The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination delivers a revealing performance profile in The Medium, a horror title that demands both strong rasterization and substantial VRAM bandwidth. The benchmark data illustrates a system that is exceptionally capable at lower resolutions but encounters a clear boundary at 4K Ultra, where the GPU’s architectural limits become the dominant constraint. This analysis breaks down the measured frames, scaling behavior, and component-specific roles to provide a precise picture of what this pairing offers.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K in The Medium exposes a dramatic shift in performance, indicating a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 72 FPS, which drops to 60 FPS at 1440p and further to 47 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34.7% performance loss from 1080p to 1440p, and a subsequent 21.7% loss from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern suggests that the CPU is providing ample headroom at 1080p, allowing the GPU to work near its full potential, but as pixel count increases, the RTX 5070’s raw throughput becomes the limiting factor.

Looking at Low settings, the trend is even more pronounced. The 1080p Low average of 160 FPS plummets to 135 FPS at 1440p (a 15.6% drop) and then to 106 FPS at 4K (a 21.5% drop). The fact that 4K Low still delivers over 100 FPS indicates the GPU is not entirely overwhelmed, but the scaling curve is steep. Conversely, Ultra settings show the most severe degradation: 57 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 38 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 38 FPS is particularly telling, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many users consider the baseline for smooth gameplay, suggesting that the game’s highest preset demands more than this GPU can provide at 4K.

The Medium preset, which is the most complete data set with min and max FPS values, reinforces this. At 1080p Medium, the average is 100 FPS with a range of 85-115 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 84 FPS (range 71-97), and at 4K Medium, it falls to 66 FPS (range 56-76). The minimum FPS at 4K Medium of 56 indicates that even mid-range settings can cause noticeable frame dips at 4K, highlighting that this resolution is best reserved for lower presets or a future GPU upgrade. The data strongly implies that the RTX 5070 is the primary bottleneck at 4K, while the Core Ultra 5 225 has sufficient compute to feed it adequately at 1080p and 1440p.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in The Medium?*

A: The highest recorded average is 160 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This indicates the CPU and GPU combination has substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p when visual fidelity is reduced.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only on Medium settings, where the average is 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS. At High settings, the average drops to 47 FPS, and at Ultra, it falls to 38 FPS. Therefore, a stable 60 FPS at 4K requires using the Medium preset.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance impact?

A: At every resolution, Ultra is significantly more demanding. At 1080p, Ultra averages 57 FPS compared to 72 FPS on High, a 20.8% reduction. At 1440p, the gap is 48 FPS versus 60 FPS (20% reduction), and at 4K, it is 38 FPS versus 47 FPS (19.1% reduction). The step from High to Ultra is consistently costly.

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

A: The Medium preset offers a substantial jump in quality for a moderate performance cost. At 1080p, Low averages 160 FPS while Medium averages 100 FPS, a 37.5% decrease. At 1440p, it goes from 135 FPS to 84 FPS (37.8% decrease), and at 4K, from 106 FPS to 66 FPS (37.7% decrease). The scaling is remarkably consistent across resolutions.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at any resolution in this game?

A: Based on the data, the CPU does not appear to be a limiting factor. The consistent performance scaling between resolutions suggests that the GPU is the primary constraint. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225, with its 10 cores and 10 threads, provides sufficient processing power to avoid holding back the RTX 5070, even at 1080p where frame rates are highest.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems in this game?

A: This specific combination ranks 483rd out of 2,911 tested combos in The Medium. This puts it in the top 16.6% of all systems benchmarked, indicating strong overall performance that is above the median.

Settings Recommendations

For an optimal balance of visual quality and smooth performance, the Medium preset is the clear standout across all resolutions. At 1080p, it provides an average of 100 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, while still offering a significant visual upgrade over Low. The minimum FPS of 85 ensures that the experience remains fluid without major stutters. At 1440p, Medium yields an average of 84 FPS, which is excellent for most gaming displays, and the 71 FPS minimum is acceptable for all but the most demanding players.

The data suggests that High settings are viable for 1080p gaming, with a 72 FPS average, but the jump to Medium provides a 28 FPS improvement, which is often more valuable than the incremental visual gains. For 4K gaming, Medium is the only recommended preset, as it is the sole option that breaks the 60 FPS average barrier (66 FPS). While High at 4K produces 47 FPS, this is below the 60 FPS target and may result in a less responsive experience. Ultra settings are best avoided, as they bring even the 1080p average down to 57 FPS, which is suboptimal for smooth gameplay.

In summary, users should default to Medium for 1080p and 1440p if they prioritize frame rate, and reserve High for 1080p if they prefer higher fidelity. For 4K, Medium is the only sensible choice, as Low sacrifices too much visual detail for a marginal performance gain. The measured min and max FPS for Medium (e.g., 85-115 at 1080p) also show good frame pacing, making it the most stable experience overall.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 achieves a rank of 483 out of 2,911 tested combos in The Medium. This places the system in the top 16.6% of all configurations benchmarked, demonstrating that it is a high-performing setup for this title. The percentile is notably strong, indicating that this pairing outperforms the vast majority of other CPU-GPU combinations in this specific game.

This ranking is particularly impressive given the CPU’s position. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 has a percentile of 85 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36,938. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, scores nearly identically (36,945, delta 0%), while the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is slightly behind (37,018, delta -0.2%). This suggests the CPU is performing at a solid mid-range level, but the GPU is likely the driving force behind the high in-game rank.

The GPU, with a percentile of 82 against all GPUs, is the star of the show. Its average benchmark score is 40,377, with its closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 580, scoring 40,318 (delta 0.1%). The RTX 5070’s strong compute capability and 12 GB of GDDR7 memory clearly contribute to the system’s ability to handle The Medium’s demanding scenes. The rank of 483 suggests that while there are many more powerful combos ahead, this pairing offers a compelling level of performance that will satisfy most users, especially those targeting 1080p and 1440p gaming.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 plays the pivotal role in determining this combo’s performance in The Medium. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s, which is crucial for a game that features high-resolution textures and complex environments. While the VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor at the tested resolutions, the bandwidth is a key reason why the GPU scales well from 1080p to 1440p, but begins to struggle at 4K where memory pressure increases.

The GPU’s clock speeds are set at a base of 2325 MHz and a boost of 2512 MHz. These clocks, combined with 6,144 shading units and 80 ROPs, deliver a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s. These specifications explain why the GPU can achieve 160 FPS at 1080p Low, as the raw compute power is more than sufficient for lower pixel counts. The fp32 performance of 30.87 TFLOPS is also substantial, allowing for complex shader calculations without significant frame drops.

However, the data reveals a clear limit. At 4K Ultra, the GPU produces only 38 FPS, indicating that the 80 ROPs are stretched thin when rendering 8.3 million pixels. The step from Medium to Ultra at 4K (66 FPS to 38 FPS) is a 42.4% reduction, which is a much steeper penalty than at 1080p (100 FPS to 57 FPS, a 43% reduction). This suggests that the Ultra preset likely enables effects that are particularly heavy on the ROPs and memory subsystem, making 4K Ultra a practical impossibility for smooth play. The GPU’s role is therefore one of high capability at mainstream resolutions, but with a definitive ceiling at 4K that forces users to compromise on settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system’s performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 160 FPS, Medium averages 100 FPS (with a range of 85-115), High averages 72 FPS, and Ultra averages 57 FPS. This shows a clear hierarchy, with Low offering the highest frame rates and Ultra providing the most demanding experience. The 60 FPS threshold is easily crossed on all presets except Ultra, which falls just below it.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance decreases as expected. Low averages 135 FPS, Medium averages 84 FPS (range 71-97), High averages 60 FPS, and Ultra averages 48 FPS. At this resolution, the drop from High to Ultra is a 20% reduction, which is significant. The Medium preset remains the sweet spot, offering a 24 FPS advantage over High while still maintaining a high level of visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the system faces its toughest challenge. Low averages 106 FPS, which is respectable, but Medium drops to 66 FPS (range 56-76), High to 47 FPS, and Ultra to 38 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 40 FPS, indicating that the Medium preset’s additional effects have a substantial impact on the GPU. The minimum FPS of 56 at 4K Medium is a concern, as it suggests occasional dips below the 60 FPS target. Overall, the data shows that 1080p is the native resolution for high-refresh gameplay, 1440p is ideal for balanced performance, and 4K requires significant settings compromises to remain playable.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225’s role in The Medium is to provide a stable foundation that does not bottleneck the RTX 5070. With 10 cores and 10 threads, this processor offers a thread count that is sufficient for modern games, though The Medium is not known for being heavily multi-threaded. The CPU’s base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz ensure that single-threaded performance is strong, which is critical for game logic and frame rendering.

Benchmark data shows the CPU scores 25,891 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3,655 in single-core, indicating a solid balance. Its PassMark single-thread score of 4,412 is robust, ensuring that the CPU can handle the per-frame calculations required at high frame rates. In this game, the CPU’s performance is likely not a limiting factor, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p Low (160 FPS). If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see diminishing returns when lowering the resolution, but the FPS scales consistently, confirming the GPU is the primary driver.

The CPU’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide adequate data locality for gaming workloads. Its support for DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s ensures that the CPU can feed the GPU quickly, preventing data starvation. The 3 nm process node from TSMC, with 17,800 million transistors, makes it an efficient part that does not generate excessive heat, allowing the GPU to operate without thermal constraints. In conclusion, the Core Ultra 5 225 is a capable partner that enables the RTX 5070 to perform to its potential, particularly at 1080p and 1440p where the CPU’s compute is more than sufficient.