Inside

# Inside on Intel Core i5-14600KF + Intel Arc B390

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the Intel Arc B390 delivers playable but not exceptional performance in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer from 2016. The combo ranks near the bottom of the tested database at position 2547 out of 2887 combos, placing it in the 12th percentile overall. The Arc B390, with its integrated graphics architecture and system-shared memory, is the clear bottleneck in this pairing — the i5-14600KF is a high-end desktop processor that sits in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 puts it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs. This extreme mismatch means the CPU's substantial compute headroom — evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 — goes largely unused in most gaming scenarios. The measured frame rates confirm this: even at 1080p Low, the system reaches 156 FPS, but Ultra settings at 4K drop to just 34 FPS, a pattern that points squarely at GPU limitations rather than CPU performance.

FAQ

*Q: Is this combo capable of running Inside at 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, at 1080p and 1440p with Low or Medium settings. The data shows 1080p Low at 156 FPS, 1080p Medium at 125 FPS, 1440p Low at 112 FPS, and 1440p Medium at 90 FPS. However, at 4K, only Low settings achieve 70 FPS; Medium drops to 56 FPS, and High falls to 35 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% higher than the GT 710 (1443). These are all entry-level or legacy mobile/desktop GPUs, indicating the B390 sits at the very bottom of the discrete graphics performance spectrum.

Q: What is the CPU's performance standing relative to other processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, placing it in the 90th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, scores 49228 (0.3% lower), while the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 scores 49796 (0.8% higher). This places the i5-14600KF in a tightly contested group of high-end desktop processors.

Q: Does the 4K Ultra setting provide a smooth experience?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 34, which is below the typical 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Even the 4K High preset only reaches 35 FPS. For 4K gaming, Low settings are required to stay above 60 FPS, with 70 FPS recorded.

Q: How does the GPU's memory configuration affect performance?

A: The Intel Arc B390 uses system-shared memory with system-dependent bandwidth, meaning it relies on the CPU's main RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. The GPU's base clock is 300 MHz with a boost clock of 2500 MHz, and it has 1536 shading units. This shared-memory design likely contributes to the performance scaling issues seen at higher resolutions, where memory bandwidth demands increase substantially.

Q: What is the best resolution-to-settings combination for this system?

A: The data indicates 1080p Medium (125 FPS) or 1440p Medium (90 FPS) as the sweet spots for a balance of visual quality and smooth performance. 1080p High (78 FPS) and 1440p High (56 FPS) are also viable, but 4K High (35 FPS) and 4K Ultra (34 FPS) fall below comfortable playability thresholds.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the defining component in this system's Inside performance, and its specifications explain why. The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, featuring 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation units. It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which are more than sufficient for a 2016 puzzle platformer. However, its memory configuration is "System Shared" across size, type, and bus width, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This means the GPU has no dedicated VRAM of its own; it draws from the system's main memory over the bus interface, which is labeled as IGP (integrated graphics processor).

The performance implications are stark. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all legacy NVIDIA parts from the early 2010s — the GT 520MX (1463), GeForce 800M (1460), GT 625 OEM (1446), and GT 710 (1443). The B390 edges out these aging chips by margins of 1.3% to 2.7%, which is statistically negligible. In the context of Inside, a game with relatively modest graphical demands, this GPU still manages to produce playable frame rates at lower settings, but the ceiling is low. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s provide theoretical limits that the measured FPS data reflects — 4K High and Ultra both fall into the mid-30s, suggesting the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth constraints are the primary limiting factors.

The CPU's role is secondary but not irrelevant. The i5-14600KF has 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its L3 cache is 24 MB shared, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In a game like Inside, which is not CPU-intensive by modern standards, the i5-14600KF provides ample headroom. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 156 FPS, and at 1440p Low it reaches 112 FPS — these numbers are likely near the game's engine limits or the CPU's single-thread performance ceiling, but they are far higher than what the GPU can sustain at higher settings. The passmark single-thread score of 4273 and Geekbench single-core score of 2445 confirm strong per-core performance, which matters for game logic and physics, but the GPU's 9th percentile standing means it cannot translate that CPU power into high-end visuals.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core i5-14600KF and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2547 out of 2887 tested combinations in Inside, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems. This ranking is heavily skewed by the GPU's weak performance. The CPU alone would rank near the top — its 90th percentile standing among all CPUs and an average benchmark score of 49394 put it just 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228) and 0.8% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (48995). But the Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU ranking drags the combined system down dramatically.

The disconnect between CPU and GPU performance is the story here. The i5-14600KF's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and Geekbench multi-core score of 17085 demonstrate a processor that can handle demanding multi-threaded workloads with ease. Its passmark integer math score of 125982 and floating-point math score of 93048 further underscore its compute capabilities. Yet in Inside, the measured FPS at 4K Ultra is just 34 FPS, which is barely above the minimum acceptable playability threshold. This is a textbook case of a CPU-bound system being held back by an underpowered GPU — the processor is waiting on the graphics solution at every turn.

Compared to other combos in the database, this ranking suggests that users would need to significantly lower graphical settings to achieve smooth performance. The 2887 total combos tested mean the system is in the 88th percentile of underperformers — only 340 combos rank lower. This is a poor result for a CPU that costs a launch MSRP of $294 and is designed for high-refresh-rate gaming. The GPU's integrated nature, with its 80 W TDP and IGP slot width, is fundamentally mismatched with the desktop-class i5-14600KF.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Inside on this system spans three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a complete picture of performance scaling:

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 156 FPS average
• Medium: 125 FPS average, with a minimum of 106 FPS and maximum of 144 FPS
• High: 78 FPS average
• Ultra: 74 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 112 FPS average
• Medium: 90 FPS average, with a minimum of 76 FPS and maximum of 103 FPS
• High: 56 FPS average
• Ultra: 53 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 70 FPS average
• Medium: 56 FPS average, with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS
• High: 35 FPS average
• Ultra: 34 FPS average

At 1080p, the system is clearly capable of high refresh rates on lower presets — 156 FPS on Low and 125 FPS on Medium are excellent numbers that would satisfy most gamers. However, the jump from Medium to High at 1080p costs 47 FPS (from 125 to 78), which is a massive drop for a single settings tier increase. The difference between High (78 FPS) and Ultra (74 FPS) at 1080p is much smaller (4 FPS), suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects have diminishing returns relative to the performance cost.

At 1440p, the pattern repeats but with lower overall performance. Low hits 112 FPS, Medium 90 FPS, but High drops to 56 FPS and Ultra to 53 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 76 FPS is still comfortably above 60 FPS, making it the last playable tier at this resolution. At 4K, only Low (70 FPS) exceeds 60 FPS. Medium averages 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS, which will produce noticeable stutter. High and Ultra are effectively unplayable at 35 and 34 FPS respectively.

The min/max data available for Medium settings shows consistent frame pacing: 1080p Medium ranges from 106 to 144 FPS (a 38 FPS spread), 1440p Medium from 76 to 103 FPS (27 FPS spread), and 4K Medium from 48 to 65 FPS (17 FPS spread). The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that GPU-bound scenarios produce more frame consistency, albeit at lower absolute values.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the GPU as the limiting component. At Low settings, the system delivers 156 FPS at 1080p, 112 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. This represents a 71% reduction from 1080p to 4K (from 156 to 70 FPS), which is a much steeper decline than the 4x increase in pixel count would suggest if the system were perfectly scaling. A perfectly scaling system would show roughly 39 FPS at 4K if it delivered 156 FPS at 1080p (156/4), but the actual 70 FPS is nearly double that, indicating the system is not purely pixel-bound at lower settings — the CPU is helping to maintain frame rates even as resolution increases.

At Medium settings, the scaling is different: 125 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 56 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 28% (125 to 90), and from 1440p to 4K is 38% (90 to 56). These percentages are less severe than the Low setting scaling, suggesting that at Medium settings, the GPU is becoming more of a bottleneck, but the CPU still contributes meaningfully.

At High settings, the numbers tell a different story: 78 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop is 28% (78 to 56), and the 1440p-to-4K drop is 38% (56 to 35). The 4K High result of 35 FPS is nearly identical to the 4K Ultra result of 34 FPS, which indicates that the GPU has hit a hard performance wall — additional settings increases produce no meaningful FPS change because the GPU is already saturated.

This scaling pattern indicates that the Intel Arc B390's system-shared memory architecture is the primary constraint. As resolution increases, the demand for memory bandwidth grows, and the shared-memory design cannot keep pace. The GPU's 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate is a theoretical maximum that is never approached in practice at high resolutions. The fact that 4K Ultra (34 FPS) and 4K High (35 FPS) are essentially identical, while 4K Medium (56 FPS) is significantly higher, suggests that the High and Ultra presets introduce effects that push the GPU past its effective bandwidth limits.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this system depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a stable 60 FPS experience, the following configurations are viable: 1080p Ultra (74 FPS), 1080p High (78 FPS), 1080p Medium (125 FPS), 1080p Low (156 FPS), 1440p Medium (90 FPS), 1440p Low (112 FPS), and 4K Low (70 FPS).

The best overall experience at 1080p is Medium at 125 FPS, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while offering improved visuals over Low. High at 78 FPS is also acceptable, but the 47 FPS drop from Medium to High suggests that the Medium preset delivers substantially better smoothness for a modest visual compromise. Ultra at 74 FPS is nearly identical to High in performance, so if visual fidelity is the priority, Ultra is a reasonable choice at 1080p — the 4 FPS difference between High and Ultra is minimal.

At 1440p, Medium at 90 FPS is the recommended choice. It offers excellent frame pacing with a minimum of 76 FPS, ensuring no drops below 60 FPS. Low at 112 FPS is viable for competitive play, but Medium's visual improvements come at a manageable 22 FPS cost. High at 56 FPS and Ultra at 53 FPS both fall below the 60 FPS threshold, making them less desirable despite the visual gains. For users who prioritize image quality over frame rate, High at 56 FPS is borderline acceptable, but the minimum FPS data is not available for this preset, so stutter risk is unknown.

At 4K, the options are severely limited. Low at 70 FPS is the only preset that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the default recommendation for 4K gaming on this system. Medium at 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS will experience noticeable frame drops during busy scenes, but it may be acceptable for a slow-paced puzzle platformer like Inside. High at 35 FPS and Ultra at 34 FPS are not recommended for smooth gameplay, as the frame rates are below half of the 60 FPS target.

The data suggests that the Intel Arc B390 is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p with Medium settings. The system's performance at 4K is marginal at best, and the GPU's 9th percentile standing among all GPUs makes high-resolution, high-settings gaming impractical. For the best balance of visual quality and performance, 1440p Medium at 90 FPS is the standout recommendation — it provides a smooth, responsive experience while maintaining a reasonably high level of graphical detail.