The Medium

The Medium is a demanding title for this pairing of an Intel Core i5-12600KF and an AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT. The benchmark data shows a system that is firmly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, yet the CPU has enough headroom to push frame rates significantly higher when the graphics load is reduced. The measured results indicate that the experience hinges almost entirely on the graphics settings you choose, with a wide gulf between the playable and the unplayable.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves a 90.1 FPS average, but this drops to 76.7 FPS at 1440p and further to 58.8 FPS at 4K. This scaling pattern shows that even at the lowest settings, the Radeon RX 5700 XT is the limiting component; the performance cost of moving from 1080p to 1440p is a 13.4 FPS loss, while the jump to 4K costs an additional 17.9 FPS. The GPU is simply running out of pixel-pushing capability.

The situation becomes more pronounced at higher presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 41.7 FPS at 1080p to 34.4 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 7.3 FPS, and then to 28.3 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the same trend but at much lower absolute numbers: 32.8 FPS at 1080p, 28.9 FPS at 1440p, and 22.3 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that the gap between 1080p and 4K narrows as the preset quality increases, which is typical for a GPU bottleneck; the card is so overwhelmed by the graphical work that the resolution change has a smaller relative impact.

Interestingly, the 4K Low setting at 58.8 FPS is the only 4K result that approaches a consistently smooth experience. This indicates that to play at 4K, you must drastically reduce the visual fidelity to compensate for the GPU's limitations. The 1440p results are more balanced, with Low and Medium presets offering playable frame rates, while High and Ultra fall below the 35 FPS threshold. For 1080p, the data shows that Low settings provide a very high frame rate, but Medium is the only preset that offers both a playable experience and a reasonable visual upgrade, with the gap between Low and Medium being 31.1 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its benchmark results show a strong single-threaded performance with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3309. Multi-threaded performance is equally robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444 and a PassMark multithread score of 27575. This processor sits at the 84th percentile when compared to all CPUs, placing it in the upper tier of desktop processors.

Given these scores, the CPU is not the bottleneck in The Medium. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low, the system can reach 90.1 FPS, which is a frame rate that the RX 5700 XT can only achieve when the graphical load is minimal. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a ceiling on the frame rates across different resolutions, but the data shows a clear downward trend as resolution increases. This confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint.

The processor's performance is comparable to its nearest rivals. It is effectively tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K, showing a 0% deltaPct, and is only 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-12600K. It is also 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700H. These results indicate that the i5-12600KF is more than capable of feeding the RX 5700 XT in this title, and any frame rate limitations are purely due to the graphics card.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience. For a 1080p display, the Medium preset is the most sensible choice. It delivers a 59.0 FPS average, which is a solid playable frame rate, while the High preset drops to 41.7 FPS and Ultra falls to 32.8 FPS. The Low preset at 90.1 FPS is excessively fast for a horror game and would necessitate a significant visual quality sacrifice for no practical benefit.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is again the recommended starting point, offering a 45.0 FPS average. This is a playable frame rate, though it is not as fluid as the 1080p result. The Low preset at 76.7 FPS is the only other option that exceeds 60 FPS, but the visual downgrade is substantial. High at 34.4 FPS and Ultra at 28.9 FPS are too slow for a game that relies on atmosphere and pacing.

For 4K gaming, the options are severely limited. The Low preset at 58.8 FPS is the only setting that provides a smooth experience, but it means playing at the lowest visual quality on a high-resolution display. Medium at 38.5 FPS is borderline, while High at 28.3 FPS and Ultra at 22.3 FPS are unplayable. The data suggests that 4K is not a practical target for this GPU in The Medium, unless you are willing to accept the Low preset.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K with smooth frame rates?

A: The data shows that only the Low preset at 4K achieves a playable average of 58.8 FPS. Medium (38.5 FPS), High (28.3 FPS), and Ultra (22.3 FPS) all fall well below the 60 FPS mark, indicating that high-quality 4K gaming is not feasible with this hardware.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with the Intel Core i5-12600KF and RX 5700 XT?

A: The 1080p and 1440p resolutions offer the most balanced experience. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 59.0 FPS, and at 1440p the Medium preset delivers 45.0 FPS. Both are playable, while the Ultra preset at these resolutions falls below 33 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12600KF a bottleneck for the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT in this game?

A: No, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution, which is a clear indicator of a GPU bottleneck. The i5-12600KF's strong benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444, show it has ample performance headroom.

Q: How does the i5-12600KF compare to the Intel Core i9-10900K in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The two processors are effectively tied. The average benchmark score for the i5-12600KF is 27827, while the i9-10900K scores 27829, resulting in a deltaPct of 0%. This means their overall performance is nearly identical.

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

A: The difference is substantial. The Low preset achieves 90.1 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 32.8 FPS. This represents a 57.3 FPS reduction, showing the massive toll that the Ultra preset takes on the GPU.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it relate to its performance?

A: The Radeon RX 5700 XT features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This configuration is sufficient for the game's demands at 1080p and 1440p, but the GPU's raw compute power, as reflected in its 9.754 TFLOPS FP32 performance, is the main constraint at higher settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, based on the RDNA 1.0 architecture, is the primary determining factor for performance in The Medium. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for the game's textures at 1080p and 1440p. However, the GPU's raw compute power is the limiting factor, as evidenced by its 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a boost clock of 1905 MHz.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24731. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, scores 24763, which is a 0.1% difference. It also sits close to the Intel Arc A350M (0.3% ahead) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (0.6% ahead). These comparisons show that the RX 5700 XT is a mid-range performer in the current landscape, and its age (released in 2019) is reflected in its struggle to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

The data confirms that the GPU is the limiting component. The drop from 90.1 FPS at 1080p Low to 58.8 FPS at 4K Low is a direct result of the GPU's inability to process the increased pixel count. At the High preset, the 4K result of 28.3 FPS is only 13.4 FPS lower than the 1440p result of 34.4 FPS, which shows that the GPU is hitting a hard computational ceiling. The 225W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with a card of this performance class.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average frame rates measured for the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT combination.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | :------ |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 90.1 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 59.0 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 41.7 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 32.8 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 76.7 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 45.0 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 34.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 28.9 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 58.8 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 38.5 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 28.3 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 22.3 |

The data shows a consistent pattern: the Low preset offers the highest frame rates at every resolution, while the Ultra preset offers the lowest. The most significant performance cliff occurs when moving from Medium to High settings, which costs roughly 17 FPS at 1080p and 10 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset represents the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. The overall combo rank for this CPU and GPU pairing in The Medium is 1205 out of 1689 tested combinations, which places it in the lower-middle tier for this specific game.