The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title, is heavily dependent on consistent frame pacing to maintain its oppressive atmosphere. Benchmark data for the system pairing the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 with the Intel Arc B570 reveals a configuration that can handle the game at lower settings, but which struggles under the weight of its own graphical presets at higher resolutions. The measured results show a clear performance hierarchy, with the GPU acting as the primary constraint in most scenarios, though the CPU’s architecture also dictates the ceiling in less demanding settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process node by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. This is a modern desktop chip on the Intel Socket 1851 platform, supporting dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache of 3 MB are relevant for gaming loads, though The Medium’s demands are not typically cache-sensitive.

In CPU-centric benchmarks, the Core Ultra 5 225 posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and a single-core score of 3655. The PassMark single-thread score stands at 4412. These numbers place the processor at the 85th percentile among all CPUs, which is a strong result, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of installed processors. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, which scores 36945 (a delta of 0%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, scoring 37018 (a delta of -0.2%). The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 and the Intel Core i9-12900T both score slightly higher, indicating the Ultra 5 225 sits at a competitive level against a range of last-gen and current mid-range parts.

Within The Medium, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with scene data and handle the game’s logic. At lower graphical settings and resolutions, such as 1080p Low, the average frame rate reaches 78 FPS, which is the highest measured in the dataset. This suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor when the GPU is more lightly loaded. However, the data does show that the CPU’s architecture is not overkill for this title; it provides a stable foundation but does not dominate the frame rate. The game’s fixed camera angles mean that CPU load is relatively predictable, but the data points to the GPU being the primary component that determines performance as settings increase.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the graphics card in this configuration, based on the Xe2-HPG architecture on a 5 nm process. It has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs, with 18 ray tracing cores. The card’s memory is 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. The core clock is listed at 2500 MHz for both base and boost. The GPU’s raw compute is rated at 11.52 TFLOPS for FP32. The Intel Arc B570’s average benchmark score puts it at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with a PassMark G3D score of 14195.

In 3DMark’s Steel Nomad DX12 test, the card scores 2649. The nearest rival in the average benchmark score is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which is 0.1% higher, and the Intel Arc A750, which is 0.1% lower. This places the B570 in the mid-range segment, providing a baseline for its performance in The Medium.

In The Medium, the GPU is the dominant bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 78, which is a playable frame rate for most. But the data indicates how quickly the GPU struggles as we escalate settings. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 49.4 FPS; at High, it falls to 35.5 FPS; and at Ultra, it drops to 28.0 FPS. This is a clear downward step from Low to Ultra. The card’s 10 GB of VRAM is sufficient for the game’s textures at 1080p, and the bandwidth is adequate, but the raw shader and ROP performance is what limits the card in this game. The GPU’s architecture, while capable of the game’s DirectX 12 API, is not delivering high frame rates at higher presets.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling analysis reveals how the system behaves as the pixel count increases. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 78.3, which is a fairly strong result. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 66.0 FPS, a reduction of about 16%. At 4K Low, the average is 52.4 FPS, a 33% drop from 1080p Low. This shows that even at Low settings, the GPU is heavily stressed by the resolution increase. The scaling is almost linear with the pixel count increase, indicating that the GPU is the main factor at play.

The Medium settings show a different pattern. At 1080p Medium, the average is 49.4 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it is 41.3 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 32.5 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 16.4%, and from 1080p to 4K is 34.2%. The High settings show a similar pattern: 1080p High is 35.5 FPS, 1440p High is 29.9, and 4K High is 23.8. The Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 1080p Ultra at 28.0 FPS, 1440p Ultra at 23.5, and 4K Ultra at 18.5.

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is most pronounced at the lower settings, with a 33% decline at Low, but at Medium, High, and Ultra, the drop is roughly 34%, 33%, and 34% respectively. This consistency indicates that the GPU is the limiting component across all settings. The CPU does not cause a bottleneck at 1080p Low, but the scaling shows that the GPU is the primary constraining factor across the board. The result is that the system is more playable at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K only viable at the Low preset.

FAQ

Q: Can the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 handle The Medium at 1080p?

A: yes, at lower settings. The data shows a 1080p Low average of 78.3 FPS. However, at 1080p Ultra the average drops to 28.0 FPS, indicating that the CPU is not the main factor, but the GPU will limit high settings.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 perform against its nearest rivals in The Medium?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is essentially equal to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, 0.1% difference) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, -0.1% difference). In the game, this translates to a similar performance envelope, so it can be expected to deliver similar frame rates at the same settings.

Q: What is the best resolution to play The Medium with this hardware?

A: The 1080p resolution is the most playable. A 1080p Medium preset yields a 49.4 FPS average, which is above the 30 FPS threshold, while 1440p Medium drops to 41.3 FPS. 4K is only playable at Low with a 52.4 FPS average.

Q: Is the game more CPU- or GPU-bound on this system?

A: The data indicates that it is GPU-bound. The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent across all settings, ranging from 33-34% lower FPS. This indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the CPU would not cause such a significant drop with the same settings.

Q: Can the system reach 60 FPS in The Medium?

A: Yes, at 1080p Low it reaches 78.3 FPS. At 1440p Low it is 66.9 FPS. This is the only way to achieve 60 FPS+, as higher settings at these resolutions drop to under 50 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset averages 66.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 24.5 FPS. This is a 63% reduction in performance, showing the significant cost of turning up settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings for this hardware in The Medium are at the Medium or Low presets, depending on the target frame rate. For a 60 FPS experience, the only viable option is 1080p Low, which averages 78.3 FPS. However, 1080p Medium is the best balance between visual fidelity and performance, with an average of 49.4 FPS. This is above the 30 FPS threshold and provides a more stable experience than the High or Ultra presets.

At 1440p, the Low preset averages 66.9 FPS, which is also acceptable, but the Medium preset at 41.3 FPS is the highest playable setting. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p drop to 29.9 and 24.5 FPS, which is not ideal for a game that benefits from a consistent frame rate. For 4K, the Low preset is the only one that remains playable at 52.4 FPS, while Medium drops to 32.5 FPS, which may be borderline.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the best experience for this hardware. It is the highest setting that maintains an average above 40 FPS at both 1080p and 1440p. While Ultra provides a visual upgrade, the cost in frame rate is too high, resulting in an average of 28.0 FPS at 1080p and 24.5 FPS at 1440p. Therefore, the Medium preset is the recommended setting for a balanced experience, with Low as a fallback for higher frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 resolution, the frame rates are as follows:

• Low: 78.3 FPS average
• Medium: 49.4 FPS average, with a minimum of 41 and maximum of 56
• High: 35.5 FPS average
• Ultra: 28.0 FPS average

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 66.9 FPS average
• Medium: 41.3 FPS average, with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 47
• High: 29.9 FPS average
• Ultra: 24.5 FPS average

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 52.4 FPS average
• Medium: 32.5 FPS average, with a minimum of 27 and maximum of 37
• High: 23.8 FPS average
• Ultra: 18.5 FPS average

The data shows a clear pattern of performance scaling. The Medium preset shows the most stable frame times, with only a 4 FPS difference between min and max at 1080p and a 10 FPS difference at 4K. The High and Ultra settings lack min/max data in the dataset, but the averages indicate a linear drop in performance. In summary, the system is most comfortable at 1080p Low and Medium, with 1440p Low being a viable alternative, and 4K only suitable for a Low preset.