The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the Intel Arc B580 presents a clear performance profile in The Medium. Benchmark data shows this combination is capable of smooth gameplay only at lower graphical presets, with a significant performance cost when moving up the settings ladder. The data indicates a system that is firmly constrained by the graphics card across all tested resolutions, making preset selection the primary lever for achieving playable frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 88 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Moving to Medium drops the average to 55 FPS, with a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS. High settings reduce the average further to 40 FPS, while Ultra is the most demanding, averaging only 31 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats with lower absolute numbers. Low settings produce an average of 74 FPS, still comfortably playable. Medium averages 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS. High settings average 33 FPS, and Ultra drops to 26 FPS. The step from Low to Medium represents a 27 FPS loss, which is the largest single-preset drop at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the card struggles significantly. Low settings average 58 FPS, just under the 60 FPS target. Medium averages 37 FPS, with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 42 FPS. High settings average 26 FPS, and Ultra is nearly unplayable at 21 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 21 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 11 FPS, showing diminishing returns as settings increase.

The data shows that the 1080p Low preset is the only configuration that provides a substantial margin above 60 FPS, with an 88 FPS average. At 1440p Low, the 74 FPS average still offers headroom, but the margin shrinks considerably. At 4K, even Low settings fail to reach the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 58 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions points to the Intel Arc B580 as the dominant bottleneck. When moving from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings, the average FPS drops from 88 to 74, a 16% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings drops the average from 74 to 58, a 22% reduction. This consistent degradation with increasing pixel count is classic GPU-bound behavior.

The Ryzen 9 9900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, is not the limiting factor here. The CPU's benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32172 and a Geekbench single-core score of 3010, indicate ample processing headroom for a game like The Medium. The CPU's percentile rank of 92 against all CPUs further confirms its high-end positioning.

The gap between Low and Medium presets at each resolution also highlights GPU sensitivity. At 1080p, the difference is 33 FPS (88 to 55). At 1440p, the difference is 27 FPS (74 to 47). At 4K, the difference is 21 FPS (58 to 37). The shrinking absolute gap at higher resolutions suggests the GPU is becoming increasingly saturated, leaving less headroom for preset complexity changes.

At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU is still the primary constraint, but the CPU's strong single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 1286) ensures no frame pacing issues from processor stalls. The data does not show any scenario where the CPU would hold back performance, as even the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K only manages 21 FPS, which is far below what the CPU could feed.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Ryzen 9 9900X sits in a tight cluster of rivals according to average benchmark scores. The AMD EPYC 9015 scores 57555, a mere 0.1% lower than the 9900X's average of 57498. The AMD EPYC 7313 scores 57399, which is 0.2% higher. The Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115, putting it 1.1% ahead. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M scores 58323, which is 1.4% higher. In practical terms, any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates in The Medium when paired with the same GPU, since the game is not CPU-bound in this configuration.

For the GPU, the Arc B580's nearest rivals show a similarly tight grouping. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 23061, just 0.2% lower than the B580's 23021 average. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895, which is 0.6% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 scores 23172, 0.7% higher. The NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249, 1.0% higher. These deltaPct values suggest that swapping the B580 for any of these cards would change the measured FPS by roughly one frame per second at most, given the identical workload.

The practical takeaway is that users with any of these rival graphics cards would see nearly identical performance in The Medium. The differences are within measurement noise, and the playable settings recommendations would remain the same: Low preset at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K remaining out of reach.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3724 tested combinations, this CPU-GPU pairing ranks 2819th in The Medium. This places it in the lower 25th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that the combination is not well-suited for this specific title at higher settings. The rank reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's capabilities.

The Ryzen 9 9900X, being a high-end desktop processor, performs well in general benchmarks. Its 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs shows it can handle demanding workloads. The Arc B580, however, ranks in the 68th percentile among all GPUs, which is a more modest position. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-tier GPU results in a system that is fundamentally GPU-limited in this game.

This ranking suggests that users seeking higher frame rates in The Medium would benefit more from a GPU upgrade than a CPU change. The CPU is not the constraint, as evidenced by the fact that the same GPU with a slower processor would likely produce similar FPS numbers, while a faster GPU with this CPU would show immediate improvements.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run The Medium at 60 FPS on Low settings at 1080p?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings is 88 FPS, which is 28 FPS above the playable threshold of 60 FPS.

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

A: Low is the only playable preset at 2560x1440, with an average of 74 FPS. All higher presets (Medium at 47 FPS, High at 33 FPS, Ultra at 26 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 58 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 37 FPS, High averages 26 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to an RTX 3080 for this game?

A: The RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 23172, which is 0.7% higher than the Arc B580's 23021. This translates to a negligible difference in actual frame rates, likely one frame per second or less.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 9900X bottleneck the Arc B580 in this game?

A: No. The data shows consistent frame rate drops as resolution increases, which is characteristic of GPU limitation. The CPU's high benchmark scores (e.g., Cinebench R23 multicore of 32172) indicate it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the maximum FPS achievable at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average is 88 FPS on Low settings. The Medium preset averages 55 FPS, High averages 40 FPS, and Ultra averages 31 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Low preset is the only setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS, delivering 88 FPS. The Medium preset falls short at 55 FPS, so Low is the recommended choice for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, Low is again the only playable option, with an average of 74 FPS. Medium drops to 47 FPS, making it unsuitable for the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The closest is Low at 58 FPS, which is technically below the threshold. Users prioritizing frame rate over resolution would need to drop to 1440p to achieve a stable 60 FPS experience.