The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that stresses both CPU and GPU, and the measured data for the Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 shows a configuration that is highly capable at lower resolutions but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with higher presets. This combination ranks in the 50th percentile for this game, sitting at rank 848 out of 1689 tested combos, indicating a solid mid-pack performance that aligns with the hardware’s individual benchmark percentiles. The i7-12700K sits in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 5060 lands in the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, suggesting the processor has more headroom than the graphics card in this specific workload.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a clear GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 113.9 at 1920x1080 to 78.9 at 3840x2160, a reduction of roughly 31% when moving to 4K. This scaling is not linear, as the jump from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings only drops the average from 113.9 to 96.3, a 15% decrease, while the subsequent jump to 4K costs another 18%. This pattern indicates that the RTX 5060’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are being saturated as pixel count increases, which is expected for a card with an 8 GB GDDR7 memory buffer on a 128-bit bus.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced when settings are increased. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 49 at 1080p to 43.3 at 1440p, then plummets to 33.2 at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the worst scaling, with averages of 43.7 at 1080p, 34.8 at 1440p, and a barely playable 25.2 at 4K. The data suggests that the resolution scaling is heavily influenced by the game’s graphical load, as the gap between Low and Ultra widens from a 70 FPS difference at 1080p to a 53.7 FPS difference at 4K. This points to the GPU being the limiting component at all resolutions tested, but especially at 1440p and 4K where the pixel fill rate and texture throughput become critical.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 3840 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines. Its boost clock of 2497 MHz and base clock of 2280 MHz provide the raw compute power, resulting in a FP32 throughput of 19.18 TFLOPS. The card’s memory configuration is a critical factor in The Medium’s performance: 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus delivers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gameplay, but the data shows it becomes a constraint at 4K, where the Ultra preset manages only 25.2 FPS.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its mid-range positioning. In Passmark G3D, it scores 20891, and in Geekbench OpenCL it reaches 120785, with a Vulkan score of 116626. These scores place it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, directly competing with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which shows a 0% delta in average benchmark score, and the AMD Radeon RX 570, which is 0.2% behind. The RTX 5060’s performance in The Medium is consistent with these synthetic results, as it delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p on Medium to High settings, but falls below the 60 FPS threshold at 4K on any preset. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for this game at lower resolutions, but the memory bus width and bandwidth appear to be the limiting factor for 4K Ultra, where the game’s high-resolution textures likely exceed the card’s effective memory throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware for a consistent 60 FPS experience?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 with Low settings achieves an average of 113.9 FPS, while 1920x1080 with Medium settings hits 73 FPS. For a target of 60 FPS, 2560x1440 with Medium settings is the highest resolution that maintains a playable average of 57.8 FPS, though it slightly misses the 60 FPS mark.

Q: Can this setup handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which yields an average of 78.9 FPS. At Medium settings, the average drops to 48.4 FPS, and at High it falls to 33.2 FPS. The Ultra preset is not viable at 4K, with an average of 25.2 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 30109, which is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT at 30097, showing a 0% delta. The AMD Radeon RX 570 scores 30158, which is 0.2% higher, and the NVIDIA Tesla M60 scores 29969, which is 0.5% lower.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K a bottleneck for the RTX 5060 in this game?

A: The data does not suggest a CPU bottleneck. The i7-12700K scores in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, with a multi-core score of 29241 in Cinebench R23 and a single-core score of 4128. Its performance is sufficient to feed the GPU, as indicated by the consistent frame rate scaling across resolutions, which points to the GPU as the limiting factor.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 96.3 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 34.8 FPS. This represents a 61.5 FPS drop, or a 64% reduction in performance, when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: Does the game perform better with DirectX 12 or Vulkan on this GPU?

A: The GPU’s synthetic benchmarks show a Geekbench Vulkan score of 116626, which is slightly lower than the OpenCL score of 120785. The game’s measured FPS data does not specify which API was used, so no direct conclusion can be drawn from the provided information.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the RTX 5060 delivers strong results: Low settings average 113.9 FPS, Medium settings average 73 FPS, High settings average 49 FPS, and Ultra settings average 43.7 FPS. This resolution is where the card is most comfortable, with all presets except Ultra exceeding the 60 FPS threshold. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 96.3 FPS on Low, 57.8 FPS on Medium, 43.3 FPS on High, and 34.8 FPS on Ultra. At this resolution, only Low settings maintain a high frame rate, while Medium falls just short of 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 78.9 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium settings fall to 48.4 FPS, High drops to 33.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 25.2 FPS. The progression from 1080p to 4K at Low settings shows a 35 FPS loss, while the same resolution change at Ultra settings results in an 18.5 FPS loss. This indicates that the GPU’s rasterization and pixel processing capabilities are the primary constraint at higher resolutions, as the relative performance gap between settings narrows when the GPU is already saturated. The data also shows that the gap between Medium and High settings is consistent, with roughly a 10-15 FPS difference across all resolutions, while the jump from High to Ultra incurs a smaller penalty, suggesting diminishing returns at the highest preset.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its 25 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 provide ample memory bandwidth for gaming workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 29241 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4128 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 13892 and single-core score of 2561. These results place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35684.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, which scores 35802 (0.3% higher), and the Intel Core i7-13700T, which scores 35468 (0.6% lower). The i7-12700K’s performance in The Medium is not the limiting factor, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU’s high single-thread performance, evidenced by a Passmark single-thread score of 4013 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 1043, ensures that the game’s main thread is well-served. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed and the CPU has the most influence, the average FPS of 113.9 suggests the processor can handle the game’s logic without bottlenecking the RTX 5060.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting a smooth 60 FPS experience, the data suggests that 1920x1080 with Medium settings is the sweet spot, delivering an average of 73 FPS. This provides a significant visual improvement over Low settings while maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium settings yield an average of 57.8 FPS, which is close to but slightly below the 60 FPS target; players with adaptive sync displays may find this acceptable, but those seeking a strict 60 FPS lock should use Low settings at this resolution, which average 96.3 FPS.

For 4K gaming, the only viable option is Low settings, which average 78.9 FPS. This preset sacrifices visual fidelity but remains playable, whereas Medium settings at 4K drop to 48.4 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it only achieves 43.7 FPS at 1080p and falls to 25.2 FPS at 4K. The High preset offers a middle ground, but at 1440p it averages 43.3 FPS and at 4K it drops to 33.2 FPS, making it unsuitable for those who prioritize frame rate. Based on the measured data, the best balance of visual quality and performance is Medium settings at 1440p or High settings at 1080p, with the former providing a higher resolution experience and the latter offering a higher frame rate.