The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 combination represents a pairing of a capable 2022-era six-core processor with an entry-level 2019 graphics card. In The Medium, a horror title known for its demanding fixed-camera perspectives and dual-reality rendering, this pairing produces a highly constrained experience. Benchmark results show that the GPU is the dominant limiting factor across nearly all settings, with the CPU’s six Zen 3 cores providing sufficient headroom to push frames only as far as the GTX 1650’s 4 GB of VRAM and 896 shading units will allow. The data reveals a system that can hit playable frame rates only at the lowest settings and resolutions, and even then with significant compromises.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 brings six cores and twelve threads, running at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. This is a Zen 3 architecture part on the AM4 socket, built on a 7 nm process. Its benchmark profile shows a balanced mix of single-threaded and multi-threaded capability: the 3DMark single-thread score is 836, while the max-thread score reaches 5411. In Cinebench R23, it scores 2319 single-core and 16429 multi-core. The PassMark multithread score of 19330, alongside a single-thread score of 3058, places this chip in the 73rd percentile among all CPUs tested. Relative to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5500 is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (deltaPct -0.1), Intel Core i5-12500 (deltaPct -0.4), and Intel Core i7-10700F (deltaPct 0.5), with the Intel Core i5-11600KF slightly ahead at deltaPct -0.7.

For The Medium, the CPU’s role appears secondary to the GPU. The game’s measured frame rates at 1080p Low show 44 FPS average, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 27 FPS, and at High it falls to 20 FPS. These drops are far larger than what would be expected from CPU-bound scenarios, indicating that the GPU is being saturated long before the Ryzen 5 5500’s threads are fully utilized. The CPU’s 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 support at 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are more than adequate for a game of this era. In fact, the data suggests that even a weaker CPU would produce nearly identical results at most settings, as the GTX 1650 becomes the bottleneck at anything above the lowest quality presets. The processor’s 65W TDP and unlocked multiplier also hint at headroom that is simply irrelevant here, since the graphics card cannot translate additional CPU performance into higher frame rates.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is a Turing-architecture part (chip TU117) with 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. Its base clock is 1485 MHz with a boost of 1665 MHz, and it features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory runs at 2001 MHz (8 Gbps effective). This GPU sits in the 40th percentile among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 7472. Its nearest rivals paint a clear picture of its performance class: the AMD Radeon HD 8850M is 0.3% behind, the Intel UHD Graphics 750 is 0.4% behind, and the AMD Radeon R7 350 is 0.6% behind, while the Intel Arc A310 is 1% ahead. These are all integrated or low-end discrete parts, confirming that the GTX 1650 is at the very bottom of the discrete GPU hierarchy.

In The Medium, the GTX 1650’s limitations are stark. At 1080p Low, it manages 44 FPS average, but this is the only configuration that approaches playability. The 4 GB VRAM is likely a critical constraint, as The Medium is known for rendering two simultaneous worlds in certain sequences. Benchmark results show that moving from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 17 FPS (from 44 to 27), and from Medium to High costs another 7 FPS (down to 20). The GPU’s 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is simply insufficient for the game’s higher presets. The pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s and texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s are also modest, but the data suggests that memory bandwidth and capacity are the more pressing issues—the frame rate collapses disproportionately when settings increase, which points to VRAM spillover and texture streaming problems rather than pure compute limits.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a textbook GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average frame rates are 44 FPS at 1080p, 37 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K. That is a 16% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 34% drop from 1440p to 4K. At Medium settings, the averages are 27 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K—drops of 15% and 22% respectively. At High settings, the numbers are 20 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and 13 FPS at 4K, representing 20% and 19% drops. At Ultra, the pattern continues: 16 FPS at 1080p, 13 FPS at 1440p, and 10 FPS at 4K.

These scaling patterns are informative. The percentage drops are relatively consistent across resolutions, which is typical of a GPU that is fully saturated. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain nearly flat when lowering resolution, but here every resolution reduction yields a proportional gain. The fact that even at 1080p Low the system only reaches 44 FPS—far below the 60 FPS target—indicates that the GPU is overwhelmed even at its best case. The Ryzen 5 5500, with its 3DMark max-thread score of 5411 and PassMark multithread of 19330, is clearly not the constraint; if it were, we would see the 1080p Low and 4K Low scores converging, but they remain 15 FPS apart. The data strongly implies that upgrading the GPU would yield immediate and substantial frame rate improvements, while a CPU upgrade would produce negligible gains in this title.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested combinations for The Medium, this pairing of AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 ranks 3594 out of 3724 total combos. That places it in the bottom 3.5% of all tested systems, which is a remarkably low position. To contextualize this rank, consider that the GPU alone sits at the 40th percentile among all GPUs, but its performance in this specific game is far worse relative to other components. The combo rank of 3594 suggests that the vast majority of other tested systems—even those with weaker CPUs—deliver better frame rates in The Medium. This is because the GTX 1650’s 4 GB VRAM and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth are particularly ill-suited to this game’s demands.

The delta between the GPU’s general percentile (40th) and the combo’s game-specific rank (96.5th percentile from the bottom) highlights how poorly this GPU scales in The Medium. The nearest GPU rivals, such as the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (0.4% behind) and AMD Radeon R7 350 (0.6% behind), are integrated or obsolete parts, yet the GTX 1650 still only manages to stay marginally ahead of them. In a game like The Medium, which appears to be heavily memory-bandwidth sensitive, the GTX 1650’s 128-bit bus becomes a serious liability. The combo rank also implies that many systems with older CPUs but superior GPUs—such as those with 6 GB or 8 GB VRAM—would vastly outperform this pairing. The CPU’s 73rd percentile ranking is effectively wasted, as the GPU drags the entire system to the bottom of the leaderboard.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average is 44 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. No other configuration exceeds this, and all higher settings or resolutions produce lower averages.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 or the GTX 1650 the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data clearly indicates the GTX 1650 is the limiting factor. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium drops the average from 44 to 27 FPS, a 39% reduction, which is far too large to be CPU-related. The CPU’s strong multi-threaded scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core 16429) have no bearing on these results.

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

A: Yes, but only barely. At 4K Low, the average is 29 FPS, which is technically playable but not smooth. At 4K Medium, it drops to 18 FPS, and at 4K High it falls to 13 FPS. The 4K Ultra preset yields just 10 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its closest GPU rivals in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 7472. It is 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon HD 8850M (7447), 0.4% ahead of the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (7441), and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon R7 350 (7425), while being 1% behind the Intel Arc A310 (7550).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 1440p at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average is 27 FPS with a minimum of 23 and maximum of 31. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 23 FPS with a minimum of 20 and maximum of 26. This represents a 15% reduction in average FPS.

Q: Why does the combo rank so low (3594 out of 3724) despite the CPU being above average?

A: The CPU ranks in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, but the GPU ranks in the 40th percentile of all GPUs. In The Medium, the GPU is the dominant bottleneck, and its 4 GB VRAM and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the game’s demands, dragging the entire combo to the bottom 3.5% of tested systems.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data is presented below, with all figures taken directly from the testing results. The dataset includes average FPS for all settings, with minimum and maximum FPS recorded only for Medium settings at each resolution.

At 1920x1080:

• Low: average 44 FPS
• Medium: average 27 FPS, minimum 23 FPS, maximum 31 FPS
• High: average 20 FPS
• Ultra: average 16 FPS

At 2560x1440:

• Low: average 37 FPS
• Medium: average 23 FPS, minimum 20 FPS, maximum 26 FPS
• High: average 16 FPS
• Ultra: average 13 FPS

At 3840x2160:

• Low: average 29 FPS
• Medium: average 18 FPS, minimum 15 FPS, maximum 21 FPS
• High: average 13 FPS
• Ultra: average 10 FPS

These numbers reveal a consistent pattern: each step up in settings costs roughly 30-40% of the frame rate, regardless of resolution. For example, at 1080p, the drop from Low to Medium is 17 FPS (44 to 27), from Medium to High is 7 FPS (27 to 20), and from High to Ultra is 4 FPS (20 to 16). At 1440p, the corresponding drops are 14 FPS (37 to 23), 7 FPS (23 to 16), and 3 FPS (16 to 13). At 4K, the drops are 11 FPS (29 to 18), 5 FPS (18 to 13), and 3 FPS (13 to 10). The diminishing absolute drops at higher settings suggest that the GPU is hitting a hard performance floor, likely due to VRAM limitations causing texture thrashing.

The minimum FPS values at Medium settings provide additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 23 FPS, which is 85% of the average. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 20 FPS (87% of average), and at 4K Medium, the minimum is 15 FPS (83% of average). These relatively tight min-to-avg ratios indicate that the frame rate is stable but consistently low, rather than spiky. This stability is typical of a GPU that is fully saturated and cannot produce higher peaks, as there is no spare headroom.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Given the measured data, the only viable configuration for this combo is 1080p Low, which delivers 44 FPS average. This is the sole preset that approaches a playable frame rate, though it still falls short of the 60 FPS target most gamers prefer. The next best option, 1080p Medium, averages 27 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play in a slow-paced horror game but may be acceptable for some users. However, the 17 FPS penalty from Low to Medium is substantial, and the visual improvement from Low to Medium is unlikely to justify the 39% performance hit.

At 1440p and 4K, the situation is far worse. Even at 1440p Low, the average is 37 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. Dropping to 4K Low yields 29 FPS, which is borderline. The Ultra presets are effectively unplayable at any resolution, with the best Ultra result being 16 FPS at 1080p and the worst being 10 FPS at 4K. The Medium presets offer minimum FPS values of 23, 20, and 15 at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively, which means the game will stutter below 20 FPS in demanding scenes at 1440p and 4K.

For the best experience, the data strongly recommends 1080p Low. This preset provides the highest average frame rate and avoids the VRAM-related stuttering that likely affects higher settings. Users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate might consider 1080p Medium, accepting 27 FPS average and 23 FPS minimum, but the trade-off is steep. At 1440p, Low is the only sensible choice, offering 37 FPS. At 4K, even Low is marginal at 29 FPS, and users should expect significant slowdowns in the game’s dual-world sequences. There is no configuration in this dataset that achieves a consistent 60 FPS, so the recommendation is to prioritize frame rate stability by selecting Low settings at 1080p and accepting the game’s dated visuals.