The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination delivers a playable but constrained experience in The Medium, a horror title that leans heavily on fixed-camera angles and pre-rendered transitions. The data shows a system that is firmly GPU-bound at every resolution tested, with the processor’s substantial headroom failing to translate into high frame rates as graphical load increases. This pairing sits in the 2260th position out of 2911 tested combinations for this game, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database’s results.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate curve from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-limited scenario. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the RX 6600 produces an average of 84 FPS, which drops to 71 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 55 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 34.5% performance loss from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 22.5% loss from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is steep but not catastrophic, indicating that the GPU’s 8 GB frame buffer and 128-bit memory interface are being progressively saturated.

Moving to Medium settings, the pattern intensifies. The 1080p average of 52 FPS falls to 44 FPS at 1440p, a 15.4% drop, and then to 35 FPS at 4K, another 20.5% reduction. The High preset shows a similar trajectory: 37 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 4K on High is 32.4%, which is actually smaller than the Low preset’s drop, suggesting that at higher settings the game’s fixed rendering costs begin to dominate over pure pixel throughput.

The Ultra preset is the most punishing, with averages of 30 FPS at 1080p, 25 FPS at 1440p, and 20 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 16.7% reduction, while the jump to 4K costs another 20%. Interestingly, the 4K Ultra result of 20 FPS is exactly half of the 1080p Low result of 84 FPS, but the path there is not linear. The data suggests that the RX 6600’s 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs are the limiting factor, as the CPU’s 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock are never the bottleneck in these measurements.

The resolution scaling also highlights the game’s unusual optimization. The Medium uses fixed camera angles that often render the full scene regardless of resolution, which means the GPU load does not scale purely with pixel count. This is evident in the relatively modest FPS differences between 1440p and 4K on the High and Ultra presets, where the gap narrows to 21.9% and 20% respectively, compared to the 22.5% gap on Low.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the clear performance anchor in this configuration. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, the card delivers 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is modest by modern standards but sufficient for a 2021 title. The GPU’s boost clock of 2491 MHz and game clock of 2044 MHz are typical for the RDNA 2 architecture, and the 7 nm process node from TSMC keeps power draw at a manageable 132 W.

The benchmark results for the RX 6600 place it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 19036. Its nearest rivals are telling: the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 scores 19030 (a 0% delta), the GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile scores 19049 (-0.1%), and the Tesla K20m scores 19089 (-0.3%). These are all older or lower-tier parts, confirming that the RX 6600 is an entry-level discrete GPU in 2025. The PassMark G3D score of 15096 and DirectX 12 score of 51 further illustrate its positioning, though the latter figure is oddly low and likely reflects a test methodology issue rather than real-world gaming performance.

In The Medium, the GPU’s VRAM capacity becomes a decisive factor at 4K. The 8 GB buffer is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the High and Ultra presets at 3840x2160 push the card to its limits, with average FPS falling to 25 and 20 respectively. The Medium preset at 4K shows a min FPS of 29 and max of 40, indicating significant frame time variance that would be noticeable in a horror game where smooth motion is critical for atmosphere.

The GPU’s 28 ray tracing cores are present but underutilized, as The Medium uses software-based ray tracing rather than hardware acceleration. This means the RX 6600’s RT capabilities do not provide a measurable advantage, and the card’s raw rasterization performance is what dictates the results. The 112 TMUs and 279.0 GTexel/s texture rate are adequate for the game’s pre-baked lighting and shadow maps.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of playability. For a consistent 60+ FPS experience, the Low preset at 1080p is the only option, delivering an average of 84 FPS. This is the recommended setting for competitive or high-refresh-rate play, though it sacrifices the game’s visual fidelity. At 1440p Low, the 71 FPS average remains above 60, making it a viable alternative for users with 1440p monitors who prioritize frame rate over detail.

For a balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 1080p is the sweet spot. The 52 FPS average is below the 60 FPS threshold but remains smooth, with a min FPS of 44 ensuring no major hitches. The Medium preset’s frame pacing is more consistent than High, which drops to 37 FPS at the same resolution. At 1440p, Medium produces 44 FPS, which is playable for a slow-paced horror title but not ideal for action sequences.

The High preset is not recommended at any resolution. At 1080p it manages 37 FPS, at 1440p it falls to 32 FPS, and at 4K it drops to 25 FPS. These numbers are below the 30 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for a playable experience, and the lack of min/max data for High suggests the testing suite did not capture frame variance, potentially indicating unstable performance. The Ultra preset is uniformly poor, with the 4K average of 20 FPS being borderline unplayable.

The data indicates that the best experience per the measured rows is the Medium preset at 1080p. It offers a 52 FPS average with tight frame pacing (44-60 FPS range), which is superior to the High preset’s 37 FPS with no recorded variance data. For users with 1440p displays, the Low preset at 71 FPS is the only option that maintains fluid motion, as the Medium preset’s 44 FPS may feel sluggish in tense moments.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RX 6600 delivers a wide spread of results. The Low preset averages 84 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. Medium drops to 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 and maximum of 60, showing a 16 FPS range that indicates moderate frame time spikes. High falls to 37 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 30 FPS. The 1080p results show a 64.3% difference between Low and Ultra, highlighting the GPU’s sensitivity to settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance gap narrows. Low averages 71 FPS, which is 15.5% lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium produces 44 FPS with a min of 37 and max of 51, a 14 FPS range that is slightly tighter than at 1080p. High drops to 32 FPS, and Ultra falls to 25 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 64.8%, nearly identical to 1080p, suggesting the GPU’s compute units are the consistent bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the card struggles across all presets. Low averages 55 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 22.5% drop from 1440p Low. Medium averages 35 FPS with a min of 29 and max of 40, showing a wider frame range that could cause stutter. High falls to 25 FPS, and Ultra drops to 20 FPS. The 4K results show a 63.6% difference between Low and Ultra, indicating that even the lowest settings cannot fully compensate for the pixel count.

The frame pacing data is only available for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p, the 44-60 FPS range suggests occasional dips below the average. At 1440p, the 37-51 FPS range is proportionally similar. At 4K, the 29-40 FPS range shows the card is operating near its limits, with the 11 FPS spread representing significant variance for a horror game that relies on sudden visual changes.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, the RX 6600 only achieves 55 FPS on Low settings and 25 FPS on High settings. The Ultra preset averages 20 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. The 4K Medium preset has a 29 FPS minimum, indicating frequent frame drops.

Q: What is the best preset for 1080p gaming?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 delivers a 52 FPS average with a 44 FPS minimum, making it the highest settings level that maintains playable performance. The High preset drops to 37 FPS, which is noticeably less fluid.

Q: How does the RX 6600 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6600’s average benchmark score of 19036 is within 0.4% of the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation (18954) and 0.3% of the Tesla K20m (19089). It is essentially tied with the Quadro K6000 at 19030 and the RTX 4050 Mobile at 19049.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 the bottleneck in this game?

A: No. The CPU’s 20 cores and 20 threads, combined with a 5.30 GHz boost clock, place it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. The frame rate scaling across resolutions indicates the GPU is the limiting component, as the CPU has significant headroom.

Q: What is the minimum FPS on Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 44. At 1440p Medium, it is 37. At 4K Medium, it is 29. These minimums are all within 15-20% of the average, indicating moderate frame time consistency.

Q: How does the CPU’s benchmark performance affect gaming?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265 scores 42216 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5960 in single-core, with a PassMark single-thread score of 4689. These results show strong compute capability, but in The Medium, the GPU’s 8.928 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is the primary constraint.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on TSMC’s 3 nm process. Its base clock of 2.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz provide ample single-thread performance for game logic, while the 30 MB shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth support asset streaming. The CPU’s benchmark results are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU. The game’s fixed camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds reduce the CPU’s draw call overhead, allowing the Ultra 7 265 to easily maintain frame pacing. The processor’s nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4464P at 64823 average score (-0.3% delta) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F at 64438 (+0.3% delta), showing that the 265 is a mid-pack performer among high-end desktop and server chips.

The CPU’s 20 threads are not fully utilized by The Medium, which is typical for a title from 2021. The game’s engine is primarily single-threaded for scene management, and the Ultra 7 265’s 5960 Cinebench R23 single-core score ensures that no CPU-related frame drops occur. The PassMark physics score of 2923 further confirms that the processor can handle the game’s collision detection and physics calculations without issue.

The CPU’s performance headroom is evident in the frame rate data. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 84 FPS, which is well below what the CPU could theoretically support. The GPU’s 8.928 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 159.4 GPixel/s pixel rate are the limiting factors, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops when moving from Low to Ultra settings. The CPU’s 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock are never the constraint, even at 4K Ultra where the 20 FPS average is entirely GPU-bound.

The processor’s 65 W TDP and Intel Socket 1851 platform provide a solid foundation for this pairing, but the data suggests that a more powerful GPU would be needed to fully utilize the Ultra 7 265’s capabilities in The Medium. The CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking and 64640 average benchmark score indicate that it is not the weak link in this configuration. Instead, the RX 6600’s 63rd percentile GPU ranking is the definitive performance ceiling, and users seeking higher frame rates would need to upgrade the graphics card rather than the processor.