The Medium

The data shows a clear picture for this combination: the Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the Intel Arc B370 is not capable of delivering a playable experience in The Medium at any resolution tested. The playable threshold of 60 frames per second is never reached, even at the lowest settings and lowest resolution.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the highest preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is none. The recorded data shows no playable settings at this resolution. The best result comes from the Low preset, which delivers an average of 30 FPS. The Medium preset averages 19 FPS, High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS. All of these fall far short of the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the situation is identical in outcome. No preset reaches 60 FPS. The Low preset produces an average of 39 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded at this resolution. Medium follows at 24 FPS, High at 17 FPS, and Ultra at 14 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the best available result is the Low preset with an average of 46 FPS. This is the single highest average FPS recorded across all resolutions and presets in the database. However, it still misses the 60 FPS target by a wide margin. Medium averages 29 FPS, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 16 FPS.

The verdict is consistent: there is no resolution and preset combination where this system clears the 60 FPS bar. The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS does not exist for any of the three resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the Intel Arc B370 is the dominant constraint in this pairing. The Core i9-14900K is a high-end desktop processor with a 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the Arc B370 sits in the 5th percentile among all GPUs. The massive gap in component class suggests the GPU is the limiting factor.

Looking at the scaling between resolutions, the data shows a consistent pattern. At 1080p Low, the system averages 46 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 39 FPS, a reduction of about 15%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 30 FPS, another significant drop. This scaling pattern is typical of a system where the GPU is under heavy load, as the CPU has ample headroom.

The preset scaling reinforces this. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium reduces the average from 46 to 29 FPS, a drop of roughly 37%. From Medium to High, the average falls from 29 to 21 FPS. From High to Ultra, it drops from 21 to 16 FPS. Each step up in graphical fidelity costs a substantial amount of performance, which points to the GPU struggling to keep up with the rendering demands.

At 1440p, the same pattern holds. Low averages 39 FPS, Medium 24 FPS, High 17 FPS, and Ultra 14 FPS. At 4K, the numbers are even lower: Low 30 FPS, Medium 19 FPS, High 14 FPS, and Ultra 11 FPS.

The CPU’s role appears minimal in this game at these settings. The Core i9-14900K has 24 cores and 32 threads, and its benchmark scores are extremely high: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and a single-core score of 2262.5. Even the most demanding GPU-bound scenarios in this test would not come close to saturating that processor. The recorded frame rates are far too low for CPU limitations to be a factor. The data indicates that the Arc B370, with its 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 1280 shading units, is the component that determines the outcome.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 1080p with any preset?

A: No. The highest average FPS recorded at 1920x1080 is 46 FPS on the Low preset, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. All other presets at this resolution produce lower averages: Medium at 29 FPS, High at 21 FPS, and Ultra at 16 FPS.

Q: What is the best average FPS this combination achieves in The Medium?

A: The best recorded average is 46 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is the only configuration that comes within 14 FPS of the 60 FPS target.

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

A: The Intel Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of 1184. Its nearest 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: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: No. The Core i9-14900K ranks in the 95th percentile of all CPUs and has a multi-threaded PassMark score of 58674. The frame rates recorded in this game are far too low for the CPU to be the limiting factor. The GPU is the clear constraint.

Q: What are the frame time ranges at Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the average is 29 FPS with a minimum of 24 and maximum of 33. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average is 24 FPS with a range of 21 to 28. At 3840x2160 Medium, the average is 19 FPS with a range of 16 to 22.

Q: Does lowering the resolution to 4K improve the situation?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 30 FPS, which is lower than the 46 FPS at 1080p Low. The 4K resolution increases the GPU load and reduces performance further.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database’s testing of The Medium, this combination ranks 3439 out of 3724 tested combos. That places it in the bottom portion of all systems tested, roughly in the 8th percentile of configurations. The rank reflects the GPU’s very low standing relative to other graphics cards.

The Arc B370’s percentile versus all GPUs is 5, meaning 95% of tested GPUs perform better. The Core i9-14900K, by contrast, is in the 95th percentile among CPUs. This pairing is a stark mismatch: a top-tier processor paired with a bottom-tier integrated graphics solution. The resulting rank in this game is driven almost entirely by the GPU’s limitations.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the GPU, the nearest rivals in the database are extremely close in score. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 is 0.2% faster, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 is 0.5% faster, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M is 0.7% faster. The AMD FirePro M2000 is 1.4% slower. Any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in The Medium, meaning none of them would reach 60 FPS either.

For the CPU, the nearest rivals are all high-end processors. The Intel Core i9-14900KF scores 79371 on average, which is 0.3% higher than the i9-14900K’s 79097. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus scores 79574, 0.6% higher. The AMD EPYC 7413 scores 80041, 1.2% higher. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 77740, which is 1.7% lower. Swapping the CPU for any of these would not change the game’s performance, as the GPU remains the bottleneck.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: this PC cannot run The Medium at a playable level. The verdict by resolution shows no playable settings at 3840x2160, 2560x1440, or 1920x1080. The 60 FPS threshold is never met, and the best recorded result is 46 FPS at 1080p Low.

At 4K, the system falls far short. The Low preset averages 30 FPS, which is half the target. At 1440p, the Low preset averages 39 FPS, still well below playable. At 1080p, the Low preset averages 46 FPS, the closest result in the entire dataset, but still a 14 FPS deficit.

The Core i9-14900K is more than capable for this title, but the Intel Arc B370 is not. Users seeking to play The Medium would need a substantially stronger GPU to reach 60 FPS at any resolution. The recorded data offers no configuration that clears the playable threshold.