The Medium

# The Medium with Intel Core Ultra 5 125H + AMD Radeon 890M

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the AMD Radeon 890M integrated graphics is a mobile configuration aimed at thin-and-light laptops, and The Medium's fixed-camera horror presentation demands steady frame pacing rather than raw speed. The measured data shows this combo sits at rank 2755 out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom percentile for this specific game. The CPU is a 14-core, 18-thread Meteor Lake part with a 3.60 GHz base clock and 4.50 GHz boost clock, while the GPU is an RDNA 3.5 integrated solution with 1024 shading units. The practical takeaway: this is a playable-at-Low-settings machine for The Medium, but nothing above that yields comfortable frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H brings 14 cores and 18 threads from the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 7 nm process. The base clock sits at 3.60 GHz, boosting up to 4.50 GHz, with a 28 W TDP that indicates a power-constrained mobile design. The cache layout includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3. This CPU's benchmark profile shows a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12804.5 and a single-core score of 1647.5, placing it at the 79th percentile among all CPUs. In PassMark multi-thread testing it scores 21100, with a single-thread score of 3399. Its average benchmark score of 27507 puts it essentially neck-and-neck with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (deltaPct -0.1), the Intel Core i5-12600K (deltaPct -0.3), and the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X (deltaPct -0.3), while edging out the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G by 0.5 percent.

For The Medium, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, but the data supports that this processor is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 45 FPS average, which is the highest measured result across all settings and resolutions. The single-core performance of 1647.5 in Cinebench R23 is adequate for the game's logic and camera transitions, while the multi-core score of 12804.5 suggests headroom for background tasks. The 18 threads handle the game's streaming and asset loading without issue, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale almost entirely with resolution and settings changes rather than showing erratic CPU-bound spikes. The passmark physics score of 1439 is modest, but The Medium is not a physics-heavy title; it relies more on scripted sequences and fixed camera angles. The data indicates the CPU maintains its end of the bargain even at 4K Ultra, where the 11 FPS average is clearly GPU-limited rather than a sign of CPU starvation.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 890M is the integrated graphics solution here, built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture with a 4 nm process from TSMC. It runs at a 400 MHz base clock and boosts to 2900 MHz, with system-shared memory that makes bandwidth dependent on the laptop's RAM configuration. The GPU has 1024 shading units, 64 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, plus 16 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 92.80 GPixel/s and texture rate is 185.6 GTexel/s, with 5.939 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The power envelope is a minimal 15 W, which explains why performance lands where it does.

Benchmark results place this GPU at the 45th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 9210. Its nearest rivals in the database are the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (deltaPct -0.1), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (deltaPct -0.7), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (deltaPct -0.9), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M (deltaPct -1). These deltas are all within one percent, meaning the 890M performs essentially at the level of a GTX 960 in general compute tasks. However, the PassMark DirectX scores tell a more nuanced story: DirectX 11 scores 73, DirectX 12 scores 37, DirectX 10 scores 33, and DirectX 9 scores 97. This suggests the GPU handles older API workloads better than modern ones, which is relevant for The Medium given its 2021 release using DirectX 12. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 590 is low, confirming that modern API performance is a weakness.

In The Medium specifically, the GPU's limitations are stark. At 1080p Low, the 45 FPS average is the only playable result, and it drops to 28 FPS at Medium, 20 FPS at High, and 16 FPS at Ultra. The pattern repeats at 1440p and 4K, with each resolution step reducing frame rates by roughly 25-30 percent. The measured min/max data for Medium settings shows a 24 to 32 FPS range at 1080p, 20 to 27 at 1440p, and 16 to 21 at 4K, indicating the frame pacing is stable but the absolute numbers are too low for smooth gameplay except at Low. The system-shared memory means VRAM is not a hard constraint, but the bandwidth bottleneck becomes evident as resolution increases.

FAQ

Q: Can this configuration run The Medium at 1080p with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where the measured average is 45 FPS. Medium drops to 28 FPS, High to 20 FPS, and Ultra to 16 FPS, making those presets difficult to play smoothly.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon 890M compare to dedicated graphics cards?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 9210 places it within one percent of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (deltaPct -0.7) and GTX 465 (deltaPct -0.9), meaning it performs similar to those older dedicated cards in general compute but falls behind in DirectX 12 workloads.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H strong enough for this game?

A: The CPU's 14 cores and 18 threads with a 4.50 GHz boost are more than sufficient. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12804.5 and 79th percentile ranking indicate it is not the limiting factor in The Medium's performance.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1080p is the only resolution where Low settings achieve above 40 FPS. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 38 FPS, and at 4K Low it falls to 30 FPS, so 1080p is the recommended target.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for The Medium?

A: It ranks 2755 out of 2911 total combinations, placing it in the bottom 5 percent of tested systems for this game.

Q: Does the 890M support ray tracing in The Medium?

A: The GPU has 16 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), but the measured frame rates at any settings above Low suggest ray tracing would be impractical given the low overall performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, with average FPS recorded for all combinations and min/max values available for the Medium preset at each resolution.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 45 FPS; Medium produces 28 FPS with a min of 24 and max of 32; High produces 20 FPS; Ultra produces 16 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 17 FPS, which is the largest single-step drop in the entire dataset, indicating a significant rendering cost jump when moving from the lowest preset.

At 2560x1440, Low settings average 38 FPS; Medium averages 24 FPS with a min of 20 and max of 27; High averages 17 FPS; Ultra averages 14 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is 14 FPS, and from Medium to High is 7 FPS. The High to Ultra drop is only 3 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end.

At 3840x2160, Low settings average 30 FPS; Medium averages 19 FPS with a min of 16 and max of 21; High averages 13 FPS; Ultra averages 11 FPS. The Low to Medium drop is 11 FPS, while High to Ultra is just 2 FPS. At 4K, even Low settings barely cross the 30 FPS threshold, and every other preset falls below 20 FPS.

The min/max data for Medium settings across resolutions shows consistent frame pacing: 24-32 at 1080p, 20-27 at 1440p, and 16-21 at 4K. The spread between min and max is 8 FPS at 1080p, 7 FPS at 1440p, and 5 FPS at 4K, indicating that the frame time variance shrinks as resolution increases, likely due to the GPU being more consistently saturated at higher pixel counts.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound system. At Low settings, the progression is 45 FPS at 1080p, 38 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. That represents a 15.6 percent drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 33.3 percent drop from 1080p to 4K. For a purely pixel-bound workload, you would expect a more severe decline, but the integrated GPU's memory bandwidth constraints are already a factor at 1080p.

At Medium settings, the progression is 28 FPS at 1080p, 24 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 14.3 percent and 32.1 percent respectively, which is a similar pattern to Low. At High settings, the numbers are 20 FPS, 17 FPS, and 13 FPS, with drops of 15 percent and 35 percent. Ultra settings show 16 FPS, 14 FPS, and 11 FPS, with drops of 12.5 percent and 31.3 percent.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings presets is telling. Whether the GPU is operating at 45 FPS or 11 FPS, the resolution scaling penalty remains in the 12-15 percent range for 1440p and 31-35 percent for 4K. This suggests the limiting component is the GPU's raw fill rate and memory bandwidth rather than any specific setting interaction. The CPU is not becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions because the frame rates are still relatively low; a CPU-bound scenario would show a flattening of FPS at 1080p, but the data shows steady declines at every resolution step.

The practical interpretation is that this configuration is heavily GPU-limited at all times. The 890M's 15 W power budget and system-shared memory architecture simply cannot sustain high pixel throughput, and the resolution scaling confirms that the integrated GPU is the primary constraint. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking and robust multi-core scores are irrelevant to the outcome because the GPU never allows the CPU to stretch its legs.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the only viable preset for actual gameplay is Low at 1080p, which delivers 45 FPS on average. This is the sole configuration that approaches a smooth 60 FPS target, and even then it falls short. The 45 FPS average is playable for a slow-paced horror title like The Medium, where the fixed camera angles and deliberate pacing tolerate lower frame rates better than fast-action games.

At 1080p Medium, the 28 FPS average is borderline. The min of 24 FPS and max of 32 FPS indicate that the frame pacing stays within a narrow band, which reduces the perceived stutter, but 28 FPS is below the 30 FPS threshold that most players consider the minimum for acceptable motion. If you value visual fidelity over smoothness, Medium at 1080p is the highest you can go while staying above 25 FPS average, but it is a compromise.

For 1440p, Low settings at 38 FPS is the only option above 30 FPS, and it is a reasonable choice if you have a 1440p display and cannot drop to 1080p. The 38 FPS average is workable for this genre, but the 14 FPS drop from 1080p Low is noticeable. At 4K, Low settings at 30 FPS is technically playable but sits right at the edge; anything above Low at 4K is not recommended, as Medium drops to 19 FPS and High/Ultra fall below 15 FPS.

The settings hierarchy in this game shows that Low to Medium is the largest performance cost, while High to Ultra is nearly free by comparison. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 17 FPS, while moving from High to Ultra costs only 4 FPS. This suggests that if you are already on Low and need more visual quality, the jump to Medium is expensive, but once you are on High, going to Ultra is relatively cheap. However, given that High at 1080p only reaches 20 FPS, this information is academic for this hardware.

The most practical recommendation based on the data is to run the game at 1080p with Low settings for a playable experience, or 1440p Low if your display cannot switch to 1080p and you accept 38 FPS. For players who prioritize visuals over frame rate, 1080p Medium at 28 FPS is the maximum setting that stays within a consistent 24-32 FPS band, but it will require a tolerance for sub-30 FPS gameplay. The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely, as even Low settings barely hit 30 FPS and the game's horror atmosphere benefits more from smooth camera movement than from pixel density.