The Medium

The Medium presents a demanding workload for the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and Intel Arc B570 combination. The measured data reveals a configuration that is heavily constrained by graphics load at higher resolutions, while showing surprising strength at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the performance metrics from the FACT PACK across all tested resolutions and presets, providing a detailed look at how this specific hardware pairing handles the horror title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and clearly indicates that the Intel Arc B570 becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 78 FPS at 1920x1080 to 66 FPS at 2560x1440, representing a 15% reduction. Moving further to 3840x2160, the average drops to 52 FPS, which is a 33% decrease from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern shows that even at the lowest preset, the GPU is struggling to maintain performance as resolution climbs.

The situation becomes more pronounced at Medium settings. The average FPS at 1080p is 49, dropping to 41 at 1440p and then down to 32 at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly steep, with a 22% performance loss. At High settings, the trend continues but with a shallower curve: 35 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K. The most dramatic scaling occurs at Ultra settings, where the average FPS falls from 28 at 1080p to 23 at 1440p, and finally to 18 at 4K.

These numbers suggest that the Arc B570's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 160-bit bus are insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in this title. The bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s becomes a limiting factor when the render resolution increases. The data shows that the CPU has less influence at higher resolutions, as the frame rates at 4K Ultra (18 FPS) and 4K High (23 FPS) are far below what the Ryzen 5 2600 could theoretically feed. The limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU, as evidenced by the steep drop-off across all settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 operates with a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, paired with 2304 shading units. The GPU's 18 ray tracing cores and 80 ROPs contribute to its compute capabilities, but the measured frame rates in The Medium show that raw throughput is not sufficient for high-fidelity settings. The card's FP32 performance of 11.52 TFLOPS and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s are the specifications that translate into the observed 3D rendering performance.

At 1080p Medium, the GPU manages an average of 49 FPS with a minimum of 41 FPS and maximum of 56 FPS. This represents the most balanced setting for the card, as it maintains playable frame rates while providing a reasonable visual experience. The 4K Medium result of 32 FPS average, with a minimum of 27 FPS and maximum of 37 FPS, shows the card's limits clearly—the variance of 10 FPS between minimum and maximum indicates inconsistent frame pacing under heavy load.

The GPU's memory configuration of 10 GB GDDR6 at 19 Gbps effective provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In The Medium, this bandwidth appears adequate for 1080p and 1440p rendering at lower presets, as evidenced by the 78 FPS and 66 FPS results at Low settings respectively. However, the 4K Ultra result of 18 FPS suggests that memory bandwidth becomes a critical constraint when texture detail and resolution demand exceed the available data throughput. The GPU's percentile ranking of 65 versus all GPUs, alongside an average benchmark score of 20556, places it in the mid-range tier, which aligns with the observed performance characteristics.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 provides 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 3.90 GHz. The processor's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 46.9 GB/s bandwidth form the foundation for game logic and asset streaming. In The Medium, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is less stressed.

At 1080p Low, the 78 FPS average demonstrates that the Ryzen 5 2600 can feed the Arc B570 adequately when graphics load is minimal. The CPU's benchmarks support this capability: a Cinebench R15 multicore score of 1248 and single-core score of 157.3, along with a Geekbench multicore score of 5648 and single-core score of 1154. These numbers indicate a processor that handles multi-threaded workloads reasonably well but may struggle with single-threaded tasks that rely heavily on IPC.

The 75th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21484, places the Ryzen 5 2600 in a competitive position for its generation. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V with a deltaPct of 0.2 and the Intel Core i9-11900H with a deltaPct of 0.5, showing that the CPU remains competitive despite its age from the 2000 series. However, in The Medium, the CPU's influence diminishes at higher resolutions. The difference between 1080p Low (78 FPS) and 4K Low (52 FPS) is 26 FPS, which is primarily attributable to GPU load rather than CPU limitations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2321 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the lower 20% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning and the CPU's older architecture. The percentile rankings for each component—75th for the CPU and 65th for the GPU—do not translate into a strong combined showing for this specific game, as The Medium appears to favor more balanced or higher-end configurations.

The combo's rank is influenced by the fact that the Arc B570's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile with a deltaPct of 0.1 and the Intel Arc A750 with a deltaPct of -0.1. These competitors offer similar average benchmark scores (20534 and 20582 respectively), but the measured FPS in The Medium suggests that the B570's performance is not sufficient to overcome the game's demands at higher settings. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V and Intel Xeon D-1746TER, have deltaPct values of 0.2 and -0.7 respectively, indicating that the Ryzen 5 2600 is not the primary factor dragging down the combo's ranking.

The data shows that the combination performs best at 1080p Low settings, where it achieves 78 FPS, but this is an outlier in an otherwise modest performance profile. The ranking of 2321 out of 2911 suggests that most other tested configurations deliver higher frame rates in The Medium, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1080p with Medium settings. The average of 49 FPS, with a minimum of 41 FPS and maximum of 56 FPS, provides a playable experience that balances visual quality with performance. This is the only setting combination that maintains a consistent frame rate above 40 FPS at 1920x1080.

At 1080p High, the average drops to 35 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay in a horror title where pacing and atmosphere matter. The 1080p Ultra setting delivers only 28 FPS average, which is below the threshold for comfortable play. For 1440p, the Low setting at 66 FPS is the only viable option, as Medium drops to 41 FPS and High falls to 29 FPS. The 4K resolution is not recommended for this combo, as even Low settings produce 52 FPS, but Medium drops to 32 FPS and Ultra to 18 FPS.

The data indicates that the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate. The 49 FPS average is 40% higher than the High preset at the same resolution, while providing a more detailed rendering than Low. For users prioritizing frame rate over visuals, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 78 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear progression: Low settings produce an average of 78 FPS, Medium produces 49 FPS with a range of 41 to 56 FPS, High produces 35 FPS, and Ultra produces 28 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 29 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High is 14 FPS, and High to Ultra is 7 FPS. This diminishing return pattern indicates that the most significant performance jump occurs when moving from Medium to Low, suggesting that the GPU's resources are heavily taxed by the Medium preset's additional effects.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 66 FPS for Low, 41 FPS for Medium (with a range of 35 to 47 FPS), 29 FPS for High, and 23 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a 12 FPS range between minimum and maximum, which is wider than the 15 FPS range at 1080p Medium, indicating more frame time variance at higher resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results are 52 FPS for Low, 32 FPS for Medium (with a range of 27 to 37 FPS), 23 FPS for High, and 18 FPS for Ultra. The 4K Medium result shows a 10 FPS range, which is the narrowest among all Medium presets, but the absolute values are too low for comfortable play. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 34 FPS drop, which is the largest absolute difference across any resolution, further confirming the GPU's inability to handle high settings at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates, with the Low preset achieving 78 FPS and Medium achieving 49 FPS. Higher resolutions result in significant performance drops, making 1080p the only resolution where playable frame rates are consistently achievable.

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

A: The GPU delivers 52 FPS at 4K Low settings, but this drops to 32 FPS at Medium and 18 FPS at Ultra. These results indicate that 4K is only viable at the lowest preset, and even then, the frame rate is not ideal for a smooth experience.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 2600 a bottleneck for this game?

A: The CPU's influence is minimal at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops are primarily attributed to GPU load. At 1080p Low, the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently to achieve 78 FPS, suggesting the CPU is not the primary limiting factor.

Q: What is the average FPS range for Medium settings across all resolutions?

A: At 1080p, the Medium preset averages 49 FPS with a range of 41 to 56 FPS. At 1440p, it averages 41 FPS with a range of 35 to 47 FPS. At 4K, it averages 32 FPS with a range of 27 to 37 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2321 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the lower 20% of all configurations. This rank reflects the GPU's mid-range performance and the CPU's older architecture.

Q: Which settings preset offers the most balanced experience?

A: The 1080p Medium preset offers the best balance, with a 49 FPS average and a narrow 15 FPS range between minimum and maximum. This provides playable performance while retaining more visual detail than the Low preset.