The Medium

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the Intel Arc B570 produces a specific and revealing performance profile in The Medium, a horror title that stresses both processor and graphics hardware. The data shows a combination that is clearly capable at lower resolutions and settings but encounters significant limitations as graphical demands escalate. The measured results across the 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions provide a clear picture of where this system excels and where it struggles, pointing directly to the GPU as the primary constraint in the most demanding scenarios.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. Its cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and a substantial 24 MB of shared L3 cache. This processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. The CPU’s synthetic benchmark scores are strong, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32544 and a single-core score of 4594, which place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to manage game logic, physics, and the core rendering thread. The high single-core performance, evidenced by the 4594 Cinebench R23 score, is critical for maintaining frame pacing and avoiding bottlenecks in scenes with complex scripting. The multicore capability, with a Cinebench R20 score of 13668 and a Geekbench multicore score of 17085, ensures that background tasks and the game's multi-threaded elements do not impede performance. The benchmark results indicate that the i5-14600KF is not the limiting factor in this pairing; its processing headroom is ample for the workloads presented by the game. The processor’s average benchmark score of 49394 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which has an average score of 49228, showing a negligible delta of 0.3%. This suggests that the CPU's computational power is consistent and reliable, providing a stable foundation for the GPU to render frames.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B570 is a discrete graphics card built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, also known as Battlemage, and fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. It features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operations pipelines. The GPU operates at a consistent base and boost clock of 2500 MHz and is equipped with 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. Its compute capabilities include an FP32 throughput of 11.52 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s. The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, which are pertinent for a modern title like The Medium. The Arc B570 holds a 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556.

The GPU's role in The Medium is dominant, as the game's visual fidelity heavily relies on the graphics card. The data shows that the Arc B570's performance is the primary determinant of frame rates, especially at higher resolutions and settings. The 10 GB VRAM buffer is sufficient for the game's textures at most settings, but the GPU's raw compute power becomes a limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the system produces an average of only 18 FPS, indicating that the graphics card is overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and intensive settings. The GPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is tight; it is within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and within 0.1% of the Intel Arc A750, showing that it sits in a specific performance tier. The data implies that while the GPU is capable at lower loads, its architecture and compute resources are strained by the demands of The Medium at its highest settings.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested hardware combinations for The Medium, the Intel Core i5-14600KF and Intel Arc B570 pairing is ranked 2321 out of 2911 total combos. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the overall performance distribution, indicating that while the system is functional, many other configurations deliver higher frame rates. The rank is a holistic measure that incorporates all tested settings and resolutions, and it reflects the GPU's struggles at higher graphical loads.

This specific ranking suggests that the combination is not optimized for the game's most demanding scenarios. The CPU is a high-end component, but the GPU's mid-range positioning holds the combo back in the aggregate ranking. When compared to other combos that might feature the same CPU with a stronger GPU, the Arc B570's contributions are the differentiating factor. The combo’s rank of 2321 out of 2911 means that approximately 20% of tested configurations perform worse, while the vast majority of systems outperform it. This is a clear indicator that the system is balanced for lower-resolution gaming but falls behind in high-fidelity or high-resolution contexts. The data points to the GPU as the component that defines the combo's position in the rankings, as the CPU's high percentile rank (90th) does not translate into a similarly high combo rank.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a granular view of the system's performance across different resolutions and quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system achieves its highest frame rates. With Low settings, it averages 78 FPS, which is the best result in the entire dataset. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 49 FPS, with a minimum of 41 FPS and a maximum of 56 FPS. High settings yield an average of 35 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 28 FPS. This progression shows a clear linear relationship between settings and performance at 1080p, with the system remaining playable even at Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the performance degrades noticeably. Low settings produce an average of 66 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium settings drop the average to 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. High settings average 29 FPS, and Ultra settings average just 23 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a significant performance cost, particularly at higher settings. At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 52 FPS, which is acceptable, but Medium settings drop to 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS. High settings average 23 FPS, and Ultra settings average only 18 FPS. The data clearly shows that 4K resolution is only viable on the lowest settings, with any increase in graphical fidelity pushing the frame rate below acceptable thresholds.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the system's performance bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 78 at 1080p to 66 at 1440p and then to 52 at 4K. This represents a 33% decrease in performance from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the average drops from 49 at 1080p to 41 at 1440p and 32 at 4K, a 35% decrease. At High settings, the average drops from 35 at 1080p to 29 at 1440p and 23 at 4K, a 34% decrease. At Ultra settings, the average drops from 28 at 1080p to 23 at 1440p and 18 at 4K, a 36% decrease.

The consistent percentage drop across all settings indicates that the performance scaling is primarily driven by the GPU's rendering load. As resolution increases, the number of pixels that the Arc B570 must process grows, and its fill rate and compute resources become the limiting factor. The CPU's performance, which is ample for this game, does not show signs of being a bottleneck at any resolution; the frame rate drops are directly proportional to the increase in pixel count. This pattern strongly suggests that the Intel Arc B570's 10 GB VRAM and 11.52 TFLOPS of compute power are the constraints, as the system cannot maintain frame rates at higher resolutions regardless of the graphical preset. The data implies that for a smoother 4K experience, a more powerful GPU would be necessary, as the current one is saturated by the resolution demands.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo can achieve in The Medium?

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

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900's score of 49228.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: The system can only achieve an average of 52 FPS at 4K with Low settings. At Medium settings, the average drops to 32 FPS, and at High and Ultra settings, it falls to 23 and 18 FPS, respectively, which are not playable.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested systems?

A: This CPU and GPU combination is ranked 2321 out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium.

Q: Which component is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions?

A: The data shows the Intel Arc B570 is the limiting factor. Frame rates drop proportionally with resolution increases, while the CPU's high benchmark scores indicate it has sufficient headroom.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system records a minimum FPS of 35 and a maximum FPS of 47, with an average of 41 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this hardware combination depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Medium preset provides a balanced experience, with an average of 49 FPS, a minimum of 41 FPS, and a maximum of 56 FPS. This setting offers a solid frame rate that is smooth for most gameplay scenarios while maintaining better visual fidelity than Low settings. The High preset at 1080p averages 35 FPS, which is playable but may feel less fluid during intense scenes.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, delivering an average of 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS. This is the highest quality setting that maintains a frame rate near the 40 FPS threshold, which is preferable for a horror game that relies on atmosphere. The Low preset at 1440p averages 66 FPS, which is very smooth, but the visual quality reduction may detract from the game's intended mood. The High and Ultra presets at this resolution produce averages of 29 and 23 FPS, respectively, which are too low for a comfortable experience.

For 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only viable option, with an average of 52 FPS. This is the only 4K setting that approaches acceptable playability. The Medium preset at 4K averages 32 FPS, which is below the threshold for a smooth experience. Consequently, users targeting 4K should accept the Low preset, while those at 1080p or 1440p should use the Medium preset to balance visual quality and performance. The data indicates that seeking higher settings at 4K will result in an unplayable experience, so the Medium preset at lower resolutions is the optimal configuration for this system.