The Medium

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 produces a strictly limited experience in The Medium, with the data showing the GPU as the dominant constraint across all tested configurations. The measured frame rates place this combo at rank 2817 out of 2911 tested combinations, firmly in the lower percentile of systems, and the performance scaling across resolutions and settings tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a system that is almost entirely GPU-bound. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 44 at 1080p to 37 at 1440p, a decrease of 7 frames, and then to 29 at 4K, another 8-frame drop. This scaling is steep but not catastrophic, indicating that even at the lowest settings, the pixel throughput demand at higher resolutions quickly outpaces what the GTX 1650 can deliver.

The Medium preset shows a similar pattern with tighter data: at 1080p the average is 27 FPS, falling to 23 at 1440p, and then to 18 at 4K. The min and max FPS values for Medium are recorded only at certain resolutions, but the available data points show a consistent downward trajectory. At 2160p Medium, the min FPS is 15 and max is 21, while at 1080p Medium, the range is 23 to 31. This narrowing of the frame time variance at lower resolutions suggests that the GPU is working closer to its ceiling, leaving less headroom for fluctuation.

High and Ultra presets are nearly unplayable at any resolution. At 1080p High, the average is 20 FPS, dropping to 16 at 1440p and 13 at 4K. Ultra mode is the most demanding, with averages of 16 FPS at 1080p, 13 at 1440p, and just 10 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K on Ultra is a 6 FPS loss, which is proportionally smaller than the loss on Low, but that is because the baseline is already so low that there is little room left to fall.

The data indicates that the limiting component is the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates plateau or remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU workload stays constant while the GPU load grows. Instead, every resolution step produces a meaningful FPS hit across all settings, which is the classic signature of a graphics card that has reached its fill-rate and shader throughput limits. The Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is not the constraining factor here; the GTX 1650 simply cannot push enough pixels to maintain playable frame rates above 1080p.

GPU Role

The GTX 1650 is a Turing-architecture part built on a 12 nm process, featuring 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units. Its base clock is 1485 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and the memory runs at 2001 MHz on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s. The card has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, which is a critical limitation for a game like The Medium that relies on detailed textures and streaming.

The VRAM capacity directly influences the measured results. At 1080p Low, the game averages 44 FPS, which is the best result in the entire dataset. This suggests that when texture quality and memory pressure are reduced, the GPU can allocate its resources more efficiently. However, as settings increase to Medium, High, and Ultra, the average FPS drops to 27, 20, and 16 respectively at 1080p. This steep regression is consistent with the GPU running out of memory bandwidth and capacity, forcing the system to swap data or reduce effective throughput.

The GPU’s compute capabilities are modest, with an FP32 performance of 2.984 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s. These numbers are low by modern standards, and the benchmark scores reflect that. The GTX 1650 has a PassMark G3D score of 7880, placing it in the 40th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in benchmark score are the AMD Radeon HD 8850M (0.3% higher score), Intel UHD Graphics 750 (0.4% higher), and AMD Radeon R7 350 (0.6% higher), while the Intel Arc A310 scores 1% higher. This positioning among older integrated and entry-level discrete solutions underscores the card’s limited headroom for demanding titles.

The 4 GB VRAM is particularly problematic for The Medium, a horror game known for its dual-reality rendering that can spike memory usage. The data shows that even at 1080p, only the Low preset achieves a playable frame rate, and that preset likely reduces texture resolution to fit within the memory budget. The GPU’s 128-bit memory bus and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the higher-resolution texture sets and effects at Medium and above, which is why the FPS collapses so quickly.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in The Medium?*

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 44, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is this combo capable of running the game at 4K?

A: The data shows 4K results ranging from 10 FPS on Ultra to 29 FPS on Low. The Low preset at 3840x2160 is the only 4K configuration that approaches playability, but it still falls below a smooth 30 FPS threshold.

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

A: The GTX 1650 has a PassMark G3D score of 7880. The AMD Radeon HD 8850M scores 0.3% higher, the Intel UHD Graphics 750 scores 0.4% higher, and the AMD Radeon R7 350 scores 0.6% higher. The Intel Arc A310 scores 1% higher.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 44 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 16 FPS. This is a 28 FPS difference, representing a 175% performance drop from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the CPU show any signs of bottlenecking in the measured results?

A: No. The frame rate consistently drops as resolution increases, which indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, frame rates would remain flat across resolutions.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking among tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 2817 out of 2911 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 3.2% of all tested systems for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2817 out of 2911 places this system in the lowest tier of performance for The Medium. This is not a surprise given the GPU’s percentile standing; the GTX 1650 sits in the 40th percentile of all GPUs, and the measured frame rates are consistently below 30 FPS except for the single 1080p Low result. The ranking reflects that the vast majority of tested combinations deliver better performance, with only 94 combos ranking worse.

The CPU’s benchmark standing does little to boost the combo. The Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69996, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% higher score), the Intel Core i7-14700KF (0.2% lower), the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.7% higher), and the Intel Core i7-14700K (0.9% higher). This is a high-end processor that is clearly capable of feeding a much faster GPU. The rank of 2817 is therefore a direct consequence of the GPU holding the system back, not the CPU.

In practical terms, this rank means that for The Medium, the system is only able to deliver a playable experience in the most reduced settings scenario. The gap between this combo and the average tested system is substantial, and the data suggests that any upgrade path should focus on the graphics card first, as the CPU has ample headroom to support a more powerful GPU without becoming a new bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides a clear picture of performance across all resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 44 FPS. The Medium preset averages 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 and maximum of 31. High drops to 20 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 16 FPS. None of these higher presets record min or max values, but the averages alone show a steep decline.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 37 FPS. Medium averages 23 FPS, with a range of 20 to 26. High averages 16 FPS, and Ultra averages 13 FPS. The 1440p results are consistently about 7 FPS lower than the corresponding 1080p results at Low, 4 FPS lower at Medium, 4 FPS lower at High, and 3 FPS lower at Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 29 FPS. Medium averages 18 FPS, with a minimum of 15 and maximum of 21. High averages 13 FPS, and Ultra averages 10 FPS. The 4K results show the most severe degradation, with the Low preset losing 8 FPS compared to 1440p and 15 FPS compared to 1080p.

The data reveals that the Low preset is the only setting that remains above 30 FPS, and only at 1080p. Every other combination falls below the generally accepted threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p, with its 27 FPS average, is the closest alternative, but it still risks noticeable stutter during fast-paced scenes.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only configuration that delivers a consistently playable frame rate, with an average of 44 FPS. This is the recommended starting point for any user who prioritizes smoothness over visual fidelity. The data shows that dropping from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 17 FPS, which is a 38% performance penalty, and the visual upgrade may not justify that loss given the game’s atmospheric horror genre.

If a user insists on higher settings, the Medium preset at 1080p is the next best option, averaging 27 FPS. This is borderline playable, and the recorded min FPS of 23 suggests that frame time spikes are present but not catastrophic. However, the data does not support recommending Medium at 1440p or 4K, as the averages fall to 23 and 18 FPS respectively, which are too low for a game that relies on immersion and timing.

The High and Ultra presets are effectively unplayable at any resolution. At 1080p High, the average is 20 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it is 16 FPS. These are below the minimum viable threshold for interactive gameplay, and the 4K results of 13 FPS and 10 FPS are merely slideshows. Users should avoid these presets entirely, regardless of resolution.

For users with a 1440p or 4K display, the Low preset is the only option, but the data shows that even this is marginal. At 1440p Low, the average is 37 FPS, which is acceptable, but at 4K Low, the average drops to 29 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS target. The recommendation is to run at 1080p Low for the best balance, or to accept the 1440p Low compromise if the display resolution is a priority.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 9700F is a Zen 5 architecture processor built on a 4 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 70.6 mm² and 8,315 million transistors. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, and it connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes.

The CPU’s benchmark results show strong performance across the board. Its PassMark single-thread score is 4691, and its multithread score is 36470. The integer math score is 120788, floating point math is 77955, and extended instructions score is 33688. The data compression score is 421988, and data encryption is 21488. The physics score is 2122, and random string sorting is 45890. The find prime numbers score is 183. These results place the CPU in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69996.

In the context of The Medium, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The measured FPS scales downward with resolution, which is a GPU-bound pattern. The Ryzen 7 9700F has more than enough processing power to handle the game’s logic, AI, and streaming systems, even at 4K. The bottleneck is clearly the GTX 1650, whose 896 shading units and 4 GB of VRAM cannot keep up with the render load.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in benchmark score are all within 1% of its average score, indicating that it is a top-tier part. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX scores 0.2% higher, the Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 0.2% lower, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 0.7% higher, and the Intel Core i7-14700K scores 0.9% higher. This shows that the 9700F is competitive with the best desktop and mobile processors available, making it an ideal match for a much more powerful GPU. In this specific combo, the CPU’s capabilities are largely wasted, as the GTX 1650 prevents the system from reaching frame rates that would exercise the processor’s full potential.