The Medium

The Medium is a demanding horror title, and the data for this combination of an Intel Core i7-14700F and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 paints a clear picture of a system where the graphics card is the definitive bottleneck. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings are consistently low, indicating that the game's visual load is far beyond what this GPU can comfortably handle. The benchmark results show a component pairing where the CPU's substantial processing power is largely left waiting on the GPU, resulting in a gaming experience defined by its limitations at higher graphical presets.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe, but the pattern of the decline reveals the GPU's struggle. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 18.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p, this figure falls to 18.3 FPS, a marginal decrease of only 0.6 FPS. However, the jump to 4K is catastrophic, with the average FPS plummeting to 10.5. This non-linear scaling is a classic sign of a GPU that has run out of memory bandwidth and raw processing power; the increase in pixel count from 1440p to 4K presents an insurmountable workload.

The trend is similar at Medium settings, where 1080p yields 30.1 FPS, 1440p drops to 22.9 FPS, and 4K falls to 16.7 FPS. The most telling data point comes from the Low preset, which shows a much flatter scaling curve. At Low settings, the frame rate is 45.9 FPS at 1080p, 35.2 FPS at 1440p, and 28.2 FPS at 4K. The relative improvement at 4K Low (28.2 FPS) compared to 4K High (10.5 FPS) is massive, suggesting that at lower settings, the game is less reliant on the GPU's texture and shading units, allowing for a more predictable, though still low, performance drop. The data strongly suggests that the limiting component is the GTX 1650, as the frame rates at 4K, even with the most demanding settings, are simply not playable.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for settings, with the Low preset being the only viable option for a playable experience. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves an average of 45.9 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset that approaches a standard playability threshold. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 30.1 FPS, a significant 34% reduction from Low, which may be noticeable in a horror game where smooth motion is important for atmosphere. High and Ultra presets at 1080p are nearly identical in performance, at 18.9 FPS and 18.2 FPS respectively, indicating that the Ultra preset offers no playable benefit over High, as the GPU is already saturated.

For users willing to compromise on resolution, the 1440p Low preset offers an average of 35.2 FPS, which is smoother than any 1080p preset above Low. However, the visual clarity of 1440p may not compensate for the lower frame rate when compared to 1080p Low. The data indicates that the best experience is achieved by prioritizing the Low preset. The jump from Low to Medium at any resolution is a substantial drop in performance, while the jump from Medium to High is even more punishing, making the Low preset the clear choice for this hardware combination. Any setting above Low at 4K is effectively unplayable, with frame rates ranging from 10.5 to 16.7 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a high-end desktop processor, and its specifications are far in excess of what is needed for this game. It features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This processing power is reflected in its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443 and a single-core score of 5003. Its average benchmark score of 54097 places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, and it performs within 1% of rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, which has an average score of 54450.

Given this massive computational headroom, the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game. The measured FPS is consistently low across all settings, which would not be the case if the CPU were struggling. A capable CPU would show high frame rates at low resolutions and settings, with performance dropping only as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. Here, the frame rates are low even at 1080p Low (45.9 FPS), which is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations, not the CPU's. The i7-14700F is effectively idle in this scenario, waiting for the GTX 1650 to finish its frame rendering.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the i7-14700F and GTX 1650 ranks 1610 out of a total of 1689 combos for The Medium. This places it in the bottom 5% of all tested systems, a ranking that underscores the severe performance bottleneck created by the GPU. The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile (94th) and the combo's low rank is stark. It is a clear case of a top-tier processor being paired with a graphics card that is fundamentally unable to keep pace.

The data suggests that the combo's rank is almost entirely determined by the GPU. The i7-14700F's processing power has no positive impact on the game's frame rate because the GTX 1650 is the component that is failing to meet the demands. This is a textbook example of how a system's performance in a graphics-intensive application is only as strong as its weakest link. The 1610th rank out of 1689 combos is a direct reflection of the GTX 1650's performance class, which is in the 43rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 8713.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the primary factor determining this system's performance in The Medium. Its specifications, including 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth, are modest by modern standards. The GPU has a base clock of 1485 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, with 896 shading units. Its benchmark scores are low, with a Passmark G3D score of 7880. It performs within 1% of rivals like the NVIDIA Quadro P2200, which has a score of 8671, and the AMD Radeon 550X, with a score of 8749.

These specifications explain the measured FPS data perfectly. The 4 GB VRAM is likely a significant limitation, especially at higher resolutions and settings, where texture data exceeds this capacity. The low memory bandwidth of 128.1 GB/s also struggles to feed the GPU's processing units, particularly at 4K. The game is clearly GPU-bound, as evidenced by the low frame rates across the board. The GTX 1650 is simply not powerful enough to render The Medium at a smooth frame rate, even at the lowest settings, where it only manages 45.9 FPS at 1080p. Its 12 nm process node and 75 W TDP are indicative of an entry-level part that was not designed for demanding titles like this.

Measured FPS Breakdown

A detailed look at the measured FPS shows a consistent pattern of low performance across all configurations. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 45.9 FPS, which is the highest score recorded for this combo. The Medium preset drops to 30.1 FPS, a 34% decrease. The High and Ultra presets are nearly identical, at 18.9 FPS and 18.2 FPS, respectively, showing that the GPU cannot handle the added detail of the Ultra preset over High.

At 1440p, the performance is uniformly lower. The Low preset averages 35.2 FPS, which is still the most playable option. The Medium preset drops to 22.9 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets fall to 18.3 FPS and 16 FPS, respectively. This shows that even at a lower resolution, the GPU is still the main constraint.

At 4K, the results are marginal. The Low preset averages 28.2 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that is even technically playable, but it is still below a smooth 30 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 16.7 FPS, while High and Ultra are at 10.5 FPS and 12.4 FPS, respectively. These 4K scores are not viable for a horror game that relies on atmosphere and tension, as the low frame rate would detract significantly from the experience.