Inside

# Inside — Intel Core i5-14600K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 produces exceptionally high frame rates in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is far less demanding than modern AAA titles. Across all tested resolutions and settings, this combination never drops below 126 FPS average, making it capable of driving high-refresh-rate displays even at 4K Ultra. The data indicates that the RTX 4080, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth, is heavily utilized at higher resolutions, while the i5-14600K's 14 cores and 20 threads provide ample headroom for this title's modest CPU demands.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Inside?*

A: The maximum average FPS is 391, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution, Medium settings deliver 361 FPS, High settings 294 FPS, and Ultra settings 280 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score is 54247, placing it 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER (score 54209) and 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (score 54828, deltaPct -1.1). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6% and the AMD Radeon 8060S by 2.7%.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested system combinations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 161st out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the top 4.3% of all systems evaluated for Inside.

Q: Does the i5-14600K bottleneck the RTX 4080 at 1080p?

A: No bottleneck is evident. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 391 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra it still delivers 280 FPS. The CPU's single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064) and multi-core capability (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491) are sufficient to feed the GPU in this game.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded, and at which settings?

A: The lowest average FPS is 126, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is still well above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating the game remains highly playable even at maximum settings and 4K resolution.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 4080 have, and what type?

A: The RTX 4080 features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s and an effective memory clock of 22.4 Gbps. This capacity is more than sufficient for Inside's visual assets at all tested settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing for Inside. Its specifications—16 GB of GDDR6X memory, 716.8 GB/s bandwidth, and a boost clock of 2505 MHz—provide substantial headroom for a game with simple geometric visuals and limited texture complexity. The GPU's 9728 shading units and 112 ROPs contribute to the high pixel throughput (280.6 GPixel/s) and texture rate (761.5 GTexel/s) that drive the observed frame rates.

At 1080p, the GPU is underutilized; the average FPS ranges from 391 at Low to 280 at Ultra, a difference of 111 FPS between the two extremes. This spread indicates that even at Ultra, the GPU is not fully saturated, as the game's rendering load is light. However, at 4K, the picture changes. The average FPS drops from 265 at Low to 126 at Ultra, a 139 FPS reduction, showing that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become more critical as pixel count quadruples. The RTX 4080's 716.8 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and frame buffer operations remain efficient, preventing memory-related stutters even at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores corroborate its strong performance: a Passmark G3D score of 34457 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567. Its percentile ranking against all GPUs is 86, and its average benchmark score of 54247 is within 0.1% of the RTX 4080 SUPER, indicating near-flagship-tier performance. In Inside, this translates to frame rates that exceed 120 FPS at every resolution and setting combination tested, making the RTX 4080 a clear performance leader for this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target refresh rate and resolution. At 1920x1080, all settings deliver average FPS above 280, so the choice is between visual fidelity and frame rate headroom. Ultra settings at 1080p yield 280 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any 240 Hz monitor, while Medium settings push that to 361 FPS for users with 360 Hz displays. The data shows that High settings at 1080p (294 FPS) offer only a marginal improvement over Ultra (280 FPS), suggesting that the visual difference between these presets is not worth the 14 FPS loss.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings produce 201 FPS on average, which comfortably exceeds 144 Hz refresh rates. High settings at 1440p reach 211 FPS, a modest 10 FPS gain over Ultra. Medium settings at 1440p are the outlier, delivering 323 FPS with a minimum of 275 FPS, making this the best choice for competitive play on high-refresh-rate monitors. For 4K (3840x2160), Ultra settings still manage 126 FPS, which is playable on 120 Hz panels, but High settings at 133 FPS provide a more stable experience with a 7 FPS improvement. The data indicates that Medium settings at 4K (212 FPS) are the sweet spot for 240 Hz 4K displays, though such panels are rare.

For the best overall experience, the measured data suggests using High settings at 1080p or 1440p, as these presets balance visual quality with frame rates above 290 FPS. At 4K, High settings are recommended for users prioritizing smoothness, while Ultra is viable for those who value maximum visual fidelity over the 7 FPS difference.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 161st out of 3716 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the top 4.3% of all systems evaluated. This high ranking is driven by both components' strong synthetic performance. The CPU's average benchmark score of 48618 puts it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with its nearest rival being the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (score 48698, deltaPct -0.2) and the AMD EPYC 4345P (score 48470, deltaPct 0.3). The GPU's average benchmark score of 54247 places it at the 86th percentile among all GPUs.

The combination's rank is particularly notable given that Inside is a lightweight title that does not heavily stress either component. The fact that this combo still ranks in the top 161 out of 3716 systems indicates that the i5-14600K's high single-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2064) and the RTX 4080's exceptional rasterization throughput are both being fully leveraged. Systems ranked above this combo likely include higher-end CPUs (such as Core i9 or Ryzen 9 parts) paired with flagship GPUs, but the 14600K + RTX 4080 pairing demonstrates that near-top-tier performance is achievable without the absolute fastest hardware.

The deltaPct values against CPU rivals show that the i5-14600K is within 0.8% of its closest competitors, meaning small benchmark variations could shift the rank slightly. However, the GPU's dominance in Inside—where frame rates are GPU-bound at higher resolutions—ensures that this combo remains highly competitive regardless of minor CPU fluctuations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K, with 14 cores (6 performance and 8 efficiency) and 20 threads, plays a secondary but essential role in Inside. This game's puzzle-platformer genre relies more on GPU rendering than complex AI or physics simulations, so the CPU's workload is relatively light. The processor's base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz, combined with 24 MB of shared L3 cache, provide ample single-thread performance for game logic and frame pacing.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-14600K achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064, indicating strong performance across both threaded and unthreaded workloads. Its Geekbench scores (multi-core 16673, single-core 2491) reinforce this, placing it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs. The Passmark single-thread score of 4270 is particularly relevant for Inside, as the game's main thread likely benefits from high IPC and clock speeds.

The CPU's 125 W TDP and support for DDR4/DDR5 memory (dual-channel) ensure that system memory bandwidth is not a limiting factor. The measured FPS data shows no indication of CPU bottlenecking: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 391 FPS, and even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate (126 FPS) is high enough that the CPU must be delivering frames promptly. The nearest CPU rivals—Intel Xeon Gold 5318H, AMD EPYC 4345P, Intel Core Ultra 5 245HX, and Intel Core Ultra 5 245—all have average scores within 0.8% of the i5-14600K, suggesting that any of these CPUs would yield similar results in Inside.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 391 FPS. Medium settings average 361 FPS, with a minimum of 307 FPS and a maximum of 415 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. High settings average 294 FPS, and Ultra settings average 280 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 111 FPS, indicating that the GPU's load increases significantly with visual quality.

At 2560x1440, frame rates remain high but show a wider gap between settings. Low settings average 350 FPS. Medium settings average 323 FPS, with a minimum of 275 FPS and a maximum of 372 FPS. High settings average 211 FPS, and Ultra settings average 201 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 149 FPS, highlighting the increased GPU workload at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop more sharply. Low settings average 265 FPS. Medium settings average 212 FPS, with a minimum of 181 FPS and a maximum of 244 FPS. High settings average 133 FPS, and Ultra settings average 126 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 139 FPS, similar to the 1440p spread, but the absolute values are lower due to the 4K pixel count.

The data reveals that Medium settings consistently provide the highest minimum FPS values at each resolution (307 at 1080p, 275 at 1440p, 181 at 4K), indicating more stable frame delivery compared to other presets. High and Ultra settings show no reported minimum or maximum values, suggesting they were not measured for frame variance, but their averages are consistent with expectations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial but not linear. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 391 at 1080p to 265 at 4K, a 32% reduction. At Medium settings, it drops from 361 to 212, a 41% reduction. At High settings, it falls from 294 to 133, a 55% reduction. At Ultra settings, it declines from 280 to 126, a 55% reduction.

This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p, the RTX 4080 is not fully utilized, as evidenced by the small gap between Low (391 FPS) and Ultra (280 FPS). At 4K, the gap narrows in absolute terms (265 to 126 FPS), but the percentage drop is larger, suggesting the GPU's pixel processing and memory bandwidth are being pushed harder.

The transition from 1440p to 4K shows the steepest declines. At Low settings, 350 FPS at 1440p drops to 265 FPS at 4K (24% reduction). At Medium, 323 FPS drops to 212 FPS (34% reduction). At High, 211 FPS drops to 133 FPS (37% reduction). At Ultra, 201 FPS drops to 126 FPS (37% reduction). These reductions align with the 4K resolution having 2.25 times the pixel count of 1440p, though the actual FPS drops are less severe, indicating that the GPU's scaling efficiency is good.

The data suggests that Inside is primarily GPU-bound at resolutions above 1080p, with the RTX 4080's 716.8 GB/s memory bandwidth and 48.74 TFLOPS FP32 performance being the key resources. The CPU's role diminishes at higher resolutions, as frame rate reductions are driven by GPU workload rather than CPU limitations. This is consistent with the combo's high rank in the game, as the i5-14600K provides sufficient single-thread performance to avoid becoming a bottleneck even at 4K Ultra.