The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title, and the data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile shows a clear pattern: this combo is capable of solid performance, but you must be willing to adjust settings to hit your target frame rate. The measured results indicate that the game is heavily dependent on the graphics card, with CPU headroom to spare. This analysis breaks down the optimal settings, the role of the GPU, and how the system scales across resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For a balance of visual fidelity and smooth gameplay, the Medium preset is the clear sweet spot. At 1920x1080, this setting delivers an average of 68 FPS, which is comfortably playable. The frame time data shows a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 78 FPS, indicating a stable experience without major hitches. This is the recommended starting point for most users.

If you have a high-refresh-rate 1080p monitor, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only way to fully utilize it, pushing the average to 108 FPS. This comes at a significant visual cost, but the performance gain is substantial. However, the jump from Low to Medium is a 37% reduction in average FPS (from 108 to 68), which is a steep price for the visual upgrade. The data suggests that Medium is the more sensible choice for a quality experience.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset remains the best option for a playable experience, with an average of 57 FPS. This is a 16% drop from the 1080p Medium result, but it remains within an acceptable range for a story-driven horror game. The High preset at this resolution drops to 41 FPS average, which is starting to feel less fluid, and Ultra falls to 32 FPS, which is not recommended for a consistent experience.

For 4K (3840x2160), the data reveals that this combo is not suited for high-fidelity gaming. The High preset averages only 32 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 4K manages 45 FPS, but even this is a compromise. The Low preset at 72 FPS is the only way to achieve a fluid 4K experience, but it negates the purpose of the resolution. The performance cliff from 1440p to 4K is steep, and Medium at 1440p is the practical ceiling for this hardware. The Ultra preset should be avoided at all resolutions, as it is the only setting that pushes the system below 40 FPS even at 1080p.

FAQ

Q: Is this CPU-GPU combo capable of running The Medium at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at the Low preset, which yields an average of 72 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K produces 45 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets fall to 32 and 25 FPS respectively, indicating a GPU-bound scenario that cannot handle high fidelity at this resolution.

Q: How much of a performance hit does the Ultra preset incur at 1440p?

A: Compared to the Medium preset at 2560x1440, Ultra reduces the average frame rate from 57 FPS to 32 FPS. This is a 44% decrease, making the Ultra preset a poor choice for this resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144Hz 1080p monitor?

A: The data shows that only the Low preset at 1920x1080, with an average of 108 FPS, can approach that refresh rate. The Medium preset at 68 FPS will not be able to fully saturate a 144Hz display.

Q: Does the game show a frame rate advantage for the CPU at lower resolutions?

A: Yes. The jump from 1080p Medium (68 FPS) to 1080p Low (108 FPS) is a 59% increase in performance. This scaling, combined with the CPU's high benchmark scores, suggests that the processor is not the limiting factor, and the GPU is doing the heavy lifting.

Q: How stable is the frame rate on the Medium preset?

A: The measured data for the Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 58, 49, and 38 at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively. Compared to the average FPS of 68, 57, and 45, this indicates a consistent frame time delivery with no severe drops.

Q: Based on the numbers, is this system more GPU-limited or CPU-limited in this game?

A: The data strongly indicates a GPU limitation. The frame rates scale dramatically with resolution and settings, with the 4K Ultra setting yielding only 25 FPS. The CPU's performance percentile (94th) is much higher than the GPU's (73rd), and its benchmark scores are far above what is needed for the frame rates observed.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile is the dominant component in this configuration for The Medium. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is the most likely bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings, as the 4K Ultra preset's 25 FPS average suggests the GPU is running out of memory bandwidth or capacity to handle the high-resolution textures and effects.

The GPU's clock speeds are 1395 MHz base and 1695 MHz boost, with memory running at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective). These figures are modest for a high-end mobile part, and the benchmark results reflect this. The GPU's Passmark G3D score is 19587, which places it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals by average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, with delta percentages of 0% and -0.5% respectively. This indicates that while the RTX 4070 Mobile is a capable chip, it is not a top-tier performer, and its performance in this game is consistent with its mid-to-high-range positioning.

The data shows that the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rate. For example, at 1440p, the difference between the Low and Ultra presets is a change from 91 FPS to 32 FPS. This 59 FPS swing is entirely due to the GPU's workload, as the CPU is not changing. The GPU's RTX 4070 Mobile chip, based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, is the workhorse here, but it is not sufficient for maximum settings at high resolutions. The 4K results, where even the High preset struggles to maintain 32 FPS, confirm that the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for The Medium, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile ranks 1999th out of 3724 tested combinations. This places it in the 46th percentile, which is a below-average ranking. This is a surprising result given the individual components' performance, but it speaks to the game's heavy GPU demands and the mobile GPU's limitations.

The CPU itself has an average benchmark score of 67469, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon w5-3525, has an average score that is -0.3% different, showing the CPU is a top-tier performer. The GPU, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 27435, which is in the 73rd percentile. This discrepancy in percentile ranking between the CPU and GPU is a key indicator of the system's overall bottleneck.

The combo's rank of 1999 out of 3724 suggests that many other CPU-GPU pairings achieve better performance in The Medium. This is likely because the game is not CPU-intensive, and the high-end CPU is not contributing to the frame rate, while the GPU is being outclassed by other configurations. The data implies that a system with a more modest CPU but a more powerful GPU would likely rank higher in this specific game.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is a clear illustration of GPU-bound behavior. On the Medium preset, the average frame rate drops from 68 FPS at 1080p to 57 FPS at 1440p, and then to 45 FPS at 4K. This represents a 16% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 21% drop from 1440p to 4K. The rate of decline is not linear; the 4K resolution is disproportionately more demanding.

This pattern is even more pronounced on the High preset. The average FPS goes from 49 at 1080p to 41 at 1440p, and then plummets to 32 at 4K. The 4K result is a 35% drop from the 1440p result, highlighting that the RTX 4070 Mobile's 8 GB of VRAM and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the high-resolution textures and shading work required by The Medium at this quality level.

The Low preset shows a different scaling pattern, with 108 FPS at 1080p, 91 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 21%, which is less severe than on the High preset. This suggests that at lower settings, the GPU is less constrained by memory and more by raw compute power, which scales more predictably. The overall trend is clear: the limiting component is the GPU, as the frame rate drops precipitously with increasing resolution, regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Ultra: 39 FPS average.
• High: 49 FPS average.
• Medium: 68 FPS average, with a minimum of 58 and a maximum of 78.
• Low: 108 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the results are:

• Ultra: 32 FPS average.
• High: 41 FPS average.
• Medium: 57 FPS average, with a minimum of 49 and a maximum of 66.
• Low: 91 FPS average.

At 3840x2160, the results are:

• Ultra: 25 FPS average.
• High: 32 FPS average.
• Medium: 45 FPS average, with a minimum of 38 and a maximum of 52.
• Low: 72 FPS average.

The only preset with complete min/max data is Medium, which shows a consistent ~10 FPS variance between the minimum and average across all resolutions. This indicates that the game is relatively stable on this setting, with no major frame time spikes. The lack of min/max data for other settings suggests they may have been less stable or were not fully measured. The overall data set confirms that the Medium preset is the most balanced option, offering the best combination of playability and visual quality for this hardware.