The Medium

The Medium is a horror title that demands a balanced system, and the pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER proves to be a capable one. The measured data shows that this combination, ranking 220th out of 1689 tested combos, handles the game’s fixed-camera angles and heavy atmosphere with relative ease. The benchmark results indicate that the experience is highly dependent on the graphics preset, with a wide performance gap between the lowest and highest settings. This analysis will break down the optimal settings, the role of each component, and how the pairing scales across resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The data clearly shows that the "Ultra" preset is not a viable option for smooth gameplay at most resolutions. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 61.6 FPS, which dips to 54.9 FPS at 1440p and falls to 43 FPS at 4K. While 61.6 FPS at 1080p is technically playable, the significant drop at higher resolutions makes it a poor choice for a consistent experience. The "High" preset offers a better balance. At 1080p, it achieves 77.1 FPS, and at 1440p, it maintains a solid 68.7 FPS. This suggests that High is the intended sweet spot for this hardware, providing a substantial visual upgrade over Medium without the performance penalty of Ultra.

For the best overall experience, the "High" preset is the recommended starting point. It provides a comfortable frame rate cushion at both 1080p and 1440p, which are the most common target resolutions for this class of hardware. The data shows a 66.7% performance increase from High to Low at 1440p (from 68.7 to 139.1 FPS), indicating that if you prioritize frame rate above all else, Low is an option. However, the jump from Medium to High at 1440p is only 24.2% slower (from 90.6 to 68.7 FPS), but the visual quality improvement is typically worth that cost. At 4K, the High preset’s 51 FPS average is borderline, but the Medium preset’s 71.7 FPS shows it is the more practical choice for 4K displays if you want to stay above 60 FPS. The recommendation is to use High for 1080p and 1440p, and drop to Medium if you are targeting 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor 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. In the context of The Medium, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with enough data to keep it busy. The benchmark results indicate that this processor is more than sufficient for this task. The data shows the CPU’s memory support includes DDR4 and DDR5, and its 18 MB of shared L3 cache provides a solid foundation for game logic and asset streaming.

The CPU’s performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518 and a single-core score of 2332, places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, has an average benchmark score that is only 0.1% different, showing that this 12th-gen chip matches older high-end parts. In this game, the CPU does not appear to be the limiting factor. The evidence for this is in the resolution scaling: if the CPU were a bottleneck, the frame rates would not scale up as dramatically when lowering the resolution. Since we see a massive jump from 77.1 FPS at 1080p High to 146.4 FPS at 1080p Low, the CPU is clearly capable of handling the lower-detail workload, and the frame rate is being dictated by the graphics card. This suggests that the i5-12400F provides ample headroom for the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the star of this show, and its specifications explain the performance headroom. It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 2340 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz. The 8448 shading units and 66 RT cores are key to handling the game’s DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) requirements. The GPU’s performance is substantial, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, being only 0.7% faster in average benchmark score.

The GPU’s role in The Medium is critical, and the data shows it is the primary driver of frame rate. The measured FPS demonstrates that the card is capable of delivering high frame rates at lower settings, but its performance is heavily taxed by the Ultra preset. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 84.8 FPS (from 146.4 to 61.6), which is a 137.7% increase in performance when dropping settings. This wide delta indicates that the game’s Ultra settings likely include effects that heavily utilize the GPU’s compute and memory bandwidth. The 16 GB of VRAM is a significant asset, as it suggests the card will not run out of memory at 4K High settings, where the average is 51 FPS. The GPU’s power is such that at 1080p Low, it can push the frame rate to 146.4 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s maximum output for that scenario, but the overall trend confirms the GPU is the main performance arbiter.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i5-12400F and RTX 4070 Ti SUPER achieves a rank of 220 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 13% of all systems tested, a strong showing that indicates a well-balanced build. This high ranking is not surprising given the individual component strengths. The GPU’s performance is the primary contributor, but the CPU’s ability to keep up is essential. The data suggests that this pairing is particularly effective at 1440p, where the High preset delivers a 68.7 FPS average, which is a very smooth experience for a horror game that relies on atmosphere over fast-paced action.

The ranking implies that this combo outperforms the vast majority of systems, but it is not at the absolute top tier. The gap to the top is likely due to the CPU, as the i5-12400F, while strong, is not a flagship processor. The benchmark data for the CPU shows it is in the 77th percentile, while the GPU is in the 86th percentile. This slight imbalance suggests that a more powerful CPU could potentially push the combo higher in the rankings, but the current pairing is highly effective. The 220th rank out of 1689 is a very respectable result, indicating that the system is well-suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p and 1440p, and is capable of 4K gaming with adjusted settings.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals clear insights into the system’s bottleneck. At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 77.1 at 1080p, to 68.7 at 1440p, and finally to 51 at 4K. This represents a 33.8% drop from 1080p to 4K. The scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario: as the resolution increases, the GPU has to render more pixels, and the frame rate drops accordingly.

The Low preset shows a different story. The frame rates are 146.4 at 1080p, 139.1 at 1440p, and 117 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is only 20.1%, which is much smaller than the drop seen on the High preset. This suggests that at Low settings, the load is light enough that the CPU is starting to become a factor, especially at 1080p where the GPU is not as taxed. The fact that 1440p Low (139.1 FPS) is close to 1080p Low (146.4 FPS) indicates that the CPU is hitting a ceiling around that range. This analysis indicates that the limiting component shifts based on settings. At High and Ultra, the GPU is the clear bottleneck. At Low, the CPU becomes more relevant, but the overall system still delivers excellent performance. The data shows that for 4K gaming, the Medium preset is the best option to stay above the 60 FPS threshold, as the High preset’s 51 FPS might be too low for some players.

FAQ

Q: What is the best graphics preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: The data shows that the High preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 68.7 FPS. This is a smooth experience and is recommended over Ultra, which only manages 54.9 FPS at the same resolution.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 3840x2160, the High preset achieves 51 FPS, while the Medium preset achieves 71.7 FPS. For a more comfortable 4K experience, the Medium preset is the safer choice.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary limiting factor. When lowering the resolution from 1080p to 4K at High settings, the frame rate drops by 33.8%, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU only appears to become a factor at Low settings where frame rates exceed 140 FPS.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F has an average benchmark score that is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-8700K, with a delta of just 0.1%. It is also 0.7% faster than the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS, according to the nearestRivals data.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 146.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 61.6 FPS. This is a massive 84.8 FPS difference, indicating that the Ultra preset has a very high graphical cost.

Q: Does the system have enough memory bandwidth for this game?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory with a bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s. The high frame rates observed at 4K Medium (71.7 FPS) suggest that the memory subsystem is more than capable of handling the demands of The Medium.