Inside

Inside is a 2D puzzle-platformer that scales unusually hard with resolution and settings, making it a revealing test of both CPU and GPU headroom. For the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, the measured FPS data shows a system that is heavily GPU-limited at 4K but becomes increasingly CPU-bound as resolution drops, with the 1080p results pushing far past typical 144Hz refresh rates.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all presets. At Low settings, average FPS falls from 318.6 at 1920x1080 to 145.2 at 3840x2160, a reduction of 54.4%. At Ultra, the drop is from 154.0 to 69.0, a 55.2% decline. This near-uniform scaling across presets indicates that resolution—not quality settings—is the primary limiter in this title.

What the data reveals about the limiting component is clear: at 1080p, the GTX 1080 Ti is far from saturated. The 318.6 FPS at Low settings at 1080p versus 145.2 at 4K shows the GPU has ample headroom at lower pixel counts, meaning the Core i5-14600KF's strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4643) is what allows these frame rates to scale upward. At 4K, however, the GPU's rasterization limits (11.34 TFLOPS FP32, 484.4 GB/s memory bandwidth) become the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 69.0 FPS at Ultra—a 55.2% drop from the 154.0 at 1080p Ultra.

The diminishing returns are most visible between Medium and High presets at each resolution. At 4K, moving from Low to Medium costs 33.7 FPS (from 145.2 to 111.5), while moving from High to Ultra costs only 3.5 FPS (72.5 to 69.0). This pattern suggests the GPU is approaching its compute ceiling at 4K Ultra, where the 88 ROPs and 354.4 GTexel/s texture rate are the limiting factors. At 1080p, the same preset transitions show a different story: Low to Medium costs 66.0 FPS (318.6 to 252.6), but High to Ultra costs just 1.7 FPS (155.7 to 154.0), indicating the CPU is the ceiling at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 938th out of 1671 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the 56.1st percentile of all systems. That mid-pack placement is interesting given the hardware's raw capabilities. The Core i5-14600KF sits in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49367, just 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. The GTX 1080 Ti, however, ranks in only the 61st percentile among GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19402—statistically tied with the GTX 780 (0.0% delta) and 1.1% behind the TITAN Xp.

The rank of 938 reflects this GPU bottleneck. In a 2D platformer with modest geometry demands, the CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads are underutilized; Inside is not a multithreaded workload that benefits from the 125W TDP processor's 24 MB of L3 cache. The data indicates that the combo's placement is dragged down by the GPU's age (launch MSRP of 699 USD for the GTX 1080 Ti) rather than the CPU's capability. For context, the CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, has an average score of 49166, and this combo's results would likely be nearly identical with that chip, given the 0.4% delta in CPU benchmarks.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600KF the bottleneck in Inside at 4K?

A: No. At 4K Ultra, the GTX 1080 Ti produces 69.0 FPS, and the FPS drop from 1080p Ultra (154.0) to 4K Ultra (69.0) is 55.2%, which points to GPU rasterization limits. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32889 shows it is not a limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: How does this combo perform at 1440p for high-refresh-rate displays?

A: At 2560x1440, average FPS ranges from 110.1 at Ultra to 225.6 at Low. The High preset yields 114.8 FPS, which is sufficient for a 144Hz monitor, while Medium reaches 180.5 FPS for even higher refresh rates.

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming with this hardware?

A: The measured data shows 4K High at 72.5 FPS and 4K Medium at 111.5 FPS. Given that Ultra drops to 69.0 FPS—below the 72.5 of High—the High preset provides the best balance, as it is only 3.5 FPS faster than Ultra but significantly smoother than the Low preset's 145.2 FPS.

Q: Why does the Low preset at 1080p exceed 300 FPS?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS reaches 318.6. This extreme frame rate is enabled by the CPU's high single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4643) and the GPU's ability to process the light 2D geometry at low pixel counts, with no visible GPU bottleneck.

Q: Is there a significant difference between High and Ultra presets?

A: The data shows minimal differences. At 1080p, High yields 155.7 FPS versus Ultra's 154.0 (1.1% difference). At 4K, High gives 72.5 versus Ultra's 69.0 (5.1% difference). The High preset is consistently faster while likely offering nearly identical visual quality in this game.

Q: How does the GTX 1080 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 19402, which is 0.0% different from the GTX 780 (19405), 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 560X (19426), and 1.1% behind the NVIDIA TITAN Xp (19184). This suggests the GPU is performing as expected for its class.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings average 318.6 FPS, Medium drops to 252.6, High hits 155.7, and Ultra manages 154.0. The gap between High and Ultra is negligible (1.7 FPS), while the jump from Low to Medium costs 66.0 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 225.6 FPS, Medium 180.5, High 114.8, and Ultra 110.1. The High-to-Ultra delta is 4.7 FPS, while Low-to-Medium costs 45.1 FPS. This represents a 29.2% reduction from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (318.6 to 225.6) but only a 26.3% reduction at Ultra (154.0 to 110.1), showing that the GPU becomes more of a factor at higher resolutions.

At 3840x2160, performance remains playable but the GPU is clearly the limit. Low averages 145.2 FPS, Medium 111.5, High 72.5, and Ultra 69.0. The Low-to-Medium transition costs 33.7 FPS, while High-to-Ultra costs only 3.5 FPS. The 4K results show a 54.4% drop from 1080p at Low and a 55.2% drop at Ultra, indicating that resolution scaling is consistent and the GPU's 11 GB of GDDR5X memory (with 484.4 GB/s bandwidth) is adequate but not overprovisioned for this title.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal experience depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 155.7 FPS is the clear choice—Ultra offers no meaningful improvement (154.0 FPS) and costs the same performance. For 1440p, High at 114.8 FPS is the recommended preset for 120Hz monitors, while Medium at 180.5 FPS suits 165Hz+ panels.

For 4K, the data suggests High at 72.5 FPS as the best experience, as it exceeds the 60 FPS threshold comfortably and is only 3.5 FPS slower than Ultra. The Ultra preset at 69.0 FPS is marginally playable but offers no visual benefit worth the 4.8% performance hit. Low settings at 4K (145.2 FPS) are unnecessary given the High preset's playability.

The measured FPS breakdown indicates that the Medium preset provides the most consistent scaling across all resolutions, offering 252.6 FPS at 1080p, 180.5 at 1440p, and 111.5 at 4K—all well above playable thresholds. However, for visual fidelity, High is the best balance of image quality and frame rate, as the Ultra preset's gains are imperceptible in this 2D game while its performance cost is measurable.