The Medium

The Medium presents a uniquely demanding workload, and the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti produces a set of results that clearly delineate the strengths and limitations of each component. The data indicates a system that is well-balanced at lower resolutions but becomes increasingly GPU-bound as the resolution scales, ultimately struggling to maintain fluid frame rates at 4K with high visual fidelity. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, component roles, and provides actionable settings recommendations based solely on the provided benchmark data.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 offers the most consistent experience, with an average of 81 FPS at Medium settings and 129 FPS at Low settings. At 2560x1440, performance is still playable on Medium (68 FPS), but 3840x2160 drops to 53 FPS on Medium, indicating a significant compromise.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 compare to its nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks?

A: The CPU has a percentile of 90 against all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 48995 is nearly identical to rival chips, with a 0.6% lead over the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and a 0.8% lead over the Intel Core i5-14600K, while trailing the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G by 0.4% and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 by 0.5%.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all other graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti holds the 75th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 29945 places it within a 1.6% margin of its nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (0.1% faster) and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (0.5% faster).

Q: What is the launch MSRP for the CPU and GPU?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has a launch MSRP of $270. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti has a launch MSRP of 599 USD.

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The data strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at 3840x2160. The average FPS drops to 38 on High and 30 on Ultra, while the CPU's robust multi-threaded score of 32924 in Cinebench R23 suggests it is not the limiting component at this resolution.

Q: What is the system's overall rank among tested combos for this game?

A: This specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 978th out of 2911 total tested combos in The Medium.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s. The GPU's core clocks are set at a base of 1575 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz. Its raw compute capability is substantial, with 6144 shading units and a FP32 performance of 21.75 TFLOPS, alongside 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores for ray tracing and AI workloads.

In The Medium, the GPU's role is the decisive factor in frame rate scaling. The measured FPS at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings is 39 FPS, which is nearly identical to the 38 FPS achieved at 3840x2160 with High settings. This indicates that at these higher loads, the GPU is fully saturated. The RTX 3070 Ti’s performance percentile of 75 places it in a capable tier, but the data shows it is not sufficient for maxed-out 4K gaming in this title. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is stark: the GPU delivers 85 FPS on Low but only 30 FPS on Ultra, a performance drop of 65% that underscores the extreme pressure placed on the graphics card by the game's higher-quality presets. The benchmark results indicate that the GPU's 8 GB frame buffer and compute power are being pushed to their limits as resolution and settings increase.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, offering a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. This CPU is a strong performer, as evidenced by its multi-threaded score of 32924 in Cinebench R23 and a single-core score of 4648. Its percentile of 90 against all CPUs confirms it is a high-end part, with an average benchmark score of 48995.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role appears to be providing a stable foundation that does not bottleneck the system, even at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the game is less demanding on the GPU, but the CPU still needs to feed frames. The data shows a 129 FPS average on Low settings, which indicates the Core Ultra 5 245 has ample headroom. The processor's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and high boost clock help maintain consistent frame pacing. The CPU's performance is so robust that it is unlikely to be the primary constraint in any of the measured scenarios. The benchmark results suggest that as resolution increases, the frame rate drops significantly, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario, meaning the CPU is waiting on the graphics card to finish its work. The Core Ultra 5 245's performance is competitive, with a 0.8% higher average benchmark score than the Intel Core i5-14600K, indicating that it is a modern, capable gaming processor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear roadmap for optimizing the experience in The Medium with this hardware. For players targeting a smooth 60 FPS or higher, the Medium preset is the sweet spot at 1920x1080, yielding an average of 81 FPS with minimums of 69 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset also offers a playable experience with an average of 68 FPS, though it dips to a minimum of 58 FPS.

For those who prioritize visual quality over raw frame rate, the High preset is an option. At 1920x1080, it achieves 58 FPS, which is a solid baseline, but at 2560x1440, it drops to 49 FPS, which may be less desirable for fast-paced action. The Ultra preset is not recommended for this combination at any resolution. The data shows it only manages 46 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K, all of which are below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience.

The Low preset is available for maximum performance, achieving 129 FPS at 1080p and 109 FPS at 1440p. However, given that the Medium preset offers a substantial jump in visual quality for a more manageable performance cost, it is the recommended balance. The 4K resolution is generally only viable with the Low preset, which achieves 85 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K falls to 53 FPS, suggesting that players with 4K displays should either lower settings or accept a compromise in frame rate. The best experience, per the measured rows, is found at 1920x1080 with the Medium preset, providing a stable and responsive frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations for The Medium, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti secures the 978th position out of 2911 combos. This places it in the upper half of all tested systems, indicating a robust overall performance level. This ranking reflects a balance between a high-end CPU and a mid-to-high-end GPU.

The rank is a holistic measure that accounts for all tested settings and resolutions. The CPU's strong showing, with a 90th percentile ranking, helps boost the combo's position, while the GPU's 75th percentile performance provides a solid, but not class-leading, graphics foundation. The data suggests that this combo is more powerful than the average tested system but is outclassed by combinations featuring higher-tier GPUs. The 2911 total combos include a wide range of hardware, so being in the 978th spot signifies that this system is well above the median performer, capable of handling the game's demands at moderate settings and resolutions. This ranking is a useful reference point, showing that the system is a competent, but not top-tier, performer in this specific title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS figures recorded for this hardware configuration across all tested resolutions and settings. Minimum and maximum FPS values were only captured for the Medium settings at each resolution.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|:--------- |:------- |:---------- |:------ |:------ |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 129 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 81 | 69 | 93 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 58 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 46 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 109 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 68 | 58 | 78 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 49 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 39 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 85 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 53 | 45 | 61 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 38 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 30 | - | - |

The data shows a clear hierarchy, with the Low preset delivering the highest frame rates and the Ultra preset the lowest. The Medium preset provides a middle ground with a noticeable improvement in stability, as indicated by the recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. The progression from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent drop in performance across all settings, with the most severe impact seen on the higher-quality presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is significant and reveals the nature of the system's bottleneck. At the Medium settings, performance degrades from 81 FPS at 1080p to 68 FPS at 1440p, a 16% decrease, and then to 53 FPS at 4K, a further 22% decrease from the 1440p figure. This pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload, where the cost of rendering each pixel increases exponentially with resolution.

The trend is even more pronounced at the High and Ultra settings. For High settings, the drop is from 58 FPS at 1080p to 38 FPS at 4K, a 34% reduction. For Ultra, it falls from 46 FPS at 1080p to just 30 FPS at 4K, a 35% reduction. This scaling indicates that the RTX 3070 Ti's compute capabilities and memory bandwidth are being increasingly overwhelmed as the pixel count rises. The CPU, with its high single-core score of 4648 in Cinebench R23, is not the limiting factor here; if it were, the frame rate would remain more static across different resolutions.

The fact that the 4K Low preset still manages 85 FPS demonstrates that the CPU can feed frames fast enough, but the GPU's fill rate and shader processing power are insufficient for more demanding settings at that resolution. The diminishing returns from 1440p to 4K at higher settings point to a hard performance ceiling for this GPU in The Medium. The system is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p where the balance between CPU and GPU allows for higher-quality settings. At 4K, the user is forced to make significant sacrifices in visual fidelity to maintain a playable frame rate, confirming that the graphics card is the primary constraint in this configuration.