Inside

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT delivers an exceptionally strong experience in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer. The benchmark data shows this combination is capable of high refresh rates even at 4K, though the scaling between settings reveals where the GPU becomes the primary constraint. With a combo rank of 835 out of 1671 tested configurations, this pairing sits in the upper half of all systems, but the game's modest demands mean the CPU's high single-thread performance is rarely the limiting factor.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows the system is viable at all tested resolutions. At 1080p, average FPS ranges from 161.5 to 336.3 depending on settings. At 1440p, the range is 117.4 to 239.5. Even at 4K, the lowest average is 70.6 FPS on Ultra, which remains playable.

Q: How does the i5-14600K compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-14600K's average benchmark score is 49166, placing it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and 1% ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H. It trails the Intel Core i5-14600KF by 0.4% and the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.9%.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT sits in the 77th percentile for all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 33721. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800, scores 33493, placing the RX 6700 XT 0.7% ahead.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game's performance?

A: The data indicates the GPU is more critical at higher resolutions. At 4K, dropping from Ultra to Low settings increases average FPS from 70.6 to 153.3, a gain of 82.7 FPS. At 1080p, the same settings change moves from 161.5 to 336.3, a gain of 174.8 FPS, showing the CPU can keep up while the GPU workload scales.

Q: What is the measured FPS difference between 1080p and 4K on High settings?

A: On High settings, the average FPS at 1080p is 165.6. At 1440p, it drops to 121.9. At 4K, it falls further to 73.8. This represents a 55.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Does the i5-14600K have integrated graphics that could affect results?

A: Yes, the CPU includes UHD Graphics 770, but the measured FPS values are from the discrete RX 6700 XT. The integrated GPU is not a factor in these benchmark results.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the dominant component in this pairing for Inside. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for this game's art style. The GPU's base clock of 2321 MHz and boost clock of 2581 MHz, with a game clock of 2424 MHz, allow it to push high frame counts.

The data shows the GPU's performance scales predictably with settings. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 174.8 FPS (336.3 vs 161.5). At 1440p, that gap is 122.1 FPS (239.5 vs 117.4). At 4K, the gap narrows to 82.7 FPS (153.3 vs 70.6). This scaling pattern is classic GPU-bound behavior: as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and settings have relatively less impact on the absolute FPS difference.

The GPU's RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process with 17,200 million transistors, delivers a pixel rate of 165.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s. These specifications are far beyond what Inside requires, given its 2016 release date. The benchmark results confirm this: even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains an average of 70.6 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear resolution scaling pattern. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 336.3 FPS, which drops to 239.5 at 1440p and 153.3 at 4K. This is a 54.4% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. On High settings, the drop is steeper: 165.6 FPS at 1080p falls to 121.9 at 1440p and 73.8 at 4K, a 55.4% reduction.

The scaling indicates the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU's strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4642) can feed the GPU fast enough to reach 336.3 FPS. As resolution increases, the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity become the constraint. The 4K Ultra result of 70.6 FPS shows the GPU is working near its limit, while the 4K Low result of 153.3 FPS demonstrates that reducing settings can unlock much higher frame rates.

The data also shows that the gap between Medium and High settings is relatively small compared to the gap between Low and Medium. At 1440p, Medium produces 196.3 FPS while High produces 121.9 FPS, a difference of 74.4 FPS. This suggests that the High preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive on the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

For this combo, the optimal settings depend on the target display. At 1080p, the data shows that even Ultra settings produce 161.5 FPS, which is sufficient for high refresh rate monitors. However, Medium settings at 270.2 FPS offer a significant headroom increase without a visible quality penalty in a game like Inside.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 196.3 FPS is the sweet spot. It provides a comfortable margin above 144 Hz displays while maintaining visual fidelity. High settings at 121.9 FPS are still excellent for 120 Hz displays, but Ultra at 117.4 FPS is marginally slower and unlikely to offer a meaningful visual improvement.

At 4K, the recommendation shifts to Low settings, which deliver 153.3 FPS. This is far above the 60 FPS threshold and provides smooth gameplay. High settings at 73.8 FPS are playable but leave less headroom for demanding scenes. Ultra at 70.6 FPS is the least desirable option, as the frame rate is just above 60 FPS with no room for dips.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the system delivers 336.3 FPS on Low, 270.2 FPS on Medium, 165.6 FPS on High, and 161.5 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium costs 66.1 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 104.6 FPS, and High to Ultra costs only 4.1 FPS.

At 1440p, the results are 239.5 FPS on Low, 196.3 FPS on Medium, 121.9 FPS on High, and 117.4 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 43.2 FPS drop, Medium to High is 74.4 FPS, and High to Ultra is 4.5 FPS.

At 4K, the system achieves 153.3 FPS on Low, 123.6 FPS on Medium, 73.8 FPS on High, and 70.6 FPS on Ultra. The difference between Low and Medium is 29.7 FPS, Medium to High is 49.8 FPS, and High to Ultra is 3.2 FPS.

The consistent pattern across all resolutions is that the High to Ultra transition costs very little FPS (3.2 to 4.5 FPS), while the Medium to High transition is the most expensive. This suggests Ultra is essentially a cosmetic upgrade over High in this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K provides the computational backbone for this system. With 14 cores and 20 threads, it has substantial multi-threaded capacity, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881. However, Inside is not a heavily threaded game, so the CPU's single-thread performance is more relevant.

The CPU's boost clock of 5.30 GHz, combined with a single-core Cinebench R23 score of 4642, ensures that the GPU is never starved of draw calls. This is reflected in the 1080p results, where the system reaches 336.3 FPS on Low settings, indicating the CPU can handle very high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide low-latency access to game data. The processor's 10 nm process node and 125 W TDP are secondary factors; what matters for this game is the high clock speed and efficient instruction processing. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, scores 0.2% lower on average, confirming that the i5-14600K is among the fastest gaming CPUs available.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 835 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the 50th percentile of all systems tested, which is notable given that the GPU sits in the 77th percentile for all GPUs.

The discrepancy between the GPU's high percentile and the combo's middling rank suggests that many other tested systems include faster GPUs or that the game's performance is more dependent on GPU than CPU. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs reinforces this interpretation: the i5-14600K is an elite processor, but the RX 6700 XT is a mid-to-high-tier GPU that holds the combo back in a GPU-limited game.

The measured FPS data supports this view. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 70.6 FPS, which is respectable but not exceptional. At 1080p Low, it reaches 336.3 FPS, showing the ceiling of what this GPU can achieve with a fast CPU. The rank of 835 suggests that roughly half of all tested combos achieve higher FPS in Inside, likely due to more powerful GPUs such as the RX 6800, which scores 0.7% higher on average.