The Medium

The Medium, a fixed-camera horror title built around atmospheric storytelling rather than twitch reflex action, presents an unusually demanding workload for the hardware driving it. This analysis examines the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D paired with the Intel Arc B390, a combination that ranks 2581st out of 2911 tested configurations for this specific game. The data reveals a system that struggles significantly, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck across every resolution and settings preset. Benchmarks for this pairing show an average frame rate that never exceeds 51 FPS even at the lowest settings and resolution tested, indicating that this combo is better suited for understanding performance boundaries than for achieving a smooth, high-fidelity experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across the three resolutions—1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160—paint a clear picture of a system under severe graphical load. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 51 at 1080p to 43 at 1440p, a 15.7% reduction, and then to 34 at 4K, which is a 33.3% reduction from the 1440p figure and a 33.3% reduction from 1080p overall. This scaling pattern is steep but not entirely linear, suggesting that the GPU’s fixed-function units—likely the 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs—are overwhelmed by the increasing pixel count and texture fetch demands.

Moving to Medium settings, the average FPS at 1080p is 32, falling to 27 at 1440p (a 15.6% drop) and then to 21 at 4K (a 22.2% drop from 1440p). The delta between 1080p and 4K at Medium is 11 FPS, or a 34.4% reduction. High settings show an even more compressed range: 23 FPS at 1080p, 19 at 1440p, and 15 at 4K. The percentage losses from 1080p to 1440p and 1440p to 4K are 17.4% and 21.1%, respectively. At Ultra, the averages are 18, 15, and 12 FPS for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, representing a 16.7% drop and then a 20% drop.

These figures indicate that the Arc B390 is the limiting component at every step. If the Ryzen 5 7500X3D were the constraint, we would expect to see frame rates that cluster together more tightly across resolutions, especially at lower settings where the CPU has more headroom. Instead, the consistent double-digit percentage declines as resolution increases point to a GPU that is saturated by pixel throughput and shading work. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 for this GPU, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, corroborates this finding. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings (51 to 34 FPS) shows a 33% loss, which is substantial but not as severe as the 47% loss seen at Ultra settings (18 to 12 FPS). This suggests that while the GPU is always the bottleneck, the gap widens when more complex shading and effects are enabled, as the 1536 shading units and 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are simply insufficient for the workload.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 3 nm process. Its boost clock is rated at 2500 MHz, with a base clock of 300 MHz, and it operates with system-shared memory, meaning its bandwidth is system-dependent rather than fixed. The GPU’s specifications include 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, 24 raster output units, and 12 ray tracing cores. Its peak pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS.

In The Medium, the GPU’s memory configuration plays a critical role. Because the memory is system-shared, the effective bandwidth and capacity are determined by the rest of the system, which in this case uses DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a theoretical bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. This setup is a considerable disadvantage for a game like The Medium, which relies on streaming high-resolution textures to maintain its fixed-camera scenes. The frame time data, where available, shows a narrow range: at 1080p Medium, the min and max FPS are 27 and 37, respectively, and at 1440p Medium, they are 23 and 31. This narrow variance suggests that the GPU is consistently busy, with little idle time, further indicating a bottleneck where the GPU’s compute and memory access are fully utilized.

The GPU’s performance percentile of 9 versus all GPUs is telling. It sits just above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which has an average 3DMark score of 1463, a 1.3% delta, and below the Intel Core i5-14600’s average benchmark score of 44889, though that is a CPU benchmark. The nearest rivals for the GPU are all older, low-end NVIDIA parts: the GeForce 800M (1460 score, 1.5% delta), GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5%), and GeForce GT 710 (1443, 2.7%). This places the Arc B390 in a category with entry-level GPUs from over a decade ago, which explains its inability to maintain playable frame rates in a modern title. The GPU’s 80 W TDP and lack of dedicated power connectors (slot width is IGP) indicate a design focused on low power draw rather than high performance, consistent with its mobile or integrated orientation.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2581st out of 2911 tested combos for The Medium, placing it in the bottom 11.3% of configurations. This rank is a direct consequence of the GPU’s low performance ceiling, as the CPU is a far more capable component. The Ryzen 5 7500X3D has an average benchmark score of 44573, which places it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (average score 44466, delta 0.2%), Intel Core i9-13950HX (44342, 0.5%), and AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (44309, 0.6%), all of which are within a 0.6% margin. It also outperforms the Intel Core i5-14600 (44889, -0.7%).

The disparity between the CPU’s high percentile and the GPU’s low percentile highlights a severe imbalance. In a game like The Medium, which is not particularly CPU-intensive at lower resolutions, the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.50 GHz are more than adequate to feed the GPU. However, the GPU’s inability to render frames quickly means the CPU spends most of its time waiting. The combo rank of 2581 suggests that most other tested systems, whether they use stronger or weaker CPUs, achieve better performance because they are paired with more capable GPUs. The data shows that this combination is a poor match for The Medium, and any user seeking playable frame rates would need to consider a different GPU or substantially lower the game’s resolution and settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the Arc B390 delivers an average FPS of 51 at Low settings. This is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo. However, it comes with the caveat that Low settings typically disable many visual features, such as shadows and reflections, which are central to The Medium’s horror atmosphere. At Medium settings, the average drops to 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 and a maximum of 37. High settings yield 23 FPS, and Ultra yields 18 FPS. None of these figures reach the 60 FPS target that most players consider smooth, and even the Low setting at 1080p falls short of that mark.

At 2560x1440, the performance degrades further. Low settings produce an average of 43 FPS, which is a 15.7% reduction from the 1080p Low figure. Medium settings average 27 FPS (min 23, max 31), High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 28 FPS, indicating that the settings preset has a significant impact on the GPU’s workload. At this resolution, the pixel count is 78% higher than 1080p, which directly affects the pixel rate and ROP throughput.

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution, the results are largely unplayable. Low settings average 34 FPS, Medium averages 21 FPS (min 18, max 24), High averages 15 FPS, and Ultra averages 12 FPS. The 4K Ultra figure of 12 FPS is a slideshow, and even the Low setting at 34 FPS would be a poor experience for a game that relies on slow, tense pacing. The data shows that this combo only approaches playability at 1080p Low, and even then, it is below the 60 FPS threshold. The measured FPS values are consistent with the GPU’s 3DMark score of 1482, which indicates a performance level far below modern discrete graphics cards.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured frame rates, the only setting preset that provides a remotely acceptable experience is 1080p with Low settings, which yields an average FPS of 51. However, even this is borderline because the minimum FPS is not reported for this preset, and the average is still 9 FPS short of 60. For players who prioritize a stable frame rate over visual fidelity, 1080p Low is the recommended choice. The Medium at Medium settings, 1080p, averages 32 FPS, which is below the threshold for a smooth experience, and the minimum of 27 FPS would likely cause noticeable stuttering in a game that uses fixed camera angles and slow pans.

At 1440p, the best option is Low settings at 43 FPS, but this still involves a resolution downgrade from a typical 1440p target. The data suggests that this combo cannot effectively drive 1440p at any settings preset, as even Low fails to reach 45 FPS. At 4K, all settings presets produce average frame rates below 35 FPS, making them unsuitable for anything other than static screenshots. The Medium’s genre—horror—demands a consistent frame rate to maintain immersion, and frame drops to 18 FPS at 4K Medium would break that immersion.

The recommendation, based strictly on measured data, is to use 1080p with Low settings if the goal is to achieve the highest possible average FPS. If visual quality is more important than frame rate, 1080p Medium at 32 FPS is the highest-quality preset that stays above 30 FPS on average. Ultra settings at any resolution should be avoided, as they produce average frame rates between 12 and 18 FPS. The absence of min FPS data for Low, High, and Ultra presets limits the analysis, but the available Medium preset data shows that the GPU’s frame time consistency is poor, with a 10 FPS spread between min and max at 1080p and an 8 FPS spread at 1440p.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 7000 series, based on the Zen 4 (Raphael) architecture and built on TSMC’s 5 nm process. It has a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU’s cache configuration is notable: 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 cache is a key feature of the X3D branding, though the FACT PACK does not specify a 3D V-Cache variant for this specific model. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a theoretical bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s, and it has 24 PCIe Gen 5 lanes.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU, as the game’s fixed-camera design reduces the need for complex world streaming that would otherwise stress the CPU. The CPU’s single-thread performance, as measured by PassMark, is 3494, which is strong, and its multithread score is 25047. These scores place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, indicating that it has ample headroom for the game’s CPU demands. The nearest rival comparisons show that the Ryzen 5 7500X3D performs nearly identically to the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (0.2% delta) and Intel Core i9-13950HX (0.5%), but those CPUs are typically paired with much stronger GPUs in laptop or mobile systems.

The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 51, which is likely higher than what the GPU can sustain at higher settings, but the CPU is capable of feeding frames faster if the GPU could render them. The CPU’s 12 threads are sufficient for a game that uses a few main threads for gameplay logic and rendering. The 96 MB of L3 cache helps with data locality, which is beneficial for game assets that are frequently accessed, but this advantage is negated by the GPU’s low throughput. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.50 GHz is adequate, but the game’s frame rate is constrained by the GPU’s 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate. In sum, the Ryzen 5 7500X3D is a high-performing CPU whose capabilities are wasted in this pairing, as the Intel Arc B390 cannot translate the CPU’s processing power into higher frame rates. The benchmark results confirm that this is a GPU-bound scenario, with the CPU’s percentile ranking of 89 contrasting sharply with the combo’s rank of 2581 out of 2911.