The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a playable but constrained experience in The Medium, with performance heavily dictated by graphics settings rather than resolution. The data indicates that this pairing is firmly mid-pack, ranking in the 20th percentile of tested combinations, and requires settings compromises to achieve smooth frame rates at any resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 78 FPS at 1920x1080 to 66 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 15%, and then further down to 52 FPS at 3840x2160. This progression shows that even at the lowest graphical preset, the GPU is increasingly challenged as pixel count rises. The 4K Low result is 33% slower than the 1080p Low result, highlighting that the Arc B570's 10 GB memory buffer and 160-bit bus are being saturated by the higher resolution's demands.

The scaling becomes more dramatic when moving up the settings ladder. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 35 FPS at 1080p to 29 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 23 FPS at 4K. That represents a 34% loss from 1080p to 4K, which is a larger proportional decline than seen at Low settings. The Medium preset shows a similar pattern, with averages of 49 FPS at 1080p, 41 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Medium is also 35%, reinforcing that the higher resolutions amplify the GPU's workload disproportionately.

What is notable is that the jump from 1080p to 1440p is consistently less punishing than the jump from 1440p to 4K. Across all settings, the 1080p to 1440p drop averages around 17%, while the 1440p to 4K drop averages around 23%. This suggests that the Arc B570's memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s becomes a critical limiting factor at 4K, where the game's textures and effects require significantly more data throughput. The Ultra preset illustrates this most starkly, with frame rates of 28 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K — a 36% total decline from the lowest to highest resolution.

The data indicates that the limiting component at 1080p is the CPU-GPU balance, but at 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the primary constraint. The Ryzen 5 7400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, provides sufficient headroom to feed the Arc B570 at lower resolutions, but the GPU's raw compute and memory subsystem cannot maintain performance as resolution scales upward. For users targeting 4K, the results suggest that only the Low preset approaches playability, while 1080p offers a much wider operational envelope.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570's specifications directly explain its behavior in The Medium. The GPU has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines, with a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at an effective 19 Gbps, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 160-bit bus. These figures place the card in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the Arc B570 is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, showing a deltaPct of 0.1% in its favor. It also sits within 0.1% of the Intel Arc A750, though that rival scores slightly higher. The more distant comparisons are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and AMD Radeon R9 M390X, which are 0.4% and 0.5% below the Arc B570, respectively. This clustering suggests that the B570 delivers performance in a well-established mid-range tier, and the game's frame rates reflect that positioning.

The GPU's 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate provide the theoretical foundation for the measured results. In The Medium, the Ultra preset demands more from the pixel pipeline and texture units, which explains the sharp drop to 18 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 10 GB memory capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at most settings, but the 4K results indicate that the game's high-resolution assets likely exceed what the 160-bit bus can efficiently feed. The memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s is adequate for the lower settings, but the data shows a clear ceiling when pushing higher presets.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) is relevant for a 2021 title like The Medium, which can leverage modern APIs. However, the card's Vulkan 1.4 support does not appear to translate into exceptional performance here, as the frame rates across all resolutions and settings remain moderate. The data suggests that the Arc B570 is a capable mid-range card that can handle the game at 1080p with medium-to-high settings, but its architecture does not scale gracefully to 4K, particularly at higher quality presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2321 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places the pairing in the bottom 20% of all configurations, which is a surprising result given the individual components' benchmark standings. The CPU alone sits in the 83rd percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 32750, while the GPU is in the 65th percentile. Yet, their combined performance in this specific game does not reflect those individual strengths.

The CPU's nearest rivals illuminate its standalone capabilities. The Intel Core i5-14600T scores 32707, just 0.1% lower, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H scores 32697, a 0.2% gap. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H scores higher at 32812, putting it 0.2% above the Ryzen 5 7400F, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 trails by 0.3%. These tiny deltas show that the 7400F is well-matched with other mid-range and mobile processors, but the game's results suggest that The Medium may not be heavily CPU-bound, meaning the CPU's strong showing has limited impact on the final frame rates.

The GPU's rival comparisons are equally tight. With an average score of 20556, the Arc B570 is within 0.5% of all four listed rivals, indicating that its performance class is well-established. The fact that this combo still ranks so low in-game points to potential driver overhead or specific engine inefficiencies with this architecture. The rank of 2321 out of 2911 means the majority of tested systems outperform this configuration, which is a notable finding for users considering this pairing.

The data implies that the bottleneck is not the CPU, which is clearly capable, but rather the GPU's execution in this particular title. The Arc B570's mid-pack GPU percentile does not translate to mid-pack gaming performance, suggesting that The Medium may be particularly demanding on Intel's graphics architecture. The combination's low rank serves as a cautionary data point, indicating that users should expect frame rates below what the individual component benchmarks might suggest.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the results show a wide spread across the four settings presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 78 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset and indicates a smooth experience for most users. The Medium preset drops to 49 FPS, with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS, providing a playable but less consistent frame rate. The High preset averages 35 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 28 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is a substantial 29 FPS, suggesting that the Medium preset introduces significant graphical effects that tax the GPU heavily.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats with lower absolute numbers. The Low preset averages 66 FPS, which is still comfortably playable. The Medium preset averages 41 FPS, with a range of 35 to 47 FPS, showing that the minimum frame rate can dip below the 40 FPS threshold that many consider the floor for smooth gameplay. The High preset averages 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 23 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium at this resolution is 25 FPS, indicating that the relative cost of the Medium preset is similar to that at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal. The Low preset averages 52 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 50 FPS. The Medium preset averages 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS, placing it in the territory where frame pacing issues become noticeable. The High preset averages 23 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 18 FPS, making both largely unplayable for a horror game that relies on atmosphere and timing. The scaling from 1080p Low to 4K Low represents a 33% decrease, while the scaling from 1080p Medium to 4K Medium is a 35% decrease, confirming that the GPU's performance degrades consistently as resolution increases.

The Ultra preset is consistently the weakest performer across all resolutions, with averages of 28 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K. These numbers indicate that the Ultra preset is not viable for this combo, as even at 1080p the frame rate falls below the 30 FPS threshold that is often considered the minimum for a playable experience in a slow-paced game. The High preset offers a modest improvement over Ultra, but still struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 1440p and above.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience for this combination is achieved at the Low preset. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 78 FPS, which provides a smooth and responsive experience that suits the game's horror pacing. At 1440p, the Low preset still manages 66 FPS, making it the only setting that offers a consistently playable frame rate above 60 FPS at that resolution. Even at 4K, the Low preset achieves 52 FPS, which is playable for a game that does not require fast reflexes.

The Medium preset is a viable alternative for users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate. At 1080p, it averages 49 FPS, which is acceptable for a slower-paced horror title, though the minimum of 41 FPS may result in occasional stutter. At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS, which is borderline but may be tolerable for some players. The 4K Medium result of 32 FPS is below the 35 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for a comfortable experience, so this setting is only recommended for users who are willing to accept lower frame rates.

The High and Ultra presets are not recommended for this configuration. At 1080p, the High preset averages 35 FPS, which is below the 40 FPS target that provides a consistently smooth experience. The Ultra preset averages 28 FPS at 1080p, which is noticeably choppy. At higher resolutions, both presets fall below 30 FPS, making them unsuitable for gameplay. The data clearly shows that the visual improvements offered by High and Ultra do not justify the significant frame rate penalties.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 1080p is the sweet spot. It provides a 49 FPS average, which is close to the 50 FPS target that most users find acceptable, while offering a substantial visual upgrade over Low. For users with 1440p displays, the Low preset is the only reasonable choice, as it delivers 66 FPS and avoids the frame rate dips seen at Medium. At 4K, the Low preset is the only playable option, with its 52 FPS average providing a functional experience despite the lower visual fidelity.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in The Medium?*

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 at Low settings provides the highest average frame rate of 78 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset still achieves 66 FPS, making it a viable option. For 3840x2160, only the Low preset reaches a playable 52 FPS, so 1080p is the recommended resolution for the best overall experience.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its closest rival in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and 0.1% lower than the Intel Arc A750. The AMD Radeon R9 M390X trails by 0.5%, while the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M is 0.4% behind.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7400F a limiting factor in this game?

A: The CPU ranks in the 83rd percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 32750. Given that the combo ranks in the bottom 20% of tested configurations, the data suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor, not the CPU, as the 7400F demonstrates strong standalone performance.

Q: What are the frame rate ranges for the Medium preset?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset averages 49 FPS with a range of 41 to 56 FPS. At 2560x1440, it averages 41 FPS with a range of 35 to 47 FPS. At 3840x2160, it averages 32 FPS with a range of 27 to 37 FPS.

*Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in The Medium?*

A: Yes, but only at the Low preset, which achieves an average of 52 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 32 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets fall to 23 FPS and 18 FPS respectively, making them unplayable.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 7400F scores 32750 on average, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600T and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H scores 0.2% higher, while the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 trails by 0.3%.