The Medium

The Medium presents a severe stress test for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB, even when paired with the high-end Intel Core i7-12700KF. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings indicate that this combination is firmly positioned for low-to-medium fidelity gaming, with the GPU acting as the definitive bottleneck. The data shows that the RTX 3050 4 GB is not capable of delivering smooth gameplay at high or ultra presets, and only achieves playable performance when settings are reduced to low.

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

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It features a 25 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The processor’s benchmark scores are substantial, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28979 and a single-core score of 4091, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs.

However, the data from The Medium reveals that this CPU’s considerable processing power is largely underutilized. The measured FPS values are consistently low, and the pattern of performance scaling points directly at the graphics card as the limiting factor. For instance, at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 62.7 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 21.6 FPS. This massive drop from a settings change indicates that the GPU’s rendering load is the primary constraint, not the CPU’s ability to feed frames.

The i7-12700KF’s role is to ensure that the GPU is never starved of data. With its high single-thread performance and 20 threads, it is more than capable of handling the game’s logic and draw calls. The CPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals—such as the Intel Core i5-14400, which scores 0.1% higher, and the Intel Core i9-12900HX, which scores 0.2% lower—is effectively a non-factor in this pairing. The processor is not the constraint; the RTX 3050 4 GB is simply overwhelmed by the game’s graphical demands.

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

Q: What is the best performance the Intel Core i7-12700KF + RTX 3050 4 GB combo can achieve in The Medium?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded for this combo is 62.7 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is this combo capable of running The Medium at 4K resolution smoothly?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 42.1 on Low settings, which is borderline playable. At High settings, the average drops to 19.9 FPS, and at Ultra, it falls to 12.3 FPS, making those presets unplayable.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The i7-12700KF’s average benchmark score is 35355. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14400, scores 35336, which is a 0.1% difference. The Intel Core i7-13800H scores 35416, which is 0.2% higher than the i7-12700KF.

Q: Does the GPU’s memory capacity impact performance in this game?

A: The RTX 3050 4 GB has 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The data suggests that the GPU’s overall capability, including its memory size, is the limiting factor, as frame rates are consistently low even at 1080p with High settings (31.6 FPS).

Q: What is the combo’s ranking among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1544 out of 1689 tested combinations for this game, placing it in the bottom 10% of all tested systems.

Q: Is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings significant?

A: Yes. At 1080p, moving from Medium (42.7 FPS) to High (31.6 FPS) results in a 11.1 FPS drop. At 1440p, the drop is from 32.0 FPS to 22.9 FPS, a 9.1 FPS decrease.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The benchmark data positions this configuration poorly within the broader landscape of tested hardware. With a rank of 1544 out of 1689 combos, the Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB pairing sits near the bottom of the performance hierarchy for The Medium. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU’s limitations, as the CPU is a high-end component that would typically be found in much faster systems.

The data shows that this combo is outperformed by the vast majority of other tested setups. The 89th percentile CPU performance is completely negated by the graphics card’s inability to maintain adequate frame rates. The ranking of 1544 suggests that users with this specific combination will have a significantly worse experience than those with even mid-range GPUs. The bottleneck is so severe that the overall system performance is effectively dictated by the RTX 3050 4 GB, making the powerful i7-12700KF a secondary consideration in this specific game.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 62.7 FPS on Low, 42.7 FPS on Medium, 31.6 FPS on High, and 21.6 FPS on Ultra. This shows a clear linear progression, with each step up in quality costing roughly 10 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease further. The Low preset delivers 51.6 FPS, Medium drops to 32.0 FPS, High falls to 22.9 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 20.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is significant, a 19.6 FPS difference, while the gap between High and Ultra is much smaller, only 2.3 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes dire. The Low preset is the only playable option, yielding 42.1 FPS. Medium drops to 28.6 FPS, High to 19.9 FPS, and Ultra is unplayable at 12.3 FPS. The data indicates that the GPU’s rendering capabilities are severely strained at 4K, making even Low settings a marginal experience.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The scaling of frame rates from 1080p to 4K provides clear evidence of the GPU bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 62.7 at 1080p to 51.6 at 1440p, and then to 42.1 at 4K. This represents a 32.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the drop is from 31.6 FPS at 1080p to 22.9 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 19.9 FPS at 4K, a 37.0% reduction.

These percentage drops are typical of a scenario where the GPU is the primary bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU’s workload does not scale with resolution. However, the data shows a substantial decrease in performance as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU is being tasked with rendering more pixels and is unable to keep up. The RTX 3050 4 GB’s 192.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 7.127 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are insufficient for the demands of The Medium at higher resolutions.

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

Based on the measured data, the only presets that provide a consistently playable experience are those at Low settings. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 62.7 FPS, which is above the standard 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 1440p, Low settings deliver 51.6 FPS, which is acceptable for most players, though not perfectly smooth.

The Medium preset is only viable at 1080p, where it reaches 42.7 FPS. This is playable but not ideal for action-heavy sequences. At 1440p, Medium drops to 32.0 FPS, which is borderline. High and Ultra presets are not recommended at any resolution, as they all fall below the 30 FPS playability baseline, with the exception of 1080p High at 31.6 FPS, which is still a suboptimal experience.

For the best experience, the data suggests using Low settings at 1080p to achieve the highest frame rate. If visual fidelity is a priority, Medium at 1080p is the only other reasonable option. Users should avoid 4K resolution entirely, as even Low settings only yield 42.1 FPS, which is not smooth enough for a game that relies on atmosphere and timing.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is the definitive bottleneck in this configuration. The GPU has a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1740 MHz, with 2048 shading units and 64 texture mapping units. Its memory configuration of 4 GB GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus provides 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is modest by modern standards.

The game’s performance data directly correlates with the GPU’s specifications. The RTX 3050 4 GB’s 7.127 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is insufficient for The Medium’s high-fidelity graphics. The game’s use of fixed camera angles and complex lighting likely places a heavy load on the GPU’s shader and texture units. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is also a likely contributor to the low frame rates at higher settings, as the game may be exceeding the available memory, forcing the GPU to use slower system memory.

The GPU’s performance percentile of 50 places it in the middle of all GPUs, but this is misleading for this specific game. The data shows that the RTX 3050 4 GB is simply not powerful enough to handle The Medium’s demands at higher settings. The GPU’s end-of-life production status and its 90 W TDP suggest it is designed for entry-level 1080p gaming, which aligns with the measured results showing playable frame rates only at 1080p Low.