The Medium

FAQ

Q: What average frame rate does this combo achieve at 1920x1080 with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers an average of 68 FPS, with a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 78 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its closest rival in synthetic GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17,639, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD Radeon 780M (17,588) and 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17,666).

Q: What is the best performance result at 2560x1440 across all tested settings?

A: The highest average frame rate at 2560x1440 is 91 FPS, achieved with Low settings. The Medium preset yields 57 FPS, while High and Ultra drop to 41 FPS and 32 FPS, respectively.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 scores 14,769 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, placing it 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46,030 average) and 0.1% behind the Intel Core i9-13900HX (46,098 average) in overall average benchmark scores.

Q: Is the combo's ranking in The Medium above or below the median of all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1,525 out of 2,911 tested combinations, placing it just above the midpoint of all tested systems.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 3840x2160?

A: At 4K, Low settings produce an average of 72 FPS, while Ultra drops to just 25 FPS — a difference of 47 FPS, representing a 188% performance gap between the lowest and highest quality presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It houses 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die, with a transistor density of 118.9 million per square millimeter. The GPU features 3,072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, along with 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores.

Clock speeds are critical to understanding its behavior in The Medium. The base clock runs at 1,830 MHz, while the boost clock reaches 2,460 MHz. Memory operates at 2,125 MHz with 17 Gbps effective speed. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory sits on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This bandwidth is a key constraint in higher resolutions, as the game's asset streaming at 4K can pressure the relatively narrow memory interface.

Compute throughput figures are moderate for a modern GPU: the RTX 4060 delivers 15.11 TFLOPS for FP32 and FP16 (1:1 ratio), with a pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s. The 115 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a power-efficient choice, but the 1x 12-pin power connector and 300 W suggested PSU indicate it still requires adequate power delivery.

In benchmark results, the RTX 4060 posts a PassMark G3D score of 19,545 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 95,057. Its Vulkan performance in Geekbench reaches 48,643, while 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 yields 2,302. The GPU's percentile ranking against all GPUs is 61, indicating it sits above the median but not among top-tier performers.

The measured FPS data in The Medium shows a clear pattern: at 1920x1080, the GPU handles all settings with playable frame rates, from 108 FPS at Low to 39 FPS at Ultra. At 2560x1440, the range narrows to 91 FPS at Low and 32 FPS at Ultra. At 3840x2160, performance becomes more strained, with Low at 72 FPS but Ultra falling to 25 FPS. The RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 272 GB/s bandwidth appear sufficient for Medium settings at 1080p and 1440p, but the data shows diminishing returns at higher quality presets.

The GPU's closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (0.2% higher score), AMD Radeon 780M (0.3% lower), and AMD Radeon Pro 560 (0.5% lower). This clustering indicates the RTX 4060 occupies a specific performance tier that is competitive with both older discrete GPUs and modern integrated solutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake architecture (Arrow Lake-S) and fabricated on a 3 nm process at TSMC. It contains 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. The CPU's base clock is 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, and it carries a 65 W TDP.

Cache hierarchy is substantial: 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel configuration, providing 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The CPU connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes (CPU only) and includes integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 24 execution units. It supports ECC memory? No — ECC is not supported. The processor uses the Intel Socket 1851 and was released on January 6, 2025.

Benchmark scores for the CPU show strong single-thread and multi-thread capabilities. Cinebench R23 results are 2,085 for single-core and 14,769 for multi-core. Cinebench R20 scores are 875 single-core and 6,202 multi-core, while Cinebench R15 yields 210 single-core and 1,488 multi-core. PassMark results include a multi-thread score of 37,816 and a single-thread score of 4,516.

The CPU's average benchmark score is 46,062, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in terms of average score are the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46,030, 0.1% higher), Intel Core i9-13900HX (46,098, 0.1% lower), AMD EPYC 4364P (45,970, 0.2% higher), and AMD EPYC 7303 (45,960, 0.2% higher). These deltas are all within 0.2%, indicating these processors perform nearly identically in aggregate benchmarks.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is less about raw frame rate and more about maintaining consistent frame pacing. The game is a fixed-camera horror title that relies on dual-reality rendering, which can create CPU-bound scenarios. The 14 cores and 14 threads provide ample parallelism for the game's background processes, while the 5.00 GHz boost clock ensures responsive single-threaded performance for game logic. The 24 MB L3 cache helps with the game's asset streaming needs, though the dual-channel DDR5 bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s may become a factor in complex scenes.

The measured FPS data does not isolate CPU-specific bottlenecks, but the consistent frame rates across resolutions suggest the CPU is not the primary limiting factor at most settings. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 108 FPS, which is high enough to indicate the GPU is still the main constraint. At 4K Ultra, the 25 FPS result is clearly GPU-bound, as the CPU would not be expected to drop below 30 FPS at any resolution given its benchmark scores.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance scaling.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 108 FPS average
• Medium: 68 FPS average (58 min, 78 max)
• High: 49 FPS average
• Ultra: 39 FPS average

At 1080p, the system delivers smooth performance across the board. Low settings easily exceed 100 FPS, and Medium maintains 68 FPS with good frame pacing. High and Ultra remain playable at 49 FPS and 39 FPS, respectively, making 1080p the most versatile resolution for this combo.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 91 FPS average
• Medium: 57 FPS average (49 min, 66 max)
• High: 41 FPS average
• Ultra: 32 FPS average

At 1440p, the frame rates drop by roughly 15-20% compared to 1080p. Low stays above 90 FPS, Medium remains smooth at 57 FPS, but High and Ultra fall below 45 FPS. The data suggests Medium is the sweet spot at this resolution for maintaining a stable experience.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 72 FPS average
• Medium: 45 FPS average (38 min, 52 max)
• High: 32 FPS average
• Ultra: 25 FPS average

At 4K, the system becomes heavily GPU-bound. Low settings still deliver 72 FPS, which is respectable, but Medium drops to 45 FPS and Ultra falls to just 25 FPS. The 38 FPS minimum at Medium indicates potential stutter in demanding scenes, making Low the safest choice for 4K gameplay.

The scaling pattern across resolutions shows a consistent relationship: moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS by approximately 15-20%, and moving from 1440p to 4K reduces FPS by another 20-30%. This linear scaling suggests the RTX 4060's memory bandwidth and compute resources are the primary constraints, rather than any specific architectural bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination ranks 1,525 out of 2,911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it at the 52.4th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms slightly more than half of all tested combinations.

The rank of 1,525 is notable because it places this combo in the middle of the pack, not the top tier. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs is significantly higher than the GPU's 61st percentile, indicating the processor is the stronger component in this pairing. The GPU's performance tier, while adequate for 1080p gaming, limits the overall combo ranking in a game like The Medium that has high graphical demands.

The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all within 0.7% of its average score, which suggests the RTX 4060 is precisely positioned in a competitive performance band. However, in actual game performance, the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus may cause it to fall behind GPUs with higher memory bandwidth in texture-heavy scenes.

The combo's mid-pack ranking reflects a balanced but not exceptional system. For comparison, the CPU's nearest rivals (AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, Intel Core i9-13900HX, AMD EPYC 4364P, AMD EPYC 7303) all have nearly identical average scores, so the CPU is unlikely to be the differentiating factor in the ranking. The GPU's performance relative to its rivals is also tightly clustered, meaning the combo's rank is more about the specific game's optimization than any hardware deficiency.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

At 1920x1080: The Medium preset delivers 68 FPS average with a 58 FPS minimum, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. High settings at 49 FPS are still playable but represent a noticeable drop, while Ultra at 39 FPS approaches the lower bound of smooth gameplay. For players prioritizing frame rate, Low at 108 FPS is excellent, but Medium provides the best overall experience.

At 2560x1440: Medium is again the recommended preset, with 57 FPS average and a 49 FPS minimum. This keeps the experience above 50 FPS for the majority of gameplay. High at 41 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 32 FPS is not recommended for smooth play. Low at 91 FPS is the choice for high-refresh-rate monitors, but Medium offers a far better visual experience for a modest FPS cost.

At 3840x2160: The data strongly suggests using Low settings, which deliver 72 FPS average. Medium at 45 FPS is playable but has a 38 FPS minimum that could cause noticeable hitches. High at 32 FPS and Ultra at 25 FPS are not recommended for a consistent experience. The 4K resolution places significant pressure on the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 272 GB/s bandwidth, making Low the only preset that provides both smooth gameplay and visual clarity.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the most consistent experience relative to visual quality. It maintains a 68 FPS average at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. The frame time consistency (as indicated by the min/max values) is also tighter at Medium compared to higher presets, suggesting the game's dynamic loading system is less likely to cause spikes when texture quality is moderated. For the best balance of performance and fidelity, Medium at 1080p or 1440p is the recommended configuration for this hardware combination.