The Medium

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a high-refresh-rate experience at 1080p and 1440p, but the extreme demands of Ultra settings at 4K in The Medium anchor the framerate firmly in console territory. The data set shows a system where the GPU is the dominant variable across all tested configurations, with the CPU providing a capable foundation that rarely becomes the primary constraint.

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

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, which explains its strong single-thread performance in synthetic benchmarks. In Cinebench R23, it scores 4,128 points in single-core and 29,241 in multi-core, with Geekbench results of 2,561 single-core and 13,892 multi-core. These figures place the chip in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,684.

The processor’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database are closely matched, indicating that its performance level is well-established. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 scores 35,802, a delta of -0.3% relative to the i7-12700K, while the Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35,468, a delta of 0.6%. The Intel Core i5-14500HX and Intel Core i7-13800H score 35,940 and 35,416, respectively, with deltas of -0.7% and 0.8%. This tight grouping means that swapping to any of these rivals would produce nearly identical CPU-bound behavior in The Medium.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is to maintain a stable frame pacing floor. At 1080p with Low settings, the system averages 169.1 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure in the entire data set. This result suggests that the CPU can feed the RTX 5090 with enough data to reach very high frame rates, but it does not indicate CPU saturation. The fact that dropping from 1080p Low to 1440p Low only reduces the average from 169.1 to 157.8 FPS, a drop of 11.3 FPS, shows that the processor has ample headroom. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9,276 and max-thread score of 9,979 reinforce that the 12-core design handles multi-threaded workloads without becoming a bottleneck in this horror title.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the clear performance driver in this configuration. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. The GPU runs at a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz, or 28 Gbps effective. This massive memory capacity and bandwidth are crucial for The Medium, which is known for rendering detailed environments where texture streaming can pressure VRAM.

The RTX 5090 scores 39,650 in Passmark G3D, placing it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 84,306. Its nearest rivals are nearly identical in score: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D scores 84,241 (delta 0.1%), the RTX 5050 Mobile scores 84,171 (delta 0.2%), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 scores 83,209 (delta 1.3%). The NVIDIA CMP 40HX scores 85,637, a -1.6% delta. These numbers show that the RTX 5090 sits at the top of the GPU hierarchy, and its performance in The Medium is entirely dependent on the settings and resolution applied.

The GPU’s influence is most apparent in the scaling from Medium to Ultra settings. At 4K, Medium averages 92.2 FPS, but Ultra drops to 52.7 FPS, a reduction of 39.5 FPS. This steep decline is not a VRAM limitation—32 GB is more than sufficient for any game—but rather a raw compute limitation imposed by the Ultra preset’s effects. The GPU’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 170 RT cores are pushed hard by the game’s fixed camera angles and layered rendering, which explains why even this top-tier card cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern: the RTX 5090 is the limiting component at higher resolutions, while the CPU remains secondary. At Low settings, the framerate drops from 169.1 FPS at 1080p to 157.8 FPS at 1440p, a 6.7% reduction, and then to 147.2 FPS at 4K, another 6.7% drop. This gradual scaling indicates that Low settings are not heavily taxing the GPU, allowing it to maintain high throughput.

At High settings, the scaling is steeper. The system averages 100.9 FPS at 1080p, falls to 81.6 FPS at 1440p (a 19.3 FPS drop), and reaches 65.4 FPS at 4K (a 16.2 FPS drop from 1440p). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is larger than the drop from 1440p to 4K, suggesting that the GPU is transitioning from a partially bound state to a fully GPU-bound state. At Medium settings, the pattern is similar: 138.1 FPS at 1080p, 117 FPS at 1440p, and 92.2 FPS at 4K. The consistent 20-25 FPS decreases at each resolution step highlight that the GPU’s compute units are being saturated.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling. The framerate goes from 81.1 FPS at 1080p to 64.7 FPS at 1440p, a 16.4 FPS drop, and then to 52.7 FPS at 4K, another 12 FPS drop. The overall reduction from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 28.4 FPS, or 35% lower. This data indicates that the CPU is never the bottleneck; if it were, the framerate would remain relatively flat across resolutions. Instead, the consistent drops confirm that the RTX 5090’s rendering workload scales directly with pixel count and setting complexity.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining 60 FPS with High settings?

A: At 1440p High, the system averages 81.6 FPS, which is comfortably above 60 FPS. At 4K High, the average drops to 65.4 FPS, which still exceeds 60 FPS but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from Ultra to High at 4K?

A: The average framerate improves from 52.7 FPS at Ultra to 65.4 FPS at High, a gain of 12.7 FPS. This makes High the better choice for smooth 4K gameplay.

Q: Does the RTX 5090’s 32 GB VRAM ever become a limiting factor in this game?

A: The data shows no evidence of VRAM limitations. The performance drops between settings are consistent with compute-bound behavior, not memory capacity issues, as the 32 GB GDDR7 memory is far more than any tested preset requires.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35,684. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 scores 0.3% higher, while the Intel Core i7-13700T and Intel Core i7-13800H score 0.6% and 0.8% higher, respectively. The Intel Core i5-14500HX scores 0.7% lower.

Q: What is the highest average framerate recorded in the data set?

A: The highest average is 169.1 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that exceeds 160 FPS.

Q: Is the system more GPU-bound at 1080p or 4K?

A: The system is more GPU-bound at 4K. At 1080p Low, the framerate is 169.1 FPS, but at 4K Low it drops to 147.2 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at all settings shows the GPU becoming the primary constraint as resolution increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance. Low settings average 169.1 FPS, which is the peak for the entire data set. Medium settings average 138.1 FPS, a 31 FPS reduction from Low. High settings average 100.9 FPS, dropping 37.2 FPS from Medium. Ultra settings average 81.1 FPS, a 19.8 FPS reduction from High. The full range from Low to Ultra at 1080p spans 88 FPS, showing that the RTX 5090 has ample headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but scales down noticeably. Low settings average 157.8 FPS, which is 11.3 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 117 FPS, a 21.1 FPS drop from 1080p Medium. High settings average 81.6 FPS, 19.3 FPS lower than 1080p High. Ultra settings average 64.7 FPS, a 16.4 FPS drop from 1080p Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 93.1 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is fully taxed. Low settings average 147.2 FPS, which is still high but 10.6 FPS lower than 1440p Low. Medium settings average 92.2 FPS, a 24.8 FPS drop from 1440p Medium. High settings average 65.4 FPS, 16.2 FPS lower than 1440p High. Ultra settings average 52.7 FPS, which is 12 FPS below the 1440p Ultra result. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 94.5 FPS, the largest range of any resolution.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For players targeting a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, the High preset is the optimal choice. It averages 65.4 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with a small buffer. The Ultra preset averages 52.7 FPS, which falls below 60 FPS and would result in visible stutter on standard 60 Hz displays. The Medium preset at 4K averages 92.2 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, but it sacrifices visual fidelity compared to High.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset becomes viable, averaging 64.7 FPS. However, the High preset at 81.6 FPS provides a much smoother experience for only a modest reduction in graphical quality. For 1440p displays with 120 Hz or higher refresh rates, the Medium preset at 117 FPS is the best match, as it balances visual detail with the high framerate needed to fully utilize such panels.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset is recommended despite averaging 81.1 FPS. This is because the resolution is low enough that the GPU has spare capacity, and the visual improvements from Ultra are more noticeable than at higher resolutions. Players with 144 Hz monitors should consider the High preset at 100.9 FPS, which provides a near-ideal balance of smoothness and image quality. The Low preset at 169.1 FPS is only useful for competitive play, which is not the target audience for this horror title. Overall, the High preset at 1440p offers the best combination of framerate and fidelity across all tested configurations, with an 81.6 FPS average that is suitable for most displays.