The Medium

# The Medium: Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D — Benchmark Analysis

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers top-tier performance in The Medium, ranking 1st out of 2,911 tested CPU-GPU combinations. The CPU sits in the 96th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 92nd percentile among all graphics cards. This combination produces a wide performance envelope, from 54 FPS at 4K Ultra to 209 FPS at 1080p Low, with the measured data showing a system capable of handling the game's fixed-camera horror presentation at high refresh rates in most scenarios.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in The Medium?*

A: The data shows 1440p Medium delivers 122 FPS average with a minimum of 103 FPS, providing a smooth experience with visual fidelity above the baseline. At 4K, Medium averages 95 FPS with a minimum of 81 FPS, which remains playable on high-refresh displays.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has an average benchmark score of 93,785. It sits essentially tied with the Intel Xeon 6520P (93,786, 0% delta), while trailing the AMD EPYC 4564P by 1.5%, the AMD EPYC 9175F by 1.9%, and the AMD EPYC 4565P by 2.1%.

Q: What is the GPU's performance standing relative to other graphics cards?

A: The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score is 77,712. It leads the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT by 1.1% but falls behind the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT by 1.6%, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB by 2.1%, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB by 2.4%.

*Q: Does The Medium benefit more from the CPU or GPU at lower resolutions?*

A: At 1080p, the system reaches 209 FPS on Low settings and 144 FPS on Medium, suggesting the CPU's 24 cores and 5.50 GHz boost clock are sufficient to feed the GPU. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings shows a 34% performance drop, indicating the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

*Q: Is the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of VRAM useful for The Medium?*

A: The GPU's 32 GB GDDR7 memory with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is far beyond what this 2021 horror title requires. The measured results show no VRAM-related bottlenecks across any resolution or settings tier, with performance scaling driven by compute and rasterization rather than memory capacity.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the CPU and GPU in this combo?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has a launch MSRP of $299, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D has a launch MSRP of 2,299 USD.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB202 chip manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It contains 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, with a transistor density of 122.9M per mm². The GPU operates with a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective).

This GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. The shading unit count is 21,760, with 680 texture mapping units and 176 render output units. Ray tracing is handled by 170 dedicated RT cores, while 680 tensor cores support AI-accelerated workloads. The GPU's compute capabilities include 104.8 TFLOPS for both FP32 and FP16 (1:1 ratio), with a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s.

In The Medium, the GPU's role is pivotal at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 54, while at 4K High it reaches 68 FPS. Dropping to 4K Medium yields 95 FPS, and 4K Low produces 153 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU's raw throughput is the primary constraint at 4K, with each settings tier representing a significant computational jump.

The GPU's benchmark scores contextualize its performance: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 14,326, Geekbench OpenCL reaches 310,674, and Geekbench Vulkan posts 376,915. Passmark results include a G3D score of 44,065 and a GPU compute score of 28,396. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it near the top of the performance hierarchy, though its nearest rivals in average score—the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT and RX 6850M XT—are within a 1.6% delta.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1080p, Medium settings deliver 144 FPS average with a minimum of 123 FPS and maximum of 166 FPS. This is the sweet spot for high-refresh 1080p displays, offering a 41 FPS improvement over High settings (103 FPS) while maintaining smooth frame pacing. Ultra at 1080p drops to 82 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 43% reduction from Medium.

At 1440p, Medium settings produce 122 FPS average with a 103 FPS minimum and 140 FPS maximum. This is the recommended configuration for 1440p monitors, as it comfortably exceeds 100 FPS minimums. High settings at 1440p average 87 FPS, which is acceptable for 60 Hz displays but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. Ultra at 1440p averages 69 FPS, making it suitable for 60 Hz panels but not for high-refresh gaming.

At 4K, Medium settings are the pragmatic choice, yielding 95 FPS average with an 81 FPS minimum and 110 FPS maximum. This configuration maintains playable frame rates while preserving visual quality. High settings at 4K average 68 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. Ultra at 4K drops to 54 FPS average, which may exhibit noticeable judder in this horror title's cinematic scenes. Low settings at 4K provide 153 FPS, but the visual compromise is substantial.

The data indicates that Medium settings provide the best balance across all resolutions, with the 4K Medium result being particularly notable for its 81 FPS minimum, ensuring consistent performance during the game's fixed-camera transitions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1080p:

• Low: 209 FPS average
• Medium: 144 FPS average (123 min, 166 max)
• High: 103 FPS average
• Ultra: 82 FPS average

At 1080p, the system demonstrates exceptional headroom. The jump from Low to Medium costs 65 FPS, while Medium to High costs another 41 FPS. The step from High to Ultra takes an additional 21 FPS, showing diminishing returns as settings increase.

1440p:

• Low: 195 FPS average
• Medium: 122 FPS average (103 min, 140 max)
• High: 87 FPS average
• Ultra: 69 FPS average

The 1440p results show a steeper performance curve. Low produces 195 FPS, but Medium drops to 122 FPS, a 37% reduction. High further reduces to 87 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 69 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium (103) is particularly strong, indicating stable frame delivery.

4K:

• Low: 153 FPS average
• Medium: 95 FPS average (81 min, 110 max)
• High: 68 FPS average
• Ultra: 54 FPS average

At 4K, the GPU's workload intensifies significantly. Low achieves 153 FPS, but Medium falls to 95 FPS. High and Ultra dip to 68 FPS and 54 FPS respectively. The Medium preset's 81 FPS minimum shows the system can maintain playable performance even in demanding scenes.

The complete dataset shows that this combo delivers playable frame rates at every resolution and settings tier, with even the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration maintaining 54 FPS average.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the system's bottleneck behavior. At Medium settings, the system delivers 144 FPS at 1080p, 122 FPS at 1440p, and 95 FPS at 4K. This represents a 15% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 34% drop from 1080p to 4K. The relatively modest scaling penalty at 1440p suggests the CPU can still feed the GPU adequately, while the larger 4K penalty indicates GPU-bound operation.

At Low settings, the scaling is more pronounced: 209 FPS at 1080p drops to 195 FPS at 1440p (7% reduction) and 153 FPS at 4K (27% reduction). The smaller percentage drops at Low settings indicate that the CPU's 24 cores and 5.50 GHz boost clock are sufficient to maintain high frame rates without becoming a limiting factor.

At High settings, the scaling shows a different pattern: 103 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p (16% drop), and 68 FPS at 4K (34% drop). The Ultra settings produce 82 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p (16% drop), and 54 FPS at 4K (34% drop). These consistent 34% reductions from 1080p to 4K across High and Ultra settings indicate the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions and quality presets.

The resolution scaling analysis suggests that at 1080p and 1440p Medium, the system has sufficient CPU headroom to maintain high frame rates, while at 4K, the GPU's computational limits become the defining factor. The RTX 5090 D's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth determine the ceiling at 4K, with each settings tier representing a measurable increase in GPU workload.

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 at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 via a dual-channel interface with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth, and ECC memory is supported.

The CPU's benchmark results demonstrate strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R15 multicore scores 6,656, Cinebench R20 multicore reaches 24,461, and Cinebench R23 multicore posts 44,253. Single-core results are equally robust, with Cinebench R15 single-core at 354, R20 single-core at 3,453, and R23 single-core at 2,439. Passmark tests show a multithread score of 68,574, single-thread score of 5,068, and a physics score of 4,064.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions where GPU load is reduced. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 209 FPS, suggesting the CPU can sustain frame rates well above 200 FPS. At 1440p Low, the 195 FPS result indicates minimal CPU bottlenecking even at higher resolutions with reduced graphical settings.

The CPU's 96th percentile ranking places it among the top processors available. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the Intel Xeon 6520P (93,786, 0% delta), AMD EPYC 4564P (95,183, -1.5% delta), AMD EPYC 9175F (95,615, -1.9% delta), and AMD EPYC 4565P (95,764, -2.1% delta). These deltas are small, indicating the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus performs competitively with server-class processors.

The 24-core configuration with 24 threads (no hyperthreading) provides substantial parallel processing capability, which benefits the game's asset streaming and scene loading. The 5.50 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-thread performance for the game's main logic thread. The L3 cache of 36 MB helps maintain data locality, while the DDR5 memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s supports smooth texture streaming. The CPU's 3 nm process node contributes to power efficiency, and its PCIe Gen 5 support with 20 CPU lanes provides high-bandwidth connectivity to the RTX 5090 D's PCIe 5.0 x16 interface.