The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title built on Unreal Engine 4, presents a unique stress profile for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination. The measured data reveals a system that is decisively GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU's strong single-threaded performance provides a solid foundation for the game's dual-reality rendering. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing delivers a playable experience at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles to maintain fluidity at 4K with maximum settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions shows a classic pattern of GPU saturation. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 141 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low settings, the average drops to 119 FPS, a 15.6% decrease. The most significant drop occurs when moving from 1440p to 3840x2160, where the Low setting average falls to 93 FPS, a 21.8% reduction from the 1440p result. This steep decline at 4K indicates that the Radeon RX 9070's rendering throughput is becoming the primary limiting factor.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at higher graphical presets. At Medium settings, the frame rate drops from 88 FPS at 1080p to 74 FPS at 1440p (a 15.9% decrease), and then to 58 FPS at 4K (a 21.6% decrease from 1440p). This consistent degradation across presets suggests that the game's visual effects, particularly its volumetric lighting and dual-scene rendering, place a heavy load on the GPU's compute and memory subsystems.

The High preset shows a similar trajectory, with averages of 63 FPS at 1080p, 53 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops between successive resolutions are 15.9% (1080p to 1440p) and 20.8% (1440p to 4K). These figures confirm that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the scaling is roughly proportional to the pixel count increase.

Ultra settings present the most demanding scenario, with the combo managing 50 FPS at 1080p, 42 FPS at 1440p, and only 33 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 33 FPS is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, and the data shows that this configuration is best reserved for 1440p or lower. The fact that Low settings at 4K (93 FPS) outperform Ultra at 1080p (50 FPS) by 86% highlights how dramatically the preset selection impacts performance relative to resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 3.50 GHz with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648. These scores place the processor at the 90th percentile compared to all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48995.

The nearest rivals in the database show the CPU's competitive position. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 49196, which is 0.4% higher than the Ultra 5 245. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49228, a 0.5% advantage. On the other side, the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H scores 48698, which is 0.6% lower, and the Intel Core i5-14600K scores 48618, a 0.8% deficit. These tight margins indicate that the Ultra 5 245 sits squarely in the middle of its performance class.

For The Medium, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain consistent frame pacing and handle the game's logic, AI, and streaming. The single-core performance, as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648, is adequate for the game's fixed-camera scenarios, which typically do not require massive multi-threaded workloads. However, The Medium's signature feature of rendering two simultaneous worlds (the real world and the spirit world) can create spikes in CPU demand. The PassMark multithread score of 38706 suggests the 14-core processor can handle these bursts without becoming a bottleneck.

The data supports this assessment when examining frame times at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 141 FPS, which is a high frame rate that still allows the CPU to feed the GPU effectively. The lack of minimum FPS data for most settings prevents a full analysis of frame time consistency, but the Medium preset at all three resolutions provides minimum FPS figures that suggest stable performance: 75 FPS at 1080p, 63 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 48 chip, manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. The GPU's boost clock is 2520 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz. Its compute capabilities include 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units.

In GPU benchmarks, the RX 9070 achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290 and a PassMark G3D score of 25381. The GPU's average benchmark score is 23877, placing it at the 69th percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rivals show a competitive landscape: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z scores 23736 (0.6% lower), the AMD Radeon RX 6800S scores 24063 (0.8% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile scores 23628 (1.1% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170 (1.2% higher).

For The Medium, the GPU's 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for the game's texture streaming, even at 4K. The memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s is a critical asset, as the game's dual-world rendering requires rapid texture and buffer swaps. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences between presets. At 1080p, the spread between Low (141 FPS) and Ultra (50 FPS) is 91 FPS, representing a 64.5% decrease. At 4K, the spread is 60 FPS (93 FPS at Low versus 33 FPS at Ultra), a 64.5% decrease. This consistent ratio across resolutions suggests that the GPU's shading and rasterization capabilities scale predictably with the preset's computational load.

The GPU's 220 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a power-hungry component, but the performance data shows that it delivers the expected frame rates for its class. The 4K Ultra result of 33 FPS is the only configuration that falls below the 40 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for a playable experience in a slow-paced horror game. The 1440p Ultra result of 42 FPS is borderline but may be acceptable given the game's genre.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in The Medium?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. At Medium settings, this resolution yields 74 FPS average, while High settings deliver 53 FPS. Both are playable, whereas 4K at Ultra drops to 33 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 9070 compare to its closest rivals in raw GPU performance?

A: The RX 9070's average benchmark score of 23877 is 0.8% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6800S (24063) and 1.2% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (24170). It outperforms the GTX TITAN Z by 0.6% and the RTX 3080 Mobile by 1.1%.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 sufficient for The Medium's CPU demands?

A: Yes. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and single-core score of 4648 place it in the 90th percentile. The measured FPS data shows no CPU-related bottlenecks, as the frame rates scale predictably with GPU load.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce an average of 141 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 50 FPS. This represents a 64.5% decrease in average frame rate from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM on the RX 9070 matter for this game?

A: The 16 GB GDDR6 memory with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth is more than adequate for The Medium's texture streaming. The data shows that even at 4K, the game runs at 33 FPS on Ultra, indicating the GPU's compute limits are reached before VRAM capacity becomes an issue.

Q: Which settings preset provides the most stable frame times?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum FPS data. At 1080p, it averages 88 FPS with a minimum of 75 FPS, at 1440p it averages 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS, and at 4K it averages 58 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS. These ranges suggest consistent performance without major dips.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium provides an average of 88 FPS with a minimum of 75 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay with a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 1080p delivers 63 FPS average, which is playable but closer to the edge of variance. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 50 FPS, which may feel less responsive.

For 2560x1440, Medium remains the recommended choice with an average of 74 FPS and a minimum of 63 FPS. This configuration maintains the 60 FPS target even during demanding scenes. High at 1440p yields 53 FPS average, which is acceptable for a horror game with slower pacing but not ideal. Ultra at 1440p produces 42 FPS, which is below the preferred threshold.

At 3840x2160, Medium is the highest playable preset, achieving 58 FPS average with a minimum of 50 FPS. Low at 4K offers 93 FPS for those prioritizing frame rate over visuals, but Medium provides a significantly better visual experience. High at 4K drops to 42 FPS, and Ultra falls to 33 FPS, both of which are suboptimal for consistent gameplay.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the "sweet spot" for this combination, delivering a 43% performance improvement over High at 1080p (88 vs 63 FPS) and a 76% improvement over Ultra (88 vs 50 FPS). At 4K, Medium outperforms High by 38% (58 vs 42 FPS) and Ultra by 76% (58 vs 33 FPS).

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 in The Medium is as follows:

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: average 93 FPS
• Medium: average 58 FPS, minimum 50 FPS, maximum 67 FPS
• High: average 42 FPS
• Ultra: average 33 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: average 119 FPS
• Medium: average 74 FPS, minimum 63 FPS, maximum 85 FPS
• High: average 53 FPS
• Ultra: average 42 FPS

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: average 141 FPS
• Medium: average 88 FPS, minimum 75 FPS, maximum 101 FPS
• High: average 63 FPS
• Ultra: average 50 FPS

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset shows the most consistent performance with minimum FPS values that stay within 15% of the average. The Low preset offers the highest frame rates at every resolution, with 141 FPS at 1080p being the peak performance measured. The Ultra preset consistently produces the lowest results, with the 4K figure of 33 FPS being the only configuration that falls below the 40 FPS threshold. The overall combo rank for this game is 797 out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the top 27.4% of systems for The Medium.