The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that stresses both processor and graphics hardware, and the combination of an Intel Core i7-12700KF with an Intel Arc B390 produces a predictably constrained experience. Benchmark data shows this pairing ranks 2581 out of 2911 tested combinations for this game, placing it in the bottom 12% of systems, with average frame rates ranging from a low of 12 FPS at 4K Ultra to a high of 51 FPS at 1080p Low. The Arc B390, an integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, is the clear performance bottleneck here, as its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 puts it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, while the i7-12700KF sits in the 85th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 35365. This asymmetry between a strong processor and a weak graphics solution defines every measurable result in this configuration, and the data reveals a system that can approach playability only at the lowest settings and resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound system. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 51 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 43 FPS, a 15.7% loss, and moving to 4K Low yields 34 FPS, another 20.9% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the Arc B390’s pixel throughput is the limiting factor; the GPU’s pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are simply insufficient to maintain higher frame rates as the rendering load grows with each resolution step.

For Medium settings, the same trend appears with even sharper declines. The 1080p Medium average of 32 FPS falls to 27 FPS at 1440p, a 15.6% reduction, and then to 21 FPS at 4K, a 22.2% drop from the 1440p result. The minimum FPS values for Medium settings also scale proportionally: 27 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, with corresponding maximums of 37, 31, and 24 FPS respectively. This consistent ratio between resolutions suggests that the game’s rendering pipeline is scaling as expected with pixel count, but the absolute performance is too low for any resolution above 1080p to be considered fluid.

High settings show a similar but slightly different pattern. At 1080p High, the average is 23 FPS, which drops to 19 FPS at 1440p (a 17.4% loss) and then to 15 FPS at 4K (a 21.1% loss from 1440p). Ultra settings are the most punishing, with 18 FPS at 1080p, 15 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K. The fact that the gap between 1080p and 4K narrows as settings increase—from a 33% difference at Low to a 33% difference at Ultra—indicates that the GPU is saturated even at lower resolutions when the visual load is high, making the resolution scaling less impactful than the setting changes.

What this resolution data reveals is that the limiting component is unequivocally the graphics processor. The CPU has ample headroom—its 3DMark scores show strong multi-threaded performance—but the Arc B390 cannot translate that into frame rate. The 4K Ultra result of 12 FPS is essentially a slideshow, and even 1080p Ultra at 18 FPS is far below acceptable for a horror game that relies on atmosphere and timing. The only configuration that approaches playability is 1080p Low at 51 FPS, and even that is marginal for a game that benefits from smooth motion.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread Alder Lake-S processor with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark results place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, with an average score of 35365, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700T (average score 35403, delta -0.1%), the Intel Core i5-13600T (average score 35305, delta 0.2%), the Intel Core 5 213PE (average score 35428, delta -0.2%), and the Intel Core i7-12700K (average score 35287, delta 0.2%). These deltas are all within 0.2% of each other, meaning the i7-12700KF is effectively tied with its closest competitors in overall processing power.

In multi-threaded workloads, the i7-12700KF demonstrates substantial capability. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838 and Geekbench multi-core score of 14367 indicate that it can handle heavily threaded tasks with ease, which is relevant for The Medium since the game uses multiple threads for its dual-reality rendering mechanic. The PassMark multithread score of 34092 and the 3DMark max threads score of 9983 further confirm that the CPU is not the constraint in this pairing. Single-thread performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4071 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2255, which matters for games that rely on a few fast cores.

However, the CPU’s role in this specific game’s results is largely passive. The measured FPS numbers show no signs of CPU limitation, such as frame rate plateaus that fail to scale with resolution changes. Instead, the frame rates drop predictably with every resolution increase, which is the behavior of a GPU-bound scenario. The i7-12700KF’s 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample bandwidth for game data, and its 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes offer fast connectivity to the rest of the system, but none of that compensates for the GPU’s weakness.

The processor’s TDP of 125 W and its unlocked multiplier suggest a part designed for overclocking, but the benchmark data does not indicate that higher clocks would improve The Medium’s frame rates in this configuration. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9282 and the 8-thread score of 7211 show strong scaling, but the game’s performance is capped by the Arc B390 long before the CPU’s limits are reached. In essence, the i7-12700KF is performing its role as a high-end desktop processor, but it is paired with a GPU that cannot utilize its full potential.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process with a chip codenamed Panther Lake. Its base clock is 300 MHz, boosting to 2500 MHz, and it has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The GPU’s FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, and its FP16 performance is 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1), which are modest figures for a modern graphics solution. The memory is system shared, meaning the GPU relies on the host system’s RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, with bandwidth described as system dependent.

The Arc B390’s benchmark results are stark. Its only recorded 3DMark score is 1482 in the Steel Nomad DX12 test, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in that benchmark are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463, delta 1.3%), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (score 1460, delta 1.5%), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (score 1446, delta 2.5%), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (score 1443, delta 2.7%). These are all low-end or legacy parts, and the Arc B390 is only 1-3% faster than them, which contextualizes its performance in The Medium as being in the same class as decade-old budget GPUs.

In terms of game-specific results, the GPU’s limited pixel and texture rates directly explain the measured FPS. The 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate means that at 4K (3840x2160, approximately 8.3 million pixels), the theoretical maximum fill rate would be around 7.2 frames per second if pixel throughput were the only constraint, though real-world results show 12-34 FPS depending on settings, indicating that the game is not purely fill-rate limited but also bottlenecked by shader and texture processing. The texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s is similarly insufficient for high-resolution texture work, which is why Low settings provide significantly better frame rates than High or Ultra.

The GPU’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility mean it can technically run modern features, but the hardware lacks the raw compute to execute them at playable speeds. The 12 ray tracing cores are present, but with only 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 power, ray-traced effects would be prohibitively slow. The TDP of 80 W and the IGP slot width confirm this is a low-power integrated solution, not a discrete gaming card. The system shared memory configuration, with no dedicated VRAM, further limits performance because the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which is described as system dependent.

The GPU’s percentile rank of 9 means that 91% of GPUs in the benchmark database perform better, which aligns with the measured FPS results in The Medium. The nearest rivals’ deltas of 1.3% to 2.7% show that the Arc B390 is barely ahead of the GT 520MX and GT 710, both of which are ancient parts by any standard. This is the core problem: the i7-12700KF is a high-end CPU from 2021, but the Arc B390 is a low-end integrated GPU from a different era of hardware, and the combination produces frame rates that are only suitable for the lowest settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the best result comes from Low settings, which yields an average FPS of 51. This is the only configuration in the entire dataset that exceeds 50 FPS, and it is the closest this pairing comes to a smooth experience. Medium settings at 1080p drop to 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS, which is playable but with noticeable stutter in a game that relies on tension. High settings at 1080p produce 23 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 18 FPS, both of which are too low for comfortable play.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers decline across the board. Low settings average 43 FPS, which is a 15.7% drop from 1080p Low, while Medium settings average 27 FPS (min 23, max 31), a 15.6% drop from 1080p Medium. High settings at 1440p average 19 FPS, and Ultra settings average 15 FPS. The 1440p results are consistently 15-21% lower than their 1080p counterparts, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor at every settings level.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal at best. Low settings average 34 FPS, which is technically playable but far from smooth. Medium settings average 21 FPS (min 18, max 24), High settings average 15 FPS, and Ultra settings average 12 FPS. The 4K results show that even the lowest settings struggle to maintain 35 FPS, and any setting above Low is effectively unplayable. The minimum FPS values for Medium settings at 4K (18 FPS) and 1440p (23 FPS) highlight the frame time inconsistency, which would be particularly noticeable in a horror game where sudden movements or camera changes can cause dips.

The pattern across all resolutions and settings is clear: the Arc B390’s performance ceiling is around 51 FPS at 1080p Low, and every increase in resolution or settings costs a proportional amount of frame rate. The data shows no anomalies or unexpected spikes, which suggests that the game is well-optimized for the hardware but the hardware is simply too weak. The maximum FPS values (37 at 1080p Medium, 31 at 1440p Medium, 24 at 4K Medium) are all within 5 FPS of their averages, indicating stable but low performance rather than erratic frame times.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this CPU-GPU combination in The Medium?

A: The highest average FPS is 51, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only measured configuration that exceeds 50 FPS, and it represents the absolute ceiling for this pairing.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443). These deltas place it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the 1080p average FPS is 32, which drops to 27 at 1440p and then to 21 at 4K. This represents a 34.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K, with minimum FPS values of 27, 23, and 18 respectively.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700KF a bottleneck for the Arc B390 in this game?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. The i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35365 and ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes, which is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for Medium settings across all resolutions?

A: The minimum FPS values for Medium settings are 27 at 1080p, 23 at 1440p, and 18 at 4K. These correspond to maximum FPS values of 37, 31, and 24 respectively, showing a consistent range of 10-13 FPS between minimum and maximum.

Q: How does this system rank among all tested combinations for The Medium?

A: This combination ranks 2581 out of 2911 tested CPU-GPU pairs, placing it in the bottom 12% of systems. This low ranking is consistent with the GPU’s 9th percentile performance and the measured FPS results.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only viable setting for The Medium with this hardware is Low, and even then, resolution matters significantly. At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 51 is the sole configuration that approaches a standard 60 FPS target, though it falls short of it. This should be the default recommendation for any user seeking the most playable experience, as it provides the best balance of frame rate and visual clarity. The 43 FPS at 1440p Low is also technically playable, but the 15.7% drop from 1080p makes it a secondary option for users with higher-resolution displays who can tolerate a less smooth experience.

Medium settings are not recommended for this pairing. The 1080p Medium average of 32 FPS (min 27, max 37) is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a horror title, where frame pacing is critical for maintaining atmosphere. The 1440p Medium result of 27 FPS (min 23, max 31) and the 4K Medium result of 21 FPS (min 18, max 24) are progressively worse, and the minimum FPS values indicate that the game will experience noticeable hitches during intense scenes. For users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, Medium at 1080p might be acceptable, but the data suggests that the trade-off is steep.

High and Ultra settings are effectively unplayable with this hardware. High settings yield 23 FPS at 1080p, 19 FPS at 1440p, and 15 FPS at 4K, while Ultra settings produce 18 FPS at 1080p, 15 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K. These frame rates are far below any reasonable playability threshold, and the game’s horror mechanics—which rely on responsive camera control and timed events—would be severely compromised. The GPU’s 9th percentile rank and its proximity to the NVIDIA GT 710 in benchmark scores make it clear that this hardware cannot handle high-fidelity rendering.

The optimal configuration, therefore, is 1080p with Low settings. This is the only setup that delivers an average FPS above 50, and it does so without the minimum FPS data showing any sub-20 FPS dips. For users with 1440p displays, dropping to Low settings at that resolution is the next best option, yielding 43 FPS, but it is worth remembering this is still 15.7% slower than the 1080p result. Given that the i7-12700KF is a high-end CPU, the recommendation is to pair it with a stronger discrete GPU in the future, but within the constraints of the current Arc B390, Low settings at 1080p are the only path to a playable experience.