The Medium

FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D in The Medium?

A: The combination ranks 6th out of 2,911 tested hardware combos for this game, placing it in the top 0.2% of all tested systems.

Q: Does the system achieve playable frame rates at 4K resolution?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160, the system delivers 68 FPS on High settings, 95 FPS on Medium, and 153 FPS on Low settings. Only the Ultra preset drops below 60 FPS, hitting 54 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 scores 42,216 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core. It trails the AMD EPYC 4464P by 0.3% and the AMD EPYC 9124 by 0.7%, while leading the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F by 0.3% and the AMD EPYC 7343 by 0.7%.

Q: What memory bandwidth does the CPU provide for this gaming workload?

A: The CPU supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. This memory configuration is part of the overall platform performance for the game.

Q: What is the GPU's memory capacity and how does it affect The Medium?

A: The RTX 5090 D features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This large memory pool ensures that even at 4K Ultra settings, the game's assets fit entirely within VRAM.

Q: How does the GPU's compute performance compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77,712. It leads the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT by 1.1%, while trailing the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT by 1.6%, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB by 2.1%, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB by 2.4%.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread desktop processor built on the Arrow Lake-S architecture using TSMC's 3 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The chip is part of the Core Ultra Series 2 generation, released on January 6, 2025, and supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration.

For The Medium, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining consistent frame pacing and handling the game's fixed-camera horror sequences, which often involve complex scene transitions. The processor's single-thread performance is notable: a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5,960 points and a PassMark single-thread score of 4,689. These results indicate strong per-core throughput, which matters for the game's main thread and AI-driven narrative events.

Multi-threaded performance is also substantial. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42,216 points places the CPU in the 93rd percentile among all processors. In PassMark's multithread test, it scores 49,682 points. The 20 cores (with no hyper-threading, hence 20 threads) handle background tasks and asset streaming without contention. The L3 cache is 30 MB shared, while L1 and L2 are 192 KB and 3 MB per core respectively, providing ample on-die storage for frequently accessed game data.

Compared to its nearest rivals in overall CPU benchmarks, the Ultra 7 265 sits in a tight cluster. It is 0.3% behind the AMD EPYC 4464P (average score 64,823) and 0.7% behind the AMD EPYC 9124 (65,104). It edges out the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (64,438) by 0.3% and the AMD EPYC 7343 (64,202) by 0.7%. These deltas are small, indicating that the CPU is not a bottleneck in most gaming scenarios.

The game's measured FPS data shows that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system reaches 196 FPS, suggesting the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently even at high frame rates. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s is adequate for the game's streaming requirements, particularly during the dual-reality mechanic where the engine renders two perspectives simultaneously.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 6 out of 2,911 tested combos in The Medium. This places the system in the 99.8th percentile of all configurations tested for this title.

This ranking is remarkably high, especially considering the game is from 2021 and may not fully utilize the latest hardware features. The top-6 finish indicates that this pairing is among the fastest possible for The Medium, with only a handful of combinations (likely featuring even more powerful CPUs or overclocked variants) achieving higher frame rates.

The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and the CPU's 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs combine to create a balanced system. Neither component is a significant bottleneck for this title. The rank of 6 suggests that the system is not merely adequate but exceptional for this game, delivering frame rates that exceed what most players would consider necessary for smooth gameplay.

At 4K Ultra, the system produces 54 FPS, which is the only setting where the frame rate dips below 60. This suggests that even the most demanding configuration is nearly playable, and with minor adjustments (such as dropping to High settings, which yields 68 FPS), the experience becomes fully smooth. The rank of 6 reflects this capability: very few systems can run The Medium at 4K Ultra above 50 FPS, and this combo does so while maintaining visual fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four quality presets, providing a comprehensive view of performance scaling.

1920x1080 (Full HD):

• Low: 196 FPS average
• Medium: 144 FPS average (min 123, max 166)
• High: 103 FPS average
• Ultra: 82 FPS average

2560x1440 (Quad HD):

• Low: 186 FPS average
• Medium: 122 FPS average (min 103, max 140)
• High: 87 FPS average
• Ultra: 69 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K Ultra HD):

• Low: 153 FPS average
• Medium: 95 FPS average (min 81, max 110)
• High: 68 FPS average
• Ultra: 54 FPS average

The scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 196 to 153 FPS when moving from 1080p to 4K, a 22% reduction. At Medium, the drop is from 144 to 95 FPS, a 34% reduction. At High, the drop is from 103 to 68 FPS, a 34% reduction. At Ultra, the drop is from 82 to 54 FPS, a 34% reduction.

The Medium preset includes min and max FPS data, which shows the frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range is 123-166 FPS, a 43 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 103-140 FPS, a 37 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 81-110 FPS, a 29 FPS spread. The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes more consistently loaded, reducing frame time spikes.

The jump from Low to Medium settings at 4K costs 58 FPS (from 153 to 95), while the jump from Medium to High costs 27 FPS (from 95 to 68), and from High to Ultra costs 14 FPS (from 68 to 54). This diminishing returns curve suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, a point explored further in the Settings Recommendations section.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process. The chip, designated GB202, contains 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and features 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units.

For The Medium, the GPU's massive memory subsystem is particularly relevant. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. The game's fixed-camera scenes often load large texture sets simultaneously, and the ample VRAM prevents any texture streaming hitches. The bandwidth ensures that even at 4K with high-resolution textures, the data transfer rate does not become a bottleneck.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial: 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s. The texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s allows for rapid filtering of the game's detailed environments. The ray tracing cores (170) and tensor cores (680) support the game's lighting effects, though The Medium primarily uses traditional rasterization.

In benchmark comparisons, the RTX 5090 D has an average score of 77,712, placing it in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals show interesting deltas: the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904) is 1.1% behind, while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940) is 1.6% ahead. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396) and 16 GB (79,605) are 2.1% and 2.4% ahead respectively. These rivals are largely workstation or mobile parts, underscoring the RTX 5090 D's positioning as a high-end desktop GPU.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU scaling with resolution. At 4K Ultra, the system produces 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable for a horror title where slower pacing is acceptable. The 4K High preset at 68 FPS provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The GPU's 575 W TDP and dual-slot cooler indicate that sustained performance is maintained, though the suggested 950 W PSU should be respected.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best experience across all three resolutions. This is not a subjective judgment but a direct consequence of the frame rate figures.

At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 144 FPS average with a minimum of 123 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 103 FPS is also excellent, but the incremental visual gains from High over Medium are not matched by the 41 FPS difference. The Ultra preset at 82 FPS is playable but offers no meaningful advantage over High for this title.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset produces 122 FPS average with a minimum of 103 FPS. The High preset at 87 FPS is still smooth, but the drop from Medium to High (35 FPS) is significant. The Ultra preset at 69 FPS is borderline, hovering just above 60 FPS but with less headroom for demanding scenes. The Medium preset provides a substantial buffer for any frame time spikes.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset achieves 95 FPS average with a minimum of 81 FPS. This is the sweet spot for 4K gaming on this system. The High preset at 68 FPS is playable but tighter, while the Ultra preset at 54 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 153 FPS is unnecessarily high, sacrificing visual quality for frame rates that exceed what most displays can show.

The data indicates that the Medium preset is the optimal choice for all three resolutions. It provides the highest frame rates with a quality setting that still includes the game's core visual features. The min FPS values for Medium (81 at 4K, 103 at 1440p, 123 at 1080p) are all comfortably above 60 FPS, ensuring consistent performance during the game's most demanding sequences.

For players prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate, the High preset at 4K (68 FPS) is a viable alternative. The Ultra preset is only recommended for players with variable refresh rate displays who can tolerate frame rates in the 50-60 range. The Low preset is unnecessary with this hardware, as the system has ample performance headroom to run higher quality settings.