The Medium

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the Intel Arc B370 ranks 2681st out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. This is a severely GPU-bound pairing for this title, where the processor’s strong multi-threaded capabilities are effectively neutralized by a graphics solution that delivers playable frame rates only at the lowest settings. The data indicates that this combo is not suitable for the game’s higher presets, with even 1080p Medium producing an average of just 29 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2681 out of 2911 tested configurations places it in the 7.9th percentile of all systems tested in The Medium. This is a decisive bottom-decile result, indicating that the combination is fundamentally mismatched for this horror title’s rendering demands. The ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU component, which itself holds a 5th percentile position among all graphics cards, while the CPU sits at the 84th percentile among all processors. The massive gap between the processor’s high standing and the graphics card’s low standing explains why the overall combo performs so poorly: the system’s ceiling is set by the Arc B370, and the i7-12700K’s headroom goes unused.

When compared to other tested combos, this configuration’s performance is closer to entry-level integrated graphics solutions than to any modern gaming desktop. The GPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (0.2% faster), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (0.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (0.7% faster), with only the AMD FirePro M2000 being slower (1.4% behind). These are all legacy or low-power parts, and the fact that the Arc B370 trades blows with them in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test (scoring 1184) confirms that this is not a gaming-class discrete GPU. The CPU, by contrast, sits within 0.4% of the Intel Core i5-13600T, Core i7-12700KF, Core i7-13700T, and Intel Core 5 213PE in average benchmark score, showing that the processor is squarely in mid-range desktop territory.

The implication for The Medium is clear: the combo rank is poor not because the CPU is weak, but because the GPU cannot sustain the frame rates required for a smooth experience at any resolution above 1080p Low. The 2911-combo dataset shows that this pairing is an outlier at the low end, and users should not expect to run this game at high or ultra settings with playable results.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, with system-shared memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS. The GPU’s 25 W TDP and IGP slot width confirm its integrated nature, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

In The Medium, the GPU’s role is the dominant bottleneck. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, the average frame rate is 46 FPS, which is the highest score achieved across all tested settings and resolutions. Moving up to 1080p Medium drops the average to 29 FPS, and 1080p High falls to 21 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average collapses to 11 FPS. This steep performance cliff is characteristic of a GPU with insufficient memory bandwidth and compute resources for high-resolution rendering, and the system-shared memory architecture means the GPU competes with the CPU for memory access, further limiting throughput.

The GPU’s 5th percentile ranking among all graphics cards is reflected in these in-game results. The nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks — all of which are over a decade old — demonstrate that the Arc B370 is not designed for modern gaming workloads. The Medium’s fixed camera angles and pre-rendered environments still require substantial fill rate and shader work, and the Arc B370’s 20 ROPs and 40 TMUs are simply insufficient for the game’s visual complexity at higher presets. The ray tracing cores are present, but the game does not appear to leverage them in a way that compensates for the raw throughput deficit.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU that is severely overburdened at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 46 at 1080p to 39 at 1440p (a 15.2% reduction) and then to 30 at 4K (a 34.8% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU that is already near its limits at 1080p, where the resolution increase compounds the existing performance deficit. At Medium settings, the drop is from 29 FPS at 1080p to 24 FPS at 1440p (17.2% reduction) and 19 FPS at 4K (34.5% reduction from 1080p). The proportional losses are consistent across settings, indicating that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors rather than any specific setting.

At High settings, the scaling is even steeper: 21 FPS at 1080p falls to 17 FPS at 1440p (19.0% reduction) and 14 FPS at 4K (33.3% reduction from 1080p). Ultra settings show the most dramatic collapse, with 16 FPS at 1080p dropping to 14 FPS at 1440p (12.5% reduction) and 11 FPS at 4K (31.3% reduction from 1080p). The fact that 1080p Ultra only achieves 16 FPS average — below the 19 FPS seen at 4K Medium — suggests that the setting’s additional effects (likely volumetric lighting and shadow quality) are as costly as a 4x resolution increase. This is a clear sign that the GPU is the limiting component; a CPU-bound system would show much smaller FPS differences across resolutions.

The data also shows that the minimum FPS values, where recorded, are close to the averages. At 1080p Medium, the min FPS is 24 against an average of 29; at 1440p Medium, min is 21 against 24; at 4K Medium, min is 16 against 19. This narrow range indicates that the GPU is consistently saturated rather than experiencing occasional spikes or drops, reinforcing the conclusion that the Arc B370 is running at maximum capacity in all scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the best result is 46 FPS average on Low settings, which is the only preset that approaches playability. Medium yields 29 FPS average with a range of 24 to 33 FPS, High produces 21 FPS, and Ultra drops to 16 FPS. None of the 1080p settings achieve a stable 60 FPS, and even the Low preset’s 46 FPS average is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The gap between Low and Medium is 17 FPS, which is substantial, but the jump from Medium to High is only 8 FPS, and High to Ultra is 5 FPS — indicating diminishing returns for the higher presets.

At 2560x1440, the pattern is similar but lower across the board. Low averages 39 FPS, Medium 24 FPS (with a 21 to 28 FPS range), High 17 FPS, and Ultra 14 FPS. The 1440p results are consistently about 15-20% lower than 1080p, which aligns with the resolution pixel count increase of 77%. This suggests that the GPU is not bandwidth-limited in the traditional sense, but rather compute-limited, as the scaling is less than the pixel count difference would predict.

At 3840x2160, the results are marginal. Low averages 30 FPS, which is the only 4K preset above 20 FPS. Medium averages 19 FPS (16 to 22 FPS range), High 14 FPS, and Ultra 11 FPS. The 4K Low result of 30 FPS is technically playable but with significant compromises in visual quality. The 4K Medium and above results are below the threshold for comfortable gameplay, and the 11 FPS Ultra score is essentially a slideshow.

The dataset shows no min or max FPS values for most presets, but where available, the ranges are tight: 24-33 at 1080p Medium, 21-28 at 1440p Medium, and 16-22 at 4K Medium. This consistency indicates that the GPU maintains steady performance without thermal throttling or driver-related hitches, but the absolute levels are too low for a satisfying experience outside of 1080p Low.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It has 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it has a 125 W TDP. Synthetic benchmarks show strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 19784, Geekbench multicore scores 15790, and Passmark multithread scores 34404. Single-thread performance is also solid, with Cinebench R23 singlecore at 1850.5 and Passmark singlethread at 4013.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows no scenario where the CPU becomes the bottleneck — even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the average FPS is only 46, which is well below what this CPU can drive in other titles. The i7-12700K’s 20 threads are more than sufficient for The Medium’s threading model, which is a third-person horror game that does not typically require high core counts. The CPU’s 84th percentile ranking among all processors, and its proximity to the Core i5-13600T (0.1% faster), Core i7-12700KF (0.2% faster), and Core i7-13700T (0.3% faster), confirms that it is a capable gaming processor.

The data indicates that the CPU is idle for most of the time in this game, as the GPU is unable to feed frames fast enough. This is evident from the fact that FPS scales consistently with resolution changes, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound scenarios. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect similar FPS across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, but the 46/39/30 FPS progression at Low settings clearly shows the GPU’s workload increasing with resolution. The CPU’s 5.00 GHz boost clock and 25 MB L3 cache are wasted in this pairing, as the game never demands that level of processing.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the only viable setting for this combo is 1080p Low, which produces an average of 46 FPS. This is the sole preset that approaches a playable frame rate, and even it falls short of 60 FPS. Users who prioritize smoothness over visual fidelity should use 1080p Low, as it is the only configuration that keeps average FPS above 40. The 1440p Low preset averages 39 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but is below the 40 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for playable action.

The 1080p Medium preset averages 29 FPS, which is playable in a slow-paced horror game like The Medium, where precise aiming is not required. The game’s fixed camera angles and deliberate pacing mean that 30 FPS can be tolerated, but the 24 FPS minimum recorded in this setting risks noticeable stutter during scene transitions. For a more stable experience, 1080p Low is preferable, as the higher average provides more headroom.

All other settings are not recommended. 1440p Medium averages 24 FPS, 4K Low averages 30 FPS, and any High or Ultra preset at any resolution results in average FPS below 22. The 4K Low result of 30 FPS is technically playable but requires a significant resolution downgrade from native 4K, and the visual quality at Low settings is likely to be poor. The Ultra presets are effectively unusable, with 16 FPS at 1080p being the best Ultra result, which is below the threshold for even cinematic presentation.

The data suggests that users should treat this combo as a 1080p Low system for The Medium. There is no setting combination that achieves 60 FPS, and the gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is 17 FPS, which is large enough to justify the visual downgrade. If the user has a 1440p or 4K monitor, the only option is Low settings, and even then, the frame rates are marginal. The GPU’s 5th percentile ranking makes it unsuitable for this game at higher presets, and the CPU’s power cannot compensate for the graphics bottleneck.