The Medium

The Medium, a horror game released on 2021-01-27, was measured on an Intel Core Ultra 5 135H paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile. The CPU is a 14-core, 18-thread Meteor Lake part with a 3.60 GHz base clock, a 4.60 GHz boost clock, and a launch MSRP of $342; it carries an average benchmark score of 29093 and an 81st-percentile ranking. The GPU is an Ada Lovelace part with an average benchmark score of 22729 and a 67th-percentile ranking. Measured FPS rows cover four presets at three resolutions.

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

The measured data shows a consistent resolution-based FPS decline. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 97 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops Low to 81 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it falls to 64 FPS. The Medium preset follows the same pattern: 60 at 1920x1080, 51 at 2560x1440, and 40 at 3840x2160. High goes from 43 to 36 to 29, and Ultra from 34 to 29 to 23. Every preset loses average FPS as resolution rises.

This consistent step-down is the signature of a GPU-limited combination. If the processor were the primary constraint, raising the resolution would not produce this uniform decline across all four presets. The data points to the graphics card as the component controlling The Medium’s frame rate in this pairing.

The ordering between presets is also useful. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 81 FPS, while the High preset at 1920x1080 averages 43 FPS. That means a lower preset at a higher resolution can easily outperform a higher preset at a lower resolution. At 3840x2160, Low still averages 64 FPS, which sits above the 1920x1080 Medium average of 60 FPS. Resolution matters, but preset selection matters just as much in this measured set.

At the high end, Ultra is the most resolution-sensitive preset in absolute terms: 34 at 1920x1080, 29 at 2560x1440, and 23 at 3840x2160. The Low preset holds more absolute headroom, but it also loses ground when moving from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, from 97 down to 64. All four presets show the same limiting behavior: more pixels, fewer frames.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip, manufactured on TSMC’s 5 nm process. The die contains 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² footprint. The GPU has 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, with 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores. Its FP32 throughput is 11.61 TFLOPS, and its texture rate is 181.4 GTexel/s.

The memory subsystem is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU runs at a 1545 MHz base clock and an 1890 MHz boost clock, while the memory clock is 2000 MHz, quoted as 16 Gbps effective. The TDP is 115 W.

These specifications are the hardware context for the measured FPS rows. At 3840x2160, the GPU produces 64 FPS on Low, 40 on Medium, 29 on High, and 23 on Ultra. At 1920x1080, the same presets produce 97, 60, 43, and 34. The frame rate drops as the render load increases, which is the expected behavior for a GPU whose memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity are fixed at 256.0 GB/s and 8 GB.

The GPU’s benchmark position reinforces this. The RTX 4060 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 22729. Its nearest rivals are the RTX 2080 at 22895 (deltaPct -0.7), the RX 7700 XT at 22549 (deltaPct 0.8), the Intel Arc B580 at 23021 (deltaPct -1.3), and the RTX 5060 Mobile at 22435 (deltaPct 1.3). The 4060 Mobile sits close to all four of those parts, and in The Medium its measured FPS reflects that mid-pack GPU position rather than the CPU’s stronger percentile standing.

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

Across the measured rows, Medium is the only preset that includes both minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1920x1080, Medium averages 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 and a maximum of 69. At 2560x1440, Medium averages 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 and a maximum of 59. At 3840x2160, Medium averages 40 FPS with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46.

Low produces higher averages: 97, 81, and 64 across the three resolutions. But the dataset reports no min/max bounds for Low, so its consistency cannot be compared from the same evidence. High produces 43, 36, and 29, while Ultra produces 34, 29, and 23. Among these, Medium is the only preset whose frame window is directly measurable.

At 1920x1080, Medium’s 60 average and 51 minimum make it the most balanced row in the entire measured set. At 2560x1440, Medium keeps the average at 51 with a 43 minimum. At 3840x2160, Medium drops to 40 average with a 34 minimum, which is the playable floor for this combo if visual quality is the priority. Low at 3840x2160 delivers a higher 64 average, but without min/max data it is hard to judge whether the frame pacing is as stable as Medium’s reported window.

Given the measured rows, Medium is the recommended preset. It is not the fastest row in any resolution, but it is the only one that offers explicit minimum and maximum values, and it keeps the average at or above 40 FPS across all three resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Core Ultra 5 135H plus RTX 4060 Mobile is ranked 2285 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium. That puts the combo behind a majority of the field. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 29093 places it at the 81st percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU’s 22729 average places it at the 67th percentile among all GPUs. The processor is stronger relative to its pool than the graphics card is relative to its pool, and the game rank reflects that imbalance.

The CPU’s nearest rivals show how tight this processor is with its peer group. The Ryzen 7 5800X averages 29123 with a deltaPct of -0.1. The Xeon Phi 7210 averages 29245 with a deltaPct of -0.5. The Ryzen 5 5600XT averages 28940 with a deltaPct of 0.5. The Core i5-13500HX averages 29270 with a deltaPct of -0.6. The Core Ultra 5 135H is essentially even with all four of those parts.

The GPU’s nearest rivals are similarly close. The RTX 2080 averages 22895 with a deltaPct of -0.7. The RX 7700 XT averages 22549 with a deltaPct of 0.8. The Arc B580 averages 23021 with a deltaPct of -1.3. The RTX 5060 Mobile averages 22435 with a deltaPct of 1.3. The RTX 4060 Mobile’s 22729 sits in the middle of that cluster.

The game-level ranking, 2285 out of 3724, is the most directly relevant result. It suggests that although the CPU has an 81st-percentile placement, the GPU’s more modest 67th-percentile placement is the limiting factor in The Medium. The measured FPS rows across resolution and preset support that same reading.

FAQ

Q: What average FPS does this combo produce at 1920x1080 with Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 and a maximum of 69.

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 3840x2160?

A: It can, but only at lower presets. Low averages 64 FPS, Medium averages 40 with a minimum of 34 and a maximum of 46, High averages 29, and Ultra averages 23.

Q: Which preset has the highest measured average FPS?

A: Low at 1920x1080 has the highest measured average at 97 FPS. Low at 2560x1440 follows at 81, and Low at 3840x2160 follows at 64.

Q: How close is the Core Ultra 5 135H to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score is 29093. The nearest rivals are the Ryzen 7 5800X at 29123 with a deltaPct of -0.1, the Xeon Phi 7210 at 29245 with a deltaPct of -0.5, the Ryzen 5 5600XT at 28940 with a deltaPct of 0.5, and the Core i5-13500HX at 29270 with a deltaPct of -0.6.

Q: How close is the RTX 4060 Mobile to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 22729. The nearest rivals are the RTX 2080 at 22895 with a deltaPct of -0.7, the RX 7700 XT at 22549 with a deltaPct of 0.8, the Arc B580 at 23021 with a deltaPct of -1.3, and the RTX 5060 Mobile at 22435 with a deltaPct of 1.3.

Q: Where does this combo rank in The Medium’s measured results?

A: It is ranked 2285 out of 3724 tested combos.

Measured FPS Breakdown

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

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

| 3840x2160 | High | 29 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 64 | — | — |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 40 | 34 | 46 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 23 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | High | 36 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 81 | — | — |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 51 | 43 | 59 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 29 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | High | 43 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 97 | — | — |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 60 | 51 | 69 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 34 | — | — |

Minimum and maximum values are reported only for Medium settings in the measured data. All other rows list average FPS only.