The Medium

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 delivers playable frame rates in The Medium only at 1080p with Low settings, and the data shows a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance degradation as resolution increases. The 4 GB VRAM and the GTX 1650’s compute capabilities are the primary constraints, with the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads providing ample headroom for this horror title. This combo ranks near the bottom of the tested database, placing 3594th out of 3724 combinations, indicating that while the system functions, it is far from optimized for this game’s demands.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and consistent drop in performance as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component in this configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 44 FPS, which drops to 37 FPS at 1440p and further to 29 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, a pattern that highlights how the GTX 1650’s rendering pipeline struggles with the increased pixel count.

The scaling behavior becomes more pronounced at higher quality presets. At Medium settings, the average FPS falls from 27 at 1080p to 23 at 1440p and 18 at 4K, showing a 33% decrease from the lowest to highest resolution tested. For High settings, the numbers are 20 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and 13 FPS at 4K, a 35% drop. Ultra settings present the most challenging scenario, with averages of 16 FPS at 1080p, 13 FPS at 1440p, and 10 FPS at 4K, representing a 37.5% reduction.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings indicates that the bottleneck is almost entirely the GPU’s fill rate and shading capacity rather than any CPU limitation. The i5-12400F, with its boost clock of 4.40 GHz and 18 MB of shared L3 cache, is not the constraining factor here, as the frame rate degradation tracks directly with the number of pixels being rendered. The data suggests that even at 1080p, the GTX 1650 is already operating near its limits, as the jump from Low to Ultra at this resolution only yields a range from 44 FPS down to 16 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the decisive element in this combo’s performance, and its specifications explain the measured outcomes. The GPU features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is particularly relevant for The Medium, which appears to demand significant texture and geometry data, as evidenced by the sharp FPS penalties when moving from Low to Medium settings at any resolution.

At 1080p, the jump from Low to Medium costs 17 FPS (44 to 27), while the move from Medium to High costs another 7 FPS (27 to 20). This nonlinear scaling suggests that the 4 GB VRAM capacity is being exhausted at Medium settings and beyond, forcing the GPU to rely on slower memory management or reduced texture streaming. The GTX 1650’s base clock of 1485 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz provide the raw processing speed, but the 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is modest for a 2021 horror title with fixed camera angles and detailed environments.

The GPU’s 896 shading units and 32 ROPs contribute to a pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s, which is insufficient for 4K rendering, as evidenced by the single-digit-to-low-teen FPS figures at that resolution. The texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s, combined with 56 TMUs, allows for reasonable texture filtering at lower resolutions but becomes a bottleneck as resolution increases. The GTX 1650’s percentile ranking of 40 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 7472, places it in the lower half of the database, and its nearest rivals include the Intel UHD Graphics 750 (deltaPct 0.4) and AMD Radeon R7 350 (deltaPct 0.6), indicating it is only marginally ahead of integrated graphics solutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 ranks 3594th out of 3724 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the bottom 3.5% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU’s limitations more than the CPU’s capabilities, as the i5-12400F itself is a competent processor. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 19039 places it in the 73rd percentile against all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (deltaPct 0) and Intel Core 3 201E (deltaPct -0.1), showing that the processor is well within the mid-range tier.

The stark contrast between the CPU’s respectable standing and the combo’s poor game-specific ranking underscores that The Medium is heavily GPU-bound. The GTX 1650’s average benchmark score of 7472, sitting in the 40th percentile, drags the entire system down. In the context of this game, the combo’s rank of 3594 means that 130 other configurations perform worse, but the vast majority of tested systems deliver better frame rates. This rank is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows only the 1080p Low preset achieving a playable average of 44 FPS.

The deltaPct values for the GPU’s nearest rivals highlight how close the GTX 1650 is to much weaker parts. The Intel Arc A310 is only 1% faster, while the AMD Radeon HD 8850M is 0.3% slower, suggesting that this GPU is at the very edge of what can run The Medium with any semblance of smoothness. The combo’s ranking is a direct consequence of this GPU performance ceiling, and the data indicates that any upgrade to a more capable GPU would yield substantial improvements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results, with an average of 44 FPS on Low settings. This is the only preset that approaches a consistently playable experience, as Medium drops to 27 FPS, High to 20 FPS, and Ultra to 16 FPS. The minimum FPS for Medium at this resolution is 23, with a maximum of 31, showing some frame time variance but no catastrophic stuttering. The lack of min/max data for Low, High, and Ultra suggests that the benchmark may have only recorded average FPS for those presets, but the averages alone indicate that only Low is viable for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades further: Low averages 37 FPS, Medium 23 FPS, High 16 FPS, and Ultra 13 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 26 FPS, demonstrating tighter frame pacing than the 1080p Medium result. However, the overall trend is clear: the GTX 1650 cannot maintain 30 FPS at 1440p except at Low settings, and even then, the average of 37 FPS leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable: Low averages 29 FPS, Medium 18 FPS, High 13 FPS, and Ultra 10 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 15 FPS and a maximum of 21 FPS, indicating significant frame rate fluctuation that would be noticeable during gameplay. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 19 FPS, which is a 65.5% reduction, emphasizing that higher settings impose a massive penalty on this hardware. The data across all resolutions shows that the i5-12400F’s processing power is never the limiting factor, as the FPS scales almost linearly with resolution and settings, a hallmark of GPU-bound rendering.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, the only configuration that achieves a playable average FPS is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which yields 44 FPS. All other presets at 1080p fall below 30 FPS, and higher resolutions offer averages of 37 FPS or less, even at Low settings.

Q: How does the GTX 1650’s 4 GB VRAM affect performance?

A: The 4 GB GDDR5 memory is likely a limiting factor at Medium settings and above, as the FPS drops disproportionately when moving from Low to Medium at all resolutions. At 1080p, the drop is 17 FPS (44 to 27), while at 4K, it is 11 FPS (29 to 18), suggesting the GPU runs out of memory bandwidth or capacity, forcing reduced texture detail and causing frame rate penalties.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400F a bottleneck in this game?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is not the limiting component. The i5-12400F has 6 cores, 12 threads, a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, and an 18 MB L3 cache, which provides sufficient processing power. The FPS scaling with resolution and settings is consistent with GPU-bound performance, and the combo’s rank of 3594 out of 3724 is driven by the GTX 1650’s limitations.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 3594th out of 3724, placing it in the bottom percentile. The CPU itself is in the 73rd percentile of all processors, but the GPU is in the 40th percentile, and the combination results in low overall performance for The Medium. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel UHD Graphics 750 and AMD Radeon R7 350, are within 0.6% of its average benchmark score, highlighting its modest capability.

Q: What are the frame rate ranges at 1080p Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 27, with a minimum of 23 and a maximum of 31. This shows that while the average is below 30 FPS, there are moments of acceptable performance, but the overall experience would likely feel inconsistent.

*Q: Can this combo run The Medium at 4K?*

A: Technically, yes, but not at playable frame rates. The highest average at 4K is 29 FPS on Low settings, which is below the standard 30 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings at 4K yield only 10 FPS, making the game effectively unplayable at that resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F plays a supporting role in this combo, and its specifications demonstrate that it is more than capable of feeding the GTX 1650 with data. The processor features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, operating at a 65 W TDP. Its Alder Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process, includes 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, which provides fast access to frequently used data.

Benchmark results for the i5-12400F show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 12380 and a single-core score of 1680. In Geekbench, it scores 9472 multicore and 1964 single-core, while 3DMark results show a max threads score of 5912 and a single-thread score of 909. These figures place the CPU in the 73rd percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 19039, indicating it is a solid mid-range part.

In The Medium, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, AI, and scene management, but the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck. If the CPU were limiting, the FPS would remain relatively constant across different resolutions, as the GPU would be waiting for the CPU to send draw calls. Instead, the FPS drops significantly from 1080p to 4K, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU’s 12 threads may be underutilized in this game, but its high single-thread performance, evidenced by the 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and Cinebench R20 single-core score of 985, ensures that it can handle the game’s demands without holding back the GPU. The combo’s poor overall rank of 3594 out of 3724 is therefore attributable to the GTX 1650, not the i5-12400F, which would likely perform well with a more powerful graphics card.