The Medium

The Medium on the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile combo delivers a playable experience at 1080p and 1440p on Medium settings, but 4K requires dropping to Low to stay fluid. The CPU's 20-core, 20-thread configuration and high boost clock keep the GPU busy, as evidenced by a 107 FPS average at 1080p Low, while the RTX 5070 Mobile's 8 GB GDDR7 memory and 384 GB/s bandwidth become the clear limiting factor at higher resolutions and presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, fabricated on a 3 nm process at TSMC. Its base clock of 2.60 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz position it as a high-end mobile part, and its benchmark results confirm this: it scores 40,642 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5,737 in single-core, while PassMark multithread performance reaches 47,985. With a 55 W TDP and a 30 MB shared L3 cache, this CPU sits in the 93rd percentile of all tested processors. Relative to its nearest rivals, the Ultra 7 265HX is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-13790F (0.1% deltaPct) and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G (-0.2% deltaPct), while it edges out the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P185 (0.5% deltaPct) and the Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX (0.7% deltaPct). This means the CPU is not the bottleneck in The Medium; the game, released in 2021, is far more GPU-demanding than CPU-demanding, and the 265HX's strong single-thread performance (5,737 in R23) ensures that even at low resolutions the CPU can feed frames to the RTX 5070 Mobile without stalling.

The game's measured FPS pattern confirms this. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 107 FPS, which is far above the 60 FPS target, indicating the CPU can push the GPU to its limits at lower resolutions. Even at 4K Low, the CPU keeps up, producing 71 FPS. The 265HX's 20 cores are more than enough for The Medium, which is a horror title with modest CPU demands; the real constraint appears only when the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are saturated at higher resolutions and higher settings.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13790F?

A: The Ultra 7 265HX has an average benchmark score of 63,173, which is 0.1% higher than the Core i7-13790F's 63,080. This places the two processors virtually identical in overall performance, with the 265HX edging out by a negligible margin.

Q: What is the RTX 5070 Mobile's standing among its closest GPU competitors?

A: The RTX 5070 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 29,929, which is 0.1% lower than the RTX 3070 Ti (29,945) and 0.5% higher than the RTX 2080 Ti (29,783). It also trails the AMD Radeon RX 6800 by 0.6% and the RX 6700 by 1.7%, placing it in a tight cluster around the RTX 3070 Ti.

Q: At which resolution does this combo achieve a 60+ FPS average on Medium settings?

A: Only at 1920x1080 Medium does the average FPS exceed 60, with 67 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium the average drops to 56 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Medium it falls to 44 FPS.

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

A: The Ultra 7 265HX scores 40,642 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5,737 in single-core, a ratio of roughly 7.1:1. This shows a strong multi-threaded scaling, but for The Medium, the single-core result is more relevant since the game does not heavily utilize many threads.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations for The Medium?

A: The combo ranks 2,057 out of 3,724 tested combinations, meaning it outperforms approximately 55% of all tested hardware pairs in this game.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo produces 107 FPS, which is more than double the 48 FPS seen at 1080p High. This indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU's performance (R23 single-core 5,737) is sufficient to feed the GPU even at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS across resolutions shows a classic GPU-bound scaling curve. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 67 at 1080p to 56 at 1440p to 44 at 4K—a 16% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and a 21% decrease from 1440p to 4K. This pattern holds across all settings, but the magnitude of the drop differs. At Low settings, the same scaling goes from 107 to 90 to 71, representing a 16% and 21% drop respectively. The proportional consistency suggests the CPU is not introducing a bottleneck at any resolution; if it were, the frame rate would plateau or show larger drops at lower resolutions.

The High settings row shows a steeper decline: 48 FPS at 1080p, 40 at 1440p, and 32 at 4K—a 17% and 20% drop. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 38 FPS at 1080p, 32 at 1440p, and 25 at 4K. The fact that the 4K-to-1080p ratio at Low (71/107 = 0.66) is nearly identical to that at Ultra (25/38 = 0.66) reinforces that the GPU is the limiting component across the entire settings range. The RTX 5070 Mobile's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 384 GB/s bandwidth are the constraining factors, not the CPU's 30 MB L3 cache or its 102.4 GB/s system memory bandwidth.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 3,724 combinations tested in The Medium, this Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX + RTX 5070 Mobile pair ranks 2,057th. This places it in the 55th percentile of tested combos, meaning it outperforms 55% of all other CPU-GPU pairs in this game. While not a top-tier combo, it is far from the bottom: the CPU's high single-core performance (R23 single 5,737) and the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 20,355 combine to produce playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the RTX 5070 Mobile's position as the 75th percentile GPU (vs. the CPU's 93rd percentile) means the GPU drags the overall combo down.

The rank is heavily influenced by the GPU's performance, which is only 0.1% slower than the RTX 3070 Ti but 1.7% slower than the RX 6700. The CPU, however, is a top-tier part, with an average benchmark score of 63,173, putting it 0.7% ahead of the Core Ultra 7 255HX. If the GPU were swapped for a higher-tier model, the combo rank would improve significantly, but as measured, this pair sits just above the median for The Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table lists all measured frame rate data for The Medium at each resolution and settings preset. Note that only the Medium preset provides min/max values; other presets report only average FPS.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|------------|----------|-------------|---------|---------|

| 1920x1080 | Low | 107 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 67 | 57 | 77 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 48 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 38 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 90 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 56 | 48 | 65 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 40 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 32 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 71 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 44 | 37 | 51 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 32 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 25 | - | - |

At 1080p, the gap between Low and Medium is 40 FPS (107 to 67), while the gap between Medium and High is 19 FPS (67 to 48), and between High and Ultra is 10 FPS (48 to 38). This shows diminishing returns as settings increase, typical of a GPU that is already being pushed at 1080p. At 1440p, the same pattern holds: 90 to 56 to 40 to 32. At 4K, the Low preset is the only one that exceeds 60 FPS (71 FPS), while Medium drops to 44 FPS, High to 32, and Ultra to 25.

The min and max values for Medium settings provide insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 57, which is still above the 60 FPS target, meaning the game stays smooth. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 48 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter during intense scenes. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 37 FPS, which is quite low. These min values suggest that Medium settings at 1440p are borderline for a consistent 60 FPS experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the best experience for this combo depends on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset is the clear choice: it delivers an average of 67 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for most of the time. High settings drop to 48 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS target and not recommended for a smooth horror experience. Low settings produce 107 FPS but sacrifice visual quality for no real benefit, since Medium already exceeds 60 FPS.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again is the best compromise: 56 FPS average, but the minimum of 48 FPS means it is not a locked 60 FPS experience. High settings fall to 40 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less fluid. Low settings hit 90 FPS, but that is overkill for a horror game, and Medium's visual improvements are worth the 34 FPS drop. For players who prioritize smoothness over quality, Low at 1440p is viable, but Medium is the balanced recommendation.

At 4K, only the Low preset provides a playable frame rate (71 FPS). Medium drops to 44 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, and High (32 FPS) and Ultra (25 FPS) are not suitable for gameplay. Thus, for 4K, the only realistic option is Low settings. The RTX 5070 Mobile simply does not have the bandwidth or shading power to handle this game at high settings in 4K, as evidenced by the 44 FPS at Medium and 25 FPS at Ultra.

For the best overall experience, the 1080p Medium preset offers the highest frame rate with a minimum above 60 FPS, while 1440p Medium is acceptable for those who prefer higher resolution, though it may dip below 60 FPS during demanding scenes. 4K should be reserved for Low settings only, as any higher preset results in sub-40 FPS averages that are likely to feel sluggish in a horror game. The data shows that the RTX 5070 Mobile is best paired with a 1080p or 1440p monitor, and that this CPU-GPU combination is not suited for 4K gaming at high visual quality.