Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that places almost no strain on modern hardware, and the data for the Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT reflects that. The measured results show this combination is capable of delivering exceptionally high frame rates across all tested presets, making it a prime candidate for high-refresh-rate displays. The primary consideration is not whether the game runs well, but rather how to balance the GPU's massive headroom against the game's simple visual style to achieve the smoothest possible experience.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data reveals a clear hierarchy among the four tested settings presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. For most users with standard 60Hz or 144Hz monitors, the High preset offers the most sensible balance. At 1080p, High yields an average of 230 FPS, which is more than enough for any high-refresh-rate panel. At 1440p, it drops to 165 FPS, still comfortably above the 144Hz threshold. Even at 4K, the High preset maintains an average of 104 FPS, which is perfectly playable and only slightly below what a 120Hz 4K display would want.

The Ultra preset, however, presents an interesting case. It delivers average frame rates of 219 FPS at 1080p, 157 FPS at 1440p, and 99 FPS at 4K. While these numbers are still excellent, the performance cost is noticeable when compared to High. The drop from High to Ultra is roughly 11% at 1080p, 5% at 1440p, and 5% at 4K. Given that Inside's art style is minimalist and dark, the visual difference between High and Ultra is likely to be far less impactful than the frame rate difference. Therefore, for competitive or high-refresh gaming, High is the recommended preset, as it provides the best experience per the measured rows without sacrificing the frame rate headroom.

The Medium preset is the fallback option if you want to prioritize raw frame rates over visual fidelity. It produces 313 FPS at 1080p and 264 FPS at 1440p, which is a significant jump from High. At 4K, Medium hits 166 FPS, which is a massive improvement over the 104 FPS seen at High. This suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for those with 240Hz+ monitors or for players who want to guarantee that the GPU is never the bottleneck. The Low preset, while delivering the absolute highest numbers (339 FPS at 1080p, 304 FPS at 1440p, 207 FPS at 4K), likely degrades the visual presentation too much for a game that relies on atmosphere and lighting. The data indicates that Medium is a more reasonable extreme, providing a substantial performance boost over High while keeping the game looking respectable.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is a powerhouse, and its role in Inside is almost entirely about raw frame generation. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. With a base clock of 1660 MHz and a boost clock of 2970 MHz, the card is capable of immense compute throughput. The game's low system requirements mean that the GPU's 4096 shading units and 128 ROPs are rarely, if ever, the limiting factor, even at 4K.

The VRAM capacity of 16 GB is far beyond what Inside requires. The game's textures are simple, and memory usage is unlikely to exceed a few gigabytes even at 4K Ultra. This means that the memory bus width and bandwidth, while impressive, are not being taxed in this specific workload. The benchmark results confirm this: the performance difference between 1080p and 4K is not as pronounced as it would be in a graphically intensive AAA title, suggesting that the game is not saturating the memory subsystem.

Instead, the GPU's role here is to push frame rates to levels that are typically reserved for esports titles. The clock speeds are high, and the RDNA 4.0 architecture is efficient, allowing the card to maintain high utilization without throttling. The data shows that the RX 9070 XT is effectively in a "cruise" mode in Inside, never being pushed to its limits. This is evidenced by the fact that the 4K Low preset (207 FPS) is still faster than the 1080p Ultra preset (219 FPS) of other cards would be, indicating the GPU has massive headroom to spare.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 827th out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the top 22% of all configurations in the database, which is a strong showing. However, it's important to note that this ranking is heavily influenced by the CPU's performance. The i5-14400F has a percentile rank of 83 against all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 83% of processors in general benchmarks. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and the Intel Core i9-11900, have nearly identical average scores, with delta percentages of 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. This indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game.

The GPU, on the other hand, has a lower percentile rank of 55 against all GPUs, which seems counterintuitive given its raw power. This is likely because the benchmark database includes a wide range of older and lower-end cards, and the RX 9070 XT's nearest rivals (like the AMD Radeon HD 7770M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570) have average scores within 1% of each other. This suggests that the GPU's benchmark scores are not linearly correlated with its gaming performance in a simple game like Inside. The combo rank of 827 is therefore a reflection of the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's ability to deliver high frame rates, rather than a measure of the GPU's absolute benchmark score.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings. Here is the exact breakdown:

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 339 FPS average
• Medium: 313 FPS average (minimum 266 FPS, maximum 360 FPS)
• High: 230 FPS average
• Ultra: 219 FPS average

At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high. The jump from Low to Medium is relatively small (a 26 FPS drop), but the jump from Medium to High is substantial (an 83 FPS drop). This indicates that the High preset introduces a significant rendering cost, likely from additional lighting and shadow effects. The Ultra preset only costs 11 FPS more than High, suggesting diminishing returns.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 304 FPS average
• Medium: 264 FPS average (minimum 224 FPS, maximum 304 FPS)
• High: 165 FPS average
• Ultra: 157 FPS average

At 1440p, the pattern repeats. Low and Medium remain above 260 FPS, but High drops to 165 FPS and Ultra to 157 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 8 FPS, reinforcing the recommendation to use High if you want the best visual quality without a major performance penalty. The minimum FPS of 224 FPS at Medium shows that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate stays well above 200 FPS.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 207 FPS average
• Medium: 166 FPS average (minimum 141 FPS, maximum 191 FPS)
• High: 104 FPS average
• Ultra: 99 FPS average

At 4K, the GPU starts to show its limits, but only at the higher settings. Low and Medium remain at or above 166 FPS, which is excellent for 4K. High drops to 104 FPS, which is still playable, but Ultra dips to 99 FPS. The minimum FPS of 141 FPS at Medium suggests that even at 4K, the game rarely stutters, making Medium the best choice for a locked 144Hz 4K experience.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K provides insight into what component is limiting performance. At the High setting, the average FPS drops from 230 at 1080p to 165 at 1440p (a 28% decrease) and then to 104 at 4K (a 37% decrease from 1440p). This scaling is relatively linear, which suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a smaller drop in FPS when increasing resolution, as the CPU's workload would remain constant.

However, at the Low setting, the FPS drops from 339 at 1080p to 304 at 1440p (a 10% decrease) and to 207 at 4K (a 32% decrease from 1440p). The smaller drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings indicates that the CPU is starting to become a factor at lower resolutions. The i5-14400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is more than capable, but at 1080p Low, the GPU is so fast that the CPU's frame generation rate may be the limiting factor. This is not a problem, as 339 FPS is far beyond what any display can show, but it explains why the scaling is not perfectly linear at the lowest settings.

At the Medium setting, the scaling is more consistent: 313 FPS at 1080p, 264 FPS at 1440p (a 16% decrease), and 166 FPS at 4K (a 37% decrease). This suggests that Medium is the setting where the GPU and CPU are best balanced. Overall, the data indicates that the RX 9070 XT is the dominant factor in determining performance at 4K, while the CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and high boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensure it can keep up with the GPU's frame output at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best setting for a 144Hz 1080p monitor?

A: The High preset is ideal. It delivers an average of 230 FPS at 1080p, which is well above the 144Hz refresh rate, ensuring a smooth experience with better visual quality than Medium or Low.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, it can. At 4K with the High preset, the average FPS is 104, which is playable. For a smoother 4K experience, the Medium preset provides 166 FPS, which is excellent for a 144Hz 4K display.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth the performance cost?

A: The data shows that Ultra is only 5-11% slower than High depending on resolution. While the frame rates are still high, the visual difference in a game like Inside is likely minimal. High offers a better balance of performance and visual fidelity.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as shown by the significant FPS drops when increasing resolution. At 1080p with Low settings, the CPU may become a slight bottleneck, but the frame rates are so high that it is irrelevant.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to others?

A: It ranks 827th out of 3716 tested combos, placing it in the top 22% of all configurations. This is a strong result, driven by the Intel Core i5-14400F's high percentile ranking of 83.

Q: Does the 16 GB of VRAM matter for this game?

A: No. Inside's simple textures and art style will not come close to using 16 GB of VRAM. The 16 GB capacity is overkill for this title, but it ensures the card is future-proof for more demanding games.