The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the Intel Arc B370 delivers a deeply constrained experience in The Medium, a horror title released on January 27, 2021. The recorded data shows a system that cannot reach a stable 60 FPS at any tested resolution or preset, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay across the board. The following analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, ranking position, and component behavior based solely on the database entries.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, every setting falls far below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Low preset averages 30 FPS, which is the best result at this resolution, but it still represents a 50% shortfall from the target. Medium averages 19 FPS with a minimum of 16 and a maximum of 22, indicating consistent sub-30 performance. High drops to 14 FPS average, and Ultra bottoms out at 11 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 19 FPS, a 63% reduction, which highlights how severely the graphics workload scales with preset quality at 4K.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats with slightly better absolute numbers. Low averages 39 FPS, again the strongest result, but still 21 FPS short of the threshold. Medium averages 24 FPS, with a range from 21 to 28 FPS. High averages 17 FPS, and Ultra averages 14 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 25 FPS, or 64%, nearly identical to the 4K scaling. The data indicates that even at a mid-range resolution, the combination cannot approach playable frame rates.

At 1920x1080, the situation improves marginally but remains below the target. Low averages 46 FPS, the single highest average recorded for this combo across all tests. Medium averages 29 FPS, with a minimum of 24 and a maximum of 33. High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 16 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 30 FPS, a 65% drop. Notably, the jump from Low to Medium costs 17 FPS, while Medium to High costs 8 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 5 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns as settings increase.

Across all resolutions, the gap between Low and Medium is substantial: at 4K it is 11 FPS, at 1440p it is 15 FPS, and at 1080p it is 17 FPS. The minimum and maximum values are only recorded for the Medium preset at each resolution, showing narrow bands of 6 to 7 FPS, which indicates relatively stable frame pacing within that preset, albeit at a low level.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in The Medium?

A: The highest recorded average is 46 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 60 FPS at any resolution?

A: No. The verdict data lists no playable settings for 3840x2160, 2560x1440, or 1920x1080, meaning every configuration tested falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Medium preset compare to Low at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, Low averages 39 FPS, while Medium averages 24 FPS, a difference of 15 FPS. Medium also has a recorded minimum of 21 FPS and a maximum of 28 FPS.

Q: Which resolution and preset combination produces the lowest average frame rate?

A: The lowest average is 11 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset.

Q: Are there any recorded minimum or maximum frame rates for the High or Ultra presets?

A: No. The database only includes minimum and maximum values for the Medium preset at each resolution. For 3840x2160, those are 16 and 22 FPS; for 2560x1440, 21 and 28 FPS; for 1920x1080, 24 and 33 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low?

A: At 1920x1080 Low, the average is 46 FPS. At 3840x2160 Low, the average is 30 FPS. This represents a 16 FPS reduction when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The database ranks this specific CPU and GPU combination at position 3439 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the lower 8% of all recorded configurations, meaning the vast majority of tested systems deliver higher frame rates. The rank reflects the combined bottleneck of a strong processor and a very weak graphics solution. The GPU sits in the 5th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 1184 on the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. In contrast, the CPU ranks in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35909 across multiple tests. This extreme mismatch explains why the combo ranks so low: the GPU cannot translate the CPU's capability into playable frame rates in this title.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the database offer a frame of reference. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186, which is 0.2% higher than the Arc B370. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190, 0.5% higher. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192, 0.7% higher. The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, which is 1.4% lower. These deltas are all within 2 percentage points, indicating that the Arc B370 performs in the same class as these older or lower-tier graphics parts. For the CPU, the nearest rivals are all within 0.7% of the Ryzen 7 7700X's average score, with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 at 35802 (0.3% lower), the Intel Core 7 250H at 35728 (0.5% lower), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 at 35719 (0.5% lower), and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H at 35670 (0.7% lower). This reinforces that the processor is not the limiting factor.

The Verdict

The verdict is unambiguous: this PC cannot run The Medium at a playable level. For 3840x2160, the playable settings list is empty, and the best settings field is null. The same applies to 2560x1440 and 1920x1080. No preset, from Low to Ultra, reaches the 60 FPS threshold at any resolution. The closest approach is 1080p Low at 46 FPS, which is 14 FPS below the target. At 1440p Low, the average is 39 FPS, and at 4K Low, it is 30 FPS. Even the most forgiving settings leave the system in sub-60 territory. The data suggests that this combination is only suitable for static scenes or very light gaming workloads, not for this title's demands.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the dominant constraint at every resolution. The Intel Arc B370, with a 5th percentile ranking, delivers a raw 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184, which is exceptionally low compared to modern standards. The CPU, on the other hand, is a high-end part with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19088 and a single-core score of 1987, placing it in the 85th percentile. When resolution increases from 1080p to 4K at the same preset, the frame rate drops proportionally to the pixel count increase. For instance, at Low settings, 1080p averages 46 FPS, 1440p averages 39 FPS, and 4K averages 30 FPS. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU's workload remains relatively constant while the GPU's rendering load grows.

The presets also show GPU dominance. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average from 46 to 16 FPS, a 65% loss. At 1440p, the same move reduces from 39 to 14 FPS, a 64% loss. At 4K, it reduces from 30 to 11 FPS, a 63% loss. The consistency of these percentages across resolutions confirms that the graphics hardware is the bottleneck, not the processor. The CPU's role becomes more apparent only in that it prevents frame rates from being even lower at 1080p Low, where the 46 FPS result suggests some headroom exists in the processor, but the GPU still caps the output well below 60.

Best Settings per Resolution

Given the playable threshold of 60 FPS, there is no preset at any resolution that meets this requirement. The database explicitly lists no playable settings for 3840x2160, 2560x1440, or 1920x1080. The best average FPS at each resolution is achieved with the Low preset: 30 FPS at 4K, 39 FPS at 1440p, and 46 FPS at 1080p. If a user were forced to choose a configuration, Low at 1080p offers the highest average, but it still falls 14 FPS short of the target. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 29 FPS, which is only 1 FPS lower than 4K Low, but it includes a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS, indicating a narrower but still sub-60 experience. No recommendation can be made for a playable setting, as the data supports none.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the GPU, the nearest rivals indicate that the Intel Arc B370 behaves similarly to several legacy or low-tier parts. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186, just 0.2% above the Arc B370's 1184. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190, 0.5% above. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192, 0.7% above. The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, 1.4% below. Any of these alternatives would produce near-identical frame rates in The Medium, meaning they would also fail to reach 60 FPS at any resolution. The performance delta between the best and worst of these rivals is only 2.1%, so swapping between them would not change the playability verdict.

For the CPU, the Ryzen 7 7700X's nearest rivals are all within 0.7% of its average score. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 is 0.3% lower, the Intel Core 7 250H and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 are each 0.5% lower, and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is 0.7% lower. Since the GPU is the bottleneck, choosing any of these processors instead would have no meaningful impact on the measured frame rates. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor, so these alternatives would yield the same sub-60 results. Users seeking better performance in The Medium would need to consider a different GPU class entirely, as the recorded data for this combo leaves no room for improvement through processor substitution alone.