The Medium

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the Intel Arc B580 occupies a mid-pack position in The Medium, ranking 2191st out of 2911 tested combos. This places the configuration in the 25th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that while it can run the game, it is far from a top-tier performer. The data shows a system that is playable at lower settings and resolutions but struggles to maintain smooth framerates at higher presets, particularly at 4K. The benchmark results reveal a clear performance hierarchy where the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor, as evidenced by the dramatic framerate drops when moving from Low to Ultra settings across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core Ultra 5 235 and Arc B580 sits at position 2191 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the performance spectrum. This rank is notably below the 50th percentile, meaning more than half of all tested configurations deliver higher average framerates in this title. The ranking reflects the Arc B580's position in the GPU hierarchy; the card sits in the 68th percentile against all GPUs, which is respectable but not exceptional. The CPU, meanwhile, ranks in the 89th percentile against all CPUs, showing that the processor is significantly stronger relative to its peers than the graphics card is relative to its own competition.

The performance gap between the two components is substantial. The Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23021 places it in a tight cluster with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, which scores 22895, and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, which scores 23061. The B580 trails these rivals by margins of 0.6% and 0.2% respectively, indicating near-parity performance. However, the B580 also sits close to the RTX 3080, which scores 23172, a delta of -0.7%. This clustering suggests that the B580 delivers performance comparable to cards from several generations, which in a demanding title like The Medium translates to a mid-pack ranking for the overall system.

When considering the system's rank, it is important to note that The Medium is a horror game with demanding visual effects. The data shows that the combo achieves 55 FPS at 1080p Medium, which is the most balanced preset for this configuration. At this setting, the system delivers a playable experience, but the rank of 2191 indicates that many other combinations can achieve higher framerates or handle higher quality settings. The CPU's strong performance, evidenced by its 89th percentile ranking, does not compensate for the GPU's limitations in this title, as the framerate scales more directly with graphics settings than with processor capabilities.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the defining component in this system's performance in The Medium, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is ample for The Medium, which does not appear to be bandwidth-limited based on the framerate scaling observed. The card's base and boost clocks are both 2670 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). These clock speeds are moderately high, but the card's overall compute throughput, measured at 13.67 TFLOPS FP32, is the key factor in its gaming performance.

The B580's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks help contextualize its gaming behavior. The card's average benchmark score of 23021 puts it in the same performance tier as the RTX 2080 (22895) and RX 580 2048SP (23061), with performance deltas of 0.6% and -0.2% respectively. The B580 also nearly matches the RTX 3080 (23172), trailing by only 0.7%. These comparisons indicate that the B580 should be expected to deliver frame rates similar to these older or lower-tier cards, and the measured FPS in The Medium confirms this expectation. The GPU's 68th percentile ranking against all GPUs means it outperforms a majority of graphics cards, but it lacks the headroom needed for high-refresh-rate gaming at max settings in demanding titles.

The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is a notable asset, as it exceeds the requirements of The Medium at all tested resolutions. The data shows that the framerate drops from 88 FPS at 1080p Low to 58 FPS at 4K Low, a reduction of 34%, which is consistent with the GPU's compute limitations rather than memory capacity issues. Similarly, at Medium settings, the framerate falls from 55 FPS at 1080p to 37 FPS at 4K, a 33% reduction. These scaling patterns suggest that the GPU's shading units (2560) and texture mapping units (160) are the bottlenecks, not the memory subsystem. The card's pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are modest figures that limit performance at higher resolutions where more pixels need to be processed.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows indicate that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and playability for this combo, with the caveat that resolution plays a significant role. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS, providing a smooth experience without major framerate dips. This preset is the highest quality setting that maintains an average above 50 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p delivers 88 FPS, which is excellent for fast-paced action, but the visual downgrade may not be necessary given the Medium preset's playability.

At 1440p, the Medium preset drops to 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS, which is borderline playable but may feel less smooth during intense scenes. The Low preset at 1440p achieves 74 FPS, making it a more comfortable choice for this resolution. The High preset at 1440p yields only 33 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, and Ultra is even worse at 26 FPS. At 4K, the situation degrades significantly: Medium produces 37 FPS (minimum 31 FPS), which is playable but not ideal, while Low produces 58 FPS, which is the only playable option at this resolution. High (26 FPS) and Ultra (21 FPS) at 4K are not viable for a smooth experience.

For users prioritizing a consistent framerate, the Low preset provides the most headroom at all resolutions, with 88 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 58 FPS at 4K. However, the Medium preset is the recommended sweet spot for 1080p and 1440p users who want better visual fidelity without sacrificing playability. At 4K, the choice is starker, as Medium at 37 FPS is the highest quality option that stays above 30 FPS. The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with Medium settings, where it delivers the most balanced experience. Pushing to higher resolutions requires dropping to Low settings to maintain acceptable framerates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Arc B580 delivers its strongest results. The Low preset produces 88 FPS on average, which is the highest framerate recorded for this combo in any configuration. The Medium preset reduces this to 55 FPS, with a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS, indicating a stable experience with minor fluctuations. The High preset drops the average to 40 FPS, which is still playable but less smooth. The Ultra preset yields only 31 FPS, making it the weakest 1080p option. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is a 65% reduction in framerate, highlighting the GPU's sensitivity to quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance declines across all presets. The Low preset achieves 74 FPS, which is a 16% drop from 1080p Low. The Medium preset produces 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS, showing a 15% reduction compared to 1080p Medium. The High preset falls to 33 FPS, and the Ultra preset bottoms out at 26 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 65%, mirroring the 1080p scaling. The framerate drops from 1080p to 1440p are consistent across presets, averaging around 15-16%, which is expected as pixel count increases by 78%.

At 3840x2160, the combo's limitations become pronounced. The Low preset delivers 58 FPS, which is the only 4K option that approaches smoothness. The Medium preset drops to 37 FPS, with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 42 FPS, indicating that the experience is playable but with noticeable stutters during demanding scenes. The High preset yields 26 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces just 21 FPS, both of which are below playable thresholds. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steeper: Low drops 22%, Medium drops 21%, High drops 21%, and Ultra drops 19%. This suggests that the GPU's pixel processing capabilities are increasingly stressed at 4K, where the fixed overhead of higher resolutions amplifies the performance gap.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this system in The Medium?

A: The data shows that 1080p Medium provides the best balance, achieving 55 FPS with a minimum of 47 FPS and a maximum of 64 FPS. This is the highest quality preset that maintains an average above 50 FPS at any resolution.

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

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which produce 58 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 37 FPS, which is playable but with a minimum of 31 FPS, while High and Ultra presets are not recommended at 26 FPS and 21 FPS respectively.

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

A: The Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23021 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, 0.6% faster), the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, 0.2% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172, 0.7% slower). This indicates performance parity with these cards.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck. The Core Ultra 5 235 ranks in the 89th percentile against all CPUs, while the Arc B580 ranks in the 68th percentile against all GPUs. The framerate drops significantly with higher graphics settings, indicating that the graphics card limits performance.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 88 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 31 FPS, a 65% reduction. This large gap demonstrates the GPU's sensitivity to quality settings in The Medium.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM of the Arc B580 cause any limitations in this game?

A: The data does not indicate VRAM limitations. The framerate scales consistently with resolution and settings, suggesting that compute performance, not memory capacity, is the limiting factor. The 12 GB capacity is sufficient for all tested configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a single-core score of 2085. In PassMark, the processor achieves a multi-thread score of 37816 and a single-thread score of 4516. These results place the CPU in the 89th percentile against all CPUs, indicating it is a high-performing processor for gaming workloads.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46030, 0.1% slower), the Intel Core i9-13900HX (46098, 0.1% faster), and two AMD EPYC server processors. The Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and EPYC 4364P (45970, 0.2% slower) are within a fraction of a percent of the Ultra 5 235's average score of 46062. This tight clustering shows that the CPU is competitive with top-tier mobile and server processors, though these rivals are not typically used in the same gaming configurations as the Arc B580.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's high single-thread performance is beneficial, as the game's horror genre often involves scripting and AI that rely on single-core speed. However, the measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 88 FPS, which is high enough to suggest that the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at lower settings. The framerate drops as graphics settings increase, regardless of the CPU's capabilities, confirming that the Core Ultra 5 235 is not the bottleneck. The CPU's 14 cores and 14 threads may not be fully utilized by The Medium, but the strong single-thread performance ensures that the game's logic does not impede the GPU's work.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 with a dual-channel bus and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for the Arc B580's needs, as the GPU has its own 12 GB of GDDR6 memory. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes from the CPU provides ample bandwidth for the GPU, which uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 connection. Overall, the Ultra 5 235 is a capable processor that does not hinder the system's performance in The Medium, but it also cannot compensate for the GPU's limitations at higher settings and resolutions. The system's rank of 2191 out of 2911 combos is primarily a reflection of the Arc B580's mid-tier position in the GPU hierarchy.