Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that is remarkably light on hardware demands, and the measured frame rates for the Intel Core i5-14600K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB confirm this. The data shows this combination sits at rank 1186 out of 3716 tested combos for this game, placing it in the upper third of all systems. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested configurations, making it a system that will crush this title at any setting.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache layout includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 24 MB of L3 cache. This processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, which is relevant for a game like Inside that does not stress memory bandwidth heavily.

For a puzzle platformer, the CPU demands are minimal, and the benchmark data reflects that. The processor's single-threaded performance is strong, as indicated by a Geekbench single-core score of 2491 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064. Inside relies primarily on single-threaded game logic, collision detection, and physics for its side-scrolling mechanics, and this CPU's boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures that these tasks are handled with minimal latency. The multi-core performance is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a Passmark multithread score of 38682, though the game itself will rarely utilize more than a few threads.

The processor's percentile ranking of 90 against all CPUs means it outperforms the vast majority of installed processors. When comparing to its nearest rivals, the data shows the i5-14600K sits within a narrow band of performance. It is 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4345P, 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX, and 0.8% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245. These are negligible differences in the context of Inside, where even a much weaker CPU would not bottleneck the frame rates.

In this game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle the game's physics and logic. With the measured FPS reaching as high as 386 at 1080p Low settings, it is evident that the i5-14600K is more than capable. The data shows that even at the highest settings, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The Passmark single-thread score of 4270 and the Cinebench R15 single-core score of 297 both indicate a processor that can easily handle the demands of a 2016-era puzzle platformer. The 14 cores and 20 threads are overkill for this title, but they ensure that background tasks or streaming will not introduce stutters, as the processor has ample headroom.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process node, with a chip size of 188 mm² and 22,900 million transistors. It features 4352 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines, along with 34 ray tracing cores and 136 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2310 MHz and a boost clock of 2535 MHz, with memory running at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is paired with a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s.

For a game like Inside, which has a distinctive monochromatic art style and relatively simple 2D visuals rendered in 3D, the GPU requirements are modest. The RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB is vastly overqualified for this title. The benchmark data shows a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2913, which places the GPU in the 19th percentile of all GPUs — a surprisingly low ranking that reflects the benchmark's focus on modern heavy workloads, not the GPU's actual capability for older titles. In comparison to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB is 0.1% behind the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell SFF, 0.2% ahead of the RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB, 0.3% behind the NVIDIA Quadro P600, and 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4010.

The 8 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Inside, which has modest texture requirements even at Ultra settings. The memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s is ample for the game's data streaming needs. The GPU's pixel rate of 121.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 344.8 GTexel/s are far beyond what this game requires, even at 4K resolution. The FP32 performance of 22.06 TFLOPS ensures that any shader work is handled with ease.

The data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate differences between settings, but it is never the bottleneck in a negative sense. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS drops to 184 from 193 at High, while at Low settings it jumps to 386. This scaling suggests that the GPU is working harder at higher settings, but it is still delivering frame rates far above what any display can show. The RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring full compatibility with the game's rendering requirements. The 16-pin power connector and 450 W suggested PSU are standard for this class of GPU, and the dual-slot design with a length of 240 mm makes it easy to fit in most cases.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this system achieves in Inside?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 386 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 2560x1440 Low, it drops to 278, and at 3840x2160 Low, it reaches 174.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 48618. It is 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (score 48698) and 0.8% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (score 48995). It is 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4345P (score 48470) and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX (score 48287).

Q: Is the 8 GB of VRAM on the RTX 4060 Ti sufficient for Inside at 4K?

A: Yes. The measured data at 3840x2160 Ultra shows an average FPS of 83, which is playable, and at High it reaches 87. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than enough for this game's texture and geometry data.

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the average FPS is 309. At 2560x1440 Medium, it is 222, and at 3840x2160 Medium, it is 140. This represents a 54.7% drop from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB compare to the RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB in 3DMark Steel Nomad?

A: The RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB scores 2913, while the RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB scores 2907. The 8 GB model is 0.2% ahead in this specific benchmark, though the difference is negligible.

Q: What is the system's rank among all tested combos for Inside?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB ranks 1186 out of 3716 tested combos for this game, placing it in the 68th percentile of tested systems.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data for this system in Inside reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the system delivers outstanding frame rates regardless of settings. Low settings produce an average of 386 FPS, Medium settings drop to 309 FPS with a minimum of 263 and maximum of 355, High settings yield 193 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 184 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 202 FPS, indicating that the GPU is doing significantly more work at higher quality presets, but even the lowest result is far above any display refresh rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. Low settings average 278 FPS, Medium settings average 222 FPS with a minimum of 189 and maximum of 255, High settings average 139 FPS, and Ultra settings average 132 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings is consistent: Low drops from 386 to 278 FPS (a 28% reduction), Medium drops from 309 to 222 FPS (a 28% reduction), High drops from 193 to 139 FPS (a 28% reduction), and Ultra drops from 184 to 132 FPS (a 28% reduction). This uniform scaling suggests that the GPU is the primary factor, as the relative performance drop is identical across all settings.

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, the frame rates are still very playable. Low settings average 174 FPS, Medium settings average 140 FPS with a minimum of 119 and maximum of 161, High settings average 87 FPS, and Ultra settings average 83 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced: Low drops from 278 to 174 FPS (a 37% reduction), Medium drops from 222 to 140 FPS (a 37% reduction), High drops from 139 to 87 FPS (a 37% reduction), and Ultra drops from 132 to 83 FPS (a 37% reduction). This steeper decline at 4K indicates that the GPU is becoming more stressed as pixel count increases, but it still maintains playable frame rates even at Ultra settings.

The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 263 FPS, at 1440p Medium, the minimum is 189 FPS, and at 4K Medium, the minimum is 119 FPS. These minimums indicate that there are no severe frame time spikes that would cause noticeable stuttering. The maximum FPS figures follow a similar pattern, with 355 at 1080p, 255 at 1440p, and 161 at 4K, all at Medium settings.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data for Inside provides insight into which component is the limiting factor at various settings. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by exactly 28% at every settings preset. This uniform reduction is a strong indicator that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the CPU has more than enough headroom to handle the increased pixel count without affecting frame rates. The i5-14600K's single-thread performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064, is sufficient to maintain the same CPU-side frame generation rate even as resolution increases.

From 1440p to 4K, the FPS drop increases to 37% at every settings preset. This steeper decline is also consistent across all settings, which again points to the GPU being the limiting factor. The RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB's pixel rate of 121.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 344.8 GTexel/s are being pushed harder at 4K, and the frame rate scales accordingly. The fact that the percentage drop is identical across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra settings suggests that the GPU's rendering workload scales linearly with resolution, while the settings presets affect a different aspect of the rendering pipeline.

The data shows that the CPU is never the limiting component in this game. At 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work to do, the system achieves 386 FPS. This is a clear sign that the CPU can generate frames faster than the GPU can render them, even at low resolutions. The i5-14600K's boost clock of 5.30 GHz and its Passmark single-thread score of 4270 are more than adequate for the game's logic. At 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 83, but this is purely due to the GPU's rendering workload, as the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU at a much higher rate.

The resolution scaling pattern also indicates that the game is not memory-bandwidth limited. The GPU's 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient to handle the increased data demands at 4K, as evidenced by the playable frame rates. If memory bandwidth were a bottleneck, the FPS drop from 1440p to 4K would be more severe than the 37% observed, and it would vary more between settings. The consistent scaling across all settings confirms that the GPU's compute and pixel-processing capabilities are the primary determinants of frame rate at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Given the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset for this system in Inside depends on the resolution and the user's display refresh rate. At 1920x1080, every preset delivers frame rates far above any standard display refresh rate. Even Ultra settings, which produce 184 FPS, exceed the capabilities of most 144Hz monitors. For users with a 240Hz display, Low settings at 386 FPS would be the choice, but for most users, Ultra settings at 184 FPS provide the best visual experience without sacrificing smoothness. The data shows that Ultra is only 4.7% slower than High at 1080p, making it a free visual upgrade.

At 2560x1440, the situation is similar. Ultra settings produce 132 FPS, which is above the 120Hz refresh rate common on many 1440p monitors. High settings at 139 FPS are marginally faster, but the visual difference between High and Ultra may be noticeable in the game's detailed environments. Medium settings at 222 FPS are available for users with 240Hz displays, but the visual compromise is significant. The data suggests that Ultra is the best choice for 1440p, as it maintains a frame rate that exceeds most displays while providing the highest visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the choice becomes more nuanced. Ultra settings produce 83 FPS, which is below the 120Hz refresh rate of many 4K displays but still playable. High settings at 87 FPS are only 4.8% faster, which is negligible. Medium settings at 140 FPS are the best option for users with 120Hz or 144Hz 4K displays, as they provide a frame rate that matches or exceeds the display's refresh rate while still offering good visual quality. Low settings at 174 FPS are available for those with 240Hz 4K displays, but the visual compromise is substantial for a game that relies heavily on atmosphere and lighting.

The data shows that Medium settings offer the best balance of frame rate and visual quality at 4K, with a minimum FPS of 119 that ensures no drops below common 120Hz refresh rates. At 1440p and 1080p, Ultra settings are recommended, as the frame rates remain high enough to avoid any perceptible stutter while delivering the full visual experience. The measured results indicate that this system is overqualified for the game, and users should prioritize visual quality over frame rate at lower resolutions, while at 4K, Medium settings provide the best experience per the measured data.