Inside

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer title. The measured data shows that this combination is capable of handling the game at extreme performance levels across all tested resolutions and settings, with the lowest average result being 126 FPS at 4K Ultra. The benchmark results indicate that the primary limiting factor shifts between the CPU and GPU depending on the resolution and quality preset, with the system exhibiting headroom that suggests a significant bottleneck at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a clear progression of GPU load. At 1080p High settings, the system produces an average of 294 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High reduces this to 211 FPS, a drop of 83 FPS, and then to 133 FPS at 4K High, a further decline of 78 FPS. This pattern indicates that while the RTX 4080 is heavily utilized at higher resolutions, the CPU still provides sufficient headroom to push frame rates well above typical display refresh rates.

Examining the Low preset provides a clearer picture of the CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 390, which only rises to 349 FPS at 1440p and 265 FPS at 4K. The relatively modest 41 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p suggests that the Core i5-14600KF is nearing its performance ceiling at this resolution. The 125 FPS difference between 1440p Low and 4K Low shows a more substantial GPU dependency, but the absolute values remain extremely high.

The Medium preset demonstrates a similar scaling pattern. At 1080p Medium, the average is 360 FPS, which decreases to 323 FPS at 1440p and 212 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result includes a min FPS of 181 and a max of 244, indicating a wider variance than other settings. This suggests that even at this mid-range preset, the GPU is becoming a more significant factor, though the overall performance remains smooth.

The Ultra preset shows the most consistent scaling across resolutions. The average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 280, dropping to 201 FPS at 1440p and 126 FPS at 4K. The 79 FPS difference between 1080p and 1440p, and the 75 FPS difference between 1440p and 4K, indicate a more balanced load distribution. This suggests that at Ultra settings, the workload is more evenly shared between the CPU and GPU, though the GPU still has capacity to spare given the high absolute frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 plays a decisive role in determining the frame rate at higher resolutions and quality settings. Its specifications include 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, with a pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s.

The memory configuration is particularly relevant for 4K gaming. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the system achieves 126 FPS average, which is a substantial 54 FPS reduction from the 1440p Ultra result. This drop correlates with the increased memory bandwidth demand at higher resolutions. The 16 GB capacity ensures no VRAM limitations are reached in this title, as evidenced by the consistent performance across all settings.

The RTX 4080's raw compute capabilities, measured at 48.74 TFLOPS FP32, are ample for Inside. The game's art style and physics-based puzzles do not appear to stress the GPU's shading units or ray tracing cores (76 RT cores) excessively. The data shows that even at 4K High, the average FPS of 133 is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that the GPU is not the limiting component in most scenarios.

The GPU's benchmark scores further contextualize its performance. Its Passmark G3D score is 34457, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 6567. These synthetic results position the RTX 4080 in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247. This aligns with the measured FPS data, confirming that the GPU has significant headroom in less demanding titles like Inside.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance. At 2560x1440 Medium, the system delivers an average of 323 FPS with a minimum of 274 FPS and a maximum of 371 FPS. This ensures no frame drops below 270 FPS, which is far beyond any standard display's refresh rate. The 1440p Medium result is only 26 FPS lower than the Low preset at the same resolution, indicating that the additional visual fidelity comes at a minimal performance cost.

For 4K displays, the High preset is the recommended starting point. The 3840x2160 High result shows an average of 133 FPS, which is sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 126 FPS average, a marginal 7 FPS difference, so users with G-Sync or VRR displays may prefer the Ultra settings for maximum visual quality without a noticeable performance penalty.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset is the clear choice. The measured average of 280 FPS is more than enough for any display, and the drop from the High preset's 294 FPS is negligible. The Medium preset at 1080p also performs admirably at 360 FPS average, but the visual benefits of Ultra are worth the 80 FPS trade-off given the absolute frame rates involved.

The data shows that the Low preset offers no practical advantage for this hardware. Even at 4K Low, the average FPS of 265 is significantly higher than what any display can reproduce, so the visual compromise is unnecessary. The Medium preset is the lowest setting recommended for this combination, as it provides the best balance of stability and fidelity across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination ranks 165th out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the top 4.4% of all configurations in the database, indicating that this system is exceptionally well-suited for this title. The high rank is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows no scenario where the system falls below 126 FPS average.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals provides context for this ranking. The Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, which places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, scores 49228, a difference of only 0.3%. This close margin suggests that the CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads are sufficient for the game's processing demands, which are relatively light given the title's platformer nature.

The GPU's ranking further supports the combo's position. The RTX 4080 is in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54209, a 0.1% difference. This places the GPU among the top tier of graphics cards, and its performance in Inside is commensurate with that standing.

The combo's rank of 165 out of 3716 suggests that while there are 164 configurations that perform better, they likely consist of higher-end CPUs or GPUs that provide marginal gains in this specific title. Given that the game is a Puzzle Platformer with relatively modest system requirements, the i5-14600KF and RTX 4080 combination represents a high-end but not extreme configuration that excels in this workload.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 126 FPS. This is the lowest average across all tested configurations, but it remains well above the 60 FPS standard and is suitable for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: Does the system maintain playable frame rates at all settings?

A: Yes, the minimum average FPS across all tested resolutions and settings is 126 FPS at 4K Ultra. The lowest recorded minimum FPS is 181 FPS at 4K Medium, ensuring no dips below 180 FPS in any scenario.

Q: How does the RTX 4080's memory configuration affect performance?

A: The RTX 4080 has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The data shows no memory-related performance drops at any resolution, indicating the 16 GB capacity is more than sufficient for this title.

Q: Is the Core i5-14600KF a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 390, which is 41 FPS higher than at 1440p Low. This suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, but the absolute frame rates are so high that the bottleneck is not a practical concern.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The Medium preset is recommended for 1440p, delivering an average of 323 FPS with a minimum of 274 FPS. This provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, with no frame drops below 270 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 165th out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the top 4.4%. This ranking is consistent with the high average FPS values measured across all resolutions and settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers an average of 390 FPS on Low, 360 FPS on Medium, 294 FPS on High, and 280 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1080p includes a minimum of 306 FPS and a maximum of 414 FPS, showing a 108 FPS variance.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 349 on Low, 323 on Medium, 211 on High, and 201 on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p has a minimum of 274 FPS and a maximum of 371 FPS, a 97 FPS variance. This represents a significant jump from the 1080p results, with the Low preset dropping by 41 FPS and the High preset by 83 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are 265 on Low, 212 on Medium, 133 on High, and 126 on Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 181 FPS and a maximum of 244 FPS, a 63 FPS variance. The difference between the 1440p and 4K results is substantial, with the Low preset dropping by 84 FPS, the High preset by 78 FPS, and the Ultra preset by 75 FPS.

The scaling from High to Ultra settings is consistent across all resolutions. At 1080p, the drop is 14 FPS, at 1440p it is 10 FPS, and at 4K it is 7 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset's additional visual effects have a diminishing impact on performance as resolution increases. Conversely, the jump from Low to Medium is more pronounced, with increases of 30 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It operates at a base clock of 3.50 GHz and boosts up to 5.30 GHz, with a 24 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores demonstrate its strong single-thread and multi-thread capabilities, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and a single-core score of 4594.

In Inside, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 390 FPS, which is only 41 FPS higher than at 1440p Low. This relatively small increase suggests that the CPU is nearing its performance limit at 1080p, as the GPU has ample headroom to render more frames if the CPU could provide them.

The CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads are more than sufficient for this title. Inside is a Puzzle Platformer with a 2D side-scrolling perspective, which typically does not require extensive multi-threaded processing. The game's physics and logic are likely handled by a few threads, leaving the majority of the CPU's resources idle. This is reflected in the high frame rates at all settings, with the CPU never becoming a limiting factor at 1440p or 4K.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals is notable. Its average benchmark score of 49394 places it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, scores only 0.3% higher. This indicates that the i5-14600KF is a top-tier processor for gaming workloads, and its performance in Inside is consistent with that standing. The CPU's boost clock of 5.30 GHz is particularly beneficial for this title, as the game's single-threaded nature benefits from high clock speeds.