Inside

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a combo rank of 56 out of 1671 tested combinations for Inside, placing it in the top 3.4% of all systems benchmarked for this title. This is a strong result for a game that is not particularly demanding, but the ranking reveals that the hardware is capable of delivering extremely high frame rates even at the most punishing settings, leaving headroom that many other combos cannot reach. The data suggests this pairing is overqualified for the task, but that overqualification translates into a flawless, high-refresh-rate experience across all tested configurations.

FAQ

*Q: How does this combo compare to the top-performing systems for Inside?*

A: With a rank of 56 out of 1671 tested combos, this system sits in the 96.6th percentile (calculated from the rank data). This means it outperforms 96.6% of all tested configurations, placing it in the upper echelon of systems for this game, though a small number of higher-end combos still post faster results.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the more significant bottleneck in this pairing?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 389.1 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 128 FPS, a 67% reduction. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, especially since the CPU has a high multi-threaded score of 35443 in Cinebench R23, suggesting it can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers 210.2 FPS, which comfortably exceeds 144Hz. The Ultra preset at the same resolution also achieves 200 FPS. Both are viable, but High offers a slight performance margin (10.2 FPS more) while the visual difference between High and Ultra is often minimal in a game like Inside.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming with this title?

A: Yes, absolutely. At 3840x2160, even the Ultra preset maintains 128 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 4K reaches 130.2 FPS, showing that 4K is not a challenge for this hardware in Inside.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER's benchmark score translate to real-world performance here?

A: The GPU has a PassMark G3D score of 34245, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, is only 0.2% behind in average benchmark score (53489 vs 53489). In Inside, this high-end GPU positioning explains the ability to push past 200 FPS at 1440p High without breaking a sweat.

Q: Does the CPU's single-core performance matter for this game?

A: Yes, but it is not the deciding factor. The i7-14700F scores 5003 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which is strong. However, since Inside is not a heavily threaded title, the game's frame rate is more dependent on the GPU at higher settings, as evidenced by the FPS drop from 389.1 (1080p Low) to 128 (4K Ultra) while the CPU workload remains similar.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This is a high-core-count desktop part, and its multi-threaded performance is substantial: it scores 35443 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 14886 in Cinebench R20 multi-core. For a puzzle platformer like Inside, the game logic is typically light, and the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in most scenarios. The data confirms this: at 1080p Low, where GPU load is minimal, the combo reaches 389.1 FPS, suggesting the CPU can handle the game's logic well beyond typical display refresh rates.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 94 (vs all CPUs) and its average benchmark score of 54097 place it in the top tier of processors. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, scores 54450, which is only 0.6% higher. This close margin indicates that the i7-14700F is not leaving much performance on the table compared to a newer, competing flagship. In Inside, the CPU's role is to ensure that frame pacing remains consistent even when the GPU is pushing hundreds of frames per second. The data shows no signs of CPU-induced stuttering, as the minimum FPS is not reported, but the average FPS across all settings is exceptionally high. The CPU's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help maintain smooth operation, but for this specific title, the CPU's massive headroom means it is rarely the limiting component.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are extraordinarily high, ranging from 278.5 FPS on Ultra to 389.1 FPS on Low. The Medium preset achieves 357 FPS, while High sits at 293.7 FPS. This shows that even at the highest settings, the system is capable of driving a 240Hz monitor at 1080p without issue.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains impressive but shows the expected drop. The Low preset hits 348.9 FPS, Medium reaches 325.2 FPS, High records 210.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 200 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is only 10.2 FPS, indicating diminishing returns in visual fidelity versus performance.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers excellent playability. The Low preset achieves 262.7 FPS, Medium hits 212.7 FPS, High manages 130.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 128 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 2.2 FPS at 4K, suggesting that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as resolution increases. The overall trend is a smooth degradation from 1080p to 4K, with no dramatic cliff, but the data shows that the High preset at 4K is the first point where frame rates drop below 200 FPS, indicating a shift in the bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing for Inside. It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. Its boost clock is 2550 MHz, and it has 10240 shading units. The GPU's PassMark G3D score is 34245, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, scores 53489 in average benchmark terms, a delta of just 0.2%, meaning the 4080 SUPER is essentially tied with that card in synthetic tests.

In Inside, the GPU's role is critical for maintaining high frame rates at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the GPU is not fully utilized, as the CPU can push frames faster than the GPU can render them, resulting in 389.1 FPS. However, as resolution increases to 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The drop from 389.1 FPS at 1080p Low to 262.7 FPS at 4K Low (a 32% reduction) is directly attributable to the increased pixel fill rate demand. The RTX 4080 SUPER's 112 ROPs and 285.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient to handle 4K, but the data shows that the GPU's compute resources (52.22 TFLOPS FP32) are the limiting factor at Ultra settings, where the frame rate falls to 128 FPS.

The GPU's 88th percentile ranking and its average benchmark score of 53610 (compared to the CPU's 54097) suggest that the GPU is slightly less powerful in raw synthetic terms than the CPU, but in a real-time game, the GPU's workload scales with resolution while the CPU's does not. This explains why the combo rank of 56 is high, but not the absolute best — the GPU is holding back the CPU at lower resolutions, but at higher resolutions, it is the sole determinant of performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 278.5 FPS is the best choice if you have a 240Hz monitor, as it provides the highest visual quality while still exceeding any standard refresh rate. The High preset at 293.7 FPS offers a slight performance advantage (15.2 FPS more) but with reduced visual effects. For most users, Ultra at 1080p is the clear winner.

For 1440p, the High preset at 210.2 FPS is the sweet spot. It delivers a 10.2 FPS advantage over Ultra (200 FPS) while providing nearly identical visual quality in a game like Inside, which has a muted art style. If you prioritize maximum visual fidelity over a few frames, Ultra is still perfectly playable at 200 FPS. The Medium preset at 325.2 FPS is only useful if you are targeting 300Hz+ refresh rates, which is rare.

For 4K, the High preset at 130.2 FPS is the recommended choice. It is only 2.2 FPS faster than Ultra (128 FPS), making the difference negligible. Both presets are well above 60 FPS, so either is fine, but High is slightly better for thermal and power management. The Low preset at 4K (262.7 FPS) is unnecessary unless you are chasing extremely high refresh rates at 4K, which is uncommon. The data suggests that the High preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions, with the Ultra preset being a viable alternative for those who prioritize image quality over the last few frames per second.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound curve. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 389.1 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 348.9 FPS, a 10.3% reduction. At 4K Low, it falls to 262.7 FPS, a 32.5% reduction from 1080p. This scaling shows that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the resolution increase from 1080p to 4K quadruples the pixel count, but the FPS does not drop linearly. The non-linear drop is due to the GPU's memory bandwidth (736.3 GB/s) and compute capabilities being sufficient to handle the load, but the rendering pipeline becomes more constrained.

At High settings, the scaling is more pronounced: 293.7 FPS at 1080p, 210.2 FPS at 1440p (a 28.4% drop), and 130.2 FPS at 4K (a 55.7% drop from 1080p). This steeper decline at High settings indicates that the GPU is working harder to process additional effects, making the resolution scaling more impactful. At Ultra settings, the trend continues: 278.5 FPS at 1080p, 200 FPS at 1440p (a 28.2% drop), and 128 FPS at 4K (a 54.0% drop). The similarity in percentage drops between High and Ultra suggests that the GPU's shading units and ROPs are the bottleneck, not the memory system.

The data implies that the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution, as the FPS drops are consistent with GPU load. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions at lower settings. Instead, the 32.5% drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings shows the GPU's pixel throughput is the constraint. This pairing is well-balanced for Inside, but the RTX 4080 SUPER's 88th percentile ranking means it is the component that determines the ceiling. The combo rank of 56 out of 1671 reflects this balance, with the GPU being the primary driver of the system's position in the top 3.4% of tested configurations.