The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title from 2021, presents a unique challenge for the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination. The benchmark data shows this pairing achieves a combo rank of 727 out of 3724 tested configurations, placing it in the top 20% of all systems tested for this specific title. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across three resolutions and four quality presets, interpreting what the numbers reveal about the balance between the CPU and GPU in this demanding, dual-reality horror experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in The Medium?

A: The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 727th out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the top 19.5% of all systems benchmarked for this game, indicating a strong overall performance capability.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded at 1920x1080 is 146 FPS, which is achieved with the Low settings preset. This high frame rate suggests the system is capable of delivering a very smooth experience in less demanding visual configurations.

Q: Does the RTX 5070 have enough video memory for this game?

A: Yes, the RTX 5070 features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus. This capacity is sufficient for the tested settings and resolutions, as the benchmark data shows playable frame rates even at the 4K High preset, which is typically the most memory-intensive scenario in this dataset.

Q: How does the CPU's core and thread count impact performance here?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F provides 6 cores and 12 threads. The data shows a significant performance jump from Low to Medium settings, but a more dramatic drop at the Ultra preset, indicating that the game's engine scales with the GPU's capabilities but also has demanding graphical effects that stress the whole system.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rate drops from 135 FPS on Low settings to 48 FPS on Ultra settings. This represents a 64.4% decrease in average frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Is the frame rate more stable at lower resolutions or higher resolutions?

A: The data shows that the Medium preset, which includes minimum and maximum frame rate data, indicates more stability at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rate ranges from 85 to 115 FPS, while at 4K, it ranges from 56 to 76 FPS, showing that the minimum frame rate drops are proportionally larger at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 727 out of 3724 tested systems places this pairing firmly in the upper quintile of performance for The Medium. This is a strong result, suggesting that the i5-12400F and RTX 5070 combination is well-suited for this title. The percentile ranking of the GPU itself is 82, meaning it outperforms 82% of all GPUs in the database, while the CPU's percentile is 73. The ranking suggests that the game is more sensitive to GPU performance, as the system's overall game-specific rank is better than what the CPU's general percentile might imply.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Core i5-12400F is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, which has an average benchmark score of 19047, a 0% delta. It is also very close to the Intel Core 3 201E, which is just 0.1% slower. This indicates that the CPU is performing as expected for its class, and the game's engine is not being bottlenecked by it. For the GPU, the RTX 5070's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 580 and AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100, which are within 1% of its average score. This data confirms that the RTX 5070 is a high-performing card, and its 82nd percentile ranking is consistent with its modern architecture and specifications.

The gap between the combo's rank and the individual component percentiles suggests that The Medium's engine is efficiently utilizing the hardware. The system's performance is not being held back by a weak link; rather, the combination of a strong 6-core CPU and a high-end GPU allows for a smooth experience across most settings. The data indicates that this combo is a robust choice for playing The Medium at high frame rates, with the main compromise being at the Ultra preset on higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the primary driver of performance in The Medium, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling across different presets. The GPU is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory with a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. Its 6144 shading units and 192 texture mapping units are put to work in rendering the game's detailed environments. The high memory bandwidth is crucial for handling the game's dual-world rendering technique, which effectively doubles the scene complexity.

The GPU's clock speeds are a key factor in its performance. With a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz, the RTX 5070 is able to sustain high throughput. The benchmark results show a clear correlation between the GPU's workload and frame rates. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 146, which rises to 100 FPS at Medium and 72 FPS at High. This scaling indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at lower graphical presets, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed it frames.

However, the most telling data point is the 4K performance. At 3840x2160, the RTX 5070 manages an average of 66 FPS on Medium settings, but this drops to 47 FPS on High and 38 FPS on Ultra. This steep decline at higher resolutions and settings highlights the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute limits. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is not exhausted, but the 192-bit memory bus becomes a bottleneck at 4K with higher quality textures and effects. The data shows that the RTX 5070 is a very capable card for 1080p and 1440p gaming in The Medium, but its performance at 4K is more constrained.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at how this combo performs across a matrix of settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 146 FPS on Low, 100 FPS on Medium, 72 FPS on High, and 57 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a min FPS of 85 and a max of 115, indicating a fairly stable experience with a 30 FPS variance. This makes 1080p the most comfortable resolution for high refresh rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 135 FPS on Low, 84 FPS on Medium, 60 FPS on High, and 48 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset's variance is larger, with a min of 71 and a max of 97, a 26 FPS spread. The drop from Low to Medium is 51 FPS, which is significant, but the experience remains smooth at Medium and High. At 1440p, the system is still capable of exceeding 60 FPS on High settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance is more demanding. The averages are 106 FPS on Low, 66 FPS on Medium, 47 FPS on High, and 38 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a min of 56 and a max of 76, which is a 20 FPS variance. The jump from Low to Medium is a 40 FPS drop, and from Medium to High is a 19 FPS drop. This data clearly shows that 4K Ultra is not a viable option for a consistently smooth experience, while 4K Medium is the sweet spot for maintaining playable frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend entirely on the target resolution and the user's preference for visual fidelity versus frame rate. For 1920x1080, the High preset is the best recommendation, as it offers a smooth 72 FPS average while providing a significant visual upgrade over Medium. The Ultra preset at 1080p is also playable at 57 FPS, but the drop from High to Ultra is 15 FPS, which may not be worth the marginal graphical improvement for some users.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the most balanced choice, delivering a 60 FPS average. This is the standard for a smooth experience on modern displays. The Medium preset is a good fallback if a higher, more stable frame rate is desired, as it provides an 84 FPS average with a tighter frame time variance. The Low preset at 1440p achieves 135 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but it sacrifices a great deal of visual quality in a game that relies heavily on atmosphere.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation, as it is the only 4K setting that consistently stays above 60 FPS, with an average of 66 FPS. The High preset at 4K is borderline, with an average of 47 FPS, which may be acceptable for a slower-paced horror game but is not ideal. The data suggests that for a 4K experience, users should prioritize the Medium preset to ensure smooth gameplay without significant stuttering.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache is more than sufficient for gaming workloads. In The Medium, the CPU's role is to handle the game's logic, physics, and the complex camera system that renders two worlds simultaneously. The benchmark data shows that this CPU is not a bottleneck at most settings.

The CPU's performance is reflected in its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and a single-core score of 1680. These scores indicate a strong processor for gaming. The frame rate data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 146 FPS, which is a high enough number to suggest the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates plateau at a lower value regardless of GPU load.

However, the CPU's influence becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. The difference in frame rates between 1080p Low (146 FPS) and 1440p Low (135 FPS) is only 11 FPS, while the difference between 1440p Low and 4K Low is 29 FPS. This indicates that at 1080p, the system is nearing the CPU's maximum frame output, while at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The data confirms that the i5-12400F provides enough processing power to fully utilize the RTX 5070 in The Medium, ensuring the GPU is the primary determinant of performance.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling characteristics of this combo are clearly illustrated by the frame rate data. From 1080p to 1440p at the Medium preset, the average FPS drops from 100 to 84, a 16% decrease. From 1440p to 4K at the same preset, the average FPS drops from 84 to 66, a 21.4% decrease. This pattern shows that the performance hit is not linear, but rather becomes more pronounced as the resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound workload.

The most dramatic scaling is seen at the Low preset. At 1080p, the average is 146 FPS, which drops to 135 FPS at 1440p and 106 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 27.4%, which is the smallest relative drop among all presets. This suggests that at Low settings, the game is less demanding on the GPU, allowing the CPU to play a more significant role in determining the final frame rate.

Conversely, the Ultra preset shows the most aggressive scaling. The average drops from 57 FPS at 1080p to 48 FPS at 1440p and 38 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33.3% drop from 1080p to 4K. The data reveals that the RTX 5070's memory bandwidth is the limiting factor at Ultra settings, as the higher resolution and more complex shaders require more data to be processed. The scaling analysis confirms that the GPU is the primary limiting component at resolutions above 1080p, while the CPU's impact is most felt at the lowest resolution and settings.