The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience, and the data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile reveals a system that is consistently playable but heavily taxed by the game's highest settings. The measured frames per second across three resolutions and four quality presets show a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling, with the CPU providing ample headroom even at 1080p. This combination ranks in the 78th percentile of all tested combos, indicating strong performance, though not the absolute top tier for this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a predictable and steep drop as resolution increases, confirming that the RTX 4090 Mobile is the primary bottleneck in this configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the system delivers an average of 150 FPS, which drops to 127 FPS at 1440p and further to 99 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, a scaling pattern typical of a GPU that is being pushed toward its limits at higher pixel counts. The frame rate does not double or triple with resolution changes, indicating that the graphics card is already working hard at 1080p.

The scaling becomes more severe at higher quality presets. At Medium settings, the average frame rate falls from 94 FPS at 1080p to 79 FPS at 1440p, a 16% drop, and then to 62 FPS at 4K, a further 22% reduction. The High preset shows a similar trend: 67 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. This progressive decline suggests that the game's visual effects and texture loads at High and Medium settings are heavily dependent on GPU throughput, with the RTX 4090 Mobile's 16 GB of VRAM and 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth being utilized to their full extent as resolution increases.

The most demanding scenario, Ultra at 4K, yields an average of just 35 FPS, a figure that drops from 53 FPS at 1080p. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at the same resolution is substantial: at 1440p, Low produces 127 FPS while Ultra produces only 45 FPS, a difference of 182%. This indicates that The Medium's Ultra preset introduces rendering features that are extraordinarily taxing on the GPU, pushing the RTX 4090 Mobile to its absolute limit. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming at lower presets, as 4K requires significant compromises to maintain smooth gameplay.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is the dominant component in this system's gaming performance, and its specifications directly explain the measured results. The GPU features 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output pipelines, all operating at a base clock of 1335 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz. This configuration delivers a peak FP32 throughput of 32.98 TFLOPS, which is substantial for a mobile part but clearly not sufficient to handle The Medium's Ultra settings at high resolutions without frame rate drops.

The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the game's texture streaming needs at 1080p and 1440p. However, the 4K results suggest that the memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor at Ultra settings, where the average frame rate falls to 35 FPS. The GPU's 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are also relevant, as The Medium uses ray-traced lighting and reflections, which can significantly impact performance. The measured FPS at Ultra settings indicates that these features are heavily active, causing the frame rate to drop below the 60 FPS threshold even at 1440p.

The GPU's benchmark scores corroborate its gaming performance. Its PassMark G3D score of 27212 places it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 43667. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 with a score of 43301 and the RTX 5050 Mobile with 43268, showing that the 4090 Mobile is about 0.9% faster than these cards. The data shows that while this GPU is powerful, it is not the absolute fastest mobile solution available, and The Medium's specific demands can overwhelm it at maximum settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Medium, the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H with the RTX 4090 Mobile achieves a rank of 802 out of 3724 total combos. This places it in the 78th percentile of all systems tested, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of all other CPU-GPU pairings in this game. This is a strong showing, but it is not a top-tier result, suggesting that other combinations with more powerful GPUs or different CPU configurations can achieve higher frame rates.

The rank of 802 is influenced by the CPU's performance relative to its peers. The Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 with an average score of 35719 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core 7 250H with 35728 (0.2% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 with 35802 (0.4% higher). The CPU also sits close to the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, which scores 35909 (0.7% higher). These tiny deltas indicate that the CPU is not a differentiator in this game, as all these processors perform nearly identically.

The combo's rank is therefore largely determined by the GPU's performance. With the RTX 4090 Mobile being a high-end mobile part, the system lands in the upper quartile of results. However, the fact that it ranks at 802 rather than higher suggests that there are many combos with more powerful desktop GPUs or more optimized laptop configurations that produce higher frame rates in The Medium. The measured FPS data supports this, as the system achieves playable but not exceptional frame rates at 1440p and 4K.

FAQ

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

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the system achieves an average of 94 FPS, with a minimum of 80 FPS and a maximum of 108 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350's score of 35719, indicating essentially identical performance.

Q: What is the best frame rate achievable at 4K?

A: The highest average frame rate at 3840x2160 is 99 FPS, achieved with Low settings. At Ultra settings, the average drops to 35 FPS.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for this game?

A: The RTX 4090 Mobile features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, which is more than sufficient for The Medium at all tested resolutions and settings, as the game's requirements are well within this capacity.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems?

A: This CPU-GPU combination ranks 802 out of 3724 total combos tested in The Medium, placing it in the 78th percentile of all systems.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor, as frame rates drop significantly when resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, while the CPU's performance remains consistent across all tested resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired smoothness. For 1080p gaming, the High preset delivers an average of 67 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for most players, while the Ultra preset drops to 53 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter in fast-paced scenes. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a comfortable 94 FPS average, providing a significant safety margin above 60 FPS, making it the best balance of visual quality and performance for this resolution.

At 1440p, the Medium preset achieves an average of 79 FPS, which is still smooth and playable, while the High preset drops to 57 FPS, slightly below the ideal 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 45 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a horror game that benefits from smooth camera movement. The Low preset at 1440p produces 127 FPS, but this sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game that relies heavily on atmosphere and lighting effects. For 1440p, Medium is the recommended preset, as it provides a good balance of frame rate and graphical detail.

For 4K gaming, the situation is more challenging. The High preset yields only 45 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 35 FPS, both of which are below the 60 FPS target and may result in a less immersive experience. The Medium preset at 4K produces 62 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold and offers the best playable experience at this resolution. The Low preset at 4K achieves 99 FPS, but the visual downgrade is severe, making it less desirable for a game that relies on detailed environments. For 4K, Medium is the only preset that delivers a consistently smooth frame rate without significant visual compromises.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H's role in The Medium is secondary to the GPU, but its specifications ensure that it does not become a bottleneck. The CPU features 16 cores and 22 threads, based on the Meteor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This configuration provides ample processing power for the game's AI, physics, and scene management, which are not particularly demanding in a fixed-camera horror title. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth are more than sufficient for the game's data streaming requirements.

The CPU's benchmark results confirm its capability. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17984.5 and single-core score of 1810.5 indicate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance, which is important for maintaining consistent frame times. The Geekbench multicore score of 11657 and single-core score of 1794 further validate its performance. The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 29376 and single-thread score of 3697 show that it can handle the game's background tasks without impacting the GPU's workload.

However, the data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this system. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is almost entirely GPU-driven, as the CPU's performance does not change with resolution. The CPU's percentile rank of 85 and its average benchmark score of 35670 place it in the upper echelon of processors, but its nearest rivals show that it is not a standout performer. The Core Ultra 9 185H's 45 W TDP is typical for a mobile processor, and its performance is adequate for this game, but the RTX 4090 Mobile is clearly the component that determines the overall experience.