Inside

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is a study in extreme pairing imbalance. The CPU is a 20-core, 28-thread Raptor Lake part that sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is a Pascal-era card that lands in the 30th percentile of all GPUs. In Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer, this combo ranks 1664 out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the bottom fraction of a percent. The data shows that this is not a balanced system; it is a CPU that is effectively idle while a very old GPU struggles to render a relatively simple game. The benchmark results tell a clear story of a bottleneck that shifts with settings, but never fully disappears.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how heavily the GTX 1050 Ti limits performance as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 105.7 FPS, which is a playable frame rate. Moving to 1440p drops that to 77.4 FPS, a 26.8% reduction. At 4K, the same Low preset yields just 49.2 FPS, which is less than half of the 1080p result. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor; a CPU-bound system would show much smaller drops as resolution increases because the CPU workload stays constant.

The situation becomes more pronounced at higher settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 51.7 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 36.6 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the system manages only 20.4 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings is a 60.5% reduction in frame rate. This is a classic GPU-bound signature. The Intel Core i7-14700F has a boost clock of 5.40 GHz and a substantial L3 cache of 33 MB, but none of that matters when the GPU is rendering at a resolution it cannot handle. The data suggests that the CPU is never the constraint; even at 1080p Low, where the frame rate is highest, the 1050 Ti is likely at its maximum output.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the decisive component in this pairing. Its specifications are modest by modern standards: 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s. The base clock is 1291 MHz, boosting to 1392 MHz. The card has 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Its FP32 performance is 2.138 TFLOPS. These figures place it far below the CPU's capabilities. The GPU's benchmark scores confirm its position: a Passmark G3D score of 6340, which is in the 30th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce 930A (0% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce 940M (0.4% delta), and the AMD Radeon R7 240 (0.7% delta), all of which are similarly weak parts.

In Inside, the GPU's role is clear. The game's art style is minimalist, but it still requires consistent pixel throughput. The 4 GB VRAM is not likely to be a capacity issue for this game, but the memory bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s appears to be a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The measured FPS at 4K High is 21.5 FPS, and 4K Ultra is 20.4 FPS, showing that the card simply runs out of computational power. The GPU's DirectX 12 score of 26 in Passmark is telling; it indicates that the card is not well-suited for modern API workloads, even if Inside does not heavily rely on them. The data indicates that this GPU is the sole reason for the combo's poor ranking.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank in Inside is 1664 out of 1671 tested combinations. This is a bottom-tier position, placing it in the 0.4% worst-performing configurations. The CPU's high percentile (94th) does nothing to boost this ranking because the GPU is so weak. The Intel Core i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 54097, which is competitive with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X (deltaPct -0.6%) and the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (deltaPct -1.1%). The CPU is clearly not the issue. The GPU, however, has an average benchmark score of 5316, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce 930A (deltaPct 0%) and the NVIDIA GeForce 940M (deltaPct 0.4%). This means the combo is essentially a top-tier CPU hobbled by an entry-level GPU from 2016.

The data shows that this pairing is fundamentally unmatched. In a game like Inside, which is not demanding by modern standards, the combo still fails to deliver a consistent 60 FPS at 1080p with higher settings. The 51.7 FPS at 1080p Ultra is below the 60 FPS target that many players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. The ranking of 1664 out of 1671 is not a surprise; it is the expected result of pairing a 94th-percentile CPU with a 30th-percentile GPU. The only combos ranked lower are likely those with even older or more integrated graphics solutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings yield 105.7 FPS, Medium yields 84.7 FPS, High yields 56.8 FPS, and Ultra yields 51.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 21 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 5.1 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is hitting a hard performance ceiling at the higher presets.

At 2560x1440, the numbers drop significantly. Low settings produce 77.4 FPS, Medium produces 62.7 FPS, High produces 39.3 FPS, and Ultra produces 36.6 FPS. The 1440p High result of 39.3 FPS is noticeably below the 1080p High result of 56.8 FPS, a 30.8% reduction. At 4K (3840x2160), the results are largely unplayable except at Low. Low settings yield 49.2 FPS, Medium yields 40.0 FPS, High yields 21.5 FPS, and Ultra yields 20.4 FPS.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: the GTX 1050 Ti's performance scales poorly with resolution. The 4K results are all below 50 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets at 4K are below 22 FPS. Even at 1080p, which is the most favorable resolution for this GPU, the Ultra preset fails to reach 60 FPS. The 1080p Low result of 105.7 FPS is the only measurement that shows headroom, indicating that the CPU is capable of much more, but the GPU cannot deliver it.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700F the bottleneck in this system for Inside?*

A: No. The CPU is in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54097, while the GPU is in the 30th percentile with an average score of 5316. The measured FPS drops dramatically with resolution and settings, which is a GPU-bound characteristic. The CPU's nearest rivals (AMD Ryzen 9 9900X at -0.6% delta) have similar scores, indicating it is not a limiting factor.

*Q: What is the best resolution for playing Inside with this combo?*

A: The only resolution that provides a consistently smooth experience is 1920x1080. At 1080p, Low settings achieve 105.7 FPS, and Medium achieves 84.7 FPS. At 1440p, the best result is 77.4 FPS on Low, and at 4K, the best is 49.2 FPS on Low, which may be acceptable for a puzzle platformer but is not ideal.

Q: How does this combo's performance at 4K Ultra compare to 1080p Low?

A: The 4K Ultra result is 20.4 FPS, while the 1080p Low result is 105.7 FPS. This represents a 80.7% reduction in frame rate. The 4K Ultra result is barely playable, while the 1080p Low result is smooth.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and how does it affect performance?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has a memory bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s, using 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus. This bandwidth is likely a limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the 4K High and 4K Ultra results (21.5 FPS and 20.4 FPS) are extremely low, regardless of the CPU's speed.

Q: Is this combo ranked well among other tested systems?

A: No. The combo rank is 1664 out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 0.4% of all configurations. This is primarily due to the GPU's low 30th-percentile ranking, as the CPU is a top-tier part.

*Q: Can this system run Inside at 1080p with High settings?*

A: Yes, but with a caveat. The measured average FPS at 1080p High is 56.8 FPS, which is slightly below the 60 FPS threshold. It is playable, but not perfectly smooth. Dropping to Medium settings yields 84.7 FPS, which is a more comfortable margin.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data points to a clear recommendation for this combo. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the only viable option is 1920x1080 with Low or Medium settings. At 1080p Low, the system produces 105.7 FPS, which provides significant headroom. Moving to Medium drops the frame rate to 84.7 FPS, which is still well above 60 FPS and likely offers a better visual experience without hitting the GPU's limits. The High preset at 1080p yields 56.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and may result in noticeable stutter in a game that relies on precise timing.

For players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, 1440p Low is a possibility at 77.4 FPS, but the visual difference between Low and Medium at 1440p is likely small given the GPU's constraints. The 1440p Medium result of 62.7 FPS is also playable, but it is close to the edge. The 4K resolution is not recommended for this combo. Even at Low settings, the 49.2 FPS average is below the 60 FPS target, and the High and Ultra presets at 4K (21.5 FPS and 20.4 FPS) are effectively unplayable. The data indicates that the best balance of visual quality and performance is 1080p Medium, which offers 84.7 FPS and avoids the frame rate dips seen at High and Ultra presets. The combo's poor ranking (1664 out of 1671) means that any attempt to push the GPU beyond 1080p Medium will result in a subpar experience.