The Medium

Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with Intel Arc B580 in The Medium presents a clear case of a high-end processor paired with a mid-range graphics card, where the GPU becomes the decisive factor for playability. The data shows that the combination can run the game, but only under specific settings and resolution constraints, with the 60 FPS threshold being the key divider. Across all three tested resolutions — 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080 — the pattern is consistent: the Low preset is the only setting that delivers fluid performance, while Medium, High, and Ultra all fall short of the 60 FPS mark.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the benchmark results indicate no playable settings exist for this combo, as every preset fails to reach the 60 FPS threshold. The best-case scenario at this resolution is the Low preset, which yields an average of 58 FPS, just two frames short of the target. Medium averages 37 FPS, High drops to 26 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 21 FPS. Since the verdict data lists no playable settings at 4K, users should not expect a smooth experience at any quality level here.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation improves slightly, with the Low preset being the only playable option, delivering an average of 74 FPS. This clears the 60 FPS requirement comfortably, providing a playable experience. Medium at this resolution averages 47 FPS, which is a significant drop from Low, while High averages 33 FPS and Ultra falls to 26 FPS. The data suggests that at 1440p, the step from Low to Medium costs 27 FPS, making Low the only viable choice for smooth gameplay.

At 1920x1080, the best settings remain on Low, which achieves an average of 88 FPS, well above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the highest average FPS recorded across all tested configurations. Medium at 1080p averages 55 FPS, missing the mark by 5 FPS, while High averages 40 FPS and Ultra averages 31 FPS. Interestingly, even though 1080p is the least demanding resolution, the GPU still cannot push Medium past 60 FPS, underscoring the Arc B580's limitations in this title.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals that the Intel Arc B580 is the limiting factor in this pairing, rather than the Intel Core i7-14700KF. The CPU, which ranks in the 94th percentile of all processors and posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167, is far more capable than what this game demands. The GPU, by contrast, sits in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, indicating a mid-pack position that aligns with its measured performance.

Evidence for GPU dominance comes from the resolution scaling data. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo hits 88 FPS; at 2560x1440 Low, it drops to 74 FPS (a 16% decrease); and at 3840x2160 Low, it falls to 58 FPS (a 34% decrease from 1440p). This consistent degradation with increasing resolution is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance, as the CPU workload remains relatively constant while the GPU must render more pixels. Similarly, the preset scaling at any given resolution shows dramatic FPS drops from Low to Ultra, which is again characteristic of GPU limitations.

The CPU's role is not entirely negligible, as it must maintain frame pacing and handle game logic, but its benchmarks suggest it has ample headroom. The i7-14700KF boasts 20 cores and 28 threads, with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, both of which are high-end parts. In contrast, the Arc B580's nearest rivals by average benchmark score include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 and RTX 3080, with delta percentages of 0.6% and -0.7% respectively, indicating the B580 performs in that tier. However, the game's measured FPS suggests that The Medium is particularly demanding on the GPU, as even the RTX 3080-class performance is not enough to push Medium presets past 60 FPS at any resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the data shows a steep performance cliff as settings increase. Low averages 58 FPS, though no min or max values are recorded for this preset. Medium averages 37 FPS with a min of 31 and max of 42, indicating noticeable frame fluctuation. High averages 26 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS, with no min or max recorded for either. The gap between Low and Medium is 21 FPS, which is substantial, and the drop from Medium to High is another 11 FPS. This resolution is clearly beyond the card's comfortable range.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats but with higher overall numbers. Low averages 74 FPS, which is playable, while Medium averages 47 FPS with a min of 40 and max of 54, showing that even the peaks stay below 60. High averages 33 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium here is 27 FPS, larger than at 4K, suggesting that the Medium preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive on this GPU at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the best results appear. Low averages 88 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that provides comfortable headroom above 60 FPS. Medium averages 55 FPS with a min of 47 and max of 64, meaning the max does occasionally touch 64 FPS, but the average remains below the threshold. High averages 40 FPS, and Ultra averages 31 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is 33 FPS, the largest preset gap observed, which indicates that the Medium preset's added visual features have a disproportionate impact on the Arc B580.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 4K with 60 FPS?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best average FPS is 58 on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 37 FPS, High 26 FPS, and Ultra 21 FPS. The verdict data confirms there are no playable settings at this resolution.

Q: What is the highest settings preset that achieves 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Only the Low preset is playable at 2560x1440, averaging 74 FPS. Medium drops to 47 FPS, High to 33 FPS, and Ultra to 26 FPS, so no other preset meets the 60 FPS requirement.

Q: Why does the FPS drop so much from Low to Medium settings?

A: The benchmark data shows a consistent and large gap between Low and Medium presets across all resolutions. At 1080p, the drop is 33 FPS (from 88 to 55); at 1440p, it is 27 FPS (from 74 to 47); at 4K, it is 21 FPS (from 58 to 37). This indicates that the Medium preset introduces rendering features that heavily tax the Intel Arc B580.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested combinations in the database?

A: This pairing ranks 2819 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the lower portion of the rankings. This is despite the CPU being in the 94th percentile of all processors, which underscores the GPU's limiting role.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF or the Intel Arc B580 more important for this game's performance?

A: The GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The CPU's benchmarks (e.g., 44167 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) are far beyond what The Medium requires, while the GPU's performance tiers (68th percentile) align with the observed FPS limitations. The resolution scaling pattern, where FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, confirms GPU-bound behavior.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for playable settings?

A: The only playable settings are Low at 1080p (88 average, no min recorded) and Low at 1440p (74 average, no min recorded). For non-playable settings, Medium at 1080p has a min of 47, Medium at 1440p has a min of 40, and Medium at 4K has a min of 31.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-14700KF, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69996, a 0.2% delta from the i7's 70163 average. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 69875 (0.4% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515 (0.9% delta). On the Intel side, the Core Ultra 7 265K scores 70879, which is 1% higher than the i7-14700KF. These CPUs would all perform nearly identically in The Medium, as the game's bottleneck is the GPU, meaning swapping the i7 for any of these would produce negligible FPS differences.

For the Intel Arc B580, the nearest rivals by average benchmark score are more telling. The AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP scores 23061, a -0.2% delta from the B580's 23021 average, meaning it would perform almost exactly the same in this game. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 scores 22895 (0.6% delta), and the RTX 3080 scores 23172 (-0.7% delta), both of which would also land in the same performance bracket. The NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249 (-1% delta), rounding out the list. In practice, any of these GPUs would deliver nearly identical FPS in The Medium, all struggling to exceed 60 FPS on Medium settings or above.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700KF and Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 2819 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the bottom quarter of all configurations. This rank is surprising given the CPU's high standing in general benchmarks, but it aligns with the GPU's mid-range position. The rank reflects the practical gaming performance of the pairing, not just component strength. For context, the CPU alone ranks in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, and the combination's overall rank is dragged down by the GPU's inability to fully utilize the CPU's power in this title.

The ranking also implies that many other combinations, likely with stronger GPUs, achieve better results in The Medium. The data shows that this combo only manages playable performance on Low settings at 1080p and 1440p, which is a narrow operating window. At 4K, it fails entirely. This suggests that users seeking higher quality settings would need a different GPU, as the B580's performance ceiling in this game is clearly defined by the 58 FPS maximum on Low at 4K.

The Verdict

Can this PC run The Medium? Yes, but with significant caveats. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 3840x2160, there are no playable settings, meaning the game is effectively unplayable at 4K with this combo, as even Low averages only 58 FPS, just under the 60 FPS target. At 2560x1440, the Low preset is playable with an average of 74 FPS, providing a smooth experience, but no other settings work. At 1920x1080, Low is again the only playable option, averaging 88 FPS, which is comfortable.

The practical takeaway is that this system is a 1080p or 1440p Low-settings machine for The Medium. The Intel Core i7-14700KF provides more than enough processing power, as evidenced by its strong benchmarks and high percentile ranking, but the Intel Arc B580 cannot handle the game's higher presets. The Medium's Medium, High, and Ultra presets all fail to reach 60 FPS at every resolution, with the closest being 55 FPS at 1080p Medium. Users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate could consider 1080p Medium at 55 FPS, but for a strict 60 FPS experience, the Low preset is mandatory. The data does not support any other conclusion.