The Medium

The pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 produces a dataset for The Medium that is sharply defined by the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and the CPU’s high compute headroom. Across 12 measured configurations, the results show a consistent pattern: the system is GPU-limited at higher resolutions and settings, while lower presets reveal a more balanced profile. The following analysis breaks down the measured frames per second, the role of the hardware, and how this specific combination ranks against other tested setups.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in The Medium?*

A: The highest recorded average is 87.2 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the dataset that surpasses 80 FPS, indicating a playable ceiling at the lowest preset.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 19.2, which is the lowest figure in the entire measured set. This is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, suggesting the GPU is overwhelmed at this extreme configuration.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K has an average benchmark score of 79102 and ranks in the 97th percentile of all CPUs, while the Radeon RX 6600 sits in the 69th percentile of GPUs. The FPS scaling with resolution and settings aligns with a GPU-bound workload.

Q: How much FPS difference is there between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the gap between Low and Ultra is 55.1 FPS, moving from 87.2 FPS down to 32.1 FPS. This 55 FPS swing shows the significant cost of higher graphical fidelity on this hardware.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 1337th out of 1689 tested combinations in The Medium, placing it in the lower percentile of system pairings. This rank reflects the GPU’s mid-range positioning rather than the CPU’s high-end performance.

Q: Does the RX 6600’s VRAM capacity appear to influence results?

A: Yes, the 8 GB VRAM on the RX 6600 is a likely contributor to the severe FPS drops at 4K Ultra (19.2 FPS) compared to 4K Low (54.6 FPS). The large difference between settings at high resolutions suggests memory capacity or bandwidth becomes a limiting factor.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with 1792 shading units and 112 texture mapping units. Its memory configuration—8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus—provides a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s, which is a modest figure for modern titles. The GPU’s base clock is 1626 MHz, with a boost clock of 2491 MHz and a game clock of 2044 MHz, but these clocks do not compensate for the memory constraints observed in the data.

In The Medium, the GPU’s role is dominant. The measured FPS values scale steeply with resolution and settings, a classic sign of a graphics-bound scenario. For instance, at 2560x1440, the average FPS falls from 70.2 on Low to 27.5 on Ultra, a drop of 42.7 FPS. Similarly, at 3840x2160, the Ultra preset yields 19.2 FPS, which is barely a slideshow. The RX 6600’s 8 GB VRAM is likely a bottleneck at 4K Ultra, as the game’s high-resolution textures and effects can exceed available memory, forcing the system to swap data and tank frame rates. The GPU’s pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s are sufficient for lower presets, but the data shows they are not enough for the highest quality settings at high resolutions.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Radeon 890M (deltaPct 0) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (deltaPct 0.5), meaning the RX 6600’s average score of 25235 is nearly identical to those parts. However, in The Medium, the RTX 3060 Ti has a slightly higher average score (25120 vs 25235), yet the FPS results here are specific to this pairing, and the CPU does not appear to compensate. The Radeon RX 6600’s end-of-life production status and dual-slot cooler with a 132 W TDP suggest a mid-range part that struggles with the most demanding settings in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear inverse relationship between resolution and performance, but the pattern is not uniform across settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 87.2 on Low to 32.1 on Ultra. Moving to 2560x1440, the same settings yield 70.2 and 27.5 FPS, respectively. At 3840x2160, the Low preset still manages 54.6 FPS, but Ultra plummets to 19.2 FPS.

These numbers indicate that the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is relatively modest for Low settings (a 17 FPS drop), but the drop from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings is more severe (from 41.5 to 37.4 FPS, a 4.1 FPS decline). The most dramatic scaling occurs at Ultra: 32.1 FPS at 1080p, 27.5 FPS at 1440p, and 19.2 FPS at 4K. This suggests that the GPU’s compute and memory bandwidth are being saturated at 4K Ultra, where the pixel count quadruples from 1080p.

The limiting component is clearly the GPU. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, with 20 cores and 20 threads, a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 50009, is far more capable than what this game requires. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would be most stressed, the FPS is 87.2, which is still below the refresh rate of many monitors but not CPU-bound. The data shows that as resolution increases, the FPS drops in a way that aligns with GPU load, not CPU load. For example, the 4K Low score of 54.6 FPS is higher than the 1440p Ultra score of 27.5 FPS, proving that settings have a larger impact than resolution, which is a hallmark of a GPU-limited system.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides 12 distinct measurements, covering three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset leads with 87.2 FPS, followed by Medium at 49.6 FPS, High at 40 FPS, and Ultra at 32.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 37.6 FPS, which is the largest single-step drop in the entire dataset, indicating that the Medium preset introduces significant graphical loads.

At 2560x1440, the ordering remains the same: Low at 70.2 FPS, Medium at 41.5 FPS, High at 34.9 FPS, and Ultra at 27.5 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium here is 28.7 FPS, slightly smaller than at 1080p, but the relative drop is similar. The High preset at 1440p (34.9 FPS) is nearly identical to the Ultra preset at 1080p (32.1 FPS), showing that resolution and settings trade off in a predictable manner.

At 3840x2160, the results become more extreme. Low delivers 54.6 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. Medium drops to 37.4 FPS, High to 26.3 FPS, and Ultra to 19.2 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration below 20 FPS, making it effectively unusable for real-time gameplay. The High preset at 4K (26.3 FPS) is also below the 30 FPS threshold, while Medium (37.4 FPS) is borderline. These numbers confirm that the RX 6600 is only comfortable at 1080p or 1440p with lower settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank in The Medium is 1337 out of 1689 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 21% of all systems. This ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU, as the CPU is a top-tier part. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K’s average benchmark score of 79102 places it in the 97th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF (deltaPct -0.2) and the Intel Core i9-14900KF (deltaPct -0.2). This means the CPU is within 1% of the fastest processors in the database.

In contrast, the RX 6600’s average benchmark score of 25235 places it in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals like the AMD Radeon 890M (deltaPct 0) and the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (deltaPct 0.2). The GPU’s performance is essentially tied with an integrated graphics solution (the 890M), which underscores its mid-range status. In The Medium, this combination’s rank reflects the GPU’s inability to push high frame rates at demanding settings, despite the CPU’s headroom. The CPU’s high passmark multithread score of 58838 and physics score of 3826 do not translate into better FPS in this title because the workload is GPU-bound.

The rank of 1337 out of 1689 indicates that most other tested combos achieve better average FPS in this game. This is not a surprise given the RX 6600’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus, which are modest for a 2021 title like The Medium that can be demanding at high resolutions. The data shows that this pairing is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve playable frame rates on Medium or High settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a 60 FPS target, the only viable option is 1080p Low, which delivers 87.2 FPS, or 1440p Low, which delivers 70.2 FPS. These are the only configurations in the dataset that exceed 60 FPS. For a 30 FPS target, more options become available: 1080p Medium (49.6 FPS) and 1080p High (40 FPS) are both above 30 FPS, as are 1440p Medium (41.5 FPS) and 1440p High (34.9 FPS). At 4K, only the Low preset (54.6 FPS) and Medium preset (37.4 FPS) exceed 30 FPS.

The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Medium, which provides 49.6 FPS and a balance between visual quality and performance. This preset offers a significant improvement over Low (which is 87.2 FPS but visually barren) while maintaining a frame rate that is above the 30 FPS playability floor. For users who prioritize smoother motion, 1440p Low at 70.2 FPS is the highest frame rate available at a higher resolution, but the visual downgrade may not be worth it. The 1080p High preset (40 FPS) is a reasonable middle ground, but the 9.6 FPS drop from Medium to High suggests diminishing returns.

At 4K, the data strongly recommends against Ultra (19.2 FPS) and High (26.3 FPS) settings, as both are below 30 FPS. The 4K Medium preset at 37.4 FPS is the minimum viable option for 4K, but it is only 0.4 FPS above the 1080p High preset, making it a less attractive choice. Ultimately, the data suggests that 1080p Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, offering a playable frame rate without sacrificing the game’s atmospheric fidelity. For users with 1440p displays, Medium at 41.5 FPS is a solid alternative, provided they accept a lower frame rate than at 1080p.