The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H paired with the AMD Radeon 880M is a combination that struggles significantly with The Medium, ranking in the bottom 2.3% of all tested configurations. The data shows a system firmly constrained by its integrated graphics, where even the most favorable settings yield a playable experience only at 1080p with significant compromises. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions, settings, and component roles.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and consistent across all settings, revealing a GPU that is completely overwhelmed by higher pixel counts. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 43 FPS at 1920x1080 to 36 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 16.3%. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings drops the average from 36 FPS to 28 FPS, another 22.2% decline. The cumulative effect from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is a 34.9% loss in average FPS, which is a steep price for resolution scaling.

The pattern is even more pronounced at higher graphical presets. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 27 at 1080p to 22 at 1440p, then down to 18 at 4K. This represents a 33.3% total drop from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the averages are 19, 16, and 13 FPS for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively, a 31.6% overall reduction. The Ultra preset shows the worst scaling in absolute terms, with averages of 15, 13, and 10 FPS, though the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 33.3%, consistent with other presets.

These results indicate that the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU. The Radeon 880M's performance is so low that even at 1080p, the frame rates are marginal, and the scaling pattern shows a near-linear relationship with pixel count. A CPU-bound system would typically show a smaller FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p, as the GPU takes over more of the workload. Here, the consistent 16-22% drops between each resolution step suggest the GPU is saturated even at the lowest resolution. The 4K results, which hover between 10 and 28 FPS depending on settings, are effectively unplayable for a horror title that relies on atmosphere and timing. The data shows that this combo should be considered a 1080p-only solution for The Medium, and even then, only at the lowest settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the only configuration that approaches a playable frame rate is 1080p with Low settings, which delivers an average of 43 FPS. This is the clear recommendation for any user attempting to play The Medium with this hardware. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p is substantial, with the average dropping from 43 FPS to 27 FPS, a 37.2% performance penalty. This is too great a cost for the visual improvements Medium might offer, especially when the minimum FPS at Medium (23 FPS) falls below the threshold for smooth motion in a game that benefits from consistent frame pacing.

At 1440p, Low settings produce an average of 36 FPS, which is playable but with noticeable compromises. The Medium preset at 1440p drops to 22 FPS average with a minimum of 19 FPS, which is likely to feel stuttery and unresponsive. The data suggests that 1440p Low is a viable fallback if a user has a 1440p display, but it is inferior to 1080p Low in every measurable way.

High and Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution. At 1080p High, the average is 19 FPS, and Ultra falls to 15 FPS. These are slideshow-level frame rates that will severely impair the gameplay experience, particularly in a horror game where quick reactions are sometimes necessary. The 4K results are uniformly poor across all presets, with the highest average being 28 FPS at Low, which is still below the 30 FPS threshold generally considered the minimum for playable action. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 15 FPS and a maximum of 20 FPS, indicating significant frame time variance that would exacerbate the feeling of sluggishness. The verdict is clear: 1080p Low is the only sensible setting for this combination, with 1440p Low as a distant second option for users who prioritize resolution over frame rate.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 880M is an integrated graphics processor based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process. Its performance in The Medium is poor, as evidenced by its 43rd percentile ranking among all GPUs in general benchmarks. The measured frame rates in this game align with that low standing. The GPU has a base clock of 400 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz, but these clocks are insufficient to drive the game at acceptable frame rates beyond 1080p Low.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," which means it relies on the system's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This shared memory arrangement has a bandwidth that is "System Dependent," which can be a bottleneck in memory-intensive scenes. The game's requirements for texture streaming and geometry data are likely competing with the CPU and other system processes for the same memory bandwidth, further hampering performance. The GPU has 768 shading units and 12 ray tracing cores, but the raw compute power of 4.454 TFLOPS is clearly not enough for a game like The Medium, which has demanding visual effects.

The benchmark results for the GPU show a Passmark G3D score of 7615, which places it in the same league as older discrete mobile GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX and the AMD Radeon HD 8870M, both of which are over a decade old. This context underscores that the Radeon 880M is not a gaming-focused part, and its performance in The Medium reflects that. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 535 is a more modern benchmark but still confirms the GPU's low-end positioning. The data suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the frame rates scale almost directly with resolution and settings, with no headroom left for the CPU to matter.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and the AMD Radeon 880M ranks 2843 out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium. This puts it in the bottom 2.3% of all configurations, a position that confirms its unsuitability for this game. The rank is a composite measure of performance, and given the frame rates observed, it is not surprising that this combo scores so poorly. The fact that there are only 68 combos that perform worse indicates that this is a very weak pairing for this specific title.

This ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU. The CPU, as discussed later, has decent synthetic benchmarks, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's lack of power. The combo rank is a stark warning for users who might assume that a modern integrated GPU can handle a 2021 horror game. The data shows that even the most basic discrete GPUs from a decade ago would likely outperform this integrated solution in The Medium. The deltaPct values from the GPU's nearest rivals show that it is within 1.3% of the AMD Radeon R9 M375X and 0.3% of the NVIDIA GeForce MX330, both of which are entry-level parts. This combo's rank of 2843 is a direct consequence of the GPU's inability to maintain playable frame rates at any resolution above 1080p Low.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on a 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, with a 24 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it performs well, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15028 and a single-core score of 1743. Its average benchmark score of 32697 places it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core i5-14600T and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360, both of which have near-identical average scores.

However, in The Medium, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The frame rates are so low that the CPU is likely idle waiting for the GPU to finish rendering. The CPU's 16 cores and 22 threads are more than sufficient for the game's logic, but they cannot influence the GPU-bound performance. The Passmark multi-thread score of 24873 and the single-thread score of 3468 indicate a capable processor, but these strengths are irrelevant when the GPU is the limiting factor.

The data suggests that the CPU is not causing any additional bottlenecks. If the GPU were more powerful, the CPU would likely be able to keep up, given its high single-thread performance. But as it stands, the CPU's capabilities are wasted in this configuration. The launch MSRP of the CPU is $503, but this cost does not translate into gaming performance in this scenario. The CPU's role here is to feed the GPU with data, and even at 1080p Low, the GPU is the one struggling to keep up. The conclusion is that the CPU is a strong component that is being held back by a weak GPU, and any upgrade path would need to focus on the graphics side to see meaningful improvements in The Medium.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in The Medium?*

A: The only configuration with a playable average frame rate is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which achieves 43 FPS. The next best option is 2560x1440 with Low settings at 36 FPS, but this is a compromise on resolution rather than a recommendation, as the 1080p Low setting provides a higher frame rate.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K resolution in The Medium?*

A: No. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 28 FPS at Low settings, which is below the 30 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At Medium settings, the average drops to 18 FPS with a minimum of 15 FPS, making it unplayable. The Ultra preset at 4K averages only 10 FPS.

Q: How does the Radeon 880M compare to its nearest rivals in general performance?

A: The Radeon 880M has an average benchmark score of 8436, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX and 0.3% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce MX330. It is also 1.3% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 M375X. These are all older or entry-level parts, indicating the 880M's low-end positioning.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H a strong CPU for this game?

A: The CPU has a high average benchmark score of 32697, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. However, in The Medium, its performance is irrelevant because the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU's 16 cores and 22 threads are more than sufficient, but they cannot improve frame rates that are limited by the GPU.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested hardware for this game?

A: This combination ranks 2843 out of 2911 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 2.3% of all configurations. This is a poor rank that reflects the GPU's inability to deliver playable frame rates at most settings.

Q: What does the frame rate data suggest about the system's limiting component?

A: The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistently large, with a 34.9% drop at Low settings and a 33.3% drop at Medium. This pattern indicates that the GPU is saturated at all resolutions, making it the definitive limiting component. The CPU has no impact on the results.