The Medium

# The Medium with Intel Core Ultra 7 165H + AMD Radeon 880M

This combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H and AMD Radeon 880M integrated graphics places near the bottom of the database for The Medium, ranking 2843 out of 2911 tested combos. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings reveal a system that struggles with this 2021 horror title, though the data shows some usable configurations at lower resolutions and settings. The Radeon 880M, with its 768 shading units and 2900 MHz boost clock, is clearly the limiting factor here, while the 16-core, 22-thread CPU shows no signs of bottlenecking in this scenario.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2843 out of 2911 places this system in the bottom 2.3% of all tested combinations for The Medium. This is a remarkably low position, indicating that the integrated GPU is severely underpowered for this game's demands. The Radeon 880M sits at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 8436, putting it in direct competition with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX (0.1% ahead) and NVIDIA GeForce MX330 (0.3% behind). These are older discrete mobile GPUs, and the comparison underscores how the 880M's 4.454 TFLOPS of FP32 performance translates to marginal playability in modern titles.

The CPU, by contrast, is a much stronger component. The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H ranks at the 84th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34083. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H (0.3% ahead), AMD EPYC 4244P (0.4% behind), AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (0.4% behind), and AMD Ryzen 7 3700X (0.5% behind). This CPU is a solid mid-range performer, but its capabilities are entirely wasted in this gaming scenario because the integrated graphics cannot keep pace.

The data suggests a severe imbalance: the system's CPU is capable of far more than the GPU can deliver. In The Medium, this manifests as frame rates that rarely exceed 43 FPS even at the lowest settings and 1080p resolution, with most configurations falling well below 30 FPS. The 2843rd rank out of 2911 combos is not merely a reflection of the GPU's absolute performance but also of how poorly this pairing handles a game with heavy rendering demands at typical gaming resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the only configuration that approaches playability is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which delivers an average of 43 FPS. This is the sole preset where the system exceeds the 30 FPS threshold, and even then, it is only marginally above it. The Medium's fixed camera angles and slow pacing might make 43 FPS acceptable for some players, but the lack of min/max data for this configuration leaves uncertainty about frame time consistency.

Stepping down to 2560x1440 at Low settings yields 36 FPS, which is also technically above 30 FPS but requires a resolution reduction that may not be worth the modest 7 FPS gain over 1080p Low. The Medium at Medium settings shows 27 FPS at 1080p, with min and max values of 23 and 31 FPS respectively, indicating noticeable frame pacing variance. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 22 FPS with a range of 19 to 26 FPS.

For players who prioritize visual fidelity over smoothness, 1080p Medium at 27 FPS is the highest quality setting that maintains an average above 25 FPS. However, the data suggests that Low settings are the only realistic choice for a consistent experience. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 16 FPS (from 43 to 27), which is a substantial penalty for the visual improvements. The Ultra preset is essentially unplayable across all resolutions, with 15 FPS at 1080p, 13 FPS at 1440p, and 10 FPS at 4K.

The measured data implies that this system should be configured at 1080p Low for any serious playthrough, with 1440p Low as a secondary option if the player prioritizes pixel density over frame rate. The Medium's deliberate, cinematic pacing might tolerate 27 FPS at Medium settings, but the min frame rate of 23 FPS suggests potential stutter during demanding scenes.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the progression is 43 FPS at 1080p, 36 FPS at 1440p, and 28 FPS at 4K. This represents a 16.3% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 22.2% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, which indicates that the GPU is struggling with the increasing pixel count, but the relatively small percentage drops suggest that the 880M's memory bandwidth (system dependent) is not the primary constraint.

At Medium settings, the scaling shows 27 FPS at 1080p, 22 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, representing drops of 18.5% and 18.2% respectively. This consistent percentage drop across resolutions suggests that the GPU's compute units are the limiting factor, as the workload scales predictably with pixel count. The High settings show a similar pattern: 19 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and 13 FPS at 4K, with drops of 15.8% and 18.8%.

The Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling: 15 FPS at 1080p, 13 FPS at 1440p, and 10 FPS at 4K, with drops of 13.3% and 23.1%. The 4K Ultra configuration is the worst-performing measured setup at just 10 FPS average. The consistent pattern across all settings confirms that the Radeon 880M is the bottleneck, as the CPU's performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14551) would not be challenged by any of these resolutions.

The data implies that resolution scaling in The Medium is primarily a GPU workload, and the 880M's 768 shading units and 16 ROPs simply cannot handle higher pixel counts. The system's shared memory architecture means that bandwidth is system-dependent, which could explain some of the non-linear scaling at certain settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best playable configuration for this system in The Medium?

A: The only measured setup averaging above 30 FPS is 1920x1080 at Low settings, delivering 43 FPS. The 2560x1440 Low configuration provides 36 FPS, while all Medium and higher settings fall below 30 FPS at every resolution.

Q: How does the Radeon 880M compare to its nearest GPU rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The 880M scores 8436 on average, placing it 0.1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX and 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce MX330. It also trails the AMD Radeon HD 8870M by 0.3% and leads the AMD Radeon R9 M375X by 1.3%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is entirely the limiting factor. The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H scores 14551 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and has a 24 MB shared L3 cache, while the Radeon 880M delivers only 4.454 TFLOPS. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS values recorded at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the range is 23 to 31 FPS with an average of 27. At 1440p Medium, the range is 19 to 26 FPS with an average of 22. At 4K Medium, the range is 15 to 20 FPS with an average of 18.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 7 165H scores 34083 on average, which is 0.3% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H, 0.4% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4244P, 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350, and 0.5% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X.

Q: What GPU API support does the system have for this game?

A: The Radeon 880M supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. This is more than sufficient for The Medium, which was released in 2021 and does not require the latest API features.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 880M is the decisive component in this system's The Medium performance, and the data shows it is severely underpowered for the task. With 768 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and only 16 ROPs, the GPU is configured for efficiency rather than raw throughput. Its 4.454 TFLOPS of FP32 performance places it in the lower mid-range of the database, and the 43rd percentile ranking confirms this positioning.

The GPU's clock behavior is interesting: a base clock of 400 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz represent a wide dynamic range. The 880M can reach high clocks under load, but the 15 W TDP limits sustained performance. The 4 nm process from TSMC with 34,000 million transistors on a 233 mm² die gives it a transistor density of 145.9 million per mm², which is efficient but does not translate to gaming performance at higher resolutions.

The memory situation is critical for this game. The 880M uses system shared memory, with bandwidth described as system dependent. This means the GPU's performance is tied to the system's DDR5 memory configuration. The CPU supports dual-channel memory with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth, but the shared architecture means the GPU competes with the CPU for bandwidth. In The Medium, this could explain why frame rates drop so dramatically at higher settings, as the GPU needs to access more texture data.

The 12 ray tracing cores are present but likely unused in this title, as The Medium uses fixed camera angles and pre-baked lighting. The pixel rate of 46.40 GPixel/s and texture rate of 139.2 GTexel/s are theoretical maximums that the measured frame rates suggest are rarely approached. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support is a positive, but it does not help when the raw compute performance is insufficient.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H is a Meteor Lake architecture processor with 16 cores and 22 threads, built on Intel's 7 nm process. Its 3.80 GHz base clock and 5.00 GHz boost clock provide strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1759. The 24 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth ensure the CPU can feed data to the GPU without bottlenecking.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is largely secondary because the game is GPU-bound at all measured settings. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14551 indicates the 165H can handle complex workloads, but the game's rendering demands are not among them. The Passmark multithread score of 25933 and single-thread score of 3509 further confirm that the CPU is not the constraint.

The 165H's integrated Arc Xe-LPG 128EU graphics are not used in this configuration, as the system pairs it with the discrete Radeon 880M. However, the CPU's memory controller is critical because the GPU shares system memory. The dual-channel DDR5 support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth is a theoretical maximum that may not be fully realized with shared graphics.

The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs places it well above the GPU's 43rd percentile, creating a significant performance imbalance. In games that are less GPU-intensive, this CPU could shine, but The Medium's rendering requirements are too demanding for the 880M. The 165H's performance relative to rivals shows it is competitive with the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X (0.5% ahead), which is a notable desktop processor, but this advantage is irrelevant when the GPU cannot keep up.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 43 FPS, which is the only measured configuration above 30 FPS. Medium settings yield 27 FPS with a min/max of 23/31, providing a playable but variable experience. High settings drop to 19 FPS, and Ultra falls to 15 FPS. The 1080p results show a clear pattern: each settings tier costs roughly 8 FPS from Low to Medium, then 8 FPS from Medium to High, and 4 FPS from High to Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops across all settings. Low settings average 36 FPS, which is still above 30 FPS but represents a 16.3% reduction from 1080p. Medium settings average 22 FPS with a range of 19 to 26, High settings drop to 16 FPS, and Ultra falls to 13 FPS. The 1440p results show a similar tier-to-tier progression as 1080p, but with smaller absolute differences due to the lower starting point.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 28 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 18 FPS with a min/max of 15/20, High settings drop to 13 FPS, and Ultra falls to 10 FPS. The 4K results show that even the lowest settings cannot sustain 30 FPS, making this resolution impractical for The Medium.

The data reveals that the 880M's performance scales predictably with settings and resolution, but the absolute performance is too low for comfortable gaming. The gap between Low and Medium settings is consistent across resolutions (16 FPS at 1080p, 14 FPS at 1440p, 10 FPS at 4K), indicating that the Medium preset adds significant rendering complexity. The Ultra preset is uniformly poor, with no resolution providing more than 15 FPS. For players who must use this system, the measured data clearly points to 1080p Low as the only viable configuration.