The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a nuanced performance profile in The Medium. The data reveals a system that can comfortably handle the game's horror atmosphere at high resolutions, but the scaling patterns expose a significant bottleneck that players need to understand. This analysis breaks down exactly how this combination behaves across the four tested presets and three resolutions, interpreting the measured FPS to show where the hardware shines and where compromises become necessary.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS deltas from 1080p to 4K are not uniform, and the pattern tells an interesting story about the limiting component. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 160 FPS at 1920x1080 to 106 FPS at 4K, a 33.8% reduction. This is a substantial drop, but it still leaves a highly playable frame rate. The Medium preset shows a similar relative decline, falling from 100 FPS at 1080p to 66 FPS at 4K, a 34% reduction. However, the High and Ultra presets show the most dramatic scaling strain.

At High settings, the system goes from 72 FPS at 1080p to 60 FPS at 1440p, and then down to 47 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 4K transition here is a 34.7% drop. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 57 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and a final 38 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33.3% decline from the 1080p baseline.

The consistency of the percentage drops across all presets points to a clear pattern: the resolution scaling is steep, but it is not disproportionately punishing at any single setting. The fact that Low settings still deliver 106 FPS at 4K while Ultra drops to 38 FPS indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor in this equation. The CPU is not the bottleneck here; if it were, we would expect the FPS to remain constant or even increase at lower resolutions, which is not the case. The data shows a system where the 's 12 GB VRAM and its bandwidth are being pushed hard by the higher resolution and the game's visual effects. The 38 FPS at 4K Ultra is a clear signal that the RTX 0 is at its performance limit, while the 160 FPS at 1080p Low suggests the CPU has plenty of headroom to feed the GPU at lower loads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 0 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture card with 6144 shading units and a 192-bit memory bus. Its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory provides 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical resource for a visually heavy title like The Medium. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the card is producing 160 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 38 FPS. This scaling indicates that the GPU is the primary driver of performance.

The card's boost clock of 2512 MHz and base clock of 2325 MHz are consistent with a high-performance desktop part. The benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 29137, and the card's percentile rank is 82 among all GPUs. The data suggests that the RTX 0 is a very capable card for this title, but the 12 GB VRAM might be a limitation at 4K with higher presets. The 38 FPS at 4K Ultra is a clear indicator that the card is working at its maximum capacity, and the 47 FPS at 4K High shows a noticeable improvement when the settings are lowered.

The GPU's 80 ROPs and 192 TMUs also play a role. The texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s are substantial, but the game's demands at 4K Ultra seem to be hitting the card's limits. The data shows that the GPU is not a bottleneck at 1080p Low, but becomes the limiting factor at 4K Ultra. The 12 GB VRAM is likely the key constraint, as The Medium is a game that can use a lot of memory. Players with this combo should consider the settings recommendations below to avoid the 38 FPS floor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This is a high-end CPU, and its role in The Medium appears to be solid. The measured FPS shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game. At 1080p Low, the system produces 160 FPS, which is a clear demonstration that the CPU can feed the GPU at high frame rates. The 1080p High setting yields 72 FPS, showing that the CPU is not limiting the GPU's performance at this resolution.

The CPU's performance in Cinebench R23 is 44253 multi-core and 2439 single-core, which places it in the 96th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6520P, has a delta of 0% in average benchmark score, indicating a performance tie, while the AMD EPYC 4564P is 1.5% faster. This data confirms that the 270K Plus is a top-tier CPU that can readily supply the game engine with data. The game itself is not known for being CPU-heavy, and the data supports this, as the frame rates are dictated by the GPU. The 24 threads are available, but the game likely does not use all of them. The 3 nm process and 17,800 million transistors contribute to its efficiency, but the main takeaway is that the CPU is not the limiting factor. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (38 FPS) is far below the CPU's potential, confirming the GPU is the primary constraint in this configuration.

Settings Recommendations

Looking at the measured FPS data, the best experience is a trade-off between visual quality and frame rate. For 4K, the High preset yields 47 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. The Medium preset at 4K gives 66 FPS, which is a significant improvement, but the Ultra preset drops to 38 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. For a smooth experience at 4K, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it provides a 44% higher frame rate than High and a 74% higher frame rate than Ultra.

At 1440p, the High preset gives 60 FPS, but the Medium preset delivers 84 FPS, a 40% increase. The Ultra preset at 1440p is 48 FPS, which is still acceptable but not ideal for a fast-paced game. The Low preset at 1440p gives 135 FPS, but this will likely be visually unappealing. The 1440p sweet spot is the Medium preset, which offers a great balance of quality and performance.

At 1080p, the High preset gives 72 FPS, while the Medium preset is 100 FPS. The Low preset gives 160 FPS, but that is likely overkill. The Ultra preset at 1080p is 57 FPS, which is still playable. The best experience at 1080p is the Medium preset, which provides a high frame rate with good visual quality. The Ultra preset at 1080p is 57 FPS, which is a solid result, but the Medium preset is a better choice for most players. The data shows that the Medium is the most balanced setting across all resolutions, with the High setting being a close second for those who prioritize visuals.

FAQ

Q: What is the frame rate at 4K with High settings?

A: The average FPS is 47 at 4K (3840x2160) with High settings.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The average FPS is 160 at 1080p (1920x1080) with Low settings.

Q: What is the best preset for a 60 FPS target at 4K?

A: The Medium preset at 4K (3840x2160) yields an average of 66 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target. The High preset at 4K is 47 FPS, which is below the target. So, the Medium preset is the recommended choice.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1440p with Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS is 48 at 1440p (2560x1440) with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the system in this game?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the frame rate is 160 FPS, which shows the CPU can handle high frame rates. The performance drops to 38 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The average FPS is 100 at 1080p (1920x1080) with Medium settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data is comprehensive. At 4K (3840x2160), the Ultra preset delivers an average of 38 FPS, the High preset delivers 47 FPS, the Medium preset delivers 66 FPS with a min of 56 and a max of 76, and the Low preset delivers 106 FPS. At 1440p (2560x1440), the Ultra preset averages 48 FPS, the High preset averages 60 FPS, the Medium preset averages 84 FPS with a min of 71 and a max of 97, and the Low preset averages 135 FPS. At 1080p (1920x1080), the Ultra preset averages 57 FPS, the High preset averages 72 FPS, the Medium preset averages 100 FPS with a min of 85 and a max of 115, and the Low preset averages 160 FPS.

This shows a consistent pattern. The Medium preset is the only one with measured min and max values, giving a range of 56-76 FPS at 4K, 71-97 FPS at 1440p, and 85-115 FPS at 1080p. The other presets have no min/max data. The frame rate scaling is linear, with the 4K resolution being the most demanding. The 1080p Low setting is the highest at 160 FPS. The data is a full picture.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 0 combination has a combo rank of 675 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the top 18.1% of all tested systems. This is a strong ranking, indicating that this build is a high-end performer. The CPU's average benchmark score is 93785, with a percentile of 96. The GPU's average benchmark score is 40377, with a percentile of 82. These individual scores are high, and the combo's rank is a good reflection of the overall performance.

Compared to the nearest rivals, the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has a delta of 0% against the Intel Xeon 6520P, -1.5% against the AMD EPYC 4564P, -1.9% against the AMD EPYC 9175F, and -2.1% against the AMD EPYC 4565P. This shows the CPU is competitive with other top-tier processors. The GPU's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Pro 580 with a delta of 0.1%, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 at 0.8%, the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 at -1.2%, and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile at 2%. These are minor differences. The combo's rank of 675 out of 3720 indicates that it is a solid performer in The Medium. The data shows that the system can handle the game well, with the GPU being the primary constraint at 4K. The rank reflects the balance of the CPU and GPU. The combination is a good choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming, and it can handle 4K with a settings change. The rank is a good indicator of its position.