of 5,895, which is nearly identical to its max-thread score of 5,912, showing that the game's thread utilization is well within the CPU's capabilities.

The processor's cache hierarchy—80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3—provides ample bandwidth for the game's asset streaming. In a title like The Medium, which uses a unique dual-reality mechanic that renders two worlds simultaneously, memory bandwidth and cache efficiency are critical. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU's 18 MB L3 cache is sufficient to keep frequently accessed data close at hand, avoiding the severe frame dips that would occur if the CPU were stalling on memory fetches. The measured FPS at Medium settings shows a minimum of 41 FPS at 1080p, which is a respectable floor, demonstrating that the CPU maintains stable frame delivery even when the GPU is under moderate stress.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in The Medium?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 78 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the data set that exceeds 70 FPS, with the next closest being 66 FPS at 2560x1440 Low.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20,556, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile with a score of 20,534, showing a delta of 0.1% in favor of the Intel card. It also sits close to the Intel Arc A750, which scores 20,582, a 0.1% difference in the A750's favor.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to bottleneck performance at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 Ultra, the combo averages only 18 FPS. Given that the CPU demonstrates strong synthetic performance—a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12,380—and that the frame rate drops by 61% when moving from 1080p Ultra (28 FPS) to 4K Ultra (18 FPS), the GPU is clearly the limiting component. The pixel throughput requirement at 4K overwhelms the Arc B570's 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum FPS is 41 with a maximum of 56. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum drops to 35 with a maximum of 47. At 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum is 27 with a maximum of 37. These figures show a consistent scaling pattern where the GPU's rendering capacity dictates the lower bound of performance.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its rivals?

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19,039, placing it in the 73rd percentile. Its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS with a score of 19,047, showing a negligible 0.0% delta. The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19,056, which is 0.1% higher, while the Intel Core i5-1335U scores 18,982, a 0.3% deficit. These comparisons show the i5-12400F is competitively positioned in its class.

Q: Does the system achieve a stable 60 FPS at any resolution and settings combination?

A: The data shows that no configuration reaches a 60 FPS average. The closest is 1080p Low at 78 FPS, which far exceeds 60, but the next step up—1080p Medium—averages only 49 FPS. At 1440p Low, the average is 66 FPS, which is above 60, but this is the only other instance where the threshold is crossed. The system struggles to maintain consistent 60+ FPS at medium or higher settings.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance scaling as resolution increases. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 78 FPS to 66 FPS, a 15% decrease. This modest decline indicates that the GPU is still operating within its capability envelope at 1440p Low, with the CPU providing ample support. However, the scaling becomes more severe when moving to 4K. At 3840x2160 Low, the average FPS falls to 52, a 33% drop from 1440p Low and a 33% drop from 1080p Low. This accelerated decline at higher resolutions is the hallmark of a GPU that is running out of pixel and texture throughput.

The trend is even more pronounced at higher settings. At High settings, the jump from 1080p (35 FPS) to 1440p (29 FPS) represents a 17% drop, while the jump from 1440p to 4K (23 FPS) is a 21% drop. At Ultra settings, the progression is 28 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, showing a consistent 18-22% reduction per resolution step. This linear degradation across all settings strongly suggests that the Arc B570's 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are the constraining factors. The GPU's 160-bit memory bus, while adequate for 1080p, becomes a bottleneck as the number of pixels requiring texture fetches and shading operations multiplies at higher resolutions.

The data also highlights that the CPU is not the primary limiter. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates plateau or even increase slightly at higher resolutions, as the GPU spends more time per frame and the CPU has more time to prepare data. Instead, the FPS drops consistently, confirming that the Arc B570 is the component determining the performance ceiling. The 4K Medium preset, with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS, shows that even moderate settings can cause the GPU to struggle, reinforcing the conclusion that this combo is best suited for 1080p or perhaps 1440p with conservative settings.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific configuration of the Intel Core i5-12400F and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2,321 out of 2,911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the bottom 20% of all systems tested for this title, which is a sobering statistic for a relatively modern CPU and GPU pairing. The rank reflects the GPU's limitations in a game that demands high fill rates and memory bandwidth, particularly at higher settings. While the CPU's percentile rank of 73rd among all CPUs is respectable, the GPU's 65th percentile rank among all GPUs is dragged down by the demanding nature of The Medium's rendering engine.

The combo's ranking is largely dictated by the measured FPS across all settings. With an average of 23 FPS at 4K High and 18 FPS at 4K Ultra, the system falls into a performance tier that is not suitable for high-resolution gaming. Even at 1080p, the average FPS at Medium settings (49) and High settings (35) are below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for a smooth experience. The combination's strongest showing is at 1080p Low (78 FPS) and 1440p Low (66 FPS), which are the only configurations that approach or exceed 60 FPS. These results suggest that while the combo can technically run the game, it requires significant graphical compromises to achieve playable frame rates.

The rank of 2,321 out of 2,911 indicates that the vast majority of tested systems outperform this pairing in The Medium. This is not entirely surprising given that the Arc B570 is a mid-range GPU, but the data shows that it underperforms relative to its average benchmark score in this specific game. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 14,195 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,649 are respectable, but The Medium's unique rendering requirements—including the simultaneous rendering of two worlds—appear to tax the GPU's fixed-function units more heavily than typical games. This suggests that the combo's ranking could be higher in less demanding titles, but for The Medium, users should expect below-average performance relative to the database's test pool.

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

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear progression from Low to Ultra settings. The Low preset delivers an average of 78 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded for this combo in any configuration. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 49 FPS with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS. High settings yield an average of 35 FPS, and Ultra settings produce an average of 28 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium is 29 FPS, a 37% reduction, while the delta between Medium and High is 14 FPS, a 29% reduction. The step from High to Ultra is 7 FPS, a 20% reduction, showing diminishing returns as settings are increased.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales similarly but with lower absolute numbers. Low settings average 66 FPS, which is 12 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS, while High settings average 29 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 23 FPS. The percentage drops from 1080p to 1440p are 15% for Low, 16% for Medium, 17% for High, and 18% for Ultra. This consistent ~15-18% reduction across settings indicates that the GPU's rendering efficiency scales uniformly with resolution, with no unexpected cliffs or bottlenecks emerging.

At 3840x2160, the combo's limitations become stark. Low settings average 52 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 21% drop from 1440p Low. Medium settings average 32 FPS with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS, while High settings average 23 FPS. Ultra settings bottom out at 18 FPS, which is essentially unplayable for a smooth experience. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 21% for Low, 22% for Medium, 21% for High, and 22% for Ultra. This consistent ~21-22% reduction at every settings level confirms that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel processing capabilities are the limiting factors, as the frame rate degrades linearly with the increase in pixel count.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is achieved at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This configuration delivers an average of 49 FPS with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS. While the average falls short of a locked 60 FPS, the minimum frame rate of 41 FPS ensures that the game remains playable during demanding scenes, such as the dual-reality transitions that are central to The Medium's gameplay. The Medium preset strikes a balance between visual fidelity and performance, offering a significant improvement over the 35 FPS average of High settings without the drastic visual downgrade of Low settings.

For players who prioritize frame rate over visual quality, 1920x1080 Low is the only configuration that delivers a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, averaging 78 FPS. This settings level removes many of the graphical effects that tax the Arc B570, allowing the CPU's strong single-thread performance to shine. However, the visual compromise may be too severe for a horror game that relies on atmospheric lighting and shadow detail. The 2560x1440 Low preset, averaging 66 FPS, offers a middle ground for those with 1440p displays, but the Medium preset at this resolution (41 FPS average) is the highest quality that remains consistently playable.

The data suggests avoiding Ultra settings at any resolution, as the average frame rates of 28 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K are all below the threshold for smooth, responsive gameplay. Similarly, 4K Medium (32 FPS average) and 4K High (23 FPS average) are not recommended, as the frame pacing will suffer during intense sequences. The best course of action for 4K users is to stick with Low settings, which averages 52 FPS, though this sacrifices the visual richness that makes the game's atmosphere compelling. For most users, the 1080p Medium preset represents the sweet spot, providing a playable frame rate with acceptable visual quality, while the 1440p Low preset is the best alternative for higher-resolution displays.