Inside

The Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT combination delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016. This pairing of a high-end 14th Gen desktop processor with a previous-generation flagship GPU produces frame rates that are overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher settings, while the CPU's immense multi-threading headroom becomes apparent only at the lowest settings and resolutions. The data shows a system that can push this title far beyond the limits of standard high-refresh-rate displays, making it a stellar choice for competitive or visually demanding playthroughs.

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

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture and built on a 10 nm process node. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz, and it can boost up to 5.60 GHz, figures that are more than sufficient for a game like Inside, which is not known for heavy multi-threaded workloads. The processor's extensive cache hierarchy, including 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and a 33 MB shared L3 cache, ensures that the game's logic and physics calculations have low-latency access to data.

In the context of this benchmark, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage game state. The data suggests that the i7-14700K is never the bottleneck in this pairing. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 408 FPS average. This is an exceptionally high frame rate that demonstrates the CPU's ability to process frames rapidly. The processor's benchmark scores reinforce its capability: it scores 33,440.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,160 in single-core, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. When compared to its nearest rivals, the data shows it is essentially tied with the AMD EPYC 9115 (0.1% delta), AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (-0.2% delta), and AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (-0.7% delta), indicating that its raw compute power is at the top of the desktop heap.

Despite having 20 cores, the game Inside is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer that likely uses only a fraction of them. The high single-thread performance, evidenced by the 2,160 Cinebench R23 single-core scoreainer, is more critical for this title. The measured frame rates confirm this: the CPU provides ample headroom, allowing the GPU to become the primary performance limiter when settings are increased. The processor's 125W TDP and support for DDR4/DDR5 memory are standard for its high-end desktop market segment.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is a formidable graphics card based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture and the Navi 21 chip, manufactured on a 7 nm process. It boasts 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s. The GPU's clock speeds are high, with a base of 1825 MHz, a game clock of 2015 MHz, and a boost clock of 2250 MHz. This hardware configuration is overkill for a game released in 2016, providing far more graphical horsepower than the title's visual effects require.

The GPU's 4608 shading units, 288 TMUs, and 128 ROPs are key to its performance. It delivers 20.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which allows for high pixel and texture fill rates. In this game, the GPU's role is to render the 2D environments and lighting effects. The benchmark results show a clear pattern: as resolution and settings increase, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system hits 408 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 92 FPS. This scaling is a direct result of the GPU's workload increasing with pixel count and shader complexity.

The RX 6800 XT's benchmark scores are respectable, with a Passmark G3D score of 24,980, placing it in the 85th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile (1.5% delta) and the Intel Arc A550M (-2.5% delta), which are not direct desktop competitors, but the data shows the RX 6800 XT is a strong performer. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Inside, which would not come close to exhausting it, even at 4K Ultra settings. The GPU's memory and compute capabilities ensure that it can handle the game's highest graphical presets without stuttering or memory swapping, though the frame rate does drop to 92 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating that even this powerful GPU has limits when pushing extreme resolutions.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a textbook example of resolution scaling, where the performance drop is almost entirely attributable to the GPU. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, and then to 3840x2160, produces a consistent decline in average frame rates across all settings. This scaling behavior is the key to identifying the bottleneck in this system.

At Low settings, the system delivers 408 FPS at 1080p, 307 FPS at 1440p, and 193 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is a 24.8% reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is a 37.1% reduction. This indicates that the GPU is heavily loaded even at Low settings, as the number of pixels being processed dramatically increases. At High settings, the trend is similar but more pronounced: 214 FPS at 1080p, 154 FPS at 1440p (a 28% drop), and 97 FPS at 4K (a 37% drop from 1440p). The Ultra settings show the same pattern, with 203 FPS at 1080p, 146 FPS at 1440p, and 92 FPS at 4K.

The fact that the CPU can maintain such high frame rates at 1080p Low (408 FPS) proves that it is not the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see frame rates plateau or remain similar across different resolutions. Instead, the frame rates scale inversely with resolution, confirming that the RX 6800 XT's rendering pipeline is the primary constraint. The only exception is at 4K Ultra, where the system drops to 92 FPS, a figure that is still playable but shows the GPU's limits when combined with the highest pixel count and shader complexity. This analysis shows that the combo is balanced for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p, but at 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor.

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

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. The following breakdown uses the exact numbers from the benchmark results.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average 408 FPS.
• Medium: Average 342 FPS, with a minimum of 291 FPS and maximum of 393 FPS.
• High: Average 214 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 203 FPS.

At 1080p, the system is incredibly fast. The difference between Low and Ultra is a 50.2% reduction in average FPS, showing that even the highest settings are not a problem for this hardware. The Medium preset's minimum FPS of 291 indicates high stability, with no noticeable dips that would affect gameplay.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average 307 FPS.
• Medium: Average 246 FPS, with a minimum of 209 FPS and maximum of 283 FPS.
• High: Average 154 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 146 FPS.

At 1440p, the frame rates remain very high. The jump from Low to Ultra results in a 52.4% average FPS reduction, but even the lowest Ultra score of 146 FPS is well above the 144Hz refresh rate commonly found on high-end monitors. The Medium preset's minimum of 209 FPS ensures a fluid experience on any display.

3840x2160 (4K):

• High: Average 97 FPS.
• Medium: Average 154 FPS, with a minimum of 131 FPS and maximum of 178 FPS.
• Low: Average 193 FPS.
• Ultra: Average 92 FPS.

At 4K, the system starts to show its limits. The High preset averages 97 FPS, which is still very playable. The Ultra preset drops to 92 FPS, which is below the 100 FPS threshold that many consider ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming. The Medium preset, with an average of 154 FPS and a minimum of 131 FPS, is the sweet spot for 4K, offering a high frame rate without sacrificing too much visual quality. The data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution, as the CPU has ample headroom.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The benchmark database places this specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT at rank 853 out of 3,716 tested combos for the game Inside. This ranking places it in the top 23% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing given the age of the GPU. The high rank confirms the CPU's power and the GPU's ability to handle the game's modest graphical demands.

The rank of 853 is notable because it indicates that the system is faster than the majority of other configurations in the database. However, it is not at the very top, which is expected since there are many newer and more powerful GPUs available. The data suggests that the bottleneck is the GPU, as the CPU is in the 94th percentile of all processors. If the system were paired with a faster GPU, the rank would likely be higher. The deltaPct values from the CPU's nearest rivals show that the i7-14700K is at the top of its class, but the GPU's percentile of 85 is slightly lower, confirming that the graphics card is the limiting factor for this combo's overall ranking.

Compared to other combos, this system is in the upper echelon for Inside. The game's simple 2D graphics mean that even mid-range hardware can achieve high frame rates, but this combo's high rank is due to its ability to maintain extremely high FPS at 1080p and 1440p, and respectable FPS at 4K. The rank of 853 out of 3,716 indicates that it outperforms roughly 77% of all other tested systems, making it a high-performance pairing for this title.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. The goal is to choose a preset that maintains a frame rate above the display's refresh rate, while maximizing visual quality.

For 1080p displays with a 240Hz or 360Hz refresh rate, the Low preset is the most logical choice. At 408 FPS, the system is far above the refresh rate of any monitor, ensuring zero screen tearing when V-Sync is off. However, the Medium preset, at 342 FPS average, is still fast enough for a 360Hz display and provides better visual details. The High and Ultra presets, at 214 and 203 FPS respectively, are ideal for 144Hz or 165Hz monitors, offering a perfect balance of high frame rates and improved visual fidelity.

For 1440p displays with a 144Hz or 165Hz refresh rate, the High preset is the best recommendation. It averages 154 FPS, which is above the 144Hz threshold, and provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium. The Ultra preset, at 146 FPS, is also a viable option for 144Hz displays, but its performance margin is thinner. The Medium preset, at 246 FPS, is overkill for most 1440p monitors, but it ensures maximum headroom for any future demanding scenes.

For 4K displays with a 60Hz refresh rate, the Ultra preset is the best choice. It averages 92 FPS, which is above 60Hz and provides the highest visual quality the game can offer. The High preset, at 97 FPS, is also excellent, but Ultra offers more visual polish. For 4K displays with a 120Hz or 144Hz refresh rate, the Medium preset is the only viable option that stays above 120 FPS, averaging 154 FPS. The High preset at 97 FPS would be below the refresh rate, causing potential screen tearing.

The data clearly shows that this combo is powerful enough to run Inside at maximum settings at 1080p and 1440p without issue. At 4K, users may need to drop to Medium or High settings to achieve the highest possible frame rates. The Medium preset offers the best all-around experience across all resolutions, providing a high frame rate floor (131 FPS at 4K) and a significant visual improvement over Low.