The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination delivers a robust performance profile in The Medium, with the data showing that the GPU is the primary scaling bottleneck as resolution increases. Across the four tested settings presets, the transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a consistent and substantial frame rate drop, revealing how the workload shifts from CPU-bound at lower resolutions to heavily GPU-bound at 4K.

At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 175 FPS at 1080p to 148 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 27 FPS, and then further to 116 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33.7% overall drop from the 1080p baseline. The Medium preset shows a similar trajectory: 110 FPS at 1080p, 92 FPS at 1440p, and 73 FPS at 4K, for a total decrease of 33.6%. High settings see the average dip from 79 FPS to 66 FPS to 52 FPS across the same resolution ladder, a 34.2% decline. The Ultra preset, the most demanding configuration, starts at 62 FPS at 1080p, falls to 52 FPS at 1440p, and bottoms out at 41 FPS at 4K, a 33.9% reduction.

The consistency of this percentage drop across all four settings is telling. It suggests that the performance scaling is governed almost entirely by pixel count rather than by the complexity of the specific preset. The RTX 4070 Ti, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, is the component that must process the increasing pixel data at higher resolutions. The fact that the frame rate declines by roughly one-third from 1080p to 4K, regardless of whether the game runs at Low or Ultra, indicates that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors in this title at these higher resolutions. The CPU, with 20 cores and 20 threads boosting to 5.30 GHz, provides ample headroom to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the high frame rates achievable at 1080p where the CPU's role is more prominent.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the decisive component in this pairing for The Medium. Its specifications—a base clock of 2310 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz, combined with 7680 shading units and 80 ROPs—dictate the raw rendering throughput. The data shows that the GPU's performance ceiling is reached at 4K Ultra, where the average frame rate falls to 41 FPS, a figure that would be considered marginal for smooth gameplay. This is not a case of the CPU holding back the system; the Core Ultra 7 265's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4689, place it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, indicating it has more than enough processing power for this title.

The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is a key factor at higher resolutions. While the benchmark data does not provide direct VRAM usage figures, the performance pattern suggests that the memory subsystem is being stressed. At 4K, the gap between Low (116 FPS) and Medium (73 FPS) is 43 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High (52 FPS) is 21 FPS, and between High and Ultra (41 FPS) is 11 FPS. This diminishing returns curve at 4K indicates that as the preset increases, the GPU is spending more time on complex shading and memory-intensive operations, with the 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth being a potential bottleneck. In contrast, at 1080p, the gaps between presets are more uniform (65 FPS between Low and Medium, 31 FPS between Medium and High, 17 FPS between High and Ultra), suggesting that the GPU is less constrained by memory bandwidth and more by raw compute at that resolution.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores corroborate its strong standing. A 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5024 and a Passmark G3D score of 31624 place it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (with a deltaPct of -0.8) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (with a deltaPct of -1.3), show that it is competitively positioned, though the data confirms that it is not an unrestricted 4K powerhouse for this specific title.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The benchmark data shows an average of 92 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The frame rate drops from 116 FPS at 4K Low to 41 FPS at 4K Ultra, a pattern that scales with pixel count and settings complexity, pointing to the RTX 4070 Ti's rendering capabilities rather than the Core Ultra 7 265's processing power.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti compare to its nearest rival in the database?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 44795. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, scores 45152, a deltaPct of -0.8, meaning the RTX 4070 Ti is slightly slower. The AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT scores 45384, a deltaPct of -1.3, making it marginally faster in aggregate benchmarks.

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining a 60+ FPS average across all settings?

A: At 1920x1080, all tested presets—Low (175 FPS), Medium (110 FPS), High (79 FPS), and Ultra (62 FPS)—achieve an average above 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, only the Low (148 FPS), Medium (92 FPS), and High (66 FPS) presets exceed 60 FPS, while Ultra falls to 52 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The average frame rate drops from 175 FPS at Low to 62 FPS at Ultra at 1920x1080, a reduction of 113 FPS, which represents a 64.6% decrease in performance.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination ranks 269th out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the top 9.2% of all configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 175 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this combo. The Medium preset averages 110 FPS, with a minimum of 93 FPS and a maximum of 126 FPS. High settings yield 79 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 62 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 113 FPS, showing that the CPU and GPU combination has significant headroom at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 148 FPS, a 27 FPS decrease from 1080p. Medium settings produce 92 FPS on average, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. The High preset averages 66 FPS, while Ultra falls to 52 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 96 FPS, slightly narrower than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is beginning to become more of a constraint.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 116 FPS, which is still a very playable frame rate. Medium settings average 73 FPS, with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 83 FPS. The High preset drops to 52 FPS, and the Ultra preset bottoms out at 41 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 75 FPS, the smallest absolute spread of the three resolutions, underscoring that the GPU is hitting its limits at the highest pixel counts.

The Medium settings rows are the only ones that include minimum and maximum FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the range is 93 to 126 FPS, at 1440p Medium it is 79 to 106 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 62 to 83 FPS. This data reveals that the frame time consistency degrades as resolution increases, with the minimum FPS falling from 93 at 1080p to 62 at 4K, a 33.3% reduction, which closely mirrors the average FPS drop. The maximum FPS also scales down proportionally, from 126 to 83, maintaining a similar variance at each resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested configurations, this particular combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti achieves a rank of 269 out of 2911 total combos for The Medium. This places the system in the 91st percentile of all tested hardware pairings, a strong showing that reflects the balance between the high-end CPU and the capable GPU. The rank is a composite measure that takes into account all the measured FPS data points, weighting the performance across different resolutions and settings.

The CPU itself is a top-tier performer, sitting in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 64640. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD EPYC 4464P (avgScore 64823, deltaPct -0.3), the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (avgScore 64438, deltaPct 0.3), and the AMD EPYC 7343 (avgScore 64202, deltaPct 0.7). These deltas are all within 1% of the Core Ultra 7 265's score, indicating that the CPU is in a tightly contested performance tier. The GPU, with an average benchmark score of 44795, sits in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. Its rivals, including the RTX 5090 Mobile (deltaPct -0.8) and the Radeon Pro 5500 XT (deltaPct -1.3), show that the GPU is slightly below the top tier but still a formidable performer.

The combo's rank of 269 suggests that while the individual components are strong, there are 268 other combinations that achieve higher frame rates in this specific game. This is likely due to the presence of more powerful GPUs in the database, such as those from the GeForce 50-series, which would offer higher raw performance at 4K Ultra settings. The data confirms that the RTX 4070 Ti is the bottleneck in this pairing, as upgrading to a faster GPU would likely improve the 4K Ultra result from 41 FPS, thereby boosting the combo rank.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this hardware combination depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For players prioritizing a smooth experience at 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is viable, as the average of 62 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, though players sensitive to frame drops may prefer High settings at 79 FPS for a more comfortable margin. The Medium preset at 110 FPS offers an excellent balance for high refresh rate monitors, providing a significantly higher frame rate without the visual fidelity cost of Low.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the recommended choice for a balanced experience, delivering 66 FPS on average. This maintains a playable frame rate while preserving a high level of visual quality. The Ultra preset falls to 52 FPS, which may be acceptable for some but risks noticeable stutter during intense scenes. For players who prioritize frame rate above all else, the Medium preset at 92 FPS is an excellent option, offering a substantial performance boost with only a moderate reduction in graphical fidelity compared to High.

At 3840x2160, the data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this GPU. It delivers an average of 73 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS target, and the minimum of 62 FPS indicates that it holds up well under load. The High preset at 52 FPS is playable but may experience dips that affect the experience in a horror game where smoothness is crucial. The Ultra preset at 41 FPS is not recommended for a satisfactory experience, as the frame rate is too low for consistent gameplay. The Low preset at 116 FPS is an option for those who want the highest possible frame rate at 4K, but it sacrifices significant visual detail. The 12 GB of VRAM and 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth on the RTX 4070 Ti are sufficient to handle the Medium preset at 4K without issue, as evidenced by the stable minimum FPS. In summary, the data points to Medium as the most reliable preset for 4K, High for 1440p, and either Ultra or Medium for 1080p depending on whether the user prioritizes visual fidelity or raw frame rate.