The Medium

The Medium presents a uniquely demanding workload for the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X paired with the Intel Arc B390. This combination produces frame rates that are consistently low across all tested configurations, positioning the system near the bottom of the database. The data reveals a clear narrative: this is a hardware pairing that struggles to deliver a playable experience, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck. The following analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions and settings, examines the role of each component, and contextualizes the results against other tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 51 FPS at 1080p to 43 FPS at 1440p, a decline of 8 FPS, and then further down to 34 FPS at 4K, another 9 FPS drop. This pattern indicates that the rendering load scales heavily with pixel count, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. The percentage decrease from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is roughly 33%, meaning the system loses a third of its performance when moving to the highest resolution.

At High settings, the scaling is even more punishing in relative terms. The average FPS at 1080p is 23, at 1440p it drops to 19, and at 4K it falls to 15. The jump from 1080p to 4K represents a 35% reduction in frame rate. For Medium settings, the averages are 32 FPS at 1080p, 27 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K, a decline of 11 FPS or 34% from the lowest to highest resolution. Ultra settings show the smallest absolute differences, going from 18 FPS at 1080p to 15 FPS at 1440p and 12 FPS at 4K, a 33% drop.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all four settings presets is telling. It suggests that the limiting component is not the CPU, which would typically show less scaling with resolution, but rather the GPU’s raw rendering throughput. The Intel Arc B390, with its 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 24 ROPs, appears to be saturated even at 1080p. The data implies that lowering resolution does not proportionally relieve the bottleneck, as the frame rate gains are modest in absolute terms. For instance, at Medium settings, moving from 4K to 1080p only recovers 11 FPS, bringing the average from 21 to 32 FPS. This is a clear sign that the GPU is operating at its limits regardless of the pixel count, and the resolution scaling primarily reflects the increased fill-rate demands on the 24 ROPs and the system-shared memory bandwidth.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured rows, the only preset that approaches a playable frame rate is Low at 1920x1080, which averages 51 FPS. This is the sole configuration above the 30 FPS threshold that is often considered a minimum for playability. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 43 FPS, which is still technically playable but with a significant reduction in headroom. At 4K Low, the average falls to 34 FPS, which is borderline and would likely result in noticeable stutter during intense scenes.

For users who prioritize visual fidelity, the data shows that no other preset is viable. Medium at 1080p averages 32 FPS, which is below the 51 FPS of Low and would feel less smooth. High at 1080p averages 23 FPS, and Ultra at 1080p averages 18 FPS, both of which are far too low for any practical gaming scenario. The measured minimum FPS values for Medium settings are 27 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, indicating that even the averages are optimistic, and actual frame times will dip lower.

The recommendation from the data is clear: users must select Low settings and accept the 1080p resolution to obtain the best experience. The difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is 19 FPS (51 vs. 32), a 59% improvement in favor of Low. This is a substantial gain that directly translates to smoother motion. At 1440p, the gap between Low and Medium is 16 FPS (43 vs. 27), and at 4K it is 13 FPS (34 vs. 21). The data suggests that the visual quality increase from Low to Medium is not worth the significant performance cost, as the system simply lacks the GPU headroom to maintain acceptable frame rates at higher presets. The measured results indicate that this hardware combination is strictly for low-fidelity gaming, and even then, only at 1080p provides a comfortable margin.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. It has 64 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus. The benchmark data for this CPU shows strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16262 and a Geekbench multicore score of 14118. The Passmark multithread score is 39002, and the 3DMark max threads score is 10075.

However, the game’s measured FPS data does not reflect this CPU’s capability. The frame rates are uniformly low across all settings, and the resolution scaling pattern points to a GPU bottleneck. This is consistent with the CPU’s high single-thread performance, as evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 941 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3469. The processor is likely not the limiting factor in this pairing. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would have the most influence, the frame rate is only 51 FPS, which is far below what this processor could theoretically support in a less GPU-constrained scenario.

The CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient for a game like The Medium, which is unlikely to scale perfectly across all threads. The high boost clock of 4.80 GHz ensures that the primary game thread receives ample processing power. The fact that the frame rates do not improve meaningfully when moving from 4K to 1080p (a 33% increase at Low settings) suggests that the CPU is idle waiting for the GPU to complete its work. The benchmark results for the CPU, such as the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1527, indicate a capable processor, but the game’s performance is clearly dictated by the graphics card. The data implies that upgrading the CPU alone would yield no tangible benefit in this title, as the Intel Arc B390 is the definitive bottleneck. The processor’s percentile rank of 87 against all CPUs further confirms its high standing, yet this does not translate to playable frame rates in this specific combination.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this hardware combination?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 51, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration that exceeds 50 FPS. All other settings and resolutions produce lower averages, with the next best being 43 FPS at 2560x1440 Low.

Q: Is this combination capable of running The Medium at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows that 4K resolution is not viable for this pairing. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 34, which is playable but marginal. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 21 FPS, and at 4K High it falls to 15 FPS. The 4K Ultra preset averages only 12 FPS. The measured minimum for 4K Medium is 18 FPS, indicating significant frame drops.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, has a score of 1463, which is 1.3% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% lower. The Arc B390 is only 2.7% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, which scores 1443. This places the GPU in the bottom percentile of all graphics cards.

Q: What is the most consistent setting preset in terms of frame pacing?

A: Based on the available data, Medium settings have measured minimum and maximum FPS values across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the average is 32 FPS with a minimum of 27 and a maximum of 37. At 1440p Medium, the average is 27 FPS with a minimum of 23 and a maximum of 31. At 4K Medium, the average is 21 FPS with a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 24. This data suggests a relatively narrow frame range, but the averages are still too low for smooth gameplay.

Q: Does the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X have sufficient multi-threaded performance for this game?

A: The CPU’s multi-threaded performance is high, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16262 and a Passmark multithread score of 39002. However, the game’s performance is bottlenecked by the GPU, as evidenced by the low frame rates across all settings. The CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads are not the limiting factor in this pairing.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 51 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 18 FPS. This represents a 33 FPS difference, meaning Low settings are 183% faster than Ultra. The High preset averages 23 FPS, and Medium averages 32 FPS, showing a clear performance hierarchy.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the clear limiting component in this system. Its benchmark score is exceptionally low, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 result of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals are all older, low-end NVIDIA cards, with the GeForce GT 520MX being 1.3% slower and the GeForce GT 710 being 2.7% slower. This positions the Arc B390 at the very bottom of the performance spectrum.

The GPU’s specifications align with these poor results. It has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and only 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, which is low for a modern graphics card. The memory is system-shared, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM, and the bandwidth is system-dependent. This is a significant disadvantage for a game like The Medium, which likely requires high memory bandwidth for its textures and effects. The GPU’s base clock is 300 MHz, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz, but the lack of dedicated memory severely hampers its ability to maintain consistent frame times.

The measured FPS data confirms this. At 1080p Low, the GPU manages 51 FPS, but this is the absolute ceiling. At 1080p Medium, it drops to 32 FPS, and at High, it falls to 23 FPS. The GPU’s 24 ROPs are insufficient for high-resolution rendering, which explains the steep decline at 4K. The system-shared memory also means that the GPU competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth, leading to potential stutters. The 12 RT cores are present, but the overall performance is so low that ray tracing effects would be impractical. The data shows that this GPU is only suitable for the lowest graphical settings, and even then, it barely maintains playable frame rates at 1080p. The percentile rank of 9 against all GPUs underscores its position as a very weak performer, and the nearest rival comparisons show that it is only marginally better than decade-old entry-level cards.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured FPS data provides a clear picture of this system’s capabilities. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 51 FPS. The Medium preset averages 32 FPS, with a minimum of 27 and a maximum of 37 FPS. The High preset averages 23 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 18 FPS. This shows a steady decline as settings increase, with Low being the only playable option.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 43 FPS. The Medium preset averages 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 and a maximum of 31 FPS. The High preset averages 19 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 15 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across all settings, with Low losing 8 FPS, Medium losing 5 FPS, High losing 4 FPS, and Ultra losing 3 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 34 FPS. The Medium preset averages 21 FPS, with a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 24 FPS. The High preset averages 15 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 12 FPS. The 4K resolution proves to be particularly demanding, with no preset achieving an average above 34 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is essentially unplayable at 12 FPS.

The data reveals a clear pattern: the system is only capable of delivering smooth performance at 1080p Low, and even that is marginal. The Medium preset at 1080p, with its 32 FPS average, is likely to feel choppy in fast-paced scenes. The minimum FPS values for Medium settings show that frame drops are common, with the 4K Medium minimum dropping to 18 FPS. The lack of maximum FPS data for Low, High, and Ultra presets limits the analysis, but the averages are sufficient to conclude that this hardware pairing is not suited for The Medium at any setting above Low.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X with Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2581 out of 2911 tested combos in The Medium. This places it in the bottom 11% of all systems tested. The rank is poor, reflecting the GPU’s severe performance limitations. The combo’s position is particularly notable given the CPU’s high-end status, with a percentile rank of 87 against all CPUs. This disparity highlights the imbalance of the pairing: a powerful processor is wasted on a graphics card that cannot utilize its capabilities.

The data shows that this combo is only 330 positions away from the bottom of the list, indicating that there are a few weaker combinations, but the vast majority of systems outperform it. The low rank is directly attributable to the Intel Arc B390, which ranks in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The GPU’s nearest rivals are all entry-level cards from a decade ago, and the Arc B390 only outperforms them by a small margin (1.3% to 2.7%). This means that the combo’s performance in The Medium is essentially equivalent to what one would expect from a system with a much older and weaker GPU.

The measured FPS data reinforces this ranking. With a maximum average of 51 FPS at 1080p Low, the combo is only capable of achieving frame rates that are considered playable on the lowest settings. The combination of a high-end CPU and a bottom-tier GPU results in a system that is severely bottlenecked. The data implies that this combo is not suitable for The Medium, and users would need to lower their expectations to the absolute minimum settings and resolution to get any playable performance. The rank of 2581 out of 2911 is a stark indicator of the system’s position, and it suggests that a GPU upgrade would be the only meaningful way to improve performance in this title.