The Medium

The Medium presents one of the most demanding rendering loads in the benchmark database, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X with the Intel Arc B370 illustrates a severe bottleneck at the graphics stage. The data shows a system that is technically functional but practically constrained, with frame rates that fall below playable thresholds in almost every configuration tested. This analysis examines the scaling patterns, component roles, and ranking of this pairing using the measured results.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS degradation from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, revealing a graphics-bound scenario where the Intel Arc B370 is the limiting component. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 46 FPS at 1920x1080 to 39 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 15.2%, and then to 30 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 23.1% decline from the 1440p figure. This pattern indicates that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are exhausted early, with the pixel count increase directly translating into proportional frame loss.

At Medium settings, the scaling is slightly steeper. The measured averages are 29 FPS at 1080p, 24 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 34.5%, which is more pronounced than the Low preset’s 34.8% overall decline but with a different intermediate step. The 4K Medium result also includes a minimum FPS of 16 and a maximum of 22, showing that even the average hides significant frame time variance. High settings show a similar trend: 21 FPS at 1080p, 17 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K. The progression from 1080p to 1440p is a 19% loss, while the move to 4K costs another 17.6%.

Ultra settings are the most punishing, with averages of 16 FPS at 1080p, 14 FPS at 1440p, and 11 FPS at 4K. The scaling here is less linear, suggesting that the GPU is hitting a hard computational ceiling rather than just a bandwidth limit. The difference between 1080p and 1440p is only 12.5%, but the jump to 4K costs another 21.4%. This behavior points to the shader and texture units being saturated, where additional resolution adds less marginal cost because the core workload is already overwhelming the hardware.

The resolution scaling data indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any point. If the Ryzen 5 7600X were limiting performance, we would expect frame rates to remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU workload stays constant. Instead, every resolution increase results in a significant FPS drop, confirming that the Arc B370’s 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 20 ROPs are the primary constraint. The game becomes progressively less playable as resolution rises, with 4K only achieving 30 FPS at Low settings, which is the sole configuration that approaches a playable threshold.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its specifications are modest: 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. The base clock is 300 MHz, boosting to 2400 MHz, and the memory is system-shared, meaning bandwidth is system-dependent rather than fixed. The GPU’s pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, but these theoretical figures do not translate into practical performance in this title.

The benchmark data shows a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184, placing the GPU in the 5th percentile of all tested graphics cards. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 with a score of 1186 (0.2% faster), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1190 (0.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M with 1192 (0.7% faster). The AMD FirePro M2000 trails at 1168, which is 1.4% slower. These are all legacy or low-end parts, underscoring the Arc B370’s position at the very bottom of the performance stack.

In The Medium, the GPU’s limitations are stark. The highest average frame rate recorded is 46 FPS at 1080p Low, and this drops to 30 FPS at 4K Low. At any setting above Low, the GPU cannot maintain a playable frame rate. The VRAM situation is system-shared, so the GPU competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which is system-dependent. This architecture means that the available memory bandwidth is not a fixed specification but varies with the platform, and in this case, it is insufficient for the game’s demands.

The FP32 throughput of 6.144 TFLOPS is the key compute metric, but the game’s rendering engine appears to require more. The 10 ray tracing cores are present, but The Medium uses ray tracing for specific effects, and the data does not show separate RT benchmarks. The 25 W TDP and IGP slot width indicate a power-constrained design, which likely limits sustained boost clocks under load. The boost clock of 2400 MHz is respectable on paper, but thermal and power limits may prevent it from being maintained, explaining the low scores.

The GPU’s percentile rank of 5 means it outperforms only a tiny fraction of the database’s tested graphics cards. This is a component intended for basic display output, not demanding gaming. The measured FPS confirms this: even at 1080p Low, the average of 46 FPS is below the 60 FPS target most players expect, and any increase in quality settings pushes the frame rate into the teens or twenties. The Arc B370 is the definitive bottleneck in this pairing.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is a 7000-series desktop processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael. It has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 6,570 million transistors on a 71 mm² die. It supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and 83.2 GB/s of theoretical bandwidth, and it offers PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes. The L3 cache is 32 MB shared, with 1 MB L2 per core and 64 KB L1 per core.

The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong. In Cinebench R23, it scores 15236 multicore and 1965 single-core. Geekbench results are 13858 multicore and 2603 single-core. The 3DMark results show 6879 for 16 threads, 6845 for max threads, and 1060 for single-thread. PassMark scores include 28390 multithread and 4135 single-thread. These figures place the CPU in the 79th percentile of all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 27636.

The nearest rivals are all within a fraction of a percent. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and Intel Core i5-12600K both score 27578, which is 0.2% slower. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712, which is 0.3% faster. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27535, which is 0.4% slower. This indicates that the 7600X is competitively positioned, with no meaningful advantage or disadvantage against these alternatives in synthetic benchmarks.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is secondary. The game is clearly GPU-bound, as demonstrated by the resolution scaling. However, the CPU’s single-thread performance is relevant, as the game’s engine relies on a few heavily threaded tasks. The 1965 Cinebench R23 single-core score and 1060 3DMark single-thread score suggest that the CPU has ample headroom to feed the GPU. The 4.70 GHz base clock and 5.30 GHz boost clock ensure that the CPU does not stall the pipeline.

The 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for the game’s multi-threaded workload, but the data does not show CPU-specific FPS limits. The fact that frame rates drop consistently with resolution increases confirms that the CPU is not the constraint. If the CPU were limiting, we would see similar FPS across resolutions at a given setting, which is not the case. The CPU’s 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth is more than adequate for the game’s data streaming, and the 32 MB L3 cache reduces memory latency.

The CPU’s launch MSRP is $299, and it was released on 2022-09-26. It is an active production part with an unlocked multiplier, but this analysis does not consider overclocking results. The CPU’s percentile rank of 79 indicates it is a solid mid-range performer, but in this pairing, its capabilities are wasted because the GPU cannot translate CPU potential into frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2681 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the bottom 8% of all pairings in the database, with a percentile position that reflects the GPU’s severe limitation. The combo rank is driven almost entirely by the GPU, as the CPU’s high percentile (79) cannot compensate for the GPU’s low percentile (5).

This ranking means that 230 other tested combinations perform worse, but the vast majority of systems outperform this pairing. The data shows that the Arc B370 is the weakest link, and the CPU’s strength is irrelevant in this context. The combination is effectively a high-end CPU paired with an entry-level integrated GPU, which is an unbalanced configuration for a demanding game like The Medium.

The measured FPS across all settings and resolutions confirms the ranking. The best-case scenario is 46 FPS at 1080p Low, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K, the best is 30 FPS at Low, and at Ultra, the average is 11 FPS. These numbers place the combo in the lowest tier of playability, where even the most forgiving settings yield sub-optimal results.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing is likely to be near the bottom of any performance chart. The GPU’s nearest rivals are all over a decade old, indicating that the Arc B370 is not competitive with modern discrete GPUs. The combo rank of 2681 out of 2911 is a clear signal that this configuration is not suitable for The Medium at any resolution or settings level, except perhaps for a slideshow-like experience.

The CPU’s high benchmark scores do not help the ranking because the game is not CPU-limited. The combination’s rank is a measure of total system performance in this specific game, and the GPU’s 5th percentile score dominates the outcome. The data suggests that users would need to significantly reduce resolution and settings to achieve playable frame rates, and even then, the results are marginal.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 46 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only configuration that approaches playability, and it still falls short of 60 FPS.

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the highest average is 30 FPS on Low settings. Medium produces 19 FPS, High produces 14 FPS, and Ultra produces 11 FPS. 4K is not playable at any setting.

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

A: In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the Arc B370 scores 1184. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (0.2% faster), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% faster). The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (1.4% slower).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. Frame rates drop significantly as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU’s high benchmark scores (79th percentile) are not reflected in the game’s performance.

Q: What is the combo’s rank in the database?

A: This combination ranks 2681 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems.

Q: Does the CPU’s performance help at all?

A: The CPU’s strong single-thread and multi-thread scores ensure it is not the limiting factor, but this does not improve frame rates. The GPU’s 5th percentile score and 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are insufficient for the game’s demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data is presented below, organized by resolution and settings. All values are average FPS unless otherwise noted, with minimum and maximum values provided where available.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 46 FPS average
• Medium: 29 FPS average, 24 FPS minimum, 33 FPS maximum
• High: 21 FPS average
• Ultra: 16 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 39 FPS average
• Medium: 24 FPS average, 21 FPS minimum, 28 FPS maximum
• High: 17 FPS average
• Ultra: 14 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 30 FPS average
• Medium: 19 FPS average, 16 FPS minimum, 22 FPS maximum
• High: 14 FPS average
• Ultra: 11 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: each increase in resolution or quality setting results in a lower average FPS. The Medium setting at 1080p is the only one with a minimum FPS above 20, and even that is marginal. The Ultra setting at 4K produces the lowest average at 11 FPS, which is effectively unplayable. The GPU’s system-shared memory and 25 W TDP are insufficient for the game’s requirements, and the results reflect this hardware limitation. No configuration achieves a consistent 60 FPS, and only the 1080p Low setting comes close to a playable experience.