The Medium

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

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread desktop processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boosts up to 5.00 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The CPU's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support provide a solid foundation for gaming workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, this chip scores 28,979 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,091 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 13,596 and single-core score of 2,526. Its 3DMark scores scale from 1,043 in single-thread to 9,983 at max threads, showing strong scaling across thread counts.

For a game like The Medium, which is a horror title with fixed-camera perspectives and pre-rendered environments, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain consistent frame pacing and handle the game's logical simulation threads. The benchmark results show that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 83 FPS average, while at Ultra settings the same resolution drops to 33.1 FPS. This spread — a 2.5x difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p — indicates that the game is heavily graphics-bound at higher presets, but the CPU still matters at lower settings where the frame rate ceiling is higher.

The i7-12700KF sits at the 89th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,355. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-14400 (score 35,336, delta 0.1%), the Intel Core i7-13800H (score 35,416, delta -0.2%), and the Intel Core i9-12900HX (score 35,289, delta 0.2%). These deltas are all within 0.3% of each other, meaning the i7-12700KF is effectively performance-equivalent to these chips in aggregate benchmarks. In the context of The Medium, this CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck at any resolution, given that even the weakest measured FPS figures (21.2 FPS at 4K Ultra) are far below what the CPU can feed.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a Turing-architecture GPU with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1680 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The GPU has 1,920 shading units, 120 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 30 RT cores, and 240 tensor cores. Its FP32 throughput is 6.451 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The card's 160 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU make it a mainstream power draw. In synthetic tests, the RTX 2060 scores 14,111 in Passmark G3D and 71,278 in Geekbench OpenCL, placing it at the 58th percentile against all GPUs.

The measured FPS data in The Medium reveals a strong dependency on both resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the RTX 2060 delivers 83 FPS on Low, 54.5 FPS on Medium, 37.4 FPS on High, and 33.1 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, these figures drop to 68.9, 42.4, 28.6, and 26.9 FPS respectively. At 3840x2160, the card manages 56 FPS on Low, 32.7 on Medium, 25.7 on High, and 21.2 on Ultra. The 6 GB VRAM appears sufficient for this game at all tested settings, as the FPS degradation is consistent with compute-bound scaling rather than VRAM overflow.

The RTX 2060's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (score 15,996, delta 0.5%), the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (score 16,351, delta -1.7%), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (score 15,786, delta 1.8%). These deltas indicate the RTX 2060 is within 2% of these competing GPUs in aggregate performance. In The Medium, the RTX 2060's performance profile suggests it is the primary limiter at 4K Ultra, where the 21.2 FPS result falls below playable thresholds, but it remains capable at lower settings.

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

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset to choose at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 83 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. The Medium preset at 54.5 FPS is still playable but represents a 34% drop from Low. The High preset at 37.4 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 33.1 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold. For 1080p users, the Low preset offers the best experience in terms of frame rate headroom, while Medium is acceptable if visual fidelity is prioritized over smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 68.9 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS and provides a good experience. The Medium preset drops to 42.4 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less smooth. High at 28.6 FPS and Ultra at 26.9 FPS are both below 30 FPS, making them poor choices for this resolution. The data suggests that 1440p users should stick with Low for the best balance, as Medium sacrifices too much frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset delivers 56 FPS, which is near the 60 FPS target and is the only preset that comes close to playable. Medium drops to 32.7 FPS, High to 25.7 FPS, and Ultra to 21.2 FPS. None of the higher presets reach 30 FPS, so 4K users should only consider Low. Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: the Low preset provides the highest frame rates by a wide margin, while the gap between Medium and High is smaller than the gap between Low and Medium. This suggests that the game's settings have a nonlinear impact on performance, with Low being the most efficient preset.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1,370 out of 1,689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the bottom 19% of all configurations. This rank reflects the GPU's mid-range standing — the RTX 2060 is at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, and the game's heavy reliance on GPU throughput means the CPU's strong 89th percentile standing cannot compensate for the graphics card's limits.

The combo's position in the lower quintile of tested systems means that most other CPU-GPU pairings will outperform it in this title. However, the rank should be interpreted with the measured FPS data in mind: at 1080p Low, this combo achieves 83 FPS, which is a solid result for a mid-range GPU. The ranking is dragged down by the 4K results, where even Low settings only manage 56 FPS and Ultra falls to 21.2 FPS. For users targeting 1080p or 1440p with lower presets, this combo performs adequately, but it is not competitive at higher resolutions or quality settings relative to other tested configurations.

The CPU's nearest rivals all have nearly identical aggregate scores (within 0.3% delta), so swapping the i7-12700KF for an i5-14400 or i9-12900HX would not materially change the combo's rank. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals are within 2% in aggregate performance, meaning the RTX 2060's position in the ranking is representative of its class rather than a single-vendor anomaly.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in The Medium, and at what settings?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 83, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that reaches above 80 FPS across all tested resolutions and presets.

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 56 FPS, which is playable. The Medium preset drops to 32.7 FPS, High to 25.7 FPS, and Ultra to 21.2 FPS, making the higher presets unsuitable for 4K gaming.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in aggregate benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 16,074. The AMD Radeon RX 7600S scores 15,996 (0.5% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 16,351 (1.7% higher), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15,786 (1.8% lower).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings produce 42.4 FPS, while High settings produce 28.6 FPS. This is a 13.8 FPS drop, or roughly a 32% reduction in frame rate.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700KF significantly faster or slower than its immediate rivals?

A: The i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35,355. Its nearest rivals are the i5-14400 at 35,336 (0.1% lower), the i7-13800H at 35,416 (0.2% higher), and the i9-12900HX at 35,289 (0.2% lower). All differences are within 0.3%, so performance is effectively identical.

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

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values show a clear progression across settings. Low settings deliver 83 FPS, Medium settings deliver 54.5 FPS, High settings deliver 37.4 FPS, and Ultra settings deliver 33.1 FPS. The transition from Low to Medium costs 28.5 FPS (a 34% reduction), while Medium to High costs 17.1 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 4.3 FPS. This indicates diminishing returns as settings increase, with the largest performance hit occurring between Low and Medium.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 68.9 on Low, 42.4 on Medium, 28.6 on High, and 26.9 on Ultra. The Low to Medium drop is 26.5 FPS, Medium to High is 13.8 FPS, and High to Ultra is 1.7 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows considerably at this resolution, suggesting that the Ultra preset offers minimal visual benefit relative to its performance cost.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are 56 on Low, 32.7 on Medium, 25.7 on High, and 21.2 on Ultra. The Low to Medium drop is 23.3 FPS, Medium to High is 7 FPS, and High to Ultra is 4.5 FPS. At 4K, even the Low preset falls below 60 FPS, and all presets above Low are below 35 FPS. The data shows that this combo is only viable at 4K with Low settings, and even then, the 56 FPS average leaves limited headroom for demanding scenes.

Comparing across resolutions, the Low preset scales from 83 FPS at 1080p to 68.9 at 1440p to 56 at 4K, showing a steady decline. The Medium preset drops from 54.5 to 42.4 to 32.7, and High drops from 37.4 to 28.6 to 25.7. Ultra ranges from 33.1 at 1080p to 26.9 at 1440p to 21.2 at 4K. The performance gap between resolutions narrows at higher settings, meaning the GPU becomes the limiting factor more uniformly as quality increases. The overall data paints a picture of a mid-range GPU that can handle 1080p gaming at Low to Medium settings, struggles at 1440p beyond Low, and only barely manages 4K at the lowest quality preset.