Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that remains remarkably forgiving on modern hardware, and the benchmark results for the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT confirm this. The data shows a system that delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested configurations, with the primary bottleneck shifting from the GPU at lower settings to a more balanced load at higher resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, focusing on how the resolution scaling, CPU capabilities, and GPU specifications interact to produce the final results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop is heavily influenced by the graphics settings. At Low settings, the frame rate scales down from a staggering 338.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 296.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 186.7 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 45% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial hit, but the absolute numbers remain so high that the experience is fluid at every step.

The scaling behavior changes character when moving to Medium and High settings. At Medium, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is only 8.7%, from 311.3 to 238.3 FPS, but the jump to 4K causes a more significant 38% decrease to 147 FPS. High settings show a similar trend, with a 27.8% drop from 205.9 FPS at 1080p to 148.6 FPS at 1440p, and then a further 37.7% reduction to 92.5 FPS at 4K. This indicates that while the GPU is still the dominant factor at higher resolutions, the CPU is beginning to play a more significant role in maintaining frame rates at lower resolutions where the GPU has more headroom.

Ultra settings present the most interesting scaling pattern. The frame rate at 1080p is 195.2 FPS, which drops to 144 FPS at 1440p (a 26.2% reduction) and then to 87.3 FPS at 4K (a 39.4% reduction from 1440p). The consistent ~40% drop when moving to 4K across Medium, High, and Ultra settings strongly suggests that the RX 7800 XT's rendering capabilities are the limiting factor at this resolution, regardless of the quality preset. Conversely, the relatively small differences between 1080p and 1440p at these settings point to a system that is not CPU-bound in the traditional sense, as the Core i5-14400F has ample headroom to feed the GPU.

FAQ

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

A: The highest recorded average frame rate is 338.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combination produces an average of 87.3 FPS, which is still well above the standard 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. The frame rate scales significantly with settings, from 195.2 FPS at Ultra to 338.4 FPS at Low, which shows the GPU has substantial headroom and is the primary determinant of performance.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 152.9 FPS. The Low preset achieves 296.9 FPS, while Ultra drops to 144 FPS.

Q: Does the system maintain playable frame rates at 4K with High settings?

A: Yes, the average frame rate at 3840x2160 with High settings is 92.5 FPS, which provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target for most displays.

Q: How significant is the performance gap between 1440p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: The gap is substantial. The average frame rate drops from 238.3 FPS at 2560x1440 to 147 FPS at 3840x2160, a 38.3% reduction, indicating a heavy reliance on the GPU's fill rate at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its benchmark scores are solid, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093, placing it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. In the context of Inside, this processor is clearly not a limiting factor, as evidenced by the frame rates exceeding 300 FPS at lower settings, which are typically where CPU overhead becomes more apparent.

The data shows that the CPU's role is to provide a stable foundation for the GPU to operate at its maximum potential. At 1080p Low settings, the system reaches 338.4 FPS, a figure that is more likely constrained by the game engine's simulation or draw call processing than by the CPU's raw compute power. The Core i5-14400F's high single-thread performance, as indicated by its Geekbench single-core score of 2333, is particularly relevant for a puzzle platformer like Inside, which relies on consistent frame pacing for its atmospheric and physics-based interactions.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals, the Core i7-12800H, AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, AMD Ryzen 7 250, and Intel Core i7-13705H, the performance differences are negligible. The deltaPct values are all within 0.2% of the i5-14400F's average benchmark score, with the i7-13705H and Ryzen 7 250 being 0.2% slower and the Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 being 0.2% faster. This suggests that, for a game like Inside, any of these processors would yield nearly identical results, and the i5-14400F is more than sufficient for the task.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 338.4 FPS on Low, 311.3 FPS on Medium, 205.9 FPS on High, and 195.2 FPS on Ultra. This shows a clear hierarchy where Low and Medium settings provide near-identical performance, while High and Ultra introduce a significant drop, likely due to more complex lighting and shadow calculations that stress the GPU's shading units.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. Low settings produce 296.9 FPS, Medium produces 238.3 FPS, High produces 148.6 FPS, and Ultra produces 144 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium widens at this resolution, with a 19.7% difference, compared to just 8.0% at 1080p. This suggests that the GPU's fill rate and texture bandwidth are becoming more constrained, as the RX 7800 XT has to process a larger number of pixels.

At 3840x2160, the performance landscape changes more dramatically. Low settings still deliver 186.7 FPS, which is excellent, but Medium drops to 147 FPS, High to 92.5 FPS, and Ultra to 87.3 FPS. The most notable observation is that the difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 5.2 FPS, indicating that the game's Ultra preset does not significantly increase the GPU workload over High at this resolution. This could be due to a VRAM capacity threshold or a rendering feature that has diminishing returns at higher pixel counts.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is a powerful GPU based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. It has 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2430 MHz and a game clock of 2124 MHz. These specifications translate to a peak FP32 performance of 37.32 TFLOPS, which is more than enough to handle the visual demands of Inside, a game that was released in 2016 and is not known for being graphically intensive.

The GPU's benchmark results place it in the 76th percentile of all GPUs, with a Passmark G3D score of 24176. Its nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro S9300 X2, NVIDIA P104-100, NVIDIA T600 Mobile, and AMD FirePro S10000, all of which have similar average scores within a 0.7% delta. This indicates that the RX 7800 XT is a mid-to-high-range performer, and its role in Inside is to ensure that frame rates remain high even at 4K resolution.

The VRAM capacity of 16 GB is a critical factor for 4K gaming, as it prevents any potential memory-related stuttering or texture pop-in. The data shows that even at Ultra settings with 4K resolution, the system maintains an average of 87.3 FPS, which suggests that the GPU's 624.1 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient to feed the large frame buffer. The GPU's power draw is rated at 263 W, with a suggested PSU of 600 W, but these figures are irrelevant to the actual performance metrics, which are all well above playable thresholds. In summary, the RX 7800 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, and its capabilities are the primary reason the system can achieve such high frame rates across the board.