The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a playable experience in The Medium only at lower settings and resolutions, with the benchmark data showing a clear ceiling around 1080p and 1440p Low presets. The CPU is not the bottleneck here; the Arc B580's raw throughput is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the FPS scaling across the four tested presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo in The Medium shows a steep performance cliff as resolution and graphical fidelity increase. At 1920x1080, the lowest preset delivers an average of 86.3 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold. Stepping up to Medium drops the average to 53.9 FPS, a reduction of roughly 37% from Low, and High further declines to 40.8 FPS. Ultra at 1080p falls to 32 FPS average, which is barely half of the Low preset's performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the trend continues with even sharper drops. Low settings yield 75.3 FPS average, still playable but noticeably lower than the 1080p result. Medium sits at 46.5 FPS, High at 32.6 FPS, and Ultra at 28.6 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium at 1440p is about 38%, mirroring the 1080p pattern, which suggests the Arc B580's memory bandwidth and shading throughput scale predictably with load.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles across the board. Low settings produce 55.8 FPS average, just under the 60 FPS target. Medium drops to 36.3 FPS, High to 29.1 FPS, and Ultra to 22.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is over 19 FPS, indicating that even modest increases in texture quality and shadow resolution overwhelm the GPU at this pixel count.

No minimum or maximum FPS values were recorded in the dataset, so all analysis relies on average frame rates. The absence of min/max data means frame pacing and stutter behavior cannot be assessed, but the average figures alone paint a consistent picture: this combo is only viable for smooth play at Low presets on 1080p and 1440p, with 4K entirely out of reach for the 60 FPS target.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 60 FPS on 1080p?

A: Yes, but only on the Low preset, which delivers 86.3 FPS average. Medium settings fall to 53.9 FPS, below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Is 1440p playable with this combo?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average is 75.3 FPS. Medium at 1440p drops to 46.5 FPS, which is not smooth enough for the 60 FPS standard.

Q: What about 4K gaming on this setup?

A: No preset at 3840x2160 reaches 60 FPS. The best result is Low at 55.8 FPS, which still misses the target. Ultra at 4K averages just 22.6 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw performance?

A: The Arc B580's average benchmark score is 23021, placing it within 0.6% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895) and 0.7% behind the RTX 3080 (23172). It slightly trails the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP by 0.2%.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 7700X strong enough for this game?

A: Yes. The CPU's 3DMark max-threads score is 8852 and its PassMark multithread score is 35686, ranking in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. The FPS drops correlate with GPU load, not CPU limits.

Q: What is the best preset for a stable 60 FPS experience?

A: For both 1920x1080 and 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only one that clears 60 FPS, with 86.3 and 75.3 average FPS respectively. At 4K, no preset achieves the target.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2808 out of 3724 tested combinations in The Medium. That places it in the lower third of all tested systems, which is consistent with the FPS data showing only Low presets at 1080p and 1440p are playable. For context, the CPU alone sits in the 85th percentile among all processors, while the GPU only reaches the 68th percentile among all graphics cards. This mismatch confirms the Arc B580 is the performance bottleneck in this pairing for this specific title.

The rank of 2808 out of 3724 means roughly 75% of tested combos outperform this setup in The Medium. However, the Ryzen 7 7700X's strong single-thread and multi-thread scores — Geekbench single-core 2289 and multi-core 12451 — ensure the system won't hold back the GPU in less demanding scenes. The limiting factor is purely the graphics card's ability to push frames at higher presets.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is unambiguous. At 3840x2160, there are no playable settings — every preset fails to reach 60 FPS, with the best case being Low at 55.8 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the sole playable option, delivering 75.3 FPS. At 1920x1080, Low is again the only playable preset, with 86.3 FPS.

This combo can run The Medium, but only with significant graphical compromises. If you own a 1080p or 1440p monitor and are willing to play on Low, the experience will be smooth. The game's horror atmosphere relies heavily on lighting and shadow quality, which are typically reduced on Low, so expect a flatter visual presentation. For 4K owners, this setup is not viable for this game at any setting above the 60 FPS threshold.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Ryzen 7 7700X's nearest rivals in CPU benchmark scores are all within 0.7% of its average score of 35909. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 scores 35802 (delta 0.3%), the Intel Core 7 250H scores 35728 (delta 0.5%), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 scores 35719 (delta 0.5%), and the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H scores 35670 (delta 0.7%). Any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in The Medium, as the game is not CPU-bound at the tested settings.

On the GPU side, the Intel Arc B580's average score of 23021 places it in close company with several cards. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, delta 0.6%) is slightly slower, while the RTX 3080 (23172, delta -0.7%) is marginally faster. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, delta -0.2%) is effectively a match. In practice, swapping the Arc B580 for any of these would change FPS by less than 1% in synthetic benchmarks, meaning the playable settings in The Medium would remain identical: Low at 1080p and 1440p only.

The RTX 2080 and RTX 3080 are older NVIDIA cards, but their driver maturity might offer better frame pacing in DirectX 12 titles, even if average FPS is equal. The RX 580 2048SP is a much older architecture, but its raw score aligns closely, so expect similar preset limitations.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 86.3 FPS. Medium falls short at 53.9 FPS, so there is no headroom to increase quality without dropping below the threshold.

At 2560x1440, the answer is again Low, delivering 75.3 FPS. The next step up, Medium at 46.5 FPS, is well below 60 FPS, so Low is the only choice.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The closest is Low at 55.8 FPS, which still misses the target. If you must play at 4K, Low is the best you can do, but expect frame rates in the mid-50s with occasional dips. For a locked 60 FPS experience, drop to 1440p Low or 1080p Low.