The Medium

The Medium with an Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER lands at rank 2162 out of 3724 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database’s performance ladder. The combo’s percentile standing for the CPU (73rd) and GPU (65th) suggests a balanced pairing, but the game’s demanding fixed-camera rendering and heavy post-processing clearly cap the experience at higher presets. Benchmark data indicates this system is best treated as a 1080p high-refresh machine or a 1440p medium preset platform, with 4K requiring significant compromises. The measured results show a clear tiering: Low settings deliver excellent frame rates at every resolution, while Ultra settings fall below playable thresholds except at 1080p, where the average still dips to 36 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core i5-12400F and RTX 2070 SUPER sits at position 2162 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium. This places the pairing in the 42nd percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 58% of recorded configurations outperform it. The ranking reflects the GPU’s mid-range position in the current database—the RTX 2070 SUPER holds a 65th percentile rank against all GPUs—combined with a CPU that sits in the 73rd percentile. The processor’s average benchmark score of 19039 places it virtually neck-and-neck with the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (19047, 0% delta) and just ahead of the Intel Core 3 201E (19056, -0.1%). On the graphics side, the RTX 2070 SUPER’s average score of 20282 trails the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M by 1% and the RTX 3070 Mobile by 1.2%, while leading the Intel Arc A750 by 1.5%.

In practical terms for The Medium, the combo’s rank suggests it delivers a playable but not overwhelming experience. The data shows 1080p Medium averages 63 FPS, which is smooth, but 1440p High drops to 38 FPS, and 4K High limps to 30 FPS. The 2162nd rank out of 3724 is consistent with a system that can handle the game at reduced settings but struggles to maintain high fidelity at higher resolutions. The CPU’s strong multi-threaded performance—Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380—ensures it is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions, where the GPU’s 9.062 TFLOPS FP32 throughput becomes the limiting factor as resolution scales.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 67. At Medium, the average drops to 42 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, while High and Ultra produce averages of 30 and 24 FPS respectively. For a consistent 60 FPS experience at 4K, Low settings are required, and even then, the data shows no minimum FPS recorded, so frame pacing may vary.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 60 FPS experience?

A: At 1080p, Low settings deliver 101 FPS average, and Medium provides 63 FPS. At 1440p, Low settings achieve 85 FPS, but Medium drops to 53 FPS. For a locked 60 FPS, 1080p Medium is the highest quality preset that reliably exceeds the threshold, while 1440p Low also works but with reduced visual fidelity.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 20282 is 1% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480) and 1.2% lower than the RTX 3070 Mobile (20534). It outperforms the Intel Arc A750 (20582) by 1.5% and the Intel Arc B570 (20556) by 1.3%. In The Medium, this places it just below more recent mobile and desktop mid-range options.

Q: Is the Core i5-12400F a bottleneck in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the system hits 101 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at that setting. However, the 6-core, 12-thread processor with a 4.40 GHz boost clock shows strong multi-threaded scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core: 12380), so it is unlikely to bottleneck until frame rates exceed 100 FPS in less demanding scenes. At 4K Ultra (24 FPS), the GPU is clearly the limiting component.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The average FPS drops from 85 on Low to 30 on Ultra, representing a 65% reduction in performance. Medium sits in between at 53 FPS, while High is closer to Ultra at 38 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs 32 FPS, but the jump from Medium to High only costs 15 FPS, indicating diminishing returns at higher presets.

Q: Does the game favor CPU or GPU performance?

A: The scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep: at Low settings, average FPS drops from 101 to 67 (34% reduction), while at High settings it drops from 45 to 30 (33% reduction). This consistent percentage drop across settings indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU’s workload does not change significantly with resolution. The CPU’s 73rd percentile ranking versus the GPU’s 65th percentile supports this interpretation.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to 1080p Medium as the sweet spot for this combination. It delivers a 63 FPS average with a minimum of 54 FPS, providing a smooth experience while retaining moderate visual quality. Pushing to High at 1080p costs 18 FPS (down to 45 average), which is a 29% penalty for what is likely a modest visual gain in a game with heavy fixed-camera scenes. At 1440p, Medium is the highest playable preset, averaging 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS, though users sensitive to frame drops may prefer Low’s 85 FPS average.

For 4K, Low settings are the only viable option for consistent frame rates, yielding 67 FPS average; Medium at 4K produces a 42 FPS average with a 35 FPS minimum, which may be acceptable for slower-paced horror gameplay but risks noticeable stutter. Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution: the maximum average recorded is 36 FPS at 1080p, and at 1440p and 4K it falls to 30 and 24 FPS respectively. The data suggests users should prioritize frame rate stability over maximum fidelity with this hardware, given the game’s atmospheric but technically demanding presentation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the progression across presets is linear but steep. Low settings produce a 101 FPS average, which drops to 63 FPS on Medium (with a 54-72 FPS range), 45 FPS on High, and 36 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium is 38 FPS (38% reduction), while the gap between Medium and High is 18 FPS (29% reduction), and High to Ultra is 9 FPS (20% reduction). This shows that the most significant performance hit comes from moving off Low settings, with diminishing penalties as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 85 FPS, Medium 53 FPS (45-61 FPS range), High 38 FPS, and Ultra 30 FPS. The percentage drops from Low to Medium (38%) and Medium to High (28%) are nearly identical to 1080p, indicating the GPU is scaling predictably with settings. The absolute FPS loss from 1080p to 1440p is 16 FPS on Low, 10 FPS on Medium, 7 FPS on High, and 6 FPS on Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles. Low averages 67 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium drops to 42 FPS (35-48 FPS range), High to 30 FPS, and Ultra to 24 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the worst measured in the entire dataset, falling below the 30 FPS threshold commonly considered the minimum for playable frame rates. The 4K Low result (67 FPS) is interesting because it matches the 1080p Medium result (63 FPS) closely, suggesting that at 4K Low, the GPU is working similarly to 1080p Medium—both settings likely balance resolution and effects in a way that produces comparable GPU loads.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent across all settings, which strongly indicates a GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS declines from 101 at 1080p to 85 at 1440p (16% drop) and then to 67 at 4K (21% drop from 1440p). At Medium settings, the decline is from 63 to 53 (16% drop) and then to 42 (21% drop). At High settings, the pattern is 45 to 38 (16%) and then to 30 (21%). At Ultra, it is 36 to 30 (17%) and then to 24 (20%).

The consistency of these percentage drops—approximately 16% for 1080p to 1440p and 21% for 1440p to 4K—is a textbook sign that the GPU’s pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is being saturated at higher resolutions. The CPU’s workload, by contrast, does not scale with resolution, so its 6 cores and 12 threads remain underutilized as resolution increases. The 4K to 1080p FPS ratio at Low settings (67/101 = 0.66) versus Ultra (24/36 = 0.67) shows that even at lower settings, the GPU cannot overcome the resolution penalty, confirming that no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for the GPU’s limits.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread Alder Lake-S processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process, delivers strong single-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 single-core: 1680) and robust multi-threaded scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core: 12380). These numbers place it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19039 that nearly matches the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is secondary but not negligible. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 101 FPS, which indicates the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at high frame rates. However, the game’s fixed-camera design and pre-rendered backgrounds are not particularly CPU-intensive; the data shows that performance scales almost entirely with resolution and GPU settings. The CPU’s 18 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4/DDR5 memory provide ample bandwidth for game logic and asset streaming, but these are not tested variables in the measured FPS data. The processor’s 65 W TDP and lack of integrated graphics mean it relies entirely on the discrete GPU, which is appropriate for this pairing. The benchmark results suggest that the Core i5-12400F would not bottleneck the RTX 2070 SUPER in this title until frame rates exceed 100 FPS, which only occurs at 1080p Low—making the CPU a non-factor in the playable settings range (Medium and above).