The Medium

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate for this PC at 1920x1080 with High settings in The Medium?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the recorded average is 40 FPS. This falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Which settings preset achieves at least 60 FPS at 2560x1440?

A: Only the Low preset achieves this. The database shows 74 FPS average at 2560x1440 with Low settings. Medium settings drop to 47 FPS average.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a strong performer relative to other CPUs?

A: The CPU sits at the 47th percentile among all tested processors. Its average benchmark score is 2254, placing it within 0.4% of comparable models like the Intel Core i3-10305.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B580's average benchmark score is 23021. It is within 1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172, delta -0.7%) and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, delta -0.2%).

Q: What is the maximum playable resolution for this combination?

A: Based on the verdict data, 2560x1440 is the highest resolution with a playable setting (Low at 74 FPS). At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS; the closest is Low at 58 FPS.

Q: Does the game support ray tracing on this GPU?

A: The Intel Arc B580 includes 20 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate. However, the measured frame rates in this database do not include ray tracing enabled presets, so no ray-traced performance data is available.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2848 out of 3724 tested combinations for The Medium. This places the system in the lower third of all tested hardware configurations, approximately at the 76th percentile from the top (or 24th percentile from the bottom). The ranking reflects that while the GPU is capable in synthetic benchmarks, the overall system struggles to maintain high frame rates at demanding settings in this particular title.

The CPU and GPU pair presents an interesting mismatch. The i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake generation, released in late 2018. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 6629 and single-core score of 935 indicate a modestly capable processor that ranks near the middle of all CPUs. The Arc B580, on the other hand, is a newer Battlemage architecture GPU with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 192-bit bus, delivering 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its percentile rank of 68 among all GPUs suggests it is a solid mid-range graphics card.

Yet the measured performance in The Medium does not reflect the GPU's synthetic benchmark strength. The game appears to be particularly demanding, with only the Low preset achieving playable frame rates at 1920x1080 and 2560x1440. The combination rank of 2848 out of 3724 indicates that many other hardware pairings perform better in this specific title, likely due to the game's heavy reliance on both CPU and GPU resources.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Low, with an average of 87 FPS. Medium settings drop to 55 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. High settings yield 40 FPS, and Ultra produces 31 FPS. For a smooth experience at this resolution, Low is the only viable choice.

At 2560x1440, the situation tightens further. Low settings deliver 74 FPS average, which clears the 60 FPS bar. Medium settings produce 47 FPS, High drops to 33 FPS, and Ultra falls to 26 FPS. The database's verdict confirms that Low is the best playable setting at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. Low settings come closest with 58 FPS average, just shy of the threshold. Medium yields 37 FPS, High drops to 26 FPS, and Ultra produces 21 FPS. The verdict lists no playable settings for this resolution.

It is importantly the recorded data includes minimum and maximum frames only for Medium settings. At 1920x1080 Medium, the range spans 47 to 64 FPS, meaning some scenes may briefly hit the 60 FPS mark but the average remains below it. At 2560x1440 Medium, the range is 40 to 54 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Medium, it is 31 to 42 FPS. This variance suggests that even within a single preset, performance fluctuates considerably depending on scene complexity.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i5-9400 sits within a tight cluster of comparable processors. The nearest rival is the Intel Core i3-10305 with an average score of 2264, just 0.4% higher. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, within 0.2% of the i5-9400. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, which is 0.3% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, also 0.4% lower. Any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in The Medium, as the performance delta is under half a percentage point in synthetic multi-threaded tests.

For the GPU, the Arc B580's closest rivals are similarly matched. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 23061, just 0.2% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895, which is 0.6% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 scores 23172, 0.7% higher, and the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249, 1% higher. All four alternatives would produce nearly identical performance in The Medium, given the sub-1% delta in average benchmark scores.

This means that if a user were to swap the CPU or GPU for any of these near-identical alternatives, the measured frame rates would remain essentially unchanged. The system's performance ceiling in The Medium is not a quirk of specific silicon but rather a characteristic of this performance tier.

CPU and GPU Roles

Examining the frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals how the workload shifts between CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 87 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low reduces this to 74 FPS, a 15% drop. At 3840x2160 Low, the frame rate falls to 58 FPS, another 22% drop from the 1440p result. This pattern suggests that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases, since the pixel workload grows substantially.

However, the CPU's role becomes apparent when looking at the settings scaling at a fixed resolution. At 1920x1080, moving from Low to Medium decreases average FPS from 87 to 55, a 37% reduction. High settings yield 40 FPS, and Ultra produces 31 FPS. This steep drop from Low to Medium indicates that the game's visual effects at Medium and above place significant load on both the CPU and GPU. The i5-9400's six threads may struggle with the game's draw calls and physics calculations at higher presets.

At 2560x1440, the scaling follows a similar pattern: Low at 74 FPS, Medium at 47 FPS, High at 33 FPS, and Ultra at 26 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium remains large (36% reduction), suggesting that the Medium preset introduces features that tax the system heavily regardless of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the scaling compresses because the GPU is already saturated. Low yields 58 FPS, Medium drops to 37 FPS, High to 26 FPS, and Ultra to 21 FPS. The relative drop from Low to Medium (36%) mirrors the other resolutions, but the absolute numbers are all lower.

The data indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU contributes more noticeably at lower resolutions with higher presets. The i5-9400's modest single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935) may limit frame rates in scenes with heavy CPU work, but the GPU's inability to maintain 60 FPS at Medium settings across all resolutions suggests the graphics card is the dominant constraint for this game.

The Verdict

This PC can run The Medium, but only under specific conditions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 87 FPS average, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The verdict confirms this as the only playable setting at this resolution. At 2560x1440, Low settings still achieve 74 FPS, also clearing the bar. No other preset at either resolution reaches 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot deliver a playable experience. The closest result is Low settings at 58 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall well short, with averages of 37, 26, and 21 FPS respectively.

The verdict by resolution lists 2560x1440 with Low settings (74 FPS average) as the best playable configuration, and 1920x1080 with Low settings (87 FPS average) as another viable option. For users seeking higher visual fidelity, the system will not meet the 60 FPS target at Medium or above at any resolution tested.

In practical terms, this PC is suitable for playing The Medium at 1080p or 1440p with reduced graphical settings. The game's atmospheric horror presentation may still look acceptable at Low settings, but compromises are necessary.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 87 FPS average (no min/max recorded)
• Medium: 55 FPS average, 47 FPS minimum, 64 FPS maximum
• High: 40 FPS average (no min/max recorded)
• Ultra: 31 FPS average (no min/max recorded)

2560x1440:

• Low: 74 FPS average (no min/max recorded)
• Medium: 47 FPS average, 40 FPS minimum, 54 FPS maximum
• High: 33 FPS average (no min/max recorded)
• Ultra: 26 FPS average (no min/max recorded)

3840x2160:

• Low: 58 FPS average (no min/max recorded)
• Medium: 37 FPS average, 31 FPS minimum, 42 FPS maximum
• High: 26 FPS average (no min/max recorded)
• Ultra: 21 FPS average (no min/max recorded)

The Medium settings at each resolution show a consistent pattern: Low is the only preset that approaches or exceeds 60 FPS, and only at 1080p and 1440p. The jump from Low to Medium incurs a substantial performance penalty across all resolutions, roughly 36-37% reduction in average frame rate. Ultra settings are nearly unplayable at any resolution, with the best Ultra result being 31 FPS at 1080p.

The minimum and maximum figures recorded for Medium settings indicate frame time variance. At 1080p Medium, the range from 47 to 64 FPS means some scenes run smoothly while others dip below the threshold. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 40-54 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 31-42 FPS. This variance suggests that the game has demanding scenes that can cause noticeable hitches even within an otherwise steady preset.

Overall, the measured data paints a clear picture: this hardware combination is capable of running The Medium, but only at the lowest graphical preset and only at resolutions up to 1440p. The game's demanding rendering requirements, combined with the mid-range nature of both the CPU and GPU, limit the experience to a narrow set of configurations.