The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers playable performance in The Medium only at the Low preset, and only at 1080p and 1440p. At 4K, no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold, making this configuration a strictly 1080p/1440p Low-settings machine for this title. The data shows a clear pattern: this combo is far stronger at lower resolutions and settings, but collapses under the game's heavier visual loads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution and settings increase. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 78 FPS, which is the single highest score recorded across all configurations. Dropping to Medium at the same resolution yields 49 FPS average, with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS. High settings at 1080p produce an average of 35 FPS, while Ultra falls to 28 FPS. None of the 1080p presets other than Low come close to the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset still clears the bar with an average of 66 FPS. Medium drops to 41 FPS average (35 minimum, 47 maximum), High sits at 29 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 23 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 25 FPS, which is a substantial 38% performance loss for one settings tier. This indicates that the Medium preset introduces rendering features that heavily tax the Arc B570 at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves playable performance. Low is the best option with 52 FPS average, followed by Medium at 32 FPS (27 minimum, 37 maximum), High at 23 FPS, and Ultra at 18 FPS. The 4K Low result is notable: it comes within 8 FPS of the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that with minor adjustments or a less demanding scene, this combo could approach playability at 4K, but as measured, it does not qualify.

The scaling pattern across resolutions is consistent. At Low settings, performance drops from 78 FPS at 1080p to 66 FPS at 1440p (a 15% reduction) and then to 52 FPS at 4K (a 33% reduction from the 1440p figure). At Medium settings, the drop is steeper: 49 FPS at 1080p to 41 FPS at 1440p (16% reduction) and 32 FPS at 4K (22% reduction from 1440p). The Ultra preset shows the most severe degradation: 28 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K.

The minimum FPS data, available only for Medium settings, shows that frame pacing is relatively stable. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 41 FPS is 84% of the average, while at 1440p Medium the minimum of 35 FPS is 85% of the average. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 27 FPS is 84% of the average. This consistency suggests the bottleneck is sustained rather than bursty, which is typical of GPU-bound scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 60 FPS on Ultra settings?

A: No. The data shows Ultra settings produce 28 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K. None of these scores approach the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution and preset combination for 60+ FPS?

A: The best combination is 1920x1080 with Low settings, delivering 78 FPS average. At 2560x1440 Low, the average is 66 FPS, which also clears the threshold but with less margin.

Q: How does the Arc B570 perform at 4K in this game?

A: Poorly. The best 4K result is 52 FPS on Low settings. Medium achieves 32 FPS, High 23 FPS, and Ultra 18 FPS. No 4K preset reaches 60 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck?

A: The benchmark data indicates a GPU bottleneck. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 has a PassMark multithread score of 49,682 and a percentile ranking of 93 among all CPUs, while the Arc B570 has a PassMark G3D score of 14,195 and sits at the 65th percentile among GPUs. The steep FPS drops with settings increases point to GPU limits.

Q: What is the frame pacing like on Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS values on Medium are consistent across resolutions: 41 FPS minimum at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 27 FPS at 4K. These represent 84-85% of the average FPS, indicating stable frame delivery without severe stutters.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for The Medium?

A: This combo ranks 2,999th out of 3,724 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 20% of all configurations. The ranking reflects its inability to handle higher presets at any resolution.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the only preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 78 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above the threshold, making it the recommended setting for smooth gameplay. Medium at 1080p drops to 49 FPS, which is below the playable threshold and not recommended for a 60 FPS target.

At 2560x1440, Low is again the only qualifying preset, achieving 66 FPS average. This is just 6 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold, so while it clears the bar, there is less headroom than at 1080p. Medium at 1440p falls to 41 FPS, which is a significant drop and clearly not suitable for 60 FPS play.

At 3840x2160, no preset meets the 60 FPS requirement. The closest is Low at 52 FPS, which is 8 FPS short. Medium at 4K produces 32 FPS, High 23 FPS, and Ultra 18 FPS. Users targeting 4K would need to accept sub-60 FPS performance or reduce the resolution.

The verdict data confirms this pattern: the system is classified as playable only at 1440p Low (66 FPS average) and 1080p Low (78 FPS average). At 4K, the playable settings list is empty, meaning no preset achieves the 60 FPS threshold at that resolution.

The Verdict

This PC can run The Medium, but only under strict conditions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 78 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 2560x1440 with Low settings, it delivers 66 FPS, clearing the bar by a narrower margin. These are the only two configurations that qualify as playable according to the verdictByResolution data.

At 3840x2160, the system fails to reach 60 FPS on any preset. The best 4K result is 52 FPS on Low, which is 8 FPS short of the threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra at 4K produce 32, 23, and 18 FPS respectively, all far below playable levels. Users with 4K displays would need to lower the resolution to 1440p or 1080p to achieve smooth performance.

The verdict is clear: this combo is a 1080p Low-settings machine for The Medium, with 1440p Low as a secondary option. It cannot handle Medium, High, or Ultra presets at any resolution while maintaining 60 FPS. The 78 FPS at 1080p Low is a strong result, but the rapid falloff at higher settings and resolutions limits the practical use of this configuration.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data indicates that the GPU plays the dominant role in this game's performance, with the CPU providing ample headroom. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 demonstrates strong synthetic performance: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42,216, a single-core score of 5,960, and a PassMark single-thread score of 4,689. The CPU's percentile ranking of 93 against all CPUs places it well above the GPU's 65th percentile ranking among GPUs.

The FPS scaling across settings supports the GPU-bottleneck conclusion. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium reduces average FPS from 78 to 49, a 37% drop. From Medium to High, the drop is from 49 to 35, a 29% reduction. From High to Ultra, the drop is from 35 to 28, a 20% reduction. These consistent drops with each settings tier indicate that the GPU is saturated at each step, with the CPU not limiting performance.

At 1440p, the same pattern emerges: Low to Medium drops from 66 to 41 FPS (38% reduction), Medium to High drops from 41 to 29 (29% reduction), and High to Ultra drops from 29 to 23 (21% reduction). The similarity in percentage drops across resolutions suggests that the GPU's compute and memory resources are the limiting factor, rather than CPU-bound logic.

At 4K, the pattern shifts slightly. Low to Medium drops from 52 to 32 FPS (38% reduction), Medium to High drops from 32 to 23 (28% reduction), and High to Ultra drops from 23 to 18 (22% reduction). The 4K Low result of 52 FPS is notably closer to the 60 FPS threshold than the 1440p High result of 29 FPS, indicating that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s and 10 GB GDDR6 capacity are more than sufficient for the game's data footprint, but the raw shading throughput (11.52 TFLOPS FP32) limits higher presets.

The CPU's 20 cores and 20 threads, with a 5.30 GHz boost clock, provide more than enough processing power for The Medium's horror gameplay. The game's reliance on fixed camera angles and scripted sequences likely keeps CPU load moderate, allowing the GPU to be the sole determinant of FPS. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s and dual-channel DDR5 support ensure that data feeding the GPU is not a bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 2,999th out of 3,724 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the bottom 19.5% of all configurations. This low ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows the combo struggling at higher presets across all resolutions. The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's, as the Core Ultra 7 265 is a high-performing processor that would pair better with a stronger graphics card.

The GPU's nearest rivals provide context for its mid-range positioning. The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20,556 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20,534, 0.1% difference) and the Intel Arc A750 (20,582, -0.1% difference). This places the B570 in a competitive tier with those cards, but The Medium's specific demands push it below the playable threshold at higher settings. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 14,195 and percentile ranking of 65 confirm it as a mid-tier performer, not a high-end solution.

The CPU's nearest rivals show it performing at the top of its class. The Core Ultra 7 265's average benchmark score of 64,640 is 0.3% above the Core Ultra 7 265F (64,438), 0.7% above the AMD EPYC 7343 (64,202), and 0.3% below the AMD EPYC 4464P (64,823). This places the CPU in the top tier of desktop processors, with a percentile ranking of 93. The CPU is clearly not the limiting factor in this combo's performance.

The gap between the CPU's high ranking (93rd percentile) and the combo's low game-specific ranking (2,999th of 3,724) highlights the performance imbalance. Users pairing this CPU with the Arc B570 for The Medium will see the GPU cap performance well below what the CPU could support. Upgrading the GPU while keeping the CPU would yield substantial FPS improvements at higher presets, as the CPU has demonstrated it can handle demanding workloads without breaking a sweat.