The Medium

# The Medium with Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT

The Medium presents a demanding fixed-camera horror experience, and the data for this combination of an Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT reveals a system that is heavily constrained by graphics load at higher resolutions. Benchmark results show a wide performance spread across settings, with the GPU emerging as the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, while the CPU's substantial core count provides a stable foundation that rarely limits frame rates. This analysis examines the measured FPS rows to understand how this pairing behaves across the three tested resolutions and four quality presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, but the magnitude of that drop varies significantly depending on the quality preset. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 139 at 1080p to 117 at 1440p, a reduction of 22 FPS, and then further down to 92 at 4K, representing another 25 FPS loss. This translates to a 34% drop from 1080p to 4K at Low, which suggests that even at the lowest quality settings, the rendering resolution is still a major factor.

Moving to Medium settings, the scaling becomes more pronounced. The average FPS at 1080p is 87, dropping to 73 at 1440p and then to 57 at 4K. The step from 1440p to 4K alone costs 16 FPS, which is a 22% reduction. At High settings, the trend continues with 62 FPS at 1080p, 52 at 1440p, and 41 at 4K. The most dramatic scaling occurs at Ultra, where the system manages 49 FPS at 1080p, falls to 42 at 1440p, and then to 33 at 4K — the latter representing a 33% drop from the 1080p figure.

The data implies that the limiting component shifts as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU's 24 cores and 24 threads are likely sufficient to keep up with the GPU's output, but as pixel count grows, the Radeon RX 6800 XT's workload expands, and the frame rate becomes increasingly tied to its rendering capabilities. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 59 FPS (92 vs 33), which is a massive 64% difference, indicating that the visual preset has an outsized impact on performance at higher resolutions. This suggests that players targeting 4K will need to make significant quality concessions to maintain playable frame rates, while 1080p offers headroom across all presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, built on a 3 nm process with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong multi-core performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303. The Passmark multithread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 further confirm its capabilities. This CPU ranks in the 96th percentile among all tested processors, placing it near the top of the performance hierarchy.

The nearest CPU rivals, according to the benchmark database, include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with an average score of 83807 and a deltaPct of 0.2, meaning the 290K Plus is essentially tied with that chip. The AMD EPYC 4584PX scores 83090 with a deltaPct of 1.1, and the AMD EPYC 9135 scores 82980 with a deltaPct of 1.2, both slightly behind. The AMD EPYC 7F72 scores 85072 with a deltaPct of -1.3, indicating it is slightly ahead. These rival comparisons show that the 290K Plus sits in a tight cluster of high-end processors.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU at most settings, but the data suggests it provides a solid baseline. At 1080p Low, the 139 FPS average likely approaches the upper limit of what the engine can deliver, and the CPU's strong single-thread performance helps maintain that ceiling. However, the fact that frame rates drop consistently across all resolutions indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint. The 24 cores and 24 threads may be overkill for this title, but they ensure there is no CPU-induced stuttering or bottleneck, even when the GPU is fully loaded. The L3 cache of 36 MB shared and the dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth further contribute to smooth data flow.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT achieves a rank of 846 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all systems tested. This rank of 846 out of 2911 means that roughly 71% of tested combinations perform better in this specific game, which is notable given the high-end nature of both components individually.

The GPU's percentile of 85 among all GPUs and the CPU's percentile of 96 suggest that the bottleneck lies with the graphics card, not the processor. The Radeon RX 6800 XT has an average benchmark score of 48477, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile with a score of 47743 and a deltaPct of 1.5, meaning the RX 6800 XT is slightly ahead. The Intel Arc A550M scores 49737 with a deltaPct of -2.5, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti scores 49957 with a deltaPct of -3, both ahead of the RX 6800 XT.

The combo rank implies that while this pairing is capable, it is not optimized for The Medium specifically. The game's horror genre often relies on heavy visual effects and fixed-camera angles, which can be demanding on GPUs. The measured FPS data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system only achieves 33 FPS, which would be considered borderline playable. The rank of 846 suggests that many other combinations, likely with more powerful GPUs, achieve higher frame rates. However, the CPU's strength means that upgrading the GPU alone could significantly improve the ranking without needing a processor change.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS at 1920x1080 is 139, achieved at Low settings. This drops to 87 at Medium, 62 at High, and 49 at Ultra.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 33, with no minimum or maximum values recorded. This is the lowest performance point in the measured data.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in The Medium?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, FPS drops consistently across all settings, which is characteristic of GPU-limited performance. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking suggests it is not the limiting factor.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings yield 117 FPS average, while Ultra yields 42 FPS. This represents a 75 FPS difference, or a 64% reduction in performance.

Q: Does the combo have a higher average benchmark score than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti?

A: No, the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT has an average benchmark score of 48477, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti has a score of 49957, which is 3% higher (deltaPct of -3 for the RX 6800 XT).

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested systems in The Medium?

A: The combo ranks 846 out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the 71st percentile of all tested systems for this game.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 21 chip, fabricated on a 7 nm process with 26,800 million transistors. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 4608 shading units, 288 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units, along with 72 ray tracing cores. Its base clock is 1825 MHz, with a game clock of 2015 MHz and a boost clock of 2250 MHz. The memory operates at 2000 MHz, which translates to 16 Gbps effective.

In terms of raw compute, the RX 6800 XT delivers 20.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 41.47 TFLOPS of FP16 performance. Its pixel rate is 288.0 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 648.0 GTexel/s. The GPU ranks in the 85th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48477. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile (47743, +1.5% for the RX 6800 XT), the Intel Arc A550M (49737, -2.5% for the RX 6800 XT), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (49957, -3% for the RX 6800 XT).

The GPU's role in The Medium is clearly the dominant factor in determining frame rates. The measured data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 139 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 33 FPS. This 106 FPS spread shows how sensitive the game is to GPU workload. The 16 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for all tested settings, given that the game was released in 2021 and the GPU has ample memory headroom. The 512.0 GB/s bandwidth also helps maintain texture streaming performance at higher resolutions. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility ensure it can handle modern rendering features, though the game's horror aesthetic may not fully utilize all capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, the Medium preset offers a good balance with 87 FPS average, while High provides 62 FPS and Ultra drops to 49 FPS. For players with 1440p displays, the Low preset achieves 117 FPS, but this may compromise visual quality significantly. The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 73 FPS, which is likely the best compromise for smooth gameplay without excessive quality loss.

At 4K, the situation becomes more challenging. The Medium preset yields 57 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a horror game that may benefit from higher frame rates. The Low preset at 4K achieves 92 FPS, which is surprisingly high, suggesting that the game's visual effects at Low are not particularly demanding. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 33 FPS, which is likely below the threshold for comfortable play. Given the data, the Medium preset appears to be the recommended choice for 4K, as it provides a playable frame rate while maintaining a reasonable level of visual fidelity. The High preset at 4K (41 FPS) is borderline, and players may need to choose between smoother gameplay and better graphics.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings achieve 139 FPS, Medium settings achieve 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 100, High settings achieve 62 FPS, and Ultra settings achieve 49 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 90 FPS, indicating that the visual preset has a massive impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 117 FPS average, Medium delivers 73 FPS with a minimum of 62 and a maximum of 84, High delivers 52 FPS, and Ultra delivers 42 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 75 FPS, slightly less than at 1080p but still substantial. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum of 62 FPS, which is close to the average of the High preset at this resolution, suggesting that frame pacing may vary with the quality setting.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 92 FPS, Medium averages 57 FPS with a minimum of 49 and a maximum of 66, High averages 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 33 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 59 FPS, which is the smallest absolute difference across all resolutions, but the percentage difference remains large at 64%. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 49 FPS, which is still above the Ultra average at this resolution, highlighting the performance cost of higher settings.

The data shows that the Medium preset consistently provides the most balanced experience across all resolutions, with 87 FPS at 1080p, 73 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 4K. The Low preset is the only one that maintains triple-digit FPS at 1080p and 1440p, while Ultra settings never exceed 49 FPS at any resolution. This breakdown suggests that players should prioritize the Medium preset for a smooth experience, with Low available for higher frame rates and High or Ultra for those willing to accept lower performance.