The Medium

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the Intel Arc B580 presents a specific performance profile in The Medium, a horror title released in 2021. The data shows a combination that is highly sensitive to graphics presets, with performance scaling that varies significantly across resolutions. The measured frame rates indicate that while the GPU is capable, the demands of this title at higher settings can quickly overwhelm the system, particularly at 4K.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-10400F perform in synthetic benchmarks relative to its closest rivals?

A: The processor's average benchmark score is 14168, placing it 0.4% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7552 and 0.8% behind the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C. It also trails the Intel Core i5-8500 by 1.1% and the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 by 1.2%, showing it is effectively in a dead heat with its direct competitors.

Q: What is the best-case scenario for this combo's ranking among all tested configurations?

A: In The Medium, this combination ranks 1331 out of 1689 tested combos. This places it in the bottom half of all systems tested, indicating that while it can run the game, many other hardware pairings will deliver higher performance.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the Intel Arc B580 and how does it relate to its VRAM?

A: The Intel Arc B580 features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This substantial bandwidth is crucial for handling the high-resolution textures and data streaming demands of a game like The Medium.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the combo achieve a playable frame rate above 60 FPS?

A: The benchmark data shows the only configurations achieving an average above 60 FPS are at 1080p with Low settings (85.6 FPS) and 1440p with Low settings (71.5 FPS). At 4K with Low settings, the average FPS drops to 59.5, just below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How large is the performance gap between the lowest and highest graphics presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the difference is stark. The system achieves 85.6 FPS on Low settings but only 31.3 FPS on Ultra settings. This represents a performance drop of more than half when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking compared to all other GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc B580 sits in the 66th percentile against all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 23021, placing it 0.1% above the AMD Radeon 760M and 0.3% above the NVIDIA P106-100, but 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark data positions this hardware pairing at rank 1331 out of 1689 tested combinations in The Medium. This percentile placement is a critical indicator of its overall capability within the game's ecosystem. The ranking suggests that the system is placed in the lower third of all tested configurations, meaning a significant majority of other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher average frame rates in this specific title.

This rank is not a measure of absolute failure, but rather a reflection of the game's demanding nature, especially at higher resolutions. The data indicates that the system's performance is heavily influenced by the settings chosen, and the score is dragged down by the very low frame rates seen at Ultra and High presets across all resolutions. While the processor's synthetic benchmarks position it near its direct rivals, the in-game results demonstrate that the pairing as a whole does not excel in The Medium compared to the broader field of tested hardware. The overall score is a composite of all measured resolutions and settings, and the poor performance at 4K Ultra and High settings significantly impacts its final standing.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the primary driver of frame rates in this configuration, and its capabilities are defined by its memory subsystem and clock speeds. It comes with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, which provides a memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is a key asset for a game like The Medium, which uses fixed camera angles and detailed environments that require substantial texture data to be loaded quickly. The GPU's base and boost clocks are both set at 2670 MHz, and its memory runs at an effective speed of 19 Gbps.

This combination of VRAM capacity and bandwidth allows the card to handle the game's assets at lower resolutions, but it becomes a bottleneck at higher settings. The GPU's raw compute performance, listed as 13.67 TFLOPS for FP32, is not sufficient to maintain high frame rates when the game's visual fidelity is increased to High or Ultra. The data shows a clear pattern: as the resolution and quality settings increase, the average FPS drops sharply, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor in these scenarios. The 12 GB of VRAM is not the issue; rather, the processing power is insufficient to render the complex scenes at high detail levels. The card is positioned in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with a synthetic average score of 23021, which places it in the mid-range tier, but its real-world performance in this specific title is more constrained.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on the user's target resolution. The data clearly shows that the "Low" preset is the only one that delivers consistently smooth gameplay. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 85.6 FPS, which is excellent. For 2560x1440, Low settings still provide a very playable 71.5 FPS. Even at 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only option that comes close to a playable frame rate, hitting 59.5 FPS.

The "Medium" preset is a compromise that may be acceptable at lower resolutions. At 1080p, it yields 53.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target but playable. At 1440p, it drops to 46.4 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 36.9 FPS, which is too low for a smooth experience. The "High" and "Ultra" presets are generally not recommended for this hardware. At 1080p, High settings produce 39.4 FPS and Ultra produces 31.3 FPS, both of which are suboptimal. The data suggests that to get the most out of this system, the user should prioritize the Low preset for any resolution, or consider Medium only if they are playing at 1080p and can tolerate lower frame rates. The performance gap between Low and Medium is significant across all resolutions, making Low the clear choice for maintaining fluid motion.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive look at how this configuration scales with resolution and settings. The data reveals a consistent trend: performance is heavily dependent on both variables, with resolution having a more pronounced effect at higher quality settings.

1920x1080: At this resolution, the system shows its best performance. The Low preset delivers an average of 85.6 FPS, making it the only setting that offers a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Moving to Medium drops the average to 53.3 FPS, which is still playable but noticeably less smooth. High settings reduce the average further to 39.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 31.3 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 54.3 FPS difference, indicating a steep performance cost for higher visual fidelity.

2560x1440: At 1440p, the performance takes a step down across all settings. The Low preset is still the standout, achieving an average of 71.5 FPS, which remains very playable. The Medium preset falls to 46.4 FPS, a significant drop from its 1080p counterpart. High settings yield 32.8 FPS, and Ultra is nearly unplayable at 26.0 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 45.5 FPS, showing that the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates at this resolution when quality settings are increased.

3840x2160: At 4K, the system is severely challenged. The Low preset is the only viable option, with an average of 59.5 FPS. This is just under the 60 FPS target but is the only setting that approaches playability. The Medium preset drops to 36.9 FPS, which is a substantial decrease. High settings manage only 24.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 21.6 FPS. The performance difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 37.9 FPS, and the data shows that this resolution is only feasible when all quality settings are minimized. The results indicate that the Intel Arc B580 is not capable of handling The Medium at high or ultra settings at any resolution, and even medium settings are only borderline acceptable at 1080p.