The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and Intel Arc B390 pairing in The Medium produces a heavily GPU-limited experience, with the processor’s strong multi-threaded foundation unable to compensate for the graphics solution’s modest output. The data shows a combination that ranks in the bottom 12% of tested systems, making it suitable only for the lowest fidelity settings at playable frame rates.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G provides the computational backbone with 8 cores and 16 threads, operating at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This Zen 3 architecture part, built on a 7 nm process, features 16 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration. Its average benchmark score of 27051 places it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, indicating solid processing capability. However, its nearest rivals demonstrate how tight the competition is: the Intel Core i9-9900K scores 27097, which is only 0.2% higher, while the AMD Ryzen AI 7 445 scores 26936, a 0.4% deficit. The Intel Core i5-14400T and Intel Core i7-1370P bracket it similarly, with deltas of -0.4% and 0.6% respectively. In synthetic tests, the 5700G achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12830.5 and a single-core score of 1494, with Geekbench scores of 9950 multi-core and 1894 single-core.

In The Medium, the CPU's role is largely preparatory rather than performance-defining. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings show a pattern consistent with a graphics-bound workload. At 1080p Low, the system hits 51 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra it drops to 18 FPS. This scaling is far more characteristic of GPU limitations than CPU bottlenecks. The 5700G’s 16 threads ensure that the game's background streaming and logic threads have ample headroom, but this headroom goes unused because the Intel Arc B390 cannot push enough frames to stress the processor. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6629 and max-thread score of 6627 confirm that multi-core performance is well above the threshold required for a title like The Medium, which was released in 2021 and does not demand extreme core counts. The PassMark multi-thread score of 24419 further reinforces that CPU throughput is not the constraining factor. In practice, this means the processor is effectively idle in many frames, waiting for the GPU to finish rendering. The combination’s rank of 2581 out of 2911 combos (88.7th percentile from the bottom) indicates that the pairing’s overall performance is dragged down almost entirely by the graphics side, not the CPU.

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

The Intel Arc B390 is the dominant bottleneck in this configuration. This integrated graphics solution, based on the Xe3-LPG architecture on a 3 nm process, operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. It has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its memory is system-shared, with bandwidth dependent on the host system's DRAM, which is a fundamental limitation for a game like The Medium that relies on substantial texture streaming. The GPU's FP32 performance is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, but these figures do not translate into playable performance here.

The Arc B390’s benchmark presence is minimal, with a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. This places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, a severely low standing. Its nearest rivals illustrate its performance tier: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463 (1.3% lower), the GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% lower), the GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% lower), and the GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% lower). These are legacy or entry-level discrete parts from over a decade ago, and the Arc B390 is only fractionally faster than them. In The Medium, this translates to an average FPS of 51 at 1080p Low, which is the only setting where the game approaches smoothness. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 32 FPS, and at 1080p High it falls to 23 FPS. The ray tracing cores are present but effectively irrelevant; enabling higher settings crushes the GPU's limited fill rate. The system-shared memory means that as resolution increases, the GPU must compete with the CPU for bandwidth, exacerbating the performance cliff. The data shows that this GPU is only viable for the lowest graphical preset, and even then, the 51 FPS average at 1080p Low is modest by modern standards.

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

The measured FPS across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-limited scaling curve. At 1080p Low, the system averages 51 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 43 FPS, a 15.7% decrease. At 4K Low, the average falls to 34 FPS, which is 33.3% lower than 1080p Low. This non-linear drop is typical of a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput and memory bandwidth. For Medium settings, the progression is 32 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result includes a minimum of 18 FPS and a maximum of 24 FPS, showing that frame pacing is inconsistent. High settings show 23 FPS at 1080p, 19 FPS at 1440p, and 15 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings are the most punishing, with 18 FPS at 1080p, 15 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K.

The percentage drops between resolutions are steep. From 1080p to 1440p on Low, the loss is 8 FPS; from 1440p to 4K, it is another 9 FPS. On Ultra, the drop from 1080p to 4K is 6 FPS. This pattern indicates that the limiting component is the GPU, as a CPU bottleneck would show minimal FPS changes when resolution increases, since the CPU workload per frame remains constant. Here, every resolution increase produces a proportional FPS loss, confirming that the Arc B390 is saturated. The CPU’s 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR4 support are sufficient, but the GPU's system-shared memory has no dedicated bandwidth, so it relies on the same pool, which becomes a severe constraint at 4K. The data suggests that 1080p is the only viable resolution for this combo, and even then, only at Low settings. At 4K, every setting falls below 34 FPS, with Ultra at 12 FPS, which is unplayable. The frame time consistency also degrades at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the 4K Medium min of 18 FPS versus the average of 21 FPS, indicating stutter.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2581 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the bottom 11.3% of all systems tested, which is a poor result. The rank reflects the GPU’s severe limitations rather than the CPU’s capabilities. The 5700G is a competent processor, as evidenced by its 79th percentile standing among all CPUs, but the Arc B390’s 9th percentile GPU standing drags the entire combo down. In the context of the database, this pairing sits alongside other low-end integrated or entry-level graphics solutions. The GPU’s nearest rivals—the GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710—are all parts that would be considered obsolete for modern gaming, and the Arc B390 is only 1.3% to 2.7% faster than them in synthetic benchmarks. This means that in The Medium, the combo’s performance is comparable to systems using those decade-old GPUs. The rank of 2581 suggests that there are 330 combos that perform worse, likely those with even weaker integrated graphics or older dual-core CPUs. However, given that the 5700G has 8 cores and 16 threads, it is unlikely that any CPU pairing is the cause of the low rank; it is almost entirely a GPU issue. For context, if the same CPU were paired with a mid-range discrete GPU, the combo rank would be significantly higher, but the data only reflects this specific pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo’s capabilities. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 51 FPS, which is the highest average recorded for this combo. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS. High at 1080p averages 23 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 33 FPS, indicating that the GPU cannot handle the increased shading and texture loads of higher presets. At 2560x1440, Low averages 43 FPS, Medium averages 27 FPS (min 23, max 31), High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 28 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low averages 34 FPS, Medium averages 21 FPS (min 18, max 24), High averages 15 FPS, and Ultra averages 12 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 22 FPS.

Notably, the minimum FPS data is only provided for Medium settings: 27 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K. These minimums are close to the averages, suggesting that the Medium preset has relatively stable frame pacing, though the averages themselves are low. For Low, High, and Ultra, no minimum or maximum values are listed, implying that the frame times may be more variable or that the data collection focused on averages. The overall trend is clear: the combo only achieves an average above 30 FPS at 1080p Low (51 FPS) and 1440p Low (43 FPS). At 4K, even Low fails to reach 35 FPS. The 1080p Medium average of 32 FPS is technically above the 30 FPS threshold, but the minimum of 27 FPS means it will dip below that during intense scenes. The data shows that this combo is not suitable for 4K gaming under any settings, and 1440p is only viable at Low. For 1080p, Low is the only setting that provides a comfortable margin above 30 FPS, with Medium being borderline.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured rows, the only setting that provides a consistently playable experience is 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which averages 51 FPS. This is the clear recommendation for any user prioritizing smooth gameplay. The 1440p Low preset averages 43 FPS, which is also playable, but the lower resolution of 1080p offers a higher frame rate and is preferable for a horror game where responsiveness matters. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 FPS, which is marginal. In a game like The Medium, where atmospheric tension relies on smooth camera movement, dips to 27 FPS can feel stuttery. Therefore, Medium at 1080p is only recommended if the user accepts occasional frame drops. The High and Ultra presets at any resolution are not recommended; they all fall below 24 FPS, which is unplayable for a title requiring precise timing in certain sequences. The 4K presets are entirely non-viable, with the best being Low at 34 FPS, which still suffers from the resolution's high pixel count causing potential input lag. The data indicates that the user should stick to 1080p Low for the best balance of performance and visual fidelity, as the jump to Medium only adds a modest visual improvement but costs 19 FPS. For users with a 1440p monitor, Low is the only sensible choice, as Medium drops to 27 FPS average. There is no scenario where Ultra is recommended, as it only achieves 18 FPS at 1080p. The recommendation is to prioritize frame rate over visual quality, given the GPU’s constraints. The 5700G’s CPU power is wasted at these settings, but that is the nature of this particular pairing. The best experience per the data is unequivocally 1080p Low, offering double the frame rate of 1080p Medium and more than double the frame rate of 1080p High.