The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a severely GPU-bound experience in The Medium, with performance collapsing as resolution increases. The data shows a clear pattern: this combination is only viable at low settings, and even then, it barely achieves playable frame rates. Across all resolutions, the frame rate drops are steep and consistent, indicating that the Intel Arc B370 is the definitive bottleneck, while the Ryzen 5 7600’s processing power goes largely underutilized.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the fundamental limitation of this combo. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 46 at 1920x1080 to 39 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 7 FPS, and then to 30 at 3840x2160, another 9 FPS loss. This represents a 34.8% performance decrease from 1080p to 4K at the lowest preset. The pattern is similar at Medium settings, where the average drops from 29 FPS at 1080p to 24 FPS at 1440p, and further down to 19 FPS at 4K. This is a 34.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

The scaling becomes even more punishing at higher presets, though the absolute numbers are so low that the percentage drops mask a more critical issue. At High settings, the average falls from 21 FPS at 1080p to 17 FPS at 1440p and 14 FPS at 4K. At Ultra settings, performance is nearly non-functional, dropping from 16 FPS at 1080p to 14 FPS at 1440p and 11 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 11 FPS is a 31.3% drop from the 1080p Ultra score.

What this scaling tells us is that the Intel Arc B370 is being overwhelmed by pixel throughput. The Ryzen 5 7600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is more than capable of feeding frames at these settings, as evidenced by the fact that even at 1080p Low, the system only reaches 46 FPS. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a smaller delta between 1080p and 1440p, but the consistent double-digit percentage drops at every preset confirm that the GPU is saturated long before the CPU’s potential is reached. The 4K Medium data, which includes a min FPS of 16 and max FPS of 22, shows a tight but low range, indicating the GPU is consistently hitting its ceiling rather than experiencing intermittent stutters.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark results place this combination at rank 2681 out of 2911 tested combos, putting it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested for The Medium. This is a poor showing, driven almost entirely by the GPU. The combo rank reflects the aggregate performance across all resolutions and settings, and with no configuration exceeding 46 FPS average, the overall standing is expectedly low.

To contextualize this, we can look at the individual component benchmarks. The Ryzen 5 7600 is a strong processor on its own, with an average benchmark score of 26324 and a percentile ranking of 78 among all CPUs. This places it above the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX by 0.2%, above the Intel Core i9-11900KF by 0.4%, and above the AMD Ryzen 5 8540U by 0.5%. It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 7435HS by only 0.3%. This is a top-tier CPU that should not be the source of bottleneck in a modern game.

Conversely, the Intel Arc B370 is an extremely weak performer in this context. Its average benchmark score is a mere 1184, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are legacy parts like the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, which it trails by 0.2%, and the ATI Radeon HD 5770, which it trails by 0.5%. It only outperforms the AMD FirePro M2000 by 1.4%. The fact that this GPU is competing with hardware from over a decade ago explains the catastrophic frame rates. The Ryzen 5 7600 is being held back by a GPU whose performance class is fundamentally mismatched for a game like The Medium, resulting in a combo rank that is far below what the CPU alone would suggest.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 46, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that breaks the 45 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 the bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The Ryzen 5 7600 benchmarks in the 78th percentile of all CPUs, with an average score of 26324. The Intel Arc B370, however, is in the 5th percentile with an average score of 1184, making it the clear limiting factor.

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

A: The B370 scores 1184, which is 0.2% lower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and 0.5% lower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770. It is 1.4% faster than the AMD FirePro M2000.

Q: Can this combo run the game at 4K?

A: Technically yes, but not well. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 11. At 4K High, it is 14 FPS. The only 4K setting that reaches a playable average is Low, at 30 FPS.

Q: What is the frame rate variance at 1440p Medium?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 24, with a minimum of 21 FPS and a maximum of 28 FPS. This shows a relatively stable, though low, frame delivery.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: In Cinebench R23, the Ryzen 5 7600 scores 1852 in single-core and 12735 in multi-core. In Geekbench, it scores 2521 single-core and 13413 multi-core, showing strong scaling across threads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive look at performance across all three primary resolutions and four quality presets.

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combo achieves its best results. Low settings yield an average of 46 FPS. Medium settings drop to an average of 29 FPS, with a min of 24 FPS and a max of 33 FPS. High settings produce an average of 21 FPS. Ultra settings are the worst, with an average of 16 FPS. This shows that even at the least demanding resolution, only the Low preset approaches fluidity.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance degrades further. Low settings average 39 FPS. Medium settings average 24 FPS, with a min of 21 FPS and max of 28 FPS. High settings drop to an average of 17 FPS. Ultra settings are nearly unplayable at 14 FPS average. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is a loss of 7 FPS, while at Medium settings, it is a loss of 5 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are marginal. Low settings are the only viable option, averaging 30 FPS. Medium settings average 19 FPS, with a min of 16 FPS and max of 22 FPS. High settings average 14 FPS. Ultra settings average a slideshow-like 11 FPS. The data shows that 4K is only playable at the lowest quality preset, and even then, the 30 FPS average leaves no headroom for demanding scenes.

The min and max FPS data available for Medium settings across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern. At 1080p, the range is 24 to 33 FPS. At 1440p, it is 21 to 28 FPS. At 4K, it is 16 to 22 FPS. This indicates that the GPU operates within a narrow band of performance, suggesting it is hitting a hard computational limit rather than suffering from occasional spikes or drops.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370’s role in this system is to be the primary performance limiter. With a TDP of just 25 W, this is an integrated-class part, and its specifications reflect that. The chip, named Panther Lake, features a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. It has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output pipelines. These are low numbers for a gaming GPU, especially one tasked with running a horror title like The Medium.

The memory configuration is a significant weakness. The B370 uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it relies on the system’s DDR5 RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory bus width is also "System Shared," and the bandwidth is "System Dependent." This architecture means the GPU is competing with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which is a major bottleneck in a game that requires streaming high-resolution textures. The benchmark score of 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 confirms its low standing, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU’s pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. These figures are extremely low for modern gaming. For comparison, the FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS, which is insufficient for the computational demands of The Medium at higher resolutions. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so it has the feature set, but it lacks the raw throughput. The data shows that the GPU’s performance is so constrained that it cannot deliver playable frame rates at any setting above Low, and its nearest performance rivals are GPUs from the ATI Radeon HD 5000 series, indicating a performance level that is over a decade old.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the only setting that provides a consistently playable experience is Low. At 1920x1080, Low settings yield an average of 46 FPS, which is the only average above 30 FPS in the entire dataset. This is the recommended configuration for any attempt at smooth gameplay. At 2560x1440, Low settings drop to 39 FPS, which is still playable but less stable. At 3840x2160, Low settings average 30 FPS, which is borderline.

Medium settings are not recommended for any resolution. At 1080p, the average is 29 FPS, which dips below the 30 FPS threshold. At 1440p, it is 24 FPS, and at 4K, it is 19 FPS. The min FPS at 4K Medium is 16, which will result in noticeable stuttering during intense scenes. High and Ultra settings are effectively non-viable, with all averages falling below 22 FPS, even at 1080p.

For the best experience, users should prioritize lowering the resolution to 1920x1080 and selecting the Low preset. This provides the highest average FPS and is the only path to a smooth experience. If a higher resolution is necessary, 2560x1440 with Low settings is acceptable, but users must accept a 7 FPS penalty compared to 1080p. The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely, as even Low settings only manage a 30 FPS average, which is the absolute minimum for playability and leaves no room for performance dips. The data strongly suggests that this combo is mismatched for The Medium, and the settings recommendations reflect that reality: Low settings at 1080p is the only sensible choice.