Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, on paper, does not demand modern hardware. Yet, the measured data for the Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT combination reveals a fascinating exercise in extreme performance headroom. The game’s simple visual style belies the sheer computational ceiling this pairing reaches, delivering frame rates that far exceed display refresh rates at nearly every setting. The benchmark results show a system that is effectively unburdened by the game’s rendering demands, making the analysis less about achieving playability and more about understanding the hierarchy of performance bottlenecks when a workload is this light.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700F brings a substantial amount of processing power to this puzzle platformer, but the data suggests it is rarely the limiting factor. This CPU features 20 cores and 28 threads, a configuration derived from its Raptor Lake architecture. With a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, the processor has a wide dynamic range for handling both lightly-threaded game logic and heavier background tasks. In a game like Inside, which was released in 2016, the primary workload is often single-threaded physics and game state updates. The processor’s single-core performance, reflected in a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5003, is more than sufficient to keep the game’s simulation running at a rate that does not constrain the GPU.

The high thread count is less critical for this specific title, but the multicore might still matter for system overhead. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35443 places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, indicating exceptional overall throughput. However, the measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p with Low settings, the average frame rate is 388.7 FPS. This figure is so high that it suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck; if it were, we would expect to see a plateau where higher resolutions or settings do not significantly change performance. Instead, we see frame rates scale dramatically with resolution, pointing to the GPU taking over as the limiting component. The CPU’s PassMark single-thread score of 4261 further confirms its ability to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic without breaking a sweat.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best resolution to play Inside with this hardware if I want the highest frame rate?

A: The data shows that the lowest resolution tested, 1920x1080 with Low settings, produces the highest average frame rate at 388.7 FPS. This is the absolute ceiling for this combo in the measured scenarios.

Q: How much of a performance drop occurs when moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the average FPS is 178.8. Moving up to 3840x2160 High, the average FPS drops to 114.5. This represents a decrease of 64.3 FPS, or roughly 36% lower performance.

Q: Is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 4K significant?

A: Yes, the difference is substantial. At 3840x2160, Medium settings yield an average of 177.7 FPS, while High settings yield 114.5 FPS. The jump from High to Medium provides a 63.2 FPS increase, indicating that a single step down in quality offers a major performance uplift at this resolution.

Q: What is the performance gap between the lowest and highest quality presets at 1080p?

A: The measured data shows a range from 234.5 FPS at Ultra settings to 388.7 FPS at Low settings. This is a difference of 154.2 FPS, meaning the Low preset is approximately 65% faster than Ultra at this resolution.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its closest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 54097. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, has a slightly higher score of 54450, which is a delta of -0.6%. This places the two processors in a statistical tie for overall computing performance.

Q: Does the GPU's benchmark percentile suggest it is a high-end part?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs based on its average benchmark score. This places it well above the median, indicating it is a high-performance part, though not at the absolute top of the spectrum.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling pattern provides clear evidence of a GPU-bound scenario at higher settings. When examining the High preset, the average frame rate descends from 248.8 FPS at 1920x1080, to 178.8 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 114.5 FPS at 3840x2160. This is a classic curve where the frame rate drops as the pixel count increases, confirming that the GPU's rendering throughput is the primary constraint at this quality level. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 70.0 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is another 64.3 FPS, showing a consistent and expected scaling relationship.

However, the story changes dramatically when looking at the Low preset. At 1920x1080, the frame rate is 388.7 FPS. At 2560x1440, it only drops to 350.3 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it is still at 221.6 FPS. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p is much smaller (38.4 FPS) than at High settings, and the drop to 4K is larger (128.7 FPS). This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is still able to feed the GPU efficiently at 1080p and 1440p, but the GPU's fillrate limits it at 4K. The data implies that the CPU is not a bottleneck until the GPU is fully saturated, which happens sooner at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Within the database of tested combinations for Inside, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT holds a rank of 176 out of 1671 total combos. This places it in the top 10.5% of all systems tested for this game. This high ranking is expected given the sheer power of both components. The position suggests that while there are 175 configurations that produce higher average frame rates, this system is far ahead of the majority of tested hardware.

The ranking is a holistic measure of the combo's performance, but the measured FPS numbers reveal that this position is likely achieved through brute-force GPU power rather than any specific optimization. The fact that the system can push over 388 FPS at 1080p Low indicates it is near the top of the performance curve for this game. The delta between this combo and the top 175 is not provided, but the percentile ranking alone confirms that users of this hardware are in a very exclusive performance tier for Inside, with few other systems able to provide higher frame rates.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For a game like Inside, where the visual aesthetic is a core part of the experience, the Ultra preset is the clear choice for most users. At 1920x1080, Ultra still achieves an average of 234.5 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of most standard monitors. Even at 2560x1440, Ultra maintains a high 169.3 FPS. The jump to 4K at Ultra drops to 109.2 FPS, which is still perfectly playable and above the 60 FPS standard for most displays. The data suggests that sacrificing visual quality for frame rate is unnecessary at 1080p and 1440p, as Ultra provides excellent performance.

The only scenario where dropping settings is warranted is at 4K, but even then, High settings at 114.5 FPS provide a smooth experience. The Medium preset at 4K offers a significant boost to 177.7 FPS, which could be beneficial for users with high-refresh-rate 4K displays. However, given the game's artistic style, the visual difference between High and Ultra might be more apparent than the frame rate difference. The recommendation is to prioritize Ultra at 1080p and 1440p, and to use High at 4K for a balanced experience, as the Low preset provides no tangible benefit for gameplay in a slow-paced puzzle platformer.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The complete set of measured average FPS values provides a full picture of the system's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the scores are 388.7 FPS (Low), 356.4 FPS (Medium), 248.8 FPS (High), and 234.5 FPS (Ultra). The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a total performance cost of 154.2 FPS. At 2560x1440, the scores are 350.3 FPS (Low), 284.6 FPS (Medium), 178.8 FPS (High), and 169.3 FPS (Ultra). The step from Medium to High at this resolution is particularly steep, with a drop of 105.8 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the scores are 221.6 FPS (Low), 177.7 FPS (Medium), 114.5 FPS (High), and 109.2 FPS (Ultra). This resolution shows the most significant impact from settings changes, with the difference between Low and Ultra being 112.4 FPS. The data consistently shows that the Medium preset offers a substantial performance boost over High at every resolution, while the difference between High and Ultra is relatively small, suggesting that the High preset might be an inefficient middle ground in this game's rendering pipeline.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is a massive contributor to the frame rates observed, and it is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings. This GPU is equipped with 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. For a game like Inside, which was released in 2016, VRAM usage is likely minimal, meaning the 20 GB capacity is not a limiting factor. The GPU's 5376 shading units and 192 ROPs are more relevant, as they directly handle the pixel and texture processing that scales with resolution.

The GPU’s boost clock is listed at 2394 MHz, with a game clock of 2025 MHz. These high clocks, combined with the RDNA 3.0 architecture, allow for the exceptional fill rates seen in the data. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 29009 places it in the 82nd percentile, confirming its high-end status. In the context of Inside, the GPU's raw compute power (51.48 TFLOPS FP32) is overkill, but it is the reason why the system can hit 114.5 FPS at 4K Ultra. The data shows that the GPU is the component that limits frame rates when the resolution is high, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed it.