The Medium

The Medium is a horror title that stresses both the CPU and GPU, but the data for this specific combination—an AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D paired with an Intel Arc B370—shows a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics solution. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings are low, indicating that this pairing is not suitable for smooth gameplay at standard monitor refresh rates. The Ryzen 7 5700X3D is a capable processor with a strong multi-threaded performance profile, but the Arc B370, which sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, becomes the limiting factor in almost every scenario. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to explain what this means for resolution scaling, settings choices, and the overall ranking of this combo.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, but the pattern is not uniform across all settings. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 7 FPS (from 46 to 39), and then a further 9 FPS drop to 4K (from 39 to 30). This is a 35% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which suggests that even at the lowest graphical load, the GPU is struggling to manage the increased pixel count. The scaling is more aggressive at Medium settings: 1080p yields 29 FPS, 1440p drops to 24 FPS, and 4K falls to 19 FPS. That represents a 34% loss from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the numbers are 21 FPS at 1080p, 17 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K, a 33% reduction. The Ultra preset shows the worst absolute performance, with 16 FPS at 1080p, 14 FPS at 1440p, and 11 FPS at 4K, a 31% drop.

The consistency of these percentage drops across settings indicates that the limiting component is the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller difference between 1080p and 4K, as the resolution increase would not add much work for the processor. Instead, the frame rates decline in near-linear fashion with the pixel count, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The Arc B370’s performance is so low that it cannot keep up with even the modest demands of this game at 1080p, and the situation only worsens as the resolution climbs. The data shows that 4K is essentially unplayable at any setting, with the highest average FPS at 4K being just 30 at Low settings, which is only borderline acceptable for a slower-paced horror game. The 4K Medium and High results are firmly in slideshow territory at 19 and 14 FPS respectively. For any playable experience, users would need to stay at 1080p, and even then, the settings must be carefully managed.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured FPS, the choice of settings is a trade-off between visual fidelity and the ability to maintain a playable frame rate. The Low preset is the only one that approaches a playable level at 1080p, with an average of 46 FPS. This is still below the 60 FPS target that most PC builders aim for, but it is a playable experience for a game like The Medium, which relies more on atmosphere than fast reflexes. At 1440p, the Low preset drops to 39 FPS, which is still workable but not ideal. At 4K, Low settings produce 30 FPS, which is the minimum threshold for playability on many consoles, but it will feel stuttery on a PC.

The Medium preset is the next step up, but the performance cost is significant. At 1080p, Medium settings drop the average FPS to 29, which is a 37% reduction compared to Low. The measured minimum FPS of 24 and maximum of 33 at 1080p Medium show that frame times are inconsistent, which can lead to noticeable hitches during gameplay. At 1440p Medium, the average is 24 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it falls to 19 FPS. This preset is not recommended for any resolution above 1080p, and even at 1080p, the frame rate is too low for a smooth experience. The High preset is worse, with 21 FPS at 1080p, 17 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the worst performer, with 16 FPS at 1080p, 14 FPS at 1440p, and 11 FPS at 4K. These results show that the High and Ultra presets are only suitable for screenshots, not for actual gameplay.

The data suggests that the Low preset at 1080p is the only viable configuration for this combo, and even then, the experience will be far from ideal. The gap between Low and Medium is so large that the visual improvements from Medium are not worth the massive frame rate penalty. For users who must play at 1440p, Low settings are the only option, yielding 39 FPS. Pushing to 4K with Low settings gives 30 FPS, but the experience will be marginal. The conclusion is that this hardware combination is best suited for 1080p gaming with all settings turned down to their lowest values. Any attempt to increase visual quality will result in frame rates that are too low to be considered playable.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations for The Medium, this pairing ranks 2681 out of 2911 combos. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, which is a clear indication of its overall performance level. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU’s low benchmark scores, as the CPU contributes strong processing power but cannot compensate for the graphics bottleneck. The combo rank of 2681 out of 2911 means that there are 2680 other combinations that deliver higher average frame rates in this game. This is not a surprise given that the Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution with a 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The CPU in this system, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D, has an average benchmark score of 24709 and sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. This is a solid mid-to-high range result, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D with an average score of 24728 (a delta of -0.1%), the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX at 24822 (delta -0.5%), the Intel Core i5-12450HX at 24576 (delta 0.5%), and the Intel Core i5-11600 at 24563 (delta 0.6%). These deltas show that the 5700X3D is essentially on par with these other processors, with performance differences of less than 1%. This means that if the GPU were swapped for a more powerful model, the CPU would not be the limiting factor in most scenarios.

However, the Intel Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of just 1184, and its nearest rivals are all older, low-end graphics chips. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (delta -0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (delta -0.5%), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (delta -0.7%), and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (delta 1.4%). These rivals are from a completely different era of graphics hardware, which underscores how weak the Arc B370 is in absolute terms. The combo rank is dragged down entirely by this GPU, and the data indicates that the system’s overall performance in The Medium is severely limited by the graphics solution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

A resolution-by-resolution analysis of the measured frame rates shows a consistent pattern of low performance. At 3840x2160 (4K), the average FPS ranges from a low of 11 at Ultra settings to a high of 30 at Low settings. The Medium preset at 4K averages 19 FPS with a minimum of 16 and a maximum of 22, which provides a narrow band of performance. The High preset at 4K averages 14 FPS. These numbers are all far below the 60 FPS target, and even the 30 FPS achieved at Low settings is only just playable. The game becomes increasingly unresponsive as settings are raised, with the Ultra preset delivering only 11 FPS, which is effectively a static image.

Moving down to 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance improves but remains low. The Low preset averages 39 FPS, which is the only playable option at this resolution. The Medium preset averages 24 FPS with a minimum of 21 and a maximum of 28, showing that frame times are somewhat inconsistent. The High preset averages 17 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 14 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium at 1440p costs 15 FPS, which is a 38% reduction, again highlighting the GPU’s inability to handle increased graphical loads. At 1920x1080 (1080p), the Low preset is the only one that approaches a reasonable frame rate, averaging 46 FPS. The Medium preset averages 29 FPS with a minimum of 24 and a maximum of 33, the High preset averages 21 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 16 FPS.

The data shows that the gap between Low and Medium is the largest single drop in performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, the difference is 17 FPS (46 to 29), at 1440p it is 15 FPS (39 to 24), and at 4K it is 11 FPS (30 to 19). This suggests that the Medium preset introduces a significant amount of additional GPU work, likely in the form of more complex lighting or shadow effects, which the Arc B370 cannot handle. The measured minimum FPS values for Medium settings (24 at 1080p, 21 at 1440p, 16 at 4K) are below the averages, indicating that there are moments of more intense stutter during gameplay. Overall, the measured FPS breakdown paints a clear picture: this combo is only suitable for 1080p Low settings, and even that is a compromise.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the primary bottleneck in this system. Its specifications reveal why it performs so poorly in The Medium. The GPU has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, which are not indicative of high performance on their own. More importantly, it has just 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 20 render output units (ROPs). These are very low numbers for a modern graphics processor. The GPU also features 10 ray tracing cores, but given the low overall shader count, the ray tracing performance is likely to be minimal. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, which are figures that align with a low-end integrated solution. The FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS, which is far below what discrete gaming GPUs offer.

The memory configuration is also a major limitation. The Arc B370 uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM of its own. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," which means the GPU relies on the system’s main memory (DDR4 in this case) for all its data. This is a significant disadvantage for a game like The Medium, which likely requires large amounts of texture data. The system memory bandwidth of the CPU is 51.2 GB/s, which is shared between the CPU and GPU, further limiting performance. The lack of dedicated VRAM means that the GPU is constantly competing with the CPU for memory access, which can cause stutters and frame drops.

The GPU’s benchmark results confirm its low standing. Its only listed benchmark is 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, with a score of 1184. This places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, meaning that 95% of tested graphics cards are faster. The nearest rivals for the Arc B370 include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and the ATI Radeon HD 5770, which are both over a decade old. The delta percentages for these rivals are -0.2% and -0.5% respectively, meaning the Arc B370 is actually slightly slower than these ancient cards. This is a damning assessment of its gaming capabilities. In The Medium, the GPU’s lack of raw compute power and its reliance on shared system memory make it impossible to achieve playable frame rates at any setting other than Low at 1080p.

CPU Role

In contrast to the GPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D is a strong performer that is not the limiting factor in this pairing. The CPU has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It is based on the Zen 3 architecture (codenamed Vermeer) and is manufactured on a 7 nm process. The 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a standout feature, providing a large amount of fast memory for game data. The CPU’s benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22366 and a single-core score of 3157. The Geekbench multi-core score is 11086, and the single-core score is 1849. The Passmark multi-thread score is 26318, and the single-thread score is 2970. These numbers indicate that the CPU is more than capable of handling the demands of modern games.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D (average 24728, delta -0.1%), the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX (average 24822, delta -0.5%), the Intel Core i5-12450HX (average 24576, delta 0.5%), and the Intel Core i5-11600 (average 24563, delta 0.6%). These deltas are all within 1% of the 5700X3D’s average score of 24709, showing that it is in the same performance tier as these other processors. The CPU’s percentile rank of 77 out of 100 indicates that it is better than 77% of all tested CPUs, which is a solid result for a desktop processor. This means that in The Medium, the CPU is likely not the cause of the low frame rates.

The data shows that the CPU has an 8-core, 16-thread configuration with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, which is sufficient for the game’s requirements. The Medium is a horror game with fixed camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds in many areas, which typically do not require massive CPU resources. The 5700X3D’s strong single-thread and multi-thread performance ensures that it can feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic without becoming a bottleneck. The problem is that the GPU is so underpowered that it cannot take advantage of the CPU’s capabilities. If the Arc B370 were replaced with a discrete graphics card with a 3DMark Steel Nomad score in the thousands, the system’s performance in The Medium would improve dramatically. The CPU is ready to support a much faster GPU, but the current graphics solution holds the entire system back. The measured FPS numbers are a direct reflection of this imbalance, with the CPU waiting on the GPU for most of the frame time.