Inside

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer. The measured data shows that this system is never below 98 FPS at any tested setting, even at 4K Ultra, indicating a substantial performance headroom for this title. The following analysis breaks down the system's behavior across resolutions, examining the roles of the CPU and GPU, and providing specific recommendations based on the measured frames.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions but maintains a strong frame rate at higher ones. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 339 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 304 FPS, a reduction of 35 FPS (approximately 10.3%). Scaling further to 4K Low yields 206 FPS, which is a 133 FPS drop from 1080p. This pattern is consistent with the GPU becoming the limiting factor as pixel count increases, though the absolute numbers remain very high.

The Medium settings preset shows a similar scaling trend. At 1080p, the average is 313 FPS, which falls to 263 FPS at 1440p and then to 165 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium row is notable for having the only complete set of measured data, with a minimum of 140 FPS and a maximum of 190 FPS. This 50 FPS spread between minimum and maximum at 4K Medium suggests some variance in scene complexity, but the floor of 140 FPS is still far above what would be considered a playable threshold.

At High settings, the scaling is more pronounced. The system achieves 228 FPS at 1080p, 164 FPS at 1440p, and 103 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 125 FPS, or 54.8% of the 1080p value. This indicates that the High preset is more demanding on the GPU, but the RTX 3080 Ti still manages to maintain triple-digit frame rates at 4K. The Ultra setting shows the most significant scaling impact, with 218 FPS at 1080p, 156 FPS at 1440p, and 98 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest measured frame rate in the entire dataset, yet it remains at a very playable level.

The data suggests that the limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU's performance is sufficient to push frame rates well above 300 FPS on lower settings, but the GPU's rendering capabilities start to cap the output. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the large FPS reductions when increasing resolution. The fact that 4K Ultra still produces 98 FPS indicates that this combination is well-matched for high-refresh-rate 4K gaming in this title, even at maximum settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its benchmark results place it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32279. In the context of Inside, a game that is not typically CPU-intensive due to its puzzle platformer nature, this processor provides more than enough compute headroom.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scoring include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, which scores 32233 (a 0.1% delta), and the Intel Core i9-11900, which scores 32226 (a 0.2% delta). The data shows that the i5-14400F is statistically tied with these processors, with deltas well within 1%. This suggests that even if the game were more CPU-bound, the i5-14400F would perform on par with other high-end desktop and mobile chips.

Looking at the measured FPS data, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 339 FPS, which is likely near the game's engine limit or the CPU's capability to feed frames. At 1440p Low, the frame rate drops to 304 FPS, and at 4K Low it is 206 FPS. The consistent high frame rates across all resolutions indicate that the CPU is never the primary bottleneck, as even the most demanding GPU settings at 4K yield nearly 100 FPS.

The single-core performance of the i5-14400F is strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3055 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2058. For a game like Inside, which relies on straightforward physics and rendering logic rather than massive multi-threaded simulations, this single-thread strength is more relevant than the multi-core score. The data confirms that the CPU can sustain high frame rates without becoming a limiting factor, even when paired with a powerful GPU like the RTX 3080 Ti.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing for Inside, as evidenced by the substantial frame rate differences between settings at each resolution. This GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s. Its boost clock is rated at 1665 MHz, and it holds an 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 41187.

The GPU's nearest rivals show a tight cluster of performance. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 40870 (0.8% higher delta), while the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB scores 41707 (-1.2% delta). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is also close, scoring 40377 with a 2% delta. This indicates that the RTX 3080 Ti sits in a competitive performance band, though the specific game performance in Inside will be dictated by its architecture and driver optimization.

The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is more than sufficient for Inside, a game released in 2016, which primarily uses simple textures and geometry. The measured data shows that increasing settings from Low to Ultra at 4K reduces the average FPS from 206 to 98, a drop of 108 FPS. This scaling is directly attributable to the GPU's fill rate and shader work, not memory capacity, as 12 GB is far beyond the game's requirements.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s is a key asset at higher resolutions. At 4K Medium, the system maintains 165 FPS average with a 140 FPS minimum, suggesting that the memory subsystem can keep up with the increased pixel throughput. The RTX 3080 Ti's 10240 shading units and 112 ROPs provide the raw compute power needed to render the game's atmospheric lighting and shadow effects at high settings, even at 4K Ultra where it still produces 98 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average at 1920x1080 is 339 FPS, achieved with the Low settings preset. This is followed by 313 FPS on Medium, 228 FPS on High, and 218 FPS on Ultra.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system produces an average of 98 FPS. This is the lowest measured frame rate across all tested configurations, but it remains above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is there a significant performance drop between 1440p and 4K?

A: Yes, the data shows a consistent drop when moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160. For example, at High settings, the average FPS falls from 164 to 103, a 61 FPS reduction. At Low settings, it drops from 304 to 206 FPS.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The only recorded minimum frame rate is 140 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The corresponding maximum for that configuration is 190 FPS, giving a range of 50 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32279. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U, scores 32233, which is a 0.1% difference. The Intel Core i9-11900 scores 32226, a 0.2% difference, indicating near-identical performance.

Q: Does the GPU show a large performance gap to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti's average benchmark score is 41187. The closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, scores 40870, a 0.8% delta. The next closest, the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB, scores 41707, a -1.2% delta, meaning the RTX 3080 Ti is slightly slower than that card in synthetic benchmarks.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 850th out of 3716 combinations for Inside. This places it in the top 22.9% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing given the game's age and the hardware's capabilities. The rank reflects the system's ability to maintain high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings.

The 850th rank out of 3716 combos indicates that while this is not an absolute top-tier configuration for this specific game, it significantly outperforms the majority of systems. The high frame rates measured—never dipping below 98 FPS at 4K Ultra—contribute to this favorable ranking. The rank also suggests that there are 849 combos that achieve even higher performance, likely featuring more recent flagship GPUs or CPUs with higher clock speeds.

The data shows that the combination of a mid-range 14th-gen CPU and a previous-generation high-end GPU is well-balanced for Inside. The CPU's strong single-thread performance and the GPU's substantial memory bandwidth and compute power work together to deliver a smooth experience. The rank of 850 is respectable, but the actual measured FPS values are what matter most for gameplay, and those are excellent.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 339 FPS on Low, 313 FPS on Medium, 228 FPS on High, and 218 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1080p also has recorded min and max values of 266 and 360 FPS, respectively, showing a 94 FPS spread.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 304 on Low, 263 on Medium, 164 on High, and 156 on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum of 223 FPS and a maximum of 302 FPS, a spread of 79 FPS. This reduction in spread compared to 1080p indicates that the GPU is becoming more consistently utilized as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 206 on Low, 165 on Medium, 103 on High, and 98 on Ultra. The 4K Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data, showing 140 FPS minimum and 190 FPS maximum. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a total reduction of 108 FPS, from 206 to 98, demonstrating the impact of increased graphical quality on the GPU.

The data reveals a clear pattern: at every resolution, the difference between Low and Medium is smaller than between High and Ultra. For example, at 1080p, Low to Medium is a 26 FPS drop, while High to Ultra is only a 10 FPS drop. At 4K, Low to Medium drops 41 FPS, while High to Ultra drops only 5 FPS. This suggests that the Medium preset is a significant quality step up from Low, while the jump from High to Ultra offers diminishing returns in terms of FPS cost.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, all settings presets deliver well above 200 FPS, so the choice comes down to visual preference. The Ultra preset at 218 FPS is only 10 FPS slower than High at 228 FPS, making Ultra the recommended choice for 1080p users who want the best visual quality without sacrificing high refresh rate performance.

For 1440p, the Medium preset offers an excellent balance with 263 FPS average and a minimum of 223 FPS. This provides a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 164 FPS is also viable, but the step to Ultra at 156 FPS is marginal. Users with 144Hz or 165Hz displays should consider High or Ultra, as both exceed 144 FPS. For those with 240Hz displays, Medium is the better choice to stay above 240 FPS consistently.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the standout recommendation. It delivers 165 FPS average with a 140 FPS minimum, which easily clears the 120Hz threshold for high-refresh 4K displays. The High preset at 103 FPS is suitable for 100Hz displays, while Ultra at 98 FPS is still playable but offers no significant visual advantage over High given the small FPS difference. The Low preset at 206 FPS is unnecessary, as even Medium provides a high frame rate with better visuals.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this combination across all resolutions. It provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with the highest minimum frame rate recorded at 4K (140 FPS) and strong averages at lower resolutions. For users prioritizing maximum visual quality, the High preset at 1440p or 4K is acceptable, but the measured FPS values indicate that Medium offers a more comfortable margin above typical refresh rate targets.