The Medium

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 57, with a minimum of 49 and a maximum of 66. This indicates a playable experience, though not perfectly smooth in demanding scenes.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35365. It is virtually tied with the Intel Core i7-13700T (score 35403, delta -0.1%), the Intel Core i5-13600T (score 35305, delta 0.2%), the Intel Core 5 213PE (score 35428, delta -0.2%), and the Intel Core i7-12700K (score 35287, delta 0.2%). Performance is essentially identical across these chips.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile compared to all GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 sits at the 57th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 15171, placing it in the mid-range tier of graphics cards based on the data.

Q: What is the best FPS result recorded for this combo at 4K?

A: The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 61, achieved with Low settings. This is significantly higher than the Ultra setting at the same resolution, which only reaches 22 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM?

A: The RX 7600's average benchmark score of 15171 is nearly identical to the RTX 3050 OEM's score of 15199, with a delta of -0.2%. This indicates they are direct performance equivalents in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: Does the CPU have a high number of cores and threads?

A: Yes, the Intel Core i7-12700KF features 12 cores and 20 threads. This configuration supports heavy multi-threaded workloads, as reflected in its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28838.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is built on the Alder Lake architecture, featuring 12 cores and 20 threads. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz, which can boost up to 5.00 GHz. This hybrid design combines performance and efficiency cores, allowing it to handle both single-threaded and multi-threaded tasks effectively. In The Medium, a game that often relies on strong single-core performance for game logic, the CPU's boost clock is critical. The data shows a single-thread score of 1043 in 3DMark, which is strong enough to prevent common CPU bottlenecks in this title.

The CPU's multi-threading capability is substantial, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28838. This ensures that background tasks and the game's streaming systems won't cause hitches. However, the game is not primarily CPU-bound at higher resolutions. The benchmark results indicate that as resolution increases, the frame rate drops, which suggests the load shifts heavily to the GPU. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 92 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 22 FPS, a clear sign that the GPU is the limiting factor in more demanding scenarios.

The CPU's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide flexibility, but the game's performance scaling is more tied to GPU throughput. The CPU's percentile rank of 85 among all CPUs means it outperforms a majority of processors, ensuring that the combo is not held back by processor limitations. The passmark multithread score of 34092 further confirms its ability to sustain high frame rates without stutter from threading overhead.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 2571 out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the performance spectrum. Given the GPU is at the 57th percentile and the CPU at the 85th percentile, the ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's mid-range capabilities. The data suggests that many other combos, likely with more powerful GPUs, achieve higher frame rates, pushing this pairing down the list.

This ranking is not a reflection of the CPU's inadequacy; rather, it highlights that the RX 7600 is the performance ceiling. For a horror game like The Medium, which relies on atmosphere and fixed camera angles, a mid-range GPU can still deliver acceptable results, but it won't compete with high-end builds. The combo's position suggests that users looking for higher fidelity or higher refresh rates would need to consider a stronger GPU, while the CPU has headroom to support it.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Low: 92 FPS average
• Medium: 57 FPS average (min 49, max 66)
• High: 41 FPS average
• Ultra: 33 FPS average

This shows a clear scaling curve, where dropping from Ultra to Low more than doubles the frame rate. The jump from High to Medium is significant, offering a 16 FPS improvement, which could be the difference between a choppy and a smooth experience.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops:

• Low: 77 FPS average
• Medium: 48 FPS average (min 41, max 56)
• High: 35 FPS average
• Ultra: 27 FPS average

The pattern holds, with Low being the only setting that maintains a high refresh rate. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 15-16% performance at each setting, indicating a balanced scaling.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles:

• Low: 61 FPS average
• Medium: 38 FPS average (min 32, max 44)
• High: 27 FPS average
• Ultra: 22 FPS average

Here, only Low settings are truly playable, while Medium dips below the smooth threshold. The data shows that at 4K, the frame rate is heavily constrained, with Ultra being nearly unplayable.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is a mid-range GPU based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is 2655 MHz, with a game clock of 2250 MHz. These specs position it as a capable 1080p performer, but the data in The Medium reveals its limitations at higher resolutions.

The GPU's role in this combo is crucial, as it determines the playable settings. At 1080p, the RX 7600 can handle most presets, with Low achieving 92 FPS and Ultra dropping to 33 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for this game at these settings, but the memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s might be a bottleneck at 4K, where the frame rates plummet. The GPU's percentile rank of 57 indicates it is average, and its average benchmark score of 15171 is similar to the RTX 3050 OEM, confirming its mid-range status.

The RX 7600's 2048 shading units and 32 RT cores allow for some DirectX 12 Ultimate features, but in a game like The Medium, which isn't heavily reliant on ray tracing, the rasterization performance is the key. The data shows that the GPU's performance scaling is consistent with its synthetic scores, making it predictable for users.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for this combo is at 1080p with Medium settings, which yields 57 FPS average with a minimum of 49 FPS. This provides a balance between visual quality and smoothness, staying above the 30 FPS minimum for most of the gameplay. The High preset at 1080p drops to 41 FPS, which is still playable but may feel less fluid in action sequences.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, delivering 48 FPS average. This is acceptable for a slower-paced horror game, but users sensitive to frame drops might prefer Low, which achieves 77 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is not recommended, as it falls to 27 FPS, below the playable threshold.

For 4K, only the Low preset is viable, offering 61 FPS average. The Medium preset at 38 FPS is borderline, but the minimum of 32 FPS suggests occasional stutters. High and Ultra at 4K are not recommended due to sub-30 FPS averages. Overall, the data suggests that 1080p Medium or 1440p Low offers the most consistent experience, balancing visual fidelity with performance.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K reveal a significant dependency on the GPU. At Low settings, the frame rate goes from 92 FPS at 1080p to 77 FPS at 1440p (a 16% drop) and then to 61 FPS at 4K (a 21% drop from 1440p). This scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component, as the CPU's performance is sufficient to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions.

At Medium settings, the drop is more pronounced: 57 FPS at 1080p to 48 FPS at 1440p (a 16% drop) and then to 38 FPS at 4K (a 21% drop). The consistent percentage drops suggest a linear scaling with pixel count, which is typical of GPU-bound scenarios. The CPU's role is minimal here, as it can easily handle the game's logic at these frame rates.

At Ultra settings, the frame rates are so low that the scaling is less smooth, but the pattern is clear: the RX 7600 lacks the raw power to drive 4K at high detail. The data implies that users should prioritize resolution over settings for this combo, or accept lower presets to maintain playability. The 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are likely contributors to the steep performance decline at 4K, as the GPU struggles to keep up with the increased memory demands and bandwidth requirements.