The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the Intel Arc B580 ranks 2706 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the lower third of all configurations. This is a demanding horror title that clearly favors GPU throughput over raw CPU capability, and the data confirms that this pairing struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at higher quality presets. The combination only achieves a "playable" status (at or above 60 FPS) on the Low preset across all three tested resolutions, with even the best-case 1080p Low result hitting 86.6 FPS average. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 21.9 FPS, which is far below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The verdict is unambiguous: this combo is functional for low-settings play, but it cannot handle medium or higher presets without dipping into unplayable territory.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2706 out of 3724 tested configurations places it at roughly the 27th percentile of all tested CPU-GPU pairs for The Medium. This is a below-average result, driven almost entirely by the Intel Arc B580's mid-tier positioning rather than any CPU limitation. The GPU's percentile vs all GPUs is 68, meaning it outperforms about two-thirds of all graphics cards in general benchmarks, yet its in-game performance here is constrained by The Medium's heavy visual demands. The CPU, by contrast, sits at the 86th percentile vs all CPUs, indicating substantial headroom that this game does not exploit. The data shows a clear bottleneck: the GPU is the limiting factor across every resolution and preset combination measured. When compared to the combo's nearest GPU rivals, the Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23021 is virtually identical to the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, -0.2% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, +0.6% delta). This means the combo's ranking is essentially what one would expect from a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU — the CPU boosts the score slightly, but the GPU caps overall potential in this specific game.

CPU and GPU Roles

Benchmark results across resolutions reveal that the GPU dominates performance scaling in The Medium, while the CPU provides a stable foundation that never becomes the primary constraint. The clearest evidence comes from comparing the same preset across resolutions: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 86.6 FPS, which drops to 76.7 FPS at 1440p Low (-11.5%) and further to 61.2 FPS at 4K Low (-29.3% from 1080p). This scaling pattern indicates that even at the lowest settings, resolution increases directly punish the GPU, with the CPU maintaining its ability to feed frames. At higher presets, the GPU pressure intensifies dramatically: 1080p Ultra runs at 34 FPS, while 4K Ultra drops to 21.9 FPS — a 35.6% reduction. The CPU's role is effectively neutral; its 8-core, 16-thread Zen 5 architecture with a 5.50 GHz boost clock and 32 MB of L3 cache is far beyond what The Medium requires, as evidenced by its 86th percentile standing. The game's fixed-camera horror presentation is not CPU-intensive, so the Ryzen 7 9700X's multi-threaded benchmarks (e.g., Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20485) are irrelevant to the outcome. Instead, the Arc B580's 13.67 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 456.0 GB/s memory bandwidth dictate performance, and the data shows that these figures are insufficient for medium-or-higher settings at any resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of this combo's capabilities across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 3840x2160 (4K), the Ultra preset delivers an average of 21.9 FPS, which is unplayable. High settings improve to 28.8 FPS, still far below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium reaches 34 FPS, and only Low achieves playability with 61.2 FPS average. The jump from Medium to Low at 4K is substantial — a 79.4% improvement — indicating that the Low preset drastically reduces GPU workload, likely via lower resolution scaling or reduced texture quality. At 2560x1440 (1440p), the pattern repeats: Ultra runs at 29 FPS, High at 34.7 FPS, Medium at 47.2 FPS, and Low at 76.7 FPS. Notably, 1440p Medium (47.2 FPS) is closer to playable than 1080p Ultra (34 FPS), suggesting that resolution scaling is more forgiving than preset complexity. At 1920x1080 (1080p), the best results appear: Low delivers 86.6 FPS, Medium hits 57.4 FPS (just shy of the 60 FPS threshold), High reaches 40.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 34 FPS. No min or max FPS values were recorded in the data, so only average FPS can be analyzed. The 1080p Medium result of 57.4 FPS is the closest any non-Low preset comes to the playability threshold, but it still falls short by 4.3%. The data indicates that this combo is strictly a Low-preset solution for smooth play, with 1080p Low offering the best headroom at 86.6 FPS average.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Arc B580 provide context for what similar GPU performance would look like. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP has an average benchmark score of 23061, which is 0.2% higher than the Arc B580's 23021 — effectively identical performance. A system with this GPU would produce nearly the same FPS in The Medium, meaning it would also be limited to Low presets for playable frame rates. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895, 0.6% lower, so it would perform marginally worse but within the same ballpark. Interestingly, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 appears as a rival with a score of 23172 (0.7% higher), despite being a higher-tier card in general knowledge; the benchmark data suggests its average score is only slightly above the Arc B580, so in synthetic tests they cluster together. For the CPU, the nearest rivals are all within 0.4% of the Ryzen 7 9700X's average benchmark score of 37943: the Intel Core i9-14901E (37911, +0.1%), AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (37904, +0.1%), Intel Core 5 211E (37829, +0.3%), and AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 (37804, +0.4%). Any of these CPUs would yield identical in-game results because none of them bottleneck the Arc B580 in this title. The takeaway is that swapping the CPU for a rival changes nothing, while swapping the GPU for a rival within this performance band (RX 580 2048SP, RTX 2080, RTX 3080) would produce essentially the same FPS numbers.

Best Settings per Resolution

The playability threshold is defined as 60 FPS average, and the data shows that only the Low preset meets this criterion at any resolution. At 3840x2160 (4K), the best (and only) playable setting is Low, which delivers 61.2 FPS average. This is a marginal pass — just 1.2 FPS above the threshold — so users should expect occasional dips below 60 FPS in busy scenes, though no min FPS data is available to quantify this. At 2560x1440 (1440p), Low is again the best playable setting, achieving 76.7 FPS average. This provides a comfortable 27.8% margin above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1440p Low the recommended resolution for a balance of visual clarity and smoothness. At 1920x1080 (1080p), Low delivers 86.6 FPS average, the highest of any resolution-preset combination. This represents the best overall experience, with a 44.3% buffer above the threshold. It is importantly 1080p Medium (57.4 FPS) is 4.3% below the threshold, so it is not classified as playable by the data, even though some users might tolerate it. For users seeking the best visual quality while maintaining 60+ FPS, 1080p Low is the clear choice; for those prioritizing resolution over detail, 1440p Low offers a superior image with still-solid performance. No resolution supports Medium or higher presets at playable frame rates.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 60 FPS on Ultra settings?

A: No. The data shows Ultra settings produce 34 FPS at 1080p, 29 FPS at 1440p, and 21.9 FPS at 4K — all far below the 60 FPS threshold. The most demanding preset is not playable at any resolution.

Q: What is the highest quality setting that maintains at least 60 FPS?

A: Only the Low preset achieves 60+ FPS, and it does so at all three resolutions: 86.6 FPS at 1080p, 76.7 FPS at 1440p, and 61.2 FPS at 4K. Medium settings at 1080p come closest at 57.4 FPS but still miss the threshold.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X or the Intel Arc B580 the bottleneck?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 86th percentile vs all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 68th percentile. The FPS scaling across resolutions (e.g., 86.6 FPS at 1080p Low vs 61.2 FPS at 4K Low) shows that GPU load drives performance, not CPU capability.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The Arc B580's average benchmark score (23021) is within 1% of the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172). Any of these GPUs would produce nearly identical FPS in The Medium.

Q: What resolution provides the best playable experience?

A: 1920x1080 with Low settings delivers the highest average FPS (86.6) and the largest margin above the 60 FPS threshold. 2560x1440 Low is also solid at 76.7 FPS, offering a sharper image with a still-comfortable buffer.

Q: Is 4K playable with this combination?

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, which averages 61.2 FPS — just 1.2 FPS above the threshold. This leaves minimal headroom for demanding scenes, so 4K Low is a marginal playability case rather than a comfortable one.