The Medium

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT delivers a playable, though not flawless, experience in The Medium, with performance scaling that clearly identifies the graphics card as the primary constraint. The data shows a predictable pattern where frame rates are heavily dependent on both resolution and the preset quality level, with the CPU demonstrating enough headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a steep performance curve as resolution increases, which is classic behavior for a GPU-bound title. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 110 FPS, while at 4K with the same Low settings, the average drops to 73 FPS. This 34% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K indicates that the rendering load is scaling directly with pixel count, a hallmark of a GPU-limited scenario. The RX 6700 XT’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the task, but the sheer pixel throughput at 4K overwhelms the GPU’s compute units.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced when moving up the quality presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 49 FPS at 1080p to 41 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 32 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 4K, nearly identical to the Low preset's scaling. The consistency of this percentage across presets suggests that the game’s resolution scaling is uniform regardless of the quality level, reinforcing that the GPU is the limiting factor. The Ultra preset shows a similar trend, with averages of 39 FPS at 1080p, 33 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K.

The data indicates that 1440p represents a practical ceiling for this hardware combination in The Medium. At 1440p Medium, the combo produces 58 FPS, which is a solid playable frame rate, but at 1440p High, it drops to 41 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold typically desired for smooth gameplay. At 4K, only the Low preset manages to stay above 60 FPS, with all other presets falling to 45 FPS or lower. This suggests that 4K gaming with this GPU requires significant graphical compromises, and it is not a resolution where this combo can shine.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset stands out as the sweet spot, delivering an average of 69 FPS at 1080p and 58 FPS at 1440p. These are the only presets at these resolutions that consistently hit or approach the 60 FPS target, making Medium the recommended choice for a smooth experience. The Medium preset also shows the most consistent frame pacing, with a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS at 1080p, indicating less variance than the other presets.

For users prioritizing visual fidelity over raw frame rate, the High preset is viable at 1080p, producing 49 FPS, but the drop to 41 FPS at 1440p makes it less attractive. The Ultra preset is difficult to recommend, as it only achieves 39 FPS at 1080p and falls to 26 FPS at 4K, making it the least playable option. The Low preset is the only one that provides a consistently high frame rate across all resolutions, but it likely sacrifices significant visual detail in a horror game where atmosphere is key.

The recommendation is to use the Medium preset for the best overall experience. At 1080p, this yields 69 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. At 1440p, the same preset yields 58 FPS, which is still playable and provides a higher resolution image. The data does not support jumping to High or Ultra without accepting a substantial frame rate penalty, and the Low preset is unnecessary for achieving playable frame rates at 1080p or 1440p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the dominant component in determining The Medium's performance, as evidenced by the resolution scaling analysis. The GPU’s benchmark scores support this, with a PassMark G3D score of 19786 and a percentile ranking of 72 versus all GPUs. Its closest rivals in the benchmark data include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile with a deltaPct of 0, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 with a deltaPct of -0.5. This indicates that the RX 6700 XT's raw compute performance is comparable to a high-end mobile GPU and slightly below a desktop RTX 3090.

The GPU’s memory configuration is also crucial for this game. With 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, the card offers 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is sufficient for the textures and assets in The Medium at the tested resolutions, as the frame rate drops are consistent with compute limits rather than memory capacity issues. The GPU’s clocks, with a base of 2321 MHz and a boost of 2581 MHz, are high for the RDNA 2.0 architecture, but they do not prevent the card from being the bottleneck at 4K.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and 12_2 feature level are relevant for a modern title like The Medium. The card also has 40 ray tracing cores, though the measured data does not specify whether ray tracing was enabled in these tests. The FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS gives an indication of the card's raw shader throughput, which is what drives the frame rates seen at each preset. In summary, the RX 6700 XT is a capable mid-range card that handles 1080p and 1440p well in this game, but it is not powerful enough for high-refresh 4K gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for this combo in The Medium is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 110 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 69 FPS with a minimum of 58 and a maximum of 79, the High preset achieves 49 FPS, and the Ultra preset achieves 39 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a clear step-down in performance, with the Medium preset offering the best balance of frame rate and quality.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 92 FPS, the Medium preset delivers 58 FPS with a minimum of 49 and a maximum of 66, the High preset delivers 41 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers 33 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets, with roughly a 15-20% reduction in average frame rate. The Medium preset remains the only option that stays above 55 FPS, making it the recommended choice for this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only one that remains playable, achieving 73 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 45 FPS with a minimum of 39 and a maximum of 52, the High preset falls to 32 FPS, and the Ultra preset bottoms out at 26 FPS. The 4K data clearly shows that the GPU is overwhelmed at this resolution, with the Medium preset providing a frame rate that is only borderline playable and the higher presets being essentially unplayable for smooth action.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?*

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 with the Medium preset provides 58 FPS, which is the highest resolution that maintains a playable frame rate above 55 FPS. The 1920x1080 resolution offers higher frame rates, with the Medium preset at 69 FPS, but 1440p offers a better balance of image clarity and performance.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in The Medium?*

A: At 4K, only the Low preset achieves a high frame rate of 73 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 45 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and the High and Ultra presets fall to 32 FPS and 26 FPS respectively. This indicates that 4K gaming is only viable with significant graphical compromises.

Q: How does the RX 6700 XT's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 27425, with a percentile ranking of 72. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile with a deltaPct of 0, meaning they are statistically identical in performance. The RTX 3090 is 0.5% faster, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 is 1.5% slower.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the Medium and High presets?

A: At 1080p, the Medium preset achieves 69 FPS while the High preset achieves 49 FPS, a difference of 20 FPS. At 1440p, the gap is 17 FPS, with Medium at 58 FPS and High at 41 FPS. This indicates a significant performance cost for the visual improvements in the High preset.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for this GPU in this game?

A: No, the data shows that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The resolution scaling is consistent across presets, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The i5-12600KF's high multi-threaded scores, such as 23391 in Cinebench R23, suggest it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average frame rate at 1920x1080 with the Ultra preset is 39 FPS. This is the lowest result at 1080p and is below the 60 FPS threshold, making it a less desirable choice compared to the Medium preset.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is clearly not the limiting factor in The Medium, as the performance scaling is entirely dictated by the resolution and GPU load. The CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads, based on the Alder Lake architecture, provide substantial processing power. Its benchmark results are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391 and a single-core score of 3302. These scores indicate that the CPU is more than capable of feeding the GPU with draw calls and game logic data.

The CPU’s boost clock of 4.90 GHz is high, and its passmark single-thread score of 3925 shows strong per-core performance, which is often crucial for game physics and scripting. The L3 cache of 20 MB is shared across the cores, providing a decent amount of fast memory for game data. The CPU’s percentile ranking of 79 versus all CPUs places it above the majority of processors, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, has a deltaPct of -0.3, meaning the i5-12600KF is slightly faster on average.

The data strongly suggests that the CPU is not causing any frame rate dips. The smooth scaling of FPS from Low to Ultra settings, and the consistent percentage drops when increasing resolution, are hallmarks of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less of a performance difference between resolutions, as the CPU would be the limiting factor regardless of the GPU load. The i5-12600KF’s performance is sufficient to keep up with the RX 6700 XT at all tested settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT holds a rank of 1941 out of 3724 combos for The Medium. This places it in the middle of the pack, indicating that it is a balanced mid-range setup. The rank is a holistic measure that considers the performance of both the CPU and GPU together in this specific game, and it reflects the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.

The combo’s ranking is reasonable given the GPU’s percentile of 72 and the CPU’s percentile of 79. While the CPU is a strong performer in its own right, the GPU is more of a mid-range part, which drags the overall combo down in the rankings when compared to systems with higher-end graphics cards. The GPU’s nearest rival, the RTX 4070 Mobile, has an identical average score, which suggests that this combo would perform similarly to a laptop with that GPU.

The rank of 1941 out of 3724 means that roughly half of the tested combos perform better in The Medium, and half perform worse. This is not a top-tier setup for this game, but it is not a low-end one either. The data shows that the combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can achieve playable frame rates on Medium settings, but it is not designed for 4K or high-refresh-rate esports-style play in this title. The ranking is a direct reflection of the measured FPS data, confirming that this is a capable, but not exceptional, combination for The Medium.