The Medium

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The Medium's resolution scaling behavior for the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 + Intel Arc B580 combination reveals a system that shifts character dramatically as pixel count rises. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 89.4 FPS, which drops to 76.2 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 58.3 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 34.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings — a relatively modest decline that suggests the CPU and GPU are sharing the workload more evenly at lower quality presets.

Move to High settings, and the picture changes. The 1080p result of 41.3 FPS falls to 32.6 FPS at 1440p (a 21.1% drop) and then to 27 FPS at 4K (a 34.6% drop from 1080p). The scaling is steeper at higher quality settings, which points toward the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution and graphical fidelity increase simultaneously. The Arc B580's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, yet the data suggests this isn't enough to maintain fluid frame rates at 4K Ultra, where the combo manages only 19.1 FPS.

The Ultra preset tells a stark story. From 33.6 FPS at 1080p to 23.7 FPS at 1440p and 19.1 FPS at 4K, the performance curve flattens into unplayable territory quickly. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 39.2 FPS — a 67.2% difference — which indicates that the visual effects packed into the higher presets exact a heavy toll on this hardware pairing. The data implies that at 4K, the Arc B580 is the limiting component, since reducing settings from Ultra to Low recovers 39.2 FPS, far more than any CPU-side optimization could achieve.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Ryzen 5 7600 brings six cores and twelve threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boosting to 5.10 GHz. This CPU sits in the 83rd percentile among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 26617. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, scores 26574 — a delta of just 0.2%, meaning the 7600 trades blows with a chip that has additional cache but fewer architectural refinements.

In The Medium, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, but at 1080p Low settings, the 89.4 FPS result suggests the processor is keeping pace with the graphics card's output. The Ryzen 5 7600's single-thread performance — a 3dmark single-thread score of 999 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3246 — indicates strong per-core capability, which matters for a game that likely doesn't scale perfectly across all twelve threads. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 6499 versus the max-thread score of 6503 shows near-perfect scaling up to the CPU's full thread count, meaning the processor won't leave performance on the table if the game does utilize multiple cores.

However, the measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p, the Ultra preset yields only 33.6 FPS — a figure that suggests the GPU, not the CPU, is the ceiling. If the processor were the bottleneck, we would expect smaller FPS differences between Low and Ultra at the same resolution. The 55.8 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p (89.4 vs 33.6) is substantial and points to the Arc B580 struggling with the game's heavier visual features.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B580, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with 2560 shading units and 20 ray tracing cores, operates at a boost clock of 2670 MHz. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU sits in the 66th percentile among all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 23021. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, scores 23181 — a delta of just -0.7%, meaning the B580 is essentially matched with a well-known competitor in synthetic benchmarks.

In The Medium, the GPU's performance profile is clear from the resolution scaling data. At 1080p Low, the B580 produces 89.4 FPS, which is respectable. But pushing to 4K Ultra drops the frame rate to 19.1 FPS — a 78.6% reduction. The memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s should theoretically handle 4K textures, but the data suggests the GPU's raw compute throughput (13.67 TFLOPS FP32) is insufficient for the game's demands at high resolutions with maximum settings.

The pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s provide context for why the card struggles. At 4K resolution, the GPU must fill over 8.3 million pixels per frame, and with the Ultra preset's likely additional effects, the fill rate becomes a limiting factor. The measured FPS at 4K Medium (37 FPS) versus 4K High (27 FPS) shows that even moderate setting reductions help, but the card still can't reach 60 FPS at 4K on any preset other than Low.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Ryzen 5 7600 + Arc B580 combination ranks 1298th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the bottom 23% of all system configurations tested for this game. The rank is notable given that the individual components perform reasonably in their respective benchmark pools — the CPU at the 83rd percentile and the GPU at the 66th percentile. The combination underperforms relative to what those individual rankings might suggest, indicating a potential pairing inefficiency or a game that favors other hardware configurations.

The data suggests that The Medium may not be optimized for Intel's Arc architecture, as the B580's synthetic benchmark scores (a Passmark G3D score of 15748) don't translate into competitive in-game performance. The 27 FPS at 4K High and 41.3 FPS at 1080p High are below what the GPU's raw specs would suggest. This rank of 1298 out of 1689 puts the combo in the lower third of tested systems, meaning a significant majority of other CPU-GPU pairings deliver better frame rates in this title.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For 1080p gaming, the Medium preset at 56.9 FPS provides a playable experience with balanced visual quality. The Low preset delivers 89.4 FPS, which is smoother but sacrifices visual fidelity. The High preset at 41.3 FPS and Ultra at 33.6 FPS both fall below the 60 FPS threshold, making them less ideal for responsive gameplay. The data indicates that Medium at 1080p is the sweet spot for this combination.

At 1440p, the Medium preset drops to 48.6 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for fast-paced sequences. The Low preset at 76.2 FPS is the only option that clears 60 FPS at this resolution. High at 32.6 FPS and Ultra at 23.7 FPS are both below acceptable thresholds for a horror game where timing matters. For 4K, the Low preset at 58.3 FPS is the only viable option, with Medium at 37 FPS and High at 27 FPS being too low for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset at 19.1 FPS should be avoided entirely.

The recommendation is clear: users targeting 60 FPS should use Low at 4K, Medium at 1440p, or Medium at 1080p. Those willing to accept lower frame rates for higher visual quality can use High at 1440p (32.6 FPS) or High at 1080p (41.3 FPS), but the data shows diminishing returns beyond Medium.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in The Medium?

A: The data shows 1080p with Medium settings produces 56.9 FPS, which is the highest frame rate above 60 FPS minus the Low preset's 89.4 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and performance, 1080p Medium is the recommended choice.

Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which produces 58.3 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K yields 37 FPS, High yields 27 FPS, and Ultra yields 19.1 FPS — all below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060's 23181 score. It is 0.1% higher than the AMD Radeon 760M's 22999 score.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all tested processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 ranks in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26617.

Q: How much FPS does the Low preset gain over Ultra at 1080p?

A: The Low preset produces 89.4 FPS at 1080p, while Ultra produces 33.6 FPS — a difference of 55.8 FPS, or 166% higher.

Q: Is this combo ranked well for The Medium?

A: No, it ranks 1298th out of 1689 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 23% of all tested systems for this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low at 89.4 FPS, Medium at 56.9 FPS, High at 41.3 FPS, and Ultra at 33.6 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decline, with the largest single-step drop occurring between Low and Medium (32.5 FPS difference).

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low at 76.2 FPS, Medium at 48.6 FPS, High at 32.6 FPS, and Ultra at 23.7 FPS. The step from Medium to High (16 FPS difference) is the largest at this resolution, indicating that High settings introduce effects that significantly impact performance.

At 3840x2160, the values are: Low at 58.3 FPS, Medium at 37 FPS, High at 27 FPS, and Ultra at 19.1 FPS. This resolution shows the most compressed range between settings — a 39.2 FPS spread from Low to Ultra — suggesting that the GPU is saturated at 4K regardless of settings, and the differences come from the intensity of the graphical effects rather than raw resolution overhead.

Comparing across resolutions at the same settings: Low drops from 89.4 FPS at 1080p to 76.2 FPS at 1440p (a 14.8% reduction) and then to 58.3 FPS at 4K (a 34.8% reduction from 1080p). Medium drops from 56.9 to 48.6 to 37 FPS across the three resolutions. High drops from 41.3 to 32.6 to 27 FPS. Ultra drops from 33.6 to 23.7 to 19.1 FPS. The pattern shows that higher settings amplify the resolution penalty, with Ultra experiencing a 43.2% drop from 1080p to 4K compared to Low's 34.8% drop.