The Medium

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a performance profile in The Medium that is heavily dictated by resolution and graphics preset. The data indicates a system capable of smooth gameplay at lower settings, but one that struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions and quality levels. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across all twelve tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is severe and reveals the GPU as the primary limiting component. At Medium settings, the average frame rate falls from 49 FPS at 1920x1080 to 41 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 8 FPS. The decline becomes much more pronounced when moving to 3840x2160, where the average plummets to 32 FPS. This represents a 17 FPS loss from the 1080p result, indicating that the Arc B570’s rendering capabilities are being saturated by the pixel count at 4K.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the average drops from 78 FPS at 1920x1080 to 66 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 52 FPS at 3840x2160. The difference between the 1440p and 4K results is 14 FPS, while the gap between 1080p and 1440p is 12 FPS. This relatively even distribution suggests that the performance cost of each resolution step is substantial, with the 4K step being the most demanding on the GPU.

At High settings, the frame rates are 35 FPS at 1920x1080, 29 FPS at 2560x1440, and 23 FPS at 3840x2160. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 12 FPS, which is a 34% reduction from the starting point. For Ultra settings, the numbers are 28 FPS, 23 FPS, and 18 FPS respectively. The 4K Ultra result of 18 FPS is barely interactive, highlighting that this configuration is not suited for maximum quality at high resolutions.

The data shows that the limiting component is clearly the GPU. The Intel Core i5-14600K, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, is unlikely to be the bottleneck in this horror title. The consistent and significant frame rate drops with each resolution increase point directly to the Arc B570’s fill rate and memory bandwidth being overwhelmed, particularly at 3840x2160.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for this combo. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 49 FPS with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS. This is the only preset at this resolution that offers a balance between visual quality and smooth gameplay, staying above the 40 FPS threshold for the minimum frame rate.

The Low preset at 1920x1080 achieves 78 FPS on average, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this configuration. While this provides the most headroom for consistent performance, the visual fidelity is significantly reduced. For players prioritizing frame rate over visuals, this is the only option that approaches high refresh rate territory. The High preset at 35 FPS and Ultra at 28 FPS are both below the 30 FPS playability line, making them poor choices for a smooth experience.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields an average of 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS. This is a playable result, though it requires accepting some frame rate dips. The Low preset at 66 FPS is the smoothest option at this resolution, offering a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. High and Ultra presets, with averages of 29 FPS and 23 FPS respectively, are not recommended for active gameplay.

For 3840x2160, only the Low preset, with an average of 52 FPS, provides a consistently playable experience. The Medium preset at 32 FPS is borderline, with a minimum of 27 FPS, which will result in noticeable stuttering during intense scenes. High and Ultra presets, at 23 FPS and 18 FPS, are effectively unplayable. The recommendation is to use Medium at 1080p, Low at 1440p for higher frame rates, and Low at 4K as the only viable option.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the decisive factor in this game's performance. Based on the Xe2-HPG architecture, it operates at a consistent clock speed of 2500 MHz for both base and boost. The GPU has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is a critical resource for a game like The Medium, which likely streams large textures and environments.

The GPU's 2304 shading units and 80 ROPs are tasked with rendering the game's fixed-camera angles and detailed scenes. The data shows that the Arc B570's raw compute power is sufficient for lower resolutions and settings, but it runs out of headroom as the workload increases. The 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is adequate for 1080p Medium, but the 4K Ultra result of 18 FPS indicates that the GPU is severely overburdened at that configuration.

The memory configuration also plays a role. With 10 GB of VRAM, capacity is not likely the primary issue at these settings, but the 160-bit bus width limits the effective throughput. The 380.0 GB/s bandwidth is a moderate figure, and the frame rate drops at 4K suggest that the GPU is struggling to feed its rendering units with texture data at higher resolutions. The GPU's benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 14195, place it in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, and the measured results in this game are consistent with that mid-range positioning.

How This Combo Ranks

In the overall database of tested combinations for The Medium, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600K and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2321 out of 2911 total combos. This places it in the lower percentile of tested systems, indicating that many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher frame rates in this specific title. The rank of 2321 suggests that while the components are individually capable, their combination is not optimized for The Medium's specific engine demands.

The GPU's nearest rivals in general benchmark scores include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (with a delta of 0.1%) and the Intel Arc A750 (with a delta of -0.1%). These scores are nearly identical, meaning the Arc B570 should perform similarly to these cards in raw compute tasks. However, the measured FPS in this game indicates that the specific optimization for The Medium may differ, as the rank is based on actual game performance data.

The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H with a delta of -0.2% and the AMD EPYC 4345P with a delta of 0.3%, show that the i5-14600K is a strong processor in general workloads. The fact that the combo still ranks low in this game reinforces that the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU has ample headroom, but the Arc B570 cannot translate that into higher frame rates, especially at higher resolutions and settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K provides the computational foundation for this system. With 14 cores and 20 threads, it offers substantial multi-threaded capability. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz can boost up to 5.30 GHz, ensuring strong single-thread performance for game logic and physics. The processor has 24 MB of shared L3 cache, which helps with data reuse in complex scenes.

In The Medium, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The frame rates at lower resolutions and settings, such as 78 FPS at 1080p Low, are high enough that the CPU is not limiting the system. Even at the highest tested configuration, the 18 FPS result at 4K Ultra is far below what the CPU is capable of supporting. The i5-14600K's benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064, indicate it can handle demanding workloads without becoming a bottleneck.

The processor's 125 W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory give it flexibility, but these factors do not directly impact the measured FPS in this game. The data suggests that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor in this combo. The performance ceiling is set by the Arc B570, and the i5-14600K has sufficient performance headroom to keep up with the GPU's output at all tested settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset for this combo in The Medium is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 78 FPS. The Medium preset averages 49 FPS, with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS. High settings produce an average of 35 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 28 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 66 FPS. Medium settings average 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. High settings average 29 FPS, and Ultra settings average 23 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 52 FPS. Medium settings average 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS. High settings average 23 FPS, and Ultra settings average 18 FPS.

These numbers show a clear pattern. The Medium preset is the only one that provides a consistent frame rate window across all resolutions, but it falls below 30 FPS at 4K. The Low preset is the only option that maintains an average above 50 FPS at 4K. The data also shows that the minimum frame rate for Medium settings is consistently about 5 FPS below the average, indicating some frame time variance in demanding scenes.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 provides the best performance. At Low settings, the average is 78 FPS, and at Medium settings, the average is 49 FPS. Higher resolutions result in significant frame rate reductions.

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

A: Only at the Low preset, which achieves an average of 52 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 32 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets average 23 FPS and 18 FPS respectively, which are not playable.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its closest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 20556. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, has a score of 20534 with a delta of 0.1%, while the Intel Arc A750 has a score of 20582 with a delta of -0.1%. The performance is nearly identical.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The Intel Core i5-14600K has significant processing power, but the Arc B570's frame rates drop consistently with increasing resolution and settings, indicating the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 66 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 23 FPS. This is a difference of 43 FPS, with the Ultra preset delivering less than half the frame rate of Low.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The minimum frame rate data is only provided for Medium settings. At 1920x1080, the minimum is 41 FPS. At 2560x1440, the minimum is 35 FPS. At 3840x2160, the minimum is 27 FPS.