The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience, and the benchmark data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile reveals a configuration that is consistently GPU-bound across all tested resolutions. The measured frame rates show a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, with the most significant performance drop occurring between 1080p and 1440p. This indicates that while the CPU has ample headroom, the graphical workload quickly saturates the mobile GPU, making resolution the primary determinant of playability.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data from 1080p to 4K paints a clear picture of a system where the GPU is the limiting component in The Medium. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers an average of 61 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the average drops to 52 FPS, a reduction of 9 FPS (approximately 14.8%). The jump to 4K High is more severe, with the average falling to 41 FPS, another 11 FPS drop (approximately 21.2%). This scaling behavior is typical of a game that is heavily reliant on pixel throughput, where the RTX 4080 Mobile’s 432.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 24.72 TFLOPS of FP32 compute become the bottleneck.

The scaling pattern is even more pronounced at lower settings, where the CPU’s influence diminishes further. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 137 FPS, a very high frame rate that suggests the CPU is still able to feed the GPU effectively. However, at 1440p Low, the average drops to 116 FPS, and at 4K Low, it plummets to 91 FPS. The delta between 1080p and 4K at Low settings is 46 FPS, which is a 33.6% reduction. This confirms that even when graphical fidelity is reduced, the sheer number of pixels at 4K overwhelms the GPU, preventing the frame rate from scaling linearly with the reduction in settings.

The most telling data point for identifying the bottleneck is the Medium settings preset, which is the only one with reported minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the average is 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 FPS and a maximum of 99 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 57 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. The frame time consistency, as indicated by the relatively narrow min-max range, suggests that the GPU is delivering a steady stream of frames without stuttering, which would be more likely if the CPU were struggling to keep up. The consistent scaling across all settings levels points to a pure GPU limitation, as the Core Ultra 7 155H’s 16 cores and 22 threads are not being taxed by the game’s fixed-camera scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of all tested hardware combinations for The Medium, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile holds a rank of 1180 out of 3724 combos. This places it in the top 31.7% of all tested systems, which is a solid result for a mobile platform. The combo rank is a holistic measure that considers the combined performance of both the CPU and GPU, and this position indicates that the system is capable of delivering a playable experience in most scenarios, though it is not at the absolute advanced of performance.

The percentile rankings of the individual components help contextualize this combo rank. The CPU, Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, has a percentile rank of 83 against all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 83% of processors in the database. This is a strong showing for a mobile chip, indicating that the 16 cores and 22 threads are more than sufficient for the demands of The Medium. In contrast, the GPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, has a percentile rank of 81 against all GPUs, which is also respectable. The slight difference in percentiles (83 for CPU vs. 81 for GPU) suggests that the GPU is marginally more of a limiting factor than the CPU, which aligns with the resolution scaling analysis.

Looking at the nearest rivals for the GPU provides further insight into its relative standing. The RTX 4080 Mobile’s average benchmark score is 38135, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 (38299, a -0.4% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (38349, a -0.6% delta). It is also 1.3% ahead of both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (37648) and the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628). This data indicates that while the RTX 4080 Mobile is a capable part, it is not significantly faster than its closest competitors in synthetic benchmarks, which explains why the combo does not rank higher overall. The game’s performance is solid, but not exceptional, when compared to the absolute fastest systems tested.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is the dominant component in this configuration for The Medium, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling. The GPU is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 7424 shading units, 232 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation pipelines. It also has 58 ray tracing cores and 232 tensor cores, which are relevant for the game’s visual effects, though the fixed-camera perspective of The Medium may not stress these features as heavily as a first-person title would. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical resource for handling the high-resolution textures and complex scenes at 4K.

The GPU’s clock speeds are set at a base of 1290 MHz and a boost of 1665 MHz. These clocks are relatively modest for a high-end part, which contributes to the performance ceiling observed in the benchmarks. The memory operates at 2250 MHz, which translates to 18 Gbps effective, and this memory clock is a key factor in the bandwidth figure. The GPU’s FP32 performance is rated at 24.72 TFLOPS, which is a measure of its raw compute capability. In The Medium, the data suggests that this compute power is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming at high settings, but it begins to struggle at 4K, where the pixel count doubles and the fill rate requirements increase.

The fact that the GPU’s performance percentile (81) is slightly lower than the CPU’s (83) reinforces the notion that the RTX 4080 Mobile is the limiting factor in this pairing. The GPU’s nearest rival, the RTX 5080 Mobile, is only 0.6% faster in average benchmark score, which shows that the 4080 Mobile is not far behind the latest generation. However, in a game like The Medium, which can be demanding on memory bandwidth and pixel throughput, the 432.0 GB/s figure is the key constraint. The 4K Ultra preset, which delivers only 32 FPS, is the clearest example of this limitation, as the GPU cannot maintain playable frame rates when the settings are maxed out at the highest resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data provides a comprehensive breakdown of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system is highly capable, with the Low preset achieving an average of 137 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset delivers 86 FPS, with a minimum of 73 FPS and a maximum of 99 FPS, indicating excellent frame time consistency. The High preset offers 61 FPS, which is still playable, while the Ultra preset drops to 49 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for the highest visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. The Low preset remains very playable at 116 FPS, and the Medium preset delivers 72 FPS, with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS. The High preset drops to 52 FPS, which is on the edge of what many players would consider acceptable, and the Ultra preset falls to 41 FPS, which is starting to feel less fluid. The 1440p Medium result is particularly notable, as the min-max range of 61-83 FPS shows that the system can maintain a stable experience even when the resolution is increased.

At 3840x2160, the system’s limitations become apparent. The Low preset is still playable at 91 FPS, but the Medium preset drops to 57 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. The High preset falls to 41 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the worst performer, with an average of just 32 FPS. The 4K Medium result is the only one with a full set of min/max data, showing a 48-65 FPS range, which suggests some variability but no major stuttering. Overall, the data shows that 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings for a consistently smooth experience, while 1440p High and 1080p Ultra are the highest combinations that remain generally playable.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for a smooth experience in The Medium?

A: The data suggests that 1440p Medium, which delivers an average of 72 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS, is a strong choice for a 60 FPS target. Alternatively, 1080p High at 61 FPS is also viable, while 1080p Ultra at 49 FPS may be acceptable for players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate.

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

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. At 4K Low, the system achieves 91 FPS, which is smooth. However, at 4K High, the average drops to 41 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 32 FPS, which are not ideal for a fluid experience.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The CPU has an average benchmark score of 32697, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-14600T (32707, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (32662, 0.1% delta). It is also 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 Mobile significantly faster than its closest GPU competitors?

A: The data shows it is not significantly faster. Its average benchmark score of 38135 is only 0.4% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 and 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile. It is 1.3% faster than both the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 and the NVIDIA Tesla P4.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this system for The Medium?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck. The resolution scaling shows a consistent frame rate drop as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU limitation. The CPU’s higher percentile rank (83) compared to the GPU (81) also supports this conclusion.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset achieves an average of 137 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 49 FPS. This represents a performance difference of 88 FPS, or approximately 179% higher frame rate at Low settings compared to Ultra.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H serves as the supporting component in this configuration, providing the processing power needed to feed the RTX 4080 Mobile. The CPU is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. It has 24 MB of shared L3 cache, which is a reasonable amount for a mobile chip. The CPU’s performance is strong, as indicated by its 83rd percentile ranking against all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 32697 places it in a tight group with several desktop-class rivals.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU’s role is to handle the game’s logic, AI, and scene management. The fixed-camera perspective of the game is less demanding on the CPU than a dynamic open-world title, which means the 16 cores are likely underutilized. The benchmark data supports this, as the frame rate scales directly with resolution and settings, which are primarily GPU-bound factors. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a more consistent frame rate across different resolutions at the same settings, which is not the case.

The CPU’s nearest rivals show that its performance is competitive. It is essentially tied with the Intel Core i5-14600T (32707, 0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (32662, 0.1% delta). It is also 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H. This indicates that the 155H is a well-balanced mobile processor that does not hold back the GPU in this game. The high frame rates at 1080p Low (137 FPS) demonstrate that the CPU can push the GPU to its limits without introducing a processing bottleneck. The data confirms that in this pairing, the CPU provides a stable foundation, while the GPU dictates the final frame rate outcome.