Inside

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that proves far less demanding than its atmospheric visuals suggest. The benchmark data shows this combination is capable of extreme frame rates across all tested configurations, with the lowest recorded average still hitting a very playable 83.4 FPS at 4K Ultra. The real question is not whether the hardware can run the game, but how the game's settings scale with this particular CPU-GPU pairing to produce the most consistent and visually optimal result.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows reveal a clear hierarchy where the Ultra preset provides the most sensible baseline for this hardware, despite not being the absolute fastest option. At 1080p Ultra, the combination produces 181.1 FPS average, which is more than sufficient for any display refresh rate currently on the market. The drop from High to Ultra is minimal—190.6 FPS down to 181.1 FPS at 1080p—suggesting that the extra visual fidelity costs only about 5% performance, a negligible trade-off for a game that relies heavily on its moody lighting and shadow work.

However, for players targeting the highest possible frame rates on high-refresh monitors, the Low preset at 1080p is the standout choice, delivering 383.5 FPS average. This represents a 102% improvement over Ultra at the same resolution, and the data indicates that Inside's art style is stylized enough that lower settings do not drastically compromise the experience. The Medium preset at 1080p (308 FPS) offers a middle ground that retains some graphical polish while still doubling the Ultra preset's output.

For 1440p, the recommendation shifts to High (139.8 FPS) or Medium (221.9 FPS) depending on priority. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 132.6 FPS, which is still excellent but begins to approach the territory where the GPU's 12 GB VRAM and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth become more relevant. At 4K, Medium (139 FPS) is the sweet spot—it nearly matches the 1440p High result while providing substantially better image clarity than Low (175.6 FPS but with reduced effects). The 4K Ultra result of 83.4 FPS is playable but represents the only configuration where the frame rate drops below the 90 FPS threshold, making it less ideal for competitive or motion-sensitive play.

FAQ

*Q: Does this CPU-GPU combo maintain 144 FPS at 1440p in Inside?*

A: Yes, but only on lower presets. The data shows 278.6 FPS at Low and 221.9 FPS at Medium, while High and Ultra produce 139.8 FPS and 132.6 FPS respectively, falling just short of the 144 FPS mark.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from Ultra to Low at 1080p?

A: The measured results show 181.1 FPS at Ultra versus 383.5 FPS at Low, representing a 202.4 FPS difference or roughly 112% more frames per second with the lowest settings.

*Q: Is the RX 7700 XT's 12 GB VRAM sufficient for Inside at 4K?*

A: The data indicates no VRAM-related bottleneck. The 4K Ultra preset achieves 83.4 FPS average, and 4K Medium reaches 139 FPS, showing the GPU's memory configuration handles the game's demands without issue.

Q: What is the most demanding setting configuration based on the measured data?

A: The 4K Ultra preset produces the lowest average FPS at 83.4, while the 1080p Low preset produces the highest at 383.5 FPS, representing the two extremes of the tested spectrum.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for this game?

A: The i5-14600K and RX 7700 XT combination ranks 574th out of 1,671 tested combos, placing it in the upper 34% of all configurations evaluated for Inside.

Q: Is there a noticeable difference between High and Ultra presets at any resolution?

A: The differences are modest but consistent. At 1080p, the gap is 9.5 FPS (190.6 to 181.1); at 1440p, it is 7.2 FPS (139.8 to 132.6); and at 4K, it is 4.6 FPS (88 to 83.4), showing diminishing returns as resolution increases.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, plays the dominant role in Inside's performance profile. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which the benchmark data suggests is more than adequate for this title—even the 4K Ultra preset does not appear to hit memory limits based on the frame rates achieved. The core clock configuration, with a base of 1435 MHz and boost up to 2544 MHz, scales predictably across resolutions, with the game clock of 2171 MHz representing the typical sustained frequency during gameplay.

The GPU's 35.17 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 244.2 GPixel/s pixel rate explain why the card excels at the lower resolutions. At 1080p, the RX 7700 XT is clearly not the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 383.5 FPS result at Low settings. The jump to 1440p shows the GPU beginning to assert itself more, with the Ultra preset dropping to 132.6 FPS, while the 4K results—particularly the 83.4 FPS at Ultra—confirm that resolution scaling follows a predictable curve tied to pixel throughput. The card's 96 ROPs and 216 TMUs handle Inside's 2.5D rendering style efficiently, and the data indicates the GPU remains the primary performance driver once settings exceed Medium at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination produces its most impressive numbers. The Low preset achieves 383.5 FPS average, Medium reaches 308 FPS, High hits 190.6 FPS, and Ultra settles at 181.1 FPS. This spread of over 200 FPS between the lowest and highest presets demonstrates that Inside's graphical options have a substantial impact on GPU workload, even at the entry-level resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results show a proportional scaling. Low delivers 278.6 FPS, Medium drops to 221.9 FPS, High produces 139.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 132.6 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is most pronounced on the Low preset (27.4% reduction) and least on Ultra (26.8% reduction), suggesting the GPU's fill rate limits become more relevant at higher resolutions regardless of settings.

At 3840x2160, the 4K results reveal the expected additional strain. Low still manages 175.6 FPS, Medium produces 139 FPS, High reaches 88 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 83.4 FPS. The 4K Low result is particularly telling—it nearly matches the 1440p High performance, indicating that resolution is a more significant factor than settings for this GPU in this game.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a consistent scaling pattern as resolution increases. From 1080p to 1440p, the average performance drop across all settings is approximately 27%, while from 1440p to 4K, the drop is approximately 37%. This accelerating degradation indicates that the RX 7700 XT's pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, particularly when moving to 4K.

The most dramatic scaling occurs on the Low preset, which drops from 383.5 FPS at 1080p to 175.6 FPS at 4K—a 54.2% reduction. In contrast, the Ultra preset drops from 181.1 FPS to 83.4 FPS, a 53.9% reduction. This similar proportional decline across presets suggests that resolution scaling is largely uniform for this game and GPU combination, with the limiting component shifting from the CPU at low resolutions to the GPU at 4K. The data implies that at 1080p Low, the i5-14600K's 14 cores and 20 threads are capable of feeding the GPU fast enough to reach 383.5 FPS, but at 4K, the GPU's 244.2 GPixel/s pixel rate becomes the ceiling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K, with its 14 cores (6 performance and 8 efficient) and 20 threads, shows its strength in Inside's lower-resolution scenarios. The CPU's 3.50 GHz base clock and 5.30 GHz boost clock, combined with 24 MB of shared L3 cache, provide ample single-thread performance for a game that primarily relies on physics and puzzle logic rather than complex AI. The benchmark results at 1080p Low (383.5 FPS) indicate the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution, as the frame rate exceeds what most displays can even show.

However, the CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases. The fact that 4K Ultra drops to 83.4 FPS while 1080p Ultra maintains 181.1 FPS suggests the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher pixel counts. The i5-14600K's PassMark single-thread score of 4270 and Geekbench single-core score of 2803 place it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, confirming its capability to handle the game's logic without becoming a limiting factor. The CPU's performance relative to rivals—0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and 1% ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H in average benchmark scores—reinforces that processor choice is not the primary determinant of Inside's performance with this GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT combination ranks 574th out of 1,671 tested combos for Inside, placing it firmly in the upper third of all configurations evaluated. This ranking reflects the GPU's 73rd percentile standing among all GPUs and the CPU's 93rd percentile among all CPUs, suggesting the pairing is well-matched for this title. The GPU's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, shows a 0% deltaPct in average benchmark scores, indicating the RX 7700 XT is competitively positioned in its class.

The rank of 574 might seem modest given the high frame rates achieved, but it is important to consider that Inside is not a demanding title—many combinations with older or lower-tier hardware can also achieve playable frame rates. The combo's position in the rankings likely reflects the fact that the game's simple rendering demands do not fully utilize the RX 7700 XT's 35.17 TFLOPS of compute power. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, has a deltaPct of 0.2%, meaning the i5-14600K's 14-core configuration provides essentially identical performance for this workload. In the context of Inside, the data suggests that this combo's ranking is more indicative of the game's low hardware requirements than any deficiency in the components themselves, and the measured FPS results prove the pairing delivers an exceptional experience at every tested resolution and preset.