Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer with modest visual demands, and the measured results for the Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT reflect that. The data shows a component pairing that is heavily overqualified for the task, as even at 4K Ultra the average frame rate remains well above standard display refresh rates. This analysis walks through how the frame rate scales with resolution, what the settings presets reveal about the bottleneck, and exactly where this combo lands among the 1,671 tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a predictable and consistent drop as resolution increases, but the severity of that drop is unusually low compared to more demanding titles. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 148.9 at 1920x1080 to 107.6 at 2560x1440, a 27.7% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 3840x2160 brings the average down to 65.8, which is another 38.8% decline from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, but the absolute numbers are so high that the CPU never becomes a meaningful constraint.

The Low settings preset provides a clearer picture of the CPU headroom. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 289.5 FPS, which drops to 210 at 1440p and 132.6 at 4K. The 1080p Low result is particularly telling: it suggests the i7-14700K with its 20 cores and 28 threads is feeding the RX 6650 XT enough data to keep it saturated, but the game's engine and the GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM start to matter more as pixel count rises. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K (132.6 to 109.2) shows that even modest settings changes have a measurable impact when the GPU is under maximum load.

What stands out is that the Ultra preset at 4K (62.3 FPS) is the only measured configuration that dips below the 60 FPS threshold. Every other combination of resolution and settings clears 60 FPS, with most clearing 100 FPS. This suggests that the limiting component at 4K Ultra is the Radeon RX 6650 XT’s raw throughput, not the CPU's capability. The i7-14700K’s single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6287, is more than sufficient for this game’s logic and physics, which are not heavily multithreaded in a way that would stress a 28-thread processor.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 289.5 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is more than double the 140 FPS achieved at the same resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700K bottlenecking the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate the CPU is not a bottleneck at any tested setting. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 289.5 FPS, and the CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44534 and single-core score of 6287 place it in the 96th percentile against all CPUs, providing far more headroom than the game requires.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra frame rate compare to the 1080p Ultra frame rate?

A: The 4K Ultra average of 62.3 FPS is 55.5% lower than the 1080p Ultra average of 140 FPS. This is the largest percentage drop in the dataset, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: Does the RX 6650 XT have enough VRAM for Inside at 4K?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 280.3 GB/s bandwidth. The measured data shows playable averages at 4K High (65.8 FPS) and 4K Medium (109.2 FPS), indicating the 8 GB capacity is sufficient for this game’s texture and asset demands.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1054 out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which reflects that while the components are capable, the game’s low demands mean many older or weaker combos also achieve high frame rates.

Q: Is there a settings preset that provides a 4K experience above 100 FPS?

A: Yes, the Medium preset at 3840x2160 delivers an average of 109.2 FPS. The Low preset achieves 132.6 FPS at 4K, while High and Ultra sit at 65.8 and 62.3 FPS respectively.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is the decisive component in determining frame rates at higher resolutions, and its specifications explain the scaling behavior. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2055 MHz, a game clock of 2410 MHz, and a boost clock of 2635 MHz. These clocks are relatively high for a mid-range card, and the 2048 shading units working across 128 texture units and 64 ROPs produce a pixel rate of 168.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s. For a game like Inside, which uses a distinctive monochromatic art style with limited geometric complexity, these figures are more than adequate.

The 8 GB VRAM buffer is a relevant factor at 4K. The memory runs at 2190 MHz (17.5 Gbps effective) over a 128-bit bus, yielding 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The measured data shows that the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 62.3 FPS, while the High preset at 4K holds 65.8 FPS. The difference between these two presets is small, suggesting that the VRAM capacity and bandwidth are being taxed similarly. The Low preset at 4K jumps to 132.6 FPS, which indicates that reducing texture quality and shadow detail lessens the memory pressure and allows the GPU’s compute units to work more efficiently.

The GPU’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support and RDNA 2.0 architecture provide the necessary feature set for modern rendering paths, but Inside’s 2016 release date means it likely relies on older API paths. The Passmark G3D score of 17166 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1859 place this GPU in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, which is respectable but not top-tier. In the context of this game, the GPU’s performance ceiling is the sole reason the 4K Ultra preset fails to hit 100 FPS, while every other combination succeeds.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy of settings for each resolution, and the optimal choice depends on whether the user prioritizes visual fidelity or frame rate headroom. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 140 FPS, which is well above the 60-75 Hz refresh rate of most monitors. The Medium preset at 232.3 FPS offers no practical benefit for standard displays, but for high-refresh-rate panels (144Hz or higher), the Medium preset is the better choice. The Low preset at 289.5 FPS is excessive for any current display and would only be useful for competitive play, which is not relevant for a puzzle platformer.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 98.6 FPS, which is still comfortably above 60 FPS. The High preset at 107.6 FPS is nearly identical in performance, suggesting that the visual differences between High and Ultra are not costly. The Medium preset at 167.2 FPS and Low at 210 FPS provide ample headroom for 144Hz panels. The best experience for a 1440p user is the High preset, as it maintains a high average while keeping the GPU load manageable.

At 3840x2160, the recommendation shifts. The Ultra preset at 62.3 FPS is playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. The High preset at 65.8 FPS is slightly better, but the Medium preset at 109.2 FPS is the standout option. It delivers a frame rate that is 75% higher than Ultra while requiring only a moderate reduction in visual settings. For 4K users, the Medium preset is the recommended balance, as it ensures smooth gameplay without sacrificing the game’s atmospheric lighting and shadow quality entirely. The Low preset at 132.6 FPS is viable but would flatten the visual presentation unnecessarily.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 1054 out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. This rank, which places it in the 37th percentile of tested configurations, is lower than one might expect given the hardware’s raw capabilities. The explanation lies in the game’s low system requirements: a 2016 puzzle platformer does not scale with high-end components in the same way a modern AAA title would. Many combos with weaker GPUs or CPUs can achieve similar or higher frame rates because the game’s rendering pipeline is not demanding enough to differentiate between mid-range and high-end hardware.

The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-14700KF with an average score of 70104 (0% delta), the AMD EPYC 9115 at 69887 (0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X at 70420 (-0.5% delta). These close scores indicate that the i7-14700K is performing as expected for its class, but none of this processing power translates into a higher ranking for Inside because the game is GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (0% delta), the AMD Radeon RX 470 (0.1% delta), and the Intel Arc A370M (-0.5% delta), which shows that the RX 6650 XT is positioned in a dense field of similarly performing cards. The rank of 1054 is therefore a reflection of the game’s modest demands rather than a deficiency in either component.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 289.5 FPS, the Medium preset averages 232.3 FPS, the High preset averages 148.9 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 140 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 149.5 FPS, which is the largest range across all resolutions, indicating that the GPU has headroom to spare at 1080p and settings changes have a proportionally large effect.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 210 FPS, the Medium preset averages 167.2 FPS, the High preset averages 107.6 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 98.6 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 111.4 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p but still substantial. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is only 9 FPS, suggesting that these two presets are visually similar in cost.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 132.6 FPS, the Medium preset averages 109.2 FPS, the High preset averages 65.8 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 62.3 FPS. The range from Low to Ultra is 70.3 FPS, the smallest of any resolution. This compression indicates that the GPU is nearing its maximum output at 4K, and the settings presets have diminishing returns. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is just 3.5 FPS, confirming that the Ultra preset offers no meaningful performance advantage over High and is likely not worth the extra visual load. The data overall shows a component pairing that can play Inside at any resolution with playable frame rates, with the only sub-60 FPS result being the 4K Ultra preset at 62.3 FPS.