Inside

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT delivers a remarkable performance profile in Inside, a game that is clearly not demanding by modern standards. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings are exceptionally high, often exceeding the refresh rates of even the most capable displays. This data suggests a system that is heavily overqualified for the title, with the bottleneck shifting almost entirely to the GPU as resolution increases, while the CPU’s strong single-core performance ensures no frame pacing issues at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, but the absolute numbers remain so high that the game is playable at maximum quality on any resolution. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 389.9 FPS, which falls to 308.9 FPS at 1440p and then sharply to 194 FPS at 4K. This represents a 50.2% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor, though it still has ample headroom. The pattern holds across all presets, with the High preset dropping from 210.5 FPS at 1080p to 155.9 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 95.8 FPS at 4K.

The scaling behavior reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. The RX 6800 XT’s 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16 GB of GDDR6 are sufficient to handle the game’s assets, but the sheer pixel count at 3840x2160 demands more from the shading units and ROPs. The data shows that the gap between Medium and Low settings narrows as resolution increases; at 1080p, the difference is 50.8 FPS (389.9 vs 339.1), but at 4K it shrinks to 39.3 FPS (194 vs 154.7). This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU and memory subsystem can feed the GPU fast enough, but at 4K, the GPU’s compute throughput becomes the limiting factor, making the preset choice less impactful on the frame rate.

What is more interesting is the Ultra preset’s performance. At 1080p, Ultra yields 202 FPS, which is only 8.5 FPS less than High (210.5 FPS). However, at 4K, the gap widens to 3.5 FPS (92.3 vs 95.8). This indicates that Ultra settings introduce additional shading complexity that scales with resolution, but the absolute impact is minimal. The data implies that Inside is a lightweight title where the RX 6800 XT is never truly stressed, even at 4K Ultra, which confirms the GPU’s raw power relative to the game’s requirements.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the High preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, High produces 210.5 FPS, which is a 4.2% reduction from Medium’s 339.1 FPS but a significant 104.3% increase over Ultra’s 202 FPS. The visual difference between High and Ultra is likely imperceptible in a game with such a minimalist art style, making High the optimal choice for maximizing frame rate without sacrificing fidelity. At 1440p, High delivers 155.9 FPS, which is comfortably above the 144Hz refresh rate common on many monitors, while Ultra drops to 143.9 FPS, which may fall below that threshold.

For 4K gaming, the High preset’s 95.8 FPS is still highly playable, but the Ultra preset’s 92.3 FPS is nearly identical, suggesting that players can enable Ultra at 4K without a meaningful penalty. The Low preset, while offering 194 FPS at 4K, is an unnecessary compromise given the modest performance gains over Medium (154.7 FPS) and High (95.8 FPS). The data indicates that High is the sweet spot, providing a 63.7% performance increase over Ultra at 1080p while maintaining the same visual quality tier. Medium, with 243.8 FPS at 1440p, is also viable for competitive play, but the frame rate is already so high that the extra 88.1 FPS over High is unlikely to be perceptible.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the dominant component in this configuration, and its specifications explain the high frame rates. The GPU’s boost clock of 2250 MHz, combined with 4608 shading units, delivers a theoretical FP32 performance of 20.74 TFLOPS. This compute power is more than sufficient for Inside, which is a 2D side-scrolling puzzle platformer with relatively simple geometry and lighting. The 128 ROPs ensure efficient pixel fill, which is evident in the 4K results where the frame rate remains above 90 FPS even at Ultra settings.

The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a crucial factor for 4K rendering, as the game’s textures and framebuffer can be stored locally without relying on slower system memory. The data shows that the GPU’s memory subsystem is not a bottleneck; the frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with pixel count scaling rather than memory capacity or bandwidth limitations. The 72 RT cores are irrelevant for this title, as Inside does not utilize ray tracing, but they contribute to the GPU’s overall die size of 520 mm² and transistor count of 26,800 million.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 87 versus all GPUs places it in the upper echelon of graphics cards, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, has an average benchmark score that is 2.6% lower. This data suggests that the RX 6800 XT is not just adequate for Inside but is overkill, as the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (92.3) is nearly triple the 30 FPS target that the game was likely designed around. The GPU’s 300 W TDP and dual-slot design are more relevant for sustained load, but the game’s low intensity means the card is unlikely to reach its power limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system produces exceptional frame rates across all settings. Low settings yield 389.9 FPS, Medium drops to 339.1 FPS, High settles at 210.5 FPS, and Ultra is the most demanding at 202 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 8.5 FPS, suggesting that Ultra adds minimal additional work. At 2560x1440, the scores are 308.9 FPS (Low), 243.8 FPS (Medium), 155.9 FPS (High), and 143.9 FPS (Ultra). The gap between High and Ultra widens to 12 FPS, indicating that resolution scaling amplifies the cost of higher presets.

At 3840x2160, the performance remains impressive but shows the GPU’s limits. Low delivers 194 FPS, Medium drops to 154.7 FPS, High reaches 95.8 FPS, and Ultra produces 92.3 FPS. The data reveals that the High to Ultra gap shrinks to 3.5 FPS, meaning that at 4K, the GPU’s shading units are the primary constraint, and the preset’s additional features have diminishing returns. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is a 50.2% drop, while at High settings it is a 54.5% drop (210.5 to 95.8). This suggests that the GPU is consistently the bottleneck across all settings, but the CPU’s role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 300 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 155.9, which is comfortably above the 144Hz refresh rate common on high-end monitors.

Q: Is the RX 6800 XT capable of 4K gaming in this title?

A: Yes, the data shows 95.8 FPS at High settings and 92.3 FPS at Ultra settings, both of which are well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How much performance is lost when enabling Ultra over High at 1080p?

A: The frame rate drops from 210.5 FPS to 202 FPS, a reduction of 8.5 FPS or approximately 4.2%.

Q: Which preset provides the highest frame rate at 4K?

A: Low settings produce 194 FPS, which is the highest measured at that resolution, but Medium (154.7 FPS) and High (95.8 FPS) are also viable.

Q: Does the CPU limit performance at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU is still the primary bottleneck, but the CPU’s 5.30 GHz boost clock and 14 cores ensure that frame rates above 300 FPS are achievable without stutter.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High at 1440p?

A: Medium delivers 243.8 FPS while High delivers 155.9 FPS, a difference of 87.9 FPS, indicating that High is more demanding but still highly playable.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K plays a supporting role in this configuration, but its capabilities are clearly sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RX 6800 XT. With a boost clock of 5.30 GHz and a base clock of 3.50 GHz, the CPU’s single-thread performance is exceptional, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4642. This is crucial for Inside, which relies heavily on physics calculations and game logic that cannot be easily parallelized. The CPU’s 14 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks, but the game’s low CPU demand means that most cores remain idle.

The L3 cache of 24 MB (shared) ensures that frequently accessed game data is stored close to the cores, reducing memory latency. The CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking versus all CPUs indicates that it is a top-tier processor, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, has an average benchmark score that is only 0.2% higher. This performance parity means that the 14600K is not a weak link in this system. At 1080p with Low settings, the CPU must generate frame data fast enough to feed the GPU’s 389.9 FPS output, and the data shows no signs of CPU-induced frame drops, confirming that the 14600K’s 5.30 GHz boost clock is more than adequate.

The CPU’s 125 W TDP and support for DDR5 memory (though the game’s system memory bandwidth is not a factor) further solidify its position. The data suggests that even at 1080p, the GPU is the limiting factor, as the frame rate scaling from Low to Ultra is consistent with GPU workload rather than CPU thread scheduling. This confirms the 14600K’s single-core prowess, which is often the deciding factor in older or less optimized titles like Inside.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ranks 402nd out of 1671 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the top 24% of all configurations. This ranking is impressive given that the game is not particularly demanding, and it suggests that the combo’s high frame rates are due to the GPU’s raw power rather than any specific optimization. The combo’s rank is likely held back by the fact that many other tested systems may use even more powerful GPUs, such as the RTX 4090, which would push frame rates even higher, but the data shows that the RX 6800 XT is already delivering near-maximum performance for this title.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 87 versus all GPUs and the CPU’s percentile of 93 both contribute to this strong showing. The combo’s performance in Inside is consistent with its benchmark scores; the GPU’s average benchmark score of 49982 is 0.5% higher than the Intel Arc A550M and 1.9% higher than the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, while the CPU’s average score of 49166 is 0.2% higher than the Ryzen 9 5950X. This data suggests that the combo is well-balanced, with neither component significantly dragging down the other. The 402nd rank out of 1671 indicates that while there are faster combos, the vast majority of systems (75.9%) would be slower in this game, making this an excellent pairing for Inside at any resolution or setting.