Inside

The Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combo delivers a highly capable experience in Inside, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling: this is a GPU-limited pairing at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s exceptional single-thread strength shines at 1080p. The measured FPS shows a dramatic scaling curve from 309 FPS at 1080p Low down to 67.5 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating that the RTX 2070 SUPER, with its 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises. The i7-13700K’s 16 cores and 5.40 GHz boost clock provide ample headroom, but the game’s puzzle-platformer nature means the GPU’s 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the deciding factor for visual fidelity.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, confirming that resolution scaling hits the RTX 2070 SUPER hard. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 153.1 at 1920x1080 to 110.4 at 2560x1440, then further to 68.8 at 3840x2160. That represents a 28% reduction moving to 1440p and a 55% reduction moving to 4K, relative to the 1080p baseline. The pattern is consistent across all settings: Low settings show 309 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 223.2 at 1440p, and 140.6 at 4K. This indicates the GPU’s shading units (2560) and texture rate (283.2 GTexel/s) are saturated by the increased pixel workload, not the CPU’s processing power.

The data suggests that 4K is playable but not optimal for high refresh rates. At Ultra settings, the 4K result of 67.5 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, while 1440p Ultra hits 107.3 FPS, and 1080p Ultra reaches 149.1 FPS. The scaling from Medium to High at 4K is modest — 110.8 to 68.8 FPS — which implies that the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 256-bit memory bus are adequate for the game’s textures, but the raw compute power limits the higher preset. For a game that is not visually demanding by modern standards, the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs explains why 4K Ultra remains a stretch goal rather than a smooth experience.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Inside with this combo for a smooth 60+ FPS experience?*

A: The data shows that all tested resolutions and settings exceed 60 FPS. The lowest recorded average is 67.5 FPS at 4K Ultra, meaning even the most demanding configuration clears the 60 FPS bar comfortably.

Q: How does the i7-13700K’s CPU performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The i7-13700K’s average benchmark score of 47282 places it nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-13700KF, which scores 47334 (a delta of -0.1%). It is 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4364P (47131) and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i9-12900F (47081).

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER a bottleneck for the i7-13700K in this game?

A: Yes, at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 309 FPS, but at 4K Low it drops to 140.6 FPS, showing a 55% performance loss that is attributable to the GPU’s limits, not the CPU’s 16 cores and 24 threads.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 223.2 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 107.3 FPS. This 116 FPS gap highlights the significant impact of shadow quality, post-processing, and texture filtering on the RTX 2070 SUPER’s workload.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER rank against other GPUs in general benchmarks?

A: The GPU holds a 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22206. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A400, scores 22307 (a delta of -0.5%), while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 scores 21670 (a delta of 2.5%).

Q: Does the CPU’s boost clock help in this game’s single-threaded tasks?

A: The i7-13700K’s 5.40 GHz boost clock contributes to a single-thread benchmark score of 5505 in Cinebench R23, which is 93rd percentile among all CPUs. This high single-thread performance ensures the game’s logic and physics calculations are never CPU-bound, even at 1080p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark results confirm it is a top-tier gaming CPU: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39000 and a single-core score of 5505 place it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. In Inside, a puzzle platformer with modest physics and AI demands, the CPU’s role is largely to feed frames to the GPU without becoming a bottleneck.

The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 309 FPS, which is likely near the game’s engine limit or the GPU’s peak output, not a CPU constraint. The i7-13700K’s 3DMark scores, such as 12412 for max threads and 1136 for single thread, indicate that even the most thread-intensive scenes would not strain this processor. The 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 per core ensure low-latency access to game assets, while the 10 nm process node and 125 W TDP keep thermals manageable for sustained boosts. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-13700K is effectively tied with the i7-13700KF (-0.1%) and slightly ahead of the i9-12900F (0.4%), making it a consistent performer for this game’s frame pacing.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, the data points to High settings at 1440p as the sweet spot. At 2560x1440 High, the combo delivers 110.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and only 15% lower than Medium’s 178.1 FPS, while offering noticeably better visual fidelity. At 1080p, High settings produce 153.1 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, but Ultra at 1080p (149.1 FPS) is nearly identical in performance, so users with 144Hz displays can opt for Ultra without sacrificing smoothness.

For 4K users, Medium settings are recommended over High. The 4K Medium result of 110.8 FPS is significantly better than High’s 68.8 FPS, and the visual difference between Medium and High in a stylized 2D side-scroller is likely minimal. Low settings at 4K (140.6 FPS) are overkill for most displays and sacrifice too much shadow and texture detail. The data shows that Ultra settings provide diminishing returns: at 1080p, Ultra is only 2.6% slower than High (149.1 vs 153.1 FPS), but at 1440p, the drop from High to Ultra is 2.8% (110.4 to 107.3 FPS), suggesting the GPU is nearing its limits on higher presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 976 out of 1671 tested combinations in Inside, placing it in the bottom 42% of all pairings. This ranking is surprising given the individual components’ strong benchmarks: the CPU is 93rd percentile, and the GPU is 65th percentile. However, the game’s low system requirements mean that even mid-range GPUs can achieve high frame rates, so the ranking reflects the RTX 2070 SUPER’s age rather than a fundamental weakness. The i7-13700K’s performance relative to its rivals — all within 0.5% of its average score — suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor, but the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 2019 release date (July 2019) place it behind newer cards.

In context, this rank means that a significant portion of tested combos (695) outperform this pairing, likely due to newer GPUs with higher memory bandwidth and more shading units. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s nearest rivals include the RTX 4060 Mobile (2.3% faster) and the GTX TITAN Z (0.9% slower), indicating that the GPU is competitive with mid-range mobile parts but not with modern desktop offerings. For Inside, this rank is misleading because the game runs smoothly at all settings, but it does reflect the GPU’s overall compute capability relative to other tested hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings achieve 309 FPS, Medium reaches 249.8 FPS, High produces 153.1 FPS, and Ultra hits 149.1 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is substantial (96.7 FPS), indicating that High enables effects that significantly tax the GPU, while the low-to-medium transition is less punishing (59.2 FPS difference).

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings yield 223.2 FPS, Medium produces 178.1 FPS, High drops to 110.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 107.3 FPS. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent: Low loses 27.8%, Medium loses 28.7%, High loses 27.9%, and Ultra loses 28.0%. This uniform scaling confirms that resolution is the dominant factor, not specific settings.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2070 SUPER begins to struggle. Low settings still produce a playable 140.6 FPS, but Medium drops to 110.8 FPS, High falls to 68.8 FPS, and Ultra is barely above 60 at 67.5 FPS. The 4K High-to-Ultra difference is only 1.3 FPS, suggesting that Ultra adds minimal visual improvements while pushing the GPU to its absolute limit. The 4K Low-to-Medium gap of 29.8 FPS shows that even modest settings increases at 4K have a high cost.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU with 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, built on a 12 nm process. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for Inside’s textures but becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s boost clock of 1770 MHz and base clock of 1605 MHz contribute to a FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS, which is modest by 2024 standards but adequate for this 2016 title.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU is the clear bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU can push the GPU to 309 FPS at Low, but at 4K, the same settings yield 140.6 FPS, a 55% reduction. This is consistent with the GPU’s 65th percentile ranking and its average benchmark score of 22206, which places it just 0.5% below the RTX A400 and 2.3% below the RTX 4060 Mobile. The GPU’s DirectX 12 score of 67 in Passmark is notably low, but Inside likely uses simpler rendering paths, allowing the card to perform above its raw compute metrics. The 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are irrelevant for this game, but the 64 ROPs and 113.3 GPixel/s pixel rate are what drive the frame rates seen in the 4K tests. Ultimately, the RTX 2070 SUPER provides a playable experience at all settings, but its age is evident in the steep 4K Ultra drop-off.