Inside

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is an unusual pairing: a top-tier 24-core processor from 2023 driving a mid-range Turing graphics card from 2019. In a game like Inside, a sidescrolling puzzle platformer, this combination produces a wide spread of results that are almost entirely dictated by the graphics card. The benchmark data shows that at 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast, with average frame rates ranging from 122.4 FPS at Ultra settings to 258.4 FPS at Low settings. At 2560x1440, the combo remains very strong, with all four presets clearing the 60 FPS threshold, and the Ultra preset still delivering 89.8 FPS. The only area where this configuration struggles is at 3840x2160, where the High and Ultra presets dip just below the 60 FPS mark, recording 58.4 FPS and 57.3 FPS respectively.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for this combination covers three resolutions and four quality presets, with average FPS figures providing a clear picture of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the results are outstanding. The Low preset produces an average of 258.4 FPS, which is more than four times the playable threshold. Medium settings drop slightly to 207.8 FPS, while High settings deliver 131.2 FPS. The most demanding preset, Ultra, still maintains a very smooth 122.4 FPS average. This suggests that at 1080p, the RTX 2060 has ample headroom, and the i9-14900K is more than capable of feeding it frames.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains excellent but shows the expected impact of increased pixel count. The Low preset averages 181.5 FPS, Medium averages 149.1 FPS, and High averages 90.2 FPS. The Ultra preset, which is the most visually demanding, records an average of 89.8 FPS. All of these figures are comfortably above 60 FPS, meaning that users can enable the highest visual quality at this resolution without worrying about frame rate drops.

The 3840x2160 results are where the limitations of the RTX 2060 become apparent. At 4K, the Low preset still produces a highly playable 115.7 FPS average, and the Medium preset is also smooth at 91.2 FPS. However, the High preset drops to 58.4 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset fares slightly worse, with an average of 57.3 FPS. The difference between Medium and High at this resolution is significant, a drop of over 32 FPS, which indicates that the higher presets place a substantial load on the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth. The data shows that 4K is the boundary for this hardware combination, with only the two lower presets providing a consistent 60 FPS experience.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database places this specific CPU and GPU pairing at rank 2855 out of 3716 tested combinations for Inside. This rank is influenced by both components, but the GPU's percentile position is more relevant here. The RTX 2060 sits at the 58th percentile among all tested GPUs, meaning that a large portion of the database's graphics cards are faster. Its nearest rivals in the GPU charts are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, the AMD Radeon 680M, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, and the AMD Radeon RX 7600. The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 15290 is nearly identical to the GTX 580's 15283, a delta of 0 percent. The Radeon 680M scores 15270, a delta of 0.1 percent, and the RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, a delta of 0.6 percent. The RX 7600 scores 15171, a delta of 0.8 percent. In practical terms, any of these GPUs would deliver frame rates very close to what the RTX 2060 produces in Inside.

On the CPU side, the i9-14900K is an extremely powerful processor, ranking in the 95th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14900KF, which scores 79371 versus the 79097 of the i9-14900K, a delta of -0.3 percent. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus scores 79574, a delta of -0.6 percent, and the AMD EPYC 7413 scores 80041, a delta of -1.2 percent. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 77740, a delta of 1.7 percent. Since Inside is not a heavily multithreaded title, the performance difference between these CPUs would be negligible in this specific game. The bottleneck will always be the GPU, meaning that swapping the i9-14900K for any of these rival processors would likely result in identical frame rates.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results for this combination make it clear that the GPU is the dominant factor in determining performance in Inside. This is evident from the scaling between presets at each resolution. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 136 FPS (258.4 versus 122.4). This massive gap is a classic sign of GPU-bound rendering, where lowering the graphical load directly translates into higher frame rates. The CPU, despite being one of the fastest available, is not the limiting factor here.

The resolution scaling further confirms this. When moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average frame rate at Ultra settings drops from 122.4 FPS to 89.8 FPS, a reduction of about 27 percent. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, the Ultra preset drops further to 57.3 FPS, another 36 percent reduction. This consistent decline with increasing pixel count is the hallmark of a GPU-limited scenario. The i9-14900K's 24 cores and 32 threads are simply not stressed by a game like Inside, which relies primarily on single-threaded rendering commands and GPU throughput.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent only in ensuring that frame times remain consistent. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is producing 258.4 FPS, the processor has enough headroom to avoid stuttering. The data suggests that the i9-14900K is overkill for this title, but it also guarantees that the RTX 2060 is always fed with enough data. For users considering this pairing, the practical takeaway is that any performance tuning should focus on graphics settings, not CPU settings.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Inside? The answer is yes, for most resolutions and presets. The verdict data in the database defines a playable threshold of 60 FPS. At 1920x1080, all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable. The Ultra preset delivers 122.4 FPS, which is double the threshold. At 2560x1440, all four presets are also playable, with Ultra achieving 89.8 FPS and High achieving 90.2 FPS. This means that users with a 1440p monitor can enable maximum visual quality and still enjoy a smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. Only the Low and Medium presets are playable, with averages of 115.7 FPS and 91.2 FPS respectively. The High preset, at 58.4 FPS, and the Ultra preset, at 57.3 FPS, both miss the 60 FPS mark by a small margin. For 4K users, the recommendation is to stick with Medium settings or lower. The frame rates are so close to the threshold that minor scene complexity variations could push them below 60 FPS. Overall, this combination is a capable 1080p and 1440p machine for Inside, with 4K support limited to medium quality.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the database identifies the most demanding preset that still maintains an average of 60 FPS or higher. At 1920x1080, the best setting is Ultra, which produces an average of 122.4 FPS. This is the highest visual quality available, and it runs with plenty of headroom. Users should have no concerns about frame drops.

At 2560x1440, the best setting is also Ultra, with an average of 89.8 FPS. While this is lower than the 1080p result, it is still well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset is nearly identical at 90.2 FPS, so users can choose either without a noticeable difference in smoothness. The Ultra preset offers the full visual experience, and the data indicates it is the optimal choice.

At 3840x2160, the best setting is Medium, with an average of 91.2 FPS. This is the only preset above the 60 FPS threshold that also includes more than the bare minimum visual features. The Low preset runs faster at 115.7 FPS, but Medium provides a better visual balance while still delivering a very smooth frame rate. The High preset, at 58.4 FPS, is not recommended for 4K play, as it falls short of the playable threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's ranking of tested hardware combinations for Inside, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i9-14900K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 holds the 2855th position out of 3716 total combinations. This places it in the lower third of all tested systems. The ranking is heavily weighted by the GPU's performance, as the RTX 2060's 58th percentile standing among GPUs drags the overall rank down despite the CPU's 95th percentile standing.

The rank of 2855 indicates that the majority of tested combinations in the database achieve higher frame rates in Inside. This is expected, given that the RTX 2060 is an older, mid-range card. The i9-14900K contributes to the score by ensuring that the system never becomes CPU-bound, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's raw throughput at higher resolutions. In the context of the database, this combo is a solid choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is outclassed by many other pairings that include more powerful GPUs. The data confirms that for a game like Inside, the graphics card is the primary determinant of the final rank.