The Medium

Resolution Scaling

The Medium demonstrates a steep performance curve as resolution climbs, and the data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 150 FPS, which drops to 126 FPS at 1440p and 99 FPS at 4K. That represents a 16% decline from 1080p to 1440p and another 21.4% decline from 1440p to 4K — a total 34% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. This scaling pattern indicates that even at the lowest graphical preset, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is still the primary limiter, though the CPU has enough headroom to push high frame rates.

The picture changes dramatically at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 53 FPS. Moving to 1440p Ultra drops that to 45 FPS (a 15.1% reduction), and 4K Ultra falls further to 35 FPS (a 22.2% reduction from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 34%, which is nearly identical to the percentage drop at Low settings. This consistency across quality presets suggests that resolution scaling in The Medium is uniform regardless of settings — the game taxes the GPU proportionally as pixel count increases, without any sudden bottleneck shifts.

The Medium's Medium preset provides the only complete data with min and max FPS readings. At 1080p Medium, the average is 93 FPS with a range of 79-108 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 79 FPS (67-91 FPS range), and at 4K Medium, the average falls to 62 FPS (53-71 FPS range). The frame time consistency, as evidenced by the min-max spread, remains relatively tight across all three resolutions — roughly 29-31 FPS spread at each resolution. This stability indicates that the combination handles the game's fixed-camera horror scenes without severe frame pacing issues, even when average FPS drops into the 50s.

The High preset sits between Medium and Ultra in terms of performance, but interestingly, the scaling from 1080p to 4K is steeper than at other settings. High preset yields 67 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 44 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 16.4%, and from 1440p to 4K is 21.4%, culminating in a 34.3% total reduction. This is marginally worse than the Low and Ultra scaling, suggesting that the High preset might trigger specific rendering features that add disproportionate cost at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor from the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz place it firmly in the mid-range desktop segment, with a 65 W TDP that keeps it cool enough for a capable air cooler. The processor's benchmark scores are robust: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and a single-core score of 3655, with a Passmark single-thread score of 4412 and multi-thread score of 30459.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is secondary but not irrelevant. The game is a horror title with fixed-camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds, which typically shifts the workload heavily toward the GPU. The fact that the combo achieves 150 FPS at 1080p Low indicates that the Core Ultra 5 225 is more than adequate for feeding the RTX 4070 at lower resolutions. Even at 1080p Ultra, where the GPU is stressed, the CPU maintains 53 FPS without appearing to bottleneck — the GPU is clearly the limiting component.

The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth provide solid memory throughput for game assets. The 10 cores and 10 threads are arranged without hyperthreading, which is typical for this generation, and the 10-core configuration handles the game's threading model effectively. The Medium doesn't appear to be heavily multi-threaded based on the performance data — a CPU with fewer, faster cores would likely perform similarly, while the single-core strength (Cinebench R23 single-core of 3655) is what matters most for maintaining high frame rates in this title.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 85 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36938, places it in the upper tier of desktop processors. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (deltaPct 0), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (deltaPct -0.2), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (deltaPct -0.4), and Intel Core i9-12900T (deltaPct -0.5). These deltas are all within half a percent, meaning the Core Ultra 5 225 is effectively tied with those processors in raw compute — any performance differences in The Medium would come from architectural efficiency rather than raw throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this combo for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: Based on the measured data, Medium settings at 1440p delivers 79 FPS, and Medium settings at 4K delivers 62 FPS. For a locked 60 FPS experience, 4K Medium is the highest resolution that maintains an average above 60 FPS, while 1440p High (56 FPS) falls just short.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with different quality presets?

A: At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 99 FPS on Low settings to 35 FPS on Ultra settings. Medium settings produce 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS, while High settings produce 44 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is not playable at 60 FPS, but Medium is.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 in this game?

A: The benchmark data suggests no CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 150 FPS, indicating the CPU can push frame rates well beyond typical display refresh rates. The performance scaling with resolution changes aligns with GPU-bound behavior, not CPU limitations.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data. At 1080p, the range is 79-108 FPS (29 FPS spread); at 1440p, 67-91 FPS (24 FPS spread); and at 4K, 53-71 FPS (18 FPS spread). The spread narrows as resolution increases, indicating more consistent frame times at higher resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank against all other tested combinations in The Medium?

A: The combo ranks 614th out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the top 21% of all tested systems. This is a strong result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU.

Q: Can this system handle 1440p Ultra settings?

A: At 1440p Ultra, the combo produces an average of 45 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold but may be acceptable for a horror game with slower pacing. For smoother performance, 1440p Medium at 79 FPS or 1440p High at 56 FPS are better options.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 achieves a rank of 614 out of 2911 tested combinations in The Medium. This places the system in the 79th percentile of all tested configurations — meaning roughly 79% of tested combos perform worse, while 21% perform better. For a CPU that sits at the 85th percentile among all CPUs and a GPU at the 81st percentile among all GPUs, this ranking is slightly below what the individual component percentiles might suggest. This indicates that The Medium's performance profile rewards certain hardware combinations more than others, and this particular pairing is good but not exceptional for this specific game.

The rank of 614 out of 2911 is respectable for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU. The Core Ultra 5 225's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks all score within 0.5% of its average, meaning any of those CPUs would likely produce nearly identical results in The Medium. The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (deltaPct 0.1), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (deltaPct 0.4), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (deltaPct -1.3), and AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (deltaPct 1.3). The RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37648 is closely matched by these rivals, suggesting that the GPU's performance in The Medium is representative of its class.

The data indicates that this combo is well-balanced for The Medium. The gap between the 1080p Low result (150 FPS) and the 4K Ultra result (35 FPS) shows that the system scales across the full performance spectrum without hitting a hard wall. The ranking suggests that users with this combo should expect solid performance at 1080p and 1440p at medium-to-high settings, with 4K reserved for Medium settings or lower for a playable experience.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's boost clock is 2475 MHz with a base clock of 1920 MHz, and it houses 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for DirectX 12 Ultimate features, which The Medium can leverage for its cinematic lighting and reflections.

The GPU's 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 455.4 GTexel/s texture rate are substantial for a 200 W card. The 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate directly impacts how quickly the GPU can fill frames at high resolutions — a critical factor in The Medium, which uses fixed-camera angles with detailed backgrounds. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is generous for a game released in 2021, and the measured FPS data shows no signs of VRAM-related stuttering or texture pop-in, even at 4K Ultra settings.

In The Medium, the RTX 4070's performance is clearly the dominant factor in determining frame rates. The scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a predictable pattern based on pixel count, with no anomalies that would suggest CPU interference. The GPU's percentile ranking of 81 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648, places it above most desktop graphics cards. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all within 1.3% of its score, indicating that the RTX 4070 sits at a performance plateau where many cards cluster together.

The GPU's 46 ray tracing cores are relevant for The Medium, which uses ray-traced lighting effects in its horror environments. While the measured FPS data doesn't isolate ray tracing performance, the consistent frame rates across Medium settings suggest that the RTX 4070 handles the game's visual effects without excessive overhead. The GPU's end-of-life production status and its position as the predecessor to the GeForce 50 series means it remains a capable choice for this title, but users should expect that newer games will push it harder.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for The Medium with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is as follows:

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 150 FPS average
• Medium: 93 FPS average (min 79, max 108)
• High: 67 FPS average
• Ultra: 53 FPS average

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 126 FPS average
• Medium: 79 FPS average (min 67, max 91)
• High: 56 FPS average
• Ultra: 45 FPS average

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 99 FPS average
• Medium: 62 FPS average (min 53, max 71)
• High: 44 FPS average
• Ultra: 35 FPS average

The data reveals a few notable patterns. First, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (150 FPS) and Ultra (53 FPS) is 97 FPS — a 64.7% reduction. At 4K, the difference between Low (99 FPS) and Ultra (35 FPS) is 64 FPS — a 64.6% reduction. The percentage reduction is nearly identical across resolutions, confirming that settings and resolution scale independently in The Medium.

Second, the Medium preset provides the most playable experience across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 93 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p Medium, 79 FPS remains smooth. At 4K Medium, 62 FPS just barely clears 60 FPS, making it the highest resolution and setting combination that achieves a playable frame rate. The min FPS of 53 at 4K Medium indicates occasional dips below 60, but the average remains acceptable.

Third, the High preset consistently lands between Medium and Ultra, but its scaling is slightly steeper than the other presets. The 34.3% drop from 1080p High to 4K High is marginally worse than the 34% drops seen at Low and Ultra settings, suggesting that the High preset may enable specific rendering features that interact poorly with higher resolutions. For users seeking a balance between visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 1440p (79 FPS) or 4K (62 FPS) appears to be the sweet spot for this combo.