The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience, and the measured data for the Intel Core i5-12400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 shows a system that is clearly bound by the graphics card at higher settings, while the processor provides ample headroom at lower presets. The benchmark results indicate a performance curve that is heavily influenced by the game’s rendering load, with the RTX 3070’s capabilities being the primary factor in determining frame rates across the board.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, revealing a GPU-bound scenario at most settings. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 55.3 FPS at 1920x1080 to 47.2 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 15%. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 35.1 FPS, which is a 37% decrease from the 1440p result. This pattern strongly indicates that the RTX 3070 is the limiting component, as the resolution increase directly taxes the GPU’s pixel throughput and memory bandwidth.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at Ultra settings, where the 4K average of 31.3 FPS is 26% lower than the 1440p figure of 37.7 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is substantial, with the 42.4 FPS at 1080p dropping to 31.3 FPS at 4K. This suggests that the highest preset introduces additional graphical effects that disproportionately impact the GPU, making 4K Ultra impractical for smooth gameplay. In contrast, the Low preset shows a much smaller relative drop, with 122.2 FPS at 1080p falling to 103.2 FPS at 1440p and then to 81.5 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is still highly playable, indicating that when the GPU load is reduced, the system can maintain high frame rates even at the highest resolution.

The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution for the Low preset, as the frame rates scale in a manner consistent with GPU performance. However, at Ultra settings, the 4K result of 31.3 FPS is only slightly below the 1440p result of 37.7 FPS, suggesting that the game’s engine may be introducing some CPU overhead in highly detailed scenes, but the overall trend remains GPU-dominated.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 achieves a combo rank of 771 out of 1689 tested combos. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all systems tested, meaning it outperforms more than half of the recorded configurations but is not near the top. The percentile position reflects a balanced pairing, where the GPU’s strong 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs is tempered by the CPU’s 77th percentile standing among all CPUs.

Compared to the nearest rival GPUs, the RTX 3070’s average benchmark score of 28238 is just 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, which scores 27985. It also leads the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti by 1.0% (27956 vs. 28238). However, it trails the AMD FirePro S7150 by 0.6% (28409 vs. 28238) and the AMD Radeon R9 M295X by 1.1% (28541 vs. 28238). These small deltas indicate that the RTX 3070 is in a tightly contested performance band, and the in-game results will be more decisive than synthetic benchmarks.

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-12400F’s average score of 19221 is extremely close to its nearest rivals. It is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210) and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U (19167). It is 0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS (19364) and 1.3% behind the AMD EPYC 7773X (18979). The tight clustering of these scores suggests that the i5-12400F provides a level of compute performance that is typical for its class, and the game’s results will not be unduly influenced by CPU limitations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Core 12th Gen series, based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. This setup provides solid multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518 and a single-core score of 2332.

For a game like The Medium, which is a horror title with a fixed-camera perspective, the CPU’s role is typically to handle game logic, AI, and scene loading. The benchmark results show that the i5-12400F is more than sufficient for this task. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 122.2 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would not be possible if the CPU were a bottleneck. Even at 4K Low, the 81.5 FPS result indicates that the processor can feed the GPU adequately when the graphical load is light.

The processor’s 12 threads and 18 MB of L3 cache are likely beneficial for the game’s need to stream assets and manage the complex camera transitions. The data shows that the CPU’s performance is not a limiting factor at any measured setting, as the frame rates scale consistently with GPU load. The i5-12400F’s percentile rank of 77 among all CPUs further confirms that it is a capable mid-range processor that pairs well with the RTX 3070 without introducing a significant bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 122.2 FPS on Low, 74.5 FPS on Medium, 55.3 FPS on High, and 42.4 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a clear progression where the Low preset is well above the 60 FPS threshold, Medium is comfortably playable, High is borderline, and Ultra falls below the ideal smoothness point.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results are 103.2 FPS on Low, 66.4 FPS on Medium, 47.2 FPS on High, and 37.7 FPS on Ultra. At this resolution, only the Low preset maintains a high frame rate, while Medium remains playable. High and Ultra both dip below 50 FPS, indicating that the GPU is struggling with the increased pixel count. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is most noticeable at High settings, where the frame rate falls from 55.3 to 47.2 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system achieves 81.5 FPS on Low, 53.9 FPS on Medium, 35.1 FPS on High, and 31.3 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low result is surprisingly strong, suggesting that the game’s low preset is not overly demanding on the GPU. However, the Medium preset at 4K is just below 60 FPS, and both High and Ultra are well below playable thresholds. The data shows that 4K gaming with this combo is only feasible at Low settings, with Medium being a marginal option for those who prioritize resolution over frame rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a consistent 60 FPS?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 74.5 FPS, and the Low preset delivers 122.2 FPS, both above 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset (103.2 FPS) exceeds 60 FPS, while Medium is at 66.4 FPS. The data shows that 1080p Medium or 1440p Low are the only settings that maintain a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The 4K Low preset achieves 81.5 FPS, which is playable. The 4K Medium preset is at 53.9 FPS, which is close to 60 FPS but may not be smooth enough for all players. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended, as they produce 35.1 and 31.3 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 28238. It is 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (27985) and 1.0% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27956). It is 0.6% behind the AMD FirePro S7150 (28409) and 1.1% behind the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (28541).

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400F a bottleneck for the RTX 3070?

A: No, the data shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor. At all resolutions and settings, the frame rates scale with GPU load, and the processor’s benchmark scores (e.g., Cinebench R23 multicore of 16518) indicate it can handle the game’s demands without holding back the GPU.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 55.3 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 42.4 FPS. This represents a 23% reduction in frame rate when moving from High to Ultra, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds significant graphical effects that are not worth the performance cost.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 771 out of 1689 tested combinations. This places it in the 46th percentile, meaning it outperforms roughly 54% of all tested systems but is not in the top tier of configurations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user’s display resolution and performance priorities. For 1920x1080, the Medium preset is the best balance, delivering 74.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a good visual quality. The High preset at 55.3 FPS is also viable for those who prefer better graphics and can tolerate slightly lower frame rates, but Ultra at 42.4 FPS is not recommended as it drops below the smoothness threshold.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset is the clear recommendation, offering 103.2 FPS, which is highly playable. Medium at 66.4 FPS is also acceptable, but High and Ultra at 47.2 and 37.7 FPS respectively are too low for a consistent experience. Users with 1440p displays should prioritize the Low or Medium presets to maintain fluid gameplay.

For 3840x2160, only the Low preset is recommended, as it provides 81.5 FPS, which is comfortably playable. The Medium preset at 53.9 FPS may be acceptable for players who are not sensitive to frame rate dips, but High and Ultra at 35.1 and 31.3 FPS are not suitable for a smooth experience. In summary, the data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p Medium or 1440p Low, with 4K being limited to Low settings for playable frame rates.