The Medium

The Medium is a horror game built around a fixed-camera presentation and dual-reality mechanics, and the data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the AMD Radeon 8060S reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics solution at higher settings. The measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions and presets show a clear pattern: this combo can push high frame rates at low settings, but it struggles to maintain playable performance when visual fidelity is maxed out. This analysis will break down the CPU and GPU contributions, scaling behavior, and the practical implications for players.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on a 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.90 GHz, and it can boost up to 5.10 GHz, which provides substantial headroom for gaming workloads. In The Medium, the CPU’s role appears to be secondary to the GPU, given that the FPS numbers drop more steeply with resolution increases than with changes that would stress the processor. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 101 FPS average, which is well above the threshold where a CPU bottleneck would typically manifest, suggesting the processor is feeding the GPU adequately at lower resolutions.

The processor’s benchmark scores support this interpretation. In Cinebench R23, it scores 17984.5 in multi-core and 1810.5 in single-core. Its Geekbench results are 11657 multi-core and 1794 single-core. These figures place it at the 85th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35670. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, which scores 35719 (a delta of -0.1%), and the Intel Core 7 250H at 35728 (-0.2%). The data suggests the Ultra 9 185H is competitive with these parts, but none of them are likely to be the limiting factor in a game like The Medium, which is known for its GPU-intensive rendering of dual worlds.

Given that The Medium’s gameplay involves rendering two simultaneous perspectives, the CPU must manage the logic for both realities. The 22 threads provide ample parallelism for this task, and the L3 cache of 24 MB shared should help with asset streaming. However, the measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (36 FPS) versus 1080p Low (101 FPS) indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck when settings are raised. The CPU’s single-core performance, as shown by the PassMark single-thread score of 3697, is sufficient for the game’s AI and scripting, but it does not compensate for the GPU’s limitations at higher presets.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon 8060S is an integrated graphics solution based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units, with a boost clock of 2900 MHz. Critically, its memory is “System Shared,” meaning it relies on the CPU’s DDR5 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This is a significant factor in The Medium, which requires substantial memory bandwidth for its texture-heavy environments and dual-reality rendering. The GPU’s FP32 performance is 14.85 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 185.6 GPixel/s, but the lack of dedicated VRAM means performance is heavily dependent on the system memory configuration.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it at the 87th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 55757. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (score 55698, delta 0.1%) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (56083, -0.6%). This suggests the 8060S is a capable integrated part, but its performance in The Medium shows clear limits. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 24 FPS, which is unplayable, while at 4K Low it reaches 67 FPS. The GPU’s architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, which are modern APIs, but the shared memory subsystem is likely the culprit for the steep performance drops at higher resolutions and settings.

The data implies that the Radeon 8060S is best suited for lower presets. At 1080p Medium, it achieves 63 FPS, which is smooth, but at 1440p Medium, it drops to 53 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings shows a drop from 63 to 42 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s compute and memory bandwidth are stretched thin at higher pixel counts. The lack of dedicated VRAM means that at 4K Ultra, the system may be spilling into slower system memory, causing the severe performance degradation observed.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At Low settings, the combo goes from 101 FPS at 1080p to 85 FPS at 1440p, and then to 67 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is relatively modest and suggests that at Low settings, the GPU is still able to keep up with the pixel increase, though it is clearly being taxed. At Medium settings, the drop is steeper: from 63 FPS at 1080p to 53 FPS at 1440p, and then to 42 FPS at 4K. That is a 33% drop from 1080p to 4K, but the absolute numbers are lower, indicating that the GPU is becoming the bottleneck.

At High settings, the scaling is more severe. The combo achieves 45 FPS at 1080p, 38 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. This is a 33% drop from 1080p to 4K, but the starting point is already below the 60 FPS target, so the experience is compromised at all resolutions. At Ultra settings, the numbers are the most telling: 36 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 33%, but the absolute values are so low that the game is essentially unplayable at 4K Ultra.

The pattern across all settings shows that the FPS drops roughly proportionally with the pixel count increase, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU’s performance is consistent across resolutions, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS does not plateau at 1080p, which would indicate a CPU limit. Instead, the FPS continues to decline as resolution increases, confirming that the Radeon 8060S is the limiting component. The fact that the drop from 1080p to 4K is similar (around 33%) at all settings suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth is the primary constraint, as higher resolutions require more memory traffic.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo is at Low settings, where it achieves 101 FPS at 1080p and 85 FPS at 1440p. These are smooth, playable frame rates that make the game enjoyable without sacrificing too much visual fidelity, given the horror genre’s reliance on atmosphere over graphical detail. At 4K Low, the 67 FPS average is still playable, though it is approaching the lower limit for smooth motion.

Medium settings offer a reasonable compromise, with 63 FPS at 1080p and 53 FPS at 1440p. The minimum FPS at these resolutions is 53 and 45, respectively, which indicates some frame drops but generally stays above the 30 FPS threshold for playability. At 4K Medium, the average is 42 FPS, which is borderline, but the minimum of 35 FPS suggests it may dip into stutter territory during intense scenes.

High settings are not recommended, as the combo only achieves 45 FPS at 1080p and 30 FPS at 4K. The game is playable at 1080p High, but the low frame rates at higher resolutions will likely result in a subpar experience. Ultra settings should be avoided entirely, as the combo fails to reach 30 FPS at any resolution, with 36 FPS at 1080p being the best case, which is still below the preferred 60 FPS target.

The data suggests that players should prioritize Low settings for competitive frame rates, or Medium at 1080p if they want a balance of quality and performance. The measured rows show that Medium at 1080p provides a 63 FPS average, which is the highest playable preset that maintains a decent visual quality. For those with 1440p displays, Low settings at 85 FPS is the practical choice, as Medium drops to 53 FPS, which may be acceptable but less smooth.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and AMD Radeon 8060S combination ranks 1648 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the 57th percentile, meaning it outperforms more than half of the tested systems but lags behind the top performers. Given the GPU’s integrated nature, this ranking is surprisingly solid, likely due to the CPU’s strong multi-core performance and the GPU’s respectable compute capabilities.

The ranking suggests that this combo is in the middle of the pack, which is consistent with the FPS data. At 1080p Low, it achieves 101 FPS, which is competitive with many discrete GPU laptops. However, at higher settings, it falls behind dedicated graphics solutions. The combo’s rank of 1648 out of 2911 indicates that there are many systems that can handle The Medium at higher presets, but this pairing is adequate for lower-to-mid settings.

The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, which scores 0.1% higher in average benchmarks, would likely perform better in this game due to dedicated VRAM. The CPU’s nearest rivals, like the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, show that the Ultra 9 185H is not a significant differentiator in gaming performance. The combo’s rank reflects a balanced but unremarkable system, where the CPU is more than capable, but the GPU holds back overall performance in GPU-intensive titles like The Medium.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this combo?

A: The data shows that 1080p Low delivers the highest average FPS at 101, making it the most suitable for smooth gameplay. At 1440p Low, it still achieves 85 FPS, which is also playable, but 4K is only viable at Low settings with 67 FPS.

Q: Can this combo handle Ultra settings in The Medium?

A: No, the measured FPS at Ultra settings is 36 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. These are all below the 60 FPS target and are not recommended for a good experience.

Q: How does the GPU’s shared memory affect performance?

A: The AMD Radeon 8060S uses System Shared memory, which means it relies on the CPU’s DDR5 memory. This likely contributes to the steep FPS drops at higher resolutions, as the memory bandwidth becomes a bottleneck.

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

A: The FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU’s strong multi-core and single-core scores suggest it is not the limiting component.

Q: What is the combo’s ranking among all tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 1648 out of 2911 tested combos, placing it in the middle of the pack. It outperforms 57% of systems but is not a top performer for this game.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Medium settings at 1080p?

A: At Low settings, the combo achieves 101 FPS average, while at Medium it drops to 63 FPS, a 38% decrease. Medium also has a minimum FPS of 53, indicating some frame drops.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following table outlines the exact average FPS for each resolution and settings preset, based on the measured data. Minimum and maximum FPS are only provided for Medium settings across all resolutions.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|---------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 30 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 67 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 42 | 35 | 48 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 24 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 38 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 85 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 53 | 45 | 61 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 30 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 45 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 101 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 63 | 53 | 72 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 36 | - | - |

At 1080p, the combo offers a wide range of performance, from 101 FPS at Low to 36 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset at 63 FPS is the most balanced, as it provides a playable frame rate with better visual quality than Low. At 1440p, the performance scales down proportionally, with Low at 85 FPS being the most comfortable option, while Medium at 53 FPS is still playable but with more variance. At 4K, only Low settings (67 FPS) provide a smooth experience, as Medium drops to 42 FPS and High to 30 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is effectively unplayable at 24 FPS.

The minimum and maximum FPS for Medium settings show that the game’s frame rate can be variable. At 1080p Medium, the range is 53 to 72 FPS, indicating a 19 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 45 to 61 FPS, a 16 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 35 to 48 FPS, a 13 FPS spread. This variability suggests that the game’s dual-reality rendering can cause frame time spikes, but the averages remain consistent with the overall GPU-bound trend.