Inside

# Inside — Intel Core i7-14700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB

This combination of Intel's 20-core Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA's RTX 3050 4 GB produces a playable but resolution-sensitive experience in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer. The benchmark data shows a clear pattern: the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as resolution climbs, while the CPU's high core and thread counts provide ample headroom across all tested settings. The combo ranks 3242nd out of 3716 tested configurations, placing it in the lower portion of the database, though the measured frame rates at lower resolutions remain smooth.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 99 FPS at 1920x1080 to 71 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 45 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 28% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 37% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The cumulative drop from 1080p to 4K is 55%, indicating that the RTX 3050's 4 GB memory and 128-bit bus are struggling to feed the pixel pipeline at 4K.

Low settings show an even steeper relative decline. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 199 FPS, dropping to 143 FPS at 1440p (a 28% decline) and then to 90 FPS at 4K (a 37% decline from 1440p). The 1080p-to-4K reduction here is 55%, identical to High settings — this suggests the scaling penalty is primarily resolution-driven rather than settings-driven. The GPU's 192.0 GB/s bandwidth and 4 GB GDDR6 memory become the limiting factor regardless of how light the rendering load is.

Medium settings provide the only rows with min/max FPS data, which allows a closer look at frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 159 FPS with a minimum of 135 FPS and maximum of 183 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 114 FPS with min 97 and max 131. At 4K Medium, the average is 72 FPS with min 61 and max 83. The min-to-max spread narrows at higher resolutions (48 FPS at 1080p, 34 FPS at 1440p, 22 FPS at 4K), which is characteristic of a GPU that is consistently saturated rather than occasionally bottlenecked.

Ultra settings follow the same trajectory but at lower absolute values: 95 FPS at 1080p, 68 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K drop is 55% again, reinforcing that the limiting component is the GPU's throughput rather than CPU-side physics or draw calls. For a game like Inside, which uses a distinctive 2.5D side-scrolling perspective, the geometric complexity is modest — the data indicates that pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are what degrade as resolution increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 2 MB L2 per core, and 33 MB shared L3. These specifications position it as a high-end desktop part, and its benchmark scores confirm that: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 44167, single-core 6235, and Geekbench multi-core 21462.

In Inside, the CPU's role is largely secondary because the game is not thread-heavy. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (199 FPS) approaches the practical ceiling for a 60 Hz display and exceeds it by a wide margin. Even at 1080p Ultra, the CPU maintains 95 FPS, which indicates that the 20 cores are never the bottleneck. The 28 threads provide far more parallelism than this puzzle platformer can utilize; the game's physics and logic are simple enough that even a fraction of the i7-14700KF's capability would suffice.

The processor's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support contribute to consistent frame delivery. The Passmark multi-thread score of 52425 and single-thread score of 4480 place the CPU in the 94th percentile among all tested CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (0.2% higher average score), AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.4% higher), AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.9% higher), and Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (1% lower). These deltas are negligible for gaming — the CPU's influence on Inside's FPS is effectively null once the resolution demands exceed what the GPU can deliver.

At 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 43, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The CPU is not the cause; the RTX 3050's 2048 shading units and 32 ROPs are simply overwhelmed. The data suggests that pairing this CPU with a more powerful GPU would yield significantly higher frame rates at 4K, but as configured, the i7-14700KF is waiting on the GPU in every resolution above 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 3242nd out of 3716 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the bottom 13% of the database. This low rank is surprising given the CPU's strength, but it reflects the GPU's modest standing — the RTX 3050 4 GB sits at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, with no benchmark scores or nearest rivals listed in the data. The rank is therefore a function of the GPU's limited 4 GB VRAM and 192.0 GB/s bandwidth, which constrain performance in a way that the CPU cannot compensate for.

Within the database, combos with higher-ranked GPUs but weaker CPUs would likely outperform this pairing at 4K, while combos with similar GPUs but faster memory subsystems might also edge ahead. The 3716-combo pool includes a wide range of hardware, and this specific pairing lands in the lower quartile because the RTX 3050 4 GB is an entry-level card from the GeForce 30-series, released in January 2022 with a launch MSRP of 199 USD.

The rank is consistent across resolutions: at 1080p, the combo delivers playable frame rates, but the database rank suggests that many other configurations achieve higher averages. The CPU's 94th percentile standing is offset by the GPU's 50th percentile, and the arithmetic mean of those positions (72nd percentile) overestimates the gaming performance because Inside is GPU-bound at most settings. The measured FPS data is the more reliable indicator: 199 FPS at 1080p Low is excellent, but 43 FPS at 4K Ultra is below the commonly accepted 60 FPS standard.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 3050 4 GB delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 199 FPS, Medium 159 FPS (min 135, max 183), High 99 FPS, and Ultra 95 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is only 4 FPS, suggesting that Ultra's additional effects are not particularly demanding at this resolution. The difference between Low and Medium is 40 FPS, indicating that Medium's extra lighting and shadow work costs significant throughput but remains well above playable thresholds.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop to 143 FPS (Low), 114 FPS (Medium, min 97, max 131), 71 FPS (High), and 68 FPS (Ultra). The High-to-Ultra gap narrows further to just 3 FPS. The Medium settings still maintain a minimum above 60 FPS, which is the key playability metric. Low settings at 1440p are nearly as fast as High settings at 1080p (143 vs 99), highlighting that resolution scaling has a linear cost while settings scaling has diminishing returns at higher presets.

At 3840x2160, the card's limitations become pronounced. Low settings average 90 FPS, Medium 72 FPS (min 61, max 83), High 45 FPS, and Ultra 43 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one that keeps the minimum above 60 FPS, and even that is marginal (61 FPS). High and Ultra both fall below 60 FPS on average, making them unsuitable for smooth 4K gameplay. The Low preset at 4K (90 FPS) is still comfortable, but the visual quality trade-off is significant for a game with a minimalist art style.

The min/max data for Medium settings shows that frame pacing remains stable even at 4K: the min of 61 FPS at 4K is only 15% below the average of 72 FPS, and the max of 83 FPS is 15% above. This consistency suggests the GPU is not experiencing thermal throttling or memory spilling; it is simply hitting its throughput ceiling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is built on the GA107 chip using Samsung's 8 nm process, with 8,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die. Its 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs deliver 7.127 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The memory subsystem is 4 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, yielding 192.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card's base clock is 1545 MHz with a boost of 1740 MHz, and memory runs at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective).

The 4 GB VRAM capacity is the defining limitation in Inside at high resolutions. While the game's art style is relatively simple, 4K textures and effects still require substantial memory allocation. The data shows that Ultra settings at 4K drop to 43 FPS, which is 55% lower than Low settings at 1080p (199 FPS). This is a bandwidth and capacity problem: the 128-bit bus cannot move data fast enough for 8.3 million pixels, and 4 GB is insufficient for high-resolution framebuffers plus texture streaming.

The GPU's 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores are present but largely unused in this title, as Inside does not utilize ray tracing or DLSS. The 90 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a low-power card, but that does not compensate for the memory constraints. The 55.68 GPixel/s pixel rate and 111.4 GTexel/s texture rate are adequate for 1080p, but at 4K the pixel rate becomes the binding constraint: 43-90 FPS across settings confirms that fill rate is the ceiling.

The GPU's 50th percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with its end-of-life production status, indicates that it is a mid-pack performer. Its nearest rival list is empty in the data, so no direct comparisons are available, but the measured FPS in Inside speaks for itself: the card is capable at 1080p, acceptable at 1440p with Medium or Low settings, and only playable at 4K with Low or Medium presets.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets exceed 60 FPS. At 1440p, Medium (114 FPS) and Low (143 FPS) remain comfortable, while High and Ultra dip to 71 and 68 FPS. At 4K, only Low (90 FPS) and Medium (72 FPS) stay above 60 FPS.

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

A: The Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70163, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, 0.4% higher than the Ryzen 9 7940HX, 0.9% higher than the Ryzen 9 7950X, and 1% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K. These differences are within 1% and do not materially affect Inside's frame rates.

Q: Why does the FPS drop so sharply from 1080p to 4K?

A: The RTX 3050 4 GB's 192.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 4 GB VRAM are insufficient for 4K rendering. The data shows a consistent 55% average FPS reduction from 1080p to 4K across Low, High, and Ultra settings, indicating a hard GPU throughput limit rather than CPU or memory system limitations.

*Q: Is the 4 GB VRAM enough for Inside?*

A: At 1080p and 1440p, yes — the game runs well within the 4 GB capacity. At 4K with High or Ultra settings, the VRAM becomes a bottleneck, as evidenced by average FPS of 45 and 43 respectively. Medium settings at 4K (72 FPS) suggest the card can manage if texture quality is capped.

Q: What does the combo's rank of 3242 out of 3716 mean?

A: It places this pairing in the bottom 13% of tested combos for Inside. The low rank is driven by the GPU's 50th percentile standing; the CPU is in the 94th percentile but cannot compensate for the GPU's memory and bandwidth constraints at higher resolutions.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low or Medium settings. The measured averages are 90 FPS (Low) and 72 FPS (Medium), with Medium's minimum at 61 FPS. High (45 FPS) and Ultra (43 FPS) fall short of 60 FPS on average.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the data supports specific presets at each resolution. At 1920x1080, all four settings presets deliver average frame rates above 95 FPS, so players can select Ultra and still maintain 95 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium is the safest choice: 114 FPS average with a 97 FPS minimum, which provides headroom for scene complexity. High at 1440p (71 FPS) is playable but leaves less margin, and Ultra (68 FPS) is borderline if the game has any demanding moments.

At 3840x2160, Medium is the recommended preset because it is the only one with a measured minimum above 60 FPS (61 FPS) and an average of 72 FPS. Low at 4K (90 FPS) is also viable but sacrifices visual fidelity. High (45 FPS) and Ultra (43 FPS) should be avoided if frame pacing consistency matters, as their averages fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

The optimal configuration depends on the display: for 1080p screens, Ultra is the best experience. For 1440p monitors, Medium balances quality and performance. For 4K displays, Medium is the highest preset that maintains a 60 FPS minimum, and Low is the fallback if additional headroom is desired. The data indicates that the RTX 3050 4 GB's sweet spot is 1080p Ultra or 1440p Medium, with 4K Medium as a viable but less forgiving option.