The Medium

Measured FPS Breakdown

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces a consistent pattern across every resolution and preset in The Medium: all measured frame rates fall below the 60 FPS playable threshold, and most fall well below it. The database records 12 distinct combinations of resolution and settings, and in no case does the average frame rate reach even 52 FPS, let alone the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the results are the weakest of the three resolutions. The Low preset produces an average of 34 FPS, which is the best outcome at 4K. Medium drops to 21 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 18 FPS and a maximum of 24 FPS. High falls further to 15 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 12 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 22 FPS, a steep penalty for the higher visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats with slightly higher numbers. Low leads the resolution with 43 FPS average. Medium averages 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS. High delivers 19 FPS, and Ultra produces 15 FPS. The 1440p Low result is the second-highest frame rate recorded for this combo across the entire test set, trailing only the 1080p Low result.

At 1920x1080, the best numbers appear, but they still do not clear the 60 FPS bar. Low averages 51 FPS, the single highest average in the entire measurement set. Medium averages 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS. High averages 23 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 33 FPS, the largest delta between presets at any resolution.

The data shows a clear scaling relationship: each step up in resolution costs roughly 8 to 9 FPS on the Low preset, and each step up in preset quality costs 9 to 13 FPS at a fixed resolution. The Medium preset is the only one that reports a full min/max range, and those ranges are narrow: 18 to 24 FPS at 4K, 23 to 31 FPS at 1440p, and 27 to 37 FPS at 1080p. The narrow ranges indicate that frame pacing is stable, but the absolute performance is too low for smooth gameplay.

Across all 12 measurements, the highest recorded average is 51 FPS, the lowest is 12 FPS, and the median average sits near 24 FPS. No measurement reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold defined by the database, so the verdict is uniform across every resolution and preset.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals in the database for the Intel Core i5-10400F all sit within a narrow band of aggregate benchmark scores. The Intel Xeon 6756E scores 14163, which is 0.2% below the i5-10400F's 14185 average. The Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232, 0.3% above. The AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115, 0.5% below. The AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277, 0.6% above. All four rivals are effectively equivalent in raw CPU throughput, so any of them would produce nearly identical CPU-bound behavior in The Medium. The i5-10400F's percentile ranking at 68 means it outperforms roughly two-thirds of all CPUs in the database, but that ranking does not translate into playability here because the GPU is the limiting factor.

For the Intel Arc B390, the nearest rivals are dramatically weaker in absolute terms, which underscores how far this GPU sits from the playable threshold. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, 1.3% below the Arc B390's 1482. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% below. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% below. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7% below. These deltas are small, meaning the Arc B390 is essentially in the same performance class as a decade-old entry-level mobile GPU in this benchmark. The Arc B390's percentile ranking is 9, meaning it outperforms only 9% of all GPUs in the database. That places it in the bottom decile, and the measured FPS results in The Medium reflect that standing.

The CPU and GPU comparisons point in opposite directions. The CPU is a mid-pack part with close rivals in the 14115 to 14277 score range, while the GPU is a bottom-decile part with close rivals in the 1443 to 1463 score range. In a game like The Medium, where the GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution, the CPU's respectable standing does not rescue the experience.

FAQ

Q: Can the Intel Core i5-10400F and Intel Arc B390 run The Medium at 1920x1080 on Low settings?

A: No. The recorded average FPS at 1080p Low is 51, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The database lists no playable settings at any resolution for this combo.

Q: What is the best average frame rate this combination achieves in The Medium?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 51 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. This is still 9 FPS short of the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score is 1482. The nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX at 1463 (1.3% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 at 1443 (2.7% lower). The Arc B390 is only slightly faster than these older parts.

Q: What is the performance spread between Low and Ultra presets at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 43 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 15 FPS. That is a 28 FPS difference between the lowest and highest quality settings.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-10400F have close CPU rivals in the database?

A: Yes. The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14185. The Intel Xeon 6756E scores 14163 (0.2% lower), the Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232 (0.3% higher), the AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115 (0.5% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277 (0.6% higher). All four are within 0.6% of the i5-10400F.

Q: Which resolution and preset produces the lowest average frame rate?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 12 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. The next lowest is 15 FPS, recorded at both 2560x1440 Ultra and 3840x2160 High.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: this PC cannot run The Medium at a playable level. The database defines the playable threshold at 60 FPS, and the verdict by resolution lists no playable settings for 3840x2160, 2560x1440, or 1920x1080. The best average frame rate across all 12 measurements is 51 FPS at 1080p Low, which misses the threshold by 9 FPS. Every other preset and resolution combination falls further behind, with the worst result being 12 FPS at 4K Ultra.

The verdict is not close at any resolution. At 1080p, the closest preset to playable is Low at 51 FPS, but Medium drops to 32 FPS, High to 23 FPS, and Ultra to 18 FPS. At 1440p, Low averages 43 FPS, Medium 27 FPS, High 19 FPS, and Ultra 15 FPS. At 4K, Low averages 34 FPS, Medium 21 FPS, High 15 FPS, and Ultra 12 FPS. The pattern is consistent: even the lowest quality settings at the lowest resolution fail to reach 60 FPS, and raising either resolution or preset quality pushes the frame rate deeper into unplayable territory.

The ranking data reinforces the verdict. This combo ranks 3314 out of 3724 recorded combinations in the game, placing it in the bottom 11% of all tested hardware pairings. The GPU's percentile ranking of 9 and the CPU's percentile ranking of 68 do not offset each other; the GPU's bottom-decile standing dominates the outcome. For anyone considering this hardware for The Medium, the recorded data says the game will run, but it will run below the playable frame rate at every setting.

CPU and GPU Roles

The Intel Core i5-10400F is not the limiting factor in this pairing for The Medium, but its headroom is irrelevant because the Intel Arc B390 constrains the frame rate so severely. The CPU holds a percentile ranking of 68, meaning it performs better than 68% of all CPUs in the database, and its average benchmark score of 14185 places it within 0.6% of four closely matched rivals. In contrast, the GPU holds a percentile ranking of 9, meaning it outperforms only 9% of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 1482 places it within 2.7% of much older parts like the GeForce GT 710.

The scaling between resolutions shows the GPU's dominance. Moving from 1920x1080 Low to 2560x1440 Low drops the average from 51 FPS to 43 FPS, a reduction of 8 FPS. Moving from 2560x1440 Low to 3840x2160 Low drops the average from 43 FPS to 34 FPS, another reduction of 9 FPS. A GPU-bound scenario shows exactly this kind of linear degradation as pixel count rises, and the recorded data matches that expectation closely. The CPU's workload in The Medium is largely consistent across resolutions, so the consistent FPS drops are attributable to the GPU's limited shading, texture, and pixel throughput.

The scaling between presets tells the same story. At 1080p, Low averages 51 FPS, Medium 32 FPS, High 23 FPS, and Ultra 18 FPS. At 1440p, Low averages 43 FPS, Medium 27 FPS, High 19 FPS, and Ultra 15 FPS. At 4K, Low averages 34 FPS, Medium 21 FPS, High 15 FPS, and Ultra 12 FPS. The preset penalty is steep at every resolution, which is consistent with a GPU that has only 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 render output units. The Arc B390's 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply not enough to maintain 60 FPS in a game with The Medium's rendering demands.

The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz are adequate for the game's logic, but the recorded data never lets the CPU show its potential. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU load is lowest, the frame rate stops at 51 FPS, far below what the CPU could feed. The conclusion is that the GPU is the decisive component at every resolution and preset in this pairing. Upgrading the GPU would be the only path toward the 60 FPS threshold, but the database contains no measurements for this CPU with a stronger GPU, so any such projection would be speculative.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database's verdict by resolution lists no playable settings for any resolution, so there is no setting combination that reaches the 60 FPS threshold. The best available settings are defined as the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, and since no preset achieves that, the best settings field is null for all three resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the closest option is Low at 34 FPS average. Medium averages 21 FPS, High 15 FPS, and Ultra 12 FPS. Even the lowest preset at 4K runs at roughly 57% of the 60 FPS target, so no setting at this resolution is viable.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 43 FPS, which is the strongest result at this resolution. Medium averages 27 FPS, High 19 FPS, and Ultra 15 FPS. The 43 FPS average is 17 FPS short of the threshold, so the best option at 1440p is still unplayable by the database's standard.

At 1920x1080, Low averages 51 FPS, the highest recorded result in the entire test set. Medium averages 32 FPS, High 23 FPS, and Ultra 18 FPS. The 51 FPS average is 9 FPS short of the 60 FPS threshold, making 1080p Low the closest any setting comes to playability.

For users who must run the game on this hardware, the data suggests 1080p Low as the only setting that approaches a smooth experience, but it does not reach it. The 51 FPS average at 1080p Low is the ceiling for this combination, and every other preset or resolution lowers the frame rate further. The recorded minimum at 1080p Medium is 27 FPS, and while no minimum is recorded for Low, the narrow min/max ranges on Medium suggest that Low would also produce relatively stable frame pacing. Stability, however, does not compensate for the missing 9 FPS at the best setting. The verdict is that this PC cannot run The Medium at 60 FPS under any measured configuration, and the best settings per resolution are all below the playable threshold.