The Medium

# The Medium with Intel Core Ultra 5 245 + AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT

This combination delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles at 4K with higher settings. The data shows a clear pattern: the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 provides ample headroom for the game's fixed-camera horror presentation. Across all tested resolutions and settings, this combo ranks 1486th out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of systems for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 110 at 1920x1080 to 92 at 2560x1440, then plunges to 73 at 3840x2160. That represents a 33.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating the GPU is handling the increased pixel count with diminishing returns. The scaling is not linear, which points to memory bandwidth and rasterization throughput constraints rather than raw compute limitations.

At Medium settings, the pattern intensifies. The 1080p average of 69 FPS falls to 58 at 1440p, then drops sharply to 45 at 4K. The minimum FPS at Medium settings shows similar degradation: 58 at 1080p, 49 at 1440p, and 39 at 4K. This 43.5% drop from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings suggests the 12 GB frame buffer and 384.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are being stressed as texture and shading demands increase with resolution.

High settings produce the most dramatic scaling curve. Starting at 49 FPS at 1080p, the average falls to 41 at 1440p, then to 32 at 4K. The 4K High result of 32 FPS is barely playable, and the gap between 1440p and 4K (a 22% drop) is smaller than the gap between 1080p and 1440p (a 16.3% drop). This suggests that at High settings, the GPU is already working near its limits even at 1440p, and additional resolution increases yield proportionally smaller absolute losses.

Ultra settings expose the worst-case scenario. The 1080p average of 39 FPS is already marginal for smooth gameplay, and it falls to 33 at 1440p and 26 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 26 FPS is below the threshold for comfortable play, indicating that this combination is not suitable for maximum quality at high resolutions. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings (a 33.3% reduction) mirrors the Low settings pattern, suggesting that the GPU's fixed resources — shading units, ROPs, and memory bandwidth — are the limiting factors across all quality presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 brings 14 cores and 14 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This processor sits in the 90th percentile versus all CPUs, indicating strong overall performance. The lack of hyperthreading (14 threads for 14 cores) is notable, but The Medium's fixed-camera design and modest CPU demands mean this does not become a bottleneck. The processor's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for the game's streaming requirements.

In benchmark terms, the Core Ultra 5 245 achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648. These figures place it in close competition with several notable rivals. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 0.4% lower on average, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 trails by 0.5%. The Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and Intel Core i5-14600K are 0.6% and 0.8% ahead, respectively. This clustering within a 1% band means the CPU is not a differentiating factor in this game's performance; the GPU dominates the frame rate equation.

The processor's PassMark single-thread score of 4394 and multi-thread score of 38706 reinforce its position as a capable but not exceptional gaming CPU. The data compression score of 400942 and floating point math score of 120548 suggest strong general-purpose compute, but The Medium does not heavily tax these capabilities. The 3 nm process node and 17,800 million transistors indicate modern efficiency, but the game's engine does not appear to leverage advanced CPU features that would distinguish this processor from its rivals.

Given that frame rates scale almost exclusively with resolution and graphics settings, the CPU role in this combination is to stay out of the way. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the 110 FPS average suggests the CPU can feed the GPU well beyond the point where graphics settings become the constraint. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 39 FPS result is far below any CPU-imposed ceiling. The Core Ultra 5 245's 5.10 GHz boost clock and 14 cores provide sufficient single-threaded and multi-threaded performance for this title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the dominant factor in this combination's performance. Built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a 7 nm process, this GPU features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which becomes a critical resource as resolution increases. The GPU's boost clock of 2581 MHz and game clock of 2424 MHz provide solid raw compute, but the data shows that memory bandwidth and ROP throughput limit high-resolution performance.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 6700 XT achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2435 and a PassMark G3D score of 19786. These results place it in the 72nd percentile versus all GPUs, with close rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile (0% delta), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (0.5% lower), NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell (1.1% higher), and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 (1.5% lower). This tight grouping indicates that the RX 6700 XT delivers performance comparable to much more expensive options in some workloads, but The Medium's specific demands reveal its limitations.

The GPU's pixel rate of 165.2 GPixel/s and texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s are the specs that matter most for this game. At 4K with 8.3 million pixels, the pixel rate must be shared across the frame buffer, and the data shows the GPU reaching its limits: 32 FPS at High settings and 26 FPS at Ultra. The FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS is adequate for the game's lighting and post-processing effects, but the memory subsystem becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

VRAM usage is a key consideration. The 12 GB frame buffer is sufficient for all tested settings, as the game does not appear to exceed this capacity even at 4K Ultra. However, the 384.0 GB/s bandwidth means that as resolution increases and more data must be pushed through the memory bus, frame rates drop predictably. The transition from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings (58 to 45 FPS) shows a 22.4% reduction, which correlates closely with the 77.8% increase in pixel count — the GPU cannot scale its memory throughput proportionally.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 capability mean it is well-suited for the game's modern rendering techniques, but the data shows that The Medium does not benefit significantly from these features. The game's fixed camera angles and pre-rendered environments likely reduce the need for complex geometry processing, shifting the bottleneck to fill-rate and memory bandwidth.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 1486th out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the 51st percentile of all systems tested. This rank reflects a balanced pairing where the CPU is significantly more powerful relative to its peers than the GPU. The Core Ultra 5 245's 90th percentile CPU ranking contrasts sharply with the RX 6700 XT's 72nd percentile GPU ranking, creating a system that is CPU-heavy in its performance profile.

The rank of 1486 suggests that many other combinations deliver better frame rates in this game, primarily those with more powerful GPUs. The data indicates that upgrading the GPU would yield larger performance gains than upgrading the CPU. The close rival grouping of the RX 6700 XT (within 1.5% of several other GPUs) means that small GPU differences translate to meaningful rank changes in a game like The Medium, where frame rates are tightly clustered.

In the context of all tested combinations, this rank is not exceptional but is serviceable for a game that targets cinematic horror rather than competitive esports. The 2911 total combos include many systems with much stronger GPUs, so a 1486th rank means this pairing sits near the middle of the pack. The data shows that this system is capable of 1080p High at 49 FPS and 1440p Medium at 58 FPS, which are acceptable for the game's slower pacing.

The rank also reflects the GPU's end-of-life production status. The RX 6700 XT was released in March 2021, and its performance relative to newer GPUs has declined as the benchmark database has expanded. The Core Ultra 5 245, released in January 2025, is much newer, but its performance advantage does not compensate for the GPU's age in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 110 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay on any display. Medium settings drop to 69 FPS average, with a minimum of 58 FPS and maximum of 79 FPS, providing a comfortable experience. High settings yield 49 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced sequences. Ultra settings produce 39 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS target but acceptable for the game's deliberate pacing.

At 2560x1440, performance becomes more constrained. Low settings still deliver a strong 92 FPS average, making this resolution viable for players who prioritize frame rate. Medium settings drop to 58 FPS average, with a minimum of 49 FPS and maximum of 66 FPS, which is borderline for smooth play. High settings produce 41 FPS average, which is playable but requires some compromise. Ultra settings fall to 33 FPS average, which is marginal and may cause noticeable stutter in demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the combination is only suitable for low-end settings. Low settings produce 73 FPS average, which is surprisingly playable given the GPU's mid-range position. Medium settings drop to 45 FPS average, with a minimum of 39 FPS and maximum of 52 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold. High settings yield 32 FPS average, which is difficult to play smoothly. Ultra settings produce 26 FPS average, which is below the playability threshold for most users.

The data shows that the sweet spot for this combination is 1080p Medium or 1440p Low, where frame rates remain above 60 FPS. Players targeting 60 FPS consistently should avoid 4K unless they are willing to use Low settings. The minimum FPS data at Medium settings (58 at 1080p, 49 at 1440p, 39 at 4K) indicates that frame pacing remains stable, with no severe dips that would cause hitches.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: The data shows 1080p Medium delivers 69 FPS average with a 58 FPS minimum, providing the best balance of visual quality and performance. For 60 FPS targets, 1440p Low at 92 FPS average is the highest resolution that maintains smooth frame rates.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: At 4K, only Low settings (73 FPS average) are playable. Medium settings drop to 45 FPS average, and High settings fall to 32 FPS average. Ultra settings at 4K produce 26 FPS average, which is below playable thresholds.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores within 0.8% of its closest rivals. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G is 0.4% lower, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 is 0.5% lower, the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H is 0.6% higher, and the Intel Core i5-14600K is 0.8% higher in average benchmark scores.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT scores within 1.5% of its closest rivals. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile matches it exactly, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is 0.5% lower, the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell is 1.1% higher, and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 is 1.5% lower in average benchmark scores.

Q: Is the 12 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The data shows the 12 GB frame buffer is not a limiting factor at any resolution or settings level tested. The performance drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with memory bandwidth constraints rather than capacity limits.

Q: What is the overall ranking of this combination?

A: This combination ranks 1486th out of 2911 tested combinations in The Medium. This places it in the upper-middle tier, with the CPU ranking in the 90th percentile and the GPU in the 72nd percentile of their respective categories.