The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combo delivers a highly variable experience in The Medium, with performance swinging dramatically based on resolution and quality preset. The data reveals a system that can handle the game comfortably at lower settings but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra, placing it in the lower half of tested configurations.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, drawing up to 125 W TDP. Its cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 36 MB L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus, delivering 115.2 GB/s of bandwidth, and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 CPU lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, this processor posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303, indicating substantial computational headroom. Its Passmark multithread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 further confirm strong all-around performance. The CPU holds a 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Compared to its nearest rivals, it is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (avg score 83807), 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090), and 1.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9135 (82980), while trailing the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3% (85072).

Despite this compute power, the frame rates in The Medium suggest the CPU is not the primary constraint in most tested scenarios. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 96 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 34 FPS — a pattern more consistent with GPU limitations than CPU bottlenecks. The processor’s high single-thread performance, evidenced by its 4823 Passmark single-thread score, ensures it can feed the GPU adequately, but the game’s engine appears to be heavily graphics-bound. The 24 threads provide ample parallelism for background tasks and modern game workloads, yet the measured FPS deltas across settings at the same resolution point to the graphics card as the limiting factor.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

*Q: What is the best performance the combo achieves in The Medium?*

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 96 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution, Medium settings yield 60 FPS, High yields 43 FPS, and Ultra drops to 34 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 64 FPS on Low, 40 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 34 and maximum of 46), 29 FPS on High, and 23 FPS on Ultra. Only the Low preset approaches a smooth experience at this resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more influential on the frame rates?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the dominant factor. At 1080p, dropping from Low to Ultra reduces the average FPS from 96 to 34, a 64% decrease that aligns with the RTX 5050’s mid-range positioning (66th percentile among GPUs). The CPU’s high percentile ranking (96th) suggests it is not the bottleneck.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1765 out of 2911 tested combinations in The Medium, placing it in the lower half of the field (approximately the 39th percentile of all combos tested).

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5050 has an average benchmark score of 21035. It is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21153), 1% ahead of the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21237), and 1.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20713), while trailing the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile by 1.6% (21379).

Q: What is the smoothest playable configuration based on the measured data?

A: The most consistent performance comes from 1080p Medium, which delivers 60 FPS average with a minimum of 51 FPS and maximum of 69 FPS. This is the only preset/resolution combo that maintains an average exactly at the 60 FPS target with a narrow frame-time spread.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling pattern in The Medium reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 60 to 51, a 15% reduction. Continuing to 3840x2160, the average falls to 40 FPS, another 21.5% drop from the 1440p figure. Across the full resolution range at Medium, the total decline is 33.3%, from 60 FPS to 40 FPS.

At Low settings, the scaling is more severe in absolute terms but proportionally similar. The 1080p Low average of 96 FPS drops to 81 FPS at 1440p (a 15.6% decrease) and then to 64 FPS at 4K (a 21% further decrease). This consistent pattern — roughly 15% loss from 1080p to 1440p and another 20% from 1440p to 4K — indicates that pixel throughput is the limiting factor, not CPU logic or memory bandwidth. The RTX 5050’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 320.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the game’s data demands, but the sheer pixel count at higher resolutions overwhelms the GPU’s shading units (2560) and raster operations pipelines (32 ROPs).

The frame rate behavior also suggests that the CPU’s 5.80 GHz boost clock is not being taxed. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect similar FPS across resolutions at the same settings, but the data shows consistent scaling with resolution. The GPU’s 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 performance, while respectable, is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra, where the average drops to just 23 FPS. This is a textbook case of GPU-limited performance, with the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus providing ample headroom that goes unused.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo produces a wide spread of results across the four quality presets. Low settings deliver an average of 96 FPS, making this the only configuration in the entire dataset to exceed 90 FPS. Medium settings reduce the average to exactly 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS, providing a stable baseline. High settings drop the average to 43 FPS, while Ultra further reduces it to 34 FPS. This represents a 64.6% reduction from Low to Ultra at the same resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 81 FPS, a 15.6% decrease from the 1080p Low figure. Medium settings average 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS and maximum of 58 FPS, still playable but with occasional dips below 45 FPS. High settings average 36 FPS, and Ultra drops to 29 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 64.2%, nearly identical to the 1080p gap, confirming consistent scaling.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become marginal for smooth gameplay. Low settings average 64 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold but with no min/max data provided. Medium settings average 40 FPS, with a minimum of 34 FPS and maximum of 46 FPS, indicating noticeable stutter during intense scenes. High settings average 29 FPS, and Ultra drops to 23 FPS. The 4K Low figure of 64 FPS is the only 4K configuration that approaches acceptable smoothness, while all other 4K presets fall below the 60 FPS mark.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1765 out of 2911 tested combinations in The Medium. This places it in the lower half of the field, at roughly the 60.6th percentile from the top (or 39.4th percentile from the bottom). The ranking reflects the GPU’s mid-range positioning rather than the CPU’s high-end capabilities, as the RTX 5050 sits at the 66th percentile among all GPUs while the CPU is at the 96th percentile.

In context, the combo outperforms configurations with significantly weaker GPUs but trails those with higher-tier graphics cards. The nearest GPU rivals — the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, AMD Radeon HD 8970M, AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile — all have average benchmark scores within 1.6% of the RTX 5050, suggesting that combos using these GPUs would likely land in a similar rank range. The 1765th position indicates that most of the 2911 tested combos (approximately 1146 of them) achieve better frame rates in this title, primarily due to more powerful GPUs.

The CPU’s high percentile ranking does not translate into a better combo rank, underscoring that The Medium is not CPU-sensitive in this configuration. A lower-tier CPU paired with a stronger GPU would likely rank higher, as the game’s performance ceiling is set by the graphics card. The combo’s rank is therefore a direct reflection of the RTX 5050’s capabilities in this specific title, with the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus contributing minimal additional value in terms of frame rate.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured data, the optimal configuration for a balanced experience is 1920x1080 with Medium settings, which delivers a 60 FPS average with a minimum of 51 FPS and maximum of 69 FPS. This is the only preset/resolution combo that hits the 60 FPS target exactly while maintaining a frame-time variance of just 18 FPS between minimum and maximum. The 1080p Low preset achieves a higher average of 96 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is substantial, and the Medium preset provides a significantly better image without sacrificing smoothness.

For users prioritizing higher resolutions, 2560x1440 with Low settings is the recommended choice, yielding an 81 FPS average. This provides a smoother experience than 1440p Medium (51 FPS) while still offering reasonable visual fidelity. The 1440p Medium preset, with its 43 FPS minimum, is borderline playable but may exhibit noticeable stuttering during scene transitions or when multiple light sources are present.

At 3840x2160, the only viable option is Low settings, which achieves a 64 FPS average. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 40 FPS average with a 34 FPS minimum, which is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay. High and Ultra presets at 4K are not recommended, as they produce averages of 29 FPS and 23 FPS respectively, which are too low for a horror title that relies on atmospheric tension and smooth camera movement.

The Ultra preset, while visually impressive, offers poor returns across all resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, the 34 FPS average is a 43.3% reduction from Medium’s 60 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, the 23 FPS average is barely interactive. Users seeking the best balance between visual quality and performance should select Medium settings and adjust resolution based on their display’s native resolution, prioritizing 1080p for the most consistent experience.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using the GB207 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 2560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operations pipelines, along with 20 ray tracing cores and 80 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz, with memory running at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

The GPU’s 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 205.8 GTexel/s texture rate are moderate for a 50-series card, and the 82.30 GPixel/s pixel rate reflects the limited 32 ROPs. These specifications directly explain the measured frame rates in The Medium. At 1080p, the GPU can push 96 FPS on Low settings, but the pixel fill rate becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game at all tested settings, as The Medium does not appear to exceed this capacity based on the consistent performance scaling.

The RTX 5050 holds the 66th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21035. Its nearest rivals — the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21153, 0.6% ahead), AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21237, 1% ahead), AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20713, 1.6% behind), and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (21379, 1.6% behind) — all fall within a 1.6% performance band. This tight clustering indicates that the RTX 5050 is a mid-pack performer, which aligns with its measured FPS in The Medium.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2572 MHz provides adequate clock speed, but the architecture’s efficiency is limited by the 128-bit memory bus. The 320.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but at 4K, the bandwidth demands of the game’s textures and geometry exceed what the GPU can deliver, resulting in the sharp FPS drops observed. The 130 W TDP suggests a power-constrained design, and the single 8-pin power connector limits overclocking potential, further cementing the GPU’s role as the performance bottleneck in this combo.