Inside

Inside pairs a 24-core Intel Core i9-14900K with a 4 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, producing measured frame rates that range from a playable 44.2 FPS at 4K High to a fluid 199.9 FPS at 1080p Low. The dataset covers 12 measured configurations across three resolutions and four quality presets, with no minimum or maximum frame time data recorded. The combination ranks 1503rd out of 1671 tested combos for this title, placing it in the lower third of the database, though the absolute frame rates remain serviceable for a puzzle platformer.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows show a clear hierarchy where the Low preset delivers the highest frame rates at every resolution, but the Medium preset offers the best balance for most users. At 1080p, Low produces 199.9 FPS, while Medium drops to 160.3 FPS—a 39.6 FPS reduction that still leaves ample headroom above 144 Hz displays. The gap widens at 1440p, where Low hits 140.1 FPS and Medium falls to 116.5 FPS, both comfortably above 60 FPS. At 4K, Medium manages 69.8 FPS, which remains playable, but Low at 87.8 FPS provides more consistent pacing for a game that relies on precise timing.

The High preset shows diminishing returns, costing 39.6 FPS over Medium at 1080p (160.3 to 101.7 FPS) and 46.7 FPS at 1440p (116.5 to 70.2 FPS). Ultra is the most demanding, with 1080p dropping to 94.3 FPS and 4K falling to 46.1 FPS, the only measured configuration below 50 FPS. For a puzzle platformer where visual clarity aids puzzle-solving, Medium at 1440p (116.5 FPS) represents the optimal point, offering high detail without sacrificing the frame rate headroom needed for smooth side-scrolling motion. Users prioritizing maximum visual fidelity should consider High at 1080p (101.7 FPS), which stays above the 100 FPS threshold, whereas Ultra provides no meaningful benefit over High given the 7.4 FPS average difference at 1080p.

GPU Role

The RTX 3050 4 GB operates with a 1545 MHz base clock and a 1740 MHz boost clock, paired with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivering 192.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GPU’s 2048 shading units and 32 ROPs process the game’s 2D side-scrolling visuals, while its 7.127 TFLOPS FP32 compute handles the lighting and shadow effects that differentiate the presets. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is the critical constraint, as the measured frame rates show a 55.6% performance drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p (199.9 to 94.3 FPS), indicating that higher presets increase memory pressure beyond what the small frame buffer comfortably accommodates.

The GPU’s 90 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest a modest thermal envelope, but the benchmark data reveals that the RTX 3050 4 GB becomes the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the 46.1 FPS result falls below the 50 FPS threshold. The 12 Gbps effective memory speed and 192.0 GB/s bandwidth appear adequate for Low and Medium presets, where the game’s simpler textures fit within the 4 GB allocation. However, the transition from Medium to High at 1440p costs 46.3 FPS (116.5 to 70.2 FPS), a steeper drop than the 25.1 FPS decline from Low to Medium (140.1 to 116.5 FPS), suggesting that High presets exceed the VRAM’s comfortable working set and force additional memory traffic through the 128-bit bus.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a consistent pattern where frame rates decline by roughly 40-50% at each resolution step, indicating a GPU-bound workload. From 1080p Low (199.9 FPS) to 1440p Low (140.1 FPS), the drop is 59.8 FPS, or 29.9%. From 1440p Low to 4K Low (87.8 FPS), the drop is 52.3 FPS, or 37.3%. This scaling is steeper than the pixel-count increase would suggest, confirming that the RTX 3050 4 GB’s memory bandwidth becomes progressively more strained as resolution rises.

The Medium preset shows similar behavior: 160.3 FPS at 1080p falls to 116.5 FPS at 1440p (a 43.8 FPS drop), then to 69.8 FPS at 4K (a 46.7 FPS drop). High preset exhibits the largest relative decline, with 101.7 FPS at 1080p dropping to 70.2 FPS at 1440p (31.5 FPS), then to 44.2 FPS at 4K (26.0 FPS). The Ultra preset follows the same trajectory: 94.3 to 66.8 to 46.1 FPS. The consistent ~30-37% drops per resolution step across all presets indicate that the game’s rendering pipeline scales linearly with pixel count, and the GPU’s fixed 192.0 GB/s bandwidth is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 4K, even the Low preset (87.8 FPS) cannot reach the 100 FPS mark achieved at 1080p Low (199.9 FPS), reinforcing that the RTX 3050 4 GB is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combination?

A: The highest measured average is 199.9 FPS at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. The next best is 160.3 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 140.1 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K?

A: Yes, all four presets are playable at 3840x2160. Low averages 87.8 FPS, Medium 69.8 FPS, High 44.2 FPS, and Ultra 46.1 FPS. The High and Ultra results dip below 50 FPS, which may be noticeable in a timing-sensitive puzzle platformer.

Q: How much performance is lost by switching from Low to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 199.9 FPS while Ultra averages 94.3 FPS, a reduction of 105.6 FPS or 52.8%. The Medium preset at 160.3 FPS and High at 101.7 FPS sit between these extremes.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The data indicates a GPU limitation. The Intel Core i9-14900K has 24 cores and 32 threads with a 6.00 GHz boost clock, yet frame rates drop by 55-60% when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same preset, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU’s high single-thread score of 7040 in Cinebench R23 suggests it is not the bottleneck.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144 Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The Low preset at 2560x1440 averages 140.1 FPS, which is just below 144 Hz. Medium at 116.5 FPS is the highest preset that stays above 100 FPS, while High (70.2 FPS) and Ultra (66.8 FPS) fall below 75 FPS, making them unsuitable for high-refresh-rate play.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Inside?

A: The combination ranks 1503rd out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 10% of the database. Despite the low rank, the measured frame rates remain playable at most settings, with only 4K High and Ultra falling below 50 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K brings 24 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, backed by 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark results are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872 and a single-core score of 7040, placing it in the 97th percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rivals—AMD EPYC 7413 (0.3% lower average score), Intel Core i9-14900KF (0.7% higher), and Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF (0.7% higher)—show that the i9-14900K sits at the top of the desktop performance hierarchy.

In Inside, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the CPU must feed the GPU at 199.9 FPS, and the 6.00 GHz boost clock plus 32 threads handle this easily. The PassMark single-thread score of 4697 and multi-thread score of 58674 confirm that the processor has ample headroom for the game’s physics and puzzle logic. The CPU’s 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 platform provide a stable foundation, though the game’s 2D side-scrolling nature means even a fraction of the i9-14900K’s compute capacity would suffice. The measured data shows no frame rate floor that would indicate a CPU bottleneck; every resolution and preset combination scales predictably with GPU load.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 199.9 FPS, the highest result in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 160.3 FPS, a 39.6 FPS reduction. High drops to 101.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 94.3 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 105.6 FPS, showing that preset selection has a massive impact at this resolution. All 1080p configurations exceed 90 FPS, making this the most versatile resolution for the RTX 3050 4 GB.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 140.1 FPS, which is 59.8 FPS lower than 1080p Low. Medium reaches 116.5 FPS, a 43.8 FPS drop from 1080p Medium. High falls to 70.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 66.8 FPS. The gap between Medium and High (46.3 FPS) is the largest preset-to-preset jump at this resolution, indicating that High settings introduce a significant rendering cost. All 1440p presets except High and Ultra stay above 100 FPS.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 87.8 FPS, Medium 69.8 FPS, High 44.2 FPS, and Ultra 46.1 FPS. The High and Ultra results are nearly identical, with a 1.9 FPS difference, suggesting that the GPU hits a hard performance ceiling at 4K regardless of the highest settings. The 4K Low result (87.8 FPS) is still playable, but the 4K Medium (69.8 FPS) offers a better visual experience while staying above 60 FPS. The overall pattern shows that this combo is best experienced at 1080p or 1440p, where the CPU’s strength allows the GPU to operate at its most efficient frame rates.