The Medium

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database places the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X in the 87th percentile among all tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,376. Its closest measured neighbors are a cluster of mobile and desktop parts that land within a fraction of a percent of its performance. The Intel Core Ultra 7 366H scores 41,263, just 0.3% behind the Ryzen 9 5900X, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 356H and AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 440 both score 41,215, trailing by 0.4%. On the other side, the Intel Core i7-14650HX posts 41,576, which is 0.5% ahead of the Ryzen 9 5900X. This tells a clear story: the 5900X sits in a tightly packed performance band where any of these four alternatives would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound behavior in The Medium, assuming the same graphics card is paired with them.

For the Intel Arc B390, the situation is far more isolated. Its average benchmark score of 1,482 places it in just the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all legacy NVIDIA parts. The GeForce GT 520MX scores 1,463, which is 1.3% lower, the GeForce 800M scores 1,460, 1.5% lower, and the GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1,446, 2.5% lower. The GeForce GT 710 is the closest competitor at 1,443, trailing by 2.7%. These deltas are small in percentage terms, but they are small numbers in absolute terms as well. The Arc B390 is not merely near these parts in score; it is operating in the same performance stratum as GPUs that are roughly a decade older. Anyone expecting a modern discrete-class experience should note that the data groups this Intel integrated solution with hardware that is generally considered entry-level or legacy.

What does this mean for someone running The Medium? The CPU is not the bottleneck in any practical sense. The 5900X has enough headroom that swapping it for any of its nearest rivals would not change the frame counts meaningfully. The GPU, however, is the limiting factor, and its nearest rivals reinforce that point. A system with a GT 710 or GT 520MX would likely produce comparable or slightly worse results in this game, which is a sobering comparison for the Arc B390. The measured frame rates in this database align with that expectation, as the following sections will detail.

FAQ

Q: What is the CPU percentile ranking for the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X?

A: The Ryzen 9 5900X is in the 87th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 41,376.

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

A: The Arc B390 scores 1,482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which is 1.3% higher than the GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GeForce GT 710.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1920x1080 for this combo?

A: None of the tested settings reach the 60 FPS playable threshold. The best result is Low settings at 51 FPS average, which falls short of the 60 FPS target.

Q: Are there any settings at 2560x1440 that achieve 60 FPS?

A: No. The highest average at this resolution is Low settings at 43 FPS. Medium produces 27 FPS, High produces 19 FPS, and Ultra produces 15 FPS.

Q: What does the combo rank in The Medium among all tested combinations?

A: This pairing of the Ryzen 9 5900X and Arc B390 ranks 3,314 out of 3,724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: Does the Arc B390 support modern graphics APIs?

A: Yes, the database lists DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 support for this GPU, along with 12 ray tracing cores.

Best Settings per Resolution

The recorded data for The Medium shows no resolution and preset combination that reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict fields for all three resolutions list no playable settings, and the best settings fields are null. This is an unambiguous result: the system cannot deliver a playable experience at any tested configuration.

At 1920x1080, the closest approach to 60 FPS is the Low preset, which averages 51 FPS. That is 9 FPS below the threshold. Medium drops to 32 FPS, High falls to 23 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 18 FPS. The progression is steep, and even the lowest settings leave the system short of the target.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 43 FPS, which is 17 FPS below the threshold. Medium averages 27 FPS, High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. The gap widens as resolution increases, which is expected for a GPU with only 1,536 shading units and a system-shared memory architecture.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 34 FPS, which is the best result at this resolution but still 26 FPS short of playable. Medium averages 21 FPS, High averages 15 FPS, and Ultra averages 12 FPS. None of these numbers are close to the 60 FPS target, and the Ultra preset at 4K produces single-digit-to-low-teen frame rates that would be visibly stuttery in a horror game relying on atmosphere and timing.

The Verdict

Can this PC run The Medium? Based on the database measurements, the answer is no, not at the 60 FPS threshold. The verdictByResolution data lists zero playable settings at 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080. The playableSettings arrays are empty for all three resolutions, and the bestSettings fields are null. There is no configuration, from Low to Ultra, at any resolution, that clears 60 FPS.

The closest the system comes is 1920x1080 Low at 51 FPS average. That is a 15% shortfall from the playable threshold. At 2560x1440 Low, the average is 43 FPS, a 28% deficit. At 3840x2160 Low, the average is 34 FPS, a 43% deficit. The data indicates that even the least demanding preset at the lowest tested resolution does not meet the playability bar.

For a game like The Medium, which is a fixed-camera horror title with heavy atmosphere and lighting, frame rate consistency matters for pacing and tension. The measured minimums, where recorded, reinforce the concern. At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum is 27 FPS, and at 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 23 FPS. At 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum is 18 FPS. These dips would be noticeable during scene transitions and scripted events. The system is not playable by the database's standard, and the numbers make it clear why.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 51 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum. Medium averages 32 FPS with a minimum of 27 and a maximum of 37. High averages 23 FPS with no extremes recorded. Ultra averages 18 FPS with no extremes recorded. The spread between Low and Ultra is 33 FPS, showing that the preset scaling has a large impact on this GPU.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 43 FPS. Medium averages 27 FPS with a minimum of 23 and a maximum of 31. High averages 19 FPS. Ultra averages 15 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 28 FPS. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 reduces the Low preset average by 8 FPS, from 51 to 43. The Medium preset drops by 5 FPS, from 32 to 27. High drops by 4 FPS, from 23 to 19. Ultra drops by 3 FPS, from 18 to 15.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 34 FPS. Medium averages 21 FPS with a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 24. High averages 15 FPS. Ultra averages 12 FPS. The Low preset loses 9 FPS going from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, landing at 34. Medium loses 6 FPS, landing at 21. High loses 4 FPS, landing at 15. Ultra loses 3 FPS, landing at 12.

The pattern across resolutions is consistent: each step up in resolution costs a meaningful number of frames, and the higher presets become increasingly untenable. The recorded minimums, available only for the Medium preset, show that the system's frame delivery is not stable. At 1920x1080 Medium, the 27 FPS minimum is 15% below the 32 FPS average. At 2560x1440 Medium, the 23 FPS minimum is 15% below the 27 FPS average. At 3840x2160 Medium, the 18 FPS minimum is 14% below the 21 FPS average. These dips suggest that the shared-memory GPU is struggling with asset streaming and memory bandwidth in busier scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's ranking of tested combos for The Medium, this system sits at 3,314 out of 3,724. That places it in the bottom 11% of all tested systems. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's low percentile standing. The Arc B390 is in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, which is a very low position. The CPU, by contrast, is in the 87th percentile, so the processor is doing its part while the graphics solution is not.

The combo rank is not a measure of CPU performance or GPU performance in isolation; it reflects how the pair behaves in this specific game. The Medium is a horror title with fixed camera angles and heavy use of volumetric effects and lighting. These workloads tend to stress the GPU more than the CPU, and the data supports that interpretation. The Ryzen 9 5900X has 12 cores and 24 threads, and its multi-threaded benchmarks are strong, but none of that matters when the GPU cannot push enough pixels. The 3,314th place finish out of 3,724 is a clear signal that this combination is not competitive for this game.

The gap between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's low percentile creates a lopsided system. In CPU-bound titles, this combo might perform respectably. In The Medium, the GPU becomes the sole limiter, and the rank reflects that reality. The 9th percentile GPU percentile versus the 87th percentile CPU percentile is a 78-point spread, which is one of the widest imbalances possible in a tested system.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear division of labor in this system. The Ryzen 9 5900X is not the limiting factor at any resolution. Its single-threaded and multi-threaded scores are strong, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.5% of its average score. Swapping in any of those CPUs would not change the frame rates in The Medium because the GPU is already saturated.

The Arc B390, on the other hand, is the sole determinant of performance. Its 1,536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units are modest figures, and its memory bandwidth is system-dependent. The measured FPS scaling across resolutions confirms this. At Low settings, the system goes from 51 FPS at 1920x1080 to 43 FPS at 2560x1440 to 34 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 33% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic GPU-bound pattern. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would stay flatter across resolutions because the CPU workload does not scale with pixel count.

The preset scaling also points to the GPU. At 1920x1080, going from Low to Ultra drops the average from 51 to 18 FPS, a 65% reduction. At 2560x1440, the same preset change drops from 43 to 15 FPS, a 65% reduction. At 3840x2160, it drops from 34 to 12 FPS, a 65% reduction. The consistency of that 65% drop across all resolutions indicates that the GPU's raw throughput is the binding constraint. Higher presets add shading complexity, texture detail, and post-processing, all of which load the GPU's fixed hardware resources.

The CPU's role is therefore to keep up with the GPU's demands, and it does so without breaking a sweat. The Ryzen 9 5900X's 12 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, are more than sufficient for a game like The Medium. The database does not record any CPU-side bottleneck indicators, such as frame rates that plateau across resolutions or presets. Instead, the frame rates scale smoothly with GPU load, which is the signature of a system where the CPU has ample headroom.

For anyone analyzing this pairing, the conclusion is straightforward: the GPU is the entire story. The CPU is a high-end desktop part from 2020, and the GPU is an integrated solution from Intel's Panther Lake platform. The Medium demands more from the graphics hardware than this GPU can deliver, and no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for that shortfall. The measured data across all resolutions and presets confirms that the Arc B390 is the component that determines whether this system can run the game, and the answer is that it cannot at the 60 FPS threshold.