The Medium

The data places this configuration in the bottom tier of tested systems for The Medium, ranking 1471st out of 1689 total combos. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, with its 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus, is the primary constraint, as the game’s results show a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance across all resolutions. The Intel Core i5-12600KF provides ample headroom, but it cannot compensate for the graphics card’s limitations in this title.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall ranking of this CPU and GPU combination for The Medium?*

A: This combo ranks 1471st out of 1689 tested combinations, placing it in the 13th percentile of all systems. This indicates it is among the lower-performing configurations for this specific game.

Q: How does the GTX 1660 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 14286 is nearly identical to its closest competitors. It trails the AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT by 0.7%, the AMD Radeon Vega 11 by 0.5%, and the Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics by 0.2%. It essentially trades blows with the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11, which is only 0.2% behind.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1080p based on the measured data?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 71.6 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this configuration. The Medium preset drops to 46.7 FPS, while High and Ultra fall to 30.6 and 22.6 FPS, respectively. Low is the only setting that provides a consistently smooth experience.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at the Medium preset?

A: The average frame rate drops from 46.7 FPS at 1920x1080 to 26.8 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 19.9 FPS. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed by the increased pixel count, confirming it as the performance bottleneck.

Q: Does the CPU’s multi-threading capability help in this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has 10 cores and 16 threads, and its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444 is strong. However, the measured FPS data shows the system is limited by the GPU at all settings, meaning the CPU’s high thread count is not a limiting factor in The Medium.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 58.7 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 18.5 FPS, a difference of 40.2 FPS. This demonstrates that the Ultra preset is not viable for this hardware, as the GPU cannot handle the increased graphical load.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the decisive component in this configuration’s The Medium performance. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s, which is adequate for 1080p but becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The card’s base clock of 1530 MHz and boost clock of 1785 MHz define its processing capacity, and the benchmark data shows this is simply insufficient for the game’s demands at high settings.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmark scores reinforce this assessment. Its PassMark G3D score of 12699 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1278 are modest, placing it in the 55th percentile of all GPUs. The measured FPS data directly reflects this: at 1080p High, the system produces 30.6 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it falls to 22.6 FPS. The GTX 1660 SUPER’s performance is consistently the bottleneck, as the CPU has no trouble feeding it frames. The GPU’s 55th percentile ranking against all GPUs, combined with its near-tie with the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 in average score, shows it is a mid-to-low tier part in modern gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is positioned at 1471 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it firmly in the lower quartile of all systems tested, indicating that it will struggle to provide a satisfactory experience in this title. The rank is not a reflection of the CPU’s capability but rather the GPU’s inability to keep up with the game’s graphical requirements.

The CPU, for its part, is a high performer in the broader context. Its average benchmark score of 27827 places it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, and it is effectively tied with the Intel Core i9-10900K, which has a score of 27829. This contrast highlights the imbalance of the system: the processor is a top-tier part, while the graphics card is a mid-range one. The combo’s low rank is a direct result of this GPU limitation, which caps the entire system’s performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the system’s capabilities. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 71.6 FPS, which is the only result above 60 FPS. The Medium preset produces 46.7 FPS, High produces 30.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 22.6 FPS. This shows a steep performance cliff as settings increase, with a 49 FPS difference between Low and Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the results are predictably lower. Low settings achieve 58.7 FPS, which is close to playable. Medium drops to 40 FPS, High to 28.6 FPS, and Ultra to 18.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 40.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU is severely stressed at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system is overwhelmed. Low settings produce 48.3 FPS, but this is the only playable result. Medium falls to 26.8 FPS, High to 24.1 FPS, and Ultra to 18.8 FPS. The data shows a consistent pattern: the GTX 1660 SUPER can handle Low settings at 1440p and below, but it cannot maintain playable frame rates at High or Ultra at any resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz provide substantial single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3309. The CPU’s multi-core capabilities are also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23444 and a PassMark multithread score of 27575.

In The Medium, the data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor. The FPS drops are consistent with GPU-bound behavior: lowering the resolution from 1080p to 4K has a massive impact on frame rates, while the CPU’s workload remains relatively constant. The CPU’s 84th percentile ranking against all CPUs, and its near-identical average score to the Intel Core i9-10900K, confirms it is more than capable of handling this game. The bottleneck is entirely on the GPU side, as the GTX 1660 SUPER cannot render frames fast enough to utilize the CPU’s full potential.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only viable setting for a consistently smooth experience is Low at 1920x1080, which delivers 71.6 FPS. This is the only configuration in the entire dataset that exceeds 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces 58.7 FPS, which is close to playable but may not be stable enough for all users.

The Medium preset is not recommendable at any resolution. At 1080p it produces 46.7 FPS, and at 1440p it drops to 40 FPS. These frame rates are playable for some, but they represent a significant compromise. The High and Ultra presets are effectively unplayable, with all results below 31 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p produces 18.5 FPS, which is a slideshow. For the best experience, users should stick to Low settings at 1080p, as this is the only way to achieve a frame rate that is consistently above 60 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates that the GPU is the limiting component. At the Medium preset, the average FPS drops from 46.7 at 1920x1080 to 40 at 2560x1440, and then to 26.8 at 3840x2160. This represents a 42.6% drop from 1080p to 4K. The Low preset shows a similar trend, dropping from 71.6 FPS to 58.7 FPS at 1440p and then to 48.3 FPS at 4K.

This scaling pattern is classic GPU-bound behavior. As the resolution increases, the GPU must process more pixels, which directly impacts frame rates. The CPU’s performance is unaffected by resolution, so the fact that FPS drops so steeply indicates that the GTX 1660 SUPER is working at its absolute limit. The data suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU is the primary constraint, as the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial. The system cannot overcome this limitation, and the only way to improve performance would be to reduce the graphical load further or upgrade the graphics card.