The Medium

How This Combo Ranks

The pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X with the Intel Arc B370 lands at rank 2681 out of 2911 tested combinations for The Medium. That places this system in the bottom 8% of all tested combos, a stark positioning that reflects the GPU's fundamental limitations rather than any CPU deficiency. The data shows a combo that is playable only at the most forgiving settings and resolutions, and even then, it barely crosses the threshold of acceptable frame rates.

This ranking is particularly telling when you consider the CPU's own standing. The Ryzen 9 5900X sits at the 87th percentile among all CPUs, a high-performance part that is being held back by a GPU that ranks at just the 5th percentile among all GPUs. The delta between the CPU's capability and the GPU's output is the defining characteristic of this benchmark set. The combo rank is not a reflection of a balanced system; it is a portrait of a massive bottleneck, where the graphics processor is the clear and overwhelming constraint.

The measured FPS data reinforces this narrative. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 46 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches smooth gameplay. Every other setting and resolution combination falls below 30 FPS, with the most demanding scenarios dropping to 11 FPS at 4K Ultra. The system is not just underperforming; it is consistently and severely constrained, with the GPU unable to keep pace with even the modest demands of this horror title. The benchmark results indicate a system that is fundamentally mismatched, where the processor's 12 cores and 24 threads are largely idle while the GPU struggles to render each frame.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 46 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration that exceeds 30 FPS, making it the sole playable option in this dataset.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 5900X has an average benchmark score of 41376, placing it 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H (41263), 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 356H (41215), and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 440 (41208). It trails the Intel Core i7-14650HX (41576) by 0.5%.

Q: Is the GPU's performance comparable to any other graphics processors?

A: The Intel Arc B370's average benchmark score is 1184, which is 0.2% lower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% lower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and 0.7% lower than the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192). It is 1.4% higher than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168).

Q: Does the resolution have a significant impact on the frame rate at Medium settings?

A: Yes, the data shows a clear progression. At 1080p Medium, the average is 29 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it drops to 24 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it falls to 19 FPS. This represents a 34% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum frame rates at the most common settings?

A: At Medium settings, the only preset with complete data, the system records a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS at 1080p. At 1440p, the range is 21 to 28 FPS, and at 4K, it narrows to 16 to 22 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's single-threaded performance compare to its multi-threaded performance?

A: In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 1527 in single-core and 16262 in multi-core, a ratio of roughly 10.7x. This indicates strong scaling across its 12 cores, though this capability is not utilized effectively in this GPU-bound scenario.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the decisive factor in this combo's performance, and the data paints a clear picture of its limitations. With a boost clock of 2400 MHz and a base clock of 300 MHz, the GPU has a wide operating range, but its memory configuration is the critical weakness. The memory size, type, and bus width are all listed as "System Shared," with bandwidth noted as "System Dependent." This means the GPU relies on the system's DDR4 memory, which is a major bottleneck for a game like The Medium that demands significant memory bandwidth for its streaming and rendering workloads.

The GPU's compute specifications are modest for a modern part. It has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. Its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS, which is low compared to discrete graphics cards. The GPU also includes 10 ray tracing cores, but given the overall performance levels, ray tracing is likely not a viable option in this title.

The benchmark results confirm the GPU's weak standing. Its only 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1184, placing it at the 5th percentile of all GPUs. The closest rivals are all older ATI parts, which underscores the performance tier of this integrated graphics solution. The GPU's TDP is 25 W, which is characteristic of an integrated graphics processor (IGP), and it uses a "System Shared" memory interface. This architecture is fundamentally unsuited for demanding games at high resolutions, which is precisely what the measured FPS data demonstrates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates across all tested configurations reveal a system that struggles to maintain playability. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 46 FPS, Medium produces 29 FPS (with a range of 24 to 33 FPS), High produces 21 FPS, and Ultra produces 16 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a 37% performance drop, indicating that the GPU is highly sensitive to graphical complexity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades further. Low settings average 39 FPS, Medium averages 24 FPS (with a range of 21 to 28 FPS), High averages 17 FPS, and Ultra averages 14 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is now 64%, showing that the GPU's limitations are exacerbated at higher resolutions. The data indicates that the frame rate at 1440p Low is still higher than the frame rate at 1080p High, which suggests that settings have a more significant impact on performance than resolution for this GPU.

At 3840x2160, the system becomes largely unplayable. Low settings average 30 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that approaches a playable level. Medium averages 19 FPS (with a range of 16 to 22 FPS), High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages 11 FPS. The difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low is a 35% drop, while the difference between 1080p Ultra and 4K Ultra is a 31% drop. This suggests that the GPU is hitting a hard performance ceiling that is independent of resolution, likely due to its memory bandwidth limitations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K at each settings level provides insight into the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 46 at 1080p to 39 at 1440p and then to 30 at 4K. This represents a 15% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 23% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is relatively linear, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario where the pixel count is the primary driver of performance.

At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 29 at 1080p to 24 at 1440p and then to 19 at 4K. The percentage drops are 17% and 21%, respectively. At High settings, the numbers are 21, 17, and 14, representing drops of 19% and 18%. At Ultra settings, the averages are 16, 14, and 11, with drops of 12.5% and 21%.

The consistency of these drops suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor across all settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates that are more similar across resolutions, as the GPU would be waiting for the CPU to feed it data. Instead, the frame rates scale inversely with pixel count, which is a clear indicator of GPU saturation. The Ryzen 9 5900X, with its high multi-threaded performance (16262 in Cinebench R23) and strong single-threaded performance (1527 in Cinebench R23), is not the constraint here. The data implies that the Intel Arc B370 is operating at its maximum capacity at all tested resolutions, and the only way to improve performance is to reduce the GPU's workload.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the only configuration that provides a consistently playable experience is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which averages 46 FPS. This is the sole setting that exceeds the 30 FPS threshold that is often considered the minimum for acceptable gameplay in a slow-paced horror title. The next best option is 2560x1440 with Low settings at 39 FPS, which is also playable but sacrifices resolution for a slightly lower frame rate.

For players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, the Medium preset at 1080p (29 FPS) is the highest setting that remains in the field of playability, though it is marginal. The data shows that High and Ultra presets are not viable at any resolution, as they all fall below 25 FPS. At 4K, even Low settings only achieve 30 FPS, which is on the edge of playability and may not be consistent enough for a smooth experience.

The benchmark results indicate that the best experience is achieved by maximizing frame rate first and then adjusting resolution. Given that the GPU is severely limited, the recommendation is to play at 1080p with Low settings for the most responsive experience. If a higher resolution is desired, 1440p with Low settings is the only viable alternative. The Medium preset should only be considered at 1080p, and even then, players should be prepared for frame rates that dip to 24 FPS in demanding scenes. The data suggests that the "best" experience is a trade-off, but the priority should be on maintaining a playable frame rate rather than chasing visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a high-end desktop processor that is severely underutilized in this configuration. With 12 cores and 24 threads, it is a multi-threaded powerhouse, scoring 16262 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 10075 in 3DMark max threads. Its single-threaded performance is also strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1527 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2083. The CPU's base clock is 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, and its 64 MB of L3 cache is substantial.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and asset streaming. The game is not known for being particularly CPU-intensive, and the data confirms that the Ryzen 9 5900X is not the bottleneck. The frame rates are consistently low across all settings, and the scaling with resolution is smooth, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see frame rates that plateau at higher resolutions, but that is not the case here.

The CPU's benchmark scores place it in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals are all modern mobile processors with similar average scores. The Intel Core i7-14650HX is 0.5% faster, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H and 356H are 0.3% and 0.4% slower, respectively. This indicates that the CPU is competitive with the latest hardware, but its performance is irrelevant in this pairing. The data implies that the Ryzen 9 5900X is more than capable of feeding the Intel Arc B370, and the GPU is the sole reason for the low frame rates. For this game, the CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads are largely idle, with the GPU struggling to keep up with the rendering workload.