The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that stresses both the CPU and GPU heavily, and the data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile shows a configuration that can handle the game, but requires careful settings management to achieve a smooth experience, especially at higher resolutions. The benchmark results indicate that this combo is firmly mid-pack, ranking 2285 out of 3724 tested combinations, which suggests that while it is not a top-tier performer, it also has enough power to avoid being a slideshow. The data reveals a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, but the CPU still plays a significant role in maintaining frame rates at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable and steep decline as resolution increases, which is classic behavior for a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 97 FPS, which is a very playable frame rate. Moving to 1440p at the same Low settings drops the average to 81 FPS, a reduction of 16 FPS (approximately 16.5%). At 4K with Low settings, the average falls further to 64 FPS, which is a significant 33 FPS drop from the 1080p result, indicating that the GPU is working substantially harder to fill those extra pixels.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at higher graphical presets. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 43. When moving to 1440p High, it dips to 36 FPS, and at 4K High, it bottoms out at 29 FPS. This shows that the gap between 1080p and 4K widens as the preset increases, moving from a 33 FPS difference at Low to a 14 FPS difference at High. Interestingly, the 4K High result of 29 FPS is barely above the 1080p Ultra result of 34 FPS, which suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor at these higher settings, not the CPU. The data indicates that the RTX 4060 Mobile’s 8 GB of VRAM and 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth are being saturated at 4K, especially with the more demanding presets.

The difference between the Medium and High presets at each resolution is also telling. At 1080p, the drop from Medium (60 FPS) to High (43 FPS) is 17 FPS, while at 4K, the drop from Medium (40 FPS) to High (29 FPS) is 11 FPS. This compression of the delta at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint. When the GPU is already near its limit at 4K, the additional overhead from High settings has a smaller relative impact than at 1080p, where the GPU has more headroom. The benchmark results indicate that for a consistently smooth experience, users will need to target 1080p or 1440p, as the 4K Medium result of 40 FPS is the only 4K setting that approaches playability, and it still falls short of a solid 60 FPS target.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. It operates at a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1890 MHz, which are the clocks that determine its raw processing throughput. The GPU’s memory configuration consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. This memory subsystem is a critical factor in The Medium, as the game’s high-resolution textures and effects can quickly consume VRAM.

The GPU’s performance in the benchmark data shows a strong correlation with its memory bandwidth. At 4K, the average FPS figures are 64 (Low), 40 (Medium), 29 (High), and 23 (Ultra). The steep drop from Low to Medium at 4K (a 24 FPS difference) suggests that the game is not just GPU compute-bound but also memory-bandwidth-bound, as the Medium preset likely increases texture detail and memory pressure. The RTX 4060 Mobile’s 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but at 4K, it becomes a limiting factor, preventing the GPU from delivering playable frame rates at higher presets.

The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is also a concern at 4K, as the Ultra preset at that resolution yields only 23 FPS. While the data does not directly show VRAM usage, the performance collapse from 40 FPS at Medium to 29 FPS at High and 23 FPS at Ultra at 4K is consistent with the GPU running out of memory or hitting a severe bandwidth wall. In contrast, at 1080p, the GPU has more headroom, as evidenced by the 97 FPS Low result and the 60 FPS Medium result. The data indicates that the RTX 4060 Mobile is a capable 1080p and 1440p GPU for this title, but it is not suited for 4K gaming beyond the Low preset. The GPU’s overall percentile ranking of 67% against all GPUs places it in the upper-mid range, which aligns with its performance profile in this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile is ranked 2285 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the bottom half of all configurations. This rank of 2285 suggests that while the combo is not a poor performer, there are many other systems that deliver higher frame rates in this specific title. The rank is a relative measure, and the data shows that the combo is not a top-tier solution for this game, which is notable given the CPU’s strong overall benchmark scores.

The CPU itself, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX, has a percentile ranking of 93% against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 63173. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13790F (avg score 63080, deltaPct 0.1%), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G (avg score 63331, deltaPct -0.2%), and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P185 (avg score 62839, deltaPct 0.5%). These rival scores show that the 265HX is essentially on par with these other processors, with deltas of less than 1%. This indicates that the CPU is not a weak link in the system, but its performance is not exceptional enough to boost the combo’s rank significantly.

The GPU, the RTX 4060 Mobile, has a percentile ranking of 67% against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22729. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (avg score 22895, deltaPct -0.7%), the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (avg score 22549, deltaPct 0.8%), and the Intel Arc B580 (avg score 23021, deltaPct -1.3%). The RTX 4060 Mobile’s performance is within 1.3% of these rivals, showing that it is a solid mid-range GPU. However, in The Medium, the combo’s rank of 2285 out of 3724 suggests that the combination of this CPU and GPU does not synergize as well as some other pairings, likely due to the game’s heavy reliance on GPU memory bandwidth at higher resolutions. The data shows that while each component is individually competent, the overall combo rank reflects that other configurations with more powerful GPUs or more balanced pairings will offer better performance in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in The Medium?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 97 FPS, which occurs at 1080p with Low settings. This is the only measured setting that exceeds 90 FPS, indicating that the combo is capable of very high frame rates only at the lowest graphical preset and resolution.

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K with a playable frame rate?

A: The data shows that at 4K, the only setting that approaches playability is Medium, which yields an average of 40 FPS. The High preset at 4K drops to 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 23 FPS. Therefore, 4K is only viable at Medium settings, and even then, it does not reach a stable 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX has an average benchmark score of 63173, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-13790F (63080) and 0.5% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P185 (62839). It is 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G (63331). These deltas indicate that the CPU’s raw processing power is virtually identical to its closest competitors.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS at 1080p is 43, while at 4K it is 29. This represents a 14 FPS drop, or approximately a 32.6% reduction in performance. This indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K High.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth and how does it affect performance?

A: The GPU has a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s, using 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. The performance data suggests that this bandwidth is insufficient for 4K gaming at higher presets, as the FPS drops significantly from Medium (40 FPS) to High (29 FPS) at 4K, indicating a memory bottleneck.

Q: Is the combo’s performance in The Medium better or worse than its overall component rankings suggest?

A: The CPU ranks in the 93rd percentile and the GPU in the 67th percentile, but the combo ranks 2285 out of 3724 in this game. This means the combo performs worse than the individual component rankings might suggest, indicating that The Medium is particularly demanding on the GPU’s memory subsystem, which limits the overall performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user’s target resolution and frame rate preference. For a stable 60 FPS experience, the only setting that achieves this is 1080p with Medium settings, which yields an average of 60 FPS. This is the recommended preset for most users, as it provides a good balance between visual quality and smooth gameplay. The 1080p High preset drops to 43 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a horror game that relies on atmosphere and smooth camera movement.

For users with a 1440p monitor, the Medium preset provides an average of 51 FPS, which is a playable but not perfectly smooth experience. The 1440p Low preset offers 81 FPS, which is very smooth, but the visual fidelity may be too low for a game like The Medium, which has a strong emphasis on environmental detail and lighting. The 1440p High preset at 36 FPS is not recommended, as it falls below the 40 FPS threshold that is generally considered the minimum for a playable experience.

At 4K, the data shows that the Medium preset is the only viable option, with an average of 40 FPS. This is playable, but users should expect some frame drops, as the min FPS at 4K Medium is 34. The Low preset at 4K offers 64 FPS, which is surprisingly smooth, but the visual downgrade is significant. For users who prioritize frame rate over fidelity, 4K Low is the best 4K option. However, for a balanced experience, the 1080p Medium or 1440p Medium presets are recommended, as they provide the best combination of visual quality and playable frame rates without dropping below the 40 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it produces 34 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K, all of which are too low for a smooth experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It has a 30 MB shared L3 cache and a TDP of 55 W. In The Medium, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle the game’s logic, AI, and physics. The benchmark data shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this game, as the FPS scales significantly with resolution, which is a GPU-bound behavior.

The CPU’s strong multi-threaded performance is evident in its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 40642, which is a high number. However, in gaming, single-thread performance is often more critical. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5737 is also robust, and its Passmark single-thread score of 4500 indicates solid per-thread performance. The data suggests that the CPU can keep up with the RTX 4060 Mobile at 1080p and 1440p, as the FPS is not limited by CPU processing power at these resolutions.

At lower settings, such as 1080p Low (97 FPS) and 1440p Low (81 FPS), the CPU is likely the limiting factor, as the GPU has enough headroom to render frames quickly but the CPU may struggle to issue draw calls fast enough. However, even at these settings, the FPS is high enough to be playable. At higher resolutions (4K), the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, and the CPU’s performance is sufficient to keep up. The data indicates that the Core Ultra 7 265HX provides ample processing power for this game, and its performance relative to its rivals (within 0.7% of the nearest competitors) means that swapping to a different CPU in the same performance class would not produce significantly different results. The CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking reinforces that it is a high-end mobile processor that is not holding back the RTX 4060 Mobile in this title.