Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that places minimal demands on modern hardware, yet the pairing of an Intel Core i7-13700K with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti produces a striking imbalance. The data shows a system where the CPU is vastly overqualified for the task, while the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The measured frame rates reveal a component pairing that struggles to deliver a consistent experience at 4K, though it remains playable at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to show exactly where the limits lie.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly illustrates the GPU's limitations. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 107.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 75.3 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of approximately 30%. Pushing further to 3840x2160, the average drops to 50.2 FPS, which is less than half of the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the GTX 1050 Ti's fill rate and memory bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count increases. The 112.1 GB/s memory bandwidth and 44.54 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering, even in a visually modest game like Inside.

At Medium settings, the scaling pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers. The average FPS goes from 87.4 at 1080p to 61.6 at 1440p, and then down to 39.5 at 4K. This shows that the GPU is the primary limiting component across all resolutions, as the CPU's performance headroom remains untouched. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is about 30%, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is roughly 36%, showing that the scaling penalty intensifies as resolution increases. For High settings, the trend is even more pronounced: 55.8 FPS at 1080p, 36.4 FPS at 1440p, and 23.3 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is barely above the threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that this combo is not viable for high-fidelity 4K play.

The Ultra settings results reinforce this conclusion. The average FPS at 1080p is 49.2, which drops to 35.8 at 1440p and then to 23.9 at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K represents a 51% reduction in frame rate, which is a clear sign that the GPU is the sole bottleneck. The data suggests that resolution scaling for this combo is entirely governed by the GTX 1050 Ti's capabilities, with the Core i7-13700K providing no meaningful assistance in overcoming the GPU's limitations at higher pixel counts.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the definitive performance ceiling in this pairing. Its specifications, including 768 shading units, 32 ROPs, and a boost clock of 1392 MHz, are modest by modern standards. The 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 112.1 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for 1080p gaming but becomes a severe constraint at higher resolutions. The benchmark results for this GPU place it in the 30th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 5316, putting it in the same performance tier as the NVIDIA GeForce 940M and AMD Radeon R7 240.

The GPU's DirectX performance scores are particularly telling. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 305, while Passmark's DirectX 12 test yields a score of 26. These low numbers indicate that the GPU lacks the raw compute power for modern graphics workloads. The FP32 performance of 2.138 TFLOPS is a limiting factor for shader complexity, and the 66.82 GTexel/s texture rate constrains texture-heavy scenes. In Inside, which uses a distinctive monochromatic art style with heavy use of lighting and shadow effects, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary determinants of frame rate.

The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with settings. At 1080p, the difference between Low (107.2 FPS) and Ultra (49.2 FPS) is a 54% reduction, demonstrating that the GPU's shading units and ROPs are fully utilized as graphics quality increases. The transition from Medium to High at 1080p results in a 36% drop in FPS, which is significant and indicates that the GPU is already near its limits at these settings. The GPU's 75 W TDP and lack of power connectors suggest it is designed for low-power systems, but this does not help its performance in a demanding scenario like 4K gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti ranks 1665 out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the bottom 0.4% of all possible pairings, a result that reflects the severe mismatch between the high-end CPU and the entry-level GPU. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations, as the CPU's performance is entirely irrelevant to the frame rates achieved in this game.

The CPU alone ranks in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 47282, which is within 0.1% of the Intel Core i7-13700KF and 0.4% of the Intel Core i9-12900F. This indicates that the CPU is among the top performers available. In stark contrast, the GPU ranks in the 30th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 5316, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce 930A (deltaPct 0%) and only 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce 940M. This massive disparity between CPU and GPU performance is the reason for the low overall combo rank.

The data shows that nearly every other tested combination outperforms this pairing in Inside. The rank of 1665 out of 1671 means that only 6 other combos are slower. This is not a reflection of the game's demands, but rather of the GPU's inability to deliver playable frame rates at higher settings. The combo is, in effect, a case study in how a powerful CPU cannot compensate for a weak GPU in a GPU-bound scenario. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is only suitable for low-resolution, low-detail gaming, which is consistent with the measured FPS data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the pairing delivers its best results, though they are uneven across settings. With Low settings, the average FPS is 107.2, which is smooth and well above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings yield 87.4 FPS, still a playable experience. High settings drop to 55.8 FPS, which is below 60 but generally acceptable for a puzzle platformer. Ultra settings produce 49.2 FPS, which is borderline but playable. These numbers show that 1080p is the only resolution where the combo can maintain reasonable performance across all settings.

At 2560x1440, the performance degrades noticeably. Low settings average 75.3 FPS, which remains smooth. Medium settings drop to 61.6 FPS, still playable. High settings fall to 36.4 FPS, which is below the smooth threshold and may cause noticeable stutter. Ultra settings average 35.8 FPS, which is marginal and likely to be a frustrating experience. The data indicates that 1440p is only viable at Low or Medium settings for this combo.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles significantly. Low settings produce 50.2 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. Medium settings drop to 39.5 FPS, which is below the smooth threshold. High settings yield 23.3 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 23.9 FPS, both of which are essentially unplayable for a game that requires timing and precision. The 4K results clearly show that the GTX 1050 Ti is overwhelmed by the pixel count, regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K plays a minimal role in the measured frame rates for Inside. Its 16 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, provide far more processing power than this game can utilize. The CPU's benchmark scores are exceptional, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39000 and a single-core score of 5505, placing it in the top tier of desktop processors. However, Inside is a 2D side-scrolling puzzle platformer with relatively simple physics and AI, so the CPU's workload is minimal.

The data shows that the CPU's performance is not a limiting factor in any of the measured scenarios. The frame rates are entirely dictated by the GPU's rendering capabilities. Even at 1080p with Low settings, where the CPU would theoretically be more involved, the 107.2 FPS result is still constrained by the GPU. The CPU's 3DMark scores, such as 12412 in the max threads test and 1136 in the single-thread test, indicate that it can handle far more demanding workloads than Inside presents.

The CPU's integrated UHD Graphics 770 is not relevant here, as the system uses the discrete GTX 1050 Ti. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample bandwidth for game data, but this does not translate into higher frame rates when the GPU is the bottleneck. In summary, the Core i7-13700K is a high-performance component that is wasted in this pairing, as the GPU's limitations prevent the CPU from ever being the primary constraint. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU's role is to ensure that it never becomes a bottleneck, which it easily achieves, but it cannot overcome the GPU's shortcomings.