Inside

The Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers overwhelming performance in Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer. This pairing ranks in the 64.7th percentile of all tested combos for this game, placing 1312th out of 3716 configurations. The data confirms that this system is not merely adequate but excessively powerful for the title, with every tested resolution and preset clearing the 60 FPS playability threshold by a substantial margin.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1312 out of 3716 tested combinations places it firmly in the upper third of all systems evaluated for Inside. This position reflects a machine that is heavily overqualified for the game’s modest graphical demands. The Intel Core i9-14900K sits in the 95th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 3070 ranks in the 61st percentile among all GPUs. The discrepancy between these two percentiles is telling: the processor is a top-tier part relative to the entire CPU market, whereas the graphics card is a solid mid-to-high-range performer. For a title like Inside, which is not graphically intensive by modern standards, the CPU’s dominance ensures that frame pacing and physics logic never become bottlenecks. The GPU, while less celebrated in the broader market, still provides far more rasterization power than the game can utilize. Benchmark results indicate that the combination’s overall standing is constrained by the GPU’s percentile, yet even that limitation is irrelevant here, as the measured frames-per-second figures are exceptionally high across the board.

CPU and GPU Roles

At 1920x1080, the system produces an average of 376.5 FPS on Low settings, which scales down to 180 FPS on Ultra. This 52% performance drop from Low to Ultra demonstrates that the GPU is doing meaningful work as settings increase, but the absolute numbers remain so high that neither component is stressed. Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 273.3 FPS, while Ultra still manages 131.9 FPS. The scaling factor from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra is roughly 27%, indicating that resolution increases place additional load on the graphics card. At 3840x2160, the pattern continues: Low produces 173.4 FPS and Ultra drops to 78.5 FPS. The transition from 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra represents a 40% reduction in frame rate, which is a significant hit but still leaves the game running comfortably above 60 FPS. Across all resolutions, the delta between Low and Ultra presets widens as resolution increases, from 52% at 1080p to 55% at 4K. This suggests that while the GPU’s role grows with resolution and preset complexity, the CPU is never the limiting factor. The Core i9-14900K’s 24 cores and 32 threads, with a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, provide an enormous single-threaded advantage that Inside’s physics and logic systems can exploit, but the game is so lightweight that even a modest processor would suffice. The data shows the RTX 3070’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are more than enough for the game’s textures, and the GPU’s 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is vastly underutilized at all settings.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals are all within a narrow performance band. The Intel Core i9-14900KF is effectively identical, with an average benchmark score just 0.3% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus trails by 0.6%, and the AMD EPYC 7413 by 1.2%. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is 1.7% faster. These deltas are so small that any of these processors would produce indistinguishable results in Inside. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, which scores 0.7% higher, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 at 1.0% higher. The AMD Radeon HD 7970M and NVIDIA Tesla K40c are 1.1% and 1.5% slower, respectively. In practice, swapping the RTX 3070 for any of these alternatives would yield nearly identical frame rates in this game, as all of them exceed the performance ceiling Inside can demand. The GTX 690’s presence in this list is notable—it is a dual-GPU card from a much older generation, yet its aggregate score aligns closely with the RTX 3070. However, its age and lack of modern driver optimizations would likely show in real-world gaming, whereas the benchmark data only captures raw compute. For this specific title, any of these components would deliver a playable experience, but the RTX 3070’s modern feature set, including DirectX 12 Ultimate support, makes it the more sensible choice for broader gaming.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Inside at every resolution and setting combination tested. The verdict data is unambiguous: at 3840x2160, all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable, with Ultra producing an average of 78.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 131.9 FPS, and at 1920x1080, Ultra reaches 180 FPS. The playable threshold is defined as 60 FPS, and the lowest recorded average across all configurations is 78.5 FPS at 4K Ultra. This means the system clears the threshold by at least 30.8% even in the most demanding scenario. The Core i9-14900K, with its 125 W TDP and Raptor Lake architecture, provides the computational headroom, while the RTX 3070’s 220 W TDP and Ampere architecture handle graphics effortlessly. There is no scenario in the measured data where the system dips below 60 FPS, making this a definitive recommendation for any monitor up to and including 4K. The only consideration is that the game is from 2016, so modern titles will stress the GPU more, but for Inside specifically, this is a flawless execution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 376.5 FPS, Medium averages 303.2 FPS, High averages 187.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 180 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a 19.5% reduction, while High to Ultra is only a 4% reduction, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end. At 2560x1440, Low averages 273.3 FPS, Medium averages 216 FPS, High averages 136.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 131.9 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra here is a mere 3.5%, indicating that the Ultra preset’s additional effects are nearly free at this resolution. At 3840x2160, Low averages 173.4 FPS, Medium averages 138.1 FPS, High averages 83 FPS, and Ultra averages 78.5 FPS. The drop from Medium to High at 4K is 40%, which is the steepest single-step penalty in the entire dataset. Min and max FPS values are not provided, so the analysis relies solely on averages, but the consistency of the scaling across resolutions suggests stable frame pacing. The 4K High preset at 83 FPS is still 38% above the 60 FPS threshold, and even the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration at 78.5 FPS retains a 30.8% buffer.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 180 FPS. This is the maximum graphical quality available, and the system has 120 FPS of headroom above the threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra is again the best choice, averaging 131.9 FPS—still more than double the 60 FPS target. At 3840x2160, Ultra remains the optimal preset, with an average of 78.5 FPS. This is the only resolution where the system’s dominance is slightly tempered, but 78.5 FPS is still comfortably above the threshold. For every resolution, the verdict data lists all four presets as playable, meaning there is no reason to compromise on visual quality. The Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding configuration in the entire measurement set, and it clears the 60 FPS bar by 18.5 FPS. Users with a 4K display can run the game at maximum settings without any concern, while those on 1440p or 1080p monitors will experience frame rates that far exceed the refresh rates of most displays. The RTX 3070’s 8 GB memory buffer is sufficient for the game’s art style, which relies on silhouettes and atmospheric lighting rather than high-resolution textures. The Core i9-14900K’s single-core performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2262.5, ensures that the game’s physics and puzzle logic run without micro-stutters, even at the highest frame rates.