The Medium

The Medium presents a unique technical challenge, blending fixed-camera angles with a dual-reality rendering technique that can heavily tax both processor and graphics card. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, focusing on how the system scales across resolutions and settings, and where it stands among thousands of other tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling, but with some interesting nuances specific to The Medium’s engine. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 191 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 161 FPS, a 15.7% reduction, and then to 127 FPS at 4K, another 21.1% reduction from the 1440p figure. This steady decline indicates that even at lower settings, the resolution increase is placing a growing burden on the graphics card, though the CPU is clearly capable of feeding it frames at these rates.

The scaling becomes more dramatic as settings increase. At High settings, the drop from 1080p (86 FPS) to 1440p (72 FPS) is a 16.3% loss, and then to 4K (57 FPS) is a 20.8% loss from 1440p. This suggests that the higher preset is increasing the per-pixel workload, making the GPU the limiting factor even more decisively. The 4K High result of 57 FPS, while playable, shows the RTX 4080 is being pushed near its limits with this game’s demanding visual effects.

The most telling data point for understanding the bottleneck is the Ultra preset. Here, the performance falls to 68 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. The relatively small gap between 1080p and 1440p (11 FPS) compared to the gap between 1440p and 4K (12 FPS) suggests that at Ultra, the game is becoming more evenly balanced between CPU and GPU demands at lower resolutions, but the GPU still takes over as the primary constraint at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS is the lowest in the entire measured set, indicating that this preset is exceptionally demanding and not ideal for a smooth experience at maximum resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. For a horror game like The Medium, which often features complex scripted sequences and AI-driven events, the CPU’s single-thread performance is critical. The benchmark scores support this, with a strong Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2439 and a Passmark single-thread score of 5068.

However, the game also benefits from multi-threading, especially during the dual-reality sequences where two worlds are rendered simultaneously. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44253 and its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicate it has ample headroom for these workloads. The 24 threads ensure that background tasks, game logic, and rendering threads do not compete for resources, which is crucial for maintaining consistent frame times.

The data suggests that this CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing for The Medium. Even at 1080p Low, where the frame rate is 191 FPS, the processor is capable of delivering frames far beyond what the RTX 4080 can render at higher settings. The game’s engine appears well-optimized for multi-core processors, and the Core Ultra 7’s architecture, with its 36 MB of shared L3 cache, provides the necessary bandwidth for game data. In comparison to its nearest rivals, the Intel Xeon 6520P and AMD EPYC 4564P, this CPU’s average benchmark score is nearly identical, indicating that its overall compute capability is on par with those server-class chips.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the other half of this equation, and it is clearly the dominant factor in this game’s performance. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, the card has a substantial memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s, which is essential for handling the high-resolution textures and multiple render targets The Medium uses. The boost clock of 2505 MHz and 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power provide the raw horsepower needed for the game’s lighting and post-processing effects.

The GPU’s role becomes more apparent as resolution and settings increase. The measured FPS drops are directly proportional to the increased pixel count and shader complexity. For instance, at Medium settings, the average FPS scales from 120 at 1080p to 101 at 1440p and 79 at 4K. This shows the RTX 4080’s capability, but also its limitations at the highest demands. The card’s 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the upper echelon, but not at the very top, which is consistent with its performance in this title.

The VRAM capacity is not a concern here, as 16 GB is ample for The Medium at 4K Ultra. The data implies that the performance ceiling at 4K Ultra (45 FPS) is due to the GPU’s compute and memory bandwidth limits, not a lack of capacity. The 4K Medium result of 79 FPS is a more comfortable zone for this card, suggesting that the game’s Ultra preset includes effects that are disproportionately heavy on the GPU’s shader units.

Measured FPS Breakdown

This section details the exact frame rates achieved by this combo across all tested configurations.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Low: 191 FPS average
• Medium: 120 FPS average, with a minimum of 102 and a maximum of 138 FPS
• High: 86 FPS average
• Ultra: 68 FPS average

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down:

• Low: 161 FPS average
• Medium: 101 FPS average, with a minimum of 86 and a maximum of 116 FPS
• High: 72 FPS average
• Ultra: 57 FPS average

At the demanding 3840x2160 resolution, the results are:

• Low: 127 FPS average
• Medium: 79 FPS average, with a minimum of 67 and a maximum of 91 FPS
• High: 57 FPS average
• Ultra: 45 FPS average

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data, providing a useful frame time consistency metric. At 1080p, the 102-138 FPS range shows a 36 FPS spread, indicating some variability, while at 4K, the 67-91 FPS range shows a 24 FPS spread, which is tighter in relative terms. This suggests that the frame pacing becomes more stable when the GPU is more heavily loaded, as the CPU has less idle time to cause hitches.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 173 out of 3724 combos for The Medium. This places it in the top 4.6% of all tested systems, which is an exceptional result. The data indicates that this combo is far more capable than the median system, and its ranking reflects the high-end nature of both components.

This rank is particularly impressive considering the game’s demanding nature. The combo’s performance is likely limited by the GPU’s ability to render the dual-world scenes, and yet it still outperforms 95.4% of other systems. The proximity of the RTX 4080’s average benchmark score to the RTX 4080 SUPER (a 0.1% difference) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (a -1.1% difference) suggests that this level of performance is at the upper boundary of what is currently available, with only a few more powerful cards able to push higher.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo achieve a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K?

A: Yes, but only on lower settings. The data shows 4K Medium achieves an average of 79 FPS, and 4K High hits 57 FPS. For a locked 60 FPS, Medium settings are required, while High is borderline and Ultra falls short at 45 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at for maximum frame rate?

A: At 1080p, the combo delivers excellent performance across all settings, with even the Ultra preset hitting 68 FPS. For a high refresh rate monitor, 1080p Low achieves 191 FPS, making it the best choice for esports-level fluidity.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The data clearly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The FPS drops significantly as resolution and settings increase, while the CPU’s high benchmark scores (96th percentile) suggest it has sufficient headroom to handle the game’s logic without being a constraint.

Q: How does this combo compare to a system with an RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: Based on average benchmark scores, the RTX 4080 is only 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 SUPER. In The Medium, this difference is negligible, so users should expect nearly identical performance from both cards.

Q: Is 16 GB of VRAM enough for The Medium at 4K?

A: Yes. The 16 GB GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient for this game. The performance drop at 4K Ultra is not due to VRAM capacity, but rather the GPU’s compute and bandwidth limits, as evidenced by the smooth scaling from Medium to High.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only data available for minimum FPS is at Medium settings. The lowest minimum recorded is 67 FPS at 4K, with higher minimums of 86 FPS at 1440p and 102 FPS at 1080p. This indicates that the Medium preset provides a consistently playable experience.

Settings Recommendations

The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combination. At 1440p, it achieves an average of 101 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay without any significant frame drops. At 4K, the Medium preset still holds up well, delivering 79 FPS average with a 67 FPS minimum, which is comfortably within the playable range for a horror title where atmosphere is more important than absolute frame rates.

For users with high refresh rate 1080p displays, the Low preset is a viable option, delivering 191 FPS, but the visual compromise is substantial. The High preset is a middle ground, but its 4K performance of 57 FPS is not ideal for a consistent 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset, while visually impressive, is only recommended for users with the most powerful GPUs, as this combo can only manage 45 FPS at 4K, which may hinder the game’s cinematic feel. Ultimately, the Medium preset is the sweet spot, providing a significant improvement over Low while maintaining frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold at both 1440p and 4K.