The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the Intel Arc B580 ranks 2191 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places the pairing in the lower-middle portion of the database, indicating that while it is far from the top tier, it is not at the bottom either. The data shows a configuration that can handle the game at playable frame rates in specific scenarios, but it will struggle at higher resolutions and demanding presets. The rank is a reflection of the overall balance between the CPU’s strong compute capabilities and the GPU’s mid-range rasterization performance, which together produce a system that is more suited to 1080p and 1440p gaming than to 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2191 out of 2911 tested combinations places it in the 75th percentile of all tested systems for this title. This is a modest result, suggesting that many other pairings deliver higher average frame rates. The data indicates that the bottleneck in this configuration is primarily the GPU, as the CPU’s benchmark scores are notably stronger relative to its peers. The Intel Arc B580’s average benchmark score of 23021 puts it at the 68th percentile among all GPUs, while the Ryzen 7 9700F sits at the 94th percentile among all CPUs. This mismatch is clear: the processor has ample headroom, but the graphics card limits the final output in The Medium.

When looking at the GPU’s nearest rivals, the Arc B580 is nearly identical in average score to the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (deltaPct -0.2), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (deltaPct 0.6), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (deltaPct -0.7). This tells a specific story: the B580’s raw compute performance is on par with much older or higher-tier cards, but its real-world gaming results, as seen in the measured FPS, are constrained by other factors. The combo rank reflects this reality—it is a middle-of-the-pack performer that can deliver smooth gameplay at lower settings but falls behind when the graphical load increases.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the limiting component in this pairing for The Medium. It features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This is a substantial amount of VRAM for a card in this class, which helps at higher resolutions, but the core clock speeds of 2670 MHz for both base and boost are modest. The card’s shading units number 2560, with 160 texture mapping units and 80 raster output units, and it has 20 ray tracing cores. The pixel rate is 213.6 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 427.2 GTexel/s, which are respectable figures but not enough to push high frame rates in a demanding title like The Medium at maximum settings.

The measured FPS data shows how the GPU’s capabilities translate into real performance. At 1080p Low, the average frame rate is 88 FPS, which is smooth, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 31 FPS. This is a steep decline, indicating that the card’s computational resources are insufficient for the highest preset. The 12 GB VRAM is likely not the issue, as even at 4K Ultra, the memory pool is probably not exhausted; instead, the core processing power is the constraint. The GPU’s FP32 performance is 13.67 TFLOPS, which is solid for mid-range hardware, but The Medium’s rendering requirements at Ultra settings exceed what this card can deliver comfortably. The data suggests that the B580 is best utilized at Medium settings, where it provides a playable experience across all resolutions, albeit with significant frame rate variance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this pairing in The Medium?

A: The data shows that 1080p Low achieves the highest average frame rate at 88 FPS, but 1080p Medium is more balanced with a 55 FPS average. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 47 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it falls to 37 FPS. For a consistent experience, 1080p Medium is the sweet spot.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in The Medium?

A: Yes, but only at lower presets. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 58, which is playable, while 4K Medium yields 37 FPS and 4K High drops to 26 FPS. 4K Ultra is not viable at 21 FPS average.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69996. It is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, 0.7% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, and 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700K. It trails the Intel Core i7-14700KF by 0.2%.

Q: Is the GPU’s performance consistent with its benchmark percentile?

A: The Arc B580’s average benchmark score of 23021 places it at the 68th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, is nearly identical with a deltaPct of -0.2, but the B580’s measured FPS in The Medium shows it performs as expected for its class—mid-range, not top-tier.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the data includes minimum and maximum FPS figures. At 1080p, the range is 47 to 64 FPS (average 55). At 1440p, it is 40 to 54 FPS (average 47). At 4K, it is 31 to 42 FPS (average 37). The variance is consistent across resolutions.

Q: Does the CPU’s high percentile ranking translate to better gaming performance?

A: Not directly. The CPU is at the 94th percentile of all CPUs, but the GPU is at the 68th percentile. The measured FPS in The Medium is limited by the GPU, so the CPU’s strength does not boost the frame rates beyond what the Arc B580 can produce.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how this combo performs across different settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the average frame rates are as follows: Low settings deliver 88 FPS, Medium delivers 55 FPS, High delivers 40 FPS, and Ultra delivers 31 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a 33 FPS drop, which is significant, but the difference between High and Ultra is only 9 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are particularly taxing on the GPU.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings produce 74 FPS, Medium produces 47 FPS, High produces 33 FPS, and Ultra produces 26 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 14 FPS (from 88 to 74), which is a 16% reduction. At Medium, the drop is 8 FPS (from 55 to 47), and at High, it is 7 FPS (from 40 to 33). The relative consistency of these decreases indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the workload scales with resolution.

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution, the frame rates become marginal. Low settings yield 58 FPS, Medium yields 37 FPS, High yields 26 FPS, and Ultra yields 21 FPS. The difference between 1440p and 4K at Low settings is 16 FPS (from 74 to 58), which is a 22% reduction. At Medium, the drop is 10 FPS (from 47 to 37), and at High, it is 7 FPS (from 33 to 26). At Ultra, the drop is only 5 FPS (from 26 to 21), which suggests that the game is already so demanding at this preset that the resolution increase has a diminished relative impact. The data shows that 4K is only playable at Low settings, where 58 FPS is acceptable, but anything above that falls below the 40 FPS threshold that many players consider smooth.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling of FPS from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the bottleneck in this system. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 88 at 1080p to 74 at 1440p to 58 at 4K. This is a drop of 14 FPS (16%) from 1080p to 1440p, and another 16 FPS (22%) from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 30 FPS (34%). At Medium settings, the averages are 55, 47, and 37 FPS for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively. This is a drop of 8 FPS (15%) and then 10 FPS (21%), totaling 18 FPS (33% decrease from 1080p to 4K).

At High settings, the averages are 40, 33, and 26 FPS for the three resolutions. The drops are 7 FPS (18%) and then 7 FPS (21%), totaling 14 FPS (35% decrease). At Ultra, the averages are 31, 26, and 21 FPS. The drops are 5 FPS (16%) and then 5 FPS (19%), totaling 10 FPS (32% decrease). The pattern is remarkably consistent: regardless of the preset, the performance penalty from 1080p to 4K is roughly one-third of the original frame rate. This consistency is a strong indicator that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the resolution scaling would be less pronounced, as the CPU workload does not increase with resolution. Instead, the game is clearly GPU-bound, and the Arc B580’s processing power is what determines the final output.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a powerful processor that is underutilized in this gaming scenario. It has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The CPU is built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm process, and it supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus. Its L3 cache is 32 MB shared, and it has 1 MB of L2 cache per core. The CPU’s benchmark scores are impressive: it achieves a Passmark multithread score of 36470 and a single-thread score of 4691. The data also shows a physics score of 2122 and a floating-point math score of 77955.

These scores place the Ryzen 7 9700F at the 94th percentile among all CPUs, which means it outperforms the vast majority of processors on the market. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, which it beats by 0.2%, and the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which beats it by 0.2%. In the context of The Medium, however, this CPU power does not translate into higher frame rates because the game is not CPU-intensive at the tested settings. The measured FPS at 1080p Low is 88, but this is limited by the GPU, not the CPU. The processor’s role is to feed the GPU with data, and it does so without becoming a bottleneck. The data shows that the CPU has ample headroom, as its performance is far above what is needed for this game. The combo rank is dragged down by the GPU, not the CPU, and this pairing would benefit from a more powerful graphics card to unlock the CPU’s full potential in gaming.