Inside

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB delivers a highly capable experience in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer from 2016. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly CPU-bound at lower resolutions, with the GPU becoming the primary constraint only at 4K with higher settings. The i7-12700K, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, provides massive headroom, as evidenced by the fact that even at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 196 FPS, a figure that far exceeds the display refresh rates of most monitors. This combination ranks in the 1517th position out of 1671 tested combos, indicating that while it is not at the top of the leaderboard, it is a solidly mid-pack performer for this specific title.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-12700K is the dominant force in this pairing, particularly at lower resolutions. This processor, part of the Core 12th Gen family, uses an Alder Lake architecture and is built on a 10 nm process. It features 12 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its substantial L3 cache of 25 MB (shared) and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a very versatile and powerful part. The benchmark results reflect this strength; its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29241 and Passmark multithread score of 34404 place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs.

For a game like Inside, which is not known for requiring immense computational power, this CPU is overkill. The measured FPS data supports this. At 1080p with Low settings, the system hits an average of 196 FPS. When we move to 1440p Low, it only drops to 144 FPS, and even at 4K Low, it manages 86.9 FPS. This pattern suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding frames far faster than the GPU can render them at lower settings, meaning the bottleneck is almost entirely on the graphics card. The CPU's high single-thread and multithread scores, such as the 3dmark single-thread score of 1043 and the Geekbench multicore score of 13892, ensure there are no frame pacing hitches, allowing the GPU to work at its maximum potential.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured data, the "Medium" preset at 1080p offers the most balanced experience, providing a high frame rate without sacrificing too much visual fidelity. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset yields an average of 158.9 FPS, which is a significant step down from the 196 FPS on Low but still exceptionally smooth. The jump from Medium to High results in a substantial performance cost, dropping the average to 102 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with an average of 92.8 FPS.

At 1440p, the same pattern emerges. Medium delivers an average of 116.7 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High drops to 69.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 65.6 FPS. The data implies that for this specific game and hardware combo, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. It maintains a frame rate high enough to ensure a fluid experience on high-refresh-rate displays at 1080p and provides a solid 60+ FPS experience at 1440p. Pushing to Ultra provides diminishing returns, as the performance penalty is steep relative to the visual improvements in a game with this art style.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The scaling of average FPS across resolutions clearly illustrates the shifting bottleneck. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 196 FPS at 1080p to 144 FPS at 1440p, a decrease of 52 FPS, and then to 86.9 FPS at 4K, another drop of 57.1 FPS. This shows a severe performance degradation as resolution increases. The RTX 3050 4 GB is simply not powerful enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K, even on Low.

However, the bottleneck analysis becomes more nuanced when looking at higher settings. At Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 92.8 FPS at 1080p to 65.6 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 45.9 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 29%, and from 1440p to 4K it is about 30%. This consistent, steep decline suggests that at Ultra settings, the GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions. The CPU has more than enough headroom; it is the graphics card's inability to process the increased pixel count and shader complexity that dictates the final frame rate. The data confirms that the RTX 3050 4 GB is the primary constraint for high-fidelity gameplay, especially at 1440p and 4K.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the i7-12700K and the RTX 3050 4 GB holds a rank of 1517 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside. This is a low placement, indicating that the system is not well-suited for this game's maximum settings. The rank suggests that a significant majority of other tested hardware pairings deliver higher average frame rates. This is interesting because the CPU itself is highly capable, ranking in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with a Passmark average benchmark score of 35684.

The discrepancy between the CPU's high individual ranking and the combo's low overall ranking points directly to the GPU as the weak link. The RTX 3050 4 GB is the limiting factor, keeping the system from achieving higher scores. The GPU's benchmark data is empty, and it sits in the 50th percentile of all GPUs. This mid-pack GPU performance, when combined with a high-end CPU, does not translate to a top-tier result in a game that is likely GPU-bound at higher settings. The data implies that many other systems, likely with more powerful graphics cards, simply achieve higher average FPS, pushing this combo down the rankings.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is the component that determines the ceiling for this system's performance in Inside. Built on the Ampere architecture and using the GA107 chip, this GPU is manufactured on an 8 nm process by Samsung. It has a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1740 MHz. With 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, it is a modestly configured card. Its memory subsystem consists of 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s.

The 4 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor. While Inside is not a VRAM-heavy game, the data shows that the GPU is still the bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the system only manages an average of 45.9 FPS. The GPU's pixel rate of 55.68 GPixel/s and texture rate of 111.4 GTexel/s are not sufficient to handle the 8.3 million pixels of a 4K display with high-detail settings. The FP32 performance of 7.127 TFLOPS is what the game has to work with, and it is simply not enough to maintain high frame rates at that resolution. The data indicates that while the GPU can handle 1080p and 1440p with ease at Medium settings, it struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K, especially when the visual presets are increased.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Inside?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 196, which is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: At 1440p with High settings, what is the expected average frame rate?

A: The data shows an average of 69.7 FPS for the 2560x1440 resolution with High settings.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700K a bottleneck for this game at 1080p?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is not a bottleneck at 1080p. The frame rates are very high (102-196 FPS), and the bottleneck is on the GPU.

Q: How does the RTX 3050 4 GB perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 45.9 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 1440p, the average FPS drops from 144 on Low to 65.6 on Ultra, a decrease of 78.4 FPS.

Q: How does this system's CPU compare to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845?

A: The i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35684, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845's average score of 35802.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following data represents the measured average FPS for the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB combination.

At 1920x1080, the system performs as follows:

• Low: 196.0 FPS
• Medium: 158.9 FPS
• High: 102.0 FPS
• Ultra: 92.8 FPS

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are:

• Low: 144.0 FPS
• Medium: 116.7 FPS
• High: 69.7 FPS
• Ultra: 65.6 FPS

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, the results are:

• Low: 86.9 FPS
• Medium: 69.7 FPS
• High: 44.6 FPS
• Ultra: 45.9 FPS

These numbers show a clear pattern of diminishing returns. The difference between Low and Medium at 1080p is 37.1 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is only 9.2 FPS. At 4K, the gap between Medium and High is a significant 25.1 FPS, but the difference between High and Ultra is marginal, at just 1.3 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset offers little to no performance benefit over High at 4K, while costing a significant amount of performance at lower resolutions. The data consistently shows that the GPU is the limiting factor, particularly as resolution and settings increase.