The Medium

The Medium, a horror title released in 2021, paired with the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, delivers playable frame rates only at lower resolutions and settings. The combo ranks 1437th out of 1689 tested combinations, and the measured FPS data shows a clear GPU bottleneck as resolution increases. The GTX 1070's 51st percentile performance, combined with the i5-12400F's 77th percentile, makes the GPU the limiting component in this pairing. The CPU has a launch MSRP of $174, and the GPU has a launch MSRP of 379 USD.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS across resolutions reveals a steep scaling curve. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 73.3 FPS at 1920x1080 to 61.5 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 47.8 FPS at 3840x2160. At Medium settings, the progression is 47.6, 37.6, and 31.5 FPS respectively. High settings drop from 33.6 at 1080p to 26.6 at 1440p and 20.6 at 4K. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 26.7, 21, and 18.5 FPS across the same resolutions. The pattern indicates that the GTX 1070's compute and memory resources are saturated as pixel count increases, with the largest relative drop occurring between 1080p and 1440p at High and Ultra settings. This behavior is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU's headroom is not the limiting factor. The fact that even Low settings at 4K only reach 47.8 FPS underscores the GPU's inability to handle high pixel counts in this title. The scaling is not uniform across settings; the gap between Low and Ultra widens at higher resolutions, suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading units are the primary constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

In The Medium, this CPU-GPU combination ranks 1437th out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the lower portion of the field. The CPU's average benchmark score of 19221 places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU's average score of 12331 places it in the 51st percentile. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-8700K (deltaPct 0.1), Intel Core i5-1335U (0.3), AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (-0.7), and AMD EPYC 7773X (1.3). The GPU's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 (0.7), GeForce GTX 880M (-1.3), GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER (-1.4), and Tesla K20Xm (-1.7). The negative deltaPct values for the GTX 1070 against the GTX 880M, GTX 1650 SUPER, and Tesla K20Xm indicate that the 1070 is slower than those cards in average benchmark score. This rank suggests that while the CPU is above average, the GPU holds the combo back in this title. The gap between the CPU's 77th percentile and the GPU's 51st percentile is a clear indicator of where the bottleneck lies. The combo's overall rank is further dragged down by the GPU's modest standing, as the CPU alone would place much higher.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1506 MHz with a boost of 1683 MHz, and memory runs at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective). The GPU's compute capability is 6.463 TFLOPS FP32, with a pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s. Built on a 16 nm process with 7,200 million transistors and a die size of 314 mm², the GTX 1070 is a Pascal-generation part. In The Medium, the 8 GB frame buffer is sufficient for the game's assets, but the GPU's raw throughput is the primary constraint. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 18.5, which is below playable thresholds, while 1080p Low reaches 73.3. The GPU's average benchmark score of 12331 is 1.4% lower than the GTX 1650 SUPER's 12504, and 1.3% lower than the GTX 880M's 12490. This places the GTX 1070 in the middle of the pack, with a 51st percentile ranking among all GPUs. The GPU's passmark G3D score of 13498 and DirectX 12 score of 48 further illustrate its modest performance in modern titles. The lack of dedicated ray tracing cores (RT cores field is null) means the GPU relies on traditional rasterization, which is consistent with the observed FPS drops at higher settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table lists the average FPS for each resolution and settings combination. No minimum or maximum FPS values were recorded.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 20.6 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 47.8 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 31.5 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 18.5 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 26.6 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 61.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 37.6 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 21 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 33.6 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 73.3 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 47.6 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 26.7 |

The data shows that only two configurations exceed 60 FPS: 1080p Low at 73.3 and 1440p Low at 61.5. All other settings fall below 50 FPS, with 4K Ultra being the lowest at 18.5 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent drop: at 1080p, Low 73.3, Medium 47.6, High 33.6, Ultra 26.7; at 1440p, Low 61.5, Medium 37.6, High 26.6, Ultra 21; at 4K, Low 47.8, Medium 31.5, High 20.6, Ultra 18.5. This pattern indicates that the GPU's performance scales predictably with settings, but the absolute numbers are low enough that only the lowest settings are viable for smooth gameplay. The absence of min/max FPS data means the analysis relies solely on averages, which can mask frame-time spikes, but the overall trend is clear.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost of 4.40 GHz. It has 18 MB of shared L3 cache and a TDP of 65 W. Based on Alder Lake architecture and built on a 10 nm process with a die size of 163 mm², the CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 16518 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2332 in single-core, along with 9138 in Geekbench multicore and 2221 in single-core. Its average benchmark score of 19221 places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, has an average score of 19210, a deltaPct of 0.1, meaning the i5-12400F is marginally faster. The AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS is 0.7% faster, while the EPYC 7773X is 1.3% slower. In The Medium, the CPU's performance is not the bottleneck; the FPS scaling with resolution indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor. The i5-12400F's strong multi-threaded performance ensures that it can feed the GTX 1070 adequately at lower resolutions, but at 4K the GPU's limitations dominate. The CPU's 3DMark scores, such as 5895 in 16-thread and 909 in single-thread, further confirm its capability. With a 77th percentile ranking, the CPU is clearly not the weak link in this pairing.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS is 73.3, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to the GTX 1650 SUPER?

A: The GTX 1070 has an average benchmark score of 12331, while the GTX 1650 SUPER scores 12504, making the 1650 SUPER 1.4% faster.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance?

A: The i5-12400F scores 2332 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 2221 in Geekbench single-core.

Q: Does the GTX 1070 have ray tracing cores?

A: No, the GPU's RT cores field is null, indicating it lacks dedicated ray tracing hardware.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the GTX 1070?

A: The GTX 1070 has a memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combos?

A: The combo ranks 1437th out of 1689 tested combinations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the only settings that maintain an average above 60 FPS are 1920x1080 Low (73.3) and 2560x1440 Low (61.5). For a smooth experience, 1080p Low is the best choice. If visual quality is a priority, 1080p Medium provides 47.6 FPS, which is the highest average among Medium settings across all resolutions. High settings at 1080p yield 33.6 FPS, and Ultra at 1080p drops to 26.7. At 1440p, Medium offers 37.6 FPS, while High and Ultra fall to 26.6 and 21 respectively. At 4K, even Low settings only reach 47.8 FPS, and Ultra is 18.5. The data suggests that players should target 1080p Low for consistent frame rates, or 1080p Medium if they can tolerate a lower frame rate for improved visuals. Higher resolutions and settings are not recommended given the GPU's performance ceiling. The 1440p Low configuration is the only other option that stays above 60 FPS, but it sacrifices resolution for the same settings level. For a horror game where atmosphere matters, 1080p Medium may offer a better balance, but the 47.6 FPS average is still below the 60 FPS threshold that many players prefer.