The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers a highly capable, if not flawless, experience in The Medium, with performance that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. The data shows this combination ranks in the 95th percentile of all 2,911 tested combos, placing it firmly in the upper echelon for this horror title. However, the frame rates reveal that the RTX 5080 is the primary bottleneck at higher settings, while the CPU’s 24 cores and 24 threads provide ample headroom at lower presets, making this a balanced yet GPU-bound system for most playable scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent pattern: performance degrades significantly as resolution increases, a classic sign of a GPU-limited workload. At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the combo averages 124 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 104 FPS, a reduction of 16.1% from 1080p. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 82 FPS, which is 33.9% lower than the 1440p result and 20.9% lower than the 1080p result. This scaling curve is steep, indicating that the render resolution is the dominant factor in performance.

The pattern holds across other settings. With High settings, the average FPS goes from 89 at 1080p to 75 at 1440p (a 15.7% drop) and then to 59 at 4K (a 21.3% drop from 1440p). Low settings show the most dramatic scaling: 198 FPS at 1080p, 167 FPS at 1440p (a 15.7% drop), and 131 FPS at 4K (a 21.6% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across all presets strongly suggests that the limiting component is the GPU’s pixel throughput, not the CPU or memory subsystem.

What this scaling says about the limiting component is definitive. The RTX 5080, with its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, is being saturated as pixel count rises. The CPU’s role is diminished at higher resolutions because the GPU takes longer to render each frame. At 1080p Low, where the GPU has less work, the system achieves 198 FPS, but even this is not a CPU ceiling; it is merely the point where the GPU’s rasterization limits become less pronounced. The absence of a CPU bottleneck is further supported by the fact that the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is nearly identical across all settings, which would not be the case if the CPU were struggling at lower resolutions. In short, the data indicates that for this title, the RTX 5080 is the performance arbiter, and users should expect to adjust resolution or settings to hit their target frame rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: Based on the measured rows, 3840x2160 with Medium settings delivers an average of 82 FPS, with a minimum of 70 FPS, which is comfortably above 60. For a more consistent margin, 2560x1440 with Medium settings yields 104 FPS, while Ultra at 1440p averages 59 FPS, which is borderline.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance in this game?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has 24 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The data shows that at 1920x1080 Low, the system reaches 198 FPS, indicating the CPU is not a limiting factor. Even at 4K Low with 131 FPS, the CPU provides sufficient headroom, as the FPS drops are consistently tied to resolution increases, not CPU load.

*Q: Is the RTX 5080 a good match for this CPU in The Medium?*

A: Yes, the pairing works well. The combo ranks 95th out of 2,911 tested combos, placing it in the 95th percentile. The GPU is the primary driver of performance at higher settings, while the CPU ensures no bottleneck at lower settings, making for a balanced system where the GPU is the expected limiting factor.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for the Medium preset?

A: For the Medium preset, the minimum FPS is recorded at each resolution: 105 FPS at 1920x1080, 89 FPS at 2560x1440, and 70 FPS at 3840x2160. These minimums are all above 60 FPS, suggesting stable frame pacing.

Q: How does this combo compare to other CPUs in the same tier?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score of 93,785 places it at the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6520P, has an identical average score of 93,786 with a 0% delta, showing they are performance equals. The AMD EPYC 4564P is 1.5% behind, and the AMD EPYC 9175F is 1.9% behind.

Q: What is the impact of switching from High to Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p, High averages 89 FPS while Ultra averages 70 FPS, a drop of 21.3%. At 1440p, High averages 75 FPS and Ultra drops to 59 FPS, a 21.3% reduction. At 4K, High averages 59 FPS and Ultra falls to 47 FPS, a 20.3% decrease. This shows Ultra carries a significant cost.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. In the context of The Medium, these specifications translate to a platform that is never the bottleneck in the measured scenarios. The evidence is in the scaling: at 1920x1080 Low, the combo produces 198 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, it still manages 131 FPS. If the CPU were weak, we would expect to see a plateau or a smaller FPS difference when lowering resolution, but the data shows a steady linear drop that tracks with pixel count.

The CPU’s benchmark scores reinforce this interpretation. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 44,253, and its single-core score is 2,439, which are strong results for a desktop processor. More telling are the PassMark scores: a multithread score of 68,574 and a single-thread score of 5,068. These figures indicate that the CPU has both high multi-threaded throughput for any background tasks and strong single-thread performance, which is often critical for game logic and draw calls. The 96th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 93,785, confirms it is a top-tier part.

Comparing it to its nearest rivals, the data shows it is essentially tied with the Intel Xeon 6520P (0% delta) and ahead of the AMD EPYC 4564P by 1.5% and the AMD EPYC 9175F by 1.9%. This consistency in synthetic benchmarks suggests that for CPU-bound tasks, this chip performs at the expected level for its class. However, in The Medium, the game’s engine appears to be GPU-bound, so the CPU’s role is simply to keep up with the RTX 5080’s frame output. The fact that the FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are nearly identical across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra presets—around 20-34%—proves that the CPU is delivering frames fast enough that only the GPU’s rendering speed matters. In essence, this CPU provides a solid foundation, but its 24 threads are not fully taxed by this title, which is typical for a game of this nature.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the lowest preset (Low) yields the highest average of 198 FPS. Medium drops to 124 FPS, with a minimum of 105 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS. High averages 89 FPS, and Ultra averages 70 FPS. This shows a clear hierarchy: Low is nearly 60% faster than Medium, and Medium is about 39% faster than High, while High is 27% faster than Ultra. The 1080p numbers are all playable, but only Low and Medium exceed the 120 FPS threshold for high refresh rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 167 FPS for Low, 104 FPS for Medium (with a min of 89 and a max of 120), 75 FPS for High, and 59 FPS for Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent, with Low losing 15.7%, Medium losing 16.1%, High losing 15.7%, and Ultra losing 15.7%. This uniformity suggests a consistent GPU workload increase. At this resolution, Medium is the only setting that comfortably exceeds 100 FPS, while High is playable at 75 FPS, and Ultra just misses the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more demanding. Low averages 131 FPS, Medium averages 82 FPS (with a min of 70 and a max of 94), High averages 59 FPS, and Ultra averages 47 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a drop of 21.6% for Low, 21.2% for Medium, 21.3% for High, and 20.3% for Ultra. This indicates that the RTX 5080 is being pushed harder at 4K, but it still manages to deliver a smooth experience on Medium, which is the only preset that stays above 60 FPS for the average. High at 59 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 47 FPS is not ideal for a consistent frame pacing.

The data also highlights the importance of the Medium preset. It is the only setting with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values across all resolutions, showing a min of 105 at 1080p, 89 at 1440p, and 70 at 4K. These minimums are all above 60 FPS, which is a strong indicator of stability. In contrast, Low, High, and Ultra only have average FPS values, which may mask potential frame dips. Overall, the breakdown shows that this system can handle 4K gaming, but users must be selective with settings to avoid dropping below playable thresholds.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a combo rank of 95 out of 2,911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the 95th percentile of all systems tested for this game, which is an excellent result. It means that only about 5% of the tested configurations outperform this one, and the vast majority of systems will produce lower frame rates. This ranking is a strong endorsement of the pairing’s capability.

The CPU itself ranks at the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 93,785. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6520P, scores 93,786, which is a 0% delta, meaning they are statistically tied. The AMD EPYC 4564P is 1.5% behind, the AMD EPYC 9175F is 1.9% behind, and the AMD EPYC 4565P is 2.1% behind. These deltas are small, indicating that the CPU is in a tight performance class with other high-end server and desktop parts.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5080 ranks at the 87th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 56,083. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon 8060S, which is 0.6% ahead, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 0.7% ahead. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 2.3% behind, and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE is 2.2% ahead. This shows that the GPU is competitive but not the absolute fastest, which is consistent with its 87th percentile ranking.

When combined, the system’s 95th percentile rank in-game is higher than the individual component percentiles, which suggests that the CPU and GPU work particularly well together for this specific title. The CPU’s high single-thread performance and the GPU’s strong rasterization capabilities complement each other, resulting in a system that is greater than the sum of its parts in The Medium. The rank of 95 out of 2,911 is a clear signal that this is a top-tier configuration for this game, suitable for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming and capable of 4K at moderate settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user’s resolution and frame rate target. For 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the best balance, with an average of 124 FPS and a minimum of 105 FPS. This provides a smooth experience on high refresh rate monitors while still delivering good visual quality. Low is faster at 198 FPS but sacrifices too much visual fidelity for most players. High at 89 FPS is playable but not as fluid, and Ultra at 70 FPS is acceptable but not ideal for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, Medium is again the recommended preset, averaging 104 FPS with a minimum of 89 FPS. This hits the sweet spot for 1440p gaming, providing a high frame rate that is above the 75 Hz refresh rate of many monitors. High at 75 FPS is a viable alternative for those who prefer better visuals and can tolerate a lower frame rate. Ultra at 59 FPS is borderline, and while it is technically playable, the consistency of the frame rate is less assured than Medium, which has a much higher minimum.

For 3840x2160, Medium is the only preset that delivers a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 82 FPS and a minimum of 70 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS target and allows for a comfortable 4K gaming session. High at 59 FPS is just below 60, and while it might be acceptable for some, the risk of drops below 60 is higher. Low at 131 FPS is overkill for most 4K displays, which typically have a 60 Hz refresh rate, and Ultra at 47 FPS is too low for a smooth experience.

Ultimately, the Medium preset is the standout recommendation across all resolutions. It offers the best combination of visual quality and performance, with minimum FPS values that are consistently above 60 at 4K and well above 100 at 1080p. For users with high refresh rate 1440p monitors, Medium at 104 FPS is the clear choice. For 4K users, Medium at 82 FPS provides a reliable and immersive experience. High settings are a compromise for those who prioritize visuals over frame rate, but the data shows that Medium is the most balanced option for this hardware.