The Medium

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the Intel Arc B580 produces a playable but constrained experience in The Medium, with performance heavily dependent on resolution and settings. The data indicates this combo ranks in the 24th percentile of tested configurations, suggesting that while the system can handle the game, it is far from optimal for high-fidelity gameplay, particularly at higher resolutions. The Arc B580’s 12 GB VRAM is a clear asset, but the CPU’s 4-core/8-thread design appears to be a limiting factor in achieving higher frame rates across the board.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The only row where the average frame rate meets or exceeds 60 FPS is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which delivers an average of 88 FPS. At 2560x1440 Low, the average drops to 74 FPS, which is still above 60, but 4K Low yields only 58 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for The Medium?

A: The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2819 out of 3724 tested combos. This places it in the lower half of all configurations, indicating below-average performance for this specific title.

Q: What is the impact of the Ultra preset on performance at 1080p?

A: Selecting the Ultra preset at 1920x1080 results in an average frame rate of 31 FPS. This is a significant drop from the 55 FPS average achieved at Medium settings, representing a roughly 43% decrease in performance.

Q: Does the Intel Core i3-12100F bottleneck the Intel Arc B580 in this game?

A: Yes, the data strongly suggests a CPU bottleneck. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is relatively modest (e.g., 55 FPS to 37 FPS at Medium settings), which is less than the resolution change would imply if the GPU were the sole limiting factor. The CPU's single-thread score of 893 in 3DMark and its 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs support this interpretation.

Q: How does the Arc B580's performance compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: According to the data, the Arc B580's average benchmark score is 23021. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, has a nearly identical score of 23061, a delta of -0.2%. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is 0.6% slower, while the RTX 3080 is 0.7% faster in average score.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo at Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS is available for the Medium preset across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, the minimum is 47 FPS; at 2560x1440, it is 40 FPS; and at 3840x2160, it is 31 FPS.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580, with its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, provides a substantial memory pool that is well-suited for a game like The Medium, which is known for its detailed environments. The memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s is a notable feature that helps with texture streaming and data throughput at higher resolutions. The GPU's base and boost clock are both fixed at 2670 MHz, and with a pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s, the card has the raw compute power to render complex scenes.

However, the measured FPS data reveals that the GPU is not the sole determinant of performance. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 88 FPS, but moving to 1080p High drops the average to 40 FPS, a 45% decrease. This sensitivity to settings points to the GPU's compute capabilities being a factor, but the relatively small performance delta when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings suggests the CPU is introducing a bottleneck. For instance, at High settings, the average FPS only drops from 40 at 1080p to 33 at 1440p and 26 at 4K. The GPU's 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs, alongside its benchmark scores on par with the RTX 2080 and RX 580 2048SP, indicate it is a mid-range performer that is being held back by the i3-12100F's processing power in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2819 out of 3724 total tested combinations places it in the bottom 25% of systems for The Medium. This is a low standing that signals a suboptimal pairing for this specific game. The ranking is a result of the CPU's performance ceiling. The i3-12100F, while a capable budget processor with a 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs, has only 4 cores and 8 threads. In a game that can utilize multiple threads, this limitation is apparent.

The GPU, on the other hand, performs at a level comparable to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, with a delta of 0.6% in average benchmark scores. This suggests the B580 has enough power to push higher frame rates than what the i3-12100F can feed it. The combination's rank is therefore dragged down by the CPU, not the GPU. The data shows that the system is capable of generating high frame rates at low settings (88 FPS at 1080p), which demonstrates the GPU's potential is being throttled by the processor in more demanding scenarios. The 2819th position out of 3724 is a clear indicator that this pairing is not balanced for this title, leaving performance on the table.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system shows its best results. With the Low preset, the average FPS is 88. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 55 FPS, with a minimum of 47 and a maximum of 64. The High preset yields an average of 40 FPS, and the Ultra preset brings the average down to 31 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance takes a noticeable hit. The Low preset is the only one that remains above 60 FPS, with an average of 74. The Medium preset averages 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 and a maximum of 54. The High preset averages 33 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 26 FPS. The trend continues at 3840x2160, where the Low preset averages 58 FPS. The Medium preset is the only other one with a recorded minimum and maximum, averaging 37 FPS with a minimum of 31 and a maximum of 42. The High preset averages 26 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the most demanding, resulting in an average of just 21 FPS.

These numbers show a consistent pattern: the system is playable at low settings across all resolutions, but struggles to maintain a smooth experience at higher presets. The gap between Low and Medium is significant, especially at 1080p where the frame rate drops by 33 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is also substantial at every resolution, indicating that the Ultra preset is too demanding for this hardware combination.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic CPU bottleneck. When moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 55 to 47, a decrease of 14.5%. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the drop is from 47 to 37, a 21% decrease. While the frame rate does decrease with resolution, the magnitude of the drop is far less than the 4x increase in pixel count from 1080p to 4K would suggest.

If the GPU were the primary limiting factor, the frame rate would typically scale inversely with the pixel count, resulting in a much larger drop. For example, a 4x increase in resolution would theoretically lead to a ~75% decrease in FPS if the GPU were fully saturated. Instead, we see a 33% drop from 55 FPS at 1080p Medium to 37 FPS at 4K Medium. This indicates that the CPU is unable to prepare frames fast enough to keep the GPU fully utilized, especially at lower resolutions. The GPU is waiting on the CPU, and this bottleneck becomes less severe as the resolution increases because the GPU takes longer to render each frame, giving the CPU more time to catch up. This pattern is consistent across all settings, confirming that the Intel Core i3-12100F is the limiting component in this configuration for The Medium.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend entirely on the target resolution. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the Low preset is the only viable option at 1440p and 1080p. At 1080p Low, the system achieves an excellent 88 FPS average, providing a highly responsive experience. At 1440p Low, the 74 FPS average is still well above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended choice for higher clarity without sacrificing smoothness.

At 4K, the Low preset, with an average of 58 FPS, is the only one that comes close to a playable frame rate, though it dips just below the 60 FPS target. For users who prioritize visual quality over raw frame rate, the Medium preset is the highest playable option. At 1080p Medium, the 55 FPS average is adequate, and the minimum of 47 FPS is acceptable for a slower-paced horror game. At 1440p Medium, the 47 FPS average is still playable, and at 4K Medium, the 37 FPS average is borderline but manageable for a game like The Medium, where precise timing is less critical.

The High and Ultra presets are not recommended for this combo. At any resolution, they fail to consistently hit 30 FPS, with Ultra at 4K dipping to a low 21 FPS average. The performance cost of these presets is too high for the visual improvement they offer. The data suggests that the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, while the Low preset is the only way to achieve a locked 60 FPS or higher experience.