The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 delivers a fundamentally GPU-bound experience in The Medium, with the data showing that this combination ranks 1630th out of 1689 tested combos. This places the system in the bottom 3.5% of all configurations, a position driven almost entirely by the graphics card's limitations. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the bottleneck; rather, the GPU's 4 GB of VRAM and modest compute capabilities (2.984 TFLOPS FP32) are the decisive factors limiting frame rates across all resolutions and settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 (Vermeer) architecture, built on TSMC's 7 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18309 and a single-core score of 2584, placing it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark score include the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (0.6% faster), the AMD EPYC 9554P (0.6% slower), and the Intel Core i7-11700F (0.9% slower).

Despite this solid mid-range CPU performance, the measured FPS in The Medium shows almost no variation attributable to processor capability. At 1080p Low, the system produces 46.4 FPS, and at 1080p High, it drops to 19.6 FPS — a clear sign that the graphics workload, not the CPU's 12 threads, dictates the outcome. The CPU's 3DMark scores (882 single-thread, 5659 max-threads) are more than sufficient for a game released in 2021, yet the frame rates never exceed 46.4 FPS even at the lowest settings. This indicates the Ryzen 5 5600 is waiting on the GPU at every turn, and its role here is purely to feed frames to a graphics card that cannot keep up.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the clear performance ceiling in this configuration. Built on the Turing architecture (TU117 chip) at 12 nm, it offers 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a base clock of 1485 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz. Its memory subsystem is 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128-bit bus, providing 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's benchmark percentile versus all GPUs is only 43rd, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (0.4% slower), the AMD Radeon 550X (0.4% slower), and the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 (0.5% faster).

The data shows the GTX 1650's VRAM capacity is a critical constraint. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS collapses to 8.3, while at 1080p Ultra it recovers to only 18.6 FPS. The GPU's 4 GB frame buffer is insufficient for The Medium's high-resolution textures, and the 128.1 GB/s bandwidth cannot sustain the data throughput required at higher settings. Even at 1080p Low, the 46.4 FPS result is modest, and the passmark G3D score of 7880 confirms this GPU's position as an entry-level part. The synthetic benchmarks reinforce the point: the GPU's DirectX 12 passmark score is 35, while its DirectX 11 score is 58, indicating that modern API workloads are particularly taxing for this hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS breakdown reveals a stark resolution dependency. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 46.4 FPS; at 1440p Low, it drops to 38 FPS; and at 4K Low, it falls to 29 FPS. This represents a 37.5% drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. The pattern is even more pronounced at Ultra settings: 18.6 FPS at 1080p, 11 FPS at 1440p, and 8.3 FPS at 4K — a 55.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

These scaling figures point directly to the GPU as the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the processor's workload is largely independent of pixel count. Instead, the data shows that increasing resolution from 1080p to 4K at Low settings cuts frame rates by 17.4 FPS, while the same resolution change at Ultra settings cuts them by only 10.3 FPS. This inverse relationship — where lower settings show larger absolute FPS drops from resolution scaling — is characteristic of a GPU that is already saturated at 1080p, with higher resolutions pushing it further into inefficiency. The GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM is likely exceeded even at 1080p Ultra, forcing the system to rely on slower memory transfers at 4K.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 46.4, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. Every other configuration produces lower frame rates, with 4K Ultra yielding just 8.3 FPS.

Q: How does this system rank against all other tested combos?

A: This combination of AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 ranks 1630th out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the bottom 3.5% of all configurations.

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

A: The data clearly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 18309, placing it in the 79th percentile, yet frame rates never exceed 46.4 FPS. The GPU's passmark G3D score is just 7880, in the 43rd percentile, and its 4 GB VRAM is insufficient for higher settings.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile, which is 0.4% faster on average. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 is 0.5% faster, while the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 is 0.5% slower. All rivals are within 1% of the GTX 1650's average benchmark score of 8713.

Q: What is the impact of raising settings from Low to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces average FPS from 46.4 to 18.6, a drop of 27.8 FPS or approximately 60%. The Medium setting sits between at 25.8 FPS, and High at 19.6 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU's performance vary with resolution?

A: No, the CPU's workload is consistent across resolutions. The 3DMark scores (882 single-thread, 5659 max-threads) remain constant regardless of resolution, and the frame rate drops observed when increasing resolution are attributable entirely to the GPU's limited pixel throughput and VRAM bandwidth.

How This Combo Ranks

With a rank of 1630 out of 1689 combos, this system sits in the 3.5th percentile of all tested configurations for The Medium. This is a poor result, driven by the GPU's position in the 43rd percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU remains in the 79th percentile. The disparity between CPU and GPU capability is stark: the Ryzen 5 5600's nearest CPU rival, the Intel Core i7-11700F, is only 0.9% slower in aggregate benchmarks, yet the GTX 1650 trails its rivals by similar margins in the opposite direction.

The ranking indicates that the CPU is performing well above the system's overall standing, while the GPU is the anchor dragging the combo down. The data shows that even the weakest CPU rival (the AMD EPYC 9534, 0.6% slower) would not change the outcome, as the bottleneck is clearly on the graphics side. The rank of 1630 means this system will struggle to maintain playable frame rates in The Medium at any resolution above 1080p Low, and even at that setting it barely reaches 46.4 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings levels:

At 1920x1080, the system produces 46.4 FPS on Low, 25.8 FPS on Medium, 19.6 FPS on High, and 18.6 FPS on Ultra. These figures show a steep drop from Low to Medium (20.6 FPS lost), followed by a more gradual decline toward High and Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the results are 38 FPS on Low, 22.3 FPS on Medium, 15.3 FPS on High, and 11 FPS on Ultra. The jump from 1080p to 1440p costs 8.4 FPS at Low settings, but only 7.6 FPS at Ultra, reflecting the GPU's diminishing returns at higher resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the system delivers 29 FPS on Low, 18 FPS on Medium, 15.1 FPS on High, and 8.3 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low result of 29 FPS is the only 4K configuration that approaches playability, while 4K Ultra at 8.3 FPS is effectively a slideshow.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: Low settings are the only viable option for this combo, and even then, 4K requires a 37.5% performance sacrifice compared to 1080p. The Medium and High settings show less resolution sensitivity, but this is because the GPU is already overwhelmed at 1080p, leaving little headroom for further degradation.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the only recommended setting for a playable experience is Low at 1080p, which yields 46.4 FPS. This is the sole configuration that approaches the 60 FPS target, though it still falls short. For users willing to accept lower frame rates, 1440p Low at 38 FPS is the next best option, while 4K Low at 29 FPS is borderline for a horror game that relies on atmosphere rather than fast action.

The Medium setting at 1080p produces 25.8 FPS, which is too low for smooth gameplay but might be tolerable for a slow-paced horror title. High and Ultra settings at any resolution are not recommended, as they all fall below 20 FPS, with 4K Ultra at 8.3 FPS being completely unplayable. The data suggests that the GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM is the primary constraint, so users should prioritize Low settings to minimize texture memory usage. There is no configuration in the measured data that achieves 60 FPS, meaning this combo is fundamentally unsuitable for The Medium at standard refresh rates, and the experience will require significant compromises even at the lowest settings.