The Medium

FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 in The Medium?

A: This combination ranks 1194 out of 2911 tested combos in the game, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the database.

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 123 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium preset at the same resolution delivers 77 FPS on average.

Q: Does this combo maintain 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, only the Low preset achieves over 60 FPS, averaging 104 FPS. The Medium preset falls slightly short at 65 FPS, while High and Ultra average 46 and 37 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average is 29 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. The High preset at 4K averages 36 FPS, and Medium at 4K averages 51 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, which is 0.8% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K (48618) and 0.6% higher than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698). It trails the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 by 0.5%.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17208, which is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083) and 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037). It trails the NVIDIA Tesla K40c by 1.5%.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, built on the Arrow Lake architecture using a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s.

In The Medium, the CPU's contribution is most visible in the scaling between settings presets at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the jump from Ultra (44 FPS) to Low (123 FPS) represents a 79 FPS difference, which is substantial. A similar pattern appears at 2560x1440, where Low averages 104 FPS versus 37 FPS on Ultra. These gaps indicate that the CPU has headroom to feed the GPU when graphical load is reduced.

The CPU's single-core performance appears strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4394. This matters for The Medium, a horror game that likely relies on consistent frame pacing and single-threaded game logic. The multi-core scores, such as 32924 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 38706 in Passmark multithread, show a capable processor that does not bottleneck the RTX 3070 in this title.

The CPU's percentile rank of 90 versus all CPUs indicates it outperforms most processors in the database. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 at 49228 (0.5% higher) and the Intel Core i5-14600K at 48618 (0.8% lower). These small deltas suggest that swapping between these CPUs would yield negligible differences in The Medium's frame rates. The 14 threads, while equal to the core count, mean no hyper-threading, but the data shows this does not hamper performance in this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 achieves a rank of 1194 out of 2911 tested combinations in The Medium. This places it in the 59th percentile of tested systems, meaning roughly 41% of all tested combos perform worse. The ranking reflects a balance between the CPU's strong single-thread performance and the GPU's mid-range standing (61st percentile versus all GPUs).

Given that the RTX 3070 sits at the 61st percentile among GPUs, the combo's 59th percentile ranking is consistent with the GPU being the primary determinant of overall position. The CPU, ranked at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, is not the limiting factor. The data suggests that systems ranked above this combo likely pair higher-tier GPUs with similar or better CPUs, while those below often have older or weaker graphics cards.

The measured FPS data supports this interpretation. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 29 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users. At 4K Medium, it averages 51 FPS, a significant improvement that suggests the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for moderate settings at high resolution. The gap between Ultra and Medium at 4K (29 vs 51 FPS) indicates that the Ultra preset introduces overhead that the RTX 3070 cannot sustain.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers an average of 123 FPS on Low settings. The Medium preset averages 77 FPS with a minimum of 65 and maximum of 88. High settings drop to 55 FPS average, while Ultra averages 44 FPS. These numbers show a clear progression: each step from Low to Ultra costs roughly 20-22 FPS on average.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 104 FPS, a 19 FPS drop from 1080p Low. Medium averages 65 FPS (min 55, max 74), which is 12 FPS lower than 1080p Medium. High averages 46 FPS, an 9 FPS drop from 1080p High. Ultra averages 37 FPS, down 7 FPS from 1080p Ultra. The 1440p results show diminishing absolute drops as settings increase, suggesting the GPU becomes more stressed at higher resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 81 FPS, which is still playable. Medium averages 51 FPS (min 43, max 58), providing a reasonable experience. High averages 36 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. The 4K data reveals that this combo is only suitable for Low or Medium settings at this resolution if aiming for 60 FPS or higher. The Medium preset's minimum of 43 FPS indicates occasional dips that could impact gameplay in a horror title where smooth motion matters.

The data shows a consistent pattern across all resolutions: Low is always above 80 FPS, Medium is always above 50 FPS, High ranges from 36 to 55 FPS, and Ultra ranges from 29 to 44 FPS. This consistency suggests that the performance scaling is predictable and that users can estimate frame rates at untested settings with reasonable accuracy.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip, manufactured on an 8 nm process. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1725 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The card features 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, along with 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores.

In The Medium, the GPU's role is most evident in the resolution scaling. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by roughly 15-20% across settings. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is more pronounced, with Low going from 104 to 81 FPS (a 22% reduction) and Medium from 65 to 51 FPS (a 22% reduction). These reductions indicate that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU has sufficient headroom.

The RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM appears adequate for this game based on the measured results. At 4K Medium, the combo maintains 51 FPS, suggesting that memory capacity is not a limiting factor at this setting. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth likely helps sustain texture streaming in a horror game with detailed environments. The GPU's pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s support the observed performance at 1440p and below.

The GPU's benchmark scores show a Passmark G3D score of 22214 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3162. Its percentile rank of 61 versus all GPUs places it above average but not in the high-end tier. The nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (0.7% higher average score) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (1% higher), indicating that the RTX 3070 sits in a competitive mid-range segment. The GPU's compute score of 11195 in Passmark reflects its general-purpose capability, though this is less relevant for gaming.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality across most resolutions. At 1080p, Medium averages 77 FPS with a minimum of 65, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 1440p, Medium averages 65 FPS with a minimum of 55, which is close to the ideal but may show occasional dips. At 4K, Medium averages 51 FPS, which is below 60 but still playable for a slower-paced horror game.

The Low preset is the only option that guarantees 60+ FPS at all resolutions, with averages of 123 FPS at 1080p, 104 FPS at 1440p, and 81 FPS at 4K. This preset is recommended for users who prioritize frame rate stability over graphical fidelity, particularly at 4K where the drop to 81 FPS is significant but still smooth. The High preset averages 55 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K, making it suitable only for users who accept sub-60 FPS performance for improved visuals.

The Ultra preset is the least recommended option, with averages of 44 FPS at 1080p, 37 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K. These numbers fall below playable thresholds for most users, and the visual improvements over High are unlikely to justify the frame rate cost. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a 77 FPS average at 1080p and a 65 FPS average at 1440p while providing better visuals than Low.

For users with 1080p displays, Medium delivers a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. For 1440p displays, Medium is borderline but acceptable with a minimum of 55 FPS. For 4K displays, users should consider Low (81 FPS) or Medium (51 FPS) depending on their tolerance for frame rate fluctuations. The Medium preset's minimum FPS values (65 at 1080p, 55 at 1440p, 43 at 4K) indicate that frame pacing is generally stable, with no extreme stutters.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K reveal the limiting component in this combo. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 123 at 1080p to 104 at 1440p (a 15% drop) and then to 81 at 4K (a 22% drop from 1440p). At Medium settings, the progression is 77 to 65 to 51 FPS, representing drops of 16% and 22% respectively. At High settings, the progression is 55 to 46 to 36 FPS, with drops of 16% and 22%. At Ultra settings, the progression is 44 to 37 to 29 FPS, with drops of 16% and 22%.

The consistent percentage drops across all settings indicate that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck when resolution increases. The CPU's performance, particularly its single-thread score of 4648 in Cinebench R23, is sufficient to maintain frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low (123 FPS) and Ultra (44 FPS) suggests that the GPU is already stressed by the Ultra preset, while the CPU has headroom to render more frames if the GPU could keep up.

The 4K results show the most significant strain on the RTX 3070. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages just 29 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K Low, the 81 FPS average indicates that the GPU can handle 4K when graphical demands are reduced, but the 42 FPS gap between Low and Medium at 4K (81 vs 51) shows that the Medium preset's additional effects tax the GPU heavily. This suggests that the 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for Low but become limiting at Medium and above.

The scaling pattern also indicates that the RTX 3070's performance degrades more steeply from 1440p to 4K than from 1080p to 1440p. This is consistent with the GPU's mid-range positioning, where 4K is achievable only at lower settings. The CPU's role in this scaling is minimal, as the FPS drops are proportional to the pixel count increase, which is a GPU-bound characteristic. Users targeting 4K should expect to use Low or Medium settings, while 1440p users can comfortably use Medium or High.