The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile combination. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is consistently GPU-limited, with the CPU providing ample headroom even at lower settings. The data shows a clear hierarchy where the RTX 5070 Mobile’s performance dictates the playable envelope, while the Core Ultra 9 185H ensures stability across the board.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, indicating that the rendering pipeline is heavily dependent on the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 107 FPS at 1920x1080 to 90 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 17 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields an average of 71 FPS, which is a 36 FPS drop from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern suggests that even at the lowest graphical preset, the resolution increase places a significant burden on the GPU, with the 3840x2160 result representing a 33.6% performance decrease from the 1920x1080 baseline.

The scaling becomes more severe as the settings increase. At Medium settings, the average frame rate drops from 67 FPS at 1920x1080 to 56 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 44 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 34.3% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The High preset shows a similar trend, with averages of 48 FPS, 40 FPS, and 32 FPS across the three resolutions. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with averages of 38 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. The data indicates that the RTX 5070 Mobile is the limiting factor, as the performance degradation closely tracks the increase in pixel count.

The difference between 1080p and 1440p is relatively modest compared to the jump to 4K. For example, at High settings, the 1440p result is 8 FPS lower than 1080p, while the 4K result is 16 FPS lower than 1440p. This suggests that the GPU’s memory bus width of 128 bit and 8 GB of GDDR7 memory become increasingly strained at 3840x2160. The 384.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the higher resolution demands more data throughput, which is reflected in the steeper performance decline.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile is the dominant component in this configuration for The Medium. With 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, the GPU provides a memory bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s. The benchmark results show that the GPU’s average benchmark score of 29928 places it at the 75th percentile of all GPUs. In comparison to its nearest rivals, the RTX 5070 Mobile is nearly identical in performance to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, with a deltaPct of -0.1%. It also outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti by 0.5% and trails the AMD Radeon RX 6800 by 0.6%.

The GPU’s clock speeds are relatively modest, with a base clock of 907 MHz and a boost clock of 1425 MHz. These clocks, combined with the 4608 shading units, produce a FP32 performance of 13.13 TFLOPS. The pixel rate of 68.40 GPixel/s and texture rate of 205.2 GTexel/s are the key metrics for this game’s rendering workload. The data shows that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the GPU can achieve an average of 107 FPS, indicating that the core architecture is capable of high throughput when the shading load is reduced.

However, the VRAM capacity becomes a critical factor at higher settings. The measured FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings drops to 25 FPS, and the minimum frame rate is not recorded, suggesting that the GPU is struggling to maintain consistent performance. The 8 GB frame buffer is likely being saturated at 4K with Ultra textures, which forces the GPU to use slower memory paging. In contrast, at 1080p with Medium settings, the average FPS of 67 indicates that the GPU has enough VRAM headroom for the lower resolution, allowing it to operate more efficiently.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal balance between visual quality and playability is achieved at Medium settings. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 67 FPS with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS. This provides a smooth experience for most gameplay scenarios. The High preset at the same resolution yields 48 FPS, which is playable but may exhibit noticeable stutter in action-heavy sequences. The Low preset reaches 107 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play but sacrifices visual fidelity.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset is also the recommended choice, with an average of 56 FPS, a minimum of 48 FPS, and a maximum of 65 FPS. This is a 16.4% reduction from the 1080p Medium result, but it remains within a reasonable range for a horror game where atmospheric tension is more important than high refresh rates. The High preset at 1440p drops to 40 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset yields an average of 44 FPS, with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS. This is the only 4K setting that provides a consistently playable experience, though it requires a compromise on visual detail.

The data suggests that Ultra settings are not viable for this combination. At 1920x1080, Ultra produces 38 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable gaming. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 32 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 25 FPS. These results indicate that the RTX 5070 Mobile does not have sufficient computational power or memory bandwidth to handle the Ultra preset’s demands at any resolution. Players should prioritize the Medium preset for the best overall experience, as it offers a significant visual improvement over Low without the steep performance penalty of High or Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are 107 FPS for Low, 67 FPS for Medium, 48 FPS for High, and 38 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 77 FPS, indicating a stable frame time distribution. The Low preset has no recorded minimum or maximum, suggesting that the frame rate is consistently high. The High and Ultra presets also lack min/max data, which implies that their averages are representative of steady performance.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 90 FPS for Low, 56 FPS for Medium, 40 FPS for High, and 32 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset again shows the most detailed data, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. This represents a 16.4% drop from the 1080p Medium average, which is expected given the 77% increase in pixel count. The Low preset’s 90 FPS average is still high, but it shows a 15.9% reduction from the 1080p Low result.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 71 FPS for Low, 44 FPS for Medium, 32 FPS for High, and 25 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 51 FPS, which is a wider range than at lower resolutions, indicating more variable performance. The Low preset’s 71 FPS average is a 21.1% drop from the 1440p Low result. The High and Ultra presets fall below the 30 FPS threshold, making them unsuitable for consistent gameplay. The data shows a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases, with the 4K Ultra result being the weakest at 25 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile combination ranks 2057 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places the system in the 55th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning that 45.2% of tested combos perform better. This rank reflects the GPU’s position in the overall performance hierarchy, as the RTX 5070 Mobile is a mid-range mobile part that competes with previous-generation desktop GPUs.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 29928 is nearly identical to that of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, which scores 29945. The deltaPct of -0.1% indicates that the RTX 5070 Mobile is essentially a peer of the RTX 3070 Ti, despite being a newer generation. The GPU also outperforms the RTX 2080 Ti by 0.5%, showing that modern architecture improvements compensate for the lower power envelope. However, it trails the AMD Radeon RX 6800 by 0.6%, which suggests that AMD’s higher-bandwidth memory solution provides a slight edge in certain workloads.

The CPU’s rank in this context is less critical, as the Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670, placing it at the 85th percentile of all CPUs. This indicates that the processor is not the bottleneck in this configuration. The combo’s overall rank of 2057 is therefore primarily determined by the GPU’s performance in The Medium, which is constrained by its memory subsystem and shading unit count.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H features 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The processor has a 24 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus providing 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications are more than adequate for The Medium, which is primarily a GPU-bound title. The CPU’s benchmark scores support this analysis, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17984.5 and a single-core score of 1810.5.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 35670 places it at the 85th percentile, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, scores 35719, a deltaPct of -0.1%. This indicates that the Core Ultra 9 185H is statistically equivalent to its closest competitor in synthetic benchmarks. The processor’s high single-thread performance, as evidenced by the Geekbench single-core score of 1794, ensures that the game’s main thread is well-served.

The data shows that the CPU does not constrain the GPU in this game. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 107 FPS, which is a high frame rate that often reveals CPU limitations in other titles. However, the Core Ultra 9 185H’s strong performance allows the RTX 5070 Mobile to reach its full potential. The 45 W TDP is typical for a mobile processor of this class, and the Meteor Lake architecture’s efficiency ensures that thermal throttling is not a significant factor in the measured results.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for smooth gameplay?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings provides an average of 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS, which is the most balanced option. At 2560x1440, Medium yields 56 FPS, and at 3840x2160, Medium yields 44 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: At 3840x2160, the system can achieve 71 FPS on Low settings and 44 FPS on Medium settings. The High preset drops to 32 FPS, and Ultra falls to 25 FPS. Therefore, 4K is playable only on Low or Medium presets.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 Mobile compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5070 Mobile has an average benchmark score of 29928, which is 0.1% lower than the RTX 3070 Ti, 0.5% higher than the RTX 2080 Ti, and 0.6% lower than the Radeon RX 6800.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H a bottleneck for the GPU?

A: No. The CPU has an average benchmark score of 35670, placing it at the 85th percentile. The system achieves 107 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that the CPU provides sufficient headroom for the GPU.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 56 FPS, while the High preset averages 40 FPS. This represents a 28.6% performance decrease when moving from Medium to High.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2057 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the 55th percentile of all tested systems.