The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and Intel Arc B370 combination delivers a narrow set of usable configurations in The Medium. The recorded frame rates show that the GPU, which sits in the 5th percentile among all tested graphics cards, becomes the dominant constraint at every resolution. The CPU, by contrast, ranks in the 87th percentile among all processors and provides ample headroom. The data shows that no preset at any resolution reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold, so the system falls short of the target in all measured scenarios.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS does not exist. The recorded data shows the highest average frame rate at this resolution is 30 FPS on Low settings. High settings produce 14 FPS average, Medium produces 19 FPS average with a minimum of 16 FPS and a maximum of 22 FPS, and Ultra produces 11 FPS average. Since 60 FPS is the playable threshold, no settings at 4K clear the bar. The best possible average at 4K is 30 FPS on Low, which is exactly half the target.

At 2560x1440, the same situation applies. The best recorded average is 39 FPS on Low settings. Medium settings deliver 24 FPS average with a minimum of 21 FPS and a maximum of 28 FPS. High settings produce 17 FPS average, and Ultra produces 14 FPS average. None of these reach 60 FPS, so the verdict for 1440p is also unplayable by the database standard. The closest approach is 39 FPS on Low, which still leaves a 21 FPS gap to the threshold.

At 1920x1080, the results improve but remain below the target. Low settings produce 46 FPS average, which is the highest recorded frame rate for this combination. Medium settings produce 29 FPS average with a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS. High settings produce 21 FPS average, and Ultra produces 16 FPS average. The 46 FPS on Low is the best the system can manage at 1080p, but it still falls 14 FPS short of 60. The database reports no playable settings at any resolution for this pairing.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions and presets reveals a clear division of labor. The CPU, an AMD Ryzen 7 7700 with 8 cores and 16 threads, scores 18,760 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,930 in single-core. Its benchmark average sits at 40,081, placing it in the 87th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU, an Intel Arc B370 with 1,280 shading units and 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, scores 1,184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 and sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. This massive percentile gap means the GPU becomes the limiting factor in every scenario.

The resolution scaling confirms this. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 46 FPS to 39 FPS, a 15% reduction. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 on Low, the average drops from 39 FPS to 30 FPS, a 23% reduction. These drops are directly proportional to the pixel count increase, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rate would remain relatively flat across resolutions because the CPU workload, primarily game logic and draw calls, does not scale with pixel count in the same way.

Preset scaling further supports the GPU-bound interpretation. At 1920x1080, Low produces 46 FPS, Medium produces 29 FPS, High produces 21 FPS, and Ultra produces 16 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 37% drop, while the step from Medium to High is a 28% drop, and High to Ultra is a 24% drop. These diminishing returns match the behavior of a GPU that runs out of shading units and texture mapping units as settings increase. The Arc B370 has 40 TMUs and 20 ROPs, which are modest numbers for modern game rendering.

At 3840x2160, the same pattern holds. Low produces 30 FPS, Medium produces 19 FPS, High produces 14 FPS, and Ultra produces 11 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 37%, nearly identical to the 1080p gap. This consistency across resolutions indicates that the GPU is saturated at all tested configurations. The CPU, with its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR5 memory support, has more than enough throughput to feed the GPU. The 3DMark multi-thread score of 8,484 and the PassMark multi-thread score of 34,470 confirm strong CPU performance, but none of that horsepower translates into higher frame rates because the GPU cannot keep up.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for how this combination compares to other hardware. For the AMD Ryzen 7 7700, the closest alternatives in the database are the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, the Intel Core 5 221E, the AMD Ryzen 9 270, and the Intel Core i9-13905H. The Ryzen AI 9 365 has an average benchmark score of 40,048, which is 0.1% lower than the 7700's 40,081. The Intel Core 5 221E scores 40,144, which is 0.2% higher. The AMD Ryzen 9 270 scores 40,246, which is 0.4% higher, and the Intel Core i9-13905H scores 40,313, which is 0.6% higher. All four rivals fall within a 1% band of the 7700, so swapping to any of them would produce nearly identical CPU-side performance in The Medium. The game would see no meaningful difference in frame rates because the GPU is the bottleneck anyway.

For the Intel Arc B370, the nearest rivals are much older parts. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1,186 in the same benchmark, which is 0.2% higher than the Arc B370's 1,184. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1,190, which is 0.5% higher. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1,192, which is 0.7% higher, and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1,168, which is 1.4% lower. These rivals are all discrete GPUs from the early 2010s, and the Arc B370, despite being a much newer design with Xe3-LPG architecture and a 3 nm process, performs at the same level. In The Medium, any of these alternative GPUs would produce frame rates within 1-2 FPS of the Arc B370 at each resolution and preset combination. The measured data shows 46 FPS average on Low at 1080p, and the closest rival, the HD 7650M, would likely produce 46 or 47 FPS, while the FirePro M2000 would produce 45 or 46 FPS.

The Verdict

The verdict from the database is unambiguous: this PC cannot run The Medium at 60 FPS at any resolution or settings combination. The verdictByResolution field lists no playable settings for 3840x2160, 2560x1440, or 1920x1080. The playable threshold is 60 FPS, and the highest recorded average is 46 FPS at 1080p Low. That falls 14 FPS short of the target. At 1440p Low, the average is 39 FPS, a 21 FPS shortfall. At 4K Low, the average is 30 FPS, exactly half the threshold.

The data shows that the GPU is the sole reason for this failure. The Arc B370's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs means that 95% of tested graphics cards perform better in the database's benchmark suite. The CPU's 87th percentile ranking means it is not the limiting factor. Even if the CPU were replaced with a faster model, the frame rates would remain unchanged because the GPU is already saturated. The recorded scores, such as 1,184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, place the Arc B370 in the same performance class as GPUs that are over a decade old. The Medium, which is a horror game with fixed camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds in some sections, still demands more GPU throughput than this combination can deliver.

For someone who owns this exact CPU and GPU pairing, the only path to 60 FPS would be to lower the resolution below 1080p, which was not tested in the database, or to accept a lower frame rate. The database records no settings that reach 60 FPS, so the verdict is clear: the system is unplayable for this game by the established standard.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and Intel Arc B370 combination in The Medium is as follows.

At 3840x2160, High settings produce an average of 14 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. Low settings produce an average of 30 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. Medium settings produce an average of 19 FPS, with a minimum of 16 FPS and a maximum of 22 FPS. Ultra settings produce an average of 11 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. The Medium preset shows the only complete min-max data at this resolution, with a 6 FPS range between the lowest and highest observed frame rates.

At 2560x1440, High settings produce an average of 17 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. Low settings produce an average of 39 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. Medium settings produce an average of 24 FPS, with a minimum of 21 FPS and a maximum of 28 FPS. Ultra settings produce an average of 14 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. The Medium preset again shows the full range, with a 7 FPS spread from minimum to maximum.

At 1920x1080, High settings produce an average of 21 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. Low settings produce an average of 46 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. Medium settings produce an average of 29 FPS, with a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS. Ultra settings produce an average of 16 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. The Medium preset at 1080p shows a 9 FPS range, the widest spread across all tested configurations.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent. Low settings provide the highest averages, followed by Medium, then High, then Ultra. The delta between Low and Ultra is substantial. At 1080p, the difference is 30 FPS, from 46 down to 16. At 1440p, the difference is 25 FPS, from 39 down to 14. At 4K, the difference is 19 FPS, from 30 down to 11. The absolute performance is low across the board, but the relative ordering follows the expected preset hierarchy.

How This Combo Ranks

The database places this combination at rank 3,439 out of 3,724 tested combos for The Medium. That means 3,438 other CPU and GPU pairings produced higher frame rates in this game, and only 285 combos performed worse. In percentile terms, this pairing sits at roughly the 92nd percentile from the top, or the 8th percentile from the bottom. The rank reflects the GPU's low benchmark scores more than the CPU's strength.

To put the rank in context, the Arc B370's nearest GPU rivals, such as the ATI Radeon HD 5770 or the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, would likely produce similar or slightly better frame rates in The Medium, as their 3DMark scores are within 0.7% of the Arc B370. The CPU's nearest rivals, all within 0.6% of the 7700's average score, would not change the outcome either. The combination's rank is effectively determined by the GPU tier, and the data shows that the GPU is in the 5th percentile overall. A system with a stronger GPU, even paired with a weaker CPU, would rank higher in this game because the game is GPU-bound at all tested settings.

The recorded data indicates that the 7700's 40,081 average benchmark score and 87th percentile CPU ranking are wasted in this configuration. The GPU cannot translate that CPU performance into playable frame rates. The rank of 3,439 out of 3,724 is a direct consequence of the GPU's 1,184 Steel Nomad score, which is among the lowest in the database. For comparison, the GPU's nearest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, scores 1,186, and that GPU is from 2010. The combination ranks where it does because the GPU is a bottleneck of historical proportions.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 1920x1080 with any settings?

A: No. The highest recorded average frame rate at 1080p is 46 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra produce 29 FPS, 21 FPS, and 16 FPS averages respectively.

Q: What is the best frame rate this combination achieves in The Medium?

A: The best recorded average is 46 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. No other resolution or preset combination reaches 46 FPS or higher.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor for this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The Intel Arc B370 sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 sits in the 87th percentile of all CPUs. Frame rates drop consistently with increases in resolution and settings, which indicates GPU saturation.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1,184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad. Its closest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 at 1,186 (0.2% higher), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 at 1,190 (0.5% higher), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M at 1,192 (0.7% higher), and the AMD FirePro M2000 at 1,168 (1.4% lower). All are within 1.4% of the Arc B370.

Q: What rank does this CPU and GPU combination hold for The Medium?

A: The combination ranks 3,439 out of 3,724 tested combos for this game. Only 285 combinations perform worse. The low rank is driven by the GPU's 5th percentile standing.

Q: Does lowering the resolution from 4K to 1080p make the game playable?

A: No. At 3840x2160 Low, the average is 30 FPS. At 2560x1440 Low, the average is 39 FPS. At 1920x1080 Low, the average is 46 FPS. All three remain below the 60 FPS threshold, so the game is not playable at any tested resolution.