Inside

The Intel Core i5-14400F is the processing heart of this build, and while Inside is a 2D puzzle platformer that rarely stresses modern CPUs, the data shows this chip has ample headroom. The processor features 10 cores and 16 threads, a configuration that is far more suited to heavy multitasking or productivity workloads than to a side-scrolling indie title. Its base clock sits at 2.50 GHz, which can boost up to 4.70 GHz, a substantial range that allows for rapid single-threaded response when needed. However, benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the limiting factor here; the game’s performance is overwhelmingly dictated by the graphics card.

In terms of raw compute, the i5-14400F scores an 88th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32508. This places it in a tight cluster with its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-12800H (avg score 32513, deltaPct 0) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (avg score 32446, deltaPct 0.2). The deltaPct values are essentially negligible, meaning that in a CPU-bound scenario, this chip would perform on par with those alternatives. For Inside, the game’s physics and logic are simple enough that even a fraction of this CPU’s capability is sufficient. The 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory ensure that the system can feed the GPU without introducing stutters, but the measured FPS numbers across all resolutions confirm that the processor is rarely, if ever, the bottleneck.

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the component that truly dictates the frame rates in this title. Built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture and the Navi 32 chip, this GPU operates with a base clock of 1435 MHz and a boost clock of 2544 MHz. It comes equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s. This is a capable mid-range card, as evidenced by its 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 30097. Its performance is closely matched with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (avg score 30109, deltaPct 0), and it sits just ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 570 (avg score 30158, deltaPct -0.2). The GPU’s 35.17 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is more than enough to render the game’s monochromatic art style at high frame rates.

The data indicates that the RX 7700 XT is powerful enough to push Inside to very high refresh rates, even at 4K. The game is not graphically demanding by modern standards, so the GPU’s 96 ROPs and 216 TMUs are more than adequate to handle the 2D sprite-based rendering. While the card’s 245 W TDP and dual-slot cooler suggest it is a serious piece of hardware, the actual workload here is light. The measured FPS results show that the primary challenge for this GPU is not raw compute but rather the pixel throughput required at higher resolutions, which the 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth handles admirably.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-14400F compare to its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-12800H?

A: The benchmark data shows they are virtually identical in overall performance. The i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508, while the i7-12800H scores 32513, resulting in a deltaPct of 0. This means that for a game like Inside, there is no measurable performance difference between the two processors.

Q: Is the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT a better performer than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060?

A: The scores are nearly identical. The RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 30097, while the RTX 5060 has a score of 30109, leading to a deltaPct of 0. In practical terms, they should deliver the same frame rates in this game, though the data shows the RTX 5060 holds a negligible edge.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combination?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 339.2, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This shows that the CPU-GPU combo is capable of extremely high frame rates when the graphical load is minimized.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the GPU at 1080p in this game?

A: The data suggests no. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 339.2 FPS, which is a massive workload for the CPU to feed. However, since the processor ranks in the 88th percentile and has a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, it appears to keep up without becoming a bottleneck, as the frame rates are consistently high.

Q: What is the performance gap between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers an average of 139.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 131.2 FPS. This represents a drop of approximately 6%, indicating that the Ultra settings add a modest amount of graphical detail that slightly taxes the GPU.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for Inside?*

A: This specific CPU and GPU pairing ranks 637 out of 1671 total combinations. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all tested hardware, which is consistent with its 88th percentile CPU ranking and 73rd percentile GPU ranking.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this system shows a clear scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptionally high, starting with an average of 180.4 FPS on Ultra settings. Dropping the preset to High yields 189.7 FPS, which is a modest increase. The Medium preset jumps to 305.4 FPS, while the Low preset reaches 339.2 FPS. This dramatic leap from High to Medium suggests that the High preset introduces certain effects that are significantly more demanding than Medium, but the GPU still handles them well above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the system maintains excellent performance. The Ultra preset averages 131.2 FPS, while High delivers 139.6 FPS. The Medium preset shows a substantial increase to 220.8 FPS, and the Low preset pushes the frame rate to 279.1 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is noticeable but not severe, indicating that the GPU has enough bandwidth and compute power to handle the increased pixel count without collapsing.

At 3840x2160, the true 4K resolution, the performance remains playable. The Ultra preset averages 83.9 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High settings yield 87.3 FPS, while Medium reaches 139 FPS. The Low preset achieves an impressive 171.2 FPS, showing that even at 4K, this GPU can deliver high refresh rates when settings are tuned down. The gap between Ultra and Medium at 4K is substantial, with the Medium preset being roughly 65% faster than Ultra, highlighting the heavy cost of the highest graphical presets.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a consistent pattern of frame rate scaling as resolution increases. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS across all settings drops by roughly 25-30%. For example, at High settings, the frame rate goes from 189.7 FPS at 1080p to 139.6 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of about 26%. This indicates that the GPU is still the primary limiting factor, as the CPU has ample headroom to handle the increased pixel throughput.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 139.6 FPS to 87.3 FPS, a reduction of about 37%. Similarly, at Ultra settings, the frame rate falls from 131.2 FPS to 83.9 FPS, a 36% decrease. This steeper decline suggests that the GPU is becoming increasingly constrained by the sheer number of pixels it must render at 4K. The 12 GB of VRAM and 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth are sufficient, but the 35.17 TFLOPS of compute power is being pushed harder at this resolution.

Interestingly, the scaling is not uniform across all settings. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 339.2 FPS at 1080p to 279.1 FPS at 1440p, a 18% decrease, and then to 171.2 FPS at 4K, a 39% drop from 1440p. This indicates that at lower settings, where the GPU is less burdened by effects, the pixel fill rate becomes the dominant factor. The data strongly suggests that the RX 7700 XT is the limiting component in this system, as the CPU’s performance metrics show it is far from being saturated. The consistent frame rates above 60 FPS at 4K Ultra demonstrate that this combination is well-suited for playing Inside at high fidelity, but the scaling curve shows that the GPU is working hardest at the highest resolutions.