The Medium

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a playable but demanding experience in The Medium, a horror title known for its fixed-camera angles and heavy atmosphere. This combination ranks 1045th out of 1689 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. The data indicates that this pairing is capable of smooth frame rates, but only when settings are adjusted with an eye toward the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and the game's apparent sensitivity to preset choices.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?*

A: At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 102.1 FPS on Low, 61.2 FPS on Medium, and 43.2 FPS on High. At 2560x1440, it drops to 83.4 FPS on Low, 51.5 FPS on Medium, and 37.5 FPS on High. 3840x2160 is only viable on Low, hitting 69.7 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle Ultra settings?

A: No. At 1920x1080, Ultra yields only 36.8 FPS. At 2560x1440, it falls to 27.9 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it is nearly unplayable at 24.6 FPS. The Ultra preset appears to be too demanding for this GPU's capabilities.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER scores 18169 in Passmark G3D. It is nearly identical to the NVIDIA RTX A400, which is 0.5% faster. It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile by 2.3% and leads the AMD Radeon RX 5700 by 2.5%.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: The Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor with a 5.00 GHz boost clock. Its average benchmark score of 35355 is essentially tied with the Intel Core i5-14400, which is only 0.1% higher. It is unlikely to bottleneck the RTX 2070 SUPER in this title.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Medium settings at 1080p?

A: The jump from Low to Medium at 1920x1080 costs 40.9 FPS, dropping from 102.1 FPS to 61.2 FPS. This is a significant performance hit, suggesting Medium introduces substantial visual effects that tax the GPU.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance like?

A: The i7-12700KF scores 1718 in Cinebench R20 single-core and 2526 in Geekbench single-core. These scores are strong for gaming, indicating solid per-core performance for handling game logic and physics.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary driver of frame rates in The Medium. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for a game with high-resolution textures and complex lighting. The GPU's 2560 shading units and 40 RT cores are tasked with rendering the game's dual-world mechanic, which often displays two perspectives simultaneously.

Benchmark results show a clear scaling pattern tied to this GPU's architecture. The base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz are modest by modern standards, and the data reflects this. At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles, with High settings producing only 28.4 FPS and Ultra dropping to 24.6 FPS. The card's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it is a mid-range performer, and its average benchmark score of 22206 is close to the RTX 4060 Mobile, which is 2.3% faster.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a key factor. At 2560x1440, the drop from Medium (51.5 FPS) to High (37.5 FPS) suggests that High settings may be pushing against the memory limit or the GPU's compute capacity. The texture-heavy environments in The Medium likely require careful VRAM management, and the data shows that the card performs best when the preset is kept to Low or Medium, especially at higher resolutions. The pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s are adequate for 1080p but become limiting factors as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of components ranks 1045th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the bottom 38% of all pairings in the database, indicating that while it is not a low-end system, it is far from optimized for this particular game. The rank suggests that many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver better performance in this title.

The ranking is influenced more by the GPU than the CPU. The RTX 2070 SUPER's 65th percentile score among all GPUs is the limiting factor, as the i7-12700KF's 89th percentile CPU score is comparatively strong. The combo's rank of 1045 reflects the GPU's inability to maintain high frame rates at demanding settings. For context, the GPU is only 0.9% faster than the older GTX TITAN Z and 2.5% faster than the RX 5700, which are all mid-range performers.

The data indicates that this combo sits in a performance tier where 1080p gaming is comfortable, 1440p is playable with compromises, and 4K is only viable on the lowest settings. The rank of 1045 out of 1689 is a direct result of these measured limitations, placing it firmly in the "capable but not exceptional" category for this specific horror title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows its strongest results. Low settings produce 102.1 FPS, which is smooth and well above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 61.2 FPS, still acceptable for a horror game. High yields 43.2 FPS, which is playable but may feel less fluid. Ultra is the worst performer at 36.8 FPS, which is below the ideal range for a game requiring precise timing.

At 2560x1440, performance decreases noticeably. Low settings still deliver 83.4 FPS, a solid result. Medium drops to 51.5 FPS, which is borderline playable. High falls to 37.5 FPS, and Ultra is nearly unplayable at 27.9 FPS. The step from Low to Medium at this resolution costs 31.9 FPS, indicating a large graphical fidelity jump.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overextended. Low settings yield 69.7 FPS, which is surprisingly playable. Medium drops to 43.6 FPS, High to 28.4 FPS, and Ultra to 24.6 FPS. The data shows a consistent pattern where each preset tier reduces performance by roughly 20-30%, with the most drastic drop occurring between Low and Medium at 1440p and 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, delivering 61.2 FPS. This balances visual quality with smooth performance, allowing the game's atmospheric horror elements to shine without stutter. For players prioritizing frame rate, Low settings at 1080p provides 102.1 FPS, which is ideal for a highly responsive experience.

At 2560x1440, the best choice is Low settings, yielding 83.4 FPS. Medium at this resolution drops to 51.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a game that may require quick camera adjustments. High and Ultra are not recommended at 1440p, as they fall below 40 FPS.

3840x2160 should only be used with Low settings, which produces 69.7 FPS. This is a remarkable result given the GPU's mid-range status, but it suggests the game's Low preset is significantly less demanding. Medium at 4K (43.6 FPS) is acceptable for those who prioritize resolution over smoothness, but High and Ultra are not viable options.

The data suggests that the game's preset scaling is non-linear, with Low being dramatically faster than Medium. Players should start with Low and gradually increase settings until frame rates drop below 50 FPS, as the jump from Low to Medium is the most performance-intensive step.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF provides substantial compute headroom for The Medium. With 12 cores and 20 threads, it offers ample parallel processing capability. Its 125 W TDP and boost clock of 5.00 GHz ensure consistent performance during extended gaming sessions. The CPU's architecture, Alder Lake-S, is built on Intel's 10 nm process, which contributes to its efficiency.

The CPU's benchmark scores indicate it is not a bottleneck. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28979 is strong, and its single-core score of 4091 shows excellent per-thread performance. The Passmark multithread score of 34092 confirms its ability to handle background tasks while gaming. The CPU's 25 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for game logic.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Core i5-14400 (0.1% faster) and the Intel Core i9-12900HX (0.2% slower). This indicates that the i7-12700KF performs at a level comparable to newer mid-range and older high-end mobile CPUs, making it more than sufficient for this game. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo; the GPU's performance dictates the overall result. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs is significantly higher than the GPU's 65th percentile, confirming that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the component that determines playability in The Medium.