Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016, and the measured data for this pairing of an Intel Core i5-14400F with the Intel Arc B390 shows a title that scales heavily with resolution and settings. The benchmark results indicate a system that can handle the game smoothly at 1080p but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K on higher presets, with the GPU acting as the primary limiting factor across most of the tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings presets, revealing a workload that is heavily dependent on pixel throughput. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 156 FPS at 1920x1080 to 112 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 70 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 55% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the rendering pipeline is being stressed by the increase in pixel count. The scaling is similar but slightly less severe in percentage terms at Medium settings, where the average drops from 125 FPS at 1080p to 90 FPS at 1440p and 56 FPS at 4K, a 55% decrease as well. High settings see the average fall from 78 FPS at 1080p to 56 FPS at 1440p and 35 FPS at 4K, a 55% drop. Ultra settings show the same pattern, with averages of 74 FPS at 1080p, 53 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K, a 54% reduction.

This consistent 55% decline across all presets suggests that the limiting component is the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity, not the CPU. The Intel Arc B390 has a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s, which are modest figures that get saturated as resolution increases. The data shows that the gap between 1440p and 4K is almost as large as the gap between 1080p and 1440p, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. The fact that the minimum FPS values are only recorded for Medium settings (48 FPS at 4K, 76 FPS at 1440p, 106 FPS at 1080p) suggests that frame pacing remains relatively stable, but the average scores at 4K High and Ultra fall below the 60 FPS threshold, making those configurations less suitable for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2547 out of 2887 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower 12% of all systems. This low ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU, which has a percentile rank of 9 against all GPUs, meaning it performs better than only 9% of the graphics cards in the database. The CPU, by contrast, is a much stronger component, with a percentile rank of 83 against all CPUs. The disparity between these two components explains why the combo rank is so low: the GPU is a severe bottleneck.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 1482, and its nearest rivals in the database are all legacy NVIDIA parts. The Arc B390 scores 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GeForce GT 710. These are all extremely low-end parts, and the Arc B390's position among them confirms that its performance level is far below what is needed for demanding titles at high resolutions. The combo's rank of 2547 out of 2887 reflects this GPU limitation, as the CPU's strong benchmark scores cannot compensate for the graphics card's low output. In games that are less GPU-intensive, this combination might rank higher, but for Inside, the data shows a system that is fundamentally constrained by its graphics processor.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process node. It has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its base clock is 300 MHz, boosting up to 2500 MHz. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM, meaning the bandwidth is system-dependent and the memory type is just "System Shared." This is a critical factor in the game's performance, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which can limit performance in scenarios with high data throughput.

The GPU's raw compute figures are 7.680 TFLOPS for FP32 and 15.36 TFLOPS for FP16, which are low for modern standards. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution. At 1080p Low, it achieves 156 FPS, which is very playable, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 34 FPS, which is not. The GPU's pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s is the likely bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the number of pixels to fill at 4K is four times that of 1080p. The data shows that the difference between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution is roughly a 50% reduction in FPS (e.g., 156 FPS to 74 FPS at 1080p), which indicates that the shader and texture work also scales significantly with preset quality. The lack of a dedicated VRAM pool means that higher resolutions and settings could cause the system to rely on slower system memory, further impacting performance, though the measured data does not explicitly show this effect beyond the overall FPS drops.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system performs adequately across all presets. Low settings yield an average of 156 FPS, Medium produces 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS, High delivers 78 FPS, and Ultra drops to 74 FPS. All of these averages are above 60 FPS, making 1080p a viable resolution for smooth gameplay even on the highest preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease substantially. Low settings average 112 FPS, Medium averages 90 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS, High averages 56 FPS, and Ultra averages 53 FPS. The High and Ultra presets fall below the 60 FPS threshold, which may be noticeable in a fast-paced puzzle platformer where smooth motion is important. The Medium preset remains above 60 FPS, but its minimum of 76 FPS suggests occasional dips that could be felt.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles. Low settings average 70 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium drops to 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS, High falls to 35 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 34 FPS. Only the Low preset maintains an average above 60 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset's minimum of 48 FPS indicates that frame pacing can become erratic, and the High and Ultra presets are effectively unplayable for a responsive experience. The data shows a clear pattern: 1080p is fully playable on all presets, 1440p is playable on Low and Medium, and 4K is only playable on Low.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The processor has a 20 MB shared L3 cache, with 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. For a game like Inside, which is a 2D puzzle platformer with relatively simple physics and AI, the CPU is unlikely to be a bottleneck.

The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and a single-core score of 3055. Its Geekbench multi-core score is 11268 and single-core score is 2058. The PassMark multithread score is 25470, and the single-thread score is 3701. These scores place the CPU in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 83% of processors in the database. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% ahead), the Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% ahead), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (0.2% behind). The CPU's high single-thread performance is particularly relevant for games, as many game engines rely heavily on a few threads.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's capabilities far exceed what the game requires. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops at higher resolutions that are independent of the CPU's workload. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for this title, and its boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensures that even the most demanding single-threaded tasks are handled with ease. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would be the only way to improve performance in this game, as the CPU has ample headroom.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings for this combo?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 78 FPS.

Q: Is this system capable of running the game at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is only 34 FPS, which is well below the standard for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, its closest rival, with an average benchmark score of 1482 compared to 1463.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combo ranks 2547 out of 2887 tested combinations, placing it in the lower portion of the database.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS recorded at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 76 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The data shows the GPU is the limiting component, as FPS scales heavily with resolution while the CPU (ranked in the 83rd percentile) has ample performance headroom.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal configuration for a smooth experience depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is viable, with an average of 74 FPS that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. For users who prefer higher frame rates, the High preset at 78 FPS or the Medium preset at 125 FPS are both excellent choices, with the Medium preset offering a significant boost in smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the best choice for a balance between visual quality and performance, with an average of 90 FPS and a minimum of 76 FPS. The High preset at 56 FPS may be acceptable for some, but the frame rate dips below 60 FPS, which can be noticeable. The Low preset at 112 FPS is the best option for competitive or high-refresh-rate gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the only playable option is the Low preset, which averages 70 FPS. The Medium preset at 56 FPS is borderline, with a minimum of 48 FPS that could cause stuttering. The High and Ultra presets, at 35 FPS and 34 FPS respectively, are not recommended for a responsive experience. The data indicates that for the best overall experience, users should target 1080p with High or Medium settings, as this provides a balance of visual fidelity and frame rate that the hardware can consistently deliver.