The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a profoundly GPU-limited experience in The Medium, with frame rates collapsing to single digits at 4K Ultra. The data shows the Arc B370 is the bottleneck at every resolution and settings combination, making the CPU’s formidable multi-threaded power largely irrelevant for this horror title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and predictable drop as resolution increases, but the absolute numbers are low across the board. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 46 FPS. This is the only configuration that approaches playable territory. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low drops the average to 39 FPS, and at 3840x2160 at Low it falls to 30 FPS. This scaling pattern—a 15% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and another 23% from 1440p to 4K—indicates the rendering pipeline is saturated. The performance loss is not gradual; it is a direct consequence of the GPU's limited fill rate.

When settings are raised to Medium, the resolution scaling becomes more punishing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 29 FPS with a minimum of 24 FPS and a maximum of 33 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 24 FPS, and at 4K Medium it falls to 19 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings is a 34% reduction in average FPS. This is a smaller relative drop than the Low preset, suggesting that at Low settings the GPU is already so far beyond its comfort zone that resolution changes have a more linear effect, whereas at Medium, the additional shader and texture work compounds the resolution penalty.

The High preset shows a similar story, with 1080p High at 21 FPS, 1440p High at 17 FPS, and 4K High at 14 FPS. The Ultra preset is essentially unplayable, yielding 16 FPS at 1080p, 14 FPS at 1440p, and 11 FPS at 4K. The fact that 1080p Ultra (16 FPS) is only 5 FPS faster than 4K Ultra (11 FPS) is telling. This narrow spread of performance across resolutions at the highest settings confirms the GPU is the limiting component; the CPU is not even close to being a factor. The data indicates that resolution scaling has a tangible but secondary effect compared to the settings preset, which has a much larger impact on the final frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2681 out of 2911 combos for The Medium. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations, which is a direct reflection of the GPU's performance class. The Arc B370's individual benchmark percentile is 5, meaning it outperforms only 5% of all GPUs in the database. When paired with a top-tier CPU, the result is a system that is held back entirely by its graphics processor.

The combo rank is not a measure of the CPU's capability, but rather the end-to-end gaming experience. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D's average benchmark score of 54762 puts it in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, yet the combo rank is near the bottom. This disconnect highlights the severity of the GPU bottleneck. The data shows that for this specific game, the CPU's performance headroom is completely wasted. The ranking suggests that swapping the Arc B370 for a more capable GPU would drastically improve the combo's standing, while keeping the CPU constant. The low combo rank is a clear verdict: this GPU cannot drive this game at acceptable levels with this CPU, regardless of the CPU's strength.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 47737 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6739 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 22884 and single-core of 3041. These are exceptional numbers, placing it in the top tier of desktop processors. Its 128 MB of L3 cache is a defining feature for gaming, yet the measured FPS data shows this cache advantage has no observable benefit in The Medium because the GPU is saturated.

The CPU's role in this specific game is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. With an integrated GPU like the Arc B370, the CPU is also responsible for memory management and data transfer. However, the frame rates in the measured data are so low that the CPU is never waiting for work. A 12-core, 24-thread processor can handle the game's threading with ease. The game's genre, Horror, often involves complex scripting and AI, but the benchmark data does not show any CPU-related hitches or frame-time spikes; the minimum FPS values are consistently proportional to the average.

The data suggests that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is acting as a passive observer in this pairing. Its 3DMark scores, such as 13795 for max threads and 9002 for 8 threads, indicate massive parallel processing power. Yet, the frame rates are determined by the GPU's 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The conclusion is that the CPU's clocks, cores, and cache are all more than sufficient for The Medium, and its performance characteristics have zero impact on the final FPS. The limiting factor is unequivocally the graphics subsystem.

FAQ

Q: Why is the frame rate so low even at 1080p Low?

A: The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated GPU with a 5th percentile performance rank. Its 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 20 ROPs are simply insufficient for rendering The Medium's scenes. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D is not the constraint; the GPU is the bottleneck.

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 46, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only setting that breaks the 40 FPS threshold. Every other configuration falls below 40 FPS, with 4K Ultra producing a 11 FPS average.

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

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54762. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, scores 55093, which is a -0.6% delta. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is 1.3% slower, and the Intel Xeon 6505P is 2% slower. This CPU is at parity with its direct competitors.

Q: Does increasing the resolution have a linear effect on performance?

A: No. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K is about 35%. At Medium settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K is about 34%. At High, the drop is about 33%. The scaling is consistent, but the absolute FPS values are so low that the relative consistency offers no practical benefit.

Q: Is the Arc B370 comparable to any other GPU?

A: In the benchmark database, the Arc B370's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is nearly identical to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190). These are legacy cards that are over a decade old, underscoring the Arc B370's low performance tier.

Q: Does the CPU's 128 MB of L3 cache help with gaming?

A: While the L3 cache is a significant feature of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, the measured FPS data shows it does not overcome the GPU limitation. The frame rates are consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, and the cache's benefits are not observable in this pairing.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the critical component in this analysis, and the data clearly shows it is the primary limiting factor. It is an integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, codenamed Panther Lake. The GPU has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. Its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute is 6.144 TFLOPS. These specifications place it in the bottom 5th percentile of all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12.

The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs. It also has 10 RT cores, but the game's frame rates are so low that ray tracing performance is irrelevant. The memory configuration is "System Shared" with "System Dependent" bandwidth, which means it shares the system's DDR5 memory. This is a severe disadvantage for gaming, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth. The 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth of the CPU is the theoretical ceiling, but the actual bandwidth available to the GPU is variable and lower.

The measured FPS data confirms the GPU's limitations. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 11. At 1080p Ultra, it is 16. The difference between these two is only 5 FPS. This suggests that the GPU is hitting a computational wall, not a memory bandwidth wall. If memory bandwidth were the issue, the resolution scaling would be more pronounced. Instead, the GPU's raw shader throughput is exhausted. The GPU's nearest rivals, such as the ATI Radeon HD 5770 with a score of 1190, are ancient parts, which puts the Arc B370's performance in historical context. The data indicates that this GPU is only suitable for the lowest settings and resolutions, and even then, it struggles to maintain playable frame rates in The Medium.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only viable configuration for this combo is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which yields an average FPS of 46. This is the sole setting that approaches a playable frame rate. The Low preset at 1080p is 18 FPS faster than the Medium preset at the same resolution, a 59% improvement. This suggests that the Low preset disables significant rendering features that the GPU cannot handle.

The Medium preset at 1080p provides a 29 FPS average, but it comes with a 24 FPS minimum. This means the frame rate will dip noticeably during intense scenes, making the experience feel inconsistent. The High preset at 1080p drops to 21 FPS, and the Ultra preset to 16 FPS. None of these are acceptable for a smooth experience. At 1440p and 4K, all presets are below 40 FPS, with the best being 39 FPS at 1440p Low. This is still not a stable experience.

The data suggests that users should prioritize resolution over visual fidelity. The step from Low to Medium costs 17 FPS at 1080p, but the step from 1080p to 1440p at Low only costs 7 FPS. Therefore, the best experience is achieved by staying at 1080p Low. The Ultra preset is a performance killer, delivering 16 FPS at 1080p, which is only 5 FPS more than the 4K Ultra's 11 FPS. The Arc B370 is simply not designed for this game's higher settings. The verdict is clear: use Low settings at 1080p for the least poor experience, and avoid all other configurations as they are unplayable.