The Medium

The Medium presents an unusually demanding workload for the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 combination. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings presets indicate that this pairing is fundamentally constrained by the graphics subsystem, with the CPU's substantial processing resources largely left underutilized. The data reveals a system that can achieve playable frame rates only at the lowest settings and resolution, while higher configurations quickly become untenable.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p Low, the combo produces an average of 41.3 FPS, which drops to 35.0 FPS at 1440p Low and 31.7 FPS at 4K Low. This scaling pattern—a reduction of roughly 15% from 1080p to 1440p and another 9% from 1440p to 4K—is relatively modest compared to what would be expected if the GPU were the sole limiting factor. The relatively gentle slope suggests that even at 1080p Low, the graphics card is already working near its maximum capacity, and additional resolution only marginally increases the workload.

The picture changes dramatically when examining the Medium preset. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS falls to 26.1, while 1440p Medium yields 23.6 FPS and 4K Medium plummets to 16.0 FPS. The percentage drop from 1440p to 4K here is approximately 32%, indicating a much steeper degradation curve. This suggests that the Medium preset introduces effects that disproportionately tax the GPU's limited memory bandwidth and shading resources, making the transition from 1440p to 4K particularly punishing.

High and Ultra presets tell an even more constrained story. At 1080p High, the system averages 18.1 FPS, which barely improves upon the 17.1 FPS seen at 1080p Ultra. The 1440p High result of 18.3 FPS is virtually identical to the 1080p High figure, implying that the GPU has hit a hard performance ceiling regardless of resolution. At 4K High, the average collapses to 13.1 FPS, and 4K Ultra produces a barely interactive 11.1 FPS. The data indicates that the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU, as CPU-bound scenarios would show much larger resolution-based FPS differentials.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 operates with a base clock of 1485 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, paired with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus. The memory bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s is the critical constraint in The Medium, a game that appears to demand substantial texture streaming and memory capacity. The 4 GB frame buffer is likely exhausted even at 1080p Medium, causing the steep performance penalties observed when moving from Low to Medium settings.

The GPU's benchmark profile reinforces its position in the hierarchy. With a percentile ranking of 43 against all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 8713, the GTX 1650 sits in the lower-middle tier. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (scoring 8746, a 0.4% delta) and the AMD Radeon 550X (scoring 8749, also a 0.4% delta). These comparisons show the GTX 1650 is essentially performance-equivalent to these competitors, yet none of them would be considered adequate for modern horror titles at high settings.

The DirectX benchmark scores are particularly telling. The GPU scores 58 in Passmark DirectX 11 and only 35 in DirectX 12, with a DirectX 9 score of 124. These figures indicate that the card's architectural strengths lie in older APIs, while its DirectX 12 performance—which The Medium likely relies upon—is comparatively weak. The FP32 compute rating of 2.984 TFLOPS and texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s are modest figures that explain the observed frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 ranks 1648 out of 1689 tested combinations in The Medium. This places the combo in the bottom 2.4% of all tested systems, a position that reflects the severe mismatch between the CPU's capabilities and the GPU's limitations. The CPU is a high-end desktop processor with 14 cores and 20 threads, while the GPU is an entry-level part from an older generation.

The ranking disparity becomes clear when examining the CPU's standalone performance. The i5-14600K achieves a 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 49166, placing it in the company of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (scoring 49062, a 0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i5-14600KF (scoring 49367, a -0.4% delta). This is a top-tier processor being held back by a GPU that sits at the 43rd percentile. The result is that the combo's in-game ranking is dramatically lower than either component's individual standing would suggest.

The 1648th rank out of 1689 combos indicates that nearly every other pairing tested—including those with much weaker CPUs—outperforms this configuration in The Medium. This is a textbook example of a GPU-bound system where the processor's potential is entirely wasted. Upgrading the GPU would yield substantial performance gains, while upgrading the CPU would provide no measurable benefit in this title.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 41.3 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset. This is the only configuration that approaches playable territory, and it still falls short of a smooth 60 FPS target.

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

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 8713, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile scores 8746 (a 0.4% difference) and the AMD Radeon 550X scores 8749 (also a 0.4% difference). These three GPUs are effectively performance peers in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What resolution and settings combo delivers the highest frame rate?

A: The 1920x1080 Low preset delivers the highest measured average of 41.3 FPS. No other combination of resolution and settings in the measured data exceeds this figure, with the next closest being 35.0 FPS at 2560x1440 Low.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is definitively the limiting factor. The Intel Core i5-14600K ranks in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the GTX 1650 ranks in only the 43rd percentile among GPUs. The frame rate scaling across resolutions confirms that the graphics card is saturated.

Q: How does the i5-14600K compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 49166, sitting between the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X at 49062 (a 0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i5-14600KF at 49367 (a -0.4% delta). These are statistically identical performance levels.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 11.1 FPS. This is the lowest performance point in the entire dataset and is far below any playable threshold.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K brings substantial processing power to this pairing, featuring 14 cores and 20 threads with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The processor's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32881 and a single-core score of 4642, with a Geekbench multicore score of 15846.

The CPU's computed benchmarks show it operating at a level far above what The Medium requires. The Passmark multithread score of 38682 and physics score of 2473 indicate ample headroom for game logic and simulation tasks. However, the measured frame rates in The Medium never approach the levels where CPU limitations would manifest. At 1080p Low, the system produces 41.3 FPS, which is still well below the threshold where a processor of this caliber would become a bottleneck.

The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking places it among the fastest processors available, with its closest rivals being the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and Intel Core i5-14600KF. The data shows that in The Medium, the i5-14600K's processing capabilities are effectively irrelevant to the final frame rate, as the GTX 1650 cannot produce enough frames to tax the CPU. This is a configuration where the processor's 14 cores and 20 threads are entirely wasted on a game that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of playable configurations, though none achieve an ideal 60 FPS target. The only settings preset that produces a frame rate above 40 FPS is 1080p Low, which averages 41.3 FPS. This is the sole configuration that could be considered semi-playable, though it still falls short of smooth performance. The 1440p Low preset at 35.0 FPS and 4K Low at 31.7 FPS offer decreasing playability.

For users prioritizing frame rate above visual fidelity, the 1080p Low preset is the only viable option, providing 41.3 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 26.1 FPS, a 37% reduction from Low, which makes the game feel noticeably less responsive. The High and Ultra presets at 1080p produce 18.1 and 17.1 FPS respectively, which are below acceptable playability thresholds for a horror title requiring precise timing.

The data suggests that the GTX 1650's 4 GB memory capacity is the primary obstacle to higher settings. The steep drop from Low to Medium at every resolution indicates that the Medium preset introduces memory-intensive effects that exceed the card's capacity. Users should accept that this combo is limited to Low settings for any semblance of playability, and even then, the 41.3 FPS average at 1080p represents the absolute ceiling of what this hardware can deliver in The Medium.