The Medium

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for The Medium on this configuration shows a consistent pattern across all three resolutions: the Intel Core i5-11400F and Intel Arc B390 combination struggles to maintain playable frame rates at any preset level. The playable threshold in the database is 60 FPS, and every measured average falls well below that mark.

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the results range from 18 FPS at Ultra settings to 51 FPS at Low settings. The Medium preset delivers 23 FPS on average, while the Medium preset records 32 FPS with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 18 FPS, which represents the weakest performance at this resolution. The Low preset at 51 FPS is the closest any settings combination comes to the 60 FPS threshold, but it still falls 9 FPS short.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decline noticeably. The Low preset averages 43 FPS, which is 8 FPS lower than the same preset at 1920x1080. The Medium preset averages 27 FPS with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS. High settings produce an average of 19 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 15 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 28 FPS, indicating that preset selection heavily influences performance.

At 3840x2160, the results are the weakest of the three resolutions. The Low preset averages 34 FPS, the Medium preset averages 21 FPS with a minimum of 18 FPS and a maximum of 24 FPS, the High preset averages 15 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 12 FPS. The scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 at Low settings shows a drop from 51 FPS to 34 FPS, a reduction of 17 FPS or approximately 33 percent. At Medium settings, the drop is from 32 FPS to 21 FPS, a reduction of 11 FPS.

The data shows that no measured configuration reaches the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest recorded average across all resolutions and presets is 51 FPS at 1920x1080 Low settings. The lowest recorded average is 12 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra settings. The min and max values recorded for Medium presets at each resolution show a narrow band: 27 to 37 FPS at 1920x1080, 23 to 31 FPS at 2560x1440, and 18 to 24 FPS at 3840x2160. This narrow range suggests consistent frame delivery rather than sporadic spikes, but the overall performance level remains insufficient for smooth gameplay.

FAQ

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

A: No. The verdict data shows no playable settings at 3840x2160, 2560x1440, or 1920x1080. The closest result is 51 FPS at 1920x1080 Low settings, which still falls short of the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best performance recorded for this combination?

A: The highest average frame rate in the measured data is 51 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 43 FPS at 2560x1440 Low settings, followed by 34 FPS at 3840x2160 Low settings.

Q: How much does the preset choice affect performance at 1920x1080?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate ranges from 51 FPS at Low settings to 18 FPS at Ultra settings. The Medium preset averages 32 FPS, and High averages 23 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 33 FPS.

Q: Is there a frame rate consistency issue at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the recorded min and max values are 27 and 37 FPS at 1920x1080, 23 and 31 FPS at 2560x1440, and 18 and 24 FPS at 3840x2160. The spread is roughly 10 FPS at each resolution, which indicates relatively stable frame delivery, though at low overall levels.

Q: How does performance scale from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160?

A: At Low settings, the average drops from 51 FPS at 1920x1080 to 43 FPS at 2560x1440 to 34 FPS at 3840x2160. At Medium settings, the averages are 32, 27, and 21 FPS respectively. At High settings, the averages are 23, 19, and 15 FPS respectively. At Ultra settings, the averages are 18, 15, and 12 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the weakest measured performance for this setup?

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

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Intel Core i5-11400F and the Intel Arc B390 can be inferred from how frame rates scale with resolution and preset changes. The Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, NVIDIA GeForce 800M, NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM, and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, all of which are low-end parts from previous generations. This places the GPU as the dominant bottleneck in this pairing.

The CPU, by contrast, is a 6-core, 12-thread Rocket Lake desktop processor with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz and a 65 W TDP. It sits in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7H12, Intel Core i5-12450H, AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G, and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, all of which score within 0.6 percent of the i5-11400F. The CPU is clearly not the limiting factor in this game.

The resolution scaling data supports this conclusion. When moving from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 at the same preset, the frame rate drops by roughly one-third to one-half. At Low settings, the drop is from 51 to 34 FPS, a 33 percent reduction. At Medium settings, the drop is from 32 to 21 FPS, a 34 percent reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 23 to 15 FPS, a 35 percent reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 18 to 12 FPS, a 33 percent reduction. This consistent proportional decline with resolution indicates that pixel throughput, which is the GPU's responsibility, is the limiting factor.

Preset scaling further confirms the GPU bottleneck. At 1920x1080, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average from 51 to 18 FPS, a 65 percent reduction. At 2560x1440, the same preset change drops performance from 43 to 15 FPS, a 65 percent reduction. At 3840x2160, the change from Low to Ultra goes from 34 to 12 FPS, a 65 percent reduction. The consistent relative drop across all resolutions indicates that the GPU's shading, texturing, and rasterization capabilities are saturated regardless of resolution.

The CPU's role becomes relevant only in the sense that it is not holding the GPU back further. With a 3DMark multi-thread score of 5652 and a single-thread score of 868, the i5-11400F has sufficient headroom for a game like The Medium, which is a fixed-camera horror title rather than a CPU-intensive simulation. The measured frame rates track the GPU's percentile rank far more closely than the CPU's percentile rank, and the verdict data shows no resolution or preset combination reaching the 60 FPS threshold, which is consistent with a GPU-limited scenario.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Arc B390, based on 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 scores, are all older NVIDIA discrete parts. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, which is 1.3 percent lower than the Arc B390's 1482. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5 percent lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5 percent lower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7 percent lower. Any of these GPUs would produce frame rates in The Medium that are within a few percent of the Arc B390's results, meaning they too would fail to reach 60 FPS at any measured resolution and preset.

On the CPU side, the nearest rivals to the Intel Core i5-11400F are a mixed group. The AMD EPYC 7H12 has an average score of 17120, which is 0.3 percent higher than the i5-11400F's 17177. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17239, 0.4 percent lower. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17278, 0.6 percent lower. The Intel Core Ultra 7 164U scores 17074, 0.6 percent higher. Since the GPU is the bottleneck in this configuration, swapping the CPU for any of these alternatives would have a negligible impact on The Medium's frame rates. The recorded data shows that the GPU's performance ceiling, not the CPU's compute capacity, determines the outcome.

For a user considering this combination, the practical implication is that the GPU choice dominates the gaming experience. The CPU's rivals all fall within a narrow performance band, and the GPU's rivals all fall within a similarly narrow band. The system's overall rank of 3314 out of 3724 tested combos reflects the GPU's low percentile position more than the CPU's mid-range standing.

The Verdict

The recorded data is unambiguous: this PC cannot run The Medium at a playable frame rate at any resolution or preset tested. The verdict by resolution shows no playable settings at 3840x2160, no playable settings at 2560x1440, and no playable settings at 1920x1080. The best measured result is 51 FPS at 1920x1080 Low settings, which is 9 FPS below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, the highest average is 34 FPS at Low settings, and the lowest is 12 FPS at Ultra settings. At 2560x1440, the highest average is 43 FPS at Low settings, and the lowest is 15 FPS at Ultra settings. At 1920x1080, the highest average is 51 FPS at Low settings, and the lowest is 18 FPS at Ultra settings. The Medium preset, which is the middle option, produces 32 FPS at 1920x1080, 27 FPS at 2560x1440, and 21 FPS at 3840x2160.

The verdict is straightforward: no configuration in the measured data clears 60 FPS. Users seeking a playable experience in The Medium would need to consider alternative hardware, as this combination falls short across the board.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3314 out of 3724 tested combos in the database for The Medium. This places it in the bottom 11 percent of all tested configurations, which is consistent with the GPU's 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs. The CPU's 71st percentile ranking does little to lift the overall position because the game's performance is dictated by the GPU.

The rank reflects the measured FPS data: no preset at any resolution reaches the playable threshold, and the highest average is 51 FPS. The GPU's nearest rivals, all of which score within 2.7 percent of the Arc B390 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, would likely produce similar ranks if paired with the same CPU. The CPU's nearest rivals, which score within 0.6 percent of the i5-11400F, would not meaningfully change the outcome because the GPU remains the limiting factor.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database records no settings combination at any resolution that achieves an average of 60 FPS or higher. As a result, there is no "best settings" recommendation that meets the playable threshold.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset comes closest with an average of 51 FPS, but it still falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset averages 32 FPS, High averages 23 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 43 FPS, Medium averages 27 FPS, High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 34 FPS, Medium averages 21 FPS, High averages 15 FPS, and Ultra averages 12 FPS.

The verdict data explicitly lists no playable settings for any resolution, and the best settings field is null for all three. The conclusion is that this hardware combination should not be expected to run The Medium smoothly at any resolution or preset, and users should adjust expectations accordingly or consider different hardware.