The Medium

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a very constrained gaming experience in The Medium, with performance figures that place the combination in the lower percentile of all tested configurations. The data shows a system that is heavily limited by its graphics component, struggling to maintain playable frame rates even at lower resolutions and settings. This analysis breaks down the measured results to explain the scaling behavior, the role of each component, and what settings offer the most viable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals a clear bottleneck. At 1080p with High settings, the system achieves an average of 21 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the average falls to 17 FPS, a reduction of approximately 19%. The jump to 2160p yields an average of 14 FPS, which is another 18% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern, where each resolution step costs roughly a fifth of the previous performance, points directly at the GPU as the limiting factor. A CPU-bound system would show much smaller frame rate differences as resolution increases, since the rendering load on the processor stays relatively constant.

The trend is even more pronounced when comparing the Low settings across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system pushes 46 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 39 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 30 FPS. The percentage decline from 1080p to 4K here is about 35%, which is substantial but slightly less severe than the High preset's 33% drop. This consistency across presets suggests that the GPU's raw throughput is the primary constraint. The Arc B370's compute resources are simply insufficient to feed the frame buffer at higher pixel counts, regardless of the graphical load.

Interestingly, the Medium preset shows the same pattern but with tighter minimum and maximum values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 29 FPS with a range of 24 to 33 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 24 FPS with a range of 21 to 28 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 19 FPS with a range of 16 to 22 FPS. The consistent 5 FPS drop for each resolution step indicates a linear relationship between pixel count and rendering time, further confirming that the GPU is saturated. The CPU, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is not the constraining factor here; it has ample headroom to feed the GPU, but the graphics processor cannot keep up with the demand.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the decisive component in this combination, and its specifications explain the measured outcomes. The GPU is based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process, with a boost clock of 2400 MHz. It has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units. These are modest figures for a desktop gaming card, and the benchmark results reflect that. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1184, which places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. This is an exceptionally low ranking, and its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, delta -0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, delta -0.5%), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (score 1192, delta -0.7%). These are all legacy or mobile parts, indicating that the Arc B370's performance class is far below contemporary desktop standards.

The memory configuration is also a limiting factor. The GPU uses system shared memory, with the bus width and bandwidth listed as "System Shared" and "System Dependent." This means the graphics processor relies on the CPU's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. In a game like The Medium, which is a horror title with detailed environments, this shared memory arrangement can cause additional latency and bandwidth contention. The lack of dedicated graphics memory likely contributes to the low frame rates, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory access.

The GPU's thermal and power envelope is also notable. With a TDP of 25 W and a slot width of "IGP," this is designed as an integrated graphics processor, not a discrete add-in card. The base clock is 300 MHz, which is very low, and the boost clock of 2400 MHz represents a significant ramp-up under load. However, even at maximum boost, the FP32 performance is only 6.144 TFLOPS, and the pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s. These figures are insufficient for demanding 3D workloads, and the measured FPS data confirms this. The system is effectively trying to run a modern horror game on an integrated graphics solution, which explains the sub-30 FPS averages across most settings.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the only setting that provides a genuinely playable experience is Low at 1080p, which yields an average of 46 FPS. This is the sole configuration that breaks the 30 FPS threshold, which is often considered the minimum for a playable frame rate. The Low preset at 1440p produces 39 FPS, which is also above 30 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off at a higher resolution may not be worth it compared to 1080p Low. The data shows that Medium settings at any resolution fall below 30 FPS, with 1080p Medium averaging 29 FPS, 1440p Medium at 24 FPS, and 4K Medium at 19 FPS. These are all borderline or unplayable for a game that requires smooth motion to maintain atmosphere.

The High preset is uniformly poor, with 1080p High at 21 FPS, 1440p High at 17 FPS, and 4K High at 14 FPS. Ultra settings are the worst, with 1080p Ultra at 16 FPS, 1440p Ultra at 14 FPS, and 4K Ultra at 11 FPS. These numbers make it clear that any preset above Low will result in a stuttering, laggy experience. The recommendation from the data is straightforward: run the game at 1080p with Low settings. This maximizes the average FPS and provides the best chance of a consistent frame pacing, even though the minimum FPS is not recorded for this configuration. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a 29 FPS average, but it is still below the ideal threshold, and the minimum of 24 FPS indicates that there will be noticeable dips.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings is the only configuration achieving an average FPS above 40, at 46 FPS. All other settings and resolutions fall below 39 FPS, with most below 30 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-14700F contribute to the gaming performance?

A: The CPU has 20 cores, 28 threads, a base clock of 2.10 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 19620. However, the gaming results are limited by the GPU, not the CPU.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B370 a discrete graphics card?

A: No, the data indicates it is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a slot width of "IGP" and a TDP of 25 W. It uses system shared memory rather than dedicated VRAM.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 21. At 4K High, the average FPS is 14. This represents a 33% reduction in performance when moving from Full HD to 4K.

Q: Does the system provide a stable frame rate at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset has recorded minimum and maximum values. At 1080p, the range is 24 to 33 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 21 to 28 FPS. At 4K, the range is 16 to 22 FPS. The spread of 8-9 FPS indicates some instability.

Q: How does this system rank compared to other tested combos?

A: The combination ranks 2681 out of 2911 total combos for this game, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700F and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2681 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places the system in the 92nd percentile of performance, meaning it is slower than roughly 92% of all other combinations tested. This is a very low ranking, consistent with the GPU's 5th percentile standing among all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, is a high performer, ranking in the 91st percentile among all CPUs. The disconnect between the CPU's capability and the GPU's weakness is stark.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this system. The i7-14700F's nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6505P (avg score 53701, delta -0.2%), the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (avg score 53469, delta 0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (avg score 53288, delta 0.6%). These are all high-end processors, and the i7-14700F performs within 1% of them. This indicates that the CPU has substantial headroom for more demanding games, but it is paired with a GPU that cannot utilize that headroom. The overall combo rank is dragged down almost entirely by the graphics component. If the CPU were paired with a more capable discrete graphics card, the ranking would be dramatically different, but with the Arc B370, the system is confined to the lowest tier of performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a high-end desktop processor from the Core 14th Gen series, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus, and it connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. These are robust specifications for a modern processor, and the benchmark data confirms its strength.

In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 35122 in multi-core and 4958 in single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 19620 multi-core and 2429 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score is 41317, and the single-thread score is 4257. These numbers place the CPU in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53620. The nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6505P, scores 53701, which is just 0.2% higher. This shows that the i7-14700F is competitive with server-class parts in multi-threaded workloads.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls. With 20 cores and 28 threads, it has more than enough processing power for this task. The game is unlikely to stress more than a handful of cores, and the high boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance. The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck; even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the frame rate is only 46 FPS, which is far below what this CPU could theoretically support. The CPU is effectively idle while the GPU struggles to keep up.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system produces an average of 46 FPS on Low settings, which is the highest recorded value across all configurations. The High preset drops to 21 FPS, and Ultra falls to 16 FPS. The Medium preset averages 29 FPS, with a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is steep: 46 to 16 FPS, a reduction of 65% when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 39 FPS, which is still above 30 FPS but notably lower than the 1080p result. 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 Ultra averages 14 FPS. The resolution increase from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 7 FPS on Low settings, which is a 15% reduction. This shows that the GPU is sensitive to pixel count even at the lowest quality settings.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 30 FPS, which is exactly at the playable threshold but still lower than the 1440p figure. 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 Ultra averages 11 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K on Low settings is 9 FPS, a 23% reduction. The overall trend across all resolutions is that the GPU's performance degrades consistently as the pixel count increases, with no setting combination providing a smooth 60 FPS experience. The data clearly indicates that this system is only suitable for playing The Medium at 1080p with Low settings, and even then, the frame rate is not ideal for a horror game that relies on tension and atmosphere.