The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title from 2021, presents an interesting stress profile for the combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily influenced by graphics settings, with performance scaling that points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides a robust foundation that prevents significant frame rate drops at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to understand how this specific pairing behaves across the game’s four available presets and three common resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a clear and consistent trend: as resolution increases, average frame rates drop substantially across all settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 126 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 106 FPS, a reduction of 20 FPS, and then to 4K it falls to 83 FPS, another 23 FPS loss. This scaling pattern suggests that at 1080p Low, the system is relatively unburdened, but the rendering load still scales heavily with pixel count, indicating a GPU-bound scenario even at the lowest quality preset.

The drop from High settings at 1080p to 4K is even more revealing. At 1080p High, the average is 56 FPS. At 1440p High, it falls to 47 FPS, and at 4K High, it reaches just 37 FPS. This represents a 34% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K. The fact that such a significant drop occurs even at High settings, which is not the most demanding preset, strongly suggests that the Radeon RX 7700 XT is the limiting component at these resolutions, as the workload on the GPU increases exponentially with pixel count.

The most dramatic scaling appears with the Ultra preset, which is the most demanding. The game runs at 45 FPS at 1080p, drops to 38 FPS at 1440p, and plummets to 30 FPS at 4K. This is a 33% drop from 1080p to 4K, mirroring the scaling seen at High settings. The fact that the Ultra preset at 1080p cannot maintain a 60 FPS average, while Low at 4K can, underscores that the GPU’s fill rate and shading power are the primary constraints, rather than any CPU limitation.

Interestingly, the Medium preset shows the most consistent frame times. At 1080p, it averages 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 and a maximum of 91. At 1440p, the average is 66 FPS with a 56-76 range. At 4K, it averages 52 FPS with a 44-60 range. The presence of min/max data for this preset alone suggests that the frame pacing is more stable here than at other settings, which might make it a more predictable experience despite lower average scores than Low. The scaling from 1080p to 4K on Medium is a 34% reduction, again pointing to GPU-bound performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. Its specifications include a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The benchmark data for this CPU is strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784 and a single-core score of 1850.5. This processing power is more than sufficient to feed the GPU in The Medium, as evidenced by the fact that performance scales so heavily with resolution and settings, which are GPU-centric variables.

The CPU’s percentile rank is 84, meaning it outperforms 84% of all CPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Core i7-12700KF, which is just 0.2% faster, and the Intel Core i7-13700T, which is 0.3% faster. This indicates that the i7-12700K is positioned at the top end of performance for its class. In this game, however, the data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck, as the FPS differences are more closely tied to resolution than to any CPU-intensive calculations.

The game’s fixed-camera angles might imply a lower CPU load for geometry culling, but the sheer thread count of the i7-12700K ensures that any background simulation or AI tasks are handled without issue. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9276 and the max-thread score of 9979 show a high level of multi-threaded capability. Given that the FPS at 1080p Low is 126, which is a high frame rate, it is clear the CPU can handle the game’s logic at high speed. The limiting factor is the GPU’s ability to render frames.

The fact that the FPS drops by 43 FPS from 1080p Low to 4K Low, while the CPU’s workload likely remains similar, confirms that the system is not CPU-bound in this scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar FPS numbers across resolutions at the same settings, which is not the case. The i7-12700K provides a stable platform, allowing the RX 7700 XT to be the sole determinant of performance in most configurations.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is rated at 2544 MHz, and it has a FP32 performance of 35.17 TFLOPS. These specifications are the primary drivers of the FPS numbers observed in the game. The GPU’s percentile rank is 67, placing it above 67% of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile, scores only 0.5% higher, making the RX 7700 XT a very competitive part for this workload.

The data shows that the GPU’s performance scales almost linearly with the resolution’s pixel count, which is a classic sign of a fill-rate or bandwidth-limited scenario. At 1080p, the GPU can push out 126 FPS on Low settings, but this drops to 83 FPS at 4K. This 34% reduction aligns closely with the increase in pixels from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, which is a 4x increase in area. The fact that the FPS does not drop by 75% suggests that there is some headroom in the GPU’s compute units, but the memory bandwidth and ROPs are being taxed heavily.

The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is a significant factor. The Medium is known for its dual-reality rendering, which can be memory-intensive. At 4K with High settings, the 37 FPS average suggests that the GPU is struggling to maintain performance, possibly due to memory pressure or shader complexity. The fact that dropping to Low settings at 4K nearly doubles the FPS to 83 indicates that the texture and shading requirements are the main cost, and the 12 GB frame buffer is sufficient when those requirements are reduced.

The GPU’s texture rate of 549.5 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 244.2 GPixel/s are substantial. However, at 4K Ultra, the 30 FPS average shows that the card is at its limits. The data implies that the RX 7700 XT is a capable 1440p card and a decent 1080p high-refresh card for this title, but 4K is only viable on lower settings. The performance difference between 1080p Ultra (45 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (38 FPS) highlights that even a modest resolution increase can heavily impact this GPU’s ability to maintain playable frame rates on the highest preset.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this CPU/GPU combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 appears to be the sweet spot. On Medium settings, it averages 66 FPS, which is a solidly playable frame rate. While 1080p offers higher averages, the visual fidelity at 1440p is better, and the performance hit is manageable.

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K smoothly?

A: At 4K, the system averages 52 FPS on Medium settings, but only 37 FPS on High and 30 FPS on Ultra. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the data suggests that 4K is not viable at higher settings. Low settings at 4K can achieve 83 FPS, but this requires significant visual compromises.

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

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35287. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13600T, scores 35305, which is only 0.1% higher. The Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365, a 0.2% difference. This indicates that the i7-12700K is statistically tied with its closest competitors in synthetic tests.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. This is evident because FPS scales dramatically with resolution changes at the same settings. For example, at High settings, FPS drops from 56 at 1080p to 37 at 4K. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain more consistent across resolutions.

Q: What kind of frame rates can I expect on Ultra settings?

A: Ultra settings are demanding. At 1080p, the average is 45 FPS, which drops to 38 FPS at 1440p and 30 FPS at 4K. These numbers suggest that the Ultra preset is only suitable for players who prioritize visual quality over frame smoothness, as it fails to hit 60 FPS at any resolution.

Q: How stable are the frame rates on Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded min and max FPS data. At 1080p, it ranges from 67 to 91 FPS with an average of 79. At 1440p, it ranges from 56 to 76 FPS, and at 4K, it ranges from 44 to 60 FPS. This suggests that the frame pacing is relatively stable, with no extreme dips.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT ranks 1392 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the top 37% of all combinations in the database, indicating a solidly above-average pairing for this specific title. While it is not a top-tier configuration, it outperforms the majority of systems that have been benchmarked for this game.

The ranking reflects the balance of the components. The CPU’s strong synthetic performance (84th percentile) is somewhat mitigated by the GPU’s more mid-range standing (67th percentile). The result is a combo that can handle the game well at 1080p and 1440p, but falls behind systems with more powerful GPUs at 4K. The fact that it ranks above 2,332 other combos suggests that the i7-12700K provides enough processing power to avoid holding back the RX 7700 XT in most scenarios.

The deltaPct values of the GPU’s nearest rivals are small, with the RTX 5060 Mobile being 0.5% faster and the RTX 4060 Mobile being 0.8% slower. This indicates that the RX 7700 XT’s performance in general benchmarks is very competitive with its direct competitors. In the context of The Medium, this likely translates to similar performance, meaning the combo’s rank is a fair representation of its capabilities. The rank of 1392 suggests that users can expect a playable experience at 1440p Medium, but should temper expectations for 4K Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience. The goal is to find the highest visual quality that still maintains a consistent frame rate above 60 FPS. At 1080p, the Medium preset is the only one that achieves this, with an average of 79 FPS. The High preset drops to 56 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra lags further at 45 FPS. Therefore, for 1080p, Medium is the optimal choice.

At 1440p, the situation changes. The Medium preset averages 66 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS and provides a smooth experience. This makes 1440p Medium the best overall balance of visual fidelity and performance, as it offers a higher resolution than 1080p while maintaining a playable frame rate. The High preset at 1440p falls to 47 FPS, which is not ideal for a horror game where smooth camera movement is important.

For 4K, the data suggests that Medium is the highest preset worth considering, with an average of 52 FPS. While this is below 60 FPS, it is still playable. High and Ultra at 4K are too demanding, with averages of 37 FPS and 30 FPS respectively, which can feel stuttery and unresponsive. The Low preset at 4K achieves 83 FPS, but the visual hit is likely too severe for most users. In summary, the Medium preset provides the best experience at all three resolutions, with 1440p being the recommended resolution for the best balance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for this combo in The Medium is as follows:

• 1920x1080 (1080p)
• Low: Average 126 FPS. This is the highest performance point, indicating a very responsive experience.
• Medium: Average 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. This is the highest preset that maintains a 60+ FPS average.
• High: Average 56 FPS. This preset is playable but falls below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth motion.
• Ultra: Average 45 FPS. This is the most demanding setting and shows a significant performance cost for the highest visual quality.

• 2560x1440 (1440p)
• Low: Average 106 FPS. A very high frame rate, though not as high as at 1080p.
• Medium: Average 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. This is a solid choice for 1440p gaming.
• High: Average 47 FPS. The frame rate drops noticeably from Medium, making it less ideal.
• Ultra: Average 38 FPS. This is at the edge of playability for many users, with frequent frame drops.

• 3840x2160 (4K)
• Low: Average 83 FPS. A surprisingly high frame rate for 4K, but with reduced visual detail.
• Medium: Average 52 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 60 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that approaches a playable frame rate without severe compromises.
• High: Average 37 FPS. This is a demanding setting that results in a stuttery experience.
• Ultra: Average 30 FPS. This is the lowest measured average, indicating that 4K Ultra is not viable for a smooth experience.