The Medium

The Intel Core i7-12700KF and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination ranks 1373rd out of 1689 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the lower half of the database. This pairing demonstrates a significant bottleneck, with the GPU's performance ceiling dictating the experience across all resolutions. The data indicates that this is a configuration for 1080p playable settings, with higher resolutions requiring substantial compromises in visual fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

This combo’s rank of 1373 out of 1689 positions it firmly in the lower 20% of all tested configurations for The Medium. The ranking reflects a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics card, which scores in the 69th percentile against all GPUs, while the CPU sits much higher in the 89th percentile. This disparity suggests the processor is not the limiting factor; instead, the Radeon RX 6600’s performance class is what defines the overall experience. The average benchmark score for the GPU is 25235, placing it in a tight cluster with rivals like the AMD Radeon 890M, which scores 25246 with a 0% delta, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which scores 25120 with a 0.5% delta. Given this proximity, the combo’s ranking is expected, as the GPU’s capabilities are the primary driver of frame rates in this horror title. The CPU’s high percentile ranking does not boost the combo’s position, confirming that the graphics card is the performance bottleneck.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip on a 7 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The GPU’s clocks are set at a base of 1626 MHz, a game clock of 2044 MHz, and a boost clock of 2491 MHz. The memory operates at 1750 MHz with a 14 Gbps effective rate. These specifications translate to a compute capability of 8.928 TFLOPS FP32 and a texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s. In The Medium, these numbers manifest in the measured frame rates: at 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo averages 35.3 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for this title at 1080p, but the data shows that at 3840x2160, the card struggles significantly, with the Ultra preset dropping to 18.5 FPS. The GPU’s performance is also reflected in its benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 15096 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 80492. These figures indicate a mid-range card that can handle the game’s demands at lower resolutions but collapses under the load of higher ones.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep decline as resolution increases, highlighting the GPU’s limitations. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 85.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 72.5 FPS at 2560x1440, a 15% reduction, and further to 53.6 FPS at 3840x2160, a 37% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU has enough headroom to feed the graphics card at lower resolutions, but the GPU’s pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs. At Medium settings, the drop is more pronounced: 51.4 FPS at 1080p falls to 45.2 FPS at 1440p (a 12% decrease) and then to 34.7 FPS at 4K (a 32% decrease from 1080p). The High preset shows a similar trend, with 35.3 FPS at 1080p, 32.6 FPS at 1440p, and 26.9 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 29.7 FPS at 1080p, 24.4 FPS at 1440p, and a mere 18.5 FPS at 4K. These results indicate that the Radeon RX 6600 is the limiting component, as the frame rate drops are directly proportional to the increase in pixel count, with no evidence of CPU stalling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings yield 85.4 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. Medium settings produce 51.4 FPS, a playable experience, while High settings drop to 35.3 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter in this atmospheric horror game. Ultra settings are the most taxing, averaging only 29.7 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across the board. Low settings average 72.5 FPS, still playable, but Medium drops to 45.2 FPS, High to 32.6 FPS, and Ultra to 24.4 FPS, which is borderline unplayable. At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed. Low settings achieve 53.6 FPS, which is acceptable, but Medium falls to 34.7 FPS, High to 26.9 FPS, and Ultra to 18.5 FPS. The data shows that the only way to achieve a consistent 60 FPS is to use Low settings at 1080p, as the 85.4 FPS result is the only measurement above that threshold. All other configurations require the player to accept lower frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, featuring a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It has a 25 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The CPU’s benchmark results are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28979 and a single-core score of 4091. Its average benchmark score is 35355, which places it nearly identical to rivals like the Intel Core i5-14400, which scores 35336 with a 0.1% delta, and the Intel Core i9-12900HX, which scores 35289 with a 0.2% delta. This indicates that the CPU is more than capable of handling The Medium’s processing demands. In this combo, the CPU is not the bottleneck; the data shows that even at 1080p Low settings, where the GPU is least stressed, the frame rate is 85.4 FPS, which is far below what the CPU could theoretically support. The i7-12700KF’s high single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and Passmark single-thread score of 3984, ensures that it will not hold back the GPU in this title. The processor’s 89th percentile ranking against all CPUs further confirms its adequacy.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which produces 85.4 FPS. This is the only configuration that approaches the 60 FPS threshold, offering a smooth and consistent frame rate for a game that relies on atmosphere and tension. At Medium settings, 51.4 FPS is achievable, which is playable but may have occasional dips. Players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate could consider High settings at 1080p, which yields 35.3 FPS, but this comes at a significant cost to smoothness. For those with 1440p monitors, Low settings at 72.5 FPS is the recommended choice, as it remains playable, while Medium at 45.2 FPS is a compromise. At 4K, the data suggests avoiding the game entirely, as even Low settings only achieve 53.6 FPS, with all other presets falling below 35 FPS. The Ultra preset is not viable at any resolution, with the best case being 29.7 FPS at 1080p. The verdict is clear: use Low settings at 1080p or 1440p for a playable experience.

FAQ

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

A: The best measured result is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, achieving 85.4 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low settings yield 72.5 FPS, which is also playable.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 53.6 at Low settings. Medium, High, and Ultra settings produce 34.7, 26.9, and 18.5 FPS respectively, making them largely unplayable.

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

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 89th percentile, while the GPU ranks in the 69th percentile. The frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases, indicating a GPU bottleneck.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS in The Medium?

A: Yes, but only at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which averages 85.4 FPS. No other preset or resolution combination reaches 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Radeon RX 6600 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 25235. The AMD Radeon 890M scores 25246 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 6700M scores 25180 (0.2% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 25120 (0.5% delta).

Q: What is the impact of Ultra settings on performance?

A: Ultra settings are the most demanding. At 1920x1080, the average FPS is 29.7, dropping to 24.4 at 2560x1440 and 18.5 at 3840x2160. This preset should be avoided for a playable experience.