The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the Intel Arc B580 presents a mid-range 2024 GPU with a 2019 mainstream CPU in The Medium. Benchmark results show this combination is capable of delivering playable frame rates, but it struggles at higher resolutions and with the game's most demanding presets. The data indicates a system that is well-balanced for 1080p gaming, yet one that requires careful settings adjustments to maintain smooth performance at 1440p or 4K.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the most practical resolution. At this setting, the combo achieves an average of 55 FPS on Medium and 40 FPS on High, which are both playable. Moving to 2560x1440 drops the Medium preset average to 47 FPS, and at 3840x2160, only the Low preset stays above 60 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle the Ultra preset?

A: No, the Ultra preset is not viable with this hardware. The measured FPS shows an average of 31 FPS at 1920x1080, 26 FPS at 2560x1440, and 21 FPS at 3840x2160. These numbers are below the smooth threshold for a horror game that relies on atmosphere.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 34260, which places it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. It is nearly identical in performance to the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (0.1% faster) and AMD EPYC 4244P (0.1% faster), and it is only 0.2% slower than the Intel Core i5-13450HX.

Q: What is the GPU's standing among other graphics cards?

A: The Intel Arc B580 ranks in the 68th percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 23021. Its performance is within 1% of the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 based on their average scores, making it a solid mid-range contender.

Q: Which settings preset offers the best balance of quality and performance?

A: The Medium preset is the sweet spot. It provides a significant frame rate boost over High and Ultra while maintaining a playable experience, with measured averages of 55 FPS at 1080p, 47 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K. The Low preset is the only option that consistently hits high frame rates.

Q: How does this combo rank against all other tested combinations?

A: This specific configuration ranks 2819 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the lower half, indicating that while it can run the game, many other combinations of CPUs and GPUs deliver better performance.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the primary driver of frame rates in this configuration, and its specifications dictate the performance ceilings observed in the data. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This memory capacity is ample for The Medium's textures, even at high resolutions, but the bandwidth becomes a limiting factor at 4K where the data shows the most significant frame rate drops.

Clock speeds are fixed at 2670 MHz for both base and boost, which is a modest speed for this generation. The GPU's compute power is rated at 13.67 TFLOPS for FP32, a figure that explains its mid-range performance classification. In the benchmark hierarchy, the B580 sits at the 68th percentile, with its average score of 23021 placing it in direct competition with the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, both of which are within a single percentage point in average score.

The performance scaling across resolutions confirms the GPU's role. At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the card produces an average of 55 FPS. This drops to 47 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 37 FPS at 3840x2160 for the same preset. This 33% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K shows that the B580 is not a high-resolution powerhouse. The data indicates that while the 12 GB VRAM buffer is sufficient, the GPU's shading units and texture units are overwhelmed by the pixel count at 4K, leading to the Low preset being the only option that approaches playable frame rates at that resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X provides the processing foundation for this combo, and its strengths and weaknesses shape the experience in The Medium. This CPU is built on the Zen 2 architecture (Matisse) and features 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. While it lacks the single-thread dominance of newer designs, its multi-threaded capabilities are robust for a game released in 2021.

The CPU's benchmark results highlight its position in the market. It scores 2092 in Cinebench R15 multicore and 8899 in Geekbench multicore, with a Passmark multithread score of 22458. These numbers place it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. The data shows it is virtually tied with the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 (0.1% faster) and the AMD EPYC 4244P (0.1% faster), and it is only 0.2% behind the Intel Core i5-13450HX, indicating that this older chip still holds its own against modern mid-range parts.

For The Medium, the 8-core configuration is more than adequate to feed the Intel Arc B580. The game is GPU-bound, meaning the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck in most scenarios. The data supports this, as the frame rates scale primarily with resolution and settings rather than showing signs of CPU limitation. The CPU’s 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are sufficient for the game's engine, ensuring that the GPU is not starved of data.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 3700X and the Intel Arc B580 ranks 2819 out of 3724 tested combos for The Medium. This places the system in the 75th percentile of all combinations, meaning it outperforms roughly a quarter of the tested hardware pairings. This rank is a direct reflection of the measured FPS data, which shows a system that is capable but not exceptional.

The ranking suggests that this pairing is balanced, but both components are near the mid-range of their respective markets. The CPU is in the 84th percentile, while the GPU is in the 68th percentile. The combo's overall rank is pulled down by the GPU's relative weakness at higher resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system performs admirably, but the frame rates drop off sharply at 2560x1440 and 3840x2160, which likely places it behind combos that feature more powerful GPUs.

The data indicates that the system is most competitive at 1080p, where the CPU's strong multi-threading can fully support the GPU. At 4K with the Ultra preset, the average of 21 FPS is a clear indicator of the system's limits. The rank of 2819 out of 3724 is a good summary of this reality: it is a functional gaming PC, but it is not built for high-refresh-rate or high-resolution gaming with this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset is the optimal choice for this hardware combination. It offers the best balance between visual fidelity and playable frame rates across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 55 FPS, which is smooth for a narrative-driven horror game. The High preset, at 40 FPS average, is still playable but introduces more noticeable frame pacing issues.

For users targeting 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended setting. The 47 FPS average is acceptable, though it is not ideal for fast-paced action. The Low preset, at 74 FPS, is the only option that provides a consistently high frame rate at this resolution, but it sacrifices visual quality. The data shows that the Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as it produces an average of 26 FPS at this resolution, which is a poor experience.

At 3840x2160, the choice is clear: only the Low preset is recommended. The 58 FPS average is the sole playable option at this resolution. The Medium preset drops to 37 FPS, which is borderline, while High and Ultra are unplayable at 33 and 21 FPS respectively. For the best experience at 4K, users must accept the Low preset or lower the resolution to 1440p to use the Medium preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across all settings and resolutions. The analysis below uses the exact average FPS figures from the dataset.

1920x1080:

• Ultra: The average FPS is 31. This is the worst-performing preset at this resolution, indicating that the GPU is overwhelmed by the highest visual settings.
• High: The average FPS is 40. This is a playable frame rate, but it represents a significant drop from the Medium preset.
• Medium: The average FPS is 55, with a minimum of 47 and a maximum of 64. This is the most balanced preset, providing a consistent and smooth experience.
• Low: The average FPS is 88. This is the highest frame rate recorded at this resolution, making it the best choice for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors.

2560x1440:

• Ultra: The average FPS is 26. This is below the threshold for smooth gameplay and is not recommended.
• High: The average FPS is 33. This is a marginal improvement over Ultra but still falls short of a smooth 60 FPS target.
• Medium: The average FPS is 47, with a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 54. This is the recommended preset for this resolution, offering a playable experience.
• Low: The average FPS is 74. This is a very smooth experienceasi and is the best option for achieving high frame rates at 1440p.

3840x2160:

• Ultra: The average FPS is 21. This is the worst performance in the entire dataset, making the game effectively unplayable.
• High: The average FPS is 26. This is slightly better than Ultra but still far below a playable threshold.
• Medium: The average FPS is 37, with a minimum of 31 and a maximum of 42. This is a borderline playable experience, but it may suffer from stutters in demanding scenes.
• Low: The average FPS is 58. This is the only preset at 4K that provides a consistently smooth frame rate, making it the sole viable option for this resolution.

The data shows a clear pattern: the Intel Arc B580 is a 1080p-class GPU for this title. The frame rate drops are steep and consistent as resolution increases, with the Medium preset losing 8 FPS from 1080p to 1440p and another 10 FPS from 1440p to 4K. The High and Ultra presets become unplayable at 4K, reinforcing the conclusion that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with Medium to High settings.