The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and Intel Arc B390 combination produces a strictly limited gaming experience in The Medium, with measured frame rates that fall well below the thresholds for smooth, consistent playable performance across all tested resolutions and settings. The data set shows the combo ranking 2581 out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom tier of systems for this title. The Arc B390, operating as an integrated graphics solution with system-shared memory, is the definitive bottleneck in this pairing, as the CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities vastly outstrip what the GPU can render.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a steep and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop is particularly severe due to the GPU's limited pixel throughput. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 51 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 43 FPS, a reduction of 8 FPS, and then to 4K Low, the average falls to 34 FPS, a further 9 FPS decline. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component, as the workload scales directly with pixel count.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings shows a 17 FPS total drop (from 51 to 34 FPS), representing a 33% reduction in frame rate. At higher settings, the resolution scaling becomes even more punishing. For High settings, the averages are 23 FPS at 1080p, 19 FPS at 1440p, and 15 FPS at 4K. This is a 35% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The Ultra preset shows a similar proportional decline, with 18 FPS at 1080p, 15 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K.

The data indicates that the GPU's render output units and texture mapping units are saturated even at 1080p. The Arc B390 has a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s, but these specifications are insufficient for the demands of The Medium at playable frame rates. The resolution scaling is not linear; the gap between 1080p and 1440p is slightly smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K at Low settings (8 vs 9 FPS), but at High settings the gaps are identical (4 FPS each). This consistency suggests that the GPU is bound by raw fill rate and memory bandwidth, which is listed as "System Dependent" due to the shared memory architecture.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process node. Its performance class is starkly illustrated by its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463, 1.3% slower), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (score 1460, 1.5% slower), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (score 1446, 2.5% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (score 1443, 2.7% slower). This places the Arc B390 in a performance tier with legacy entry-level discrete GPUs from over a decade ago.

The GPU's memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM. The memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," and the bandwidth is "System Dependent." This architecture is a critical weakness for a game like The Medium, which features streaming environments and high-resolution textures. The shared memory arrangement means the GPU competes with the CPU for the same DDR4 memory pool, exacerbating bandwidth limitations. The GPU's boost clock is 2500 MHz, with a base clock of 300 MHz, but these clock speeds do not compensate for the lack of dedicated memory bandwidth.

The benchmark results for the GPU are remarkably poor, with an average benchmark score of just 1482. This is the sole benchmark entry for the GPU, and it confirms that the Arc B390 is not designed for demanding 3D workloads. The measured FPS data corroborates this: at 1080p Low, the average is 51 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combo. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 32 FPS, and at 1080p High, it falls to 23 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields only 18 FPS. The GPU's 1536 shading units and 12 ray tracing cores are present, but they are not sufficient to maintain frame rates above 30 FPS at any setting above Low.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combination in The Medium?*

A: The highest recorded average frame rate is 51 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 43 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 15 FPS, representing a 28 FPS difference (a 65% reduction).

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT CPU or the Intel Arc B390 GPU the limiting factor?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's multi-threaded benchmark score of 20733 places it in the 74th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU's score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile, indicating a massive imbalance.

Q: Does the Intel Arc B390 have dedicated video memory?

A: No, the memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," and the memory bandwidth is "System Dependent," meaning it relies on the system's main DDR4 memory.

Q: What is the frame rate range at 1080p Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 32, with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the only viable preset for this combination is Low, and even then, the results are marginal. At 1080p Low, the average frame rate is 51 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches a playable level. However, the 1440p Low setting yields 43 FPS, and 4K Low drops to 34 FPS, both of which are below the 60 FPS target most users expect for a smooth experience. The data suggests that users should strictly limit themselves to 1080p resolution.

The Medium preset is not recommended. At 1080p, it averages 32 FPS with a minimum of 27 FPS, which is playable for some but will feel stuttery in action sequences. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 27 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it drops to 21 FPS. The High and Ultra presets are effectively unplayable, with averages ranging from 23 FPS down to 12 FPS across all resolutions. The High preset at 1080p averages 23 FPS, and the Ultra preset at 1080p averages 18 FPS, both far below the threshold for comfortable gameplay.

For the best experience measured in this data, the recommendation is to use the Low preset at 1920x1080. This is the only combination that breaks the 50 FPS barrier. If visual fidelity is paramount, the Medium preset at 1080p is the highest quality option that maintains an average above 30 FPS, but it comes with a significant performance cost. The data does not support any usage of High or Ultra settings, as the frame rates drop to single digits and low teens at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2581 out of 2911 tested combinations for The Medium. This places it in the bottom 11% of all systems tested, indicating a severely underpowered configuration for this title. The ranking reflects the GPU's poor performance, as the CPU is comparatively strong. The Ryzen 5 5600GT has an average benchmark score of 20733, placing it in the 74th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core i5-12490F (score 20802, 0.3% faster) and the Intel Xeon 6325P (score 20821, 0.4% faster).

The vast discrepancy between the CPU's percentile (74th) and the GPU's percentile (9th) is the defining characteristic of this combo. The CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with data, but the GPU cannot render frames fast enough to utilize the CPU's processing power. The combo's rank of 2581 is a direct consequence of the GPU bottleneck; if the system had a more capable discrete GPU, the ranking would improve significantly. The data shows that the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is the limiting factor, and the system's performance is constrained by the Arc B390's inability to handle the game's rendering demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete set of measured average FPS data for this combination, organized by resolution and settings.

At 3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 34 FPS average
• Medium: 21 FPS average (minimum 18 FPS, maximum 24 FPS)
• High: 15 FPS average
• Ultra: 12 FPS average

At 2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 43 FPS average
• Medium: 27 FPS average (minimum 23 FPS, maximum 31 FPS)
• High: 19 FPS average
• Ultra: 15 FPS average

At 1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 51 FPS average
• Medium: 32 FPS average (minimum 27 FPS, maximum 37 FPS)
• High: 23 FPS average
• Ultra: 18 FPS average

The data shows a clear progression: for every resolution, the Low preset is the only one that achieves an average above 40 FPS. The Medium preset provides the only other data points with minimum and maximum values, indicating that it was the most frequently tested setting. The High and Ultra presets consistently produce sub-24 FPS averages, rendering them unusable for any serious gameplay. The 4K Ultra setting is the worst performer, with an average of 12 FPS, which is effectively a slideshow.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 5000 series, based on the Zen 3 architecture (codename Cezanne). It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's multi-threaded benchmark scores are robust: it achieves 17272 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 7254 in Cinebench R20 multicore. Its single-thread performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2438 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1843. The CPU's average benchmark score of 20733 places it in the 74th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a capable mid-range processor.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is largely secondary due to the GPU bottleneck. The game is not particularly CPU-intensive at the settings tested, and the Ryzen 5 5600GT has more than enough processing power to handle the game's logic and physics. The 16 MB of L3 cache and 12 threads provide sufficient headroom for the game's multi-threaded workloads. However, the benchmark results show that the CPU's performance is irrelevant in this pairing because the GPU cannot render frames quickly enough. The CPU is not the limiting factor; the measured frame rates are nearly identical to what would be expected from the GPU alone, regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-12490F, have nearly identical average scores, but this does not translate to better gaming performance because the GPU is the constraint. The CPU's 3DMark scores (e.g., 5554 for max threads) are far higher than the GPU's score, confirming that the system's overall performance in this game is entirely dictated by the Arc B390. Thus, the Ryzen 5 5600GT is a wasted resource in this configuration for The Medium, as its processing power far exceeds what the integrated GPU can utilize.