The Medium

The Medium presents one of the most demanding rendering loads in the horror genre, and the pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 illustrates a system that is unequivocally constrained by its graphics processor. Across the measured resolution spectrum, the frame rate collapses as pixel count rises, confirming that the GTX 1650 is the definitive bottleneck. This analysis examines the performance data for this specific configuration, interpreting how the CPU and GPU characteristics shape the experience at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and consistent performance cliff as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 44 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings, the average drops to 37 FPS, a reduction of 7 FPS. Scaling up to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields just 29 FPS, marking a total drop of 15 FPS from the 1080p baseline. This pattern indicates that the GPU's pixel throughput is the primary limiting factor; the 128.1 GB/s memory bandwidth and 128-bit bus width are simply insufficient to feed the massive 4K pixel count.

The scaling behavior becomes even more severe at higher quality presets. At Medium settings, the frame rate falls from 27 FPS at 1080p to 23 FPS at 1440p, then plummets to 18 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K at Medium settings is a 5 FPS loss, while the gap between 1080p and 1440p is only 4 FPS, suggesting that the 4K resolution pushes the GPU's 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 compute capability past its breaking point. The data shows that this system is not viable for 4K gaming, as even the lowest settings fail to reach 30 FPS.

The most telling indicator is the High preset curve. At 1080p High, the average is 20 FPS; at 1440p High, it falls to 16 FPS; and at 4K High, it bottoms out at 13 FPS. This represents a 35% performance degradation from 1080p to 4K, which is a relatively shallow drop compared to the Low preset's 34% decline. This suggests that at higher settings, the game's shading complexity and memory pressure are already saturating the GPU at 1080p, so adding more pixels has a diminishing marginal effect relative to the already low baseline. The limiting component is unequivocally the graphics card, as the CPU's 12 threads and 4.30 GHz boost clock are far more capable than what this GPU can feed.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the clear performance ceiling for this configuration. With 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, the card is severely constrained by capacity and bandwidth in a game like The Medium, which loads high-resolution textures and complex volumetric effects. The 128-bit memory bus and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth are among the lowest in the modern discrete GPU landscape, directly correlating with the frame rate collapse observed at 4K. At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 10 at 3840x2160, 13 at 2560x1440, and 16 at 1920x1080, indicating that the memory subsystem is overwhelmed by the Ultra preset's resource demands.

The card's compute specifications further explain the results. The 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs operate at a boost clock of 1665 MHz, yielding a pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s. These figures are modest, and the data shows they cannot sustain playable frame rates in this title beyond low-resolution, low-quality settings. The FP32 performance of 2.984 TFLOPS is the key metric; the game's heavy use of asynchronous compute and complex shaders pushes this card to its limits, as evidenced by the 44 FPS at 1080p Low being the highest recorded average across the entire test suite.

The GTX 1650's position in the broader GPU landscape is equally informative. It sits at the 40th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 7472. Its nearest rivals include 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 is 1% ahead. This places the GTX 1650 at the very bottom of the discrete graphics hierarchy, and the measured FPS data reflects this: the card is only capable of delivering a smooth experience in this game at 1080p with Low settings, where it hits 44 FPS, but falls below 30 FPS at every other tested configuration.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F presents a stark contrast to the GPU's limitations. This 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its multi-threaded capabilities are robust, as shown by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10283 and a single-core score of 1451. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for feeding the GTX 1650, and the benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the bottleneck in The Medium.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 68 among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 14185, places it well above the GPU's 40th percentile. This disparity is critical: the CPU has more than enough compute power to handle the game's physics, AI, and scene management, but it is starved of data because the GPU cannot render frames fast enough. In the measured FPS data, there is no evidence of CPU-related frame stuttering or thread saturation; the frame rates decline smoothly with resolution, which is a signature of a GPU-bound scenario.

The nearest CPU rivals reinforce this assessment. The Intel Xeon 6756E scores 0.2% higher, the Intel Core 7 160UL is 0.3% lower, the AMD EPYC 7552 is 0.5% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C is 0.6% lower. This tight clustering shows that the i5-10400F is a mid-pack performer, but its 12 threads are sufficient for a game like The Medium, which is not known for heavy CPU utilization. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 and max-thread score of 4735 indicate that the CPU scales well with multi-threading, but this capability is wasted when the GPU delivers only 44 FPS at best.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete FPS dataset for this combo shows a consistent pattern of performance degradation. At 1920x1080, the resolution most likely to yield playable results, the system achieves 44 FPS on Low settings, 27 FPS on Medium, 20 FPS on High, and 16 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset provides a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS, indicating some frame-time variance but no catastrophic spikes. The High and Ultra presets lack min/max data, but their averages of 20 and 16 FPS respectively place them below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops become more pronounced. Low settings yield 37 FPS, which is still technically playable but below the 40 FPS target for many gamers. Medium settings fall to 23 FPS (min 20, max 26), High drops to 16 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 13 FPS. The 1440p Low result is notable because it represents a 16% reduction from the 1080p Low result, confirming that the GPU's pixel fill rate is the limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly not viable for gaming. Low settings produce 29 FPS, which is borderline playable but with significant compromises in visual fidelity. Medium settings yield 18 FPS (min 15, max 21), High drops to 13 FPS, and Ultra is unplayable at 10 FPS. The 4K results show that the GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM is completely overwhelmed, and the memory bandwidth cannot keep up with the data demands of even Low settings at this resolution. The data suggests that users should stick to 1080p Low or 1440p Low for any semblance of a playable experience.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database's measured configurations for The Medium, this combo ranks 3594 out of 3724 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 3.5% of all systems, reflecting the severe GPU bottleneck. The rank is a direct consequence of the GTX 1650's position at the 40th percentile of all GPUs, combined with the game's high system requirements. The CPU's 68th percentile ranking cannot compensate for the GPU's inadequacy, and the measured FPS data confirms that the overall system performance is dictated almost entirely by the graphics card.

The ranking is particularly damning when considering the CPU's potential. The i5-10400F is a capable processor, but in this pairing, it is relegated to a supporting role that it cannot fulfill because the GPU is the limiting factor. The combo rank of 3594 out of 3724 indicates that this system is near the bottom of the performance hierarchy for The Medium, and the measured FPS data supports this: the highest average FPS recorded is 44 at 1080p Low, which is far below what would be considered a smooth experience by most players.

This rank is also reflected in the GPU's nearest rivals, which include integrated graphics solutions like the Intel UHD Graphics 750. The fact that the GTX 1650 is only 0.4% ahead of an iGPU in average benchmark score highlights how underpowered this card is for a title like The Medium. The combo rank is a clear signal to users that this system should not be expected to run this game at anything beyond minimal settings, and even then, the experience will be marginal.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for this system in The Medium?*

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1920x1080 with Low settings provides the highest average frame rate of 44 FPS. 2560x1440 with Low settings is also playable at 37 FPS, but 4K is not recommended, as even Low settings only yield 29 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck for this system?

A: The data clearly indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU has a 68th percentile ranking and a 3DMark max-thread score of 4735, while the GPU sits at the 40th percentile. The frame rate drops consistently with resolution, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation.

Q: How does this system compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The GTX 1650's average benchmark score of 7472 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon HD 8850M (7447, 0.3% higher) and the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (7441, 0.4% higher). It is 1% behind the Intel Arc A310, indicating it is at the very bottom of the GPU performance tier.

*Q: Can this system run The Medium at Ultra settings?*

A: No. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 16, which is unplayable. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 13 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 10 FPS. The 4 GB VRAM and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the Ultra preset.

Q: What is the frame rate variance at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the system records a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it ranges from 20 to 26 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it spans 15 to 21 FPS. This indicates moderate frame-time instability.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for The Medium?*

A: The combo ranks 3594 out of 3724 tested configurations, placing it in the bottom 3.5% of systems. This low rank is primarily due to the GPU's limited compute and memory capabilities.