The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces a very narrow band of playable performance in The Medium. Across all tested resolutions and settings, the average frame rate never exceeds 51 FPS, and the highest quality presets fall well below 30 FPS. Given the measured results, the Low preset is the only viable option for a consistently smooth experience, and even then, only at 1920x1080. The data shows that while The Medium is playable at 1080p Low, any increase in resolution or graphical fidelity pushes the combination into stutter-prone territory.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data clearly indicates that the Low preset is the only setting tier that provides a playable frame rate at any resolution. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combination achieves an average of 51 FPS, which is the highest recorded average across the entire test matrix. This is the only configuration where the average frame rate is comfortably above the 30 FPS threshold typically considered the minimum for playable, albeit not ideal, performance.

Stepping up to Medium settings at 1080p results in an average of 32 FPS, but the minimum frame rate dips to 27 FPS. This indicates that while the average is technically playable, there are moments of noticeable slowdown that could affect the pacing of a horror game. The High preset at 1080p drops the average to 23 FPS, and Ultra falls to 18 FPS, both of which are too low for a smooth experience.

At higher resolutions, the situation worsens. The Low preset at 2560x1440 averages 43 FPS, but at 3840x2160, the average drops to 34 FPS. While these numbers are above 30 FPS, the frame pacing is inconsistent, and the experience is not recommended. The data suggests that users should prioritize resolution over visual quality, as the Low preset at 1440p (43 FPS) is significantly smoother than the Medium preset at 1080p (32 FPS). For the best experience, the 1080p Low configuration is the only one that offers a reliable frame rate without major dips below 30 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of The Medium specifically, this hardware combination ranks 2581st out of 2911 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 11% of all configurations. This is a very low ranking, indicating that the system is heavily constrained. The combo's percentile ranking is consistent with its measured FPS, which shows it struggling to maintain playable frame rates even at 1080p.

This low rank is not surprising given the individual components' benchmark standings. The Intel Arc B390 GPU sits at the 9th percentile among all tested GPUs, and its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710. These are all legacy or entry-level mobile/desktop parts, which contextualizes the GPU's performance level. The GPU's average benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad is only 1.3% higher than the GT 520MX, a GPU from a much older generation. This indicates that the Arc B390 is performing at a level far below what modern games expect.

The CPU, on the other hand, is a strong performer, ranking in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 27578 is nearly identical to that of the Intel Core i5-12600K (0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (0.2% slower), and the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X (0.2% faster). This suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in this pairing. The massive disparity between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's low percentile, combined with the combo's overall poor rank in The Medium, clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and is built on Intel's 3 nm process. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output pipelines. The GPU has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its memory configuration is entirely system-dependent, using "System Shared" memory, which means its bandwidth and size are not fixed but are instead allocated from the system's main memory.

This shared memory architecture is a critical weakness for gaming performance. Unlike a dedicated GPU with its own high-speed VRAM, the Arc B390 must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth. In a game like The Medium, which has demanding texture and asset streaming requirements, this shared bandwidth becomes a severe bottleneck. The GPU's raw compute capabilities are also limited, with an FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS and a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s. These are low figures that align with its 9th percentile ranking.

The benchmark data from 3DMark Steel Nomad (DX12) shows a score of 1482, which is only 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. This demonstrates that while the Arc B390 can render the game, its performance is comparable to decade-old entry-level discrete GPUs. The lack of dedicated VRAM is a primary reason why the frame rates are so low, as the system's memory bandwidth is insufficient for the game's needs at higher settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across all combinations of resolution and settings.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the results are largely unplayable. The Low preset averages 34 FPS, but the Medium preset drops to an average of 21 FPS (min 18, max 24). High settings average 15 FPS, and Ultra averages just 12 FPS. None of these configurations offer a consistent frame rate suitable for the game's cinematic style.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance improves but remains marginal. The Low preset averages 43 FPS, which is the best result at this resolution. Medium averages 27 FPS (min 23, max 31), High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. Only the Low preset approaches a playable frame rate, and it still lacks the headroom to prevent noticeable drops during intense scenes.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the system finally achieves its best results. The Low preset averages 51 FPS, which is the only average above 50 FPS in the entire dataset. This is the only setting that can be considered genuinely playable. Medium averages 32 FPS (min 27, max 37), which is borderline but has frequent dips below 30 FPS. High averages 23 FPS, and Ultra averages 18 FPS, both of which are too slow for a responsive experience.

The data shows a clear pattern: the Arc B390 is only capable of producing a smooth frame rate at the lowest settings and resolution. The gap between Low and Medium settings is significant (from 51 to 32 FPS at 1080p), indicating that the GPU's limited resources are quickly overwhelmed by even a modest increase in graphical fidelity.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in The Medium?*

A: The only configuration that provides a consistently playable frame rate is 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which averages 51 FPS. All other settings at this resolution, and all settings at higher resolutions, fall below 43 FPS or have minimum frame rates that dip below 30 FPS.

*Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems in The Medium?*

A: The combo ranks 2581st out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 11% of all tested systems for this game.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B390 in this game?

A: No, the data does not support this. The CPU ranks in the 79th percentile overall and has an average benchmark score nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-12600K (0% delta). The GPU, in contrast, ranks in the 9th percentile, making it the clear performance bottleneck.

*Q: Can this system run The Medium at 4K?*

A: Technically, yes, but not at a playable frame rate. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 34 FPS, but Medium drops to 21 FPS, High to 15 FPS, and Ultra to 12 FPS. These frame rates are too low for a smooth experience.

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

A: The Arc B390's average 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is only 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GT 710.

Q: Why is there such a large performance drop between Low and Medium settings?

A: The drop is substantial. At 1080p, the average FPS falls from 51 on Low to 32 on Medium, a decrease of 19 FPS. This is likely due to the GPU's reliance on system shared memory, which becomes a significant bottleneck when the game's asset loading requirements increase with higher quality settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X is a powerful desktop processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (codename Vermeer). It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The CPU has a 65W TDP and supports DDR4 memory. Its cache configuration includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a shared 32 MB L3 cache.

In terms of raw processing power, the Ryzen 7 5700X is a strong contender. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 13184, and its single-core score is 1499. The Geekbench multicore score is 10779, and the single-core score is 2016. These numbers place it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i5-12600K (0% delta), AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (0.2% slower), AMD Ryzen 5 7600X (0.2% faster), and Intel Core Ultra 5 125H (0.3% faster). This indicates that the CPU is well within the performance range of modern mid-range to high-end processors.

However, the benchmark results in The Medium show that this CPU's power is largely untapped. The frame rates are consistently low across all settings, and the performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is steeper than what would be expected if the CPU were the primary bottleneck. The data indicates that the CPU is more than capable of feeding frames to the GPU, but the GPU is unable to process them quickly enough. The CPU's high benchmark scores and the GPU's low benchmark scores (9th percentile) firmly establish that the Ryzen 7 5700X is not the limiting component in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions provides clear evidence of the GPU bottleneck. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 51 at 1920x1080 to 43 at 2560x1440 (a 15.7% decrease) and then to 34 at 3840x2160 (a 33.3% decrease from 1440p). This is a significant drop as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU that is running out of memory bandwidth and pixel processing power.

At the Medium preset, the scaling is even more severe. The average FPS falls from 32 at 1080p to 27 at 1440p (a 15.6% decrease) and then to 21 at 4K (a 22.2% decrease from 1440p). The minimum FPS also drops from 27 at 1080p to 23 at 1440p and 18 at 4K. This consistent decline across resolutions shows that the GPU's limited resources are being exhausted by the increasing pixel count.

The scaling pattern indicates that the limiting component is the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates across different resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution. Instead, the frame rates drop dramatically as resolution increases, which is a textbook sign of a GPU-limited scenario. The system's reliance on shared system memory exacerbates this issue, as the memory bandwidth available to the GPU does not scale with the demands of higher resolutions. The data clearly shows that this combination should be used at 1080p Low for the best possible experience, and that higher resolutions are not viable for a smooth frame rate.