The Medium

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured frame rates for this combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER reveal a clear pattern of scaling as resolution climbs. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 170.6 FPS, which drops to 157.8 FPS at 1440p and then to 128.7 FPS at 4K. That is a modest 25% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, suggesting the GPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. The CPU is likely holding the frame rate back from going even higher, particularly at 1080p where the graphics workload is lighter.

The story changes dramatically when moving to Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the system delivers 70.2 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 58.4 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 44.6 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is a 36% reduction, which is steeper than the Low settings drop. This indicates that at higher quality presets, the GPU becomes more heavily engaged, and its performance limits start to surface. The RTX 4080 SUPER, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth, is handling the increased pixel count but still cannot maintain the same relative performance as resolution scales up.

Medium settings show an intermediate behavior. The 1080p Medium result is 116.3 FPS, 1440p Medium yields 102.5 FPS, and 4K Medium produces 78.9 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K at Medium is 23%, which is larger than the 18% drop from 1080p to 1440p. This nonlinear scaling suggests that the game's rendering demands at 4K, even at Medium, are pushing the GPU closer to its limits. High settings follow a similar trajectory: 85.1 FPS at 1080p, 73.2 FPS at 1440p, and 57.5 FPS at 4K.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU, but the frame rates plateau around 170 FPS regardless of how light the graphics load is. This is a classic sign of a CPU-bound scenario at low resolutions. As the resolution increases, the GPU workload grows, and the system transitions to being GPU-bound. The RTX 4080 SUPER's boost clock of 2550 MHz and 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are clearly capable, but the game's optimization and the sheer pixel throughput at 4K Ultra create a bottleneck that neither component can fully overcome.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The RTX 4080 SUPER has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory running at an effective 23 Gbps, yielding 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. In a horror title like The Medium, which relies on detailed environments and lighting effects, memory capacity and bandwidth matter for texture streaming and shadow rendering. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system manages 44.6 FPS, which is playable but not smooth for a game that likely benefits from higher frame rates given its tense atmosphere. The GPU's 80 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores suggest it is built for demanding workloads, yet the measured results indicate that even this hardware cannot push past 45 FPS at the highest settings and resolution.

The GPU's base clock of 2295 MHz and boost clock of 2550 MHz are high for the Ada Lovelace architecture, and the 10240 shading units provide substantial parallel processing power. At 1440p Ultra, the frame rate of 58.4 FPS is notably higher than at 4K Ultra, a 31% improvement. This suggests that the GPU is capable of delivering strong performance at lower resolutions but starts to struggle as the pixel count approaches 4K. The 256-bit memory bus, while wide, may be a limiting factor compared to the data throughput required at 3840x2160.

The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, has an average benchmark score of 53489, which is 0.2% lower than this card's 53610. This close margin in synthetic benchmarks does not necessarily translate to game-specific performance, but it does position the RTX 4080 SUPER as a top-tier option. The measured FPS at Medium settings across resolutions—116.3 at 1080p, 102.5 at 1440p, and 78.9 at 4K—shows that the GPU can maintain high frame rates when settings are moderated. The VRAM usage is not explicitly measured in the data, but 16 GB is ample for a game from 2021, and the bandwidth appears sufficient for most scenarios except the most demanding 4K Ultra preset.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-12700K brings 12 cores and 20 threads to the system, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its L3 cache is 25 MB shared, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, though the specific memory configuration is not provided in the measured data. In this game, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the frame rate of 170.6 FPS is the highest recorded across all tests. This suggests that the CPU is capable of driving high frame rates but may not be the limiting factor at higher settings.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its strength. In Cinebench R23 multicore, it scores 29241, and in single-core, it hits 4128. The Passmark multithread score is 34404, and single-thread is 4013. These numbers indicate a balanced processor that can handle both lightly threaded and heavily threaded workloads. In The Medium, which likely uses multiple threads for rendering and game logic, the 20 threads provide headroom. However, the data shows that at 1080p Low, the frame rate does not exceed 170.6 FPS, which could be a CPU limitation or a game engine cap.

When comparing to its nearest rivals, the i7-12700K's average benchmark score is 35684, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845's 35802 and 0.6% higher than the Intel Core i7-13700T's 35468. The differences are small, indicating that CPU performance is not a differentiator in this game at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate of 44.6 FPS is likely GPU-bound, as the CPU has ample processing power to handle the game's logic. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is a high-performing part, but the game's results show that the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rates at resolutions above 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combination achieves in The Medium?

A: The highest recorded average frame rate is 170.6 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the frame rate falls from 70.2 FPS at 1080p to 58.4 FPS at 1440p and then to 44.6 FPS at 4K, a 36% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Which component is more likely to be the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: The data implies the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, as the CPU has strong benchmark scores and the frame rate drops consistently with increasing resolution, indicating GPU-bound performance.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The system delivers 102.5 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 53610, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT's 53489.

Q: Is the frame rate at 1080p Low likely CPU-limited?

A: Yes, the 170.6 FPS at 1080p Low is the highest result, and the relatively small drop to 157.8 FPS at 1440p Low suggests the CPU may be limiting performance at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system produces 170.6 FPS on Low, 116.3 FPS on Medium, 85.1 FPS on High, and 70.2 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, the results are 157.8 FPS on Low, 102.5 FPS on Medium, 73.2 FPS on High, and 58.4 FPS on Ultra. At 3840x2160, the frame rates are 128.7 FPS on Low, 78.9 FPS on Medium, 57.5 FPS on High, and 44.6 FPS on Ultra.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: Low settings always deliver the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra being the most demanding. The gap between Medium and High is notable. At 1080p, the difference is 31.2 FPS, at 1440p it is 29.3 FPS, and at 4K it is 21.4 FPS. This suggests that the jump from Medium to High settings introduces a significant increase in graphical workload, likely from more detailed textures or lighting effects. The gap between High and Ultra is smaller: 14.9 FPS at 1080p, 14.8 FPS at 1440p, and 12.9 FPS at 4K. This indicates that Ultra settings add diminishing returns relative to the performance cost.

The lowest recorded frame rate is 44.6 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is still above 30 FPS but may feel sluggish for a game that relies on atmosphere and timing. The highest is 170.6 FPS at 1080p Low, which is smooth for any display. The data shows that the system is versatile, capable of high refresh rates at lower settings and playable frame rates at higher settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 116.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves headroom for a high refresh rate monitor. At 1440p, Medium yields 102.5 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS and suitable for most gaming displays. At 4K, Medium drops to 78.9 FPS, which is playable but may require a variable refresh rate monitor to avoid tearing.

High settings are a viable alternative for users who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rates. At 1080p, High produces 85.1 FPS, which is still smooth. At 1440p, it drops to 73.2 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 57.5 FPS, which is borderline for a 60 Hz display. Ultra settings are only recommended for 1080p, where the 70.2 FPS result is acceptable, but at 1440p and 4K, the frame rates of 58.4 and 44.6 FPS respectively may not provide a consistently smooth experience.

Low settings are unnecessary for this hardware, as even at 4K, the system achieves 128.7 FPS, which is far above what any current display can show. The data suggests that Medium at 1440p is the sweet spot for most users, offering 102.5 FPS with a good balance of visual detail and performance. For 4K users, Medium at 78.9 FPS is the best option, as High and Ultra incur significant performance penalties without a proportional visual benefit.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 81st out of 1689 tested combinations in The Medium, placing it in the top 5% of all systems. The high rank is unsurprising given the strength of both components. The GPU's average benchmark score of 53610 places it in the 88th percentile among all GPUs, and the CPU's average score of 35684 places it in the 89th percentile among all CPUs. This suggests that the system is well-balanced, with neither component significantly holding back the other.

The rank of 81 out of 1689 indicates that there are 80 other combinations that perform better in this game, likely featuring more powerful GPUs or CPUs. However, the measured FPS data shows that this system delivers playable frame rates at all settings and resolutions, with the lowest result being 44.6 FPS at 4K Ultra. The combination is particularly strong at lower resolutions, where the CPU's high single-thread performance helps maintain high frame rates. The data implies that for most gaming scenarios, this system offers more than enough performance, and the rank reflects its position among a large pool of tested hardware configurations.