The Medium

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 66th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 4% of all configurations. This is a strong result, though the ranking reflects that the 12400F holds back the flagship GPU in this title. The combo’s position is primarily driven by the GPU’s raw horsepower, but the CPU’s six-core, twelve-thread design creates a measurable bottleneck at lower resolutions, preventing the system from reaching the very top tier of performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The 66th place ranking out of 1689 combos means this system sits in the 96th percentile of all tested hardware pairings for The Medium. In practical terms, the data shows this combo outperforms the vast majority of systems, but it does not lead the pack. The RTX 4090 is the clear performance driver here, as its benchmark scores are exceptional, with an average score of 66473 and a percentile ranking of 91 against all GPUs. The i5-12400F, while respectable, has a lower percentile ranking of 77 against all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 19221.

The CPU’s nearest rival comparisons show it is virtually identical to the Intel Core i7-8700K, with a delta of just 0.1%, and it is only 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U. This suggests the 12400F is a mid-range performer that does not scale to meet the demands of a top-tier GPU in a game like The Medium. The combo’s rank is therefore a story of GPU dominance constrained by CPU limits, and the measured FPS data confirms this dynamic, particularly when examining how frame rates change across resolutions and settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed workhorse of this combo. It features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. Its base clock is 2235 MHz, boosting to 2520 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). These specifications are massive, and the benchmark data reflects this, with a PassMark G3D score of 38194 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 317684.

In The Medium, the GPU’s role is to handle the heavy lifting of rendering, and the measured FPS confirms it has ample headroom. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 146.6 FPS, which is exceptionally high. However, the GPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions; it is the CPU. The 4090’s memory bandwidth and compute capacity are far beyond what a 1080p Low preset requires, so the frame rate is capped by the processor’s ability to feed the GPU. At 4K with Ultra settings, the GPU becomes fully engaged, and the FPS drops to 50.2, which is more indicative of the graphics card’s true workload. The GPU’s performance is further evidenced by its average benchmark score of 66473, which is 0.4% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla T4 and 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla P40, showing it operates in a high-performance tier.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern that highlights the CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 94.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 78.7 FPS, and at 4K it falls further to 65.2 FPS. This is a 31% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is surprisingly modest for a game with heavy graphical demands. The reason is that at 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor, so the GPU cannot reach its full potential. As resolution increases, the GPU takes on more work, but the frame rate does not plummet as much as expected because the CPU remains a bottleneck.

The pattern is more pronounced at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 146.6 FPS, but at 1440p Low it drops to 138.8 FPS, and at 4K Low it is 126.8 FPS. The difference from 1080p to 4K is only 13.5%, indicating that even at Low settings, the CPU is capping performance. Conversely, at Ultra settings, the scaling is steeper. 1080p Ultra yields 72.5 FPS, 1440p Ultra drops to 61.9 FPS, and 4K Ultra falls to 50.2 FPS—a 30.7% reduction. This suggests that at Ultra, the GPU is finally the primary bottleneck, and the CPU has less impact. The data indicates that the 12400F is a limiting factor across most settings, but its influence wanes as resolution and graphical load increase.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to a sweet spot at 1440p with Medium settings. This configuration delivers 111.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play, and it is significantly higher than the 78.7 FPS at High settings. At 4K, Medium settings yield 87.1 FPS, which is also playable, but the 1440p Medium option offers a better balance of visual fidelity and performance. If the goal is maximum frame rate, 1080p Low achieves 146.6 FPS, but this sacrifices too much visual quality for a game like The Medium, which relies on atmosphere and detail.

Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution. At 1080p Ultra, the FPS is 72.5, which is acceptable, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 50.2, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The performance cost of Ultra is steep, and the visual improvement over High is marginal. High settings at 1080p (94.9 FPS) is a reasonable compromise, but Medium at 1440p offers the best combination of resolution and frame rate, avoiding the CPU bottleneck that plagues lower resolutions while keeping the GPU’s workload manageable.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo good for playing The Medium at 4K?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K with Medium settings, the combo achieves 87.1 FPS, which is smooth. At High settings, it drops to 65.2 FPS, and at Ultra, it falls to 50.2 FPS. For a stable 60+ FPS experience, Medium settings are the ceiling at 4K.

Q: Why does the frame rate not drop much from 1080p to 4K at Low settings?

A: The data shows that at Low settings, the CPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the FPS is 146.6, and at 4K Low, it is 126.8, a difference of only 13.5%. This indicates the i5-12400F cannot feed the RTX 4090 fast enough, so the GPU is underutilized at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the i5-12400F compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-1335U. It is 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS, showing it is a mid-range CPU with performance close to older high-end parts.

Q: What is the highest FPS this combo can achieve in The Medium?

A: The highest measured FPS is 146.6, achieved at 1080p with Low settings. This is the only configuration that exceeds 140 FPS, and it highlights the CPU bottleneck, as the RTX 4090 is capable of far more.

Q: Should I use Ultra settings with this combo?

A: No. Ultra settings reduce the FPS to 72.5 at 1080p, 61.9 at 1440p, and 50.2 at 4K. The performance hit is significant, and the visual gains over High settings are not worth the frame rate loss. Medium settings provide a better experience.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 overkill for this CPU?

A: The benchmark results suggest yes. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 66473, ranking it in the 91st percentile, but the CPU’s score of 19221 and 77th percentile limits the combo’s overall rank to 66th out of 1689. The data indicates the GPU is held back by the CPU in most scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a six-core, twelve-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It has 18 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its benchmark performance is solid for a mid-range chip, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518 and a single-core score of 2332. However, its PassMark multithread score of 19433 and single-thread score of 3481 place it in the 77th percentile, which is respectable but not top-tier.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, physics, and scene management, but the data shows it becomes a bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 94.9 FPS, but this is likely CPU-limited, as the RTX 4090 should be able to push far higher frame rates. The CPU’s nearest rivals—the i7-8700K and i5-1335U—have nearly identical average scores, confirming that the 12400F is a middle-of-the-road performer. While it is not a weak processor, it cannot fully unlock the RTX 4090’s potential. The result is a combo that ranks highly but is not at the absolute top, and the CPU is the primary reason for this.