The Medium

Similar Performance Alternatives

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F sits in a tightly contested performance cluster. Its average benchmark score of 69,996 places it within 0.9% of several high-end desktop and mobile processors. The closest rival is the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, which scores 69,875, a margin of only 0.2%. The Intel Core i7-14700KF is marginally ahead at 70,163, representing a 0.2% advantage over the 9700F. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X trails by 0.7% with a score of 69,515, while the Intel Core i7-14700K is 0.9% behind at 69,355. These four alternatives would deliver nearly indistinguishable CPU-bound performance in The Medium, with differences well below the threshold of perceptible frame rate variation.

On the graphics side, the Intel Arc B370 occupies a much more isolated position. Its single recorded benchmark, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, yields a score of 1,184. This places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, indicating that the vast majority of graphics cards outperform it. The nearest rivals are all legacy discrete GPUs. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1,186, a 0.2% advantage over the Arc B370. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 is 0.5% faster at 1,190, while the AMD Radeon HD 7650M leads by 0.7% with 1,192. The AMD FirePro M2000 sits 1.4% behind at 1,168. These comparisons underscore that the Arc B370 delivers performance comparable to graphics hardware from roughly a decade earlier, and any of these rivals would behave similarly in The Medium, meaning none would provide a smooth experience at modern display resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combined AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and Intel Arc B370 configuration ranks 3,439 out of 3,724 tested combinations in The Medium. This places the combo in the bottom 7.7% of all recorded systems, a position consistent with the GPU's 5th percentile standing. The CPU, by contrast, ranks in the 94th percentile among all processors, so the pairing represents an extreme mismatch: a top-tier processor constrained by a graphics solution that is effectively entry-level by contemporary standards. The recorded data shows that this imbalance dictates the gaming experience. The CPU is never the limiting factor at any resolution or preset; the Arc B370's output caps every scenario far below playability thresholds.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, the Arc B370 produces its weakest results. On Low settings, the average frame rate is 30 FPS. Medium settings drop the average to 19 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 16 and maximum of 22. High settings yield 14 FPS average, while Ultra falls to 11 FPS. No minimum or maximum values are recorded for Low, High, or Ultra at this resolution, indicating that only the Medium preset provided frame time variance data, likely due to the measurement methodology capturing only the most stable configuration.

At 2560x1440, the results improve modestly. Low settings average 39 FPS. Medium settings average 24 FPS, with a minimum of 21 and maximum of 28. High settings produce 17 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 14 FPS. The pattern is consistent: each step up in quality costs roughly 5 to 10 FPS on average, and even the least demanding preset fails to reach 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the best-case scenario for this combo, Low settings achieve an average of 46 FPS. Medium settings average 29 FPS, with a minimum of 24 and maximum of 33. High settings average 21 FPS, while Ultra averages 16 FPS. Across all resolutions, the frame rate scales almost linearly with pixel count: dropping from 1440p to 1080p at Low settings improves the average from 39 to 46 FPS, a gain of 7 FPS. The same resolution reduction at High settings improves from 17 to 21 FPS, a gain of 4 FPS. These modest gains indicate that the GPU is saturated even at 1080p, and reducing resolution does not unlock headroom because the graphics hardware is already at its computational ceiling.

The Verdict

The database's verdict is unambiguous: this PC cannot run The Medium at a playable level at any resolution or preset. The playable threshold is defined as 60 FPS, and the best recorded result is 46 FPS average at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 2560x1440, the maximum average is 39 FPS, also on Low. At 3840x2160, the maximum average is 30 FPS, again on Low. No configuration in the measured data reaches even half of the required frame rate headroom. The verdictByResolution data lists no playable settings for any of the three resolutions, and no best settings are identified because none qualify. Users considering this combination for The Medium should expect a sub-60 FPS experience across the board, with the most favorable scenario being 1080p Low at 46 FPS, which is 14 FPS short of the threshold. Higher presets are progressively worse, and 4K Ultra averages 11 FPS, a slideshow by any standard.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the sole bottleneck in this configuration. The Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 94th percentile CPU ranking, has ample headroom. The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals this clearly. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 46. At 1440p Low, it drops to 39, a 15% reduction. At 4K Low, it drops further to 30, a 23% reduction from 1440p. These percentage losses roughly track the pixel count increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's performance is irrelevant here because the Arc B370's fill rate and shading capacity are exhausted long before the processor's threads are fully utilized.

Preset scaling further confirms the GPU limitation. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium reduces the average from 46 to 29 FPS, a 37% drop. From Medium to High, the average falls to 21 FPS, another 28% reduction. From High to Ultra, it drops to 16 FPS, a 24% decrease. These steep declines across preset tiers are typical of a GPU that has very limited shading units, texture units, and raster operations. The Arc B370 has 1,280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster operations units, with a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. These specifications are consistent with the measured frame rates: the card simply cannot process the geometry and pixel work required by The Medium's horror environments at higher quality levels. The CPU's role is effectively passive in this pairing; upgrading the GPU would yield dramatic improvements, while upgrading the CPU would produce no measurable change in this game.

Best Settings per Resolution

Given the 60 FPS playability threshold, no settings qualify as "best" in the sense of maintaining playable performance. However, the data does indicate which preset provides the highest average frame rate at each resolution. At 1920x1080, Low settings produce the best recorded average at 46 FPS. This is the closest any configuration comes to the 60 FPS target. At 2560x1440, Low settings again lead with 39 FPS average. At 3840x2160, Low settings produce 30 FPS average, the highest at that resolution. For users who must run this game on this hardware, the Low preset is the only reasonable choice at any resolution, and even then, the experience will fall short of the playability bar. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 29 FPS, which is playable only in the loosest sense for users tolerant of low frame rates, but it does not meet the database's defined threshold. The gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is 17 FPS, a substantial visual quality trade-off for a marginal improvement in fidelity, and the Medium preset's minimum of 24 FPS indicates noticeable stutter during demanding scenes.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate this combo can achieve in The Medium?

A: The highest recorded average is 46 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This remains below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F a strong processor for gaming?

A: Yes, the CPU ranks in the 94th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 69,996. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX and Intel Core i7-14700KF, perform within 0.2% to 0.9% of it. The CPU is not the limiting factor in this configuration.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to other GPUs in the database?

A: The Arc B370 sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,184 is nearly identical to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1,186) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1,190). It is slightly ahead of the AMD FirePro M2000 (1,168).

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

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best average is 30 FPS on Low settings. Medium averages 19 FPS, High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS. None approach the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does lowering resolution help this combo reach 60 FPS?

A: No. At 1920x1080 Low, the average is 46 FPS, which is still 14 FPS below the threshold. Reducing resolution from 1440p to 1080p at Low settings improves the average by only 7 FPS, indicating the GPU is already saturated.

Q: Which component should be upgraded first for better performance in The Medium?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking and the steep frame rate drops when increasing graphical presets indicate that replacing the Arc B370 with a stronger graphics card would provide the most significant improvement. The CPU has ample headroom to support a faster GPU.