Inside

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Inside, a 2D puzzle platformer that places modest demands on modern hardware. Benchmark data shows this combination clears the 60 FPS threshold at every resolution and preset tested, with performance scaling from very good at 4K to exceptionally high at 1080p. The data indicates this is a straightforward scenario where the GPU becomes the primary performance arbiter at higher resolutions, while the CPU's substantial headroom ensures it never becomes a bottleneck at lower settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combination covers three resolutions and four quality presets, with average frame rates provided for each configuration.

At 1920x1080, performance is extremely high across the board. The Low preset produces an average of 295.2 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded for this combo. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 236.3 FPS, still well above any reasonable refresh rate target. The High preset yields 145 FPS average, while the Ultra preset, which is the most visually demanding, still manages an average of 140.9 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at this resolution is relatively small at just over 4 FPS, suggesting that the additional visual features in Ultra do not impose a significant performance penalty on this hardware.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but show a clear scaling trend. The Low preset averages 207.8 FPS, which represents a roughly 30% reduction compared to the 1080p Low result. Medium averages 169.7 FPS, a drop of about 28% from the 1080p Medium figure. The High preset averages 102.4 FPS, while Ultra averages 99.2 FPS. Notably, the difference between High and Ultra narrows further at this resolution, with only about 3 FPS separating them. This suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects are largely resolution-independent in cost, while the core rendering load scales with pixel count.

At 3840x2160, performance remains playable but the resolution's heavy pixel count becomes evident. The Low preset averages 131.1 FPS, which is still excellent for 4K gaming. Medium averages 107.9 FPS, a 17.7% drop from Low. The High preset averages 64.8 FPS, which sits just above the 60 FPS playability threshold. Interestingly, the Ultra preset averages 65.9 FPS, which is actually slightly higher than the High preset score. This unusual inversion suggests that the difference between High and Ultra at 4K involves settings that may not heavily tax the GPU, or that the measurement variance between these two presets is within a small margin. Regardless, both High and Ultra at 4K deliver playable average frame rates, though they leave less headroom for demanding scenes compared to lower resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Inside at 4K with maximum settings?*

A: Yes. The data shows the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 65.9 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. It is the most demanding configuration tested, but it remains comfortably playable.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from Ultra to Low at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 295.2 FPS compared to 140.9 FPS for Ultra. This represents more than a doubling of frame rate, with the Low preset delivering roughly 109% higher average FPS than Ultra.

Q: What is the best settings preset to use at 1440p for the highest visual quality?

A: The Ultra preset is the best choice for visual quality at 2560x1440, as it averages 99.2 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold, leaving ample headroom for consistent performance during gameplay.

Q: Is the High preset at 4K a better option than Ultra?

A: The data shows the High preset averages 64.8 FPS while Ultra averages 65.9 FPS at 3840x2160. Ultra actually scores slightly higher, so there is no performance reason to prefer High over Ultra at this resolution.

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

A: At 1080p Low, the average is 295.2 FPS. At 4K Low, the average drops to 131.1 FPS. The 4K result represents a 55.6% reduction in frame rate compared to 1080p, reflecting the much higher pixel count.

Q: Does this combination ever drop below 60 FPS in the tested configurations?

A: No. Every resolution and preset combination in the measured data produces an average FPS above 60. The lowest recorded average is 64.8 FPS at 3840x2160 with the High preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 2354 out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the overall ranking distribution, which is somewhat counterintuitive given the excellent frame rates measured. The ranking reflects the entire pool of hardware combinations tested for this game, which likely includes many higher-end GPUs and CPUs that produce even higher frame rates. Since Inside is a relatively light title, even mid-range hardware can achieve very high performance, meaning the ranking is compressed at the top.

The percentile context helps clarify this position. The CPU itself sits at the 91st percentile among all CPUs tested, indicating it is a very high-performing processor. The GPU, however, sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, which is more modest. The combination's overall rank of 2354 out of 3716 suggests that while this pairing is not near the top of the leaderboard for this title, it still delivers frame rates that far exceed playability requirements. The gap between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's mid-tier percentile indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing for Inside, which is expected given the game's low CPU demands.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals based on average benchmark scores include the Intel Xeon 6505P, which scores 0.2% lower, the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 at 0.3% higher, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X at 0.6% higher, and the AMD EPYC 7313P at 0.8% higher. These processors would all deliver essentially identical CPU-bound performance in Inside, meaning any of them paired with the same GPU would produce nearly identical frame rates in this title. The Ryzen 9 7900X is particularly notable as a mainstream consumer alternative that would behave almost exactly like the i7-14700F in this game.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla K40m at 0.6% lower average score, the AMD FirePro D300 at 0.7% higher, the AMD FirePro W7000 at 0.7% lower, and the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 at 0.8% higher. These are all professional or workstation-class graphics cards, which is an interesting comparison set. In practice, a gamer would more likely encounter consumer alternatives, but based on the benchmark data, these cards would produce very similar performance levels to the RX 6650 XT in Inside. The small delta percentages mean that swapping the RX 6650 XT for any of these would result in frame rate differences of less than 1%, which is within measurement noise for most gameplay scenarios.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces 295.2 FPS, which is an extremely high frame rate that suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than it can render. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar frame rates across different resolutions at the same preset, since the CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution. Instead, we see substantial drops when moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K, which indicates the GPU is the primary constraint.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows reductions of approximately 30% for Low, 28% for Medium, 29% for High, and 30% for Ultra. This consistent proportional drop across all presets strongly suggests GPU-bound behavior, as the pixel count increase from 1080p to 1440p is about 78% more pixels, but the frame rate reduction is less than that, indicating the GPU has some headroom. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced, with reductions of roughly 37% for Low, 36% for Medium, 37% for High, and 34% for Ultra. This steeper drop at higher resolution is typical of a GPU that is running closer to its maximum capacity.

The CPU's role is evident in the very high frame rates achieved at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 295.2 FPS average indicates the i7-14700F is not a bottleneck, as it can clearly handle the game's logic and draw calls at extremely high throughput. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads are far more than Inside requires, but they ensure consistent frame delivery at every preset. At 4K, the CPU becomes even less relevant, as the GPU's rendering workload dominates the frame time. In all tested configurations, the data supports the conclusion that the RX 6650 XT is the performance-limiting component, with the i7-14700F providing ample headroom at every resolution.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Inside at playable frame rates across all tested configurations. The verdict data confirms that every resolution and preset combination is playable, with all average FPS figures comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, delivering an average of 140.9 FPS. This means users can enable the highest visual quality and still have more than double the frame rate needed for smooth gameplay, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, with an average of 99.2 FPS. This provides a significant margin above the 60 FPS playability threshold, allowing for consistent performance even during complex scenes. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the recommended configuration for users who want the best visual experience without sacrificing smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the best settings are Ultra, averaging 65.9 FPS. This is the most demanding configuration, but it still clears the 60 FPS threshold with a small buffer. The High preset at 4K averages 64.8 FPS, which is nearly identical, so users have a choice between the two. For those who prefer maximum visual fidelity on a 4K display, Ultra is viable, but the margin above 60 FPS is modest, so users who prioritize frame rate stability might prefer to drop to a lower preset. Overall, this combination is well-suited to Inside at any resolution, with the only caveat being that 4K Ultra leaves less headroom for frame rate dips in demanding moments.