Inside

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 presents a stark contrast in capabilities within the puzzle platformer Inside. The data indicates a system where the CPU operates far below its potential, constrained by a GPU that is decisively the bottleneck across all tested configurations. The benchmark results show a wide performance envelope that is almost entirely dictated by the graphics card's workload, making this a clear case study in GPU-limited scaling.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination produces an average of 134.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 97 FPS, a reduction of approximately 28%. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 60.4 FPS, representing another 38% decrease from the 1440p figure. This steep decline is a hallmark of a system where the graphics processor is the limiting component, as the pixel throughput demand outstrips the RX 570's capabilities.

The scaling behavior shifts slightly at higher settings. With High settings, the frame rate goes from 67.7 FPS at 1080p, to 52 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 29.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is particularly telling, as it falls below the 30 FPS threshold that is often considered the minimum for playable performance. This indicates that the GPU is not just the primary bottleneck but is being overwhelmed by the combined load of high resolution and increased graphical fidelity.

The most instructive comparison comes from the Ultra settings. Here, the 1080p average is 67.2 FPS, which is nearly identical to the High setting's 67.7 FPS. This suggests that at 1080p, the game engine is already reaching a point where the GPU's shading and texture units are saturated, and the additional visual effects of Ultra over High do not translate into a significant frame rate penalty. However, the Ultra preset shows the most dramatic drop with resolution, falling to 43.7 FPS at 1440p and a very demanding 30.6 FPS at 4K. The data clearly shows that this pairing is optimized for lower resolutions, with 1080p being the only resolution where all settings remain comfortably above the 60 FPS mark for Medium and below.

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate drops from 134.9 FPS on Low to 67.2 FPS on Ultra. This represents a 67.7 FPS difference, indicating that the Ultra preset roughly halves the frame rate compared to the lowest settings.

Q: Is the combination capable of 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only at the lowest settings. The 3840x2160 Low preset achieves an average of 60.4 FPS. All other 4K settings fall short, with Medium at 46.8 FPS, High at 29.4 FPS, and Ultra at 30.6 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 70074. Its closest competitor, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, scores 70104, a negligible 0% difference. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X scores 70420, placing it 0.5% ahead, while the AMD EPYC 9115 is 0.3% behind with a score of 69887.

Q: What does the GPU's benchmark percentile indicate about its overall standing?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 has a percentile rank of 74 among all GPUs, meaning it performs better than 74% of graphics cards in the database. Its average benchmark score of 30158 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, which is only 0.2% higher.

Q: What is the best settings configuration for a smooth experience at 1440p?

A: For an average above 60 FPS at 2560x1440, the Low preset is required, delivering 97 FPS. The Medium preset offers 78.4 FPS, which is also playable, but the High preset drops to 52 FPS and Ultra to 43.7 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU architecture relate to its thread count?

A: The Core i7-14700K uses the Raptor Lake architecture on a 10 nm process. It features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, allowing for substantial multi-threaded and single-threaded performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a high-end desktop processor with specifications that far exceed the demands of Inside. It features 20 cores and 28 threads, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz, with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, and it carries 33 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 44534 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 6287 in single-core, with a Passmark multithread score of 52392. Its overall percentile rank is 96, placing it in the top 4% of all CPUs tested.

Given the FPS data, the i7-14700K is never the limiting factor in this pairing. The frame rates are consistently low enough that the CPU's processing power is not being taxed. The data shows a clear pattern: the performance ceiling is set by the graphics card, not the processor. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would typically be more involved, the 134.9 FPS average is well within the capabilities of a processor with this level of single-thread performance. The CPU's role here is to provide a stable platform without introducing frame pacing issues, which its high boost clock and large cache are more than adequate to handle.

The CPU's benchmark scores confirm its position relative to competitors. Its average score of 70074 is statistically tied with the Core i7-14700KF (70104) and the EPYC 9115 (69887). It trails the Ryzen 9 9950X by a mere 0.5%. This suggests that in a system with a more balanced GPU, the i7-14700K would offer excellent performance. However, in this specific configuration, its potential is unrealized, as the RX 570's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and GCN 4.0 architecture create a hard limit on the achievable frame rates, particularly at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average frame rates provides a comprehensive view of the system's behavior. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings yield 134.9 FPS, Medium settings yield 107.4 FPS, High settings yield 67.7 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 67.2 FPS. The minimal difference between High and Ultra at this resolution suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not heavily taxing the GPU when pixel count is low.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. The Low preset achieves 97 FPS, Medium drops to 78.4 FPS, High falls to 52 FPS, and Ultra manages 43.7 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra widens at this resolution, indicating that the increased pixel count combined with Ultra effects forces the GPU to work significantly harder. The 1440p results show that only the Low and Medium presets are viable for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed except at the lowest setting. The Low preset produces 60.4 FPS, which is just playable. Medium drops to 46.8 FPS, while High and Ultra both fall below 31 FPS, with 29.4 FPS and 30.6 FPS respectively. These 4K numbers demonstrate a severe performance cliff, where the RX 570's 224.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering with high fidelity. The data indicates that 1080p is the intended resolution for this combination, with 1440p possible only at reduced settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Inside, this pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 1583 out of 1671 total combinations. This places it in the bottom 5% of all systems tested for this game. The low rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's performance, which holds back the otherwise top-tier CPU.

The ranking makes sense given the data. A combination featuring a CPU in the 96th percentile and a GPU in the 74th percentile should theoretically perform better than a rank of 1583 suggests. This discrepancy highlights the importance of balanced component selection. The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, both of which have average scores within 0.2% of the RX 570. However, the RX 570's age and 4 GB memory capacity are likely contributing factors to its poor showing in this specific game.

The CPU's performance, by contrast, is not a factor in this low ranking. Its score is nearly identical to the Core i7-14700KF (a 0% delta) and the AMD EPYC 9115 (0.3% higher). The data suggests that if the RX 570 were replaced with a more modern GPU, the combination's rank would improve dramatically. As it stands, the 1583rd place ranking is a clear indicator that the system is severely GPU-limited, and the benchmark results consistently show that the processor is waiting on the graphics card at every resolution and settings level.