The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 is a combination that sits at a very specific performance tier, and for The Medium, the recorded data paints a clear picture of its limitations. This analysis uses measured frame rates from the database to assess how this hardware handles the game across resolutions and settings, what alternatives behave similarly, and where the CPU and GPU each stand in the workload.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database places the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25005. Its closest rivals in terms of overall CPU performance are the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F, which scores 24964, a delta of just 0.2%, the Intel Core i7-11850H at 24935 (0.3% delta), and the Intel Core i7-13620H at 24911 (0.4% delta). On the other side, the AMD EPYC 9474F scores 25103, which is 0.4% higher. This means that for any CPU-bound scenario, swapping the 8400F for any of these chips would yield nearly identical frame pacing in The Medium, as the differences are well within measurement noise. The 8400F uses the Zen 4 architecture on a 4 nm process, with 6 cores and 12 threads, and its single-threaded performance, as measured by Cinebench R23, is 2943 points, while multi-threaded is 20851. Those scores are in line with the rival group, so the game will not see a meaningful shift in CPU-limited sections if a user were to pick a similarly ranked processor.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc B390 is far less competitive. It sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1482 from the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX at 1463 (1.3% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 at 1443 (2.7% higher). These are all entry-level or legacy mobile/desktop parts, and the deltas are small. In practical terms, the Arc B390 performs in the same class as those older GPUs, meaning that in The Medium, the graphics card will be the overwhelming bottleneck. The Arc B390 has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, with 12 ray tracing cores, but its raw compute is limited to 7.680 TFLOPS FP32. Its memory is system shared, which adds further constraints, as the bandwidth is system dependent rather than a dedicated VRAM pool. When considering upgrades or alternative configurations, any GPU in this rival group would behave similarly in The Medium, all falling well short of producing playable frame rates at standard settings.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database defines the playable threshold as 60 FPS average. Based on the measured FPS data, no settings preset at any resolution reaches that threshold with this hardware combination.

At 3840x2160, the recorded average FPS values are: Low 34, Medium 21 (with min 18 and max 24), High 15, and Ultra 12. The best average is 34 FPS on Low, but that is still 26 FPS below the 60 FPS target. Therefore, there is no playable setting at 4K.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 43, Medium 27 (min 23, max 31), High 19, and Ultra 15. The Low preset gives the highest average at 43 FPS, but again, this does not clear the 60 FPS bar. No preset at 1440p is playable.

At 1920x1080, the numbers are: Low 51, Medium 32 (min 27, max 37), High 23, and Ultra 18. The Low preset delivers 51 FPS average, which is the closest any setting comes to the threshold, but it still falls short by 9 FPS. None of the presets at 1080p reach 60 FPS.

In summary, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS does not exist for any resolution. The best achievable average is 51 FPS at 1080p on Low settings, but since that is below 60, the answer for every resolution is that no preset is playable per the database's threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the GPU is the dominant limiting factor across all resolutions and settings. Consider the scaling from 1080p Low to 4K Low: the frame rate drops from 51 to 34 FPS, a reduction of 33%. This is a significant penalty that comes purely from resolution, since the CPU workload does not scale with pixel count in the same way. The CPU, a 6-core/12-thread Zen 4 part with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, is more than capable of feeding frames at these low GPU output levels. Its multi-threaded score of 20851 in Cinebench R23 and single-threaded score of 2943 suggest that it can handle the game's logic and draw calls without being the constraint.

Now look at settings scaling at a fixed resolution. At 1080p, going from Low to Medium reduces the average from 51 to 32 FPS, a 37% drop. Going from Medium to High reduces it from 32 to 23 FPS, a 28% drop. From High to Ultra, it goes from 23 to 18 FPS, a 22% drop. These large reductions are characteristic of a GPU that is heavily saturated by the increased shading and texture work. If the CPU were the bottleneck, raising settings would not cause such dramatic frame rate loss, because the CPU's workload would remain roughly constant. The fact that every preset step at every resolution yields a substantial FPS decrease confirms that the Arc B390 is the binding constraint.

At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes even more strained. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 34 to 12 FPS, a 65% reduction. At 1440p, the same range is 43 to 15 FPS, a 65% reduction. At 1080p, it is 51 to 18 FPS, a 65% reduction as well. This consistent proportional loss shows that the GPU's rasterization and pixel throughput are the limiting factor, not the CPU. The CPU's role is essentially static: it provides enough headroom that even at the lowest settings and resolution, the GPU never lets the frame rate approach the CPU's ceiling. There is no resolution or preset where the CPU becomes the primary bottleneck; the recorded data shows the GPU always dictates performance.

The Verdict

Based on the verdictByResolution data, this PC cannot run The Medium at a playable level at any resolution. The database lists playable settings as empty arrays for 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080, with no best settings and no average FPS at best settings. The measured FPS values support this: the highest average across all tested configurations is 51 FPS at 1080p Low, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, the best is 43 FPS on Low, and at 4K, the best is 34 FPS on Low. Each of these is not only below 60 FPS but also below any reasonable playability margin. The game will run, but it will be a stuttery, low-frame-rate experience even on the lowest settings at the lowest resolution. For users who accept frame rates in the 20s or 30s, the system can render the game, but for a 60 FPS target, this combination fails on all counts.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database provides exact average FPS values for 12 configurations, with min and max values available for the Medium preset at each resolution.

At 3840x2160:

• Low: average 34 FPS, no min/max recorded.
• Medium: average 21 FPS, minimum 18 FPS, maximum 24 FPS.
• High: average 15 FPS, no min/max recorded.
• Ultra: average 12 FPS, no min/max recorded.

At 2560x1440:

• Low: average 43 FPS, no min/max recorded.
• Medium: average 27 FPS, minimum 23 FPS, maximum 31 FPS.
• High: average 19 FPS, no min/max recorded.
• Ultra: average 15 FPS, no min/max recorded.

At 1920x1080:

• Low: average 51 FPS, no min/max recorded.
• Medium: average 32 FPS, minimum 27 FPS, maximum 37 FPS.
• High: average 23 FPS, no min/max recorded.
• Ultra: average 18 FPS, no min/max recorded.

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data, and it shows a narrow range: at 1080p, the spread is 27 to 37 FPS, which is a 10 FPS variance. At 1440p, the spread is 23 to 31 FPS, an 8 FPS variance. At 4K, the spread is 18 to 24 FPS, a 6 FPS variance. This indicates that the frame pacing is relatively consistent, but consistently low. The lack of min/max data for other presets means the database only records averages, but those averages alone are sufficient to show the performance ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's ranking of tested CPU and GPU combinations for The Medium, this pair ranks 3314 out of 3724 combos. That places it in the 11th percentile, meaning roughly 89% of all tested configurations perform better than this one. The rank is driven almost entirely by the GPU, as the CPU's 77th percentile standing is far above the GPU's 9th percentile. The Arc B390's low score in 3DMark Steel Nomad (1482) compared to even the weakest dedicated GPUs in the database highlights why this combo sits so low. The CPU contributes little to lifting the overall ranking because the GPU cannot translate the CPU's capability into frame rate. For context, a combo with a similar CPU but a mid-range GPU would rank far higher, but with this GPU, the result is a bottom-quartile placement. The data shows that this pairing is only suitable for very light gaming or non-gaming workloads, and for The Medium specifically, it is near the bottom of the tested pool.

FAQ

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS in The Medium at 1080p?

A: No. The highest average FPS recorded at 1920x1080 is 51 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium, High, and Ultra are 32, 23, and 18 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 1440p for this hardware?

A: The best average FPS at 2560x1440 is 43 FPS on Low settings. Medium is 27 FPS, High is 19 FPS, and Ultra is 15 FPS. None reach 60 FPS.

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 8400F, ranks at the 77th percentile, while the Intel Arc B390 ranks at the 9th percentile. The frame rate drops significantly with higher settings and resolutions, which is characteristic of GPU saturation, not CPU limitation.

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

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GT 710. These are all very low-performance GPUs.

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

A: At 1080p Medium, the range is 27 to 37 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 23 to 31 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 18 to 24 FPS. The variance is consistent but always low.

Q: Where does this combo rank among all tested systems for The Medium?

A: This combo ranks 3314 out of 3724 tested CPU and GPU combinations, placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems in the database.