Inside

Inside is a restrained, atmospheric puzzle-platformer, not a brute-force GPU stress test, yet the measured frame rates for this Intel Core i5-14600KF and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination reveal a surprisingly wide performance envelope. At 1080p, the system is utterly dominant, pushing frame rates far beyond what any display requires, but the scaling to 4K exposes the GPU as the definitive limiting factor. The data indicates a pairing that is exceptionally well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gameplay, while 4K Ultra remains a smoother experience only at reduced settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is the clearest indicator of where the performance bottleneck lies in this configuration. At the "Medium" preset, the average frame rate plummets from 206 FPS at 1920x1080 to 148 FPS at 2560x1440, a significant step down. Pushing further to 3840x2160, the average falls to 93 FPS, meaning the jump from 1440p to 4K represents another substantial performance hit. This pattern—a steep decline with every resolution increase—is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario; the CPU has ample headroom, but the Radeon RX 6600's rendering throughput is being saturated as pixel count rises.

The behavior at the "High" and "Ultra" presets reinforces this conclusion. At 1080p High, the system produces 129 FPS, which drops to 92 FPS at 1440p and then to 58 FPS at 4K. The halving of performance between 1080p and 4K is a direct consequence of the GPU having to render four times the number of pixels. The fact that the frame rate is still playable at 4K High suggests that Inside's art style, which features a stark silhouette aesthetic, is not overly demanding on fill rate, but the trend is unmistakable.

The "Low" preset tells a different story about the CPU's role. Here, the system achieves 257 FPS at 1080p, 185 FPS at 1440p, and 116 FPS at 4K. Even at 4K Low, the frame rate is more than double the 55 FPS seen at 4K Ultra. This massive spread between the lowest and highest settings at the same resolution shows that the game's visual effects are heavily taxing the GPU. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, is never the primary constraint; the data shows that even at the lowest resolution and settings, the frame rates are so high that they would be limited by the display refresh rate rather than the processor's capabilities.

In summary, the resolution scaling analysis shows that this combo is a 1080p and 1440p powerhouse. At 4K, the RX 6600 becomes the clear limiting component, with the performance delta between Low and Ultra settings being far more impactful than the resolution change itself. The system's ability to hit 116 FPS at 4K Low versus 55 FPS at 4K Ultra highlights that users targeting 4K should prioritize lowering graphical settings to maintain high frame rates, as the CPU will comfortably keep up with the GPU's output in either case.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Inside with this hardware for a high-refresh-rate experience?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution for maximum frame rates. At the "Medium" preset, the combo delivers 206 FPS, and even at "Ultra" it maintains 122 FPS, which is sufficient for most high-refresh-rate displays. 2560x1440 is also viable, with 148 FPS on Medium and 88 FPS on Ultra, but 4K drops the frame rate significantly.

Q: How does the frame rate scale between the "Low" and "Ultra" settings at 1440p?

A: The difference is substantial. At 2560x1440, the "Low" setting produces an average of 185 FPS, while the "Ultra" setting drops to 88 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of over 50% when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset, indicating that the graphical effects are very demanding on the GPU.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600KF a bottleneck for the AMD Radeon RX 6600 in this game?

A: No, the benchmark results indicate the opposite. The CPU has a high average benchmark score of 49394, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. The frame rates at 1080p, even with "Low" settings at 257 FPS, are so high that the processor is clearly not limiting performance; the GPU is the primary factor determining the final frame rate.

Q: What kind of performance can I expect at 4K with this setup?

A: At 3840x2160, the experience is highly dependent on settings. The "Ultra" preset averages 55 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. The "High" preset averages 58 FPS. However, the "Medium" preset improves this to 93 FPS, and the "Low" preset reaches 116 FPS, showing that 4K is only viable when reducing graphical fidelity.

Q: How does this combination rank compared to other tested hardware combos for this game?

A: The measured data places this combo at rank 2869 out of 3716 tested combinations. This ranking, which is in the lower 23rd percentile, suggests that while the combo is capable, many other hardware configurations produce higher frame rates in Inside, likely due to more powerful GPUs.

Q: Is there any frame rate data for the "High" preset at 1080p?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS for the "High" preset at 1920x1080 is 129 FPS. This is a very strong result, indicating that the game will feel exceptionally smooth at this resolution with high visual quality, with no minimum frame rate reported to cause concern.

How This Combo Ranks

The overall position of this CPU and GPU pairing in the database for Inside is rank 2869 out of 3716 combos. This places it in the lower half of all tested configurations, suggesting that while it's a competent performer, the specific combination of an Intel Core i5-14600KF and an AMD Radeon RX 6600 is not at the top of the performance hierarchy for this title. The data shows that many other systems achieve higher average frame rates, likely due to more powerful graphics cards.

However, this ranking must be interpreted in the context of the game's low system requirements. A rank of 2869 does not indicate a poor experience; rather, it reflects a large database of systems that may feature higher-end GPUs like the NVIDIA RTX 4050 Mobile or Quadro K6000, which are listed as direct rivals to the RX 6600 in general GPU benchmarks. The RX 6600's average benchmark score of 19036 places it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the Quadro K6000, has a nearly identical score with a deltaPct of 0%. This means the GPU is a solid mid-range performer, but it is not a high-end part.

The CPU, on the other hand, is a much stronger component in this pairing. Its average benchmark score of 49394 is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, and it outperforms its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, by a 0.3% margin. This indicates that the processor is significantly more powerful relative to its peers than the GPU is. Consequently, the combo's rank in Inside is almost certainly determined by the GPU's performance ceiling, as the CPU has more than enough headroom to feed the graphics card. The rank suggests that for users with high-refresh-rate monitors, this system is more than capable, but for those seeking the absolute highest frame rates possible, a more powerful GPU would be required to climb the rankings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rate data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast. The "Low" preset leads with an average of 257 FPS, followed by "Medium" at 206 FPS with a minimum of 175 FPS and a maximum of 237 FPS. The "High" preset achieves 129 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset still manages a very playable 122 FPS. This demonstrates that at 1080p, the combo can easily drive high-refresh-rate monitors at any settings level.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the expected decline. The "Low" preset averages 185 FPS, while "Medium" drops to 148 FPS with a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 170 FPS. The "High" preset produces 92 FPS, and "Ultra" yields 88 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1440p is a sweet spot for this hardware, offering a great balance between visual fidelity and smoothness, with even the most demanding preset staying above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. The "Low" preset is the most playable option, delivering an average of 116 FPS. The "Medium" preset follows with 93 FPS, with a reported minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS. The "High" and "Ultra" presets both fall below 60 FPS, with averages of 58 FPS and 55 FPS, respectively. This shows that 4K gaming is only viable when sacrificing visual quality, as the "Ultra" setting's 55 FPS average is noticeably less fluid than the higher presets at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the decisive factor in this system's performance in Inside. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern where the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU's specifications include 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is adequate for a game from 2016, but the data shows that the GPU's raw compute power is what limits performance at 4K Ultra.

The card's boost clock is listed at 2491 MHz, with a game clock of 2044 MHz. These high clocks, combined with 1792 shading units, allow for strong performance at 1080p, but the sheer number of pixels at 4K overwhelms the GPU. The benchmark results support this: the GPU's average benchmark score is 19036, placing it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro K6000, has a deltaPct of 0%, meaning they perform nearly identically in general benchmarks. This level of performance is sufficient for a smooth 1080p experience, but it is not designed for high-fidelity 4K gaming.

The GPU's VRAM is not a limiting factor in this title, as the game's visual style is not texture-heavy. However, the frame rate drop from 1080p Medium (206 FPS) to 4K Medium (93 FPS) is a direct result of the GPU's rendering capabilities. The "Ultra" preset at 4K, which averages 55 FPS, shows that the card is stretched to its absolute limit. The data indicates that the RX 6600 is a capable mid-range card, but it is clearly the component that determines the upper bounds of performance in this combination, especially when pushing beyond 1080p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF plays a supporting, yet crucial, role in this pairing, ensuring that the GPU is never starved of data. The processor features 14 cores (a mix of performance and efficiency cores) and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This high core count and boost speed provide ample computational power for game logic and physics. The CPU's strong single-threaded performance is evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594, which is critical for games that rely on a primary thread.

The benchmark results confirm that the CPU is not a bottleneck. Its average benchmark score of 49394 places it in the 90th percentile, and it outperforms the nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, by a 0.3% margin. In the context of Inside, a game that is not heavily multithreaded, the CPU's 20 threads are more than sufficient. The evidence for this is the fact that frame rates scale almost entirely with resolution and settings, which are GPU-dependent variables. At 1080p Low, the system hits 257 FPS, suggesting that the CPU can handle even the most demanding frame rate scenarios without breaking a sweat.

The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache also contributes to low-latency data access. The fact that the combo ranks 2869 out of 3716 is not a reflection of CPU weakness; instead, it highlights that the GPU is the limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see frame rates plateau at a certain level regardless of resolution or settings. Instead, the 1080p to 4K scaling shows a steady decline, which is the expected behavior of a system where the CPU has significant headroom and the GPU is working at its maximum capacity.