The Medium

FAQ

Q: Can the Intel Core i5-10400F and Intel Arc B370 run The Medium at 60 FPS?

A: No. The recorded data shows that at no resolution or settings preset does this combination reach the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest average FPS recorded is 46 at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: What is the best performance this combo achieves in The Medium?

A: The best result is 46 FPS average at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution, Medium settings produce 29 FPS, High produces 21 FPS, and Ultra produces 16 FPS.

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

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Its closest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, scores 1186, which is 0.2% higher. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% higher). The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, which is 1.4% lower.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-10400F position among all CPUs in the database?

A: The i5-10400F sits in the 68th percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 14185. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6756E, scores 14163, a 0.2% difference. The Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232, 0.3% higher.

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware in The Medium?

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combination approaches playability. At 2560x1440, the best result is 39 FPS on Low settings. At 3840x2160, the best result is 30 FPS on Low settings.

Q: Does the game run better at lower resolutions with the same settings?

A: Yes, scaling down resolution improves FPS consistently. For example, at Low settings, FPS goes from 30 at 3840x2160, to 39 at 2560x1440, to 46 at 1920x1080. The same pattern holds for Medium, High, and Ultra presets.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160 (4K), no preset achieves 60 FPS. The most demanding preset that stays closest to playability is Low, which delivers 30 FPS average. Medium produces 19 FPS (with minimums of 16 and maximums of 22), High produces 14 FPS, and Ultra produces 11 FPS. None of these come close to the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the situation improves slightly but remains far from playable. Low settings deliver 39 FPS average, which is the best result at this resolution. Medium produces 24 FPS (minimums of 21, maximums of 28), High produces 17 FPS, and Ultra produces 14 FPS. The gap between Low and the 60 FPS target is 21 FPS.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the best recorded performance is 46 FPS on Low settings. This is the highest average FPS across all tested configurations. Medium delivers 29 FPS (minimums of 24, maximums of 33), High delivers 21 FPS, and Ultra delivers 16 FPS. Even at the lowest settings and the most common gaming resolution, this hardware falls 14 FPS short of the playable threshold.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each step down in resolution yields meaningful FPS gains, but no combination of resolution and preset reaches 60 FPS. The verdict by resolution confirms this, listing no playable settings for any resolution tested.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14185. Its nearest rivals in the database are remarkably close in performance. The Intel Xeon 6756E scores 14163, just 0.2% lower. The Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232, 0.3% higher. The AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115, 0.5% lower. The AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277, 0.6% higher. Any of these processors would behave nearly identically in The Medium, with differences well within measurement noise.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc B370 scores 1184 on the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark. Its nearest rivals are all older graphics cards with similar scores. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186, 0.2% higher. 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, 1.4% lower. These GPUs would produce very similar frame rates in The Medium, all falling short of playable performance.

The combination of a mid-range 10th Gen Intel processor with an integrated-class GPU creates a system that is CPU-capable but GPU-limited. Users with any of these rival components should expect comparable results, meaning sub-60 FPS performance across all tested settings and resolutions.

The Verdict

This PC cannot run The Medium at the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict by resolution is clear: no playable settings exist at 3840x2160, 2560x1440, or 1920x1080. The recorded data shows a maximum average FPS of 46 at 1080p with Low settings, which is 14 FPS below the playable threshold.

The best-case scenario is 46 FPS at 1920x1080 Low. This is playable in the sense that the game runs, but it falls short of the smooth 60 FPS experience typically expected for a horror title where timing and atmosphere matter. At higher presets, the experience degrades significantly: 29 FPS at Medium, 21 FPS at High, and 16 FPS at Ultra.

At 1440p, the situation is worse. Low settings produce 39 FPS, Medium produces 24 FPS, High produces 17 FPS, and Ultra produces 14 FPS. At 4K, Low settings produce 30 FPS, and everything else drops below 20 FPS. The data indicates that this hardware is not suitable for The Medium at any resolution if 60 FPS is the target.

For users who tolerate lower frame rates, 1080p Low is the only configuration that approaches smoothness. However, the benchmark results clearly show that this combination ranks 3439th out of 3724 tested combos for this game, placing it in the bottom 8% of systems tested.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear pattern: the Intel Arc B370 is the limiting component across all resolutions and presets. The GPU's benchmark score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, which is extremely low. Meanwhile, the Intel Core i5-10400F sits in the 68th percentile of CPUs, indicating a substantial performance mismatch.

Looking at the scaling between resolutions, the GPU-bound nature becomes evident. At Low settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p drops FPS from 46 to 39, a 15% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K drops FPS from 39 to 30, a 23% decrease. This scaling is consistent with a GPU that is overwhelmed by pixel count increases.

The preset scaling further confirms the GPU bottleneck. At 1080p, going from Low to Medium drops FPS from 46 to 29, a 37% decrease. Medium to High drops from 29 to 21, a 28% decrease. High to Ultra drops from 21 to 16, a 24% decrease. These sharp drops with each quality tier indicate that the GPU cannot handle the increased shading and texture work.

The CPU's role is less pronounced. With 6 cores, 12 threads, and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, the i5-10400F provides adequate processing power for this title. Its multi-threaded scores, such as 10283 in Cinebench R23, suggest it can handle the game's logic and physics without becoming a bottleneck. However, the GPU's low performance means the CPU rarely gets pushed to its limits.

At lower resolutions, the CPU's relative importance might increase, but even at 1080p Low, the 46 FPS result suggests the GPU is still the primary constraint. The data indicates that upgrading the GPU would yield significant FPS gains, while upgrading the CPU would produce minimal improvements.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the Intel Arc B370 ranks 3439th out of 3724 tested combinations for The Medium. This places the system in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations, confirming that it is fundamentally unsuited for this game at playable frame rates.

This low ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU. The Arc B370's 5th percentile GPU score is among the lowest in the database, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is comparable to graphics cards from over a decade ago. The CPU's 68th percentile ranking is respectable, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's severe limitations.

In practical terms, this ranking means that the vast majority of tested systems, 3723 of them, outperform this combination in The Medium. Only 285 combinations perform worse. This places the system in the lowest tier of hardware capable of launching the game at all.

The measured FPS data corroborates this ranking. With a best-case 46 FPS at 1080p Low, the system falls short of the 60 FPS threshold by a significant margin. At every other resolution and preset, the frame rates are well below playable levels, with many configurations producing results in the teens or single digits.

For users considering this hardware for The Medium, the data is unambiguous: this combination does not deliver a playable experience. The low ranking, sub-60 FPS performance across all tested settings, and the GPU's bottom-tier benchmark position all point to the same conclusion. This system is not recommended for this game.