The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the Intel Arc B370 is a combination that sits near the very bottom of the performance hierarchy for The Medium, ranking 2681 out of 2911 tested combos. This places it in the 8th percentile of all configurations, indicating that while it can run the game, it does so with significant compromises in both frame rate and visual fidelity. The benchmark data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited, with the Arc B370’s integrated-class performance acting as the primary bottleneck across all resolutions and settings. For players seeking a playable experience, the only viable path is to use the Low preset, and even then, the 1080p result of 46 FPS is the sole configuration that approaches mainstream acceptability. This analysis will break down the measured FPS data, the GPU and CPU roles, and provide concrete settings recommendations based solely on the provided facts.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2681 out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, a position that reflects the extreme imbalance between the CPU and GPU in this pairing. The Ryzen 5 3600 is a capable desktop processor, but the Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution with a 25 W TDP, and its performance characteristics dominate the results. The data shows that this combo is not competitive for this title, as even the most favorable measured configuration—1080p Low—yields only 46 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay.

When compared to other combos, this ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU’s limitations. The Arc B370’s average benchmark score is 1184, which places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, deltaPct -0.2) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, deltaPct -0.5), both of which are over a decade old. This context is crucial: the Arc B370 is not merely slow by modern standards; it is competing with hardware from a previous era. The CPU, by contrast, ranks in the 71st percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 17035, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1260P (score 17007, deltaPct 0.2) and the Intel Core i5-11400 (score 17067, deltaPct -0.2). This means the CPU is delivering mid-range desktop performance, but it is being held back by a GPU that cannot translate that processing power into playable frame rates in The Medium.

The rank of 2681 out of 2911 is not an anomaly; it is consistent across the measured FPS data. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 21 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS minimum for a playable experience. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 11 FPS, making the game essentially unplayable at that settings level. The data indicates that this combo is only viable for low-resolution, low-detail gaming, and even then, the experience is marginal. In the broader context of all tested combos, this pairing is best suited for users who prioritize other tasks over gaming, as its performance in The Medium is firmly in the bottom tier.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the defining component in this combo, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, with 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units. It also includes 10 ray tracing cores, though these are unlikely to provide meaningful performance in The Medium given the overall low frame rates. The GPU’s memory is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system’s DDR4 RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This is a critical limitation for a game like The Medium, which can be memory-intensive, but the shared memory architecture is not the primary issue—the raw compute power is.

The Arc B370’s FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s with a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. These numbers are low for a desktop GPU, but they are consistent with an integrated solution. The GPU’s only benchmark score is 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in that benchmark are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190), both of which are separated by less than 1% in deltaPct. This indicates that the Arc B370 is not just a modern low-end GPU; it is performing at the level of legacy hardware from over a decade ago.

In The Medium, the GPU’s role is the sole limiting factor. Evidence for this comes from the FPS scaling across resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 46 FPS, but dropping to 1080p Medium reduces that to 29 FPS, and 1080p High drops it further to 21 FPS. The GPU struggles to maintain even 30 FPS at Low settings in 1080p, which is the minimum for a stable experience. At 4K, the situation worsens dramatically: 4K Low yields 30 FPS, but 4K Medium drops to 19 FPS, and 4K High yields just 14 FPS. These numbers show a GPU that is overwhelmed by the game’s rendering demands, particularly at higher presets. The 25 W TDP and integrated form factor (IGP) mean it is not designed for gaming, and the data reflects this. The Arc B370 is the bottleneck in every measured scenario, and the CPU’s performance is largely irrelevant to the outcome.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only settings preset that provides a remotely playable experience is Low. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 46 FPS average, which is the highest frame rate recorded across all resolutions and presets. This is the recommended configuration for any user attempting to play The Medium with this hardware. The 46 FPS is above the 30 FPS minimum for playability, though it is still below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. For users who can tolerate occasional dips, 1080p Low is the only viable option.

The Medium preset at 1080p yields 29 FPS average, with a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS. This is below the 30 FPS threshold for a consistently playable experience, and the minimum frame rate of 24 FPS suggests noticeable stuttering. The High preset at 1080p drops to 21 FPS, which is unplayable for most users. The Ultra preset at 1080p is even worse at 16 FPS. The data clearly shows that any settings above Low result in frame rates that are too low for a functional gaming experience, especially during action sequences.

At higher resolutions, the situation does not improve. At 1440p Low, the combo achieves 39 FPS, which is playable but with a noticeable reduction in sharpness compared to 1080p. However, 1440p Medium drops to 24 FPS, and 1440p High yields only 17 FPS. At 4K, even Low settings only reach 30 FPS, which is the bare minimum for playability, but 4K Medium (19 FPS), 4K High (14 FPS), and 4K Ultra (11 FPS) are all unplayable. The recommendation is unambiguous: use 1080p Low for the best balance of frame rate and resolution. There is no other preset that achieves 30 FPS or higher at any resolution, except for 4K Low (30 FPS) and 1440p Low (39 FPS), but both sacrifice resolution for marginal gains. For the best experience, 1080p Low is the only choice, and even then, users should expect a sub-60 FPS experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo in The Medium?

A: The 1080p Low preset yields 46 FPS average, which is the highest measured frame rate. All other presets at any resolution produce 39 FPS or lower, with most falling below the 30 FPS playability threshold.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at any settings?

A: No. The highest recorded frame rate is 46 FPS at 1080p Low. No measured configuration reaches 60 FPS, indicating that the GPU is insufficient for a high-refresh experience.

Q: How does the GPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B370's 3DMark Steel Nomad score is 1184, which is within 1% of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190). This places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this combo?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 71st percentile of all CPUs with an average score of 17035, while the GPU ranks in the 5th percentile. The FPS data shows severe drops with increased settings, which is characteristic of GPU limitation.

Q: What is the frame rate at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 11. This is unplayable, and the data shows that 4K is only marginally playable at Low settings (30 FPS).

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 2681 out of 2911 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems tested for The Medium.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, which is a direct indicator of the GPU being the limiting component. At Low settings, the combo achieves 46 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is a relatively modest decline compared to what a CPU-bound system would show. However, the absolute numbers are low across the board, suggesting that the GPU is already near its limits even at 1080p.

At Medium settings, the FPS drops from 29 at 1080p to 24 at 1440p and 19 at 4K. This is a steeper decline (34% from 1080p to 4K) and shows that the GPU cannot handle the increased pixel count when the settings are raised. At High settings, the drop is from 21 at 1080p to 17 at 1440p and 14 at 4K, a 33% reduction. The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling, with 16 FPS at 1080p, 14 FPS at 1440p, and 11 FPS at 4K, a 31% drop. These consistent reductions across all presets indicate that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU would produce more consistent frame rates across resolutions if it were the limiting factor.

The data also shows that the difference between 1080p and 1440p is consistently smaller than the difference between 1440p and 4K. For example, at Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 7 FPS (46 to 39), while from 1440p to 4K it is 9 FPS (39 to 30). This suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth, which is "System Dependent," becomes more of a constraint at higher resolutions. The Arc B370 relies on shared system memory, and the increased resolution demands more memory bandwidth, which the integrated solution cannot provide. The result is that 4K is only playable at Low settings (30 FPS), and even that is marginal. For this combo, 1080p is the only resolution that offers any semblance of playability, and users should avoid 1440p and 4K unless they are willing to accept sub-30 FPS performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. It has 32 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth. These specifications place it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17035. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i7-1260P (score 17007, deltaPct 0.2) and the Intel Core i5-11400 (score 17067, deltaPct -0.2), indicating that the Ryzen 5 3600 is on par with mid-range mobile and desktop processors from later generations.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU. The benchmark data shows that the combo’s FPS is consistently low across all settings, but the CPU is not the cause. For instance, at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 46 FPS, which is higher than the 29 FPS at Medium settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain roughly constant regardless of GPU load, but the data shows a clear inverse relationship between settings and FPS, which is the hallmark of GPU limitation. The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient for this game, which was released in 2021 and does not require extreme multi-threaded performance.

The CPU’s single-thread performance, as indicated by a 3DMark single-thread score of 696 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2124, is adequate for the game’s logic and physics. The multi-thread scores, such as Cinebench R23 multi-core at 15045 and Geekbench multi-core at 7372, show that the CPU has headroom for background tasks while gaming. However, none of this matters in practice because the Arc B370 cannot deliver the frame rates that would allow the CPU to demonstrate its full potential. The combo rank of 2681 out of 2911 is essentially determined by the GPU, and the CPU’s contribution is negligible. If the Arc B370 were replaced with a more powerful GPU, the Ryzen 5 3600 would likely be able to support higher frame rates, but with the current GPU, the CPU is idle most of the time, waiting for the GPU to render frames. The data supports this conclusion: the GPU’s 5th percentile rank versus the CPU’s 71st percentile rank shows an extreme mismatch, and the measured FPS reflects the GPU’s limitations rather than any CPU deficiency.