The Medium

# The Medium with Intel Core i5-12600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti

The Medium presents an unusual scaling pattern for this combination of Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, with measured frame rates that suggest a workload split differently than typical titles. The data shows a system that can push well beyond 100 FPS at lower settings but drops to sub-60 territory at maximum quality in 4K, indicating that the RTX 4070 Ti's 12 GB frame buffer and the i5-12600KF's 10-core configuration interact in ways that reward specific settings choices. This analysis examines the measured FPS rows, the hardware characteristics, and how this combo ranks against 3,724 other tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior reveals a steep performance curve that becomes more pronounced as settings increase. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average FPS drops from 79 to 66, a reduction of 13 FPS or roughly 16%. The same resolution jump at Low settings shows a larger absolute drop from 164 to 148 FPS, but the percentage loss is smaller at about 10%. This pattern suggests that at lower settings, the CPU plays a more significant limiting role, as the frame rate remains high enough to expose processor bottlenecks.

The jump from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 is where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. At High settings, the average falls from 66 to 52 FPS, a 21% decrease. At Low settings, the drop from 148 to 116 FPS represents a 22% reduction, which is proportionally similar to High settings. However, the most dramatic scaling appears at Medium settings: from 110 FPS at 1080p to 92 FPS at 1440p, then down to 73 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result of 73 FPS sits 37 FPS below the 1080p Medium figure, indicating that pixel count heavily influences the RTX 4070 Ti's output.

Ultra settings produce the steepest curve of all. The 1080p Ultra average of 62 FPS falls to 52 FPS at 1440p, then to 41 FPS at 4K. That 4K Ultra result is only 41 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many users target. The data implies that at 4K, the GPU's 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 12 GB GDDR6X frame buffer become limiting factors, as the game's horror environments likely require large texture loads. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra represents a 34% performance loss, while the same resolution span at Low settings only costs 29% of performance, suggesting that higher settings amplify the GPU's workload disproportionately.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti brings substantial raw compute to The Medium, with 7,680 shading units, 60 RT cores, and a boost clock of 2610 MHz. The memory subsystem pairs 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p but appears taxed at 4K Ultra. The GPU's 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 208.8 GPixel/s pixel rate suggest it can handle heavy rasterization, yet the 4K Ultra average of 41 FPS indicates that The Medium's rendering demands exceed what this card can deliver at maximum settings in 4K.

The RTX 4070 Ti's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it ahead of most cards, but the benchmark results show that it is not immune to the game's demands. At 1080p Medium, the card produces 110 FPS with a minimum of 93 FPS, showing consistent frame delivery. The 1440p Medium result of 92 FPS with a 79 FPS minimum suggests the card maintains playable performance at mid-range settings. However, the 4K Medium result of 73 FPS with a 62 FPS minimum reveals that even medium settings at 4K push the GPU to its limits, with the minimum FPS dipping below the 60 FPS threshold.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile at 45,152 average score (0.8% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT at 45,384 (1.3% higher), and the Intel Arc A730M at 45,592 (1.7% higher). The RTX 4070 Ti's avgBenchmarkScore of 44,795 places it slightly below these competitors, yet in actual game performance, the 12 GB memory and Ada Lovelace architecture deliver results that are competitive for this title. The GPU's 84th percentile ranking means it outperforms most installed GPUs, but the data shows that The Medium at 4K Ultra requires more than this card can provide.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF contributes significantly to the frame rates observed, particularly at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is less stressed. With 10 cores, 16 threads, and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, this Alder Lake processor provides strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1,016 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3,302. The base clock of 3.70 GHz and 20 MB of shared L3 cache help maintain consistent performance across the game's various scenes.

At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 164 FPS, which is high enough to suggest that the CPU is not the primary limiter at this setting. The 1080p Medium result of 110 FPS with a 93 FPS minimum further supports this, as the frame times remain stable. However, the jump from 1080p Low to 1080p Ultra (164 to 62 FPS) shows that the GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings increase, even at the same resolution. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27,799, places it in a competitive position relative to its nearest rivals.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K with an average score of 27,872 (-0.3% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE at 27,712 (+0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D at 27,896 (-0.3% delta). The i5-12600KF's multi-threaded performance, measured at 23,391 in Cinebench R23, ensures that The Medium's CPU-bound scenes at lower settings do not create significant frame dips. The 125 W TDP and 10 nm process node indicate efficient power delivery, though the game's performance at 4K suggests that CPU headroom is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 452nd out of 3,724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 12% of all configurations. This ranking reflects a strong pairing that delivers playable performance at most settings and resolutions, with the exception of 4K Ultra where the average FPS falls to 41. The rank of 452 out of 3,724 indicates that while this combo is above average, there are 451 other configurations that achieve higher frame rates in this game.

The ranking suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti's 84th percentile GPU status combined with the i5-12600KF's 79th percentile CPU status creates a balanced system for The Medium. The data shows that the combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, where it can achieve 110 FPS and 92 FPS respectively at Medium settings. The 4K results, however, show that this combo is better suited to Medium settings (73 FPS) than High (52 FPS) or Ultra (41 FPS) at that resolution.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing demonstrates that the CPU is not the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops align with GPU-bound workloads. The 3,724 total combos include a wide range of hardware, and this rank of 452 indicates that users with this setup should expect above-average performance in The Medium, particularly when targeting 1440p or below. The data implies that for 4K gaming, users would need to compromise on settings to maintain smooth frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the Low setting delivers an average of 164 FPS, which drops to 110 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 93 and maximum of 126), 79 FPS at High, and 62 FPS at Ultra. The 1080p results show a clear progression where each settings tier costs approximately 30% performance, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 102 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low setting produces 148 FPS average, Medium delivers 92 FPS (79 minimum, 106 maximum), High achieves 66 FPS, and Ultra drops to 52 FPS. The 1440p results show a similar pattern to 1080p but with lower absolute numbers. The Medium setting at 1440p maintains a minimum of 79 FPS, which remains above the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra falls below it at 52 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low setting reaches 116 FPS, Medium averages 73 FPS (62 minimum, 83 maximum), High drops to 52 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 41 FPS. The 4K results demonstrate that the RTX 4070 Ti can handle Medium settings with playable frame rates, but High and Ultra settings push the GPU beyond its comfortable range. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium of 62 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, while the 4K High and Ultra averages of 52 and 41 FPS respectively fall well below.

Across all resolutions, the Medium setting provides the most balanced performance with the only complete min/max data available. The 1080p Medium shows a 33 FPS range between minimum and maximum, 1440p Medium shows a 27 FPS range, and 4K Medium shows a 21 FPS range, indicating that frame consistency improves at higher resolutions where the GPU is more consistently loaded.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 110 FPS with a 93 FPS minimum, ensuring smooth gameplay with headroom for dips. At 1440p, Medium achieves 92 FPS with a 79 FPS minimum, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays. At 4K, Medium produces 73 FPS with a 62 FPS minimum, just barely maintaining playable frame rates.

The High preset is viable at 1080p and 1440p, with averages of 79 and 66 FPS respectively, but at 4K it drops to 52 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced horror gameplay but falls short of the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p, where it achieves 62 FPS, but the 1440p and 4K results of 52 and 41 FPS respectively make it unsuitable for those resolutions. The Low preset delivers high frame rates (164 FPS at 1080p, 148 FPS at 1440p, 116 FPS at 4K) but at a significant visual quality cost.

The data suggests that users with 1080p or 1440p displays should use Medium settings for the best combination of visual fidelity and performance, with the option to increase to High for better graphics if they can tolerate slightly lower frame rates. For 4K displays, Medium is the highest recommended setting, as High and Ultra both fall below 60 FPS averages. The 4K Medium result of 73 FPS with a 62 FPS minimum indicates that this setting is the sweet spot for this resolution.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p provides the highest frame rates, with Medium settings achieving 110 FPS average and 93 FPS minimum. At 1440p, Medium delivers 92 FPS average, while 4K Medium drops to 73 FPS average with a 62 FPS minimum.

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings, which produce 73 FPS average and 62 FPS minimum. High settings at 4K deliver 52 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 41 FPS, both of which fall below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 44,795, which is 0.8% below the RTX 5090 Mobile, 1.3% below the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT, and 1.7% below the Intel Arc A730M. The GPU ranks in the 84th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 164 FPS, suggesting the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. However, the drop from 164 FPS at Low to 62 FPS at Ultra indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as settings increase, even at 1080p.

Q: What settings should I use for a 1440p display?

A: Medium settings are recommended, delivering 92 FPS average with a 79 FPS minimum. High settings at 1440p produce 66 FPS average, which is playable but with less headroom, while Ultra drops to 52 FPS average.

Q: How does the i5-12600KF compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27,799, which is 0.3% below the Intel Core i9-10900K and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and 0.3% above the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE. The CPU ranks in the 79th percentile among all CPUs.