The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a playable, though not high-refresh-rate, experience in The Medium. The data shows this combination ranks 2309th out of 2911 tested combos for this title, placing it in the lower third of systems. While the CPU is a top-tier mobile part, the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions, and the benchmark results indicate that players will need to make significant compromises on settings to achieve smooth frame rates.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware?*

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the most viable resolution. At this resolution, the Low preset achieves 80 FPS, Medium hits 50 FPS, and High reaches 36 FPS. Higher resolutions like 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 result in average frame rates that dip below 30 FPS on most presets, which is not ideal for a horror game that relies on atmosphere and smooth camera movement.

*Q: Can this system run The Medium at Ultra settings?*

A: Technically yes, but the results are poor. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 28. At 2560x1440 Ultra, it drops to 24 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Ultra, the average is just 19 FPS. These numbers indicate that Ultra settings are not viable for a good experience, as frame rates fall below the threshold commonly considered acceptable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 5050's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The RTX 5050 has an average benchmark score of 21035, placing it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, has an average score of 21153, which is 0.6% higher. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 21379, which is 1.6% higher. Conversely, the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT scores 20713, which is 1.6% lower than the RTX 5050.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor. The Core Ultra 9 275HX scores in the 94th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 67469. Its performance is nearly identical to rivals like the Intel Xeon w5-3525, which has a delta of -0.3%. The dramatic FPS drops when increasing resolution or settings point directly to the GPU as the bottleneck.

Q: Is there a significant performance difference between the Low and Medium presets?

A: Yes, the difference is substantial. At 1920x1080, Low averages 80 FPS while Medium averages 50 FPS, a 30 FPS drop. At 2560x1440, Low averages 67 FPS while Medium averages 42 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low averages 53 FPS while Medium averages only 33 FPS. This indicates a heavy cost for the visual improvements the Medium preset provides.

Q: What kind of frame time consistency can be expected?

A: The data includes min and max FPS readings for the Medium preset. At 1920x1080, the frame rate fluctuates between 42 FPS and 57 FPS. At 2560x1440, it ranges from 36 FPS to 48 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it ranges from 28 FPS to 38 FPS. This shows a roughly 15 FPS variance, which is typical but can be noticeable during intense scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 2309th out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium. This places the system in the bottom 20% of all tested configurations. This low ranking is deceptive when looking at the individual components. The CPU is a top-6% performer, while the GPU sits in the 66th percentile, so the pairing of a high-end processor with a mid-range graphics card results in a system that is heavily GPU-limited in this specific title.

Benchmark results indicate that this ranking is not due to a weak CPU, as the Ultra 9 275HX's compute capabilities are far beyond what The Medium requires. The data shows that the game's performance scales almost entirely with GPU load. The ranking reflects the RTX 5050's position in the GPU hierarchy; its average benchmark score of 21035 is very close to that of the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21153) and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (21379). The combo's rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's mid-range standing, meaning that the CPU's 24 cores and 5.40 GHz boost clock are largely left idle while the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates.

For a horror game, this rank is concerning. The Medium relies on fixed camera angles and a heavy atmosphere, but smoothness is still critical. A rank of 2309 out of 2911 suggests that most other tested systems will outperform this one, many by a significant margin. The data confirms that this is not a combination built for high-refresh-rate gaming in this title, but rather one that can achieve playable results at lower settings and resolutions. The low ranking is a clear signal that the RTX 5050 is the primary determinant of the experience, and its performance is adequate for 1080p gaming but not much beyond that.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the decisive component in this system's performance in The Medium. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective), and the GPU has a base clock of 2317 MHz with a boost clock of 2572 MHz. The card is based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and includes 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

In The Medium, the 8 GB VRAM buffer is adequate for the game's needs, as the benchmark results do not show a catastrophic failure at higher resolutions, only a gradual performance decline. The 320.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth is a more likely bottleneck. As the resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, the average FPS on the High preset drops from 36 to 30 to 24. This pattern is consistent with a GPU that is struggling to feed the render pipeline with enough texture and geometry data at higher pixel counts.

The RTX 5050's compute capabilities are modest, with an FP32 performance of 13.17 TFLOPS. This is reflected in its average benchmark score of 21035, which places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, has a score of 21153, a difference of only -0.6%. The data shows that the RTX 5050 is positioned in the mid-range segment, and its performance in The Medium aligns with that positioning. The GPU's 20 RT cores are present, but the game's ray tracing effects, if any, are not detailed in the data. The measured FPS at Ultra settings (19-28 FPS depending on resolution) suggests that the most demanding settings are simply beyond the card's capabilities, pushing it to its limits and resulting in sub-30 FPS averages.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured FPS data, the optimal preset for this hardware is Low. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 80 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches high-refresh-rate territory. This is the best experience for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset is a viable alternative for those who prioritize visual fidelity, offering an average of 50 FPS at 1080p, which is acceptable for a slow-paced horror game.

The High and Ultra presets are not recommended. At 1080p, High averages 36 FPS, and Ultra drops to 28 FPS. These frame rates are too low for a game that requires smooth camera pans and precise timing for horror elements. At 2560x1440, the story is similar: Low averages 67 FPS, Medium averages 42 FPS, and High and Ultra fall to 30 and 24 FPS, respectively. For a 1440p monitor, the Low preset is the only one that guarantees a consistently smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the situation is dire. Ultra averages 19 FPS, High averages 24 FPS, and Medium averages 33 FPS. Only the Low preset, at 53 FPS, is remotely playable. The data clearly indicates that the RTX 5050 is not suited for 4K gaming in The Medium. The best strategy is to set the resolution to 1920x1080 and use the Low preset for maximum fluidity, or the Medium preset for a balanced experience. The frame time data for the Medium preset shows a range of 42-57 FPS at 1080p, indicating some variance, but it is within acceptable bounds for a horror title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data provides a clear picture of the system's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the average FPS is 80 on Low, 50 on Medium, 36 on High, and 28 on Ultra. The Medium preset has a min FPS of 42 and a max of 57, showing a 15 FPS variance. This is the best resolution for this combo, as it is the only one where the Low preset breaks the 60 FPS barrier.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 67 on Low, 42 on Medium, 30 on High, and 24 on Ultra. The Medium preset's min and max FPS are 36 and 48, respectively. This resolution is playable only on the Low preset, and the Medium preset is borderline. The High and Ultra presets are not recommended, as they fall below 30 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS is 53 on Low, 33 on Medium, 24 on High, and 19 on Ultra. The Medium preset's min and max FPS are 28 and 38. This resolution is challenging for the RTX 5050. Even the Low preset, while averaging 53 FPS, will have significant dips during complex scenes. The data shows a clear pattern: performance scales linearly with resolution and settings, and the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 320 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high-fidelity 4K gaming.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is an incredibly powerful mobile processor, and its role in The Medium is to ensure that the GPU is never starved for data. It features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 2.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The CPU is built on a 3 nm process and has a 36 MB shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35589 and a single-core score of 2204, plus a Geekbench multi-core score of 20795.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's performance is far beyond what the game requires. This is a horror game with a fixed-camera perspective, which is typically not CPU-intensive. The data confirms this, as the FPS drops are almost entirely attributable to changes in resolution and GPU settings, not CPU load. The CPU's average benchmark score of 67469 places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals are high-end workstation processors like the Intel Xeon w5-3525 and AMD EPYC 4484PX, which have delta percentages of -0.3% and -0.5%, respectively.

This means the Ultra 9 275HX is essentially idle in this game. The 24 cores and high clock speeds are overkill for The Medium's engine. The CPU's role is purely to feed the RTX 5050 with draw calls and game logic; it will not be the source of any performance bottlenecks. The data shows that the system's ranking of 2309 out of 2911 is entirely due to the GPU's mid-range standing. The CPU's 5.40 GHz boost clock and 36 MB of L3 cache ensure that even in the most complex scenes, the processor will not be a limiting factor. This is a classic case of a high-end CPU paired with a mid-range GPU, and the benchmark results reflect that the GPU is the sole determinant of the gaming experience.