Inside

FAQ

Q: What is the Core i7-12700KF’s position relative to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The processor’s average benchmark score of 35,365 places it nearly level with the Intel Core i7-13700T (35,403, delta -0.1%) and the Intel Core 5 213PE (35,428, delta -0.2%). It is marginally ahead of the Intel Core i5-13600T (35,305, delta +0.2%) and the Intel Core i7-12700K (35,287, delta +0.2%).

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in aggregate performance?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 21,035 puts it slightly below the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21,153, delta -0.6%) and the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21,237, delta -1%). It edges out the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20,713, delta +1.6%) but trails the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (21,379, delta -1.6%).

Q: What frame rates can this combo achieve at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system delivers an average of 148 FPS. Moving to Medium settings raises the average to 237 FPS, while Low settings hit 296 FPS. Ultra settings drop the average to 141 FPS.

Q: Does the system maintain playable performance at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 64 FPS, which remains above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings at 4K yield 67 FPS, while Medium settings reach 107 FPS and Low settings climb to 134 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested system combinations for Inside?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1,719 out of 2,887 tested combos for this game. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, consistent with the GPU’s 66th percentile standing among all GPUs.

Q: What is the CPU’s multithreaded performance profile?

A: The Core i7-12700KF scores 28,838 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 12,111 in Cinebench R20 multicore. In 3DMark, it scores 9,983 with max threads, 9,282 with 16 threads, and 7,211 with 8 threads, showing scaling that remains strong through 16 threads.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is built on the Alder Lake-S architecture with 12 cores and 20 threads, combining performance and efficiency cores to handle both lightly threaded and heavily threaded workloads. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz allow it to ramp up quickly for latency-sensitive tasks, while the 25 MB shared L3 cache provides a large pool for frequently accessed data. The 10 nm process node and 125 W TDP reflect a desktop-class design aimed at sustained throughput rather than low power draw.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong single-thread performance with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,071. Multi-threaded scores are equally notable: 9,983 in 3DMark max threads and 28,838 in Cinebench R23 multicore. The Geekbench multicore score of 14,367 and PassMark multithread score of 34,092 reinforce the processor’s capability in heavily threaded scenarios, which matters for games that offload physics or AI to additional cores.

For Inside, a puzzle platformer with relatively modest CPU demands, the i7-12700KF’s 12 cores and 20 threads are far beyond what the game requires. The benchmark data confirms this: at 1080p Low settings, the system reaches 296 FPS, indicating that the CPU is not a bottleneck even at very high frame rates. The processor’s percentile ranking of 85 among all CPUs means it outperforms the vast majority of installed processors, and its nearest rivals—the i7-13700T, i5-13600T, and i7-12700K—all score within 0.2% of each other, suggesting that any of these would perform nearly identically in this title.

The CPU’s memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5, along with its dual-channel memory bus, offers flexibility, though the game’s performance does not appear to hinge on memory bandwidth. The PCIe Gen 4 interface with 20 lanes provides ample bandwidth for the GPU, but Inside does not push data transfer rates to the limit. The processor’s unlocked multiplier allows overclocking, which could marginally improve frame rates, but the measured data already shows headroom above 60 FPS at all settings and resolutions tested.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s base clock of 2317 MHz and boost clock of 2572 MHz, combined with 2,560 shading units, deliver a peak FP32 throughput of 13.17 TFLOPS. The 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and AI workloads, though Inside does not utilize these features.

The GPU’s 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the mid-range segment. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (delta -0.6%), the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (delta -1%), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (delta -1.6%), all of which are within 1.6% of the RTX 5050’s average score. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT is the only rival that scores lower, with a delta of +1.6% in favor of the RTX 5050. This clustering suggests that the RTX 5050 performs at a level comparable to several older or mobile-oriented GPUs, rather than standing out in its class.

For Inside, the GPU’s role becomes more significant as resolution increases. At 1080p, the GPU easily sustains frame rates well above 140 FPS across all settings, with Low settings reaching 296 FPS. At 1440p, performance remains strong, with High settings at 106 FPS and Ultra at 101 FPS. At 4K, the GPU’s limits become visible: Ultra settings drop to 64 FPS, and High settings yield only 67 FPS, indicating that the GPU is the primary constraint at this resolution. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for Inside’s art style, but the 128-bit memory bus and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth may limit texture throughput in more demanding titles.

The GPU’s power requirements list a 130 W TDP and a suggested 300 W PSU, which are modest figures. The PCIe 5.0 x8 interface provides adequate bandwidth for the GPU’s performance class. The display outputs include one HDMI 2.1b and three DisplayPort 2.1b connections, supporting modern monitors. The RTX 5050’s launch MSRP is 249 USD, and its predecessor is the GeForce 40 series.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1,719 out of 2,887 tested system configurations for Inside. This position places the combo in the 40th percentile of all tested combos, meaning roughly 60% of configurations deliver higher frame rates in this game. The rank reflects the GPU’s mid-range standing more than the CPU’s high-end positioning, as the processor’s 85th percentile ranking indicates it is not the limiting factor.

The disparity between the CPU’s high percentile (85) and the combo’s mid-pack rank (1,719 of 2,887) suggests that the GPU constrains overall performance. In a game like Inside, which is not particularly demanding on CPU resources, the i7-12700KF’s 12 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom, but the RTX 5050’s 66th percentile GPU ranking holds the combo back. The nearest GPU rivals—the RX Vega M GL, HD 8970M, and RTX A4000 Mobile—all score within 1.6% of the RTX 5050, indicating that the combo’s position is consistent with its GPU’s performance class.

Compared to other combos that pair high-end CPUs with mid-range GPUs, this system likely sits in the lower-middle tier. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p High settings, the combo achieves 148 FPS, which is respectable but not exceptional for a system with a top-tier CPU. At 4K Ultra, the 64 FPS average is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The combo’s rank of 1,719 suggests that many systems with older or weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs would outperform it in this title, as Inside’s frame rates scale more with GPU capability than CPU speed.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows clear scaling patterns across resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the system delivers frame rates ranging from 141 FPS (Ultra) to 296 FPS (Low), with High settings at 148 FPS and Medium at 237 FPS. Moving to 1440p, these numbers drop to 101 FPS (Ultra), 106 FPS (High), 170 FPS (Medium), and 213 FPS (Low). At 4K, the frame rates fall further to 64 FPS (Ultra), 67 FPS (High), 107 FPS (Medium), and 134 FPS (Low).

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a reduction of approximately 28-29% across most settings: High drops from 148 to 106 FPS, Medium from 237 to 170 FPS, and Low from 296 to 213 FPS. Ultra drops from 141 to 101 FPS, a 28% reduction. This pattern indicates that the GPU is becoming more stressed as pixel count increases, but the CPU still has sufficient headroom to maintain frame rates above 100 FPS at 1440p for most settings.

The jump from 1440p to 4K is more dramatic. High settings drop from 106 to 67 FPS, a 37% reduction. Medium drops from 170 to 107 FPS, a 37% reduction, and Low drops from 213 to 134 FPS, a 37% reduction. Ultra drops from 101 to 64 FPS, a 37% reduction. The consistent 37% drop across all settings at this resolution transition points squarely at the GPU as the limiting component. The RTX 5050’s 8 GB VRAM and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are strained at 4K, and the GPU’s shading units cannot keep up with the 8.3 million pixel workload.

The fact that Low settings at 4K (134 FPS) outperform Ultra settings at 1440p (101 FPS) by 33% further confirms that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU’s performance is sufficient to drive frame rates well above 200 FPS at 1080p Low, but the GPU’s rendering capabilities cap the upper limit. This scaling behavior is typical for a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU: the CPU’s influence diminishes as resolution increases, leaving the GPU to determine the frame rate ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table summarizes the measured average frame rates for all tested resolution and settings combinations. The data includes minimum and maximum FPS where recorded, providing additional context for frame time consistency.

1920x1080:

• Low: 296 FPS average, no min/max recorded
• Medium: 237 FPS average, 201 FPS minimum, 272 FPS maximum
• High: 148 FPS average, no min/max recorded
• Ultra: 141 FPS average, no min/max recorded

2560x1440:

• Low: 213 FPS average, no min/max recorded
• Medium: 170 FPS average, 145 FPS minimum, 196 FPS maximum
• High: 106 FPS average, no min/max recorded
• Ultra: 101 FPS average, no min/max recorded

3840x2160:

• Low: 134 FPS average, no min/max recorded
• Medium: 107 FPS average, 91 FPS minimum, 123 FPS maximum
• High: 67 FPS average, no min/max recorded
• Ultra: 64 FPS average, no min/max recorded

The Medium settings at each resolution include min/max data, revealing frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range between minimum and maximum is 71 FPS (201 to 272), indicating some variance but generally smooth gameplay. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 51 FPS (145 to 196), and at 4K Medium, the range is 32 FPS (91 to 123). The tightening range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU’s workload becomes more uniform, reducing frame time spikes.

The frame rate gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 155 FPS (296 vs 141). At 1440p, the gap is 112 FPS (213 vs 101). At 4K, the gap narrows to 70 FPS (134 vs 64). This narrowing indicates that at higher resolutions, even Low settings are constrained by the GPU, whereas at 1080p, Low settings allow the CPU to push frame rates to their maximum potential.

All measured data points confirm that the system is capable of maintaining 60 FPS at every resolution and settings combination tested. The lowest recorded average is 64 FPS at 4K Ultra, which remains above the 60 FPS threshold. The minimum FPS of 91 at 4K Medium shows that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate does not dip below playable levels. This makes the combo suitable for Inside at any settings, with the caveat that 4K Ultra provides minimal headroom for frame rate fluctuations.