The Medium

# The Medium with Intel Core i7-12700K + Intel Arc B580

The Intel Arc B580 brings 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, paired with a 2670 MHz base and boost clock. The Intel Core i7-12700K provides 12 cores and 20 threads with a 3.60 GHz base clock and 5.00 GHz boost. Together, this combo produces a measured performance profile in The Medium that is heavily constrained by the GPU at higher settings, while the CPU's strong multi-threaded capacity (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784) suggests it is not the primary bottleneck in most scenarios tested.

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

The Intel Arc B580's specifications directly shape its behavior in The Medium. The GPU operates at a fixed 2670 MHz for both base and boost clocks, which is unusually high for a modern graphics card and contributes to its raw throughput. The memory subsystem offers 12 GB of GDDR6 across a 192-bit interface, with 2375 MHz memory clock translating to 19 Gbps effective and a total bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is substantial for a card in this class, yet the data shows the GPU struggling at higher presets.

At 4K Ultra, the combo averages just 21 FPS, while 4K High reaches 26 FPS. These numbers indicate the Arc B580's compute resources—2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs—are overwhelmed by The Medium's heavy rendering load at 3840x2160. The pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are respectable on paper, but the game's fixed camera angles and layered scene rendering appear to demand more than the GPU can deliver at high resolutions and quality settings.

Interestingly, dropping to Low at 4K yields 58 FPS, a massive jump from 21 FPS at Ultra. This suggests the GPU's ceiling is not the memory bandwidth or VRAM capacity—12 GB is ample—but rather the shader and texture workloads associated with higher presets. The 20 RT cores are present, but The Medium does not heavily utilize ray tracing in the measured rows, so their impact is minimal here. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 13.67 TFLOPS provides a baseline, yet the benchmark results indicate that the Arc B580 is better suited to 1080p and 1440p gaming than 4K for this title.

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

The measured data provides clear guidance on preset selection. At 1080p, Low delivers 88 FPS, Medium 55 FPS, High 40 FPS, and Ultra 31 FPS. The jump from Medium to High is a 15 FPS drop (from 55 to 40), while the drop from High to Ultra is 9 FPS (from 40 to 31). For a smooth experience, Medium at 1080p offers the best balance, staying above 55 FPS with minimums of 47 FPS, which is playable for a horror title where atmosphere matters more than twitch reflexes.

At 1440p, Low runs at 74 FPS, Medium at 47 FPS, High at 33 FPS, and Ultra at 26 FPS. Medium at 1440p remains viable, with minimums of 40 FPS, but the margin is thinner. At 4K, no preset achieves 60 FPS: Low hits 58 FPS, Medium 37 FPS, High 26 FPS, and Ultra 21 FPS. The 4K Low result of 58 FPS is close to playable but requires accepting significant visual compromises.

The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot across all resolutions, providing a 47 FPS average at 1440p and 55 FPS at 1080p. High presets are only recommended for users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate stability, as the 33 FPS at 1440p High and 40 FPS at 1080p High introduce noticeable stutter in a game that relies on tension and timing. Ultra is not recommended at any resolution, as even 1080p Ultra (31 FPS) falls below the 40 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for acceptable pacing.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-12700K and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2819 out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the lower 24th percentile of all combinations, meaning roughly 76% of tested systems perform better. The rank is surprising given the components' individual specifications, but the data clarifies why: the Arc B580's average benchmark score (23021) places it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, yet its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (avgScore 22895, deltaPct 0.6) and the RTX 3080 (avgScore 23172, deltaPct -0.7). These are older or lower-tier cards, and The Medium appears to favor NVIDIA architecture.

The CPU, meanwhile, sits in the 84th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 35287, nearly matching the Intel Core i7-12700KF (avgScore 35365, deltaPct -0.2). This indicates the processor is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. The combination's low rank stems from the GPU's inability to maintain high frame rates at demanding settings, particularly at 4K. The data shows that even at 1080p Low (88 FPS), the combo does not reach the 100+ FPS territory that higher-ranked systems achieve, suggesting the GPU's driver overhead or architectural inefficiencies in this specific game hold back an otherwise capable CPU.

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

Analyzing the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear pattern of GPU limitation. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 88 at 1080p to 74 at 1440p (a 15.9% decrease) and then to 58 at 4K (a 21.6% decrease from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K Low is 34.1%. At Medium settings, the progression is 55 → 47 → 37 FPS, with a 32.7% total drop. At High, it's 40 → 33 → 26 FPS, a 35% drop. At Ultra, it's 31 → 26 → 21 FPS, a 32.3% drop.

These consistent percentage drops across all settings indicate that the GPU is the bottleneck. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect the FPS to plateau at lower resolutions (e.g., 1080p and 1440p showing similar frame rates), but instead, the FPS scales almost linearly with pixel count. The 4K-to-1080p ratio is roughly 0.66 for Low (58/88), 0.67 for Medium (37/55), 0.65 for High (26/40), and 0.68 for Ultra (21/31). This uniformity suggests the Arc B580's shading and texturing capabilities are the primary constraint, not the i7-12700K's 12 cores or 20 threads.

The i7-12700K's integrated UHD Graphics 770 is irrelevant here, as the discrete Arc B580 handles all rendering. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 9276 and single-thread score of 1043 indicate it can feed the GPU adequately, but the GPU's compute ceiling at 13.67 TFLOPS is reached before the CPU can stretch its legs. For players targeting 4K, the data implies that even the Low preset (58 FPS) barely achieves playable rates, and any future upgrade should prioritize the GPU.

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

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 88 FPS average
• Medium: 55 FPS average, 47 FPS minimum, 64 FPS maximum
• High: 40 FPS average
• Ultra: 31 FPS average

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 74 FPS average
• Medium: 47 FPS average, 40 FPS minimum, 54 FPS maximum
• High: 33 FPS average
• Ultra: 26 FPS average

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 58 FPS average
• Medium: 37 FPS average, 31 FPS minimum, 42 FPS maximum
• High: 26 FPS average
• Ultra: 21 FPS average

The Medium preset at each resolution provides the only rows with minimum and maximum FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the 47 FPS minimum and 64 FPS maximum show a 17 FPS variance, indicating some scene-dependent fluctuations. At 1440p Medium, the range is 40 to 54 FPS, a 14 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range narrows to 31 to 42 FPS, an 11 FPS spread. This tightening of the variance at higher resolutions suggests that at 4K, the GPU is consistently near its limit, whereas at 1080p, there are moments where the GPU has headroom, allowing for brief FPS spikes.

The delta between Low and Ultra at each resolution is notable: at 1080p, the difference is 57 FPS (88 vs 31); at 1440p, it's 48 FPS (74 vs 26); at 4K, it's 37 FPS (58 vs 21). The shrinking delta at higher resolutions reinforces that the GPU's absolute performance ceiling is being approached, and preset changes have diminishing returns as resolution increases.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 60 FPS on any setting?*

A: Yes, but only at 1080p Low, which averages 88 FPS. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 74 FPS, still above 60, but at 4K Low, the average falls to 58 FPS, just below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: Medium at 1440p delivers 47 FPS average with a 40 FPS minimum, making it the highest preset that remains consistently above 40 FPS. High and Ultra at 1440p average 33 and 26 FPS respectively, which may feel sluggish for a horror game.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021, which is 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895), 0.7% lower than the RTX 3080 (23172), and 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061). These are close margins, but in The Medium, the measured FPS suggests the Arc B580 underperforms relative to these synthetic scores.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K holding back the Arc B580 in this game?

A: The data suggests no. The i7-12700K's 3DMark max-thread score of 9979 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784 indicate ample CPU headroom. The consistent FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K points to the GPU as the limiting component, not the CPU.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 4K with this combo?

A: At 4K, the measured averages are 58 FPS on Low, 37 FPS on Medium, 26 FPS on High, and 21 FPS on Ultra. Only Low approaches playable frame rates, and even then, it falls slightly below 60 FPS.

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

A: This combo ranks 2819 out of 3724 tested combinations, placing it in the lower 24th percentile. This rank is primarily due to the GPU's limitations at higher settings, as the CPU ranks in the 84th percentile of all CPUs.

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

The Intel Core i7-12700K's architecture is Alder Lake-S, built on Intel's 10 nm process with a die size of 215 mm². It features 12 cores and 20 threads, with an 80 KB L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and a shared 25 MB L3 cache. The base clock of 3.60 GHz boosts to 5.00 GHz, and the CPU has a TDP of 125 W. These specifications produce strong synthetic benchmarks: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19784, a single-core score of 1850.5, and a Geekbench multi-core score of 15790.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and maintain frame pacing. The game's fixed-camera horror design is not typically CPU-intensive at low resolutions, but the data shows that even at 1080p Low (88 FPS), the CPU does not bottleneck—the FPS scales down as resolution increases, which is a GPU-bound signature. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2065 and 4-thread score of 4011 indicate strong single-threaded performance, which is relevant for games that rely on a few primary threads.

The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35287, places it just below the Intel Core i5-13600T (35305, deltaPct -0.1) and i7-12700KF (35365, deltaPct -0.2). This suggests the i7-12700K is a high-performing processor, and its 20 threads provide ample parallelism for background tasks while gaming. However, in The Medium, the CPU's capabilities are underutilized because the GPU reaches its limit first. The data implies that pairing this CPU with a more powerful GPU would yield significantly higher frame rates, as the CPU has the headroom to support faster graphics cards without becoming a bottleneck.