The Medium

The Medium is a horror title that places significant stress on both the CPU and GPU, and the data for the Intel Core i7-12700KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 reveals a configuration that is heavily influenced by graphical settings and resolution. The measured frame rates across the three resolutions and four quality presets show a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher settings, while the CPU's capability is more evident at lower settings and resolutions. This analysis breaks down the performance characteristics of this specific combo, using the provided benchmark data to interpret its behavior in this game.

Resolution Scaling

The impact of resolution on average FPS is substantial, but the magnitude of that impact depends almost entirely on the selected quality preset. At the Low preset, the frame rate drops from 161.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 106.7 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 54.8 FPS. This indicates that even at lower graphical loads, the increase in pixel count from 1080p to 4K still exacts a significant toll on the rendering pipeline. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Low shows a tighter curve, with a drop from 134.4 FPS to 106.7 FPS, suggesting the GPU is still managing the load effectively but is beginning to feel the pressure of the higher resolution.

Moving to the Medium preset, the FPS at 1080p is 102.5, which falls to 84.6 at 1440p and then to 69.1 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is approximately 32.6%, which is less severe than the drop seen at Low. This pattern continues with the High preset, where the 1080p score of 74.8 FPS falls to 58.4 FPS at 1440p and further to 49.3 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that as the preset quality increases, the game becomes more reliant on the GPU's raw throughput, and the resolution scaling becomes more linear in its impact.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with a 1080p score of 54.4 FPS dropping to 50.6 FPS at 1440p and then to 39.6 FPS at 4K. The relatively small difference between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra (only 3.8 FPS) is a key indicator that the GPU is already saturated at 1080p with this preset, and the additional pixel load at 1440p does not create a proportional bottleneck. It is only when moving to 4K that the GPU's limits are truly exposed, resulting in a significant 11 FPS drop. This behavior points to a scenario where the RTX 5070 is the limiting component at Ultra settings, even at lower resolutions, and the CPU has ample headroom to feed it frames.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the dominant factor in this combo's gaming performance. Its specifications, including 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus with a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, provide the necessary resources for handling the game's high-resolution textures and visual effects. The core clocks, with a base of 2325 MHz and a boost of 2512 MHz, are relatively high, but the benchmark results suggest that the card's performance is more closely tied to its memory subsystem and shader throughput than its raw clock speed. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (39.6 FPS) versus 1080p Ultra (54.4 FPS) demonstrates the card's struggle to maintain playable frame rates at the highest settings and resolution.

The GPU's role becomes clearer when examining the scaling from Medium to Ultra at a fixed resolution. At 1440p, the FPS drops from 84.6 on Medium to 50.6 on Ultra, a 40.2% reduction. Similar drops are seen at 1080p, where the FPS goes from 102.5 on Medium to 54.4 on Ultra. This consistent and significant drop across all resolutions indicates that the Ultra preset introduces rendering features that heavily tax the GPU's compute units and memory bandwidth. The RTX 5070's position in the benchmark hierarchy, with an average benchmark score of 41687 and a percentile of 83, places it as a capable card, but the data shows that The Medium's Ultra preset is a demanding workload that pushes it to its limits. The card's performance is also reflected in its nearest rivals, where it shows a 0.6% lead over the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 and is 0.5% behind the NVIDIA Tesla M40, though these are aggregate scores and not game-specific.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF provides a solid foundation for this configuration, but its role is secondary to the GPU in this specific game. With 12 cores and 20 threads based on the Alder Lake architecture, its multi-threaded capabilities are strong, as seen in its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28979 and Passmark multithread score of 34092. However, The Medium's performance scaling from Low to High settings at 1080p shows the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 161.5 FPS, which is the highest score in the measured dataset. This high frame rate indicates the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to reach high frame rates when the GPU is not heavily loaded.

The CPU's single-thread performance is also relevant. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and Passmark single-thread score of 3984 show it is not a slouch in this regard. However, the data shows that the frame rate ceiling imposed by the CPU is not reached until the GPU has more headroom. For instance, the jump from 1080p Medium (102.5 FPS) to 1080p Low (161.5 FPS) is a 59 FPS increase, which suggests that at Medium settings, the GPU is still the limiting factor. It is only at very high frame rates, such as those seen at Low settings, that the CPU's potential to become a limiting factor would be approached. The CPU's average benchmark score of 35355 and 89th percentile ranking place it well above the average, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14400, is only 0.1% behind in aggregate benchmarks. This suggests that the i7-12700KF is more than adequate for this game, and the performance ceiling for this combo is firmly set by the RTX 5070.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Medium, this specific pairing of the Core i7-12700KF and RTX 5070 ranks 288th out of 1689 tested combos. This places the configuration in the top 17.1% of all tested systems, indicating a strong overall performance. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, and given the analysis of the resolution scaling, it is clear that the GPU is the more significant contributor to this ranking. A system with a weaker CPU but the same GPU might see a similar ranking, while a system with a stronger CPU but a weaker GPU would likely fall lower in the rankings due to the GPU becoming a more severe bottleneck at higher settings.

The fact that this combo sits at rank 288, despite the GPU being a clear bottleneck at Ultra settings, suggests that the CPU is providing enough support to prevent it from being a drag on the overall score. The CPU's high multi-threaded scores, such as its Geekbench multicore score of 13596, ensure that it does not limit the system in scenarios where the GPU has spare capacity. The data indicates that for users looking to improve this combo's ranking, upgrading the GPU would yield a more significant benefit than upgrading the CPU, as the GPU is the component that dictates the frame rate in the most demanding scenarios, particularly at 4K Ultra where the combo only manages 39.6 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's performance target and resolution. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the data indicates that the Medium preset is the highest quality setting that can consistently deliver this at 1920x1080, with an average of 102.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset also exceeds the 60 FPS target with an average of 84.6 FPS. However, at 3840x2160, the Medium preset falls below 60 FPS with an average of 69.1 FPS, which is still playable but not a locked 60. For a strict 60 FPS target at 4K, the High preset is not sufficient, as it only produces 49.3 FPS.

For users prioritizing visual fidelity over raw frame rate, the High preset offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium. At 1080p, High delivers 74.8 FPS, which is a good experience. At 1440p, High yields 58.4 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset, while visually the most impressive, is only advisable for users with high refresh rate monitors at 1080p, as it produces 54.4 FPS. At 1440p and 4K, the Ultra preset's frame rates of 50.6 and 39.6 FPS respectively, are below the threshold for a smooth experience in a game like The Medium, which relies on atmosphere and timing. Therefore, the data strongly suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a balance of quality and performance across all three resolutions, while the High preset is a viable option for those who can tolerate frame rates in the 50s at 1440p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS values for each resolution and settings combination.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|---|---|---|

| 3840x2160 | High | 49.3 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 106.7 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 69.1 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 39.6 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 58.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 134.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 84.6 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 50.6 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 74.8 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 161.5 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 102.5 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 54.4 |

The data shows a clear progression. At 1080p, the combo is capable of high frame rates across all presets, with the Low preset hitting 161.5 FPS. The transition to 1440p results in a performance drop of roughly 15-20% across all presets. The most significant impact is seen at 4K, where the High and Ultra presets produce sub-60 FPS averages, and even the Medium preset struggles to maintain a smooth 60 FPS. This breakdown confirms that the RTX 5070 is the primary bottleneck at 4K, and users aiming for 4K gaming with this combo should stick to the Low or Medium presets to get closer to a 60 FPS experience, with the Low preset achieving 106.7 FPS and the Medium preset achieving 69.1 FPS.