The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and Intel Arc B580 combination delivers a starkly mixed experience in The Medium, a horror title that demands significant GPU headroom. Benchmark data reveals a system that can comfortably handle the game at 1080p with lowered settings, but which falls short of the 60 FPS playable threshold at higher resolutions and more demanding presets. The measured FPS results show a clear pattern: the Arc B580’s performance scales predictably with resolution, but the gap between the Low and Ultra presets is substantial, often more than doubling the frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the combination struggles to maintain playable frame rates. With the High preset, the average FPS is 26. Dropping to Medium improves the average to 37 FPS, with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 42 FPS. The Low preset yields a significantly better 58 FPS average, which is just shy of the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, producing an average of only 21 FPS. This data indicates that 4K gaming is not viable for this pairing unless the user is willing to accept the lowest quality settings and still fall below the playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440 (1440p), the situation improves but remains constrained. The High preset averages 33 FPS, while Medium offers a more playable 47 FPS average, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS. The Low preset is the only configuration at this resolution that clears the 60 FPS bar, achieving an average of 74 FPS. The Ultra preset remains problematic, with an average of 26 FPS. The data suggests that 1440p is playable only when settings are turned down to their lowest.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combination shows its best performance, though the High and Ultra presets still present challenges. The High preset averages 40 FPS. The Medium preset comes close to the target with an average of 55 FPS, a minimum of 47 FPS, and a maximum of 64 FPS. The Low preset is the clear winner, achieving a robust 88 FPS average. The Ultra preset, however, only manages a 31 FPS average, demonstrating that even at 1080p, the most demanding settings are too much for this hardware. The data shows a consistent pattern where the step from Medium to High costs roughly 15 FPS, and the step from High to Ultra costs another 9-10 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

According to the verdict data, the only settings that maintain an average FPS at or above the 60 FPS threshold are the Low presets at 1440p and 1080p. At 2560x1440, the best playable setting is Low, which produces an average of 74 FPS. At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is also Low, yielding an average of 88 FPS. For 3840x2160, there is no playable setting; even the Low preset’s average of 58 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The data indicates that users targeting a smooth experience must prioritize resolution over visual fidelity, and even then, only the lowest settings are viable.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results reveal that the Intel Arc B580 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration for The Medium. The evidence is the steep drop in frame rates as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the GPU delivers 88 FPS, but at 4K Low, that number falls to 58 FPS. This performance scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load increases with pixel count. The CPU, an AMD Ryzen 5 8400F with 6 cores and 12 threads, is likely sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but its influence diminishes as the GPU becomes saturated.

The scaling between presets further supports the GPU-centric analysis. The difference between Low and Ultra presets at 1080p is 57 FPS (from 88 to 31), while at 4K the difference is 37 FPS (from 58 to 21). This suggests that the GPU’s compute resources are the limiting factor when handling increased visual complexity, such as higher texture quality, shadow details, and post-processing effects. The CPU’s role appears to be secondary; its performance is consistent across resolutions, as indicated by the fact that the frame rate drops are proportional to the resolution increase rather than varying erratically. The data does not show any signs of CPU bottlenecking, such as frame rates that fail to improve when the resolution is lowered.

The Verdict

The data provides a clear answer: this PC can run The Medium, but only under specific conditions. At 1920x1080, the combination is playable with the Low preset, achieving an average of 88 FPS. At 2560x1440, it is also playable with the Low preset, achieving an average of 74 FPS. At 3840x2160, no preset clears the 60 FPS threshold, with the best option being Low at 58 FPS. The verdict field confirms this, listing Low as the best playable setting for both 1440p and 1080p, and no playable settings for 4K. Users seeking a playable experience must therefore accept the lowest graphical preset and cannot expect to run the game at High or Ultra settings at any resolution. The Medium’s demanding nature, combined with the Arc B580’s mid-range positioning, means that visual quality will have to be sacrificed for smooth gameplay.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 4K resolution?

A: No. The data shows that at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only achieves an average of 58 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The High, Medium, and Ultra presets produce averages of 26 FPS, 37 FPS, and 21 FPS, respectively.

Q: What is the best setting for 1080p gameplay?

A: The best playable setting is Low, which delivers an average of 88 FPS. The Medium preset is close at 55 FPS, but it does not meet the 60 FPS target.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary factor. Frame rates scale significantly with resolution and preset changes, which is typical of GPU-bound workloads. The Ryzen 5 8400F appears sufficient to avoid bottlenecking, as performance drops are consistent with increased rendering load.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The average FPS is 47, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 averages 31 FPS, which is well below the playable threshold. This setting is not recommended for this hardware combination.

Q: Does the game support high refresh rates at any resolution?

A: Only at 1080p and 1440p with the Low preset. At 1080p, the average is 88 FPS, and at 1440p, the average is 74 FPS. All other settings and resolutions fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations for The Medium, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2819 out of 3724 combos. This places it in the lower quartile of tested systems, indicating that it is a below-average performer for this specific game. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, which has a similar average benchmark score with a delta of 0.6%, and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, which is 0.2% behind in average score, would likely produce similar results in The Medium. The CPU’s performance, when compared to its nearest rivals like the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (delta of 0.2%), is also not a differentiating factor. The rank reflects that while the components are individually competent, their combined performance is not sufficient to provide a high-quality experience in The Medium at higher settings. The data suggests that users would need to look at significantly more powerful GPU options to improve the playability at higher presets and resolutions.