The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the Intel Arc B570 presents a compelling dataset for The Medium, a horror title known for its fixed-camera angles and dual-reality rendering. The measured frames per second across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a configuration that is consistently capable at 1080p but struggles to maintain playability as resolution and graphical load increase. The data indicates that the optimal experience hinges on a deliberate choice between visual fidelity and frame rate stability, with the system’s performance ceiling clearly defined by the graphics card.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results for this combination point decisively toward the Low preset as the only setting that guarantees a consistently fluid experience at every resolution. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 78 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. This is 29 FPS higher than the Medium preset at the same resolution, demonstrating a massive performance headroom that can be traded for visual quality if the user is willing to accept a lower frame rate. However, for a game like The Medium, where atmosphere and immersion are paramount, a higher preset is often desirable, but the data shows that the cost is steep.

The Medium preset appears to be the best compromise for a playable experience with enhanced visuals, but only at 1920x1080. Here, the average frame rate drops to 49 FPS, with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS. This frame rate is generally acceptable for a slow-paced horror game, as the genre does not demand the high refresh rates of competitive shooters. The 41 FPS minimum suggests there are moments of strain, but the overall average indicates that the game is mostly smooth. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset falls to an average of 41 FPS, which is on the edge of playability, and at 3840x2160, it collapses to 32 FPS. Therefore, the Medium preset is only recommended for 1080p gaming.

The High and Ultra presets are not recommended for this configuration in any practical sense. At 1920x1080, High yields only 35 FPS, and Ultra drops to 28 FPS. These averages are below the threshold for a comfortable experience, and the minimum frame rates are likely to dip even lower, causing noticeable stutter. At higher resolutions, these presets become completely unplayable, with High at 4K producing an average of just 23 FPS and Ultra producing 18 FPS. The performance cost of these presets is not justified by the marginal visual improvements they offer over Medium, especially given the game's dark and often static scenes.

Ultimately, the measured data suggests that users should default to the Low preset at 2560x1440 or 3840x2160 to achieve a smooth 52-66 FPS experience. For those prioritizing visual quality at 1080p, the Medium preset is the only viable option that maintains a playable frame rate, as it offers a significant improvement over Low without the dramatic performance penalty of High or Ultra. The Ultra preset, despite being the highest quality option, is a performance trap for this hardware combination.

FAQ

Q: What is the best frame rate this CPU and GPU combination can achieve in The Medium?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 78 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: The data indicates that 4K gaming is only feasible with the Low preset, which produces an average of 52 FPS. All other presets at 4K fall below 32 FPS, with Ultra dropping to an unplayable 18 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K with the Medium preset?

A: The average frame rate at 1080p Medium is 49 FPS, which drops to 32 FPS at 4K Medium. This represents a performance reduction of 17 FPS, or roughly 35% of the original frame rate.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B570 in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The CPU has a high average benchmark score of 37943 and is in the 86th percentile, while the GPU's performance declines steeply with resolution increases, a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B570 a higher-performing component than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X?

A: The CPU has a higher average benchmark score of 37943 compared to the GPU's 20556. The CPU also ranks in the 86th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 65th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What are the minimum frame rates like for the Medium preset?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum frame rates. At 1080p, the minimum is 41 FPS, at 1440p it is 35 FPS, and at 4K it is 27 FPS. These lows indicate the system can experience significant hitches during intense scenes.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable trend in how this combination scales with resolution. At 1920x1080 with the Low preset, the system achieves an average of 78 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rate drops to 66 FPS, a decrease of 12 FPS. Jumping to 3840x2160, the frame rate falls further to 52 FPS. This pattern shows that the performance penalty is not linear but becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions.

This scaling behavior strongly indicates that the system is GPU-bound in The Medium. The CPU, an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X with 8 cores and 16 threads, is a high-end desktop processor with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz and a strong single-thread benchmark score of 1280 in 3dmark. It is unlikely to be the limiting factor at any resolution. Instead, the Intel Arc B570, with its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth, is being tasked with rendering an increasing number of pixels. The significant frame rate drops as resolution increases are a hallmark of a graphics card reaching its fill-rate and memory bandwidth limits.

The data shows that the most severe scaling drop occurs between 1440p and 4K. For example, with the Medium preset, the average frame rate drops from 41 FPS at 1440p to 32 FPS at 4K, a 9 FPS loss. While the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 8 FPS (from 49 to 41), the relative percentage loss is greater at the higher resolution. This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s and its 160-bit bus width become a significant bottleneck when pushing the higher pixel counts of 4K, especially with the more demanding Medium and High presets.

The implication is that users with 1080p monitors will have the most flexibility, as the GPU has enough headroom to handle higher settings. For 1440p, the Low preset is the sweet spot for smooth performance. At 4K, the system is only viable on the absolute lowest settings, and even then, the 52 FPS average is not ideal for all users. The game's rendering engine appears to be heavily dependent on raw pixel throughput, which is the Arc B570's principal weakness in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database for The Medium, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and Intel Arc B570 holds a rank of 2321 out of a total of 2911 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 20% of all systems tested for this game. This ranking is surprisingly low, especially considering the individual components' performance in their respective synthetic benchmarks.

The low combo rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's performance in this specific title. While the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X has an average benchmark score of 37943 and ranks in the 86th percentile of all CPUs, the Intel Arc B570's average score of 20556 places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The GPU's performance is further contextualized by its nearest rivals, which include the Intel Arc A750. The B570's average score is 0.1% lower than the Arc A750, indicating it is a comparable, but not superior, performer in general synthetic tests.

However, the combination's rank in The Medium suggests that the GPU's architectural strengths are not well-suited to this particular game's engine. The Arc B570's performance in this title is likely dragging the overall system ranking down. The high-performing CPU, which is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i9-14901E and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core 5 211E in average benchmark score, cannot compensate for the GPU's inability to maintain high frame rates at higher settings and resolutions.

This rank of 2321 serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of game-specific performance. A system with a top-tier CPU and a mid-range GPU can still underperform if the GPU is not optimized for the game in question. The data suggests that users with this combo are getting a CPU that has significant headroom, but that headroom is wasted in The Medium because the GPU becomes the limiting factor long before the CPU's potential is reached. For a more favorable ranking, a more powerful GPU would be necessary to better complement the Ryzen 7 9700X.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a formidable processor on paper, and its benchmark results in the FACT PACK corroborate this. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture, and operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform. With a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, it has the raw speed to handle demanding workloads. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core provide ample fast memory for game logic and physics calculations.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role appears to be secondary. The game is not known for being CPU-intensive, and the measured FPS data shows a strong dependency on resolution, which is a characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios. The CPU's high single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3dmark single-thread score of 1280 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2211, means it can easily handle the game's main thread, which is responsible for game logic and draw calls.

The data implies that the Ryzen 7 9700X is never the bottleneck in this configuration. Even at the lowest resolution and settings, where the GPU has the least amount of work to do, the frame rate is capped at 78 FPS. This is likely due to the GPU's rendering capabilities rather than any limitation from the CPU. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see the frame rates at 1080p Low and 1080p Medium to be closer together, as the increased graphical load would not impact the CPU's workload. However, we see a significant drop from 78 to 49 FPS, indicating the GPU is the primary constraint.

Furthermore, the CPU's high average benchmark score of 37943, which places it in the 86th percentile of all CPUs, suggests it has far more performance headroom than the game requires. Its 16 threads are more than sufficient for modern games, and its 8 cores provide excellent parallelism for background tasks. In this pairing, the Ryzen 7 9700X is an enabler, providing a stable platform for the GPU to operate, but it is not the star of the show. The game's frame rate is dictated by the GPU's ability to render frames, not the CPU's ability to calculate them.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across all tested scenarios. At 1920x1080, the system shows a clear hierarchy: Low is the fastest at 78 FPS, followed by Medium at 49 FPS, High at 35 FPS, and Ultra at 28 FPS. The Medium preset has a recorded minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS, showing some variance but a generally stable experience. The other presets have no recorded minimums, but their averages suggest they are not ideal for consistent play.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down across the board. The Low preset yields 66 FPS, which is still very playable. The Medium preset drops to 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. This is the last playable setting at this resolution. The High preset falls to 29 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 23 FPS, both of which are too low for a smooth experience. The step-down from Low to Medium is 25 FPS, a significant loss for a single quality tier.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations are fully exposed. The Low preset is the only option that remains playable, achieving an average of 52 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 FPS, indicating that even this preset will experience noticeable stuttering. The High preset falls to 23 FPS, and the Ultra preset is virtually unplayable at 18 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 20 FPS, showing that the GPU's rendering capabilities are severely strained.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the gap between Low and Medium is always the largest, suggesting that the Medium preset introduces a significant graphical feature that is very demanding on the GPU. The gap between Medium and High, and High and Ultra, is smaller but still substantial. The lack of minimum FPS data for most presets is a limitation, but the averages are low enough to infer that the experience would be poor. The 4K Medium data, with its 27 FPS minimum, is the only concrete evidence of the frame drops that are likely occurring in other demanding scenarios.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the defining component in this performance analysis. Its specifications, including 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, provide a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. It has 2304 shading units and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, which translates to a theoretical FP32 performance of 11.52 TFLOPS. While these are respectable numbers for a mid-range card, the measured performance in The Medium suggests they are insufficient for high-fidelity gaming at higher resolutions.

The GPU's role as the primary bottleneck is evident from the resolution scaling data. The frame rate drops significantly as the resolution increases, which is a direct consequence of the GPU having to render more pixels. The 10 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for the game's textures at 1080p and 1440p, but the 160-bit memory bus may struggle to feed the GPU enough data at 4K. This is reflected in the steep performance cliff observed between the 1440p and 4K results.

The GPU's benchmark scores further contextualize its performance. Its average benchmark score of 20556 places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival is the Intel Arc A750, which has a score 0.1% higher. This indicates that the B570 is a competent mid-range card, but it is not a high-end performer. Its Passmark G3D score of 14195 is its strongest result, but its DirectX 12 score of 72 is low, which may hint at driver or architectural inefficiencies in certain workloads.

In The Medium, the GPU's performance is the single most important factor. The data shows that to achieve a smooth 60+ FPS experience, the user must sacrifice visual quality by selecting the Low preset at 1080p or 1440p. The GPU simply does not have the raw power to maintain high frame rates with the more demanding Medium, High, and Ultra presets, especially at 1440p and 4K. The 150 W TDP and suggested 450 W PSU indicate it is an efficient card, but its performance ceiling is clear. This pairing highlights that the Intel Arc B570 is best suited for 1080p gaming with modest settings, and it will struggle in more graphically demanding titles at higher resolutions.