The Medium

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 places at rank 1586 out of 1689 tested combos in The Medium. That puts this configuration in the bottom 6% of all tested combinations, a result driven almost entirely by the graphics card rather than the processor. The data shows a massive imbalance: a top-tier CPU from 2023 yoked to an entry-level GPU from 2019, and the benchmark results reflect that mismatch clearly.

This rank is not surprising given the GPU's standing among all graphics cards. The GTX 1650 sits at the 43rd percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 8713. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (deltaPct -0.4), the AMD Radeon 550X (deltaPct -0.4), and the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 (deltaPct 0.5). These are close competitors, but none of them are what anyone would call a high-performance part. Meanwhile, the i9-14900K sits at the 97th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average score of 79824, and its nearest rivals are the AMD EPYC 7413 (deltaPct -0.3) and Intel Core i9-14900KF (deltaPct 0.7). The CPU is a monster; the GPU is not.

The result is a combo that ranks poorly because the GPU cannot keep pace with the game's demands, even at lower settings. The measured FPS data shows that this system struggles to hit playable framerates in most configurations, and the ranking reflects that reality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the clear bottleneck in this combination. It features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1485 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and memory runs at 2001 MHz (8 Gbps effective). The card has 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s. It offers 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 5.967 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1).

These specifications are modest by any modern standard, and The Medium is a game that demands more. The GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM is particularly problematic for a game like this, which uses heavy streaming and detailed environments. At 4K resolution, the card simply runs out of headroom. The measured data shows that at 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS drops to 12, and with Ultra settings it falls to 10.7. Even at Low settings, 4K only reaches 30.6 FPS on average.

The card's benchmark scores reinforce this picture. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 305; in Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 39112; and in Vulkan, 35966. Passmark results show DirectX 9 at 124, DirectX 10 at 39, DirectX 11 at 58, and DirectX 12 at 35. These are low numbers that indicate the GPU is not designed for demanding modern titles at high resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The data points to Low settings as the only viable option for this combo, and even then, only at specific resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 46.7, which is the only measured configuration that approaches a smooth experience. At 2560x1440 with Low settings, the average drops to 38.8, which is still borderline playable. At 4K with Low settings, the average falls to 30.6, which is the edge of acceptable for slower-paced horror games.

Medium settings are not recommended. At 1080p, Medium yields 28.6 FPS on average; at 1440p, it drops to 25.8; and at 4K, it falls to 17. High settings are worse still: 23.2 FPS at 1080p, 14.1 at 1440p, and 12 at 4K. Ultra settings are essentially unplayable across the board, with 16.6 FPS at 1080p, 15.3 at 1440p, and 10.7 at 4K.

The verdict is clear: use Low settings at 1080p for the best experience. If a higher resolution is desired, Low at 1440p is the only other option that stays above 30 FPS, but it comes with a noticeable framerate hit. Anything above Low settings will result in a stuttery, unpleasant experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings levels.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 46.7 FPS, Medium produces 28.6 FPS, High produces 23.2 FPS, and Ultra produces 16.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is a significant 18.1 FPS, indicating that the jump from Low to Medium places a heavy load on the GPU. From Medium to High, the drop is 5.4 FPS, and from High to Ultra, it is another 6.6 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the numbers fall off quickly. Low settings average 38.8 FPS, Medium averages 25.8 FPS, High averages 14.1 FPS, and Ultra averages 15.3 FPS. Notably, Ultra at 1440p is actually slightly faster than High at 1440p, which is an anomaly in the data. The drop from Low to Medium is 13 FPS, and from Medium to High it is 11.7 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmed. Low settings average 30.6 FPS, Medium averages 17 FPS, High averages 12 FPS, and Ultra averages 10.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 13.6 FPS, and between Medium and High it is 5 FPS. At no point does 4K reach a comfortable framerate, even with Low settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals that the GPU is the limiting component throughout. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 46.7 at 1080p to 38.8 at 1440p (a 16.9% drop) and then to 30.6 at 4K (a further 21.1% drop from 1440p). At Medium settings, the progression is 28.6 to 25.8 to 17, with the 4K figure representing a 40.6% drop from 1440p. At High settings, 1080p yields 23.2 FPS, 1440p yields 14.1 FPS, and 4K yields 12 FPS.

The scaling pattern suggests that the GTX 1650's memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity are the primary constraints. Moving from 1080p to 1440p increases pixel count by 78%, but the FPS drop is relatively modest at Low settings (16.9%). However, moving from 1440p to 4K increases pixel count by 125%, and the FPS drops more sharply, particularly at Medium and High settings. This indicates that the card hits a wall when VRAM usage exceeds its 4 GB capacity, causing severe performance degradation.

The CPU is not the bottleneck here. The i9-14900K with 24 cores and 32 threads, boosted up to 6.00 GHz, is more than capable of feeding frames to this GPU. The resolution scaling data confirms that the GPU is the sole limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode and uses the Intel Socket 1700.

Benchmark results show this CPU is exceptionally strong. In Cinebench R23, it scores 49872 multi-core and 7040 single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 20370 multi-core and 3064 single-core. Passmark results include a multi-thread score of 58674 and a single-thread score of 4697. The CPU sits at the 97th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824.

In The Medium, this CPU is never the limiting factor. The measured FPS data shows framerates that are consistently low across all settings, which is a GPU-bound pattern. Even at 1080p with Low settings, where the CPU would have the most opportunity to become a bottleneck, the 46.7 FPS average is well below what this CPU could deliver. The i9-14900K's role in this combo is to ensure that the GPU is always the constraint, but that does not help when the GPU is as limited as the GTX 1650.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this combo in The Medium?

A: The combo ranks 1586 out of 1689 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 6% of all tested configurations.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo?

A: Low settings at 1920x1080 provides the highest average FPS at 46.7, which is the only configuration that approaches smooth gameplay. Low at 1440p is the next best option at 38.8 FPS.

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

A: The GTX 1650 scores 8713 on average, with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile at 8746 (deltaPct -0.4), the AMD Radeon 550X at 8749 (deltaPct -0.4), and the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 at 8671 (deltaPct 0.5).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. The GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth cannot handle The Medium's demands, while the i9-14900K with 24 cores and 6.00 GHz boost is far more powerful than needed.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 25.8, which is below the threshold for smooth play.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i9-14900K averages 79824, with the AMD EPYC 7413 at 80041 (deltaPct -0.3), the Intel Core i9-14900KF at 79245 (deltaPct 0.7), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF at 79240 (deltaPct 0.7).