Inside

# Inside: Intel Core i7-14700K + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX lands at rank 253 out of 3,716 tested combinations for Inside, placing this combo in the top 7% of all systems evaluated. This is an exceptionally strong pairing for a puzzle platformer that rarely stresses modern hardware, with measured frame rates that range from 115 FPS at 4K Ultra to 408 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows a system that delivers high-refresh-rate performance at every resolution and nearly every settings preset, with the only meaningful compromise appearing at the most demanding 4K Ultra configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 253 out of 3,716 tested combinations, this system sits comfortably in the upper echelon of tested hardware pairings for Inside. The rank reflects not just raw GPU muscle but also the CPU's ability to feed frames in a game that, while visually modest, can still become CPU-bound at lower resolutions where frame rates climb toward 400 FPS.

The CPU component of this pairing is particularly strong in synthetic benchmarks. The Core i7-14700K achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33,440.5 and a single-core score of 2,160, with a Geekbench multi-core result of 20,767 and single-core of 2,569. These numbers place the processor at the 94th percentile among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 69,355. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 9115 (average score 69,288, a 0.1% delta), the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515, -0.2%), the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875, -0.7%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996, -0.9%). This clustering indicates the 14700K is within a single percentage point of several top-tier server and desktop processors, making it a highly competitive chip for gaming workloads.

The GPU's percentile ranking is less impressive at 64th among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19,410. However, this percentile is heavily weighted by synthetic compute workloads; in actual gaming measurements, the RX 7900 XTX demonstrates far stronger relative performance. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (average score 19,334, a 0.4% delta), the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 (19,602, -1%), the AMD FirePro D300 (19,637, -1.2%), and the NVIDIA TITAN Xp (19,177, 1.2%). These comparisons are based on aggregate benchmark scores that include professional and legacy workloads, so they do not reflect the gaming performance gap visible in the measured FPS data.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It carries 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding 960.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 2500 MHz, or 20 Gbps effective, which provides ample bandwidth for Inside's relatively simple textures and geometry.

The GPU's clock behavior is notable: a base clock of 1929 MHz, a game clock of 2365 MHz, and a boost clock of 2498 MHz. In a game like Inside, which does not push the GPU to its thermal or power limits at lower resolutions, the boost clock is likely sustained for extended periods. The measured FPS data supports this interpretation, as frame rates scale almost linearly with resolution changes, suggesting the GPU is operating near its maximum clock in most scenarios.

The 24 GB VRAM capacity is far beyond what Inside requires, but it ensures that memory capacity is never a bottleneck, even at 4K Ultra settings. The 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for the game's art style, which uses a muted color palette and limited draw distances. The GPU's 96 ray accelerators and 192 ROPs are largely idle in this title, as Inside does not implement ray-traced effects. The 61.39 TFLOPS FP32 compute throughput is similarly underutilized, but it explains why the card can deliver 121 FPS at 4K High without breaking a sweat.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Inside?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 408 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At Medium settings, 1080p yields 377 FPS average, while High and Ultra produce 268 FPS and 255 FPS respectively.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Inside?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160, the combo delivers 121 FPS average on High settings, 194 FPS on Medium, and 242 FPS on Low. Even at Ultra settings, the average frame rate stays above 115 FPS, indicating smooth 4K gameplay across all presets.

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

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 69,355, which is nearly identical to the AMD EPYC 9115 (69,288, 0.1% higher) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515, 0.2% lower). It trails the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875) by 0.7% and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996) by 0.9%.

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

A: The only settings preset with recorded minimum frame rates is Medium. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 165 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 262 FPS; and at 1080p Medium, it is 320 FPS. Other presets do not have min/max values in the data.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark percentile compare to its gaming performance?

A: The RX 7900 XTX sits at the 64th percentile among all GPUs based on average benchmark score (19,410). However, in Inside, the measured frame rates demonstrate that the card is far more competitive in real gaming workloads, delivering over 115 FPS at 4K Ultra and over 400 FPS at 1080p Low.

Q: Does the combo rank improve at lower resolutions?

A: The combo rank of 253 out of 3,716 is a single aggregate metric for the game, not broken down by resolution. However, the measured FPS data shows that lower resolutions yield proportionally higher frame rates, suggesting the combo becomes more dominant relative to other systems as resolution decreases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 resolution, the combo delivers an average of 121 FPS on High settings, 194 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 165 FPS and maximum of 223 FPS), 242 FPS on Low, and 115 FPS on Ultra. The gap between High and Ultra is relatively small at just 6 FPS, while the jump from High to Medium is substantial at 73 FPS. This pattern indicates that the Ultra preset introduces additional effects that have a measurable cost, but the GPU still maintains playable frame rates throughout.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales as expected. High settings produce 193 FPS average, Medium produces 308 FPS (minimum 262 FPS, maximum 355 FPS), Low produces 366 FPS, and Ultra produces 184 FPS. The relative ordering remains consistent, with Low being the fastest preset and Ultra the slowest. The Medium preset's minimum frame rate of 262 FPS is particularly strong, ensuring no perceptible stutter even in demanding scenes.

At 1920x1080, the combo reaches its peak performance. Low settings deliver 408 FPS average, Medium delivers 377 FPS (minimum 320 FPS, maximum 433 FPS), High delivers 268 FPS, and Ultra delivers 255 FPS. Interestingly, the gap between Low and Medium at 1080p is only 31 FPS, much smaller than the 48 FPS difference seen at 4K. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU begins to limit performance, reducing the impact of GPU-side settings changes.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: Medium settings offer the best combination of visual quality and frame rate headroom at every resolution. At 1080p Medium, the 377 FPS average is more than double the refresh rate of most high-end monitors, while at 4K Medium, the 194 FPS average still exceeds 165 Hz displays. Low settings provide diminishing returns at 1080p, where the 408 FPS average is only 8% higher than Medium, but at 4K, the 242 FPS Low result is 25% faster than Medium.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, Medium settings provide the optimal experience across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium yields 377 FPS average with a minimum of 320 FPS, ensuring that even the most demanding scenes stay well above 300 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs only 31 FPS at 1080p but delivers noticeably better visual fidelity in a game where lighting and shadow play are central to the atmosphere.

At 2560x1440, Medium again stands out with 308 FPS average and a 262 FPS minimum. This performance level is sufficient for any current high-refresh-rate monitor, including 240 Hz and 360 Hz panels. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 184 FPS average, which is still playable but introduces a 40% performance penalty compared to Medium for marginal visual gains in a game with a deliberately restrained art style.

For 4K gaming, Medium at 194 FPS average (165 FPS minimum) is the recommended sweet spot. High settings at 121 FPS are also viable for 120 Hz displays, but the 73 FPS difference between High and Medium suggests that High enables effects that disproportionately impact performance. Ultra at 115 FPS is the only preset that drops below 120 FPS, making it unsuitable for 120 Hz panels but still acceptable for 60 Hz displays.

Players prioritizing maximum frame rates should consider Low settings at 4K, which delivers 242 FPS average. However, given that Inside's visual design relies on subtle environmental storytelling, the visual downgrade at Low may detract from the experience more than the frame rate gain justifies. The data supports Medium as the balanced choice, offering frame rates that are 60% higher than High at 4K while maintaining the game's intended visual presentation.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K provides 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This configuration is built on the Raptor Lake-R architecture with a 10 nm process, featuring 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, with ECC memory support available. Its 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier make it a flexible choice for overclocking, though the measured FPS data suggests no overclocking is needed for Inside.

The CPU's benchmark results show exceptional multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33,440.5, Cinebench R20 multi-core of 18,544, Cinebench R15 multi-core of 5,035, and Geekbench multi-core of 20,767. Single-threaded scores are equally strong, with Cinebench R23 single-core at 2,160 and Geekbench single-core at 2,569. PassMark tests reveal specialized strengths: data compression at 695,234, data encryption at 40,091, floating point math at 134,222, and integer math at 182,876. The overall PassMark multi-thread score is 52,392, with a single-thread score of 4,472.

In Inside, the CPU's role is primarily to feed frames to the GPU at high rates. The game is not heavily threaded, so the 28 threads are largely underutilized, but the high single-core performance (boost clock of 5.60 GHz) ensures that the primary game thread never becomes a bottleneck. Evidence of this appears in the 1080p results, where the frame rate difference between Low (408 FPS) and Medium (377 FPS) is smaller than at higher resolutions. This compression suggests the CPU is approaching its frame generation limit around 400 FPS, even with its strong single-thread capabilities.

The CPU's 94th percentile ranking among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 69,355, places it in the top tier of gaming CPUs. Its nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and AMD EPYC 9115, show deltas of less than 1%, indicating that no mainstream processor offers a meaningful advantage for this workload. For Inside specifically, the 14700K's combination of high boost clock and large L3 cache provides the low-latency memory access that puzzle platformers benefit from when loading new areas and managing physics interactions.