Inside

Inside, the dark puzzle-platformer from Playdead, is not a demanding title by modern standards, but this specific pairing of an Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX turns it into a high-refresh-rate showcase. The benchmark data shows that the GPU is heavily overqualified for the task, with the CPU providing more than enough single-thread headroom to push frame rates into territory that most e-sports titles would envy. This analysis focuses purely on the measured performance of this combination, interpreting what the numbers mean for your experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across four presets and three resolutions makes the optimal choice clear. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 115 FPS, while the High preset jumps to 121 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K offers a substantial leap to 194 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 242 FPS. For a game like Inside, which relies on atmospheric lighting and subtle visual details, the jump from High to Ultra is marginal in terms of performance (121 FPS to 115 FPS) but likely provides the intended artistic vision. However, the Medium preset at 4K is the sweet spot, nearly doubling the frame rate of the Ultra preset while still maintaining a high level of visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the story is similar but with more headroom. The Ultra preset averages 184 FPS, High sits at 193 FPS, and Medium climbs to 281 FPS. The Low preset hits 304 FPS. For 1440p users with high-refresh-rate monitors (144Hz or 165Hz), the Medium preset is the clear winner, offering 281 FPS which is well above any standard refresh rate. The High preset at 193 FPS is also perfectly playable and will satisfy those with 144Hz displays, but the Medium preset provides a massive buffer for any potential frame-time spikes.

At 1920x1080, the scales tip completely. The Ultra preset averages 255 FPS, High hits 261 FPS, Medium reaches 313 FPS, and Low tops out at 339 FPS. With such high numbers, the limiting factor becomes your monitor's refresh rate. If you have a 240Hz display, the Medium preset at 313 FPS is the optimal choice, as it provides a comfortable margin above the refresh cap. The Low preset at 339 FPS offers diminishing returns unless you have a 360Hz panel. Given that Inside is a slow-paced, atmospheric title, the Ultra preset at 255 FPS is still incredibly smooth, but the data suggests that Medium provides the best balance of visual quality and performance headroom.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo overkill for Inside?

A: Yes, significantly. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra is 115 FPS, which is already excellent. At 1080p, the average FPS across all settings exceeds 255 FPS. The RX 7900 XTX is clearly not being utilized to its full potential, as the frame rates are likely limited by the CPU's single-thread performance or the game's engine itself, not the GPU.

Q: What is the best resolution to play Inside with this hardware?

A: Based on the data, 2560x1440 on Medium settings provides the best experience. It delivers 281 FPS, which is a massive improvement over the 184 FPS at Ultra, and the visual difference between Medium and Ultra is less noticeable in a game with such a stylized art direction. If you have a 4K display, the Medium preset at 194 FPS is also excellent.

Q: How much performance do I lose by using Ultra instead of Medium?

A: The performance cost is significant. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 194 FPS on Medium to 115 FPS on Ultra, a reduction of 79 FPS. At 2560x1440, the drop is from 281 FPS to 184 FPS, a 97 FPS difference. At 1920x1080, the drop is from 313 FPS to 255 FPS, a 58 FPS difference.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data suggests it is the primary limiter at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the FPS difference between Low (339 FPS) and High (261 FPS) is 78 FPS, which indicates the GPU is not the limiting factor. The CPU's boost clock of 4.70 GHz and its strong single-core performance are what's driving these high numbers, but the game appears to be CPU-bound at these frame rates.

Q: Does the 24 GB of VRAM on the RX 7900 XTX matter for Inside?

A: Not in any meaningful way. Inside is a 2016 title with modest texture requirements. The measured FPS data shows no signs of memory-related stuttering, with the Medium preset reporting a minimum FPS of 266 at 1080p and 165 at 4K. The 24 GB VRAM is simply unused headroom for this game.

Q: Should I use the Low preset to maximize FPS?

A: Only if you have a monitor with a refresh rate above 300 Hz. At 1080p Low, the average is 339 FPS, while Medium is 313 FPS. The visual difference between Low and Medium in a game like Inside is likely more noticeable than the 26 FPS difference, so Medium is generally the better choice.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX holds a rank of 466 out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the top 12.5% of all tested configurations, which is an impressive showing. The data indicates that this combo outperforms the vast majority of systems tested for this game, despite the fact that the game itself is not graphically intensive.

The CPU's percentile of 83 versus all CPUs shows it is a strong performer, but its nearest rivals are notable. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U scores 0.1% higher, the Intel Core i9-11900 is 0.2% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS is 0.2% lower. These are all very close scores, indicating that the i5-14400F is performing right in line with expectations. The GPU's percentile of 64 versus all GPUs is lower, but this is likely due to the fact that the RX 7900 XTX is being held back by the CPU in this specific test. Its nearest rivals, like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB, are within 1% of its average benchmark score, which is a statistical anomaly given the massive generational gap, but it reflects that the game's engine does not scale well with modern GPU architecture.

The combo rank of 466 suggests that while this is a high-end setup, there are 465 other combinations that achieve even higher frame rates in Inside. This is likely due to the fact that the game's performance is heavily dependent on CPU single-core speed, and some of the top-tier CPUs with higher boost clocks might edge out this i5-14400F. Still, being in the top 12.5% of all tested combos is a strong result.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured FPS shows a clear hierarchy. The Low preset averages 242 FPS, the Medium preset averages 194 FPS with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS, the High preset averages 121 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 115 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is substantial, a 73 FPS drop, suggesting that the High preset enables particularly demanding effects.

At 2560x1440, the numbers scale up. The Low preset averages 304 FPS, the Medium preset averages 281 FPS with a minimum of 239 FPS and a maximum of 323 FPS, the High preset averages 193 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 184 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 9 FPS, making Ultra the better choice if you are already considering High. The Medium preset's minimum FPS of 239 is still above the refresh rate of most 144Hz monitors.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 339 FPS, the Medium preset averages 313 FPS with a minimum of 266 FPS and a maximum of 360 FPS, the High preset averages 261 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 255 FPS. The minimum FPS on Medium is 266, which is still above 240Hz, making it a viable option for high-refresh-rate gaming. The Low preset's 339 FPS average is the highest measured in this dataset.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the bottleneck. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 313 at 1080p to 281 at 1440p, a 10% decrease. From 1440p to 4K, the average drops to 194, a 31% decrease. This pattern indicates that the game becomes more GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the initial small drop from 1080p to 1440p suggests the CPU is the primary limiter at lower resolutions.

At Low settings, the trend is similar. The average FPS goes from 339 at 1080p to 304 at 1440p, an 10% drop, and then to 242 at 4K, a 20% drop. The fact that the FPS drops significantly as resolution increases shows that the GPU is starting to matter more, but the RX 7900 XTX has so much headroom that it only becomes the limiting factor at 4K.

At High settings, the drop is more pronounced. The average FPS goes from 261 at 1080p to 193 at 1440p, a 26% decrease, and then to 121 at 4K, a 37% decrease. This shows that the High preset's effects are more GPU-intensive, but the CPU still holds the system back at 1080p. The data indicates that the i5-14400F with its 10 cores and 16 threads is more than enough for this game, but its single-threaded performance (boost clock of 4.70 GHz) is the ceiling at 1080p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. In the context of Inside, the benchmark data shows that this CPU is the primary driver of performance at resolutions below 4K. The game's engine appears to be heavily reliant on single-core performance, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS scales almost linearly with resolution, which is typical of a CPU-bound scenario.

The CPU's benchmark scores are solid, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055. Its Geekbench multi-core score of 11268 and single-core score of 2058 further confirm its strong performance. However, its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and Intel Core i9-11900, have nearly identical average scores, suggesting that the i5-14400F is not uniquely suited for this title.

The data shows that at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is only 84 FPS (339 vs 255). This relatively small gap indicates that the CPU is the limiting factor, as the GPU is not being fully utilized. If the GPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a much larger difference between the Low and Ultra presets. The CPU's L3 cache of 20 MB (shared) and its high boost clock are likely what allow it to maintain these high frame rates, but it is clear that for Inside, the i5-14400F is the component that determines the maximum achievable FPS.