The Medium

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for The Medium with the Intel Core i7-14700F and Intel Arc B370 shows a consistent pattern: this combination struggles to reach fluid frame rates at every tested resolution and preset. The measurements are sparse on min and max values for some settings, but the average FPS figures tell a clear story across all twelve tested configurations.

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, the results are uniformly low. The Low preset delivers an average of 30 FPS, which is the best outcome at this resolution. Medium settings drop to 19 FPS on average, with a recorded minimum of 16 FPS and a maximum of 22 FPS. High settings fall further to 14 FPS average, and Ultra bottoms out at 11 FPS. None of these values approach the 60 FPS playable threshold, and even the most forgiving preset leaves a substantial gap.

Moving to 2560x1440, the picture improves but remains far from playable. Low settings produce an average of 39 FPS, the strongest result in the entire dataset for this resolution. Medium settings average 24 FPS, with min and max values of 21 and 28 FPS respectively. High settings manage only 17 FPS on average, and Ultra drops to 14 FPS. The scaling from 4K to 1440p shows roughly a 30% gain on Low settings, but the absolute numbers still sit well below the 60 FPS target.

At 1920x1080, the traditional baseline for gaming, the results are still disappointing. Low settings deliver 46 FPS on average, which is the single highest average FPS recorded across all resolutions and presets. Medium settings average 29 FPS, with a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS. High settings reach 21 FPS, and Ultra falls to 16 FPS. Even at 1080p with the lowest graphical preset, the combination cannot clear the 60 FPS line.

The data reveals a consistent relationship between settings and performance. Across all three resolutions, the step from Low to Medium costs roughly 35-40% of the frame rate. The step from Medium to High costs another 25-30%, and the jump to Ultra incurs a further 20-25% penalty. This scaling suggests that the Intel Arc B370 is the primary constraint, as the CPU's substantial compute resources do not translate into higher frame rates when the GPU is saturated at even modest settings.

Best Settings per Resolution

The verdict data for this combination is unambiguous: there are no playable settings at any resolution. The playableSettings arrays are empty for 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080 alike. The bestSettings field is null for each resolution, and the avgFpsAtBest values are likewise null. In other words, the database records no configuration where this CPU and GPU combination maintains an average frame rate at or above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

For the sake of completeness, the highest average FPS at each resolution is as follows. At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 30 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 39 FPS. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 46 FPS. These are the maximum recorded averages, but all fall short of the required threshold. The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS does not exist in the measured data.

It is notably the min FPS values, where recorded, are consistently lower than the averages. At 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum is 16 FPS against a 19 FPS average. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 21 FPS against a 24 FPS average. At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum is 24 FPS against a 29 FPS average. This pattern indicates frame time variance that would make even these sub-60 experiences feel inconsistent, with occasional dips that are noticeably worse than the average.

FAQ

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

A: No. The highest average FPS recorded at 1920x1080 is 46 FPS on Low settings. Medium settings average 29 FPS, High settings average 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 16 FPS. All of these fall below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best performance this combination achieves?

A: The best average FPS in the entire dataset is 46 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 2560x1440 Low, the average is 39 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Low, the average is 30 FPS.

Q: How does the game scale from 1080p to 4K?

A: On Low settings, the average FPS drops from 46 at 1920x1080 to 39 at 2560x1440, then to 30 at 3840x2160. This represents roughly a 15% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 23% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound workload, where resolution increases directly impact frame rates.

Q: Are there any settings where the game hits 60 FPS?

A: No. The playableSettings array is empty for every resolution. The highest recorded average is 46 FPS at 1080p Low, which is 14 FPS short of the 60 FPS threshold. There is no configuration in the measured data that reaches 60 FPS.

Q: What do the min and max FPS values indicate?

A: The only settings with recorded min and max values are Medium across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 24 to 33 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 21 to 28 FPS. At 4K, the range is 16 to 22 FPS. These ranges show that even within a single setting, frame rates vary by roughly 35-40%, indicating inconsistent frame pacing.

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

A: The data points to the GPU as the limiting factor. The Intel Core i7-14700F ranks in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, while the Intel Arc B370 ranks in the 5th percentile among all GPUs. The large FPS drops when increasing resolution, combined with the GPU's low benchmark scores, indicate that the graphics card is the bottleneck.

The Verdict

The question posed on this page is direct: can this PC run The Medium? Based on the recorded measurements, the answer is an unambiguous no. The verdictByResolution data confirms that there are no playable settings at any resolution. Every single configuration, from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra, delivers an average frame rate below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, the best recorded average is 30 FPS on Low settings. At 2560x1440, the best recorded average is 39 FPS on Low settings. At 1920x1080, the best recorded average is 46 FPS on Low settings. Even the most favorable combination, 1080p with the lowest graphical preset, falls 14 FPS short of the threshold. The gap between the best measured performance and the playable target is substantial, and it only widens as settings are increased.

The min FPS values, where available, reinforce this conclusion. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 24 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 21 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 16 FPS. These dips mean that even the sub-60 averages are not stable; the game would frequently stutter and feel unresponsive during demanding scenes.

For users hoping to play The Medium with this hardware, the data offers no path forward within the tested configurations. The GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with its low absolute benchmark score of 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, makes it incapable of driving the game's rendering demands at acceptable speeds. The CPU, despite its high performance, cannot compensate for the GPU's limitations.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a high-end processor by most measures. It ranks in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and a single-core score of 4958. Its Geekbench results are similarly strong: 19620 multi-core and 2429 single-core. The CPU clearly has substantial computational headroom.

The Intel Arc B370, by contrast, is a very low-end graphics solution. It ranks in the 5th percentile among all GPUs, with a single recorded benchmark score of 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, the ATI Radeon HD 5770, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, all of which are older or lower-tier parts. The GPU's performance is the clear limiting factor.

The measured FPS data supports this interpretation. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain relatively stable across resolutions, with settings changes having a larger impact than resolution changes. Instead, the data shows the opposite. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 46 at 1080p to 39 at 1440p, then to 30 at 4K. This is a classic GPU-bound pattern: the GPU must render more pixels at higher resolutions, and its performance degrades accordingly.

The settings scaling further confirms the GPU's role. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 17 FPS (from 46 to 29). Moving from Medium to High costs 8 FPS (from 29 to 21). Moving from High to Ultra costs 5 FPS (from 21 to 16). The diminishing returns as settings increase suggest that the GPU is already saturated at Low settings, and additional graphical features only make a bad situation worse.

The CPU's role in this combination is minimal. With a 20-core, 28-thread configuration and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, the i7-14700F can handle the game's logic and scene management without breaking a sweat. However, the GPU simply cannot deliver frames fast enough to utilize that CPU power. The result is a system where the processor is never the constraint, but the graphics card prevents playable performance at every tested configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

The database ranks this specific combination of CPU and GPU within the context of all tested hardware combinations for The Medium. The combo ranks 3439 out of 3724 total combinations. This places it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested for this game.

This low ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data. A combination that cannot reach 60 FPS at 1080p Low is inherently going to rank near the bottom of any list. The GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs is the primary driver of this outcome. The CPU's high percentile ranking cannot overcome the GPU's fundamental performance deficit.

The rank of 3439 out of 3724 means that roughly 285 combinations performed worse, while over 3400 combinations performed better. This places the combo in the lowest decile of tested systems. For a game like The Medium, which is a horror title with relatively modest system requirements compared to modern AAA releases, this ranking indicates that the combination is severely underpowered for the task.

It is worth remembering the combo rank is specific to this game. The same CPU and GPU might rank differently in other titles, depending on how well optimized each game is for the specific hardware. However, for The Medium, the data is clear: this combination performs poorly relative to the vast majority of tested systems.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-14700F, based on average benchmark scores, are the Intel Xeon 6505P, the Intel Xeon Phi 7290, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, and the AMD EPYC 7313P. These CPUs have average scores within 1% of the i7-14700F. Specifically, the Xeon 6505P scores 53701 (0.2% lower), the Xeon Phi 7290 scores 53469 (0.3% higher), the Ryzen 9 7900X scores 53288 (0.6% higher), and the EPYC 7313P scores 53206 (0.8% higher).

For the Intel Arc B370, the nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, the ATI Radeon HD 5770, the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, and the AMD FirePro M2000. Their average benchmark scores are all within 1.5% of the Arc B370's score of 1184. The Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (0.2% higher), the Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% higher), the Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% higher), and the FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (1.4% lower).

What does this mean for users? If the CPU in this combo were replaced with any of the listed alternatives, the performance in The Medium would be nearly identical, as all of these processors have essentially the same compute capability. The Ryzen 9 7900X, for example, would not meaningfully change the frame rates, because the GPU is the bottleneck.

Similarly, if the GPU were swapped for any of its nearest rivals, the results would remain in the same low range. A Radeon HD 5770 or a Radeon HD 7650M would deliver frame rates within a couple of FPS of the Arc B370, given the delta percentages are all under 1%. None of these alternatives would come close to providing playable performance.

The practical takeaway is that this combination is firmly in a performance tier that cannot handle The Medium at acceptable frame rates. Upgrading either component to a product that ranks significantly higher in the database would be necessary to achieve 60 FPS, but the data shows that simply substituting a nearby rival would not change the outcome. The bottleneck is the GPU, and it would need to be replaced with a substantially more powerful part to make the game playable.