The Medium

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the Intel Arc B370 in The Medium produces a dataset that is heavily constrained by the graphics processor. Across all tested resolutions and settings, the frame rates are low, indicating that the integrated Arc B370 is the definitive bottleneck in this configuration. This analysis examines the measured performance data, contextualizing the results against the hardware's broader benchmark profiles.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and consistent decline in performance as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Medium preset, which is the only setting with complete data across all three resolutions, the average frame rate drops from 29 FPS at 1080p to 24 FPS at 1440p, and further down to 19 FPS at 4K. This represents a reduction of roughly 17% when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and an additional 21% drop when moving from 1440p to 4K.

This scaling pattern strongly indicates that the limiting component is the GPU. If the CPU were the primary constraint, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the processor's workload would not change significantly with pixel count. Instead, the clear and progressive FPS loss with higher resolutions points to the Arc B370's rendering capabilities being overwhelmed by the increasing pixel fill-rate demands.

At the Low preset, the performance scaling is even more pronounced. The average FPS at 1080p is 46, which drops to 39 at 1440p (a 15% decrease) and then to 30 at 4K (a 23% decrease from 1440p). This pattern suggests that even at the lowest graphical fidelity, the GPU is still the primary bottleneck. The jump from Low to High settings at any given resolution also shows a significant performance penalty, further confirming the GPU's limited headroom.

The data shows that the transition from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing for this combo, with the average FPS falling below 20 in most settings. For instance, High settings at 4K yields only 14 FPS, and Ultra settings produce a near-unplayable 11 FPS. The only way to achieve a somewhat interactive frame rate at 4K is to use the Low preset, which still only manages an average of 30 FPS.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best performance this combo can achieve in The Medium?*

A: The highest average FPS recorded in the measured data is 46 FPS, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600K or the Intel Arc B370 the limiting factor in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary limitation. This is evident from the significant frame rate drops as resolution increases, which is a classic symptom of GPU-bound performance, alongside the GPU's low overall benchmark percentile.

Q: How does the performance drop when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At the Medium preset, the average frame rate falls from 29 FPS at 1920x1080 to 19 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a substantial performance hit, with the 4K result being roughly 34% lower than the 1080p result.

*Q: Can this combo run The Medium at a consistent 30 FPS?*

A: The data shows that a 30 FPS average is only achievable at 1920x1080 with Low settings (46 FPS) and at 4K with Low settings (30 FPS). At 1440p Low, the average is 39 FPS. All other tested settings and resolution combinations fall below the 30 FPS mark.

Q: How does the Medium preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 24 FPS, which is 7 FPS higher than the High preset's average of 17 FPS. The Medium preset also provides a minimum FPS of 21, whereas the High preset's minimum FPS is not recorded.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 46 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages only 16 FPS. This is a difference of 30 FPS, or roughly a 65% reduction in average frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest graphical fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for The Medium, this particular pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600K and Intel Arc B370 ranks at 2681 out of 2911 total combos. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations, which is consistent with the low frame rates observed in the measured data.

This poor ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's capabilities. The Intel Arc B370 has a percentile ranking of 5 against all GPUs, meaning it performs better than only a small fraction of the graphics cards in the database. Its average benchmark score of 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, which include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, with performance deltas of -0.2% and -0.7% respectively.

In contrast, the Intel Core i5-14600K is a much stronger component. It holds a 90th percentile ranking against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48618. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, have performance deltas of -0.2% and -0.8% respectively, showing that the CPU is competitive with high-end server and desktop processors.

The stark contrast between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's low percentile, combined with the combo's low rank in this game, underscores that the Arc B370 is the component holding back the entire system. The CPU's substantial processing power is largely wasted in The Medium because the GPU cannot keep up with the rendering demands.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only settings that provide a playable experience are those at the Low preset. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 46 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. This should be considered the target setting for a smooth experience.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields an average of 39 FPS, which is still within a playable range. However, the Medium preset at 1440p drops to an average of 24 FPS, which is less desirable for a game that likely benefits from stable frame rates. At 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only option that achieves a 30 FPS average, but it is likely to be a borderline experience.

The Medium preset, while offering better visual fidelity than Low, produces averages of 29 FPS at 1080p, 24 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. These numbers suggest that for a consistently smooth experience, the Low preset is necessary. The High and Ultra presets are not recommended, as they produce average frame rates in the teens or low twenties, which would result in a stuttery and visually unpleasant experience. The data clearly indicates that to get the best performance from this combo, users should prioritize the Low settings preset, with 1080p being the optimal resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the combo's performance envelope across different resolutions and quality settings.

At 1920x1080, the performance ranges from a low of 16 FPS on Ultra to a high of 46 FPS on Low. The Medium settings produce an average of 29 FPS, with a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS. The High preset averages 21 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are lower. The Low preset averages 39 FPS. The Medium preset averages 24 FPS, with a minimum of 21 FPS and a maximum of 28 FPS. The High preset averages 17 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 14 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance is at its lowest. The Low preset averages 30 FPS. The Medium preset averages 19 FPS, with a minimum of 16 FPS and a maximum of 22 FPS. The High preset averages 14 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 11 FPS. This data demonstrates that the combo cannot handle 4K resolution with any reasonable graphical fidelity, and even at 1080p, users are limited to the Low preset for acceptable performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a high-performance processor with 14 cores and 20 threads. It features a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This architecture, based on Raptor Lake, provides substantial multi-threaded and single-threaded processing power, as evidenced by its strong benchmark scores. For instance, it scores 24491 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2064 in single-core tests.

However, in The Medium, the CPU's role appears to be secondary. The frame rates are consistently low across all settings, and the steep decline in performance with increasing resolution indicates that the processor is not the limiting factor. The GPU is unable to feed frames fast enough to utilize the CPU's full potential. This is a classic scenario where a powerful CPU is paired with a weak GPU, resulting in the GPU being the sole bottleneck.

The CPU's high benchmark scores, such as 16673 in Geekbench multi-core and 38682 in Passmark multithread, are irrelevant to the final frame rate in this game because the GPU is saturated. The data suggests that this game is heavily GPU-bound with this configuration, and even a less powerful CPU would likely produce similar frame rates, as the Arc B370 is the component that determines the performance ceiling.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and built on a 3 nm process. It has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. Its boost clock is 2400 MHz, and it relies on system shared memory, making its bandwidth system-dependent. This GPU has a very low performance profile, with a 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs. Its only recorded benchmark score is 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, which is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570.

In The Medium, the GPU's limitations are fully exposed. Its low raw compute power, with an FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS, is insufficient for the game's rendering demands. The data shows that the GPU cannot maintain a 30 FPS average at any resolution above 1080p with Medium settings or higher. The GPU is clearly the primary bottleneck, as its performance dictates the final frame rate regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

The fact that the GPU has system shared memory and a system-dependent bandwidth further compounds its limitations, as it must contend with the system RAM for data access. This combination of low compute throughput and shared memory resources makes the Arc B370 unsuitable for demanding games like The Medium, as the measured FPS data confirms.