The Medium

The pairing of an AMD Ryzen 5 2600 with an Intel Arc B390 is, on paper, an unusual one: a 2018 desktop CPU joined to a modern 3 nm integrated GPU based on Intel's Xe3-LPG architecture. The database contains measured frame-rate data for this exact combination running The Medium, a horror title released in January 2021, and the recorded results tell a consistent story. Across every resolution and every preset tested, this configuration falls well short of the 60 FPS playability threshold, topping out at 51 FPS at 1080p on Low settings.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Starting with the processor: the Ryzen 5 2600 sits in the 75th percentile of all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 21484. Its nearest rivals are a strikingly mixed group. The Intel Core Ultra 5 228V averages 21440, just 0.2 percent behind, and the Intel Core i9-11900H averages 21367, 0.5 percent behind. Above it, the Intel Xeon D-1746TER scores 21635, 0.7 percent ahead, while the AMD EPYC 9454 averages 21223, 1.2 percent behind. In practical terms, any of these processors would deliver effectively indistinguishable CPU-side behavior in The Medium, since the spread across all four is barely more than one percent.

The graphics side is the defining constraint. The Arc B390 is an integrated solution with 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 24 render output units, and 12 ray tracing cores, producing 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. It sits in just the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482 in the recorded Steel Nomad DirectX 12 test. Its nearest rivals are all modest NVIDIA parts: the GeForce GT 520MX at 1463 (1.3 percent behind), the GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5 percent behind), the GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5 percent behind), and the GeForce GT 710 at 1443 (2.7 percent behind). A system built around any of those GPUs would behave very similarly to this one in The Medium, which is to say, well below comfortable frame rates at all tested settings.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3724 CPU and GPU combinations tested in The Medium, the Ryzen 5 2600 plus Arc B390 ranks 3314th. That places it in the bottom tier of tested configurations, roughly the eleventh percentile from the bottom when inverted against the field. The ranking is unsurprising given the GPU's 9th percentile standing: the Arc B390 is the weakest link by a wide margin, while the Ryzen 5 2600, at the 75th percentile among CPUs, is more than capable by comparison. The rank reflects a GPU-limited system, not a processor-limited one.

Measured FPS Breakdown

All figures below are measured average frame rates from the database; where minimum and maximum values were captured, they are included.

At 1920x1080, the results are:

• Low: 51 FPS average
• Medium: 32 FPS average, with a minimum of 27 and a maximum of 37
• High: 23 FPS average
• Ultra: 18 FPS average

At 2560x1440, the results drop further:

• Low: 43 FPS average
• Medium: 27 FPS average, ranging from a minimum of 23 to a maximum of 31
• High: 19 FPS average
• Ultra: 15 FPS average

At 3840x2160, the configuration struggles severely:

• Low: 34 FPS average
• Medium: 21 FPS average, with a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 24
• High: 15 FPS average
• Ultra: 12 FPS average

The pattern is uniform: each step up in resolution cuts roughly a fifth to a quarter of the frame rate at any given preset, and each step up in preset quality removes another large chunk. The Medium-preset figures are the most informative, since they are the only entries with recorded frame-time ranges. At 1080p Medium, the 27 to 37 FPS band means the experience never even approaches the threshold within its peaks, let alone its dips. At 4K Medium, the range of 18 to 24 FPS represents slideshow territory for a game that relies on atmosphere and exploration.

FAQ

Q: Can the Ryzen 5 2600 + Arc B390 run The Medium at 1080p?

A: Not at a comfortable level. The best measured result is 51 FPS at 1080p Low, which is still below the 60 FPS playability threshold. No preset at 1920x1080 clears the bar.

Q: What is the highest frame rate this combo achieves in The Medium?

A: 51 FPS average, at 1920x1080 on the Low preset. Every other resolution and preset combination measures lower.

Q: How does this combination rank against other tested pairings in The Medium?

A: It ranks 3314th out of 3724 tested combinations, placing it near the bottom of the field.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the bottleneck here?

A: The GPU. The Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs in the database, while the Ryzen 5 2600 sits in the 75th percentile of all CPUs. The processor is far stronger relative to its field than the graphics solution.

Q: Does the game run at 4K on this hardware?

A: Technically it renders, but not playably. Even at 4K Low the average is only 34 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 12 FPS.

Q: What CPU benchmarks indicate the Ryzen 5 2600 is adequate?

A: The recorded data shows 1248 in Cinebench R15 multi-core, 157.3 in Cinebench R15 single-core, 5648 in Geekbench multi-core, 1154 in Geekbench single-core, and 13160 in PassMark multithreaded, alongside a physics score of 673.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling data makes the division of labor clear. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at the Low preset drops the average from 51 to 43 FPS, and moving to 4K drops it further to 34 FPS. If the CPU were the limiting factor, raising the resolution would have little effect on frame rates, because the processor workload stays roughly constant. Instead, every resolution increase produces a substantial decline at every preset, which is the signature of GPU limitation.

Compare the sensitivity to settings as well: at 1080p, going from Low to Medium costs 19 FPS (51 to 32), from Medium to High costs 9 FPS (32 to 23), and from High to Ultra costs 5 FPS (23 to 18). The proportional losses at 1440p and 4K mirror this shape. All of these are graphics workloads growing heavier on an already weak integrated GPU that shares system memory over a dual-channel DDR4 connection with 46.9 GB/s of bandwidth.

The Ryzen 5 2600, meanwhile, never appears to be the constraint. With 6 cores and 12 threads, a 3.40 GHz base and 3.90 GHz boost clock, and a 75th percentile standing among all CPUs, it offers ample headroom for a 2021 horror title. The data indicates that pairing this processor with a stronger discrete graphics card would transform the experience; the CPU itself is not what holds the frame rates back.

Best Settings per Resolution

The strict answer, based on the measured data and the 60 FPS playability threshold, is that no preset qualifies at any resolution.

• 1920x1080: no preset stays at or above 60 FPS. The closest is Low at 51 FPS average, still 9 frames short.
• 2560x1440: no preset stays at or above 60 FPS. The best result is Low at 43 FPS average.
• 3840x2160: no preset stays at or above 60 FPS. The best result is Low at 34 FPS average.

If a player insists on trying the game on this hardware anyway, 1080p Low is the least poor option at 51 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p, with its recorded 27 to 37 FPS range, is where the experience becomes visibly choppy, and anything at 1440p High or beyond is effectively unplayable by the data's own standards.

The Verdict

No, this PC cannot run The Medium at the database's playability standard. The verdict data records zero playable settings at all three tested resolutions: at 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160, no preset reaches the 60 FPS threshold, and consequently no best settings are recorded for any resolution.

The gap is narrowest at 1080p Low, where 51 FPS average suggests the configuration is close but not close enough, and that result comes with the game's visuals turned down to their minimum. Every other combination of resolution and preset measures between 12 and 43 FPS. For a horror game built on atmosphere, dense environments, and dual-reality rendering, running at the lowest preset undermines much of the intended experience, and the frame rates still do not clear the bar. The recorded data points to one clear conclusion: the Ryzen 5 2600 is a capable processor for this title, but the Arc B390, sharing system memory and sitting in the 9th GPU percentile, cannot deliver playable frame rates in The Medium at any tested setting.