The Medium

The Medium is a horror title that stresses both CPU and GPU depending on the resolution and preset selected. The measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination shows a wide performance envelope, from highly playable at 1080p to borderline at 4K. This analysis breaks down the FPS measurements by settings and resolution to identify the optimal configuration and the role each component plays.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data indicates that the Medium preset is the best balance between visual fidelity and frame rate across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 77 FPS, which is a substantial improvement over the 55 FPS seen at High and the 44 FPS at Ultra. The jump from Medium to High costs 22 FPS on average, while the jump from High to Ultra costs another 11 FPS, making Ultra a demanding option that yields diminishing returns for this combo.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset maintains a solid 65 FPS average, keeping the experience smooth. High drops to 46 FPS, which is still playable but noticeably less fluid, and Ultra falls to 37 FPS. For 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the only viable choice for a consistent experience, producing 51 FPS. The High preset at 4K drops to 36 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced horror, but the Medium preset provides more headroom.

The Low preset offers the highest frame rates—123 FPS at 1080p, 104 FPS at 1440p, and 81 FPS at 4K—but it sacrifices the atmospheric details that define the horror genre. Given that the Medium preset provides the best combination of performance and quality, it is the recommended starting point. For users with high-refresh-rate 1080p displays, the High preset at 55 FPS may be preferable if visual fidelity is prioritized over raw speed, but the data suggests Medium is the sweet spot for this hardware pairing.

The minimum FPS data, available only for the Medium preset, reinforces its stability. At 1080p, the minimum is 65 FPS, at 1440p it is 55 FPS, and at 4K it is 43 FPS. These minimums indicate that the Medium preset avoids severe frame drops, which is critical for maintaining immersion in a horror game where stutters can break tension.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its L3 cache is 30 MB shared, and it supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus delivering 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and a single-core score of 5960, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage game logic. The benchmark results show that at 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium settings is 46 FPS (123 vs. 77), which is a massive gap. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU is not the primary bottleneck, as the GPU is still able to render frames quickly. However, the single-core performance, as evidenced by the R23 single-core score of 5960, is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 3070 in most scenarios.

The CPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD EPYC 4464P, which is 0.3% slower, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, which is 0.3% faster. This indicates that the 265 is well-matched to its peers, but none of these rivals are gaming-specific processors. The data shows that the CPU's high multi-core score (42216 in R23) does not translate to proportional gains in The Medium, as the game's frame rates are more sensitive to GPU load. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 29, which is far below the CPU's capability, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher settings.

The CPU's 20 threads are more than adequate for the game's multithreaded tasks, but the benchmark data does not show a scenario where the CPU becomes the bottleneck. Even at 1080p Low with 123 FPS, the frame rate is high enough to suggest the CPU is keeping up. The power envelope of 65 W TDP also indicates that the CPU is efficient, though the game's performance is not directly tied to this metric.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip, featuring 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1725 MHz, and the GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate. In synthetic tests, it scores 22214 in Passmark G3D and 3162 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, placing it in the 61st percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is a critical factor in The Medium, especially at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 29, which is barely playable, and at 4K High it is 36. The VRAM capacity is likely a limiting factor at these settings, as the game may struggle to fit textures and geometry into 8 GB. The bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the combination of memory size and bandwidth constraints becomes apparent.

The RTX 3070's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, which is 0.7% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690, which is 1% faster. These deltas are small, indicating that the RTX 3070 is competitively positioned. However, the measured FPS in The Medium shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution. From 1080p Medium at 77 FPS to 1440p Medium at 65 FPS, the drop is 15.6%. From 1440p Medium to 4K Medium at 51 FPS, the drop is 21.5%. This scaling suggests that the GPU is the primary driver of performance, as the CPU's capabilities remain constant.

The GPU's boost clock of 1725 MHz and FP32 performance of 20.31 TFLOPS are adequate for the game, but the 8 GB VRAM is a bottleneck at 4K Ultra, where the frame rate dips below 30 FPS. At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU delivers playable frame rates across all settings, but the Medium preset offers the best balance. The data indicates that the RTX 3070 is a capable mid-range card for this title, but it is not designed for maximum settings at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1194 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the 59th percentile of all combinations, meaning it outperforms more than half of the systems tested. The rank reflects the balanced nature of the pairing, as neither component is severely underpowered for the other.

This ranking is consistent with the individual component percentiles: the CPU is in the 93rd percentile, while the GPU is in the 61st percentile. The combo's overall rank is dragged down by the GPU's comparatively lower standing, as the CPU is capable of driving much more powerful graphics cards. The data shows that the bottleneck is the GPU, especially at higher resolutions, which is typical for a system with a high-end CPU and a mid-range GPU.

Compared to other combos, this pairing excels at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU is sufficient to maintain high frame rates. At 4K, the combo falls behind more powerful GPU pairings, but it remains playable at Medium settings. The rank of 1194 out of 2911 suggests that this is a solid mid-to-high-tier configuration for The Medium, with the CPU providing ample headroom for future GPU upgrades.

The fact that the CPU is in the 93rd percentile while the GPU is in the 61st percentile indicates a potential imbalance. Users looking to improve performance in this game would see the largest gains from upgrading the GPU, as the CPU has significant spare capacity. The combo rank reflects this, as it is lower than the CPU's individual rank but higher than the GPU's, indicating a blending of both components' capabilities.

FAQ

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

A: The Medium preset delivers the best balance, with an average of 77 FPS and a minimum of 65 FPS. High is also playable at 55 FPS, but Ultra drops to 44 FPS.

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

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings, which produce an average of 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 FPS. High and Ultra settings at 4K drop to 36 FPS and 29 FPS, respectively, which are less playable.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 3070 is 0.7% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT and 1% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690, based on average benchmark scores.

Q: How does the CPU's single-core performance affect the game?

A: The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960 is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low (123 FPS) and Medium (77 FPS).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 77 at 1080p to 65 at 1440p, and then to 51 at 4K. This represents a 33.8% decrease from 1080p to 4K.

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

A: The GPU is the limiting factor, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking and high multi-core score (42216 in R23) indicate it has headroom, while the GPU's 61st percentile ranking and 8 GB VRAM are the primary constraints.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS across settings are as follows: Low delivers 123 FPS, Medium delivers 77 FPS (with a minimum of 65 and maximum of 88), High delivers 55 FPS, and Ultra delivers 44 FPS. The progression shows a steep drop from Low to Medium (46 FPS lost), followed by a more gradual decline to High and Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 104 FPS, Medium at 65 FPS (minimum 55, maximum 74), High at 46 FPS, and Ultra at 37 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 39 FPS, which is less severe than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a factor. The gap between Medium and High is 19 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 9 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 81 FPS, Medium at 51 FPS (minimum 43, maximum 58), High at 36 FPS, and Ultra at 29 FPS. The Low preset is the only one that maintains a high frame rate at 4K, while Medium is the only playable option above 30 FPS. The Ultra preset's 29 FPS average is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, making it unsuitable for this resolution.

The minimum FPS data for the Medium preset shows that the frame pacing is consistent, with minimums of 65, 55, and 43 FPS at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, respectively. These minimums are not drastically lower than the averages, indicating that the game does not experience severe stutters at this preset. The maximum FPS values (88, 74, and 58) show that there is some headroom, but the averages are representative of the typical experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is most pronounced at the Medium preset, which is the only setting with complete data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the average is 77 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the FPS drops to 65, a decrease of 12 FPS or 15.6%. Moving to 4K, the FPS drops to 51, a further decrease of 14 FPS or 21.5%. The total decrease from 1080p to 4K is 26 FPS, or 33.8%.

This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain relatively constant across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution. The data shows a consistent decline, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

At the Low preset, the scaling is less steep: 123 FPS at 1080p, 104 FPS at 1440p, and 81 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 15.4%, and from 1440p to 4K is 22.1%. The total decrease is 34.1%, which is similar to the Medium preset. This suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU is still the primary constraint, as the CPU can easily handle the lower graphical load.

At the High preset, the scaling is more aggressive: 55 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 16.4%, and from 1440p to 4K is 21.7%. The total decrease is 34.5%. The Ultra preset shows the steepest absolute decline: 44 FPS at 1080p, 37 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K, with a total decrease of 34.1%.

The consistent percentage decrease across all presets (approximately 34%) confirms that the GPU's rendering capability scales linearly with resolution, and the CPU is not introducing a variable bottleneck. The RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are the likely constraints, as higher resolutions require more memory and bandwidth. The data shows that for this combo, the optimal experience is at 1080p or 1440p with Medium settings, while 4K requires sacrificing visual quality to maintain playable frame rates.