The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a performance profile in The Medium that is heavily dictated by resolution and graphics presets. The measured data reveals a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher settings, while the CPU shows its capability at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, component roles, and the practical implications for playing this horror title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and expected inverse relationship between resolution and performance. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 78 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low settings drops the average to 66 FPS, a reduction of 12 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Low preset average falls further to 52 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is the limiting factor as resolution increases, with a 33% performance drop from 1080p to 4K.

The scaling behavior changes significantly when the graphics settings are increased. At Medium settings, the frame rate drops from 49 FPS at 1080p to 41 FPS at 1440p, and then to 32 FPS at 4K. The difference between 1080p and 1440p is 8 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 9 FPS. This relatively consistent drop suggests the GPU is being saturated across all resolutions at this preset. The High preset shows a similar pattern: 35 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 23 FPS at 4K, with a nearly linear degradation.

The most demanding scenario, the Ultra preset, produces the steepest scaling curve. At 1080p, the combo manages 28 FPS, which drops to 23 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 18 FPS at 4K. The 10 FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings represents a 36% performance loss. This data indicates that the Intel Arc B570's rendering capabilities are quickly overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and the most intensive graphical features. The scaling analysis clearly points to the GPU as the primary constraint across all measured configurations, with the CPU not exhibiting a limiting role in any of the tested scenarios.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the dominant factor in this combo's performance in The Medium. The GPU's specifications provide context for the measured frame rates. With 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, the memory bandwidth is 380.0 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, and its 2304 shading units deliver 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. These figures are directly relevant to the game's demands, as The Medium uses dual-reality rendering, which is memory-intensive and requires substantial fill rates.

The benchmark results show that at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the GPU produces an average of only 18 FPS. This is below playable thresholds and indicates that the card's 80 ROPs and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient for the game's most demanding mode at that resolution. The 18 FPS at 4K Ultra is a stark contrast to the 52 FPS at 4K Low, showing that the GPU's performance is heavily dependent on the complexity of the rendering tasks. The absence of min/max FPS data for many of the settings prevents a full analysis of frame time consistency, but the averages alone show a GPU that is capable at lower settings but struggles under load.

The GPU's position in the market is established by its percentile rank of 65 among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 0.1% higher, and the Intel Arc A750, which scores 0.1% lower. This places the B570 in a competitive mid-range segment. In the context of The Medium, the GPU's performance is best described as adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming at medium settings, but the data shows it is not suited for 4K gaming with high or ultra presets. The 10 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's textures at the tested settings, as no VRAM-related stuttering or crashes are indicated in the measured data.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for playing The Medium with this combo?*

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all presets achieve a playable average FPS. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset manages 28 FPS, while Medium and Low reach 49 and 78 FPS respectively. The 2560x1440 resolution is only viable with Low settings, which produces 66 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 handle 4K gaming in this title?

A: The data indicates poor 4K performance. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset produces an average of 18 FPS, High reaches 23 FPS, and Medium only achieves 32 FPS. The only playable option at 4K is the Low preset, which yields 52 FPS.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B570 in this game?

A: No. The FPS scaling pattern across resolutions shows that performance drops consistently as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's single-thread performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 951, is sufficient to feed the GPU in all tested scenarios.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Medium and High presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset averages 49 FPS, while the High preset averages 35 FPS. This represents a 14 FPS difference, indicating that the High preset adds a significant rendering load that the GPU cannot fully compensate for.

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

A: In the benchmark database, this specific CPU and GPU combination ranks 2321 out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the lower half of all tested systems, reflecting the GPU's mid-range performance class.

*Q: Does the GPU's 10 GB of VRAM limit performance in The Medium?*

A: The data does not indicate any VRAM-related limitations. The measured FPS drops are consistent with compute and fill-rate limits rather than memory capacity issues, as performance scales predictably with resolution and settings changes.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2321 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places the system in the 20th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning approximately 80% of tested combos deliver higher average frame rates. This low ranking is primarily attributable to the GPU's performance, as the CPU ranks in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, a significant discrepancy.

The CPU's benchmark scores support this analysis. The Ryzen 5 8400F achieves an average benchmark score of 25005, which is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, with a delta of 0.2%. The GPU, in contrast, has an average benchmark score of 20556, positioning it just 0.1% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile. This pairing of a high-performing CPU with a mid-range GPU creates a system that is well-balanced for CPU-intensive tasks but falls behind in GPU-bound scenarios like The Medium at high settings.

The ranking data also highlights that the combo's performance in The Medium is below what the component's individual benchmark scores might suggest. The CPU's strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20851, does not translate to higher FPS in this game because the workload is GPU-bound. The combo's rank of 2321 is a direct consequence of the GPU's inability to maintain high frame rates at the more demanding settings, which is a critical consideration for users evaluating this hardware for this specific title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions.

At 1920x1080:

• Low settings: 78 FPS average
• Medium settings: 49 FPS average, with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS
• High settings: 35 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 28 FPS average

At 2560x1440:

• Low settings: 66 FPS average
• Medium settings: 41 FPS average, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS
• High settings: 29 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 23 FPS average

At 3840x2160:

• Low settings: 52 FPS average
• Medium settings: 32 FPS average, with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS
• High settings: 23 FPS average
• Ultra settings: 18 FPS average

The data shows that the Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum frame rates, which are 41 and 56 at 1080p, 35 and 47 at 1440p, and 27 and 37 at 4K. These ranges suggest reasonable frame time consistency at this setting, with the minimum FPS staying above 27 in all cases. The absence of min/max data for other presets limits the analysis of frame pacing, but the averages are sufficient to establish the system's capability.

The difference between the Low and Ultra presets is substantial at every resolution. At 1080p, the gap is 50 FPS; at 1440p, it is 43 FPS; and at 4K, it is 34 FPS. This indicates that the Ultra preset introduces rendering features that have a disproportionate impact on performance, likely related to the game's dual-world rendering and volumetric effects. The data also shows that the step from Low to Medium is less costly than the step from Medium to High, suggesting that the game's medium preset includes a balanced set of features.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's target resolution and frame rate preference.

For 1080p gaming, the Medium preset at 49 FPS provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. It achieves a smooth frame rate that is suitable for a horror game, and the recorded minimum of 41 FPS ensures that frame drops remain manageable. The High preset drops to 35 FPS, which is still playable but noticeably less smooth. The Ultra preset at 28 FPS is on the edge of playability and is not recommended for a consistent experience.

At 1440p, the Low preset at 66 FPS is the only option that delivers a high frame rate. The Medium preset at 41 FPS is playable, but the minimum of 35 FPS may be noticeable during intense scenes. The High preset at 29 FPS and Ultra preset at 23 FPS are below the threshold for comfortable play and should be avoided. Users with 1440p monitors should accept the Low preset for a responsive experience or consider lowering the resolution.

For 4K gaming, the data strongly recommends against using anything above the Low preset. The Low preset at 52 FPS is the only playable option, while Medium at 32 FPS, High at 23 FPS, and Ultra at 18 FPS are all too slow for a satisfying experience. The combination of 4K resolution and high settings overwhelms the Intel Arc B570, and the measured data shows that the Low preset is the only viable configuration for this resolution.

The overall recommendation is to use the Medium preset at 1080p, as it provides a significant visual improvement over Low while maintaining a frame rate that is suitable for the game's atmosphere. For users who prioritize frame rate above all else, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 78 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F plays a supporting role in this combo's performance in The Medium. The CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its Zen 4 architecture, built on a 4 nm process, provides strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 951 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2943. These scores indicate that the CPU is more than capable of handling the game's logic and physics calculations.

The FPS data confirms that the CPU is not a bottleneck in any of the tested configurations. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would remain constant regardless of resolution changes. However, the data shows a consistent FPS drop as resolution increases, which is a clear indicator of GPU limitation. For example, at Low settings, the FPS drops from 78 at 1080p to 66 at 1440p and 52 at 4K. This scaling pattern would not occur if the CPU were the primary constraint.

The CPU's multi-threaded performance is also adequate for this title. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6091 and the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20851 show that the CPU can handle the game's multi-threaded workloads, which include asset streaming and AI calculations. The 16 MB of L3 cache is sufficient for the game's data requirements, and the DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth ensures that the CPU can quickly access game data.

The CPU's percentile rank of 77 among all CPUs places it well above the GPU's percentile rank of 65. This disparity suggests that the system is unbalanced in favor of the CPU, which is a common configuration for mid-range gaming PCs. In The Medium, this balance means that the CPU has headroom to spare, and users could potentially upgrade the GPU in the future without needing to change the CPU. The measured data shows that the Ryzen 5 8400F provides a stable platform for the Intel Arc B570, with no evidence of CPU-induced stuttering or frame rate drops.