The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces a severely GPU-bound experience in The Medium, with benchmark results showing a dramatic collapse in frame rates as resolution increases. The data indicates that while the CPU is a high-end desktop part, the integrated graphics solution acts as the overwhelming bottleneck, capping performance at levels that are only playable at the lowest settings and resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a stark and immediate penalty for increasing resolution. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 51 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops the average to 43 FPS, a reduction of 8 frames. The step to 3840x2160 brings the average down to 34 FPS, which is a 17-frame drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets, showing that the rendering pipeline is heavily constrained by pixel throughput.

At Medium settings, the frame rate falls from 32 FPS at 1080p to 27 FPS at 1440p, and then to 21 FPS at 4K. The High preset shows an even steeper relative decline, with averages of 23 FPS at 1080p, 19 FPS at 1440p, and 15 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most punishing, starting at 18 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 15 FPS at 1440p, and bottoming out at 12 FPS at 4K. The pattern suggests that the limiting component is not the CPU, which remains constant, but rather the GPU's ability to fill pixels at higher resolutions.

The data implies that the Intel Arc B390's memory interface, listed as "System Shared," creates a dependency on system memory bandwidth that is "System Dependent." As resolution increases, the demand on this shared memory grows, and the performance degradation becomes more pronounced. The difference between Low and Medium at 4K is 13 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High is only 6 FPS, indicating that the GPU struggles more with the base workload than with incremental quality increases at high resolution.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on a 3 nm process by Intel. Its benchmark presence is minimal, with a single 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This low percentile is reflected in its nearest rivals, which include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710, with deltaPct values of 1.3%, 1.5%, 2.5%, and 2.7% respectively. The B390 is essentially trading blows with decade-old entry-level discrete GPUs.

The GPU's clock speeds show a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2500 MHz, with a TDP of 80 W. The shading units number 1536, with 48 TMUs and 24 ROPs. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS. These specifications, while not directly comparable to rival specs outside the pack, suggest a part designed for low-power integrated use, not for demanding horror titles like The Medium. The memory configuration is entirely "System Shared," meaning there is no dedicated VRAM, and bandwidth varies with the system's RAM.

The frame time data for Medium settings shows a narrow range at 1080p (27-37 FPS), which widens slightly at 1440p (23-31 FPS) and tightens at 4K (18-24 FPS). This indicates that the GPU is working at its limits, and the variance is not improving with higher resolution, suggesting it is not a driver or CPU issue but a raw throughput limitation. The Ultra preset at 4K yields an average of 12 FPS, which is effectively a slideshow, reinforcing that the GPU is the sole limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2581 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the bottom 11% of all configurations, which is a poor result for a system featuring a top-tier CPU. The ranking is heavily dragged down by the GPU's percentile rank of 9, which is exceptionally low. The CPU, by contrast, sits in the 86th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37943.

The disparity between the CPU and GPU performance is stark. The Ryzen 7 9700X's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14901E (deltaPct 0.1%), AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (deltaPct 0.1%), Intel Core 5 211E (deltaPct 0.3%), and AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 (deltaPct 0.4%). These rivals all have nearly identical average scores, indicating that the CPU is not a differentiator in this pairing. The GPU's rivals, on the other hand, are ancient parts, and the B390's score of 1482 is only 1.3% higher than the GT 520MX.

The data suggests that this combo is fundamentally unbalanced for gaming. The CPU has the potential to drive much higher frame rates, but the GPU cannot keep up. In a game like The Medium, which is a horror title with fixed camera angles and pre-rendered elements, the GPU still has to render the scene, and the B390's 24 ROPs and 7.680 TFLOPS are insufficient for 1080p at high settings, let alone 4K. The rank of 2581 reflects a system that is CPU-rich but GPU-poor.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the only playable configuration is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which yields an average of 51 FPS. This is the only preset and resolution combination that crosses the 50 FPS threshold, making it the baseline for any semblance of smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 32 FPS, which is a significant sacrifice for visual quality, and the High preset falls to 23 FPS, which is below the threshold for acceptable motion fluidity.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset gives 43 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 27 FPS, which is borderline, and High drops to 19 FPS. At 3840x2160, even Low settings only produce 34 FPS, and Medium falls to 21 FPS. The Ultra preset is not viable at any resolution, with a maximum average of 18 FPS at 1080p.

The data implies that users should stick to Low settings for any resolution above 1080p, and even then, they will need to accept reduced visual fidelity. The difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is 19 FPS, which is a 37% improvement in frame rate by dropping to Low. This is the largest relative jump between presets at any resolution, indicating that the Medium preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive for this GPU. For a playable experience, the recommendation is clear: 1080p Low is the only setting that provides an average FPS above 50.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo can achieve in The Medium?

A: The highest average FPS is 51, which is measured at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

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

A: The B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 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: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings yield an average of 43 FPS, while Ultra settings yield an average of 15 FPS, a difference of 28 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck, as the CPU ranks in the 86th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Does the 4K resolution provide any playable frame rates?

A: At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 34 at Low settings, which is below the 50 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and Medium drops to 21 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 2581 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a desktop processor from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture with the codename Granite Ridge. It has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The TDP is 65 W, and it supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The CPU's benchmarks show strong single-thread performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2211. Multi-threaded scores are also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20485 and a Geekbench multicore score of 17906.

The CPU's percentile rank of 86 and average benchmark score of 37943 place it in the upper echelon of processors. Its nearest rivals have nearly identical average scores, with deltaPct values of 0.1% to 0.4%, indicating that the 9700X is competitive with other high-end parts. However, in The Medium, the CPU's capabilities are largely irrelevant because the GPU is so weak. The measured FPS at 1080p Low is 51, which is a frame rate that the CPU could easily exceed if paired with a more capable GPU.

The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent with a GPU bottleneck, not a CPU bottleneck. If the CPU were the issue, we would expect to see similar FPS across resolutions, but instead we see a significant drop. The CPU's high single-thread score of 3023 in Geekbench suggests it can handle the game's logic and AI, but the rendering is left to the B390, which fails to deliver. The CPU's role here is to feed the GPU, but the GPU cannot process the data fast enough.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 51 FPS, the Medium preset yields 32 FPS with a range of 27 to 37 FPS, the High preset yields 23 FPS, and the Ultra preset yields 18 FPS. This shows a clear degradation from Low to Ultra, with a 33 FPS difference between the extremes.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 43 FPS, the Medium preset averages 27 FPS with a range of 23 to 31 FPS, the High preset averages 19 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 15 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 28 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 34 FPS, the Medium preset averages 21 FPS with a range of 18 to 24 FPS, the High preset averages 15 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 12 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 22 FPS.

The Medium settings at each resolution provide the only data with min and max FPS values, showing that the frame rate is relatively stable within a narrow band. At 1080p, the range is 10 FPS, at 1440p it is 8 FPS, and at 4K it is 6 FPS. This suggests that the GPU is consistently hitting its limits, with no spikes or drops, indicating a steady state of performance. The Low and High presets lack min/max data, but the averages are consistent with the trend of decreasing performance with increasing resolution and quality.

The data across all resolutions shows that the Low preset is the only one that maintains an average above 30 FPS at 4K, and even then, it is only 34 FPS. The High and Ultra presets are effectively unplayable at any resolution, with averages below 24 FPS at 1080p. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 12 FPS, is the worst-case scenario, offering a cinematic slideshow rather than a playable game. The breakdown confirms that the Intel Arc B390 is the primary constraint, and the Ryzen 7 9700X is left with significant headroom that cannot be utilized.