The Medium

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for this combination of an AMD Ryzen 5 4600G and an Intel Arc B580 in The Medium shows a distinct pattern: playable frame rates exist only at the Low preset, and only at 1080p and 1440p. At 4K, no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 88.3 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this pairing at any resolution. Moving to Medium drops the average to 53.5 FPS, just short of the 60 FPS target. The High preset averages 40.3 FPS, while Ultra falls to 30.8 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 57.5 FPS swing, indicating that the graphics settings have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 76 FPS, comfortably above the playable threshold. Medium drops to 46.8 FPS, High to 33.4 FPS, and Ultra to 25.6 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1440p is similar in magnitude to 1080p, with a 50.4 FPS difference between the lowest and highest presets.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly below the playable threshold. Low averages 55.4 FPS, which is close to 60 but still short. Medium averages 36.4 FPS, High averages 26.8 FPS, and Ultra averages 18.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 36.8 FPS, and even the least demanding preset fails to clear the 60 FPS bar.

The data shows that as resolution increases, the average FPS at every preset declines, but the relative ordering of presets remains consistent. Low is always the fastest, followed by Medium, then High, then Ultra. The margin between Medium and High is narrower at higher resolutions, while the gap between High and Ultra remains wide across all three resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 1080p with all settings maxed out?

A: No. At 1920x1080 with the Ultra preset, the average frame rate is 30.8 FPS, which falls well below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1440p?

A: The Low preset is the only playable option at 2560x1440, delivering an average of 76 FPS. Medium drops to 46.8 FPS, which does not meet the 60 FPS requirement.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best result is 55.4 FPS on Low, and every other preset falls further behind. No settings combination at 4K reaches the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to Low at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 88.3 FPS while Ultra averages 30.8 FPS. The Ultra preset is approximately 65% slower than Low at this resolution.

Q: Which resolution has the highest recorded average frame rate?

A: The highest recorded average is 88.3 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Does the Medium preset ever reach 60 FPS?

A: No. The Medium preset averages 53.5 FPS at 1080p, 46.8 FPS at 1440p, and 36.4 FPS at 4K. None of these meet the 60 FPS threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 88.3 FPS. Medium falls to 53.5 FPS, so Low is the only qualifying option.

At 2560x1440, the best qualifying preset is also Low, with an average of 76 FPS. The next step up, Medium, averages 46.8 FPS and does not qualify.

At 3840x2160, no preset qualifies. The closest is Low at 55.4 FPS, but it still falls short of the 60 FPS target. The database records no playable settings at this resolution for this combination.

The pattern is consistent: Low is the ceiling for playable performance at both 1080p and 1440p, and no playable setting exists at 4K.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the AMD Ryzen 5 4600G, based on average benchmark scores, are the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE, the AMD Ryzen 3 8300GE, the Intel Core 7 150U, and the Intel Core i3-14100T. The Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE scores 0.1% higher, the Ryzen 3 8300GE scores 0.6% higher, the Intel Core 7 150U scores 0.6% lower, and the Intel Core i3-14100T scores 0.8% lower. These deltas are all within a single percentage point, meaning any of these CPUs would produce very similar CPU-bound behavior in The Medium.

For the Intel Arc B580, the nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, and the NVIDIA P106-100. The RX 580 2048SP scores 0.2% lower, the RTX 2080 scores 0.6% higher, the RTX 3080 scores 0.7% lower, and the P106-100 scores 1% lower. Again, all deltas are small, so the GPU-side performance in this game would be closely matched across these alternatives.

In practical terms, a system built around any of these CPUs and GPUs would land in the same performance neighborhood as the tested combination. The frame rates recorded for the Ryzen 5 4600G plus Arc B580 should be representative of what these rival pairings would deliver, given the narrow benchmark deltas.

How This Combo Ranks

This CPU and GPU combination ranks 2854 out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium. That places it in the lower portion of the database, around the 23rd percentile of all recorded pairings. The rank reflects the fact that the system can handle the game only at Low settings at 1080p and 1440p, with no playable 4K options.

The ranking is consistent with the measured frame rates. A combination that cannot sustain 60 FPS at Medium settings on any resolution is going to sit below the midpoint of the tested pool. The 76 FPS result at 1440p Low is respectable, but the inability to scale up in settings holds the combo back.

The data suggests that this pairing is suited to players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity. The 88.3 FPS at 1080p Low is a solid result, but the 30.8 FPS at 1080p Ultra shows the hardware cannot handle the full graphics stack of this title.

The Verdict

This PC can run The Medium, but only under specific conditions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 88.3 FPS, clearing the 60 FPS threshold with room to spare. At 2560x1440, Low averages 76 FPS, also above the threshold. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS, so 4K is not viable.

The verdict by resolution is clear: 1080p is playable on Low, 1440p is playable on Low, and 4K is not playable at any setting. The Medium preset at 1080p comes close at 53.5 FPS, but it does not meet the 60 FPS requirement. Players who want a smoother experience at higher visual quality would need to consider a different hardware configuration.

The strongest result is 1080p Low at 88.3 FPS, which offers a comfortable margin above the playable threshold. The 1440p Low result at 76 FPS is also workable, though with less headroom. For anyone targeting 60 FPS, the Low preset is the only option at either resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured data shows that The Medium is heavily influenced by graphics settings, with frame rates dropping sharply as presets increase. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 57.5 FPS, which points to the GPU being the primary driver of performance at this resolution. The CPU, a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 2 part, has enough headroom to feed the Arc B580 at lower settings, but the GPU cannot sustain high presets.

At 1440p, the pattern is similar. The spread between Low and Ultra is 50.4 FPS, again indicating that the graphics load is the limiting factor. The CPU's role becomes less prominent as resolution increases, because the GPU is tasked with more pixel work.

At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. Even the Low preset averages only 55.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 18.6 FPS. The Arc B580, with its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 456 GB/s bandwidth, is overwhelmed by the resolution. The CPU is not the constraint here; the recorded data shows the frame rates collapsing as the graphics workload grows.

The scaling between resolutions reinforces this interpretation. At Low settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p costs 12.3 FPS, and moving from 1440p to 4K costs 20.6 FPS. At Ultra settings, the same transitions cost 5.2 FPS and 7 FPS respectively. The larger absolute drops at Low settings indicate that the GPU is the limiting component across all resolutions, with the CPU providing consistent performance throughout.

In summary, the Arc B580 is the decisive component for this game. The Ryzen 5 4600G provides adequate CPU throughput, but the GPU's capabilities dictate whether the game is playable and at what settings. Players with this pairing should expect to run Low settings at 1080p or 1440p for a 60 FPS experience.