The Medium

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the Intel Arc B570 presents a fascinating case study for running The Medium, a title that demands both strong CPU throughput for its dual-realm rendering and substantial GPU fill rates. The benchmark data reveals a hardware combination that is decisively constrained by the graphics card at higher settings, yet capable of delivering a smooth experience when settings are pared back. Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: the Ultra preset is universally unplayable, while the Low preset is the only setting that consistently clears the 60 FPS playable threshold, and only at 1440p and 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, contextualizes it against similar hardware, and determines whether this combo can truly handle the game's demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a steep performance cliff as resolution and graphical fidelity increase. At 3840x2160 (4K), the game is essentially a slideshow at higher presets. The Ultra setting yields an average of just 18 FPS, which is far below any playable threshold. Dropping to High improves the average to 23 FPS, still a broken experience. The Medium preset provides a slightly more stable, yet still unplayable, average of 32 FPS, with minimum and maximum readings of 27 FPS and 37 FPS, respectively. Even at Low, the average only reaches 52 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck even at the lowest settings.

Moving down to 2560x1440 (1440p) reveals a similar, though slightly less severe, trend. The Ultra preset averages 23 FPS, while High yields 29 FPS. The Medium setting brings the average up to 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. It is only at the Low preset that the combo finally crosses the 60 FPS line, achieving an average of 66 FPS. This marks the first playable configuration in the dataset, showing that the combination can handle the game's demands only when the graphical load is significantly reduced.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the native resolution for most gamers, the situation improves further but still underscores the GPU's limitations. The Ultra preset remains unplayable at 28 FPS average, and High is not much better at 35 FPS. The Medium preset delivers a more playable-looking average of 49 FPS, but with minimums dipping to 41 FPS, it still fails to maintain a consistent 60 FPS experience. The Low preset is the only setting that provides a comfortable margin, hitting an average of 78 FPS. This represents a 18% performance uplift over the 1440p Low result, demonstrating that the Arc B570 has more headroom at lower resolutions but is still the limiting factor.

Best Settings per Resolution

According to the verdict data, the playable threshold is defined as an average of 60 FPS or higher. With this in mind, the best settings for each resolution are starkly defined.

At 3840x2160, no settings preset achieves the 60 FPS threshold. The best possible average is 52 FPS at Low, which is still 8 FPS short of the target. Therefore, the data indicates that this resolution is not viable for a smooth experience with this hardware configuration. The best settings field is null, reflecting the lack of any playable option.

For 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 66 FPS. This is the only playable setting at this resolution. While the 66 FPS average provides a cushion above the threshold, the lack of a playable Medium preset suggests that the GPU is entirely saturated at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the best playable preset is also Low, but with a more comfortable average of 78 FPS. This is the only resolution where the combo achieves a solid performance margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The data implies that while 1080p Low is the intended sweet spot, the inability to run Medium at a consistent 60 FPS (49 FPS average) indicates a significant performance gap between the Low and Medium presets.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2999 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the lower percentile of tested systems, specifically around the 19th percentile from the top, confirming that it is not a high-performance configuration for this particular title. The ranking reflects the Arc B570's position as a mid-range GPU that struggles with the game's demanding rendering techniques, especially at higher presets.

The rank is likely dragged down by the GPU's performance, as the CPU is a high-end part. This suggests that users with this combo are likely bottlenecked by the graphics card in The Medium, and that their experience will be heavily dependent on the resolution and settings they choose. The data shows that the combo is only capable of providing a playable experience at the lowest settings, which is a significant compromise for a system built around a Core i5-14600K.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provides context on what other hardware would behave similarly. For the Intel Core i5-14600K, the closest performance matches are the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (with a delta of -0.2%), the AMD EPYC 4345P (0.3% faster), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (0.7% faster), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (0.8% slower). These CPUs all have nearly identical average benchmark scores, meaning they would likely present a similar CPU bottleneck (or lack thereof) in The Medium. In practice, swapping the i5-14600K for any of these would not change the gaming experience, as the GPU remains the limiting factor.

For the Intel Arc B570, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% faster), the Intel Arc A750 (0.1% slower), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (0.4% slower), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (0.5% faster). These deltaPct values are so small that they are effectively performance equivalents. Therefore, a system with an Intel Core i5-14600K paired with any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical FPS numbers in The Medium at the same settings. The presence of the RTX 3070 Mobile is particularly interesting, as it suggests that a desktop Arc B570 performs on par with a high-end mobile GPU from a previous generation.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data strongly indicates that the Intel Arc B570 is the dominant bottleneck in this configuration for The Medium. Evidence for this comes from the performance scaling across resolutions. When moving from 1080p to 1440p at the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 78 to 66, a 15% decrease. When moving from 1440p to 4K at Low, the FPS drops from 66 to 52, a 21% decrease. This consistent drop with increasing resolution is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed the frames.

The CPU's role is more apparent when looking at the performance delta between presets at the same resolution. For instance, at 1080p, the jump from Low (78 FPS) to Medium (49 FPS) is a massive 37% drop. This is not a linear scaling, indicating that the Medium preset introduces significant GPU load that the Arc B570 cannot handle. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, is likely not the limiting factor here; even at 1080p Low, the GPU is being pushed to its limits. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less of a performance drop when increasing resolution, but the data shows the opposite.

The fact that no preset at 4K reaches 60 FPS, and only Low does at 1440p, confirms that the GPU's raw compute and memory bandwidth (380.0 GB/s) are insufficient for the game's high-fidelity assets. The CPU is more than capable; its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and single-core score of 2064 are strong indicators of its ability to handle game logic and draw calls. In summary, the data suggests that users should focus entirely on GPU settings and resolution when trying to improve performance, as the CPU is not the constraining factor.

The Verdict

Can this PC run The Medium? The answer is a conditional yes, but only under specific conditions. The verdict data is clear: this combo is not playable at 3840x2160 at any setting, as the highest average FPS is 52 at Low, which falls short of the 60 FPS threshold. For 2560x1440, the system is playable only on the Low preset, achieving an average of 66 FPS. This provides a playable, though visually compromised, experience.

At 1920x1080, the system is playable on the Low preset, with a more comfortable average of 78 FPS. This is the only resolution where the combination feels adequately smooth. The data indicates that the Intel Core i5-14600K + Intel Arc B570 can run The Medium, but gamers will be restricted to the lowest graphical settings. Any attempt to raise the settings to Medium or higher will result in average FPS well below the 60 FPS target, leading to stutter and a poor experience. The system's high rank number (2999 out of 3724) further reinforces that it is not a recommended setup for this game at higher quality levels. In short, this is a 1080p Low or 1440p Low machine for The Medium, and nothing more.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve at 4K in The Medium?*

A: At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 52, which is achieved on the Low preset. This is below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

*Q: Can this system run The Medium at 1440p with Medium settings?*

A: No. The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 41 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The only playable setting at this resolution is Low, which averages 66 FPS.

*Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600K the bottleneck in this configuration for The Medium?*

A: No. The data shows that performance scales consistently with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck. The Intel Arc B570's performance limits the frame rate, not the CPU.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to the Intel Arc A750 in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, while the Intel Arc A750 has a score of 20582. The Intel Arc A750 is 0.1% slower, making them near-performance equals.

Q: What is the only preset that achieves a playable frame rate at 1080p?

A: The Low preset is the only playable option at 1920x1080, with an average of 78 FPS. The Medium preset only reaches 49 FPS, which is too low.

*Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems for The Medium?*

A: This specific combo ranks 2999 out of 3724 tested combinations, placing it in the lower half of all systems tested for this game.