The Medium

This is a demanding horror title, and the combination of an AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT with an Intel Arc B570 produces a very specific performance profile. The data shows a system that is capable, but only at its lowest settings, and the performance gap between Low and Medium is substantial. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is strictly a 1080p and 1440p machine for this game, with no viable path to 4K at acceptable frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how this combo handles The Medium across resolutions and presets. At 3840x2160, the results are consistently below the playable threshold of 60 FPS. The High preset averages 23 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 32 FPS with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS. The Low preset improves to 52 FPS, which is still not playable but shows the headroom that exists if settings are reduced. The Ultra preset drops to 18 FPS, which is effectively a slideshow.

Moving down to 2560x1440, the situation improves but remains constrained. The High preset averages 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 23 FPS. The Medium preset produces an average of 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS, which is a significant step up from 4K but still short of 60 FPS. The Low preset is the only one that clears the threshold, delivering an average of 66 FPS. This marks the turning point where the system becomes playable, but only at the lowest visual quality.

At 1920x1080, the pattern is similar. The High preset averages 35 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 28 FPS. The Medium preset averages 49 FPS, with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS, which is close but not quite at the target. The Low preset is the standout, delivering an average of 78 FPS. This is a comfortable margin above 60 FPS and indicates that the system has some headroom at the lowest settings, but the jump from Medium to Low is a steep one. The data shows a consistent trend: this combo is heavily bottlenecked by the GPU at higher settings, and the CPU has little influence on the final frame rate.

Best Settings per Resolution

The best settings per resolution are determined by the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves this. The closest is Low, which averages 52 FPS, but that is still 8 FPS short of the target. The verdict for 4K is clear: this system cannot run The Medium at a playable frame rate at any setting.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only option that clears 60 FPS, with an average of 66 FPS. The Medium preset, at 41 FPS, is too far behind to be considered viable. This means that to play at 1440p, you must accept the lowest visual quality, which is a significant compromise for a game that relies on atmosphere and lighting.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset is again the best and only playable option, averaging 78 FPS. This gives a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold, but it is still the lowest preset. The Medium preset is close, at 49 FPS, but it falls short. The data suggests that there is no room for any quality improvements without dropping below the playable threshold. The conclusion is that this system is a 1080p Low preset machine for this specific title.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for both the CPU and GPU provides context for what similar hardware would behave like. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT has an average benchmark score of 29879, placing it in the 81st percentile of all CPUs. Its closest competitors are the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H with a score of 29868 (a 0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and the AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS both with scores of 29955 (a -0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X with a score of 29713 (a 0.6% delta). These small deltas mean that swapping the 5800XT for any of these processors would yield nearly identical performance in The Medium, as the game is clearly not CPU-bound at the tested settings.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile with a score of 20534 (a 0.1% delta), the Intel Arc A750 with a score of 20582 (a -0.1% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M with a score of 20480 (a 0.4% delta), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X with a score of 20662 (a -0.5% delta). The performance deltas are all within 0.5%, meaning that any of these GPUs would produce almost exactly the same FPS numbers in The Medium. If you have one of these alternatives, you can expect the same Low-preset-only playable experience.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. This PC can run The Medium, but only under very specific conditions. The verdict by resolution shows that at 3840x2160, there are no playable settings; the best average FPS is 52 at Low, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only playable option, with an average of 66 FPS. At 1920x1080, the Low preset is also the only playable option, with an average of 78 FPS.

The core issue is that the Intel Arc B570 is not powerful enough to handle this game at higher settings. The CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT, is more than capable, as evidenced by its 81st percentile ranking, but it is not the limiting factor. The benchmark results show a steep cliff between Low and Medium settings at every resolution, suggesting a memory bandwidth or VRAM constraint rather than a raw compute limitation. If you are willing to play at the lowest visual settings, this system will deliver a smooth experience at 1080p and a playable one at 1440p. If you want to play at Medium or High, you will need a more powerful GPU. This is not a balanced pairing for this title; it is a CPU that far outstrips the GPU's capabilities in this specific workload.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 4K?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best average FPS is 52 at the Low preset, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Medium preset averages 32 FPS, and the High preset averages 23 FPS.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: The Low preset is the only playable option at this resolution, with an average FPS of 66. The Medium preset falls short at 41 FPS.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1920x1080?

A: The Low preset is the only playable option, with an average FPS of 78. The Medium preset averages 49 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT the bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 81st percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 29879. The performance deltas to its nearest rivals are within 0.6%, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor for this game.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750, has a score of 20582, a delta of -0.1%. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile has a score of 20534, a delta of 0.1%. All rivals are within 0.5% performance.

Q: What is the combo rank for this system in The Medium?

A: This combination of AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2999 out of 3724 tested combos for this game, putting it in the lower portion of tested systems.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for this specific pairing in The Medium is 2999 out of 3724 tested combinations. This places the system in the bottom 20% of all tested hardware combinations for this game. The rank reflects the GPU's inability to handle the game's demands at higher settings, despite the CPU's strong performance. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is a high-performing processor, but the Intel Arc B570's 10 GB of memory and 160-bit bus width appear to be insufficient for the game's asset streaming and rendering requirements. The result is a system that is technically capable of running the game, but only at the lowest visual quality preset, which is a poor outcome for a system with this CPU. The data suggests that for this game, the GPU is the primary determinant of performance, and the CPU choice has minimal impact on the final frame rate. If you are considering this build, prioritize a stronger GPU if you intend to play The Medium at higher settings.