Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that remains remarkably light on hardware demands, even when paired with a modern mid-range CPU and an older high-end GPU. The measured data for the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination shows that this system is overwhelmingly capable of running the game at maximum settings across all tested resolutions, with performance headroom that shifts the bottleneck profile depending on the preset and resolution chosen.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is heavily GPU-limited at lower resolutions but gradually balances out as pixel count increases. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 310 FPS at 1920x1080 to 223 FPS at 2560x1440, a decline of 87 FPS, and then further down to 140 FPS at 3840x2160. This steep curve indicates that at 1080p Low, the RTX 2070 SUPER is being pushed to its limits while the i5-14600KF has ample headroom; the data shows a 45% performance reduction when moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings.

When the preset is raised to High, the scaling pattern changes noticeably. The system delivers 155 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 44 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 41 FPS, showing a more linear degradation as resolution increases. This suggests that at High settings, the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are being more consistently utilized across all resolutions, making the frame rate reductions proportional to the pixel count increase.

The Medium preset offers the most detailed data, including minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the average is 248 FPS with a minimum of 210 FPS and maximum of 285 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 178 FPS with a minimum of 151 FPS and maximum of 205 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS and maximum of 129 FPS. The minimum frame rate at 4K Medium of 95 FPS indicates that even in the most demanding scenes, the system maintains a smooth experience without dipping below the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered acceptable for gameplay.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates, as expected, with 147 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 67 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 67 FPS is particularly telling; it shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER, despite being a 2019 GPU with 8 GB of VRAM, can still handle a 2016 puzzle platformer at maximum fidelity in 4K resolution. The scaling from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra represents a 54% reduction in average frame rate, which is a significant but manageable drop for a game of this visual complexity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF brings substantial processing power to this pairing, with 14 cores and 20 threads operating at a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This Raptor Lake Refresh processor, built on a 10 nm process, achieves a 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs in the benchmark database, indicating that it outperforms the vast majority of processors tested. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and single-core score of 4594 demonstrate strong multi-threaded and single-threaded capabilities, though neither is heavily taxed by Inside's puzzle platformer gameplay.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is minimal due to the game's 2016 release and relatively simple physics and logic systems. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 310 FPS, which is likely near the limit of what the game engine can render. The i5-14600KF's nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark rankings include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 with a delta of 0.3% and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G with a delta of 0.4%, showing that this Intel chip is statistically tied with those competitors in overall processing capability.

The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample memory hierarchy for game data, though Inside's modest data requirements mean this cache configuration is rarely stressed. The processor's support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus adds flexibility, but the game's performance is not constrained by memory bandwidth in any of the measured scenarios. The PassMark single-thread score of 4273 and multi-thread score of 38697 further confirm that the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution or settings level tested.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, with its Turing architecture and 12 nm process node. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for Inside's textures and shaders even at 4K resolution. The card's base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz, combined with 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs, deliver a peak FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS.

The GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the upper-middle tier of graphics cards, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M at -1% delta and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at -1.2% delta. This positioning explains why the card can handle Inside at 4K Ultra with an average of 67 FPS, but also why frame rates at 1080p Low are capped at 310 FPS rather than going higher — the GPU's pixel throughput and texture rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and 283.2 GTexel/s, respectively, create a ceiling that the CPU cannot push beyond.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is never a concern for Inside, as the game's visual assets from 2016 are relatively compact. The GPU's 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are unused in this title, which does not support ray tracing or DLSS, making the card's 12 Ultimate DirectX support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility more relevant for future titles than for this specific game. The measured 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1651 and PassMark G3D score of 18169 indicate that the GPU performs consistently across synthetic benchmarks, correlating with its real-world performance in Inside where it scales predictably with resolution changes.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2087 out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places the combo in the 56th percentile of all tested systems, meaning that 56% of tested combinations perform better in this game, while 44% perform worse. Given that Inside is a lightweight title, this ranking reflects the fact that many newer GPUs can achieve higher frame rates, but the measured results show that this combo still delivers excellent playability.

The ranking is influenced by the CPU's high standing relative to other processors; the i5-14600KF's 90th percentile CPU ranking is offset by the GPU's more modest 65th percentile GPU ranking. In a game like Inside where GPU load dominates at higher resolutions, the RTX 2070 SUPER's mid-tier position in the graphics hierarchy pulls the overall combo ranking down. However, the data shows that this combo outperforms many systems with newer but lower-tier GPUs, as the CPU's strength ensures that the GPU is never starved for data.

Looking at the measured frame rates, the combo's ranking is more than adequate for the game's demands. At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 147 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most standard monitors. At 1440p Ultra, 106 FPS remains smooth for high-refresh displays. Even at 4K Ultra, the 67 FPS average is above the 60 FPS target for 4K televisions and monitors. The combo's rank of 2087 out of 3716 should be interpreted with the understanding that Inside is not a demanding title, and the top-performing combos in the database likely achieve frame rates well beyond what any display can show.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Inside?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 310 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the peak performance of the system in this game.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 67 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. The minimum frame rate for this configuration was not measured, but the average indicates consistent performance.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900's score of 49228. This puts the two processors essentially on par in overall performance.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, which equates to 14 Gbps effective.

Q: Is there a significant frame rate drop between 1080p and 1440p at High settings?

A: Yes, the average frame rate drops from 155 FPS at 1920x1080 to 111 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings, representing a 44 FPS decrease. This is a 28% reduction in performance.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combo ranks 2087 out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the middle of the database. This rank reflects the GPU's mid-tier position rather than a weakness in the CPU.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience with this hardware. For players with 1080p displays, the Ultra preset at an average of 147 FPS is the recommended choice, as it delivers the highest visual quality while maintaining frame rates that far exceed the 60 FPS target. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p costs only 8 FPS (from 155 to 147), making Ultra clearly superior for visual fidelity.

At 1440p resolution, the Ultra preset delivers 106 FPS, which remains excellent for high-refresh gaming. The difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is 5 FPS (111 to 106), so choosing Ultra provides the best experience without meaningful performance sacrifice. Players with 1440p 144Hz monitors will find that even Ultra settings stay within the refresh rate range.

For 4K displays, the decision requires more consideration. The Ultra preset averages 67 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS standard but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The High preset at 70 FPS offers a marginal improvement of 3 FPS, while the Medium preset jumps to 112 FPS with a measured minimum of 95 FPS. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset is the recommended balance, as it provides a 67% frame rate increase over Ultra (112 vs 67 FPS) while the visual difference in a puzzle platformer is minimal.

The Low preset, while achieving 140 FPS at 4K and 310 FPS at 1080p, sacrifices too much visual quality for a game where atmosphere and lighting are central to the experience. The Medium preset at any resolution provides the best combination of frame rate stability and visual presentation, with minimum frame rates of 210 FPS at 1080p, 151 FPS at 1440p, and 95 FPS at 4K ensuring no stutter or drops below playable levels. Given the game's slow-paced, atmospheric nature, the Medium preset at 4K is the optimal choice for this hardware, offering a smooth and visually rich experience without the performance overhead of Ultra settings.