The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and Intel Arc B370 combination produces consistently low frame rates in The Medium, with the data placing this pairing at rank 2681 out of 2911 tested combos. The measured results across all resolutions and settings reveal a system that struggles to maintain playable performance, though the pattern of scores offers a clear picture of where the bottleneck lies and which settings provide the least compromised experience.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 3 architecture with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are typical for a mid-range desktop chip of its generation. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10551 and a single-core score of 1409, while Geekbench results show 8428 multi-core and 1801 single-core.

The processor’s percentile ranking against all CPUs sits at 74, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of the database’s tracked processors. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Core i3-1220P (21066, 0.1% faster) and the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (21133, 0.2% faster), indicating the 5600G is positioned in a tightly contested performance band. For a horror title like The Medium, the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are generally sufficient for the game’s logical simulation and AI workloads, but the single-thread score of 1409 in Cinebench R23 suggests that the game cannot rely on exceptionally high per-core performance.

Examining the measured FPS data, the CPU appears to be holding up its end of the bargain relative to the GPU. At 1080p Low, the system produces 46 avg FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 30 avg FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings shows a 35% reduction in frame rate, which is a classic sign that the GPU is becoming more stressed at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the primary bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions. The fact that scores decrease as resolution increases points to the integrated-class GPU as the limiting factor, not the 5600G.

The CPU’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz and 65W TDP suggest it can sustain reasonable performance without thermal throttling, but the benchmark data does not indicate the CPU is the star of this show. With a PassMark multi-thread score of 19717 and a single-thread score of 3177, the 5600G is a competent processor, yet The Medium’s results at Ultra settings (16 FPS at 1080p, 14 FPS at 1440p, 11 FPS at 4K) show a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited. The CPU’s 3DMark scores — 5451 for 16 threads, 872 for single-thread — reinforce that it is not the component dragging performance down to these levels.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, and it uses system-shared memory, meaning its VRAM and bandwidth are entirely dependent on the host system’s DDR4 configuration. The GPU features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, 20 render output units, and 10 ray tracing cores, with a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is rated at 6.144 TFLOPS.

The GPU’s percentile ranking against all GPUs is a mere 5, placing it in the bottom 5% of tracked graphics hardware. Its average benchmark score of 1184 comes from a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, and its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% faster) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% faster). This is a stark indicator of the Arc B370’s performance class — it is competing with graphics solutions from over a decade ago.

The measured FPS data aligns with this low percentile. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 29 avg FPS with a range of 24 to 33, and at 1080p High it drops to 21 avg FPS. The GPU’s 25W TDP and lack of dedicated memory mean it must contend for bandwidth with the CPU, which is a significant handicap in a game like The Medium that relies on heavy texture streaming and camera effects. The ray tracing cores are present, but at these performance levels, enabling any RT-related features would likely be catastrophic for frame rates.

The GPU’s system-shared memory is a critical weakness. With no dedicated VRAM, the Arc B370 is forced to use the same DDR4 memory pool as the CPU, and the 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth of the 5600G’s memory controller becomes the effective ceiling for both. This explains why the FPS drops so dramatically when moving from Low to Medium to High settings — each step likely increases texture resolution and memory pressure, and the shared memory subsystem simply cannot keep up. The 4K Ultra result of 11 avg FPS is evidence of a GPU that is completely overwhelmed by the game’s demands.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data provides a clear diagnostic of the system’s bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS moves from 46 at 1080p to 39 at 1440p (a 15% drop) and then to 30 at 4K (a 23% drop from 1440p). At Medium settings, the progression is 29 at 1080p, 24 at 1440p (17% drop), and 19 at 4K (21% drop). High settings show 21 at 1080p, 17 at 1440p (19% drop), and 14 at 4K (18% drop), while Ultra settings go from 16 at 1080p to 14 at 1440p (12.5% drop) and 11 at 4K (21% drop).

This consistent downward trend as resolution increases is the hallmark of a GPU-bound system. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain nearly constant regardless of resolution, since the CPU’s workload does not scale with pixel count. Instead, the data shows that every resolution step costs roughly 15-20% performance, which is exactly what you would expect from a GPU that is struggling to fill pixels. The Arc B370’s 20 ROPs and 96 GTexel/s texture rate are simply not enough to handle the fill rate demands of higher resolutions.

The fact that the FPS does not collapse entirely when moving from 1080p to 4K suggests that the game is not purely fill-rate limited — if it were, the 4K scores would be nearly a quarter of the 1080p scores. Instead, the relatively modest drops (e.g., 46 to 30 at Low, a 35% reduction) imply that the game’s rendering pipeline is also constrained by memory bandwidth and shader throughput. The system-shared memory architecture likely creates a situation where the GPU is waiting for data from system RAM, and the bottleneck shifts between fill rate and memory access depending on the settings.

The resolution scaling data also reveals that the CPU is not the primary constraint. If the 5600G were holding the system back, we would expect to see the same FPS at 1080p and 4K because the CPU would be the first component to reach its limit. Instead, the FPS drops at every resolution step, which means the GPU is always the first to saturate. This is a crucial observation for anyone considering this combo: upgrading the CPU would not meaningfully improve The Medium’s performance, but upgrading the GPU (or using a dedicated graphics card instead of the integrated Arc B370) would yield substantial gains.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G sufficient for playing The Medium?

A: The CPU itself is capable, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10551 and a 74th percentile ranking among all CPUs. However, the measured FPS in The Medium is limited by the GPU, not the CPU. The 6-core, 12-thread processor has enough headroom for the game’s logic, but it is paired with a graphics solution that cannot keep up.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to other GPUs in the database?

A: The Arc B370 sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1184. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% faster) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% faster), indicating it performs at the level of graphics hardware from roughly a decade prior.

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

A: Based on the measured FPS, Low settings at 1080p provide the most playable experience with 46 avg FPS. Medium settings at 1080p drop to 29 avg FPS, which may be acceptable for some, but the Low preset offers the smoothest frame rate while still keeping the game functional.

Q: Why does performance drop so much when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: The FPS decreases by roughly 15-20% at each resolution step across all settings. This pattern indicates the GPU is the limiting component, as the Arc B370’s 20 ROPs and system-shared memory cannot handle the increased pixel count and memory pressure at higher resolutions.

Q: Does the Arc B370 support modern graphics features?

A: The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, and it has 10 ray tracing cores. However, the measured performance is so low (e.g., 11 FPS at 4K Ultra) that enabling these features would likely make the game unplayable.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 2681 out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems in the database for The Medium. This low ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU’s 5th percentile performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 46 avg FPS on Low, 29 avg FPS on Medium (with a range of 24 to 33), 21 avg FPS on High, and 16 avg FPS on Ultra. At 2560x1440, the scores drop to 39 avg FPS on Low, 24 avg FPS on Medium (range 21 to 28), 17 avg FPS on High, and 14 avg FPS on Ultra. At 3840x2160, the results are 30 avg FPS on Low, 19 avg FPS on Medium (range 16 to 22), 14 avg FPS on High, and 11 avg FPS on Ultra.

The Medium setting is the only one that provides min and max FPS data across all resolutions, giving a fuller picture of frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range is 24 to 33 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 21 to 28 FPS; at 4K Medium, it is 16 to 22 FPS. The narrow ranges (9 FPS at 1080p, 7 FPS at 1440p, 6 FPS at 4K) suggest that while the average frame rate is low, the frame pacing is relatively stable — the game does not stutter wildly, it just runs slowly.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (46 FPS) and Ultra (16 FPS) is 30 FPS. At 1440p, the gap is 25 FPS (39 vs 14). At 4K, the gap narrows to 19 FPS (30 vs 11). This narrowing indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes so saturated that even dropping to Low settings cannot fully compensate for the pixel count — the system is hitting a hard performance ceiling around 30 FPS at 4K regardless of settings.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the Low preset at 1080p is the only configuration that approaches a consistently playable experience, producing 46 avg FPS. This is the clear recommendation for any user who prioritizes smoothness over visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 29 avg FPS, which is borderline for a horror game that may rely on precise timing, but the 24 to 33 FPS range means some scenes will dip below acceptable thresholds.

For users with 1440p displays, Low settings at 39 avg FPS is the best option, though it still represents a significant compromise. The Medium preset at 1440p drops to 24 avg FPS, which is likely too choppy for a game that relies on atmospheric tension and exploration. At 4K, even Low settings only manage 30 avg FPS, and the Medium preset falls to 19 avg FPS — neither is recommended for a playable experience.

The High and Ultra presets are essentially non-viable across all resolutions. At 1080p High, the system produces 21 avg FPS, and at 1080p Ultra it drops to 16 avg FPS. These rates are below the threshold for smooth gameplay and would likely result in a frustrating experience. The data suggests that users should avoid these settings entirely, as the GPU’s 5th percentile performance cannot handle the increased shader and texture demands.

The pattern across settings reveals that the game’s rendering cost scales steeply with preset quality. Moving from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 17 FPS (46 to 29, a 37% drop), while moving from Medium to High costs another 8 FPS (29 to 21, a 28% drop). This indicates that the Medium preset’s additional effects and texture detail disproportionately tax the Arc B370’s limited resources. For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data implies that Low settings are the only sensible choice, with Medium being a secondary option only for users who can tolerate sub-30 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G + Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2681 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems in the database. This ranking is overwhelmingly driven by the GPU’s performance class — the Arc B370’s 5th percentile standing among all GPUs is the anchor dragging this combo down. The CPU, by contrast, sits in the 74th percentile, meaning the processor is not the reason for the low ranking.

The nearest rival comparisons for the GPU illustrate the performance gap. The Arc B370’s average benchmark score of 1184 is nearly identical to the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% faster), a GPU released well over a decade before The Medium’s January 2021 release date. This means the combo is attempting to run a modern horror title with graphics hardware that predates the game by years, which explains the sub-30 FPS results at most settings.

The combo’s rank of 2681 out of 2911 suggests that there are only 230 tested combinations that perform worse. This places the system in the lowest performance tier, alongside other combos that likely pair low-end or integrated GPUs with mid-range CPUs. The data shows that the 5600G’s 6 cores and 12 threads are more than adequate for the game’s CPU demands, but the Arc B370’s shared memory architecture and modest shader count create an insurmountable bottleneck.

For context, the CPU’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores — the Intel Core i3-1220P (0.1% faster) and Intel Core Ultra 7 256V (0.1% slower) — indicate that the 5600G is a solid mid-range processor. However, in The Medium, the combo’s performance is dictated by the GPU, and the result is a system that can only deliver playable frame rates at 1080p Low. The ranking reflects this reality: this is a combo for basic productivity or light gaming, not for demanding horror titles at high settings.