The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a peculiar performance curve in The Medium, one that is heavily dictated by resolution and settings. This combination ranks 2321st out of 2911 tested combos in this specific title, placing it in the lower third of the database. The data reveals a system that can achieve playable frame rates at lower resolutions but collapses under the load of 4K and Ultra presets, making it a pairing that demands careful settings management rather than brute-force graphical fidelity.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and non-linear, indicating that the Intel Arc B570 is the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 78 FPS at 1920x1080 to 66 FPS at 2560x1440, a modest 15% reduction. However, pushing to 3840x2160 at Low yields 52 FPS, a 33% drop from the 1440p figure and a 33% drop from 1080p overall. This scaling pattern suggests the GPU still has headroom at 1080p but begins to hit memory bandwidth or shading limits as the pixel workload increases.

The Medium preset tells a similar story but with steeper cliffs. At 1080p, the combo manages 49 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 41 FPS, a 16% reduction. At 4K, the average plunges to 32 FPS, a 35% drop from 1440p and a 35% drop from 1080p. This is a clear sign that the game's fixed-function units and VRAM allocation are being stressed. The 10 GB frame buffer and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth work fine at lower resolutions, but 4K texture streaming appears to overwhelm the memory subsystem, evidenced by the min FPS of 27 at 4K Medium versus 35 at 1440p Medium.

High settings exacerbate the issue further. The 1080p High average is 35 FPS, which is already marginal. At 1440p High, it falls to 29 FPS, and at 4K High, it bottoms out at 23 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High is a 34% loss, but the absolute numbers are so low that the percentage is meaningless. The Ultra preset is essentially unplayable across all resolutions, with 28 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K. The data shows that resolution scaling is the dominant factor: the CPU's 16 cores and 32 threads are irrelevant once the GPU is saturated, which happens quickly in this horror title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It operates on the AMD Socket AM4 platform with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provide ample feeding for the GPU. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 26017 points in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1614 points in the single-core test, showing strong multi-threaded capability.

However, in The Medium, the CPU appears to be a non-factor. The benchmark results show that frame rates are almost entirely dictated by resolution and GPU settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 78 FPS, which is the highest recorded average. This is likely because the CPU can feed the GPU quickly enough at lower pixel counts, but the GPU's 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 2304 shading units become the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The CPU's 3DMark scores — 10810 for 16 threads, 6598 for 8 threads, and 944 for single-thread — indicate it can handle the game's logic and draw calls without issue. The game's horror genre typically uses fixed camera angles and limited dynamic elements, which favors single-thread performance, but the 5950X's single-core score of 1614 in Cinebench R23 is sufficient.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution. At 4K Ultra, where the average FPS is 18, the CPU is likely idle waiting for the GPU to finish rendering. The CPU's 105 W TDP and 7 nm process node are irrelevant to the game's performance; what matters is that the 5950X provides a stable platform. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i9-13900F with a deltaPct of 0.4% and the Intel Core i7-14700 with a deltaPct of -0.7%, show negligible performance differences in synthetic tests, reinforcing that the CPU is not the differentiator in this combo.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the star and the weak link here. Based on the Xe2-HPG architecture, codenamed Battlemage, this GPU features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines. It has 18 ray tracing cores and operates at a fixed 2500 MHz base and boost clock. The 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is decent for the price segment but insufficient for 4K Ultra in this title.

The GPU's synthetic benchmarks show it sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, scores 20534 with a deltaPct of 0.1%, meaning the B570 is effectively tied with that mobile part. The Intel Arc A750 is also close at 20582 with a deltaPct of -0.1%. This puts the B570 in a performance class that is competitive at 1080p but struggles at higher resolutions.

In The Medium, the GPU's 10 GB VRAM is the critical constraint. At 4K High, the average FPS of 23 suggests the game is swapping textures or compressing them, leading to stutter. The measured FPS range at 4K Medium (27 min, 37 max) shows variance that indicates memory pressure. The GPU's 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate and 360.0 GTexel/s texture rate are not enough to maintain smooth frame pacing at 4K. The 18 RT cores are present, but the game's use of ray tracing is likely minimal, so they contribute little to overall performance. The GPU's PCIe 4.0 x8 interface is sufficient, but the 150 W TDP and single 8-pin power connector limit its ability to boost under sustained load.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2321 out of 2911 tested combinations places this system in the 20th percentile of all tested hardware pairings in The Medium. This is a poor showing, driven almost entirely by the GPU's inability to handle high-resolution workloads. The 5950X is a top-tier CPU, ranking in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, but it cannot compensate for the B570's limitations. The combo ranks lower than what either component might achieve with a more balanced partner.

The data shows that the bottleneck is severe. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 78 FPS, which is playable, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 18 FPS, which is a slideshow. The rank of 2321 reflects this inconsistency. For comparison, a system with the same CPU but a stronger GPU would rank significantly higher, while a system with the same GPU but a weaker CPU would rank similarly, proving that the GPU is the limiting factor. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is only viable for 1080p gaming at Medium or Low settings, and even then, it is not a high-refresh-rate experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive picture of this combo's behavior. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 78 FPS, with no min or max recorded. The Medium preset averages 49 FPS, with a min of 41 and max of 56. High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. These numbers show that 1080p is the only resolution where the combo can approach smooth gameplay, but only on Low settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 66 FPS, which is a 15% drop from 1080p Low. Medium averages 41 FPS, with a min of 35 and max of 47. High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 23 FPS. The 1440p Medium result is borderline playable, but the min FPS of 35 suggests occasional dips that could be noticeable in a horror game where atmosphere is key.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 52 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that comes close to playable. Medium averages 32 FPS, with a min of 27 and max of 37. High averages 23 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. The 4K results are uniformly poor, with the Ultra preset being completely unplayable. The data shows a clear trend: the combo loses approximately 10-15 FPS for each step up in resolution at the same settings, and another 10-15 FPS for each step up in settings at the same resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 with the Low preset, yielding 78 FPS. This provides a smooth frame rate that is essential for a horror game where timing and responsiveness matter. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 49 FPS, which is still playable but introduces a 37% performance penalty for marginal visual gains. The High and Ultra presets at 1080p are not recommended, as they drop below 35 FPS, which is too low for consistent gameplay.

If the user insists on 1440p, the Low preset at 66 FPS is the only viable option. The Medium preset at 41 FPS is borderline, but the min FPS of 35 could lead to stutter during intense scenes. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p are not recommended, with averages of 29 FPS and 23 FPS respectively. At 4K, the Low preset at 52 FPS is the only acceptable choice, but even that is marginal. The Medium preset at 32 FPS is too low, and the High and Ultra presets at 23 FPS and 18 FPS are unplayable.

The data indicates that the best balance of visual fidelity and performance is the 1080p Medium preset, which averages 49 FPS. While the Low preset is faster, the jump to Medium provides better texture detail and lighting that enhances the horror atmosphere. The min FPS of 41 at 1080p Medium is acceptable, and the max of 56 shows headroom. For users with a 1080p monitor, this is the recommended setting. For those with a 1440p or 4K display, the Low preset is the only way to achieve playable frame rates, and even then, the experience will be compromised. This combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with conservative settings, and users should avoid pushing beyond Medium at that resolution.