Inside

Inside is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer with a minimalist art style, but its rendering demands are not trivial. The measured data for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti shows that this combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested resolutions and presets. The following analysis breaks down the measured FPS, component roles, and overall viability of this system for running the game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data provides a clear picture of performance using average FPS metrics, with no minimum or maximum frame rate data captured for any configuration. At 1920x1080, the system is essentially uncapped by any practical display refresh rate. On the Low preset, the average frame rate reaches 392 FPS, which is the highest recorded value in the entire dataset. Moving to Medium yields 358.1 FPS, while High settings produce 227.5 FPS. The most demanding 1080p configuration, Ultra, still delivers an average of 219.4 FPS. These numbers indicate that at this resolution, the GPU and CPU combination is nowhere near stressed, leaving massive headroom for background tasks or future game updates.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales predictably but remains exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 328.1 FPS, which is only a 16.3% drop compared to the 1080p Low result. Medium settings at 1440p hit 264.6 FPS, and High settings reach 162.8 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution averages 159.9 FPS, which is still more than double the 60 FPS playability threshold. The drop from High to Ultra at 1440p is only 2.9 FPS, suggesting that the visual difference between these presets has a minimal impact on this particular hardware combination.

The 4K results, at 3840x2160, show where the system finally begins to feel some pressure, although it remains comfortably playable. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 209.9, which is still a phenomenal result. Medium settings drop to 164.1 FPS, while High settings average 103.9 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding configuration tested, still delivers an average of 99.3 FPS. This is the only resolution where the average FPS dips below 100, but it remains well above the 60 FPS threshold. The scaling from 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra shows a 37.9% performance reduction, which is a typical penalty for quadrupling the pixel count.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that this game is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions and settings, but the CPU plays a more significant role at lower resolutions. The Intel Core i5-14600KF, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, provides substantial headroom. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra presets is 172.6 FPS (392 FPS vs 219.4 FPS), which is a 44% reduction. This gap narrows at 1440p, where the same preset comparison shows a 168.2 FPS difference (328.1 FPS vs 159.9 FPS), a 51.3% reduction. At 4K, the Low-to-Ultra gap is 110.6 FPS (209.9 FPS vs 99.3 FPS), a 52.7% reduction.

The fact that the 1080p Low preset hits 392 FPS suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than the GPU can render at higher settings. However, the scaling between resolutions shows the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck. Moving from 1080p Ultra to 1440p Ultra results in a 27.1% FPS drop, while moving from 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra results in a 37.9% drop. This increasing percentage loss as resolution rises is a classic indicator of GPU-bound performance. The RTX 3080 Ti, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 912.4 GB/s bandwidth, handles the higher pixel counts well, but the 4K Ultra result of 99.3 FPS shows that even this powerful GPU has limits.

At 1080p, the CPU's influence is more apparent. The difference between 1080p Low (392 FPS) and 1440p Low (328.1 FPS) is only 63.9 FPS (16.3%), which is a smaller relative drop than the 27.1% seen at Ultra settings. This suggests that at Low presets, the CPU is keeping up well, but the GPU's fill rate limits the 1440p result. The i5-14600KF's single-core performance, as shown by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594, is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 3080 Ti in this title.

FAQ

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 99.3, which is 65.5% above the 60 FPS playability threshold. The data shows no minimum FPS values, but the average is high enough to indicate consistent playability.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: The verdict data lists Ultra as the best settings at 2560x1440, with an average FPS of 159.9. This is 166.5% above the 60 FPS threshold, so you can run the game at maximum quality without concern.

Q: How does the 1080p Ultra performance compare to 4K Ultra?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 219.4. At 3840x2160 Ultra, it drops to 99.3. This represents a 54.7% performance reduction when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same preset.

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

A: The data shows the system becomes progressively more GPU-bound as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU allows for very high frame rates (392 FPS on Low), but at 4K, the GPU's rendering capacity limits performance, as seen in the 99.3 FPS Ultra result.

Q: Are there any settings where this combo fails to reach 60 FPS?

A: No. Every resolution and settings combination in the measured FPS data exceeds 60 FPS. The lowest recorded average is 99.3 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is still well above the playability threshold.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, High averages 103.9 FPS and Ultra averages 99.3 FPS. This is a difference of 4.6 FPS, indicating that the visual upgrade from High to Ultra has a minimal performance cost at 4K.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have close rivals in terms of average benchmark scores, which can inform upgrade or downgrade decisions. For the Intel Core i5-14600KF, the nearest competitor is the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which scores 0.3% lower. This means the Ryzen 9 7900 would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Inside. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G is also very close, at 0.4% lower performance. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is 0.8% slower, while the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 is 0.8% faster. In practical terms, any of these CPUs would produce indistinguishable results in this game, as the differences are all under 1%.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, which scores 0.8% higher. This is a workstation-class card, but its gaming performance would be essentially identical. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB is 1.2% faster, and the standard Tesla M40 is 1.7% faster. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is 2% slower. These delta percentages are all small, meaning that swapping the RTX 3080 Ti for any of these alternatives would result in frame rate differences of only a few FPS in Inside. For example, the RTX 5070, being 2% slower, would still likely average around 97 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is well above 60 FPS.

It is important to note that these rival comparisons are based on aggregate benchmark scores, not specifically on Inside performance. However, given the game's relatively low graphical complexity and the high frame rates achieved, the differences would be minimal. A builder considering a similar configuration could expect comparable results with any of these near-equivalent parts.

The Verdict

This PC configuration can absolutely run Inside, and it does so with extraordinary performance. The verdict data confirms that all three resolutions — 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080 — have all four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) listed as playable. The best settings at each resolution are designated as Ultra, and the average FPS at those settings is 99.3 at 4K, 159.9 at 1440p, and 219.4 at 1080p.

Every single measured average FPS value in the dataset exceeds the 60 FPS playability threshold. The lowest result is 99.3 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is 65.5% above the minimum requirement. This means that even the most demanding configuration tested provides a substantial safety margin. For players with high-refresh-rate monitors, the system is capable of driving 144Hz displays at 1080p and 1440p on Ultra settings. At 4K, a 100Hz or 120Hz display would be fully utilized, as the average FPS is close to 100.

The practical advice is simple: run the game at Ultra settings at any resolution up to 4K. There is no need to compromise on visual quality, as the hardware has ample headroom. The only scenario where you might consider lowering settings is if you have a 360Hz esports monitor and want to maximize frame rates at 1080p, where the Low preset's 392 FPS would be beneficial. For standard gaming use, the Ultra preset is the recommended choice.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks at position 632 out of 3716 tested combos in this game. This places it in the top 17% of all configurations tested for Inside. This ranking reflects the strong overall performance of the system, though it is not at the absolute top tier.

The high rank is consistent with the measured FPS data. At 4K Ultra, the system achieves 99.3 FPS, which is a very strong result for a demanding resolution. The top-ranked combos likely feature newer, more powerful GPUs such as the RTX 50-series or RTX 40-series flagships, which would push frame rates even higher. However, the 632nd position out of 3716 means that this system outperforms the vast majority of other configurations tested.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 90 against all CPUs and the GPU's percentile ranking of 83 against all GPUs both contribute to this solid overall position. The i5-14600KF's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32544 and the RTX 3080 Ti's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 5077 are strong indicators of their capabilities. In a game like Inside, which is not extremely demanding on either component, this pairing delivers a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience that most players would find more than sufficient. The rank also suggests that there is little need to upgrade for this specific title, as the performance is already far beyond what is required for a perfect experience.