The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X paired with an Intel Arc B580 produces a highly resolution-dependent experience in The Medium. At 4K, the combination struggles to maintain playable frame rates across all tested presets, while 1440p and 1080p offer a clear path to smooth gameplay, but only at the lowest settings preset. The data shows a GPU-bound title where visual fidelity demands come at a steep performance cost.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured average frame rates are consistently below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The Low preset delivers the best result at 55.8 FPS average, which is close but still short of playable. Medium drops to 34.9 FPS, High falls to 28.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 22.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is substantial, a 20.9 FPS difference, indicating a significant jump in rendering cost when moving past the minimum settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation improves markedly. The Low preset achieves an average of 75.7 FPS, comfortably clearing the 60 FPS threshold. This is the only playable option at this resolution. Medium averages 44.2 FPS, High averages 31.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 27.4 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium represents a 31.5 FPS drop, reinforcing the pattern seen at 4K where the Medium preset is disproportionately more demanding than Low.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 90.5 FPS, the highest score recorded in the dataset. Medium achieves 55.3 FPS, just 4.7 FPS shy of the playable threshold. High averages 41.6 FPS, and Ultra averages 30.8 FPS. The progression is linear here: each step up in preset costs roughly 14-15 FPS from Low to Medium, then Medium to High, with a slightly larger 10.8 FPS drop from High to Ultra. Notably, no min or max FPS values were recorded in the available data, so the analysis relies solely on average frame rates.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions points to the Intel Arc B580 being the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system produces 90.5 FPS. When resolution increases to 1440p Low, the average drops to 75.7 FPS, a 14.8 FPS reduction. At 4K Low, it falls further to 55.8 FPS. This consistent decline with increasing pixel count is classic GPU-bound behavior, as the render workload scales directly with resolution.

The preset scaling reinforces this conclusion. At every resolution, the jump from Low to Medium causes a larger frame rate penalty than the jump from High to Ultra. For example, at 1440p, Low to Medium costs 31.5 FPS, while High to Ultra costs only 4.5 FPS. This non-linear response suggests the Medium preset introduces specific rendering features, likely related to shadows or reflections, that heavily tax the GPU's compute units and memory bandwidth.

The Ryzen 5 5600X, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears sufficient to feed the GPU in this title. The fact that frame rates scale so predictably with resolution indicates the CPU is not introducing a variable bottleneck. At 1080p Low, where the GPU workload is lightest, the system still achieves 90.5 FPS, suggesting the CPU can keep up with the Arc B580's output. The data does not show a scenario where lower resolutions fail to improve performance, which would indicate a CPU limit.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific configuration ranks 2810 out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium. That places it in the lower 25th percentile of all tested systems, which is a below-average result for a modern mid-range pairing. The rank reflects the game's demanding nature and the Arc B580's performance profile relative to other GPUs in the database.

The GPU's overall percentile ranking is 68, meaning it performs better than 68% of all GPUs in general benchmarks. However, its performance in The Medium appears weaker than this general standing suggests. The combo rank of 2810 out of 3724 indicates that many other systems, likely with different GPU choices, achieve better results in this specific title. The CPU's percentile rank is 75, which is comparatively stronger, but the GPU's limitations in this game drag the overall combination down.

The 4K results are particularly poor, with no preset reaching 60 FPS. Even at 1440p and 1080p, only the Low preset is playable. This suggests that The Medium is a title where the Arc B580's 12 GB of memory and 192-bit bus are not sufficient for high-detail rendering at higher resolutions, despite the card's respectable general benchmark scores.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, based on average benchmark scores, are all within 0.6% of its performance. The AMD Ryzen 7 4800H scores 21749, a 0.1% difference. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U and Intel Core i7-11700 both score 21874 and 21891 respectively, each about 0.5% higher. The AMD EPYC 9554P scores 21899, 0.6% higher. In practice, swapping the 5600X for any of these processors would result in nearly identical frame rates in The Medium, as the CPU is not the limiting factor.

On the GPU side, the Intel Arc B580's nearest rivals are similarly close. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 23061, just 0.2% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895, 0.6% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 scores 23172, 0.7% higher, and the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249, 1% higher. These deltas are all under 1%, meaning that from a pure benchmark score perspective, any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical average FPS in The Medium.

However, the measured FPS data for the Arc B580 shows that it cannot maintain 60 FPS at Medium settings in 1080p. Users considering alternatives should expect similar behavior from these rival GPUs, given their benchmark scores are within a narrow band. The RTX 2080 and RTX 3080, despite being older or higher-tier respectively, score so close to the Arc B580 that their in-game performance would be statistically indistinguishable in this title.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 55.8 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. All other presets score lower, with Ultra at 22.4 FPS.

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

A: The Low preset is the only playable option at 2560x1440, achieving an average of 75.7 FPS. Medium drops to 44.2 FPS, which is not playable.

Q: How close is 1080p Medium to being playable?

A: At 1920x1080, the Medium preset averages 55.3 FPS, which is 4.7 FPS short of the 60 FPS threshold. It is close but not quite there.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: The data shows the GPU is the primary factor. Frame rates drop consistently as resolution increases, from 90.5 FPS at 1080p Low to 55.8 FPS at 4K Low, indicating the Arc B580 is the bottleneck.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 2810 out of 3724 tested combinations, placing it in the lower percentile of systems tested for The Medium.

Q: Would a different GPU from the rivals list perform better?

A: No. The nearest GPU rivals, including the RTX 2080 and RTX 3080, have average benchmark scores within 0.7% of the Arc B580. Their in-game performance in The Medium would be nearly identical.

The Verdict

This PC can run The Medium, but with significant limitations. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS, so 4K is not playable. At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 75.7 FPS average, which is the only playable option. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 90.5 FPS, also the only playable setting. The system cannot handle Medium, High, or Ultra presets at any resolution without dropping below the 60 FPS threshold.

The verdict is clear: this is a 1080p and 1440p system for The Medium, but only on the lowest settings. Players wanting higher visual fidelity would need a more powerful GPU. The Arc B580's performance in this title is a limiting factor, preventing the system from reaching its potential despite the capable Ryzen 5 5600X.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, there is no playable preset. The closest is Low at 55.8 FPS average, but it falls short of the 60 FPS requirement.

At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is Low, which produces an average of 75.7 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is also Low, achieving an average of 90.5 FPS. The Medium preset at 55.3 FPS is not playable, so Low is the only option that clears the threshold.