The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title from 2021, is notoriously demanding, and the benchmark results for the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination confirm this. The data shows a system that is clearly capable of delivering playable experiences, but it requires careful attention to both resolution and settings. The combo ranks 797th out of 2911 tested configurations, placing it in the top 27% of all systems, which indicates a solid, upper-midrange standing for this specific game. The performance profile is defined by a steep resolution scaling curve and a significant dependency on preset choices, making the interplay between the CPU and GPU the central story of these results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a dramatic and consistent performance drop as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Medium settings, the combo achieves an average of 88 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same Medium preset, the average falls to 74 FPS, a 16% reduction. At 4K, the average plummets to 58 FPS, which is a 34% drop from the 1440p figure and a 34% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep decline strongly indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 9070 becomes the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The scaling pattern is consistent across other settings as well. With High settings, the average FPS drops from 63 at 1080p to 53 at 1440p (a 16% loss), and further to 42 at 4K (a 21% loss from 1440p and a 33% loss from 1080p). The Ultra preset shows a similar trend, with averages of 50, 42, and 33 FPS at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, respectively. This consistent ~33% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all presets suggests that the GPU's rendering workload is scaling almost linearly with the pixel count, a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions.

While the GPU is the clear bottleneck at 4K, the CPU's role becomes more relevant at lower resolutions. The fact that the 1080p to 1440p transition yields a smaller performance hit than the 1440p to 4K transition for most presets implies that the CPU is still able to feed the GPU adequately at 1080p and 1440p, but the sheer pixel-pushing demand at 4K overwhelms the RX 9070. In essence, the data suggests that the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 has enough headroom to support high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the GPU's capabilities cap the performance ceiling as resolution increases. The 4K results, particularly the 33 FPS average on Ultra, are the clearest evidence of a GPU-limited system.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across the four presets. At every resolution, the Low preset offers the highest average frame rate, followed by Medium, High, and finally Ultra. The delta between Low and Ultra is substantial. At 1080p, the jump from Ultra (50 FPS) to Low (141 FPS) represents a 182% increase in average FPS. At 1440p, the difference is similar, with Low (119 FPS) offering 183% more performance than Ultra (42 FPS). Even at 4K, Low (93 FPS) is nearly triple the frame rate of Ultra (33 FPS).

For a smooth experience, the Medium preset emerges as the most balanced choice. It provides a significant performance boost over High and Ultra while maintaining a playable frame rate at all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers an average of 88 FPS with a minimum of 75 FPS, ensuring consistent smoothness. At 1440p, it still achieves a respectable 74 FPS average with a minimum of 63 FPS. Even at 4K, the Medium preset yields an average of 58 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS, which is playable for a game of this genre. The data for Medium is also the only preset with recorded min and max FPS values, showing a stable frame time window at each resolution.

High settings offer a marginal visual improvement over Medium but come at a steep cost. At 4K, High drops to an average of 42 FPS, which is below the 50 FPS minimum of the Medium preset. The Ultra preset is the most demanding and, based on the data, should be avoided at 1440p and 4K. The 42 FPS average at 1440p and 33 FPS average at 4K on Ultra are likely to result in a suboptimal experience. At 1080p, Ultra's 50 FPS average is acceptable, but the Medium preset provides a much higher frame rate with likely minimal visual compromise. Therefore, the recommended path is to use Medium settings for a high-refresh experience at 1080p or 1440p, and to reserve it for a stable 60 FPS target at 4K.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the dominant component in this pairing for The Medium. Its performance characteristics, detailed in the fact pack, directly explain the scaling behavior seen in the benchmarks. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a substantial 644.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This is ample capacity for The Medium's high-resolution textures, and the data does not suggest any VRAM-related stuttering or performance cliffs within the tested settings. The memory clock is listed at 2518 MHz, with an effective data rate of 20.1 Gbps.

The GPU's clock speeds are a key indicator of its behavior under load. The base clock is 1330 MHz, but the game clock is rated at 2070 MHz, with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The benchmark results imply that the card is boosting well above its base clock in this title, but the significant frame rate drops at 4K suggest that it is hitting its thermal or power limits, preventing it from maintaining its peak boost clock under sustained heavy load. The card's 220W TDP and dual 8-pin power connectors show it is a power-hungry part, and the demanding 4K resolution likely pushes it to its maximum.

In the context of its rivals, the RX 9070's overall benchmark score of 23877 places it in the 69th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z, has an average score of 23736, which is 0.6% lower. The AMD Radeon RX 6800S scores 24063, which is 0.8% higher. This shows that the RX 9070 is positioned in a tight performance band, with the data indicating that its performance is within 1% of these comparable cards. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290 and the Geekbench OpenCL score of 131539 further corroborate its strong compute capabilities, but the in-game data for The Medium reveals that these capabilities are not enough to brute-force 4K Ultra settings. The GPU is the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the performance scaling with resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 achieves a rank of 797 out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium. This places the system in the 72.6th percentile of all configurations, indicating that it outperforms the majority of systems tested for this specific game. This is a strong result, but it is not a top-tier one, suggesting that while the hardware is well-matched for many titles, The Medium's specific engine demands push it down the ranking.

This ranking is a direct consequence of the performance data. The system's ability to hit 88 FPS at 1080p Medium and 58 FPS at 4K Medium shows it is more than capable of handling the game at mainstream settings. However, the low scores on Ultra at higher resolutions prevent it from climbing higher in the rankings. The fact that it sits in the 797th spot, rather than higher, is largely due to the GPU's inability to maintain high frame rates at 4K with maximum visual fidelity. The combo is not a top-500 performer, but it is solidly within the upper quartile, making it a reliable choice for a high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p experience, and a playable 4K experience at lower presets.

The ranking also reflects the balance of the pairing. The CPU is not holding the GPU back significantly, as the 1080p and 1440p results are strong. If the CPU were a major bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller performance gap between resolutions. The data shows the opposite, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor and that the combo's rank is determined by the GPU's performance envelope in this title. This system is a competent performer for The Medium, but it is not an extreme high-end setup for 4K Ultra gaming.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 plays a supporting but crucial role in this system's performance in The Medium. With 10 cores and 10 threads, it is a modern processor that provides a solid foundation for gaming. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz allow it to handle the game's CPU-bound tasks, such as AI and scene management, without becoming a major bottleneck. The benchmark results show that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is able to feed the GPU effectively, as frame rates are high and scale predictably with resolution.

The CPU's compute capabilities are reflected in its benchmark scores. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25891 and single-core score of 3655 demonstrate strong performance for a desktop processor. This is further supported by its Passmark single-thread score of 4412. These scores show that the CPU has ample headroom for gaming workloads. The fact that frame rates are high at 1080p, where the CPU often plays a larger role, indicates that the Core Ultra 5 225 is not a limiting factor at that resolution.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 5 225's average benchmark score is 36938. Its closest competitor is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F with a score of 36945, which is 0% difference. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018, which is 0.2% higher. This shows that the CPU is performance-competitive with these chips. In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to ensure consistent frame times. The data for Medium settings shows a minimum of 75 FPS at 1080p, which suggests that the CPU is maintaining a stable frame delivery. The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR5 memory support also help to ensure that data is readily available for the GPU, minimizing stutter. However, the data confirms that at 4K, the CPU's performance is overshadowed by the GPU's rendering load, making the GPU the definitive performance limiter.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for a 60 FPS experience?

A: The data shows that at 4K with Medium settings, the system achieves an average of 58 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS. At 1440p with Medium settings, it averages 74 FPS, and at 1080p with Medium, it averages 88 FPS. For a locked 60 FPS, 1440p Medium is the safest choice, as it provides a significant margin above the target.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K with the highest visual quality?

A: At 4K with Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops to 33 FPS. This is the lowest performance point measured. The High preset at 4K fares better with an average of 42 FPS, but both are below the 50 FPS minimum seen on the Medium preset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The performance drops significantly as resolution increases, from 88 FPS at 1080p Medium to 58 FPS at 4K Medium. This is a classic sign of GPU-bound rendering. The CPU has enough headroom to support high frame rates at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets?

A: The difference is substantial. At 1080p, the Low preset averages 141 FPS, while Ultra averages 50 FPS. This represents a 182% performance increase. At 4K, Low averages 93 FPS, while Ultra averages 33 FPS, a 182% increase as well.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems for The Medium?

A: This combo ranks 797th out of 2911 tested configurations. This places it in the top 27% of all systems tested, indicating that it is a strong performer for this game, though not in the absolute top tier.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset?

A: The minimum FPS for the Medium preset is recorded at all three resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum is 75 FPS. At 1440p, it is 63 FPS, and at 4K, it drops to 50 FPS. This data shows consistent performance without severe frame drops.