The Medium

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i7-12700KF sits in a tightly contested performance band. Its nearest rivals in the database, based on average benchmark scores, are the Intel Core i7-13700T, Intel Core i5-13600T, Intel Core 5 213PE, and the Intel Core i7-12700K. The data shows the i7-12700KF is essentially interchangeable with these parts: the Core i7-13700T scores 35403 against 35365 for the i7-12700KF, a delta of -0.1%, while the Core i5-13600T scores 35305, a delta of 0.2%. The Intel Core 5 213PE is 0.2% behind at 35428, and the Core i7-12700K is 0.2% ahead at 35287. For CPU-bound scenarios, any of these four processors would deliver nearly identical frame pacing. The i7-12700KF ranks in the 85th percentile among all CPUs, so systems built around any of these chips will behave similarly in games that rely heavily on processor throughput.

The GPU side is far more constrained. The Intel Arc B370, with an average benchmark score of 1184, sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, delta -0.2%), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, delta -0.5%), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, delta -0.7%), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, delta 1.4%). These deltas are all within 1.5% of the Arc B370, meaning the recorded data treats them as equivalent performers. A system with any of these GPUs would produce nearly the same frame rates in The Medium, which is to say very low ones. The Arc B370 is an integrated graphics part with system-shared memory and a 25W TDP, so it belongs to a class of hardware that predates modern gaming demands. When evaluating this combo, the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution; the GPU is the limiting factor by a wide margin.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results for The Medium make the division of labor unmistakable. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo averages 46 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 39 FPS, a reduction of roughly 15%. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 30 FPS, another 23% decline. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound workload: as pixel count rises, the frame rate falls proportionally, and the CPU has no chance to compensate. The i7-12700KF is far above the 85th percentile of CPUs, so it is not the constraint here. Even at 1080p Low, where CPU load is typically highest, the system only reaches 46 FPS, far below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The GPU is the sole reason this combo fails to hit playable performance.

Preset scaling tells the same story. At 1920x1080, the average FPS goes from 46 at Low to 29 at Medium, then 21 at High, and 16 at Ultra. That is a 65% drop from Low to Ultra. At 2560x1440, the sequence is 39, 24, 17, and 14, and at 3840x2160 it is 30, 19, 14, and 11. The delta between Low and Ultra grows with resolution, which is typical of a part that is already saturated. The Arc B370 has only 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units, with a peak FP32 throughput of 6.144 TFLOPS. Those are entry-level integrated graphics numbers, and the measured FPS reflects them. Raising the preset adds both shading and memory pressure, and the system-shared memory bandwidth is system dependent, so there is no dedicated VRAM to fall back on. The CPU, by contrast, has 12 cores, 20 threads, and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, which is more than enough for a 2021 horror title. All recorded data points to the GPU as the decisive component at every resolution and preset combination.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 Medium is 29 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The minimum recorded FPS is 24 and the maximum is 33, so even the best-case frame times do not approach playability.

Q: What is the highest FPS this combo achieves in The Medium?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 46, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. No other resolution or preset combination reaches that figure. The next closest is 39 FPS at 2560x1440 Low, then 30 FPS at 3840x2160 Low.

Q: Does lowering the resolution to 720p help reach 60 FPS?

A: The database does not include measurements below 1920x1080, so there is no recorded data for 720p. Based on the scaling from 1080p to 1440p and 2160p, the GPU would need roughly a 30% performance increase to hit 60 FPS at 1080p Low, and no resolution change alone would compensate for that gap.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in the database's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (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 (1.4% lower). All five GPUs are within 1.5% of each other, so they would produce nearly identical frame rates in The Medium.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU responsible for the low frame rates?

A: The GPU is entirely responsible. The i7-12700KF ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs and its nearest rivals are within 0.2% of its average score, so processor headroom is ample. The Arc B370 ranks in the 5th percentile of GPUs, and the FPS scaling with resolution and preset follows a classic GPU-bound pattern.

Q: What preset should be used for the least stuttering?

A: The recorded data shows the only preset with min and max FPS values at every resolution is Medium. At 1920x1080 Medium, the range is 24 to 33 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, it is 21 to 28 FPS. At 3840x2160 Medium, it is 16 to 22 FPS. Low and High presets only have average FPS values recorded, which suggests less consistent frame pacing, though all presets fall far below the playable threshold.

The Verdict

The verdictByResolution data is unambiguous: this PC cannot play The Medium at a playable level at any resolution or preset. The playable settings list is empty for 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080, and no best settings or average FPS at best are recorded. The playable threshold is 60 FPS, and the highest measured average is 46 FPS at 1920x1080 Low. That is 23% below the threshold, and the gap widens as resolution increases. At 2560x1440 Low, the average is 39 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low it is 30 FPS. The Medium is a fixed-camera horror game, but the Arc B370 is simply not capable of rendering it smoothly. The CPU has the headroom, the GPU does not.

For a user with this specific combo, the options are limited to reducing resolution below 1080p, which is not measured in the database, or accepting sub-60 FPS performance. The recorded data shows that even the lowest preset at the lowest measured resolution leaves a significant performance deficit. This is not a case where tweaking settings will rescue the experience; the GPU is at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all roughly a decade old. The verdict is clear: this system fails the 60 FPS playability test across the board.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded frame rates are sparse on min and max values, but the averages tell a consistent story. At 1920x1080, Low settings produce an average of 46 FPS. Medium drops to 29 FPS with a recorded range of 24 to 33. High falls to 21 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 16 FPS. There are no min or max values recorded for Low, High, or Ultra at this resolution, so the data only supports average comparisons. At 2560x1440, Low averages 39 FPS, Medium averages 24 FPS with a range of 21 to 28, High averages 17 FPS, and Ultra averages 14 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low averages 30 FPS, Medium averages 19 FPS with a range of 16 to 22, High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS.

The scaling between resolutions is roughly linear for each preset. At Low, the averages are 46, 39, and 30 for 1080p, 1440p, and 2160p respectively. That is a 15% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a further 23% drop from 1440p to 2160p. At Medium, the averages are 29, 24, and 19, which is a 17% drop followed by a 21% drop. At High, the averages are 21, 17, and 14, a 19% drop followed by an 18% drop. At Ultra, the averages are 16, 14, and 11, a 12% drop followed by a 21% drop. The consistency of these declines confirms that the GPU is saturated at all settings. The Medium preset is the only one with complete min and max data at every resolution, and the ranges are narrow, which indicates the frame pacing is relatively stable even though the absolute performance is low. The lowest recorded min FPS is 16 at 3840x2160 Medium, and the highest recorded max FPS is 33 at 1920x1080 Medium.

Best Settings per Resolution

There are no best settings per resolution because no preset at any resolution reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdictByResolution data lists playable settings as empty arrays for all three resolutions, with null values for best settings and average FPS at best. The highest average FPS in the entire measured set is 46 at 1920x1080 Low, which is 14 FPS short of the threshold. At 2560x1440, the best case is 39 FPS at Low. At 3840x2160, the best case is 30 FPS at Low. In every scenario, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS does not exist, because the least demanding preset falls below 60 FPS. The database records no configuration for this combo that satisfies the playability criterion. Users seeking a smooth experience in The Medium would need to replace the GPU with a part that scores meaningfully higher than the Arc B370, though the database does not provide specific replacement recommendations. As configured, the system is not viable for this game at any resolution or preset.