Inside

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a distinctive performance profile in Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer. The data reveals a system where the integrated-class GPU is the dominant constraint, particularly at higher resolutions and quality settings, while the capable 10-core processor ensures frame rates remain playable at lower presets. This analysis walks through the measured results, focusing on presets, component roles, and resolution scaling.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data for this combination shows a clear hierarchy across the four tested presets, with the most playable experience found at Low settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 141 FPS, which is more than double the 67 FPS seen at Ultra. This makes Low the only preset at 1080p that comfortably exceeds the 100 FPS threshold, providing a smooth experience for a game that relies on precise timing and atmospheric tension.

Moving up to Medium at 1080p yields 113 FPS average, with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 130 FPS. This preset offers a significant visual upgrade over Low while still maintaining high frame rates. The data suggests Medium is the optimal balance for most users at 1080p, as it retains fluidity while adding more visual detail. High settings at 1080p drop to 70 FPS, which is still playable but represents a substantial 38% reduction from Medium. Ultra at 1080p is the least favorable, producing 67 FPS, barely above High and far below the smoother presets.

At 2560x1440, the pattern intensifies. Low settings produce 101 FPS, which remains excellent, but Medium drops to 81 FPS (with a 69-93 FPS range), and High falls to 51 FPS. Ultra at 1440p is marginal at 48 FPS. For 1440p users, the recommendation is clearly Low or Medium; High and Ultra introduce noticeable stutter potential. At 3840x2160, only Low is viable, delivering 64 FPS, while Medium drops to 51 FPS, High to 32 FPS, and Ultra to 30 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is effectively unplayable for a game that benefits from consistent frame pacing.

The best experience per the measured rows is Low at 1080p for maximum fluidity, but Medium at 1080p is the superior choice if visual fidelity matters, given its 113 FPS average and tight minimum frame rate. The data indicates that pushing beyond Medium at any resolution yields diminishing returns, with High and Ultra presets costing more than half the frame rate compared to Low in several cases.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its specifications reveal a modest part: 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, producing a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 12.29 TFLOPS via a 2:1 ratio. The memory subsystem is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM, making bandwidth dependent on the system's memory configuration.

In Inside, the GPU's role is critical but constrained. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark score for this GPU is 1184, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are older parts like the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, deltaPct -0.2) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, deltaPct -0.5). This places the Arc B370 in a performance class that struggles with modern rendering loads, and the measured FPS in Inside reflects this.

The frame rate drops when moving from Low to High at each resolution are primarily attributable to the GPU's limited shading and texture throughput. At 1080p, the jump from Low (141 FPS) to High (70 FPS) indicates a 50% reduction, which aligns with the GPU's inability to sustain higher pixel and texture fill rates. The system-shared memory also means that at higher resolutions, the GPU competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth, though the game's age (2016) limits the severity of this effect. The RT cores (10) and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are present, but Inside does not utilize ray tracing, so these features have no measurable impact on the results.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a steep performance penalty as resolution increases, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average FPS at Low drops from 141 to 101, a 28% reduction. From 1440p to 2160p, the drop continues from 101 to 64, a 37% reduction. At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 113 FPS at 1080p, 81 FPS at 1440p (a 28% drop), and 51 FPS at 4K (a 37% drop from 1440p). This consistent percentage drop across resolutions indicates a fill-rate-limited scenario, where the GPU's ROPs and memory bandwidth are saturated.

At High settings, the resolution scaling is even more punishing. 1080p High yields 70 FPS, 1440p High drops to 51 FPS (a 27% reduction), and 4K High falls to 32 FPS (a 37% reduction from 1440p). The pattern is nearly linear with pixel count, suggesting that the Arc B370's 20 ROPs are the primary bottleneck. At Ultra, the results are 67 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K, with the 1440p to 4K drop being 37.5%.

The frame rate halving from 1080p to 4K at Low settings (141 to 64 FPS) is a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload. If the CPU were the limiter, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions. The data clearly shows that the Intel Core i5-14400F is not the constraint; instead, the Arc B370's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are exhausted as pixel count quadruples. Users targeting 4K should stick to Low, while 1080p Medium offers the best balance of resolution and visual quality without collapsing frame rates.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Inside?*

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 at Medium settings provides 113 FPS average with a 96 FPS minimum, making it the highest-quality preset that remains above 90 FPS. Lower resolutions are not tested, and 1440p or 4K require dropping to Low for acceptable frame rates.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The evidence is the steep FPS drop from 141 FPS at 1080p Low to 64 FPS at 4K Low, which is a 55% reduction. A CPU-limited scenario would show minimal FPS change across resolutions, so the data points squarely to the Intel Arc B370.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth using?

A: No. At 1080p, Ultra averages 67 FPS, which is only 3 FPS lower than High but 74 FPS lower than Low. At 4K, Ultra drops to 30 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for a game requiring responsive input. The visual gains are not justified by the performance cost.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: In 3DMark Steel Nomad, the Arc B370 scores 1184, which is 0.2% behind the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186) and 0.5% behind the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190). It is 1.4% ahead of the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168). These are all legacy parts, indicating the Arc B370's modest standing.

*Q: Can this combo handle 1440p gaming in Inside?*

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which average 101 FPS. Medium at 1440p drops to 81 FPS, and High falls to 51 FPS. For a steady experience, 1440p Low is the only recommended preset.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at Medium settings?

A: At Medium, the minimum FPS is 96 at 1080p, 69 at 1440p, and 43 at 4K. The maximums are 130, 93, and 59 respectively. The gap between minimum and average widens with resolution, suggesting increased frame pacing instability at higher pixel counts.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and the Intel Arc B370 ranks 2654 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the bottom 8% of all configurations, a consequence of the GPU's low percentile standing. The Arc B370 sits in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, while the i5-14400F is in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. This stark contrast highlights the imbalance: the processor is a strong mid-range part, but the integrated GPU drags the overall combo ranking down.

The combo rank of 2654 means that 233 other tested combinations perform worse, but the vast majority (2886) of combos outperform it. For a game with modest requirements like Inside, this rank reflects the GPU's inability to leverage the CPU's power. The i5-14400F's nearest CPU rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (deltaPct 0.1), Intel Core i9-11900 (deltaPct 0.2), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (deltaPct -0.2), all of which are within 0.5% in average benchmark scores. This shows the CPU is competitive, but the GPU's 5th percentile ranking ensures the combo remains near the bottom.

In practical terms, this combo rank means users should expect performance akin to systems with integrated graphics from a decade ago. The data shows that only 233 combos are slower, which is a small minority. For Inside, the combo is playable at low presets, but it cannot compete with even entry-level discrete GPUs, which would likely push the rank significantly higher.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 65W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and its PCIe interface is Gen 5 with 16 lanes. The CPU's average benchmark score is 32279, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs.

In Inside, the CPU's role is to maintain frame pacing and handle game logic, but the measured FPS data indicates it is never the bottleneck. The highest FPS recorded is 141 at 1080p Low, which is well within the CPU's capability given its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and single-core score of 3055. The Geekbench scores (11268 multi-core, 2058 single-core) further confirm a processor that can easily feed frames to a GPU. The Passmark multi-thread score of 25470 and single-thread score of 3701 reinforce this.

The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are overkill for Inside, a game that likely uses only a few threads. The fact that FPS scales so heavily with resolution and settings proves the GPU is the limiting factor. If the CPU were weak, we would see consistent FPS across settings at a given resolution. Instead, the data shows a 50% drop from Low to High at 1080p, which is purely a GPU workload increase. The i5-14400F's boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensures single-threaded performance is sufficient for the game's physics and logic updates, but these never become a constraint in the measured rows.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo in Inside is as follows:

3840x2160 (4K):

• High: 32 FPS average
• Low: 64 FPS average
• Medium: 51 FPS average, 43 FPS minimum, 59 FPS maximum
• Ultra: 30 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• High: 51 FPS average
• Low: 101 FPS average
• Medium: 81 FPS average, 69 FPS minimum, 93 FPS maximum
• Ultra: 48 FPS average

1920x1080 (1080p):

• High: 70 FPS average
• Low: 141 FPS average
• Medium: 113 FPS average, 96 FPS minimum, 130 FPS maximum
• Ultra: 67 FPS average

At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 74 FPS, with Low at 141 FPS and Ultra at 67 FPS. Medium sits at 113 FPS, which is 46 FPS above High (70 FPS) and 46 FPS below Low. The minimum FPS at Medium (96) is higher than the average FPS at High (70), indicating that Medium provides a more consistent experience than High. The maximum at Medium (130) approaches the Low average, showing headroom in the preset.

At 1440p, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 101 FPS, Medium 81 FPS, High 51 FPS, and Ultra 48 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 3 FPS, suggesting that Ultra's extra effects are not significantly heavier than High at this resolution. However, the gap between Medium and High is 30 FPS, a 37% drop, which is substantial.

At 4K, the results are stark. Low averages 64 FPS, which is the only playable option. Medium drops to 51 FPS, High to 32 FPS, and Ultra to 30 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 2 FPS, indicating that Ultra settings are not worth the performance loss over High. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 43 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, making it borderline for smooth gameplay.

Across all resolutions, the Low preset consistently offers the highest frame rates, with 141 FPS at 1080p, 101 FPS at 1440p, and 64 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset is the best compromise, offering 113, 81, and 51 FPS respectively, but it falls below 60 FPS at 4K. High and Ultra are only recommended at 1080p, where they remain above 60 FPS, but they are not advisable at higher resolutions. The data decisively shows that this combo is best used at 1080p with Low or Medium settings for a responsive Inside experience.