The Medium

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for this combination shows a system that consistently struggles to reach playable frame rates in The Medium. Across all resolutions and presets tested, the average frame rate never reaches 60 FPS, the established playable threshold for this benchmark database. The most favorable result appears at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the average settles at 51 FPS, a figure still below the target.

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, the results are uniformly poor. The Low preset delivers an average of 34 FPS. Medium drops to 21 FPS, with a minimum of 18 FPS and a maximum of 24 FPS. High falls further to 15 FPS. Ultra is the weakest showing at 12 FPS. No minimum or maximum values were recorded for the Low, High, or Ultra presets at this resolution, indicating that only average values were captured for those configurations.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern repeats with slightly better averages. Low produces 43 FPS. Medium reaches 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS. High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra drops to 15 FPS. As with 4K, the Low, High, and Ultra presets lack recorded minimum and maximum values.

At 1920x1080, the best overall results appear. Low averages 51 FPS. Medium averages 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS. High averages 23 FPS. Ultra averages 18 FPS. The delta between Low and Medium at 1080p is 19 FPS, a significant performance cost for stepping up one preset tier. The gap between Medium and High is 9 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 5 FPS.

The frame time consistency, where recorded, shows tight ranges. At 1440p Medium, the spread from minimum to maximum is 8 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the spread is 10 FPS. These narrow bands suggest that when the system does produce frames, it does so without severe stuttering, but the overall averages are simply too low for comfortable play.

Best Settings per Resolution

Applying the 60 FPS threshold to the measured data, no resolution and preset combination qualifies as playable. The verdict data confirms this explicitly: for 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080, the playable settings list is empty, and no best settings or average FPS at best settings are provided.

The closest approach to the threshold occurs at 1920x1080 with Low settings, where the average is 51 FPS. This is 9 FPS short of the playable target. At 2560x1440 Low, the average is 43 FPS, 17 FPS short. At 3840x2160 Low, the average is 34 FPS, 26 FPS short.

Because no preset achieves 60 FPS at any resolution, there is no "most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS" to recommend. The database records no playable settings for this hardware combination in The Medium. Users seeking smoother performance would need to consider alternative hardware or accept frame rates well below the standard threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is a modern desktop processor with strong benchmark standing. Its average benchmark score is 27636, placing it at the 79th percentile among all CPUs. In Cinebench R23, it scores 15236 multi-core and 1965 single-core. In Geekbench, it reaches 13858 multi-core and 2603 single-core. These figures indicate a capable processor that should not bottleneck most gaming workloads.

The Intel Arc B390, however, is an integrated graphics solution with a much weaker profile. Its average benchmark score is 1482, placing it at the 9th percentile among all GPUs. The only recorded GPU benchmark is 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 with a score of 1482. This places it in the company of much older discrete graphics chips, with its nearest rivals being the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GeForce GT 625 OEM, and GeForce GT 710.

The scaling between resolutions reveals where the bottleneck lies. From 1080p Low at 51 FPS to 1440p Low at 43 FPS, the drop is 8 FPS, roughly 16%. From 1440p Low to 4K Low at 34 FPS, the drop is 9 FPS, roughly 21%. Similar proportional drops appear across Medium settings: 1080p Medium at 32 FPS, 1440p Medium at 27 FPS, and 4K Medium at 21 FPS.

This pattern indicates that the GPU is the dominant constraint. As pixel count increases, the integrated GPU's limited shading units, 1536, and its 24 ROPs become progressively more overwhelmed. The CPU's performance headroom, demonstrated by its strong synthetic scores, is not the limiting factor. If the processor were the bottleneck, resolution scaling would show flatter frame rates across resolutions, as the CPU workload per frame does not change dramatically with resolution.

The preset scaling reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 19 FPS. At 1440p, the same preset step costs 16 FPS. At 4K, it costs 13 FPS. The diminishing cost at higher resolutions suggests the GPU is already saturated at 4K, so preset changes have less relative impact. At 1080p, the GPU has slightly more headroom, so preset changes exact a larger toll.

The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads, combined with its Zen 4 architecture and 5 nm process, provide ample compute for a 2021 horror title. The game's fixed-camera perspectives and scripted sequences are not typically CPU-intensive. The data supports this: the system's inability to hit 60 FPS at even 1080p Low points squarely at the integrated GPU rather than the processor.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run The Medium at 60 FPS on any settings?

A: No. The recorded data shows no resolution or preset combination reaching 60 FPS. The best result is 51 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The playable settings list is empty for all three resolutions tested.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combination achieves?

A: The highest recorded average is 51 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 43 FPS at 2560x1440 Low, followed by 34 FPS at 3840x2160 Low.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1463, a delta of 1.3%. The GeForce 800M scores 1460, a delta of 1.5%. The GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, a delta of 2.5%. The GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, a delta of 2.7%. The Arc B390 is ahead of all four, but only by small margins.

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

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU, an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, sits at the 79th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 27636. The GPU sits at the 9th percentile with a score of 1482. Resolution scaling shows frame rates dropping significantly as pixel count increases, which indicates GPU saturation rather than CPU constraint.

Q: What is the frame rate range at Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 Medium, the average is 21 FPS with a range of 18 to 24 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average is 27 FPS with a range of 23 to 31 FPS. At 1920x1080 Medium, the average is 32 FPS with a range of 27 to 37 FPS.

Q: How does this system rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combination ranks 3314 out of 3724 tested combinations. This places it in the lower portion of the database, consistent with its inability to reach 60 FPS at any tested setting.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, the nearest rivals in the database are closely matched processors. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and Intel Core i5-12600K both have an average score of 27578, a 0.2% delta from the 7600X's 27636. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712, a negative delta of 0.3%, meaning it is slightly faster. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27535, a 0.4% delta. In practical terms, these four processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in The Medium. Users swapping between them would see no meaningful frame rate difference.

For the Intel Arc B390, the nearest rivals are all significantly older NVIDIA parts. The GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, 1.3% behind. The GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% behind. The GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% behind. The GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7% behind. All of these are discrete GPUs from previous generations, yet they perform within a few percentage points of the Arc B390. This underscores how limited the integrated graphics solution is for a demanding 2021 title.

The GPU rivals' small deltas, all under 3%, mean that swapping the Arc B390 for any of these alternatives would produce a similar experience in The Medium: sub-60 FPS at every resolution and preset. The CPU alternatives, with deltas under 0.5%, would also produce identical results. The bottleneck is so firmly on the GPU side that processor choice among these rivals is immaterial.

The data suggests that the Arc B390 behaves like a legacy entry-level GPU rather than a modern integrated solution. Its 1536 shading units and 24 ROPs, combined with system-shared memory, place it in a performance class that predates the game's 2021 release requirements. The nearest rivals' ages reinforce this: the GT 520MX launched years before The Medium's release, yet it competes directly with the Arc B390.

The Verdict

The verdict data for this combination is unambiguous. At 3840x2160, there are no playable settings, no best settings, and no average FPS at best settings. The same applies at 2560x1440 and 1920x1080. This system cannot run The Medium at 60 FPS at any resolution or preset tested.

The closest it comes is 1920x1080 with Low settings, averaging 51 FPS. That is 9 FPS below the playable threshold. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 43 FPS. At 4K Low, it falls to 34 FPS. Medium presets range from 32 FPS at 1080p down to 21 FPS at 4K. High and Ultra presets are worse, with Ultra bottoming out at 12 FPS at 4K.

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is not the problem. Its 79th percentile standing among all CPUs, with strong multi-core and single-core scores, gives it ample headroom for this title. The Intel Arc B390, however, sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs and delivers performance comparable to decade-old discrete graphics chips. The game's fixed camera angles and atmospheric rendering demand more GPU throughput than this integrated solution can provide.

For users with this hardware, The Medium is not playable at the standard 60 FPS threshold. The recorded data shows no configuration that clears the bar, and the verdict confirms that no playable settings exist at any resolution. This combination ranks 3314 out of 3724 tested, placing it in the bottom tier of systems in the database. Users seeking to play The Medium would need a substantially more powerful GPU than the Arc B390.