The Medium

# The Medium with AMD Ryzen 5 9600X + Intel Arc B570

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in The Medium, a horror title from 2021. This combination ranks 2321st out of 2911 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The data shows a system that can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming at lower presets, but struggles significantly at 4K with higher settings. The Ryzen 5 9600X, a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 5 processor on AMD Socket AM5, brings strong single-thread performance with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz and a base clock of 3.90 GHz. The Intel Arc B570, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, provides 380.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Together, they produce measurable results across three resolutions and four quality presets, with the GPU clearly acting as the primary constraint in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern: as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, average frame rates drop substantially across every settings preset. At Low settings, the system delivers 78 FPS at 1080p, drops to 66 FPS at 1440p (a 15.4% reduction), and falls to 52 FPS at 4K (a 33.3% reduction from 1080p). This scaling suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU is the limiting factor—the 10 GB VRAM and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth on the Arc B570 are being pushed harder as pixel count increases, and the frame rate drops accordingly.

At Medium settings, the resolution scaling becomes even more pronounced. The system produces 49 FPS at 1080p, 41 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K here is 34.7%, which is nearly identical to the Low settings gap. This consistency indicates that the GPU workload scales predictably with resolution regardless of the quality preset, reinforcing the notion that the Intel Arc B570 is the bottleneck rather than the Ryzen 5 9600X.

High settings show the steepest relative drops. At 1080p, the system manages 35 FPS, which falls to 29 FPS at 1440p (a 17.1% reduction) and 23 FPS at 4K (a 34.3% reduction from 1080p). The 4K High result of 23 FPS is below the generally accepted playable threshold, and the frame rate degrades to the point where the horror atmosphere of The Medium would be compromised by stutter and slow response.

Ultra settings deliver the lowest performance across all resolutions, with 28 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is barely interactive, and even 1080p Ultra falls short of smooth gameplay. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is a 35.7% reduction, again tracking closely with the other presets. This uniformity across presets strongly suggests that the limiting component is the GPU, as the CPU's performance headroom—evidenced by its strong benchmark scores—does not appear to be the constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2321st out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in approximately the 20th percentile of all tested configurations. This is a relatively low ranking, indicating that most other hardware combinations in the database deliver higher average frame rates in this game. The ranking reflects the measured FPS data, which shows the system struggling to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions and settings.

To contextualize this ranking, consider the individual component performance. The Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 29713 and sits in the 81st percentile against all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, which scores 29656 (a 0.2% difference), the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H at 29868 (-0.5% delta), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT at 29879 (-0.6% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS at 29955 (-0.8% delta). These deltas are tiny, meaning the 9600X performs essentially identically to these other processors in synthetic benchmarks. The CPU is clearly not a weak link in this system.

The Intel Arc B570, on the other hand, has an average benchmark score of 20556 and sits in the 65th percentile against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534 (0.1% delta), the Intel Arc A750 at 20582 (-0.1% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M at 20480 (0.4% delta), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X at 20662 (-0.5% delta). The B570 is effectively on par with these GPUs in synthetic tests, which positions it as a mid-range graphics card.

Given that the CPU is in the 81st percentile and the GPU is in the 65th percentile, one might expect the combo to rank higher than the 20th percentile for this specific game. The discrepancy suggests that The Medium is particularly demanding on the GPU, and the Arc B570's architecture or driver optimization may not be ideal for this title. The measured FPS data supports this interpretation: even at 1080p Low, the system only reaches 78 FPS, which is respectable but not exceptional for a mid-range GPU. The combo ranking of 2321 out of 2911 indicates that many systems with weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs would outperform this configuration in The Medium.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 plays the dominant role in determining performance in The Medium. The GPU's specifications—10 GB of GDDR6 memory, a 160-bit memory bus, 380.0 GB/s bandwidth, 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units—define its capability to render the game's environments, lighting, and effects. The 10 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but may be stressed at 4K, especially with higher quality presets that demand more texture memory.

The GPU's clock behavior is notable: the base clock and boost clock are both 2500 MHz, meaning the card runs at a fixed frequency under load rather than dynamically boosting. The memory clock is 2375 MHz, which translates to 19 Gbps effective. These clocks contribute to the GPU's compute performance of 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 and 23.04 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1 ratio). The pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s, which are mid-range figures that align with the B570's 65th percentile standing among all GPUs.

The measured FPS data in The Medium reflects these specifications. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 78 FPS, which is the highest result in the entire dataset. This suggests that the GPU can handle the game's basic rendering demands when texture quality and effects are minimized. However, as settings increase to Medium, High, and Ultra, the GPU's limitations become apparent. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS drops to 28, which is a 64.1% reduction from Low settings. This dramatic drop indicates that the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth are overwhelmed by the increased workload at higher presets.

At 4K, the GPU's constraints are even more evident. The 10 GB VRAM may be a limiting factor, as 4K textures and high-resolution rendering buffers can exceed this capacity, forcing the driver to manage memory more aggressively. The 160-bit memory bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth also become bottlenecks at 4K, as the GPU must move more pixel data to and from memory. The result is 52 FPS at 4K Low, 32 FPS at 4K Medium, 23 FPS at 4K High, and 18 FPS at 4K Ultra. These numbers show that the Arc B570 is not well-suited for 4K gaming in The Medium, regardless of settings.

The GPU's ray tracing capabilities—18 RT cores—are present but not specifically tested in this dataset. The Medium does not appear to rely heavily on ray tracing based on the measured results, as the performance drops are more consistent with traditional rasterization workloads. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) is compatible with the game's rendering requirements, but the measured FPS suggests that the hardware itself, rather than API support, is the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides average FPS measurements for three resolutions and four settings presets, with minimum and maximum FPS recorded only for Medium settings. Here is the full breakdown:

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 78 FPS on Low, 49 FPS on Medium, 35 FPS on High, and 28 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset includes min/max data of 41 FPS minimum and 56 FPS maximum, showing a range of 15 FPS. This variance suggests that the game's frame times are not perfectly consistent, likely due to scene complexity changes common in horror games with dynamic lighting and camera effects.

At 2560x1440, the results are 66 FPS on Low, 41 FPS on Medium, 29 FPS on High, and 23 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS, a 12 FPS range. The 1440p Medium result of 41 FPS is identical to the 1080p Medium result of 49 FPS only when rounded—in fact, it is a 16.3% drop. The 1440p High result of 29 FPS is 17.1% lower than 1080p High, and 1440p Ultra at 23 FPS is 17.9% lower than 1080p Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the system produces 52 FPS on Low, 32 FPS on Medium, 23 FPS on High, and 18 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS, a 10 FPS range. The 4K results show that only Low settings approach playability, with 52 FPS being acceptable for most players. Medium at 32 FPS is borderline, while High and Ultra are not advisable for smooth gameplay.

Comparing across resolutions, the 1080p Low result of 78 FPS is the best performance in the entire dataset. The 1440p Low result of 66 FPS is 15.4% lower, and the 4K Low result of 52 FPS is 33.3% lower than 1080p. For Medium settings, the progression is 49 FPS at 1080p, 41 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K, representing drops of 16.3% and 34.7% respectively. High settings go from 35 FPS at 1080p to 29 FPS at 1440p to 23 FPS at 4K, with drops of 17.1% and 34.3%. Ultra settings go from 28 FPS at 1080p to 23 FPS at 1440p to 18 FPS at 4K, with drops of 17.9% and 35.7%.

The min/max data for Medium settings provides additional insight. At 1080p, the minimum of 41 FPS and maximum of 56 FPS indicate that frame rates can fluctuate by about 30% during gameplay. At 1440p, the range is 35 to 47 FPS, a similar proportional variance. At 4K, the range narrows to 27 to 37 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is more consistently near its performance ceiling at higher resolutions. These fluctuations are important for understanding the gameplay experience, as horror games often rely on sudden visual changes that can cause frame rate dips.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and the player's tolerance for frame rate variation.

For 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 78 FPS, which is the smoothest experience in the entire dataset. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a comfortable margin for demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 49 FPS is playable but may feel less smooth, especially during the min FPS dips to 41 FPS. The High preset at 35 FPS is below the ideal range for action-heavy sequences, and Ultra at 28 FPS is not recommended for a horror game where responsiveness matters. For the best balance of visual quality and performance at 1080p, the Medium preset is the strongest choice—it offers significantly better visuals than Low while maintaining a playable 49 FPS average with a minimum of 41 FPS.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset at 66 FPS is the only option that consistently stays above 60 FPS. Medium at 41 FPS is still playable, with a minimum of 35 FPS, but the experience will be noticeably less fluid. High at 29 FPS and Ultra at 23 FPS are below playable thresholds for most users. The recommendation at 1440p is to use Low settings for smooth gameplay, or Medium if the player prioritizes visual fidelity over frame rate consistency. The 41 FPS average on Medium is acceptable for a slow-paced horror game, but the 35 FPS minimum could cause noticeable stutter during intense moments.

For 3840x2160, only the Low preset at 52 FPS is truly playable. Medium at 32 FPS is borderline, and High at 23 FPS and Ultra at 18 FPS are not viable for a satisfying experience. At 4K, the recommendation is to use Low settings to stay above 50 FPS, or to consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for better quality. The 4K Medium minimum of 27 FPS further reinforces that this preset is too demanding for the Arc B570 in this game.

Across all resolutions, the data indicates that the Intel Arc B570 performs best when settings are kept at Low or Medium. The jump from Medium to High incurs a significant performance penalty—approximately 28% at 1080p, 29% at 1440p, and 28% at 4K—while the visual improvement may not justify the frame rate loss. Similarly, the jump from High to Ultra costs another 20% at 1080p, 21% at 1440p, and 22% at 4K. If the player wants to maximize visual quality while maintaining at least 30 FPS, the Medium preset at 1440p (41 FPS) is the best compromise, as it provides a resolution boost over 1080p while keeping frame rates above the minimum playable threshold.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in The Medium?

A: The highest average FPS is 78, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only preset and resolution combination that exceeds 70 FPS.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: At 4K, only the Low preset delivers a playable 52 FPS. Medium drops to 32 FPS, High to 23 FPS, and Ultra to 18 FPS. For a consistent 4K experience, the system is limited to Low settings.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, scores 20534, a 0.1% difference. The Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, a -0.1% delta. The AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 20662, a -0.5% delta. These are all effectively identical in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank for The Medium?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X + Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2321st out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the lower portion of the database.

Q: Which settings preset should I use at 2560x1440?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset delivers 66 FPS, which is the smoothest option. Medium delivers 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS, making it playable but less consistent. High and Ultra at 29 FPS and 23 FPS respectively are not recommended.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 9600X bottleneck the system in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor. The Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 29713 and sits in the 81st percentile against all CPUs. The measured FPS drops consistently across all settings as resolution increases, indicating the GPU is the primary constraint.