The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks in the 2400th position out of 2911 tested combinations for The Medium. This places the combo in the lower 18th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that while the CPU is a high-end modern part, the GPU is the decisive bottleneck in this horror title. The ranking reflects a pairing where the processor’s considerable compute headroom is largely left untapped, as the graphics card struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher settings and resolutions. Benchmark results show the system is capable of smooth performance only when graphical demands are reduced to the Low preset, making it a configuration best suited for 1080p gaming rather than high-fidelity experiences.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2400 out of 2911 places it firmly in the lower tier of tested configurations for The Medium. This is a surprisingly low position given the CPU’s strength, but the data clearly shows that the GeForce GTX 1070 is the limiting factor. The GPU’s benchmark percentile stands at 47, meaning it performs better than roughly half of all graphics cards tested in general workloads. However, in this specific game, the demands of the fixed-camera horror presentation and its rendering techniques push the card to its limits.

In comparison to other tested combos, this pairing falls behind most modern systems that feature mid-range or higher GPUs. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 64640 places it in the 93rd percentile of all processors, yet this advantage does not translate to in-game performance. The measured FPS data tells a clear story: the system can hit 75 FPS at 1080p Low, but this drops to 27 FPS at 1080p Ultra. This 64% performance regression from Low to Ultra settings highlights how quickly the GPU becomes overwhelmed.

The rank becomes more understandable when examining the GPU’s nearest rivals. The GTX 1070 sits within 0.7% of the AMD FirePro W5000, NVIDIA Quadro M2000M, and Tesla M10 in average benchmark scores. These are all older or professional-grade parts, underscoring that the GTX 1070 is a legacy component in 2025. For a game released in 2021, the card was already several years old, and the benchmark results reflect its age. The combination’s rank suggests that users with this setup would be better served by lowering expectations or upgrading the GPU to achieve a more favorable position in the database.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the primary determinant of this combo’s in-game performance. The card features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock of 1506 MHz boosts to 1683 MHz, and the memory runs at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective). These specifications, while respectable for the Pascal era, are insufficient for The Medium’s higher presets at modern resolutions.

The GPU’s 47th percentile ranking among all graphics cards indicates it is an average performer in general benchmarks. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1082 and Passmark G3D score of 13498 confirm its mid-range status. In The Medium, the card’s limitations are exposed by the game’s fixed camera angles and layered scene rendering. The data shows that at 4K, the card achieves only 22 FPS on High settings and 31 FPS on Medium, with the Ultra preset dropping to 18 FPS. These numbers indicate that the 8 GB framebuffer and 256-bit memory interface are not sufficient for the texture and geometry demands at higher resolutions.

The GTX 1070’s architecture, Pascal, lacks dedicated ray tracing cores and tensor cores, which are absent from the spec sheet. This means any advanced lighting or AI-assisted rendering features in The Medium must be handled by the traditional shader units. With 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, the card can process 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. However, this raw throughput is not enough to maintain fluid frame rates when the game’s visual complexity increases. The card’s pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s are the metrics that matter most here, and they fall short of what the game requires at 1440p and 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this combo?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system achieves consistently playable frame rates. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 75, and at Medium it drops to 47. At 1440p, only the Low preset manages 63 FPS, while 4K Low yields 50 FPS.

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p Low settings, where the measured average is 75 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average falls to 47 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. No other resolution or setting combination reaches 60 FPS in the measured data.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 9780. Its nearest rival, the AMD FirePro W5000, scores 9803, which is 0.2% higher. The NVIDIA Quadro M2000M scores 9832 (0.5% higher), while the Tesla M10 and Tesla C2070 score 9724 and 9716, respectively, which are 0.6% and 0.7% lower.

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

A: No. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 64640 places it in the 93rd percentile of all processors. In The Medium, the measured frame rates are consistently limited by the GPU, as evidenced by the large performance drops when increasing resolution or settings. The CPU is not the limiting factor.

Q: What is the CPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 scores 64640 on average. The AMD EPYC 4464P scores 64823, which is 0.3% higher. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265F scores 64438 (0.3% lower), the AMD EPYC 7343 scores 64202 (0.7% lower), and the AMD EPYC 9124 scores 65104 (0.7% higher).

Q: Does the GTX 1070 support modern APIs needed for The Medium?

A: Yes. The card supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The game can use DirectX 12, which is the most relevant API for this title. The card’s Passmark DirectX 12 score of 48 confirms its capability, though it is lower than its DirectX 11 score of 100.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Low preset provides the best experience for this hardware combination. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 75 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This setting is the only configuration that offers a consistently fluid experience without compromising on resolution. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 63 FPS, which is still playable, but the 1080p option provides more headroom for demanding scenes.

The Medium preset at 1080p yields 47 FPS, which is a significant visual improvement over Low but falls short of the 60 FPS target. For users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, this setting is viable, especially since the measured minimum FPS is 40 at this resolution. The High preset at 1080p achieves 34 FPS, which is noticeably less smooth, and the Ultra preset drops to 27 FPS, making it difficult to recommend for anything other than screenshots.

At higher resolutions, the Low preset remains the only viable option. At 1440p Low, the system manages 63 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 50 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p and 4K yields 40 FPS and 31 FPS respectively, which are borderline playable but may suffer in action-heavy sequences. For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data suggests using Low at 1080p, or Medium at 1080p if the user can tolerate occasional dips below 50 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the system’s capabilities across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system performs best on Low, achieving an average of 75 FPS. Moving to Medium reduces the average to 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS. High settings yield 34 FPS, and Ultra drops to 27 FPS. This represents a 64% reduction in performance from Low to Ultra, demonstrating the GPU’s steep performance curve.

At 2560x1440, the system’s performance degrades further. Low settings produce an average of 63 FPS, which is still playable. Medium settings reduce the average to 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS. High settings achieve 28 FPS, and Ultra drops to 22 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 65%, showing similar scaling to 1080p but with lower absolute numbers.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles across all settings. Low achieves 50 FPS, which is the only playable option at this resolution. Medium delivers 31 FPS, with a minimum of 26 FPS and a maximum of 36 FPS. High settings drop to 22 FPS, and Ultra falls to 18 FPS. The performance degradation from Low to Ultra at 4K is 64%, consistent with the other resolutions. The data shows that the GTX 1070 is simply not powerful enough for high-fidelity gaming at 4K, as even the Low preset cannot maintain a consistent 60 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a high-end desktop processor that plays a minimal role in this game’s performance. The CPU features 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It is built on TSMC’s 3 nm process node, with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. The processor has a 30 MB shared L3 cache, along with 192 KB of L1 and 3 MB of L2 cache per core. This configuration provides substantial compute power for multi-threaded workloads.

In benchmark tests, the CPU scores 42216 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5960 in single-core. Its Passmark multi-thread score is 49682, and single-thread score is 4689. These numbers place the CPU in the 93rd percentile of all processors, indicating it is more powerful than 93% of CPUs tested. However, in The Medium, the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with data, and with such a high core count and boost clock, it is more than capable of handling the game’s CPU-side tasks.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD EPYC 4464P with a 0.3% higher score, and the AMD EPYC 9124 with a 0.7% higher score. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265F scores 0.3% lower, and the AMD EPYC 7343 scores 0.7% lower. This tight grouping suggests that the CPU’s performance is well within the expected range for its class. Given the measured FPS data, upgrading the CPU would not yield any meaningful improvement in frame rates, as the system is consistently GPU-bound. The CPU’s high performance is effectively wasted in this configuration, as the GTX 1070 cannot take full advantage of the processor’s capabilities.