The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title that stresses both processor and graphics hardware, and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 produces a varied performance profile depending on resolution and quality settings. This mobile combination ranks 1566th out of 2911 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The measured frame rates reveal a system that is capable of smooth play at lower resolutions but quickly becomes GPU-bound at higher fidelity targets, making settings selection critical for a consistent experience.

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 Intel's 7 nm process. Its base clock of 3.90 GHz can boost up to 5.10 GHz, and it carries 24 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 2 MB of L2 cache per core and 112 KB of L1 per core. This configuration delivers strong synthetic results, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17984.5 and a single-core score of 1810.5, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 11657. The processor's percentile ranking of 85th among all CPUs indicates it sits comfortably above average, though its nearest rivals show how tight the competition is: the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 scores 35719 (a 0.1% delta), the Intel Core 7 250H scores 35728 (0.2% faster), and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X scores 35909 (0.7% ahead).

In The Medium, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage the game's fixed-camera scenes, which are less demanding than open-world titles but still require consistent single-thread performance. The 5.10 GHz boost clock is advantageous here, as the game's engine tends to favor fewer, faster cores for its logic and rendering threads. Looking at the measured FPS data, the CPU is not the bottleneck at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 107 FPS, nor at 1440p Low with 90 FPS — these numbers suggest the processor can push well beyond 100 frames per second when graphics load is minimal. However, the gap between Low and Medium settings at the same resolution reveals where the GPU starts to take over: at 1080p, dropping from Low to Medium reduces average FPS from 107 to 67, a 40 FPS loss that points to graphics workload rather than CPU limits. The passmark multi-thread score of 29376 and data compression score of 339489 further indicate a processor with ample headroom for gaming, but the measured game results show that The Medium is not CPU-bound in most scenarios tested.

The processor's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s over dual-channel DDR5 is sufficient for this horror title, and the integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 128EU is irrelevant for gaming since the discrete RTX 5070 handles all rendering. The 45 W TDP reflects a mobile part designed for laptops, and the BGA 2049 socket confirms it is not upgradeable. For The Medium, the Ultra 9 185H provides a solid foundation, but the benchmark data indicates that its capabilities are only fully exercised at lower settings where the GPU can keep up.

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

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset to choose for this hardware combination. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 67 FPS average with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS, which is the only tested setting at this resolution that stays above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 1080p drops to 48 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less fluid, while Ultra falls to 38 FPS and Low jumps to 107 FPS but with reduced visual quality that undermines the game's atmospheric horror presentation. For 1080p, Medium is the recommended choice because it balances the game's fixed-camera visuals with a frame rate that remains above 60 FPS in the measured data.

At 1440p, the Medium preset produces 56 FPS average with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. This is slightly below the 60 FPS target but remains in a range where the game feels responsive, especially given that The Medium is a slower-paced horror title where sub-60 FPS is less detrimental than in fast action games. High at 1440p drops to 40 FPS, and Ultra to 32 FPS, both of which are too low for consistent play. Low at 1440p achieves 90 FPS but sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game that relies heavily on atmosphere and lighting. The 1440p Medium setting is the best compromise, offering a 56 FPS average that is only 11 FPS below the 1080p Medium result.

For 4K (3840x2160), the situation is more constrained. The Medium preset at 4K delivers 44 FPS average with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS. This is the only 4K setting that achieves a playable frame rate above 40 FPS, though it falls short of the 60 FPS ideal. High at 4K drops to 32 FPS, Ultra to 25 FPS, and Low to 71 FPS — the Low preset at 4K is technically playable but produces a visually degraded experience that misses the point of 4K resolution. For players who prioritize resolution over settings, 4K Medium is the only viable option, but the data suggests that 1440p Medium or 1080p Medium offer better overall experiences.

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

The measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance. Starting with the Medium preset, the game runs at 67 FPS at 1080p, drops to 56 FPS at 1440p (a 16% reduction), and further to 44 FPS at 4K (a 34% reduction from 1440p and a 52% reduction from 1080p). This scaling is characteristic of a system that is heavily limited by the graphics card, as the CPU is capable of producing much higher frame rates at lower resolutions. The Low preset shows even more dramatic scaling: 107 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 71 FPS at 4K. The fact that Low at 4K still achieves 71 FPS indicates that the CPU can handle the game's logic at high frame rates, but the GPU cannot maintain those rates when graphical fidelity increases.

The High preset tells a different story: 48 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K. This represents only a 33% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is less severe than the Medium preset's 52% drop. This anomaly suggests that at High settings, the GPU is already saturated at 1080p, so increasing resolution has a proportionally smaller impact. The Ultra preset follows a similar pattern: 38 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K, with a 34% drop from 1080p to 4K. These results indicate that the RTX 5070 is the primary limiting component across all tested configurations, and the CPU's headroom is never fully utilized except at the lowest settings where the GPU can keep pace.

Comparing the resolution scaling to the CPU's synthetic benchmarks reinforces this conclusion. The Ultra 9 185H's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17984.5 and single-core score of 1810.5 are strong, but the game's FPS at 4K Ultra (25 FPS) is far below what the CPU alone could theoretically support. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are the relevant factors here, and the measured FPS drops align with the RTX 5070's specifications rather than any CPU limitation.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for smooth gameplay with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1080p Medium delivers 67 FPS average with a 57 FPS minimum, which is the only tested configuration that maintains a minimum above 60 FPS. 1440p Medium achieves 56 FPS average with a 48 FPS minimum, which is acceptable but not ideal for fast-paced scenes.

*Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K?*

A: Yes, 4K Medium produces 44 FPS average with a 37 FPS minimum, which is playable. 4K Low reaches 71 FPS, but this requires significant visual compromises. 4K High and Ultra are not recommended due to 32 FPS and 25 FPS averages respectively.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 107 FPS, showing the CPU can handle high frame rates. When settings increase to Medium at 1080p, FPS drops to 67, and at 4K Medium it falls to 44, indicating the RTX 5070 is saturated by the game's graphics workload.

Q: How does the Ultra 9 185H compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Ultra 9 185H's average benchmark score of 35670 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 (35719, 0.1% faster) and the Intel Core 7 250H (35728, 0.2% faster). The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X scores 35909, which is 0.7% higher.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p High settings?

A: The measured data shows 40 FPS average at 1440p High. This is below the 60 FPS target and may result in visible stuttering in some scenes. The Medium preset at 1440p provides a significantly better experience at 56 FPS.

Q: Does lowering resolution improve FPS proportionally?

A: Not linearly. The Medium preset drops from 67 FPS at 1080p to 56 FPS at 1440p (16% loss) and 44 FPS at 4K (34% loss from 1440p). The diminishing returns suggest that the GPU becomes more efficient at lower resolutions but still cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the primary driver of The Medium's performance, and its specifications explain the measured FPS patterns. This GPU features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is ample for this game's texture and geometry data at all tested settings. The base clock runs at 2325 MHz with a boost clock of 2512 MHz, and the card's 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units handle the game's rendering workload. The Blackwell 2.0 architecture on a 5 nm TSMC process delivers 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is substantial for a horror title with fixed cameras and limited draw distances.

The GPU's 48 ray tracing cores are not heavily utilized in The Medium, as the game's lighting is primarily pre-baked, but the 192 tensor cores support DLSS features that could improve frame rates if enabled (though the measured data does not include DLSS results). The RTX 5070's percentile ranking of 82nd among all GPUs places it above average, but its nearest rivals show modest gaps: the AMD Radeon Pro 580 scores 40318 (0.1% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 scores 40063 (0.8% lower), and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile scores 39568 (2% lower). These deltas are small, indicating that the RTX 5070 is in a competitive mid-range position.

The GPU's 250 W TDP and dual-slot design with a 1x 16-pin power connector, requiring a 600 W suggested PSU, are typical for a mobile part. The 245 mm length and 115 mm height fit standard laptop chassis. The measured FPS data shows that the RTX 5070 is the bottleneck at all settings except the lowest, as the CPU can produce 107 FPS at 1080p Low but the GPU only manages 32 FPS at 4K Ultra. The drop from 67 FPS at 1080p Medium to 44 FPS at 4K Medium represents a 34% reduction, which aligns with the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute capabilities. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for this game, as the measured data shows no signs of texture thrashing or memory-related stutters.

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

The measured FPS data for this combination is comprehensive, covering three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 107 FPS average, the Medium preset delivers 67 FPS average with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS, the High preset delivers 48 FPS average, and the Ultra preset delivers 38 FPS average. The 1080p results show a clear step-down from Low to Medium (a 40 FPS drop), with smaller reductions from Medium to High (19 FPS) and High to Ultra (10 FPS). This pattern indicates that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for 1080p, as it offers a 67 FPS average that is well above the 60 FPS threshold, while High and Ultra fail to maintain smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 90 FPS average, the Medium preset achieves 56 FPS average with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS, the High preset achieves 40 FPS average, and the Ultra preset achieves 32 FPS average. The 1440p results show similar scaling to 1080p but with lower absolute numbers: Low to Medium is a 34 FPS drop, Medium to High is a 16 FPS drop, and High to Ultra is an 8 FPS drop. The 1440p Medium preset is the only setting that approaches the 60 FPS target, though its 48 FPS minimum may cause occasional dips during intense scenes.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 71 FPS average, the Medium preset delivers 44 FPS average with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS, the High preset delivers 32 FPS average, and the Ultra preset delivers 25 FPS average. The 4K results demonstrate the GPU's limits: even Low settings only reach 71 FPS, and Medium drops to 44 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 27 FPS, which is substantial, and the High and Ultra presets are both below 32 FPS, making them unsuitable for anything other than static scenes. The measured minimums for Medium at 4K (37 FPS) indicate that the game can stutter in demanding moments, so players should expect some frame pacing issues at this resolution.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, with 67 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 44 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p (38 FPS), and even then it falls below the 60 FPS target. The data confirms that this hardware combination is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming with Medium settings, while 4K should be reserved for players who prioritize resolution over smoothness.