The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile lands at rank 1999 out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium. That places this combo in the 46th percentile of all tested systems, meaning a slight majority of hardware pairings deliver higher average frame rates in this horror title. The ranking reflects a mid-pack position; it is neither a top-tier outlier nor a bottom-feeder. The data suggests this pairing is capable of running the game, but it will demand careful settings management to achieve a consistently smooth experience, especially at higher resolutions where the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM buffer and 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth become significant constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 1999 out of 3724, this configuration sits just below the median tested combo for The Medium. The percentile placement indicates that roughly 54% of tested systems outperform it, while about 46% deliver lower frame rates. This is a telling statistic: the RTX 4070 Mobile, despite its 73rd percentile standing among all GPUs, does not translate into a top-half finish for this specific game. The gap between the GPU’s general compute prowess and its in-game rank suggests that The Medium’s rendering workload—likely its fixed-camera angles and heavy post-processing—taxes the graphics card in ways that generic benchmark scores do not fully capture.

The combo’s position becomes clearer when examining the GPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic tests. The RTX 4070 Mobile scores 27,435 on average, sitting within 0.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 and within 0% of the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT. Yet in The Medium, these synthetic equivalences do not guarantee identical frame rates. The game’s engine appears sensitive to memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity, where the 4070 Mobile’s 8 GB GDDR6 over a 128-bit bus might bottleneck at 4K Ultra, dragging the combo’s rank down. The CPU, ranking 88th percentile overall, is not the limiting factor here; its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D, scores nearly identically at 44,573 versus 44,466, a delta of just -0.2%.

What does this rank imply for a potential user? The system is not a high-refresh-rate monster for The Medium, but it is far from unplayable. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 68 FPS on average, which is smooth for a slow-paced horror game. The rank of 1999 suggests that while many systems are faster, this configuration offers a viable experience if the user targets medium settings and accepts 1080p or 1440p as the primary resolutions. Pushing to 4K Ultra drops the average to 25 FPS, which would place the system in the lower quartile of performance, explaining the mid-pack rank.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. It carries 4,608 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, alongside 36 RT cores and 144 tensor cores. The chip, AD106, contains 22,900 million transistors on a 188 mm² die. Clock speeds are modest for a mobile part: a base of 1395 MHz and a boost of 1695 MHz. The memory configuration is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is the first major red flag for The Medium at high resolutions.

The game’s measured FPS shows a steep drop as resolution increases. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 49 at 1080p to 41 at 1440p and then to 32 at 4K. This is a 35% loss from 1080p to 4K, which is substantial but not catastrophic. However, at Ultra settings, the 4K average plummets to 25 FPS, while 1440p Ultra holds at 32 FPS and 1080p Ultra at 39 FPS. The data indicates that the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM becomes saturated at 4K Ultra, forcing the engine to swap textures or reduce effective bandwidth, which explains the non-linear scaling. The 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is a bottleneck when the game demands high-resolution textures combined with heavy shader work.

The GPU’s FP32 performance is 15.62 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 81.36 GPixel/s, with a texture rate of 244.1 GTexel/s. These figures suggest the card has enough raw compute for 1080p gaming, but the memory subsystem is the weak link. The 128-bit bus and 8 GB capacity are more typical of a mid-range part, and The Medium’s detailed environments likely exceed that buffer at 4K. The RTX 4070 Mobile scores 19,587 on PassMark G3D, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, yet the in-game rank shows that this score does not guarantee high frame rates in every title.

For this game, the GPU’s role is dominant. The CPU is not holding it back, as evidenced by the CPU’s high percentile and the fact that frame rates scale predictably with resolution. The measured data shows that at Low settings, the GPU can push 108 FPS at 1080p and 72 FPS at 4K, which demonstrates that the card has headroom when visual complexity is reduced. The bottleneck appears to be the combination of VRAM capacity and bandwidth under High and Ultra presets, where the card struggles to maintain fluid performance at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear picture of how settings affect performance. At 1080p, the Low preset yields 108 FPS, Medium yields 68 FPS, High yields 49 FPS, and Ultra yields 39 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a 37% performance drop, while Medium to High is another 28% drop. This suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for a 60 FPS target at 1080p, as it delivers 68 FPS with a measured minimum of 58 FPS. High settings at 1080p produce 49 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and may cause noticeable stutter in a game that relies on atmospheric tension.

At 1440p, the Medium preset achieves 57 FPS with a minimum of 49 FPS, which is playable but not perfectly smooth. Low settings at 1440p deliver 91 FPS, offering a high-refresh experience if visual fidelity is sacrificed. High and Ultra at 1440p drop to 41 FPS and 32 FPS, respectively, which are not recommended for a horror game where timing and immersion are key. The data suggests that for 1440p, users should stick to Medium or Low to maintain a consistent frame rate.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. Medium settings yield 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS, which is borderline playable but may feel choppy during intense scenes. Low settings at 4K achieve 72 FPS, which is surprisingly smooth and indicates that the GPU can handle 4K if the game’s shader complexity is dialed down. High and Ultra at 4K are not viable, with averages of 32 FPS and 25 FPS, respectively. The recommendation is clear: for the best experience, use Medium settings at 1080p or 1440p, or Low settings at 4K. The Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with a 68 FPS average and a 58 FPS minimum that stays above the 30 FPS threshold for playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a complete matrix of performance. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 108 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all configurations. Medium at 1080p averages 68 FPS with a minimum of 58 and a maximum of 78, showing a tight frame time distribution. High at 1080p averages 49 FPS, a significant drop from Medium, indicating that the High preset introduces effects that heavily tax the GPU. Ultra at 1080p averages 39 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a game that benefits from smooth motion.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 91 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium at 1440p averages 57 FPS with a minimum of 49 and a maximum of 66, placing it just below the 60 FPS mark but within a reasonable range for a narrative-driven game. High at 1440p averages 41 FPS, and Ultra averages 32 FPS. The drop from Medium to High at 1440p is 16 FPS, a 28% reduction, which mirrors the pattern seen at 1080p. This consistency suggests that the High preset adds a consistent layer of GPU work regardless of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 72 FPS, which is surprisingly strong and indicates that the GPU has ample compute power when not constrained by memory. Medium at 4K averages 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 and a maximum of 52, making it the only 4K preset that approaches playability. High at 4K averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 25 FPS, both below the 30 FPS threshold that is often considered the minimum for a playable experience. The 4K data reveals a clear memory bandwidth bottleneck: Low settings reduce texture and shader demands, allowing the GPU to hit 72 FPS, but any increase in visual fidelity causes a disproportionate frame rate drop.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is non-linear and reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 108 at 1080p to 91 at 1440p and then to 72 at 4K. This is a 33% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is lower than the theoretical 4x pixel count increase would suggest, indicating that the GPU is not fully compute-bound at Low settings. The CPU, with its 16 cores and 18 MB of L3 cache, likely has headroom, so the scaling is mostly due to increased pixel fill rate demands.

At Medium settings, the drop is steeper: 68 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. This is a 34% reduction from 1080p to 4K, similar to Low, but the absolute frame rates are lower, suggesting that the GPU is starting to hit memory bandwidth limits. At High settings, the drop becomes more pronounced: 49 FPS at 1080p, 41 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K, a 35% reduction. At Ultra, the drop is the most severe: 39 FPS at 1080p, 32 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K, a 36% reduction.

The pattern shows that resolution scaling is consistent across settings, with roughly a 35% performance loss from 1080p to 4K. This indicates that the GPU is the primary limiter, as the CPU would not show such uniform scaling. However, the absolute frame rates at 4K High and Ultra (32 and 25 FPS) suggest that the 8 GB VRAM is insufficient for these presets, causing the GPU to spill over into system memory or reduce effective bandwidth. The 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is likely the bottleneck, as the card’s compute power (15.62 TFLOPS) is sufficient for higher frame rates if memory were faster. The data implies that users should expect a maximum 35% performance reduction when moving from 1080p to 4K, but should avoid High and Ultra presets at 4K due to VRAM constraints.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K with acceptable frame rates?

A: The data shows that at 4K Medium, the average FPS is 45 with a minimum of 38, which is playable. However, at 4K High and Ultra, averages drop to 32 and 25 FPS, respectively, which are below the 30 FPS threshold. Low settings at 4K achieve 72 FPS, but for a balanced experience, Medium is the highest playable preset.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming?

A: Medium settings at 1080p deliver a 68 FPS average with a 58 FPS minimum, which is ideal for a smooth experience. Low settings offer 108 FPS but sacrifice visual quality, while High and Ultra drop to 49 and 39 FPS, respectively, making Medium the recommended choice.

Q: How does the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM affect performance in The Medium?

A: The 8 GB VRAM appears to be a limiting factor at 4K High and Ultra presets, where frame rates drop to 32 and 25 FPS. At lower resolutions and settings, the VRAM is sufficient, but the 128-bit bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth constrain performance when high-resolution textures are loaded.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H scores in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D, which is only 0.2% faster. The measured FPS scaling across resolutions indicates the GPU is the primary limiter, not the CPU.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The data shows a 57 FPS average with a 49 FPS minimum at 1440p Medium. This is close to the 60 FPS target and remains playable, though users seeking a strict 60 FPS lock may need to drop to Low settings, which yield 91 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 1999 out of 3724 combos, placing it in the 46th percentile. This is a mid-pack result, reflecting that while the GPU is capable, the game’s demands at high settings push the system below the median performance level.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H is a 16-core, 16-thread processor based on the Panther Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a TDP of 25 W. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports LPDDR5X memory over a dual-channel bus, providing 153.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The CPU scores 18,911 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,200.5 in single-core, placing it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data does not show any signs of CPU bottlenecking, as frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the CPU can feed the GPU enough to achieve 108 FPS, which is a high frame rate for any game. The single-thread performance, indicated by the 2,200.5 Cinebench R23 score, is sufficient to handle the game’s scripting and AI, which are not particularly demanding for a horror title. The 16 threads ensure that background tasks do not interfere with frame pacing.

The CPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D, has a nearly identical average score of 44,573 versus 44,466, a delta of -0.2%. This suggests that the two CPUs perform almost identically in general benchmarks, and the choice between them would not materially affect The Medium’s frame rates. The Intel Core i9-13950HX is 0.3% faster, and the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 is 0.4% faster, all within a negligible margin. The CPU’s 18 MB of L3 cache is ample for gaming, and its 5.10 GHz boost clock provides strong single-thread performance for game logic.

The data indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this configuration. The frame rates are dictated by the GPU’s memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity, particularly at 4K. The CPU’s high percentile ranking means that users upgrading from a weaker processor would see no benefit in this game unless the GPU is also upgraded. The 25 W TDP suggests efficient operation, but the performance is clearly GPU-bound, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops at higher settings. In summary, the Core Ultra X9 388H provides a solid foundation, but The Medium’s performance ceiling is set by the RTX 4070 Mobile’s memory subsystem.