The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 produces a mid-pack result in The Medium. The combo ranks 1525th out of 2911 tested configurations, placing it in the 48th percentile of tested hardware. This means it sits slightly below the median for all tested combos, a position that reflects a balance between a capable mobile processor and a desktop-class GPU. The data shows that this pairing is not at the bleeding edge for this horror title, but it is also far from the bottom of the barrel. The performance ceiling is defined by the RTX 4070, while the Ultra 5 125H provides enough headroom to avoid becoming a significant bottleneck in most scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1525 out of 2911 places it in the lower-middle tier of the tested database. This is a meaningful data point because it indicates that roughly 52% of tested configurations deliver higher average frame rates in The Medium. The ranking is a composite of CPU and GPU performance, and in this case, the GPU is the primary driver. The RTX 4070’s benchmark score places it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, while the Core Ultra 5 125H sits in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. When combined, the system does not achieve a similarly high percentile, suggesting that the game’s engine is more sensitive to GPU throughput than to raw CPU compute. The result is a configuration that is competent but not exceptional, and it will require settings adjustments to hit high refresh rate targets.

FAQ

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

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 108 FPS average, which is the highest measured frame rate. For a balance of quality and performance, 1440p Medium produces a 57 FPS average, which is playable, while 4K is only viable at Low settings with a 72 FPS average.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H has an average benchmark score of 27507. This is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (27535) and Intel Core i5-12600K (27578), with a delta of -0.1% and -0.3%, respectively. It is slightly faster than the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G (27382) by 0.5%.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 a strong performer in this game?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 37648, which places it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628) with a 0.1% delta, and it is 1.3% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135).

Q: What are the minimum and maximum frame rates at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the measured range is 58 to 78 FPS, with an average of 68. At 1440p Medium, the range is 49 to 66 FPS, averaging 57. At 4K Medium, the range drops to 38 to 52 FPS, with a 45 FPS average.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the frame rate reaches 108 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 25 FPS. The CPU’s multi-threaded score of 12804.5 in Cinebench R23 is sufficient to keep up with the GPU’s output, as the frame rate scales primarily with resolution and settings, not with CPU load.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the CPU and GPU?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H has a launch MSRP of $375. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has a launch MSRP of 599 USD.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions is a clear indicator of GPU-bound performance. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings reduces the average FPS from 49 to 41, a drop of 16.3%. Scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings further reduces the average from 41 to 32, a 22% decrease. This pattern holds across all settings presets. For example, at Low settings, the average FPS goes from 108 at 1080p to 91 at 1440p (a 15.7% drop) and then to 72 at 4K (a 20.9% drop from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops indicate that the game is not hitting a CPU limit at lower resolutions; if it were, the frame rate would plateau or drop more steeply at 1080p. Instead, the smooth scaling suggests that the RTX 4070’s rendering throughput is the primary constraint. The 4K Ultra result of 25 FPS and the 4K High result of 32 FPS show that the GPU is being fully saturated at this resolution, with no headroom for higher settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a wide spread of performance across presets. Low settings yield an average of 108 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this configuration. Medium settings produce 68 FPS average with a range of 58 to 78 FPS. High settings drop to 49 FPS average. Ultra settings are the most demanding, yielding a 39 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra is 69 FPS, highlighting the significant impact of graphical fidelity on this GPU.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings average 91 FPS. Medium settings average 57 FPS with a range of 49 to 66 FPS. High settings average 41 FPS. Ultra settings average 32 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 59 FPS, showing that the preset choice has a slightly smaller absolute impact than at 1080p but still dominates the frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly stressed. Low settings average 72 FPS, which is still playable. Medium settings average 45 FPS with a range of 38 to 52 FPS. High settings drop to 32 FPS. Ultra settings produce a 25 FPS average, which is not a smooth experience for a horror game that relies on atmosphere. The data shows that 4K is only viable for this combo at Low settings if a 60+ FPS target is desired, and even Medium settings struggle to maintain consistency.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the dominant component in this pairing. Its performance in The Medium is directly tied to its memory bandwidth and clock speeds. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This is a substantial amount of memory bandwidth, but the game’s high-resolution textures and effects still push the GPU to its limits at 4K. The base clock of 1920 MHz and boost clock of 2475 MHz are relatively high, allowing for strong compute throughput. The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its capability; it scores 26927 in Passmark G3D and 14720 in Passmark GPU Compute. These scores are in line with its percentile rank of 81, indicating that it performs well above the median GPU but is not a top-tier part. In The Medium, the 4K Ultra result of 25 FPS is a clear sign that the GPU’s raw rasterization power is insufficient for maximum settings at that resolution. The 1080p Low result of 108 FPS shows that the GPU has enough headroom at lower loads, but the frame rate drops quickly as the resolution and settings increase. The 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores are present, but the game’s implementation does not appear to rely heavily on ray tracing, as the frame rate drops are consistent with traditional rasterization workloads.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H provides a solid foundation for this GPU. With 14 cores and 18 threads, it offers substantial multi-threading capability. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.50 GHz are respectable for a mobile processor. The CPU’s benchmark scores are competitive with desktop parts from previous generations. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 12804.5, and its single-core score is 1647.5. In Passmark, it scores 21100 in multithread and 3399 in single-thread. These scores place it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 and the Intel Core i5-12600K, with average scores of 27535 and 27578, respectively. The Ultra 5 125H’s average score of 27507 is within 0.3% of these parts, meaning it offers comparable compute performance. In The Medium, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the frame rate of 108 FPS is high enough to suggest that the CPU can handle the game’s single-threaded demands. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache is sufficient for the game’s data set, and the 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth is adequate. The fact that the frame rate scales almost perfectly with resolution and settings changes indicates that the CPU is keeping up with the GPU’s demands, even at lower resolutions where CPU overhead is more likely to surface. The processor’s TDP of 28 W is low for a mobile chip, but the performance is still competitive, and it does not appear to throttle in a way that impacts this game’s frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

For a 60+ FPS target at 1080p, the High preset is the best choice, delivering a 49 FPS average. This is below the target, so Medium settings are more appropriate, yielding 68 FPS with a range of 58 to 78 FPS. Medium provides a smooth experience without the visual fidelity loss of Low. At 1440p, the High preset drops to 41 FPS, which is not ideal. The Medium preset at 57 FPS is the best balance for this resolution, offering a playable experience with a reasonable visual upgrade over Low. For 4K, the data is clear: the Ultra preset is not playable at 25 FPS, and High at 32 FPS is also not smooth. The Medium preset at 45 FPS is borderline, but the Low preset at 72 FPS is the only option that provides a comfortable frame rate. Given the game’s horror genre, where consistent frame pacing is important for atmosphere, the recommendation is to prioritize frame rate stability over maximum visual fidelity. Therefore, the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p is the optimal choice, as it provides frame rates above 55 FPS with a solid frame time range. At 4K, Low is the only viable preset for a smooth experience. This configuration is best used at 1440p Medium for a high-quality experience, or 1080p Medium for a higher frame rate margin.