Inside

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a fascinating performance profile in Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016. The measured frame rates reveal a system that is overwhelmingly capable at standard resolutions, yet begins to show its limits when pushed to 4K with maximum settings. This analysis breaks down the measured data to explain where the bottleneck lies and how this specific combination performs relative to other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the shifting balance between the CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 269.2 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops this to 195.5 FPS, and finally to 124.2 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 53.9% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which indicates the GPU is becoming progressively more stressed as pixel count increases.

The scaling behavior is even more pronounced at higher settings. At Ultra settings, the system averages 125.9 FPS at 1080p, 89.7 FPS at 1440p, and 57.7 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K here is 54.2%, nearly identical to the Low settings drop. This consistency suggests that the resolution scaling is primarily a function of pixel throughput rather than settings complexity.

However, the data reveals a critical inflection point. At 1080p Ultra, the system maintains 125.9 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K Ultra, it falls to 57.7 FPS, dipping just below that threshold. The 4K High setting produces 63.1 FPS, barely crossing back over 60. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is the limiting component, as the frame rate drops correlate directly with the increased rendering resolution. At 1080p and 1440p, the high frame rates—reaching 269.2 FPS at Low—suggest the CPU is capable of feeding frames far faster than the GPU can render them, meaning the system is likely GPU-bound even at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with a 5 nm process, brings 12 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. Its base and boost clocks are both set to 2670 MHz, with memory operating at an effective 19 Gbps. The GPU’s 2560 shading units and 80 ROPs contribute to a pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s.

In Inside, the GPU’s role is most apparent at 4K resolution. The jump from Medium to High settings at 3840x2160 results in a drop from 96.4 FPS to 63.1 FPS, a 34.5% decrease. Similarly, moving from High to Ultra at 4K reduces performance from 63.1 FPS to 57.7 FPS. This sensitivity to settings at 4K confirms the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution, as higher settings increase the shader and texture work that the Arc B580 must complete.

The GPU’s benchmark scores contextualize its performance. Its Passmark G3D score of 15748 places it in the 66th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, according to the data, include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, which has an average score of 23181, meaning the Arc B580 trails it by 0.7%. This close margin indicates that while the B580 is not a top-tier card, it competes effectively with mainstream offerings. The GPU’s 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 27.34 TFLOPS of FP16 performance suggest it has ample compute for a game like Inside, which is not graphically demanding by modern standards.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, fabricated on Intel’s 10 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 2.10 GHz and can boost up to 5.40 GHz. The processor features a substantial cache hierarchy: 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration.

Given the frame rates observed, the CPU is rarely the limiting factor in Inside. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 269.2 FPS, which is a strong indicator that the processor’s single-thread performance is more than sufficient for this title. The CPU’s single-core Cinebench R23 score of 5003 and multicore score of 35443 reinforce this, as the game’s logic and draw call generation are handled well by the high boost clock.

The CPU’s percentile ranking against all CPUs is 94, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of processors in general benchmarks. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, has an average score of 54450, which is only 0.6% higher, placing the i7-14700F essentially at parity. The CPU’s high thread count and clock speeds mean it can easily handle the game’s physics and entity updates, even when the GPU is struggling at 4K Ultra. The data suggests that the CPU’s role is to provide a stable, high-frequency foundation that allows the GPU to be the sole determinant of frame rate at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Inside, the Intel Core i7-14700F and Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 1285 out of 1671 total combos. This places it in the 23rd percentile of all tested systems, which is surprisingly low given the hardware’s capabilities. This ranking is likely influenced by the fact that many other combinations include higher-end GPUs that can maintain higher frame rates at 4K Ultra.

The combo’s rank suggests that while it performs well in absolute terms—achieving over 60 FPS at 4K High—it is outperformed by the majority of tested systems. The GPU’s 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs pulls the overall combo down, as the CPU’s 94th percentile ranking cannot compensate for the GPU’s relative weakness at extreme settings. The data indicates that this is a balanced pairing for mainstream gaming, but it does not compete with high-end configurations that feature more powerful GPUs.

FAQ

Q: What is the best setting to use for 60 FPS gameplay at 4K?

A: The measured data shows that at 3840x2160, the High setting produces an average of 63.1 FPS, which is the only 4K setting above 60 FPS except for Medium at 96.4 FPS. Ultra drops below 60 FPS at 57.7 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 54097, which is 0.6% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X’s score of 54450, indicating they are nearly identical in performance.

*Q: Is the GPU or CPU more likely to limit performance in Inside?*

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component at 4K, as frame rates drop significantly with increased resolution and settings. At 1080p, the CPU is capable of supporting frame rates up to 269.2 FPS, suggesting it is not a bottleneck.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system achieves an average of 157.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Arc B580’s memory bandwidth affect performance?

A: The GPU has 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth from its 12 GB GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus. This is sufficient for the game’s textures, as the performance drop from High to Ultra at 4K is only 5.4 FPS.

Q: What is the system’s ranking among all tested combos for this game?

A: The combo ranks 1285 out of 1671 total tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle range of all configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 63.1 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 124.2 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 96.4 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 57.7 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 96.3 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 195.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 157.5 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 89.7 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 134.5 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 269.2 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 214 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 125.9 |

At 1080p, the system is capable of exceeding 125 FPS at all settings, with the Low setting reaching 269.2 FPS. At 1440p, performance remains strong, with Ultra still achieving 89.7 FPS. The 4K results show a clear step-down, with Ultra falling to 57.7 FPS and High just clearing 60 FPS at 63.1 FPS. The data confirms that this combination is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it offers high frame rates across all settings, while 4K requires a reduction to High settings for smooth gameplay.