Inside

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers overwhelming performance in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer with modest graphical demands. Across all tested resolutions, this combination produces frame rates that far exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold, with the lowest recorded average being 107 FPS at 4K Ultra settings. The data indicates this is a case of massive hardware headroom, where the GPU and CPU are never pushed to their limits, and the bottleneck shifts decisively toward the CPU only at lower resolutions where frame rates approach 340 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern: this combo produces exceptionally high frame rates at every resolution and preset. At 1920x1080, the lowest average FPS recorded is 236 FPS at Ultra settings, while the highest is 339 FPS at Low settings. Medium settings at 1080p yield an average of 313 FPS with a minimum of 266 FPS and a maximum of 360 FPS. High settings at 1080p produce 248 FPS average, with no minimum or maximum values recorded.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains elevated but scales down slightly. Ultra settings average 170 FPS, High settings average 178 FPS, and Medium settings average 281 FPS with a minimum of 239 FPS and a maximum of 323 FPS. Low settings at 1440p achieve 304 FPS average. The step from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by roughly 30% at Ultra settings (236 to 170 FPS), but the overall experience remains exceptionally smooth.

At 3840x2160, the demands increase further but the system still delivers well above 60 FPS. Ultra settings average 107 FPS, High settings average 112 FPS, and Medium settings average 179 FPS with a minimum of 152 FPS and a maximum of 206 FPS. Low settings at 4K average 224 FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings cuts performance from 170 FPS to 107 FPS, a 37% reduction that reflects the increased pixel count.

Notably, the Medium preset at every resolution consistently shows the most complete dataset, including minimum and maximum values: 266-360 FPS at 1080p, 239-323 FPS at 1440p, and 152-206 FPS at 4K. These ranges indicate frame time consistency, with the 4K Medium minimum of 152 FPS still nearly triple the playable threshold.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals that the GPU becomes the primary performance driver as resolution increases, while the CPU dominates at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 339 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability given the i5-14400F's 10 cores and 16 threads. The difference between 1080p Low (339 FPS) and 1440p Low (304 FPS) is only 35 FPS, suggesting the CPU is the limiting factor at these settings.

As resolution increases to 4K, the GPU's workload grows significantly. The difference between 1080p Ultra (236 FPS) and 4K Ultra (107 FPS) is 129 FPS, a 55% drop that clearly indicates the RX 7900 XT's rendering capacity becomes the constraint. The GPU's 20 GB of GDDR6 memory and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for this game, but the pixel fill rate demands at 4K are substantially higher.

Preset scaling within a resolution also points to GPU-bound behavior at higher settings. At 4K, moving from Low to Ultra reduces average FPS from 224 to 107, a 52% decrease. At 1080p, the same preset change reduces FPS from 339 to 236, only a 30% decrease. This narrower gap at 1080p indicates the CPU is holding performance back when the GPU has less work to do, while at 4K the GPU's workload dominates.

The 65-watt TDP of the i5-14400F and the 300-watt TDP of the RX 7900 XT suggest the system has ample power headroom, but the benchmark data shows no thermal throttling concerns for this lightweight title. The CPU's 20 MB shared L3 cache and the GPU's RDNA 3.0 architecture with 5376 shading units both contribute to the high frame rates observed.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination ranks 630th out of 3716 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the top 17% of all configurations. This ranking is surprisingly modest given the absolute performance numbers, which reflects the fact that many higher-ranked combos likely include more powerful CPUs or GPUs that achieve even higher frame rates in this undemanding game.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 83 among all processors indicates it outperforms 83% of tested CPUs, while the GPU's percentile ranking of 55 among all GPUs places it just above the median. The combination of a top-quartile CPU with a slightly-above-median GPU produces the 630th rank, suggesting that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing for Inside specifically.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 13745 and the CPU's average benchmark score of 32279 both contribute to this ranking. The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 660M (13812 avg score, -0.5% delta), NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (13821 avg score, -0.5% delta), AMD Radeon RX 570X (13871 avg score, -0.9% delta), and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13543 avg score, 1.5% delta). These rivals have nearly identical average scores, indicating that the RX 7900 XT's performance in this game is closely matched by a wide range of GPUs.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K Ultra settings above 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra settings is 107 FPS, which is 47 FPS above the playable threshold of 60 FPS.

Q: What is the highest frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest recorded average is 339 FPS at 1920x1080 Low settings. The maximum instantaneous value recorded is 360 FPS at 1080p Medium settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the CPU becomes the limiting factor, as evidenced by the smaller performance gap between Low (339 FPS) and Ultra (236 FPS) settings compared to the same preset range at 4K.

Q: Does this combo show any minimum FPS below 60?

A: No. The lowest minimum FPS recorded across all resolutions and settings is 152 FPS at 4K Medium settings. All other minimum values are either not recorded or above 239 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XT compare to its nearest rival, the RX 9070 XT?

A: The RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 13745, while the RX 9070 XT scores 13543, a delta of 1.5% in favor of the 7900 XT. This is a negligible difference in practical terms.

Q: What settings should be used for the best experience at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 average 170 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold, so the highest preset is recommended without sacrificing playability.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for alternative processors that would yield similar results. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U has an average score of 32233, just 0.1% lower than the i5-14400F's 32279. The Intel Core i9-11900 scores 32226, a 0.2% delta, while the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS scores 32354, 0.2% higher. The Intel Core i7-12800H scores 32121, 0.5% lower. All four rivals are within 0.5% of the i5-14400F's average benchmark score, meaning any would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Inside.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon 660M (13812 avg score), NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile (13821 avg score), AMD Radeon RX 570X (13871 avg score), and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT (13543 avg score) are all within 1.5% of the RX 7900 XT's 13745 average. This clustering suggests that in Inside, the specific GPU choice among these options would produce virtually indistinguishable performance, with the RX 570X being the closest at 0.9% higher average score.

Users looking for similar performance could consider the Intel Core i7-12800H paired with an AMD Radeon RX 570X, as both components fall within a 0.9% delta of their respective counterparts. Alternatively, the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS with an NVIDIA RTX A2000 Mobile would provide a comparable experience, with the CPU 0.2% higher and the GPU 0.5% lower in average benchmark scores.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 236 FPS. This is 176 FPS above the playable threshold, and the 1080p Medium preset offers 313 FPS average, but Ultra provides the maximum visual quality without any risk of dropping below 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings are also the best choice, averaging 170 FPS. This is 110 FPS above the threshold, and the data shows no minimum FPS recorded for this preset, indicating consistent performance. The 1440p Medium preset averages 281 FPS with a minimum of 239 FPS, but Ultra's visual benefits outweigh the 111 FPS reduction.

At 3840x2160, Ultra settings again provide the best experience, averaging 107 FPS. This is 47 FPS above the playable threshold. While the High preset averages 112 FPS, the difference of 5 FPS is negligible, and Ultra's higher visual fidelity is the preferred choice. The 4K Medium preset averages 179 FPS with a minimum of 152 FPS, making it a viable alternative for users who prioritize frame rate over maximum visual quality, but Ultra remains the best settings choice at this resolution.

All twelve tested configurations—four presets at three resolutions—produce average FPS values above 100, confirming that this combo has no trouble running Inside at maximum settings across all common display resolutions.