The Medium

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX + RTX 4090 combo in The Medium?

A: This combination ranks 583rd out of 2,911 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 20% of all tested systems.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 compare to its closest benchmark rivals?

A: The RTX 4090's average benchmark score is 60,347. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, scores 60,326 (a 0% delta), while the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61,896, which is 2.5% higher.

Q: What is the best average FPS recorded for this combo at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 150 FPS average. The Medium preset delivers 94 FPS, High delivers 67 FPS, and Ultra drops to 53 FPS.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded across all tested configurations?

A: The lowest average is 35 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is the only configuration that falls below the 45 FPS mark seen at 4K High.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the combo averages 99 FPS on Low, 62 FPS on Medium, 45 FPS on High, and 35 FPS on Ultra. The Medium and High presets stay above 45 FPS, while Ultra dips below 40 FPS.

Q: What are the core and thread counts for the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX?

A: The CPU has 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 2.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. It uses the Arrow Lake-HX architecture on a 3 nm process.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the primary rendering engine in this combo, and its specifications heavily influence The Medium's performance. The GPU features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This large memory pool and high bandwidth are critical for the game's demanding visuals, particularly at higher resolutions where texture data and frame buffers consume significant VRAM.

The GPU's clock speeds are set at a base of 2,235 MHz and a boost of 2,520 MHz. The memory operates at 1,313 MHz, translating to 21 Gbps effective. These clocks, combined with the 16,384 shading units and 512 texture mapping units, drive the raw compute throughput. The RTX 4090 has an FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS, which directly supports the shader work required by The Medium's horror-themed environments and lighting effects.

The data shows a clear scaling pattern tied to the GPU's capabilities. At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 99 on Low to 35 on Ultra. This spread indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, as the settings changes significantly alter the rendering load. The GPU's 128 RT cores also handle any ray-traced effects the game may use, though the measured FPS values suggest that even with this hardware, Ultra settings at 4K push the GPU to its limits.

Comparing the RTX 4090 to its nearest rivals, the data shows it has an average benchmark score of 60,347, with the Intel Arc Pro A60 scoring 60,326 (0% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scoring 61,896 (2.5% higher). This places the RTX 4090 in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of alternatives. In The Medium specifically, the 4K Medium result of 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS suggests the GPU maintains consistent frame delivery even under load.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX provides the computational foundation for this combo, and its specifications are more than sufficient for The Medium's CPU demands. The processor has 24 cores and 24 threads, a configuration that emphasizes parallel throughput. Its base clock is 2.70 GHz, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, allowing it to handle both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads effectively.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 cache is beneficial for game workloads that frequently access shared data across cores. The memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration provides a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, which is adequate for feeding the GPU and handling game logic.

Benchmark scores for the CPU are strong: it achieves 35,589 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,204 in single-core. The Geekbench scores are 20,795 multi-core and 2,458 single-core. These numbers place the CPU in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 67,469. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon w5-3525 at 67,673 (-0.3% delta) and the AMD EPYC 4484PX at 67,822 (-0.5% delta), indicating the Core Ultra 9 275HX sits at the top tier of processor performance.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is less visible than the GPU's because the measured FPS values show a stronger correlation with resolution and settings changes. However, the CPU's ability to maintain high frame rates at 1080p Low (150 FPS) suggests it is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions. The CPU's 24 threads also ensure that background tasks and game engine threads do not compete for resources, which is crucial for maintaining stable frame pacing in a horror game with environmental storytelling.

The CPU's TDP is 55 W, which is a mobile-class power envelope, yet it delivers desktop-class performance. This efficiency is notable, though it does not directly translate to FPS numbers in the measured data. The CPU's boost clock of 5.40 GHz is particularly relevant for single-threaded performance, which can impact the game's main loop and physics calculations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo in The Medium covers three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 150 FPS, which is the highest recorded value for this combo. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 94 FPS, with a minimum of 80 and a maximum of 108. High at 1080p drops to 67 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 53 FPS. This progression shows a 97 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at the same resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 127 FPS, which is 23 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. Medium at 1440p averages 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 and a maximum of 91. High at 1440p averages 57 FPS, and Ultra at 1440p averages 45 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 82 FPS, which is narrower than the 1080p gap, indicating diminishing returns from settings changes at higher resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 99 FPS, which is still highly playable. Medium at 4K averages 62 FPS, with a minimum of 53 and a maximum of 71. High at 4K drops to 45 FPS, and Ultra at 4K averages 35 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that falls below 40 FPS, and it is the lowest average in the entire dataset.

The Medium preset consistently provides the most stable frame delivery, as evidenced by the only min/max values recorded in the data. At 1080p Medium, the range is 80 to 108 FPS, at 1440p Medium it is 67 to 91 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 53 to 71 FPS. These ranges indicate that the Medium preset avoids the frame time spikes that might occur on other presets.

The High preset at 4K (45 FPS) is notable because it sits exactly at the threshold of 45 FPS, which is often considered a minimum for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 4K (35 FPS) is likely to feel stuttery, while the Low preset at 4K (99 FPS) provides a comfortable margin. Across all resolutions, the Low preset offers the highest FPS, but it may compromise visual fidelity.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K reveal how the limiting component shifts with resolution. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 150 at 1080p to 127 at 1440p to 99 at 4K. This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 4K, which suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU is increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 94 at 1080p to 79 at 1440p to 62 at 4K. This is a 34% drop from 1080p to 4K as well, but the absolute values are lower. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 67 at 1080p to 57 at 1440p to 45 at 4K, representing a 33% drop. At Ultra settings, the average FPS goes from 53 at 1080p to 45 at 1440p to 35 at 4K, a 34% drop.

The consistency of the percentage drop across all settings presets is striking. This indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at all resolutions, and the CPU is not introducing a bottleneck that would cause a non-linear scaling pattern. If the CPU were limiting, the FPS drop from 1440p to 4K would be much smaller because the GPU would be less capable of utilizing its full performance at lower resolutions.

The data also shows that the RTX 4090's 24 GB of VRAM is not a constraint at any resolution, as the FPS scales predictably with resolution changes. The 4K Ultra result of 35 FPS is the only point where the GPU's raw compute power becomes insufficient for the game's demands. The 4K Medium result of 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS suggests that the GPU can maintain a stable experience at this resolution with moderate settings.

The resolution scaling pattern points to a system that is well-balanced for this game, with the GPU being the primary performance driver. The CPU's 24 cores and high boost clock ensure that it does not become a limiting factor, even at 1080p Low where the FPS reaches 150. This is a typical profile for a high-end mobile platform paired with a flagship GPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 94 FPS with a range of 80 to 108 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. At 1440p, Medium delivers 79 FPS with a range of 67 to 91 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K, Medium delivers 62 FPS with a range of 53 to 71 FPS, which is acceptable for a slower-paced horror game.

The Ultra preset is not recommended for this game, as it drops to 53 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. These values are below what is typically considered smooth, and the 4K Ultra result is particularly poor. The High preset is a viable alternative, offering 67 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K, but it is consistently 10-15 FPS lower than Medium.

The Low preset provides the highest FPS (150 at 1080p, 127 at 1440p, 99 at 4K), but it likely sacrifices too much visual quality for a game like The Medium, which relies on atmosphere and detail. The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, as it provides a significant FPS boost over High and Ultra while maintaining acceptable visual fidelity.

For players targeting 60 FPS, the Medium preset at 4K is the only 4K option that consistently stays above 60 FPS, with a minimum of 53 FPS. At 1440p, the High preset also meets the 60 FPS target with an average of 57 FPS, but it has no recorded minimum to confirm stability. At 1080p, any preset except Ultra will maintain at least 67 FPS.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the most balanced choice for this combo. It offers the only recorded min/max values, which indicates that the game's frame pacing is more predictable at this setting. The 4K Medium result of 62 FPS is particularly notable because it demonstrates that the RTX 4090 can handle 4K gaming in this title without requiring the user to drop to Low settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combo ranks 583rd out of 2,911 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the 80th percentile, meaning it outperforms roughly 80% of all tested systems. While this is not a top-100 result, it is still a strong showing for a mobile CPU paired with a desktop-class GPU.

The CPU's individual benchmark performance is in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average score of 67,469. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Xeon w5-3525 at 67,673 (-0.3% delta) and the AMD EPYC 4484PX at 67,822 (-0.5% delta). This places the Core Ultra 9 275HX within 0.5% of these workstation-class processors, indicating that the mobile CPU does not significantly hold back the GPU.

The GPU's individual benchmark performance is in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 60,347. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60,326 (0% delta) and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M at 61,896 (2.5% delta). The RTX 4090 is effectively tied with the Arc Pro A60 and slightly behind the Radeon Pro W6600M in synthetic benchmarks, but in The Medium, the combo's rank of 583 suggests that the GPU's real-world performance is strong.

The rank of 583 out of 2,911 indicates that there are 582 combos that perform better in this specific game. These likely include systems with newer GPUs or desktop CPUs with higher clock speeds. However, for a mobile platform, this rank is impressive. The combo's ability to achieve 99 FPS at 4K Low and 62 FPS at 4K Medium shows that it can handle the game at high resolutions without issues.

The data confirms that this combo is well-suited for The Medium, with the CPU providing ample headroom and the GPU delivering solid performance at all tested settings. The 583rd rank is a function of the GPU's position in the 88th percentile, which is high but not the absolute top. The combo's performance is consistent with expectations for an RTX 4090 paired with a high-end mobile CPU, and the measured FPS values support this assessment.