The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title, and the data for the Intel Core i5-12600KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER shows a configuration that requires careful settings management to achieve smooth gameplay. Benchmark results indicate that this pairing is far more capable at lower presets, with a steep performance cliff as you increase graphical fidelity. The measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions reveal that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, while the CPU provides ample headroom for this specific workload.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where this combo consistently achieves playable frame rates across multiple presets. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS, while 3840x2160 struggles to maintain 60 FPS even on Low.

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 60 FPS on High settings?

A: No. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 39.1. The only way to reach above 60 FPS is to use the Low preset, which yields 92.7 FPS at 1080p, 78.9 FPS at 1440p, and 59.5 FPS at 4K.

Q: How much of a performance drop is there from Low to Ultra settings?

A: The difference is dramatic. At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 92.7 on Low to 29.8 on Ultra, a reduction of over 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, it drops from 78.9 to 26.8, and at 3840x2160 from 59.5 to 22.8.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 SUPER a limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, heavily. Even with Low settings at 3840x2160, the average FPS is only 59.5, which is borderline. On Medium, it drops to 38.1, and on High it falls to 26.8, making 4K impractical for this game with this GPU.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its direct rivals?

A: The i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27827. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K, scores 27829, a delta of 0%. The Intel Core i5-12600K scores 27851, which is 0.1% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is 0.2% higher at 27872.

Q: What is the GPU's standalone benchmark percentile?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has a percentile rank of 63 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19774. This places it in the mid-range tier, which aligns with its performance in The Medium.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the optimal experience for this combination is the Low preset at 1920x1080. This is the only setting that provides a substantial margin above 60 FPS, with an average of 92.7 FPS. This headroom ensures smoother frame pacing and avoids dips into the 50s during intense scenes, which is critical for a horror game that relies on atmosphere.

For users with a 1440p monitor, the Low preset at 2560x1440 is the only viable option, delivering an average of 78.9 FPS. While lower than the 1080p result, this still provides a playable experience. Choosing the Medium preset at 1440p results in 46.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth motion and may introduce noticeable stutter.

At 4K resolution, the data is less favorable. The Low preset at 3840x2160 is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 59.5 FPS. However, this is a borderline result, and any demanding scene could push the frame rate below 60. If a 4K display is the primary target, users should expect to accept lower fidelity to maintain performance. The Medium preset at 4K yields only 38.1 FPS, which is not recommended for a game where responsiveness matters.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested combinations for The Medium, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1279 out of 1689 tested combos. This places it in the lower-mid range of all configurations, indicating that while it is not a top-tier setup, it is also not the weakest. The rank reflects the significant GPU limitation, as the CPU is capable of far higher performance.

The ranking data shows that the GPU's average benchmark score of 19774 is only 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, which scores 19706. It is also 0.5% higher than the RTX 2070, which scores 19680. This indicates that the 2060 SUPER is positioned closely to its immediate predecessor and successor in raw compute, but in this game, the performance is heavily constrained by the settings and resolution chosen.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 92.7 FPS (Low), 54.7 FPS (Medium), 39.1 FPS (High), and 29.8 FPS (Ultra). The jump from Low to Medium is a significant 38 FPS drop, while the step from High to Ultra is a further 9.3 FPS decline.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 78.9 FPS (Low), 46.2 FPS (Medium), 32.4 FPS (High), and 26.8 FPS (Ultra). The gap between Low and Medium widens to 32.7 FPS. At this resolution, even the Low preset is only 18.9 FPS above the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the performance collapses. The averages are 59.5 FPS (Low), 38.1 FPS (Medium), 26.8 FPS (High), and 22.8 FPS (Ultra). The data shows that the game is not playable at 4K on any setting other than Low, and even that is marginal. The scaling from Low to Medium at 4K is a 21.4 FPS drop, which is proportionally similar to the drop seen at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the definitive limiting factor in this configuration. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, it offers a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has 2176 shading units and a boost clock of 1650 MHz, providing 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. These specifications are modest by modern standards, and the benchmark results in The Medium reflect this.

The data shows that the GPU's performance in this title is highly sensitive to settings. The transition from Low to Medium across all resolutions results in a substantial FPS loss, suggesting that the Medium preset introduces effects that heavily tax the memory bandwidth or shader throughput. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 3840x2160, the texture and geometry requirements likely push the GPU to its limits, resulting in the sub-60 FPS averages even on Low.

The GPU's percentile rank of 63 and its proximity in benchmark scores to the GeForce GTX TITAN (0.3% delta) and RTX 2070 (0.5% delta) confirm that this is a mid-range part. In this game, it behaves like a capable 1080p card that can handle 1440p with significant compromises, but it lacks the headroom for 4K gaming.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF provides a strong foundation for this gaming build. With 10 cores and 16 threads, it offers substantial multi-threaded capacity, scoring 23444 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 12373 in Geekbench multicore. Its single-thread performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3309 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2529. This ensures that the CPU is not a bottleneck for the RTX 2060 SUPER in this title.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 27827 places it at the 84th percentile of all CPUs, with rivals like the Intel Core i9-10900K (delta 0%) and the Intel Core i5-12600K (delta -0.1%) showing near-identical performance. The data indicates that even a more powerful GPU would benefit from this processor's capabilities, as it has the processing power to feed frames efficiently.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is largely to maintain a stable frame pipeline. Given that the FPS drops are consistent with GPU-bound scenarios (e.g., 92.7 to 54.7 FPS from Low to Medium at 1080p), the 10-core processor has ample headroom. The boost clock of 4.90 GHz and the 20 MB of shared L3 cache are more than sufficient for the game's logic and AI, meaning that users should focus on GPU settings to improve performance rather than CPU overclocking.