The Medium

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti delivers a strong, well-balanced experience in The Medium, securing the 120th position out of 1,689 tested combinations. This places the combo in the top 7.1% of all systems evaluated, indicating that it is a high-performing configuration capable of handling the game’s demanding fixed-camera perspectives and volumetric effects. The CPU, which sits in the 89th percentile against all processors, provides a robust foundation, while the GPU, in the 87th percentile against all graphics cards, ensures that graphical workloads are processed efficiently. The synergy between these two components is evident, as the data shows no significant bottleneck at any tested resolution, allowing the system to scale predictably with increasing graphical demands.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 120 out of 1,689 tested configurations places it firmly in the upper echelon of systems for The Medium. This ranking confirms the balance between the Intel Core i7-12700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti. The processor’s 12 cores and 20 threads, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, provide ample headroom for the game’s CPU-intensive sequences, particularly those involving the dual-reality mechanic where two worlds are rendered simultaneously. Benchmark results indicate that the CPU’s multi-threaded performance, as seen in its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28,979, is more than sufficient to feed the GPU. In comparison to its nearest rivals, the i7-12700KF is virtually identical in average benchmark score to the Intel Core i5-14400, with a delta of 0.1%, and it edges out the Intel Core i9-12900HX by 0.2%. This near-parity in CPU performance ensures that the GPU is not artificially limited by processor throughput.

On the graphics side, the RTX 5070 Ti’s average benchmark score of 52,086 places it in a dead heat with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, showing a delta of 0.0%. This suggests that the 5070 Ti is a direct performance match for a previous-generation flagship, making it a potent choice for this title. The GPU’s 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is a critical asset for The Medium, which is known for loading large, detailed textures. The combination’s overall rank is not just about raw power; it reflects a configuration that avoids the pitfalls of mismatched components, delivering consistent frame rates across the board.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset yields an average of 113.3 FPS, which is an excellent balance between visual fidelity and smoothness, offering a 36.8% improvement over the High preset’s 82.8 FPS. For players prioritizing maximum fluidity on a high-refresh-rate monitor, the Low preset at 1080p delivers an average of 167.4 FPS, which is exceptionally high and would fully utilize a 144Hz or 165Hz display. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 66.3 FPS, which is playable but represents a significant drop from Medium, indicating that the extra graphical effects come at a steep performance cost.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Medium preset provides an average of 94.2 FPS, which is ideal for a 1440p monitor with a 90-100Hz refresh rate. The High preset at this resolution drops to 67.9 FPS, which is still smooth but begins to show the strain of higher resolution. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 53 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for a comfortable experience. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, averaging 77.1 FPS, which is surprisingly playable for 4K. The High preset at 4K averages 53.9 FPS, which is just below the ideal smoothness threshold, while Ultra drops to 45.6 FPS, making it less desirable. The data clearly indicates that the Medium preset offers the best experience per measured frame rate across all resolutions, providing a significant boost over High and Ultra while maintaining a playable level of visual quality.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the expected trend of decreasing performance with increasing resolution, but the magnitude of the drop tells a story about the limiting component. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 113.3 at 1080p to 94.2 at 1440p, a decrease of 16.9%, and then further to 77.1 at 4K, a 31.9% drop from 1080p. This scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the workload on the render pipeline increases disproportionately. The CPU’s role becomes less dominant at 4K, where the GPU must process nearly four times as many pixels as at 1080p.

The data for the Low preset shows a similar pattern, with FPS dropping from 167.4 at 1080p to 157 at 1440p and then to 118.9 at 4K. The relatively smaller drop from 1080p to 1440p (6.2%) compared to the drop from 1440p to 4K (24.3%) suggests that at lower settings, the CPU can keep up with the GPU until the resolution becomes extreme. Conversely, at the Ultra preset, the FPS drops from 66.3 at 1080p to 53 at 1440p and then to 45.6 at 4K, showing a more linear decline. This behavior implies that at Ultra settings, the GPU is consistently saturated across all resolutions, and the CPU has enough headroom to feed it. Overall, the scaling pattern confirms that the RTX 5070 Ti is the performance gatekeeper, especially when moving towards 4K, while the i7-12700KF provides a stable platform that does not introduce additional bottlenecks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

A detailed examination of the measured FPS across all resolutions and settings provides a comprehensive view of the combo’s capabilities. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 167.4 FPS on Low, 113.3 FPS on Medium, 82.8 FPS on High, and 66.3 FPS on Ultra. This represents a performance spread of over 100 FPS between the lowest and highest settings, showcasing the game’s heavy reliance on graphical features such as volumetric lighting and post-processing effects. The jump from Low to Medium is substantial, with a 32.3% reduction in FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra is a more modest 19.9% reduction. This suggests that the Medium preset is a sweet spot for performance-per-visual-impact at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 157 FPS on Low, 94.2 FPS on Medium, 67.9 FPS on High, and 53 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 40%, which is more pronounced than at 1080p, indicating that the increased pixel count amplifies the cost of higher-quality textures and shadows. The High preset at 1440p is still above 60 FPS, making it a viable option for those who want better visuals without sacrificing too much smoothness. At 3840x2160, the averages are 118.9 FPS on Low, 77.1 FPS on Medium, 53.9 FPS on High, and 45.6 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low preset is remarkably fast, exceeding 100 FPS, which is rare for a modern game at this resolution. However, the Ultra preset at 4K dips below 50 FPS, making it the least desirable combination in the dataset. The data shows that the combo can handle 4K gaming, but only at lower settings, while 1440p and 1080p offer more flexibility for higher visual fidelity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti plays a pivotal role in this combo’s performance in The Medium. The GPU’s 16 GB of GDDR7 memory is a critical feature, as the game’s dual-world rendering can consume significant amounts of VRAM. With a memory bus width of 256 bits and a bandwidth of 896.0 GB/s, the 5070 Ti can quickly load and stream the large texture sets required by the game’s environments, preventing stuttering and hitches. The GPU’s boost clock of 2452 MHz, combined with its 8,960 shading units, delivers a raw compute throughput of 43.94 TFLOPS, which is more than enough to handle the game’s pixel shader workloads.

The GPU’s 70 RT cores are also relevant, as The Medium incorporates ray-traced effects that can be enabled for enhanced reflections and shadows. While the measured FPS data does not specify whether ray tracing is enabled, the presence of these cores ensures that the GPU can handle such features without a catastrophic performance hit. The 5070 Ti’s average benchmark score of 52,086 places it on par with the RTX 4080, which suggests that it offers comparable rasterization performance. This is reflected in the game’s FPS numbers, where the combo achieves playable frame rates at 1440p on high settings and even manages a respectable 77.1 FPS at 4K on medium settings. The GPU’s 87th percentile ranking against all graphics cards further underscores its capability, making it a strong partner for the i7-12700KF in this specific title. The GPU is clearly the dominant component in determining frame rates at higher resolutions, and its ample VRAM and high bandwidth ensure that it can sustain consistent performance over extended gaming sessions.