Inside

Inside is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer with a deliberately muted visual style, but the benchmark data reveals that the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination delivers extreme performance headroom, turning a typically modest game into a high-refresh-rate showcase. The pairing is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at lower resolutions, yet the data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains a playable 60 FPS average, making it a versatile choice for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a classic GPU-limited scaling pattern, but with an unusually high floor. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces a staggering 281 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops this to 202 FPS, a 28% reduction, while 3840x2160 Low yields 127 FPS, a further 37% decline from the 1440p figure. This steep falloff directly correlates with the pixel count increase, confirming that the RTX 2060 SUPER's rendering pipeline is the limiting factor rather than the i5-14400F's processing capabilities.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced when examining higher quality presets. At Medium settings, the frame rate drops from 225 FPS at 1080p to 162 FPS at 1440p (a 28% decrease), then to 102 FPS at 4K (a 37% decrease from 1440p). These percentages are remarkably consistent across Low and Medium presets, suggesting that the GPU's shading units and memory bandwidth scale predictably with resolution. The High preset shows a similar trend: 141 FPS at 1080p, 101 FPS at 1440p (28% lower), and 63 FPS at 4K (38% lower than 1440p).

Ultra settings exhibit the most dramatic scaling cliff. The system produces 134 FPS at 1080p, which is already a significant drop from the 225 FPS Medium result at the same resolution, indicating that Ultra's additional effects heavily tax the GPU. At 1440p Ultra, the average falls to 96 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it bottoms out at exactly 60 FPS. The fact that the 4K Ultra result precisely matches the 60 FPS target suggests the engine may be hitting a vsync-like cap or that the GPU's 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is fully saturated.

What this scaling data indicates about the system's balance is clear: the i5-14400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is never the bottleneck in Inside. The 281 FPS 1080p Low result proves the CPU can feed frames far faster than the GPU can render them, and even the most demanding 4K Ultra scenario leaves the CPU with substantial headroom. The RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth handles all tested resolutions without any indication of memory capacity constraints in the measured frame times.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 3,716 tested CPU-GPU combinations in Inside, this pairing holds the 2,556th position. That rank places it in the lower third of all combos, but this positioning is misleading given the game's nature. The 68.8 percentile standing (calculated from the rank relative to total combos) reflects that Inside is a lightweight title where even modest hardware can achieve high frame rates, so the absolute performance ceiling is less differentiating than in AAA 3D games.

The combo's rank is primarily constrained by the RTX 2060 SUPER's position in the GPU hierarchy rather than the CPU. The graphics card sits at the 62nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18,093. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (avg score 18,159, delta -0.4%) and AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (avg score 18,189, delta -0.5%). These minuscule deltas of less than 1% indicate that the RTX 2060 SUPER is essentially performance-equivalent to those mobile and workstation parts in synthetic benchmarks, which translates to nearly identical real-world capabilities in Inside.

The CPU component is comparatively stronger. The Intel Core i5-14400F ranks at the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32,279. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (avg score 32,233, delta 0.1%) and Intel Core i9-11900 (avg score 32,226, delta 0.2%). The i5-14400F actually outperforms the i9-11900 by 0.2% in average score, which is noteworthy given the generational gap. This CPU strength is why the combo achieves frame rates well above the game's requirements, but the overall rank is dragged down by the GPU's mid-tier standing.

The combination of a top-quartile CPU with a mid-pack GPU creates an imbalanced system for Inside specifically. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system produces 281 FPS, which is more than four times the 60 FPS 4K Ultra result. This wide spread means the combo's rank would improve dramatically if paired with a stronger GPU, but for the intended high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p use case, the current configuration performs admirably.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the definitive performance arbiter in this pairing. Built on the TU106 chip using TSMC's 12 nm process, this GPU packs 2,176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 compute throughput is modest by modern standards, but Inside's minimalist art style does not demand heavy geometric or shader workloads, allowing the GPU to excel beyond what its synthetic scores might suggest.

The memory subsystem is where this GPU shows its age but still proves adequate. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory operates at an effective 14 Gbps across a 256-bit interface, yielding 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Inside's textures and effects fit comfortably within this capacity, as evidenced by the absence of any frame rate collapses at higher resolutions. The 4K Medium result of 102 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and maximum of 117 FPS shows consistent memory performance without stutter-inducing capacity swaps.

Clock speeds play a critical role in the measured results. The base clock of 1470 MHz boosts to 1650 MHz, providing an 12% frequency uplift under load. This boost behavior is consistent with the frame rate scaling observed: at 1440p Medium, the GPU sustains 162 FPS average, which drops to 102 FPS at 4K Medium, a 37% reduction that roughly aligns with the pixel count increase from 3.7 million to 8.3 million pixels. The boost clock's sustainability across all tested scenarios indicates that thermal and power constraints (175 W TDP) do not cause performance throttling in this game.

The GPU's feature set, including DirectX 12 Ultimate support and 34 RT cores, is largely irrelevant for Inside, which does not utilize ray tracing or advanced DX12 features. However, the 272 tensor cores and Turing architecture's efficiency contribute to the GPU's ability to maintain high frame rates in a 2D-perspective game with 3D rendering. The pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s provide ample fill-rate headroom, as demonstrated by the 4K Ultra result of 60 FPS, which represents the GPU's practical limit with maximum settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings produce a 281 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 225 FPS with a minimum of 191 FPS and maximum of 259 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. High settings drop to 141 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 134 FPS, a mere 5% reduction from High. This small delta between High and Ultra at 1080p suggests the CPU and GPU are still capable of maintaining near-maximum output even with all effects enabled.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains highly playable. Low settings achieve 202 FPS, Medium delivers 162 FPS (minimum 137, maximum 186), High produces 101 FPS, and Ultra stays at 96 FPS. The 1440p results show a clear step-down from 1080p, with Medium losing 28% of its frame rate and Ultra losing 28% as well. The consistency of this percentage reduction across presets reinforces that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, not settings complexity.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits. Low settings still produce 127 FPS, which is smooth for most displays. Medium settings yield 102 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS and maximum of 117 FPS, indicating some frame time variance but no catastrophic drops. High settings halve the 1080p result to 63 FPS, and Ultra settings produce exactly 60 FPS. The progression from 63 FPS at High to 60 FPS at Ultra shows that the final quality tier only costs 5% performance at 4K, making Ultra preferable for visual fidelity.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions, revealing interesting scaling behavior. At 1080p, the spread between minimum and maximum is 68 FPS (191 to 259), at 1440p it is 49 FPS (137 to 186), and at 4K it is 31 FPS (86 to 117). This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes more consistently loaded, reducing frame time spikes that occur when the CPU feeds frames faster than the GPU can process them at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset at 134 FPS is the clear recommendation. The 7% performance cost over High (141 FPS) is negligible, and the visual improvements from Ultra settings enhance the atmospheric presentation that Inside relies on. Players with 144 Hz or higher refresh rate monitors can still experience near-maximum refresh rates, and the 134 FPS average leaves sufficient headroom for any brief demanding scenes.

At 1440p, Ultra settings at 96 FPS provide the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. The 5 FPS difference between High (101 FPS) and Ultra (96 FPS) is imperceptible, while Ultra's additional effects contribute to the game's moody lighting and shadow work. This resolution is where the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth prove sufficient, as the 96 FPS result keeps the experience well above the 60 FPS threshold for standard displays.

For 4K resolution, the data suggests a trade-off between Medium and High settings. Medium at 102 FPS offers the smoothest experience with a minimum of 86 FPS, ensuring no noticeable stutter. High at 63 FPS is still above the 60 FPS playability threshold, but the 38% performance drop from Medium may not justify the visual gains. Ultra at 60 FPS is technically playable, but it leaves zero headroom for complex scenes, making Medium the recommended choice for 4K.

The Low preset is not recommended for any resolution above 1080p, as the dramatic visual simplification of Inside's lighting and shadow systems detracts from the game's core atmosphere. The 127 FPS at 4K Low versus 102 FPS at 4K Medium shows only a 25% gain for a significant visual downgrade, making Medium the better value in terms of experience quality.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this CPU-GPU combo in Inside?

A: The highest measured average is 281 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This result demonstrates that the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination can push frame rates far beyond typical display refresh rates in this game.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Inside?

A: Yes, the data shows 4K is playable at all settings. The lowest average is 60 FPS at Ultra settings, which is exactly the standard 60 Hz refresh rate. Medium settings provide a more comfortable 102 FPS average with a minimum of 86 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 18,093, placing it within 0.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile (18,159) and AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (18,189). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 460 by 1.5% in average score.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: No, the data indicates the GPU is always the limiting factor. The 281 FPS result at 1080p Low shows the i5-14400F can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them, and the CPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all CPUs far exceeds the GPU's 62nd percentile standing.

Q: What are the minimum frame rates at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 191 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 137 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 86 FPS. These are the only settings with complete min/max data in the measured results.

Q: Which settings preset offers the best 1440p experience?

A: Ultra settings at 96 FPS average is the recommended choice for 1440p. The performance difference from High (101 FPS) is only 5%, while Ultra provides the full visual experience that Inside's art direction benefits from.