The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the Intel Arc B370 is not capable of delivering a playable experience in The Medium at any resolution, based on the recorded data. Every measured configuration falls below the 60 FPS threshold, with the highest average frame rate being 46 FPS at 1080p Low settings. The verdict is clear: this combination cannot run the game smoothly, and users will need to consider a different GPU to approach playability.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no settings preset reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest average frame rate recorded at 4K is 30 FPS on Low settings, which is exactly half of the required 60 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 11 FPS average, High produces 14 FPS, and Medium yields 19 FPS. Since no preset achieves 60 FPS, there is no "best" playable setting at this resolution; the database records no playable settings for 4K.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves slightly but remains far from playable. The Low preset averages 39 FPS, which is the best result at this resolution. Medium averages 24 FPS, High averages 17 FPS, and Ultra averages 14 FPS. None of these reach the 60 FPS target, so the verdict records no playable settings at 1440p either. The best measured average is 39 FPS on Low, but it still falls 21 FPS short of the threshold.

At 1920x1080, the results are the strongest of the three resolutions, yet still insufficient. The Low preset averages 46 FPS, the highest figure across all tested configurations. Medium averages 29 FPS, High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra averages 16 FPS. Even at the lowest resolution and preset, the system misses the 60 FPS target by 14 FPS. The database confirms no playable settings at 1080p, meaning the best option, Low at 46 FPS average, is not playable by the 60 FPS standard.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded data shows that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck in this pairing. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a high-end desktop processor with 20 cores and 20 threads, a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, and a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 64640 places it within 0.7% of several server-class AMD EPYC processors. In contrast, the Intel Arc B370 sits in the 5th percentile among all GPUs, with an average 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184, placing it near legacy cards like the ATI Radeon HD 5770.

The scaling across resolutions confirms the GPU limitation. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 46 FPS to 39 FPS, a change of 7 FPS. Moving further to 3840x2160 on Low, the average drops to 30 FPS, another 9 FPS decline. This progressive degradation with increasing pixel count is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload grows faster than the CPU's role in frame production.

Preset scaling within a single resolution reinforces this pattern. At 1080p, raising settings from Low to Medium reduces the average from 46 FPS to 29 FPS, a 17 FPS loss. From Medium to High, it drops to 21 FPS, and from High to Ultra, it falls to 16 FPS. These steep declines with higher graphical fidelity, which increase GPU workload more than CPU workload, indicate that the Arc B370's limited shading units (1280), texture mapping units (40), and raster operation units (20) are the limiting factor.

The CPU's capability is not in question. With a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and a single-core score of 5960, the Ultra 7 265 provides ample processing power for game logic and draw calls. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 32EU in the CPU is far weaker than the discrete B370, but the B370 itself only manages 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This is insufficient for The Medium's rendering demands at playable frame rates, and the data shows no scenario where the CPU becomes the primary constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured results are uniformly low. Low settings produce an average of 30 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. Medium settings average 19 FPS, with a minimum of 16 FPS and a maximum of 22 FPS. High settings average 14 FPS with no min/max recorded. Ultra settings average 11 FPS with no min/max recorded. The spread from Low to Ultra is 19 FPS, but even the best case is half the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts upward but remains sub-60. Low settings average 39 FPS with no min/max recorded. Medium settings average 24 FPS, with a minimum of 21 FPS and a maximum of 28 FPS. High settings average 17 FPS, and Ultra settings average 14 FPS, both without recorded min/max values. The gap between Low and Medium is 15 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 3 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 1920x1080, the results are the best in the dataset. Low settings average 46 FPS with no min/max recorded. Medium settings average 29 FPS, with a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS. High settings average 21 FPS, and Ultra settings average 16 FPS, both without recorded min/max values. The difference between Low and Medium is 17 FPS, the largest single-step drop in the entire dataset, highlighting the significant GPU cost of moving from the lowest preset to the next tier.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values, providing a consistent frame time window. At 1080p Medium, the range is 24 to 33 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 21 to 28 FPS; at 4K Medium, it is 16 to 22 FPS. These ranges show that even the lower-bound frame rates are far below 60 FPS, and the upper-bound values never approach playability.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 1920x1080 with any settings?

A: No. The highest average frame rate recorded at 1080p is 46 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict records no playable settings at 1080p.

Q: What is the best average frame rate this combo achieves in The Medium?

A: The best recorded average is 46 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the highest figure across all resolutions and presets in the measured data.

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

A: The Arc B370's average 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is within 1.4% of the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168), 0.2% of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), and 0.5% of the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190). It ranks in the 5th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Does increasing resolution from 1080p to 4K affect frame rates significantly?

A: Yes. On Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 46 FPS at 1080p to 39 FPS at 1440p, then to 30 FPS at 4K. This represents a 16 FPS total decline from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor for this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The Core Ultra 7 265 ranks in the 93rd percentile among CPUs with strong multi-core performance, while the Arc B370 ranks in the 5th percentile among GPUs. Frame rate drops sharply with higher presets and resolutions, both of which increase GPU load.

Q: What frame rates can be expected on Medium settings at 1440p?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 24 FPS, with a minimum of 21 FPS and a maximum of 28 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold and is not considered playable.

The Verdict

This system cannot run The Medium at a playable level at any resolution. The verdict by resolution records no playable settings for 3840x2160, 2560x1440, or 1920x1080. At 4K, the best average is 30 FPS on Low, which is 30 FPS short of the target. At 1440p, the best average is 39 FPS on Low, 21 FPS short. At 1080p, the best average is 46 FPS on Low, 14 FPS short.

The playable threshold is set at 60 FPS, and every measured configuration falls below it. Even the most favorable scenario, 1080p Low, fails by a significant margin. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages only 16 FPS, which is less than a third of the required frame rate. The data indicates that the Intel Arc B370's modest compute capabilities, 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 and 1280 shading units, are insufficient for The Medium's rendering demands, regardless of the CPU's strength.

For users seeking a playable experience, this combination is not viable. The Core Ultra 7 265 provides ample CPU headroom, but the GPU cannot translate that into acceptable frame rates. Lowering settings to Low at 1080p is the only way to approach 60 FPS, and even that falls short. No resolution or preset combination clears the threshold, so the verdict is definitive: this PC cannot run the game at playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's ranking of tested CPU and GPU combinations for The Medium, this pairing ranks 3439 out of 3724 combos. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, confirming its position as a low-performance configuration for this specific title.

The rank reflects the GPU's severe limitation. The Arc B370's 5th percentile standing among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1184, is the primary driver of this low placement. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking does little to compensate, as the game's frame rates are consistently GPU-bound across all measured settings and resolutions.

Comparatively, the CPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 4464P with a 0.3% higher average score and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F with a 0.3% lower score, would likely perform similarly when paired with the same GPU, since the bottleneck is not the processor. The GPU's nearest rivals, including the ATI Radeon HD 5770 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, occupy similar performance tiers, and the measured frame rates in The Medium align with that legacy-level performance.

A rank of 3439 out of 3724 indicates that the vast majority of tested combos deliver better results in this game. The 285 combos ranked lower would include systems with even weaker GPUs, but the practical takeaway is unchanged: this pairing sits near the bottom of the database's performance spectrum for The Medium, and users should not expect playable frame rates at any settings.