The Medium

The Medium, a 2021 horror title, presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and AMD Radeon RX 580 combination. The measured data places this pairing at rank 2654 out of 2911 tested combos, placing it in the lower percentile of systems evaluated. This indicates a configuration that struggles with the game’s fixed camera angles and dual-reality rendering, where the CPU’s substantial processing power is consistently bottlenecked by the GPU’s age. The benchmark results show a clear pattern: playable frame rates are only achievable at lower settings and resolutions, with the RX 580’s 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus unable to keep pace with the game’s visual demands at higher presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2654 out of 2911 tested combinations places it firmly in the lower quartile of systems tested for The Medium. This is a poor showing, but it is not unexpected given the hardware pairing. The AMD Radeon RX 580, released in 2017, is an end-of-life product that sits at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score of 12928 puts it in direct competition with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, which scores 12940, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER at 12986. The RX 580 trails these rivals by 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively, while leading the AMD Radeon 740M by 0.5%. This tells us the GPU is operating at a performance tier that was mid-range several years ago.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265, by contrast, is a modern desktop processor that excels in synthetic benchmarks. It scores in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 64640. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4464P at 64823, which is 0.3% faster, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F at 64438, which is 0.3% slower. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and single-core score of 5960 demonstrate a powerful processor capable of handling complex workloads. However, in The Medium, this processing power is largely underutilized because the game’s frame rate is dictated by the GPU. The result is a combo that ranks poorly because the weakest link—the RX 580—holds back the entire system. The data shows a 91st-percentile CPU paired with a 53rd-percentile GPU creates a profound imbalance, and the game’s performance metrics reflect that disparity.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy of what is playable. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the Low preset delivers an average of 49 FPS. This is the only setting that approaches a smooth experience. Medium at 1080p drops to 31 FPS, which is borderline, while High and Ultra fall to 22 FPS and 17 FPS, respectively. None of the higher presets at 1080p provide a consistent frame rate that would be considered fluid for a horror game where timing and atmosphere are critical.

At 2560x1440, the situation worsens. Low produces 41 FPS, which is playable but not ideal, while Medium drops to 26 FPS, High to 18 FPS, and Ultra to 15 FPS. The 4K resolution is essentially unplayable across all settings: Low yields 32 FPS, Medium 20 FPS, High 14 FPS, and Ultra 11 FPS. For the best experience per the measured rows, the only viable configuration is 1920x1080 with Low settings. This provides 49 FPS, which is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo. If a user insists on Medium settings, they must accept 31 FPS at 1080p, which still shows visible stutter in demanding scenes. The data suggests that lowering resolution to 1080p and selecting Low is the only way to achieve a frame rate above 45, and even then, the minimum FPS is not recorded for that setting, leaving questions about consistency.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this hardware?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings produces an average FPS of 49, which is the highest recorded for this configuration. All other settings and resolutions yield lower averages, with 4K Ultra dropping to just 11 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 580’s average benchmark score of 12928 is 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940) and 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986). It is 0.5% higher than the AMD Radeon 740M (12870).

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 a bottleneck in The Medium?

A: The CPU is not the limiting factor. The Core Ultra 7 265 scores in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, but the combo ranks 2654 out of 2911. This indicates the GPU is the primary constraint, as the CPU’s power cannot compensate for the RX 580’s lower performance.

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

A: No. At 3840x2160, even Low settings only produce 32 FPS. Medium drops to 20 FPS, High to 14 FPS, and Ultra to 11 FPS. None of these are playable for a smooth experience.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 49 FPS while Ultra averages 17 FPS. This is a 32 FPS difference, showing that the visual quality presets have a massive impact on performance with this GPU.

Q: Does the RX 580 have enough VRAM for The Medium?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory with a 256-bit bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. The game’s performance at higher settings suggests this memory configuration is insufficient for the texture and asset loads, as frame rates drop sharply when moving from Low to Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of how this combo performs across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the most common gaming resolution, the results are as follows: Low averages 49 FPS, Medium averages 31 FPS with a minimum of 26 and maximum of 35, High averages 22 FPS, and Ultra averages 17 FPS. This shows a steep drop-off as settings increase, with Low being the only preset that breaks the 40 FPS barrier. The Medium setting’s minimum of 26 FPS indicates that even the mid-range preset can suffer from significant frame dips during intense scenes.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades further. Low averages 41 FPS, which is still usable, but Medium drops to 26 FPS with a minimum of 22 and maximum of 30. High averages 18 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at this resolution is 15 FPS, showing that the game’s medium preset demands substantially more from the GPU. At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low averages 32 FPS, Medium averages 20 FPS with a minimum of 17 and maximum of 23, High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS. The 4K Low setting is the only one that approaches playability, but even 32 FPS is below the threshold for a smooth horror experience.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each step up in settings costs roughly 10-30% of the frame rate. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 18 FPS, from Medium to High costs 9 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 5 FPS. The diminishing returns at higher presets suggest that the game’s Ultra settings are particularly punishing, likely due to effects like volumetric lighting and shadow quality that tax the RX 580’s 2304 shading units and 32 ROPs. The minimum FPS values, where recorded, show that Medium settings at 1080p can dip to 26 FPS, which is a 16% drop from the average, indicating inconsistent frame pacing.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the primary determinant of performance in The Medium. This GPU, based on the Polaris 20 chip and GCN 4.0 architecture, operates at a base clock of 1257 MHz with a boost clock of 1340 MHz. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory runs at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective), delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth over a 256-bit bus. These specifications are modest by modern standards, and the benchmark results reflect that. The GPU’s 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 193.0 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient for older titles but struggle with The Medium’s demanding rendering.

The RX 580’s percentile ranking of 53 places it in the middle of the GPU performance distribution. Its nearest rivals include the RTX 3050 Ti Mobile, which is 0.1% faster, and the GTX 1660 SUPER, which is 0.4% faster. These are all GPUs from a similar era, and none of them are known for high-end gaming performance. In The Medium, the GPU’s limitations are most evident at higher settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo achieves only 11 FPS, which is a direct result of the GPU’s inability to process the game’s complex shaders and post-processing effects at that resolution. The 8 GB VRAM is likely a factor, as The Medium’s high-resolution textures can exceed this capacity, causing the system to rely on slower memory paging.

The GPU’s 32 ROPs and 144 TMUs are also bottlenecks. At 1080p Low, the 49 FPS average suggests the GPU is working near its peak, but the lack of minimum FPS data for that setting means we cannot confirm stability. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1005 is low, reinforcing that this GPU is not designed for modern titles at high settings. The passmark G3D score of 8813 and DirectX 12 score of 43 further illustrate its age. For The Medium, the GPU is the clear limiting component, and users should not expect to exceed Low or Medium settings at 1080p without significant frame rate drops.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a powerful processor that is vastly underutilized in this gaming scenario. It features 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample memory for game logic and physics calculations. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 places it in the top tier of processors, and its single-core score of 5960 indicates strong per-thread performance. In synthetic benchmarks, it outperforms the AMD EPYC 7343 by 0.7% and the AMD EPYC 9124 by 0.7%, while trailing the EPYC 4464P by 0.3%.

However, in The Medium, the CPU’s role is diminished because the game’s frame rate is GPU-bound. The measured FPS data shows that the combo’s performance is consistent with GPU limitations, not CPU limitations. At 1080p Low, the 49 FPS average is likely a result of the GPU reaching its maximum output, not the CPU being unable to feed it. The CPU’s 65 W TDP and 3 nm process node (TSMC) make it efficient, but that efficiency does not translate to higher frame rates when the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU’s memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for the game’s data transfer needs.

The CPU’s integrated graphics, Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 32EU, are not used in this configuration, as the discrete RX 580 handles rendering. The CPU’s PCIe Gen 5 support with 20 lanes provides high bandwidth to the GPU, but the RX 580’s PCIe 3.0 x16 interface limits the connection to older standards. This does not significantly impact performance, as the game’s requirements are not bandwidth-intensive. The benchmark data suggests that even a much weaker CPU would produce similar frame rates in The Medium, as the GPU is the sole limiting factor. The CPU’s percentile rank of 93 reflects its processing power, but that power is irrelevant when the GPU cannot keep up.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals a predictable but stark decline in performance as pixel count increases. Starting from 1920x1080, the combo achieves 49 FPS at Low settings. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rate drops to 41 FPS, a 16.3% decrease. At 3840x2160, it falls to 32 FPS, a 34.7% decrease from 1080p. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the number of pixels rendered directly impacts frame rate. The 1080p to 1440p drop of 8 FPS is relatively modest, but the 1440p to 4K drop of 9 FPS is more severe, indicating that the RX 580’s memory bandwidth and fill rate are becoming exhausted.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar but with lower absolute values. 1080p averages 31 FPS, 1440p averages 26 FPS (a 16.1% drop), and 4K averages 20 FPS (a 35.5% drop). The High and Ultra presets show even steeper declines. High at 1080p is 22 FPS, dropping to 18 FPS at 1440p (18.2%) and 14 FPS at 4K (36.4%). Ultra at 1080p is 17 FPS, falling to 15 FPS at 1440p (11.8%) and 11 FPS at 4K (35.3%). These percentage drops are relatively consistent, suggesting that the GPU’s performance scales linearly with pixel count, which is typical for a fill-rate-limited card.

The resolution scaling data also indicates that the CPU is not a factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would not drop as significantly with increased resolution, because the CPU workload remains constant regardless of pixel count. The fact that FPS drops by roughly 15-35% at each higher resolution confirms that the GPU is the limiting component. The 4K results, with Low at 32 FPS and Ultra at 11 FPS, are particularly telling. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 21 FPS, which is larger than the 32 FPS gap at 1080p, indicating that higher settings exacerbate the GPU’s weaknesses. For users seeking a stable experience, the data suggests that 1080p is the only viable resolution, and even then, only Low settings provide a frame rate above 45. The scaling analysis shows that this combo is not suited for high-resolution gaming, and any attempt to use 1440p or 4K will result in a subpar experience.