The Medium

The Medium places the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT combination at rank 1058 out of 1689 tested combos within the game’s benchmark database. This position, falling in the lower-middle portion of the distribution, indicates that while the pairing is functional and capable of producing playable framerates at certain settings, it does not challenge higher-tier configurations in this specific title. The rank reflects the combined performance ceiling of both components under The Medium’s particular rendering demands, which include heavy use of split-screen scenes and volumetric effects. In practical terms, the combo sits closer to the 60th percentile of all tested systems, meaning a substantial number of configurations deliver higher average frames, but it also outperforms roughly 37% of tested setups, providing a baseline for expectations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1058 out of 1689 places it in the 37th percentile of tested systems for The Medium. This is a modest result, suggesting that the hardware pairing is adequate for the game but not optimized for its most demanding modes. The CPU’s percentileVsAllCpus of 84 and the GPU’s percentileVsAllGpus of 72 both indicate above-average standalone performance, yet the in-game rank is dragged down by the title’s specific workload. The discrepancy between component-level rankings and the game-specific rank highlights that The Medium stresses the system in ways that synthetic benchmarks do not fully capture. For context, the CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K, scores nearly identically in average benchmarks with a deltaPct of 0, meaning the i5-12600KF is effectively matched with that older flagship in raw compute, yet the game’s result still lands mid-pack. The GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, shows a deltaPct of 0 as well, but the RX 6650 XT’s desktop-oriented design does not translate into a higher in-game standing. The data suggests that the combo is balanced, but neither component compensates for the other’s limitations in this horror title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip, featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s. Its base clock runs at 2055 MHz, with a boost clock of 2635 MHz and a game clock of 2410 MHz, which are the operative frequencies during actual gameplay. The GPU’s 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units define its fill-rate capabilities, culminating in a pixel rate of 168.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s. In The Medium, these specifications translate into a clear pattern: the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the card achieves 94.7 FPS, but this drops to 45.2 FPS at High and 35.8 FPS at Ultra, indicating that the GPU’s compute and memory bandwidth are strained by the game’s visual effects. At 4K, the situation worsens, with Ultra producing only 23 FPS and High yielding 26.7 FPS, confirming that the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are insufficient for the highest preset at that resolution. The GPU’s benchmark scores, such as a passmark_g3d of 17166 and a geekbench_vulkan of 93769, place it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, but The Medium’s measured results show that its real-world performance lags behind that synthetic standing, particularly in GPU-intensive scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, operating on the Alder Lake-S architecture with a 125 W TDP. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache, which supports its multicore throughput. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong performance, with a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 23444 and a geekbench_multicore score of 12373, placing it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. However, in The Medium, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the FPS scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the CPU is likely providing frames faster than the GPU can render, given the 94.7 FPS result, but at higher settings, the GPU’s workload dominates. The CPU’s single-thread performance, measured by a 3dmark_single_thread score of 1016 and a cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 3309, is sufficient for the game’s logic and AI, but it does not become a limiting factor until the GPU is pushed to its limits. The 16 threads ensure that the game’s multithreaded tasks, such as loading the dual-reality scenes, are handled without stutter, but the CPU’s contribution to the overall framerate is capped by the GPU’s output. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-12600K, shows a deltaPct of -0.1, meaning the KF variant performs nearly identically, so the lack of integrated graphics does not affect gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a wide range of results depending on the preset. Low settings produce an average of 94.7 FPS, which is smooth and responsive, while Medium drops to 58.6 FPS, still playable but with noticeable frame pacing changes. High settings yield 45.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that most users consider optimal. Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers decline predictably: Low achieves 83.2 FPS, Medium 49.5 FPS, High 38.1 FPS, and Ultra 30.9 FPS. At this resolution, the GPU’s memory bandwidth becomes a factor, as the 8 GB VRAM is taxed by the increased pixel count. At 3840x2160, the results are stark: Low produces 61.5 FPS, which is surprising given the resolution, but Medium drops to 40.2 FPS, High to 26.7 FPS, and Ultra to 23 FPS. The 4K Low result indicates that the GPU can handle the resolution when graphical effects are minimized, but any increase in settings causes a steep drop. The data shows a consistent pattern: the GPU is the limiting component at 1440p and above, with the CPU’s influence diminishing as resolution increases.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the bottleneck distribution. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p (94.7 FPS) to 1440p (83.2 FPS) represents a 12.1% decrease, while moving to 4K (61.5 FPS) results in a 26.1% drop from 1440p and a 35.1% drop from 1080p. This indicates that at Low, the CPU is still contributing, but the GPU’s workload increases linearly with pixel count. At Medium settings, the 1080p to 1440p drop is 15.5% (58.6 to 49.5 FPS), and the 4K result (40.2 FPS) is 31.4% lower than 1440p and 31.4% lower than 1080p, showing a more consistent scaling that points to GPU saturation. At High settings, the 1080p to 1440p drop is 15.7% (45.2 to 38.1 FPS), and the 4K result (26.7 FPS) is 29.9% lower than 1440p and 40.9% lower than 1080p. The Ultra preset shows the steepest scaling: 1080p to 1440p drops 13.7% (35.8 to 30.9 FPS), and 4K (23 FPS) is 25.6% lower than 1440p and 35.8% lower than 1080p. The pattern suggests that the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 280.3 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high settings at 4K, where the game’s textures and effects exceed the memory capacity, causing the framerate to collapse. The limiting component is clearly the GPU, as the CPU’s performance remains relatively constant across resolutions, but the GPU’s rendering capacity diminishes sharply.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience balances framerate and visual fidelity. At 1080p, Low settings deliver 94.7 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh monitors, but Medium at 58.6 FPS offers a better visual experience while staying above the 60 FPS threshold. High at 45.2 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced segments, and Ultra at 35.8 FPS is best avoided unless the user prioritizes visuals over smoothness. At 1440p, Low is the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS, achieving 83.2 FPS, so for users with 1440p displays, Low is the recommended setting for consistent performance. Medium at 49.5 FPS is acceptable for slower exploration, but High and Ultra fall below 40 FPS, making them less viable. At 4K, the data shows that only Low settings produce a playable result at 61.5 FPS, while Medium at 40.2 FPS and High at 26.7 FPS are suboptimal, and Ultra at 23 FPS is unplayable. The recommendation is to use Medium at 1080p for the best balance, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Low without sacrificing smoothness. For 1440p, Low is the safe choice, and for 4K, Low is the only viable option. The combo’s rank in the database reflects this limitation, as it is not positioned to handle the game’s highest presets at higher resolutions, but it can deliver a satisfactory experience when settings are adjusted appropriately.