Inside

# Inside: Intel Core i7-14700K + AMD Radeon RX 9070

This combination of an Intel Core i7-14700K and an AMD Radeon RX 9070 ranks 367th out of 1,671 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the top 22% of all systems evaluated. The pairing demonstrates that even a demanding puzzle platformer can expose meaningful performance differences across hardware configurations, and this particular combo sits comfortably above the median tested system.

How This Combo Ranks

The 367th position out of 1,671 tested combos places this system in the upper quintile of all configurations measured for Inside. This ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component becomes a consistent bottleneck across the tested resolutions and settings. The Intel Core i7-14700K holds the 96th percentile among all CPUs in the database, meaning it outperforms 96% of all processors tracked. Its average benchmark score of 70,074 places it nearly even with the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which scores 70,104, a negligible 0% delta. The AMD EPYC 9115 trails by only 0.3% with a score of 69,887, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X leads by 0.5% at 70,420, and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 is 1.4% ahead at 71,056. This cluster of rivals shows the i7-14700K sits in a tightly contested performance band where no single competitor holds a decisive advantage.

The GPU side tells a similar story. The Radeon RX 9070's average benchmark score of 34,780 places it at the 79th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA A2, scores 34,866, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the A2 is essentially tied. The NVIDIA Quadro GV100 trails by 0.3% at 34,677, while the AMD Radeon HD 7970 is 0.7% behind at 34,541, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 sits 0.8% lower at 34,511. These tight margins indicate the RX 9070 occupies a competitive position in the GPU hierarchy, though not an outlier in either direction.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 9070 brings 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock runs at 1330 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz and a boost clock reaching 2520 MHz. Memory operates at 2518 MHz, translating to 20.1 Gbps effective. These specifications support the frame rates observed in Inside, where the game's modest visual demands allow the GPU to stretch well beyond typical expectations.

The RDNA 4.0 architecture, built on TSMC's 4 nm process, packs 53,900 million transistors into a 357 mm² die. The 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units handle the game's 2D-forward rendering style with substantial headroom. The 56 ray accelerators are largely irrelevant for this title, as Inside does not leverage ray-traced effects. The GPU's pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s prove more relevant, as the game's atmospheric lighting and shadow work benefit from raw fill rate.

The PCIe 5.0 x16 interface eliminates any bandwidth concerns, though Inside's asset streaming is modest enough that even older interfaces would suffice. The 220 W TDP and dual 8-pin power connectors indicate this GPU draws substantial power, but the measured frame rates suggest the architecture converts that power into effective throughput in this workload.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals a clear hierarchy across the four preset quality levels. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 409.3 FPS, which exceeds any display's refresh rate and provides zero perceivable benefit over Medium's 347.8 FPS. The High preset at 219.2 FPS still exceeds 144 Hz displays, while Ultra drops to 203.7 FPS, still playable but with diminishing returns.

At 1440p, Low runs at 310 FPS, Medium at 248.2 FPS, High at 154.4 FPS, and Ultra at 150.4 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows dramatically at this resolution, suggesting the visual difference is minimal while the performance cost remains measurable. At 4K, High produces 95.3 FPS, Medium 156.6 FPS, Low 193.7 FPS, and Ultra 92.4 FPS.

The data indicates the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium's 347.8 FPS is only 15% below Low but likely provides noticeably better visual quality. At 1440p, Medium's 248.2 FPS comfortably exceeds 240 Hz refresh displays. At 4K, Medium's 156.6 FPS remains well above 120 FPS thresholds, while High and Ultra dip below 100 FPS. For players with high-refresh displays, Medium is the clear choice; for those prioritizing visual fidelity at 4K, High's 95.3 FPS is acceptable on 60 Hz panels but not on 120 Hz displays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the performance envelope spans from a low of 203.7 FPS at Ultra settings to a high of 409.3 FPS at Low. The progression is non-linear: Low to Medium drops from 409.3 to 347.8 FPS, a 15% reduction; Medium to High falls to 219.2 FPS, a 37% decrease; and High to Ultra edges down to 203.7 FPS, only a 7% reduction. This pattern suggests the High preset introduces a significant rendering cost that Ultra barely extends.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same settings produce 310 FPS at Low, 248.2 FPS at Medium, 154.4 FPS at High, and 150.4 FPS at Ultra. The resolution jump from 1080p costs approximately 24% at Low, 29% at Medium, 30% at High, and 26% at Ultra. These consistent reductions indicate the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth scale predictably with pixel count.

At 3840x2160, Low achieves 193.7 FPS, Medium 156.6 FPS, High 95.3 FPS, and Ultra 92.4 FPS. The step from 1440p to 4K represents a 2.25x pixel increase, and the measured FPS drops by roughly 38-45% depending on settings. The High preset suffers the largest relative decline, falling from 154.4 to 95.3 FPS, a 38% reduction. Ultra similarly drops from 150.4 to 92.4 FPS, a 39% reduction. Low and Medium see smaller relative losses of 38% and 37% respectively, showing the lower presets are less sensitive to resolution scaling.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck shifts between CPU and GPU. At Low settings, 1080p produces 409.3 FPS, 1440p delivers 310 FPS, and 4K reaches 193.7 FPS. The 1080p-to-1440p drop of 24% is smaller than the 1440p-to-4K drop of 38%, indicating the system becomes more GPU-limited as resolution rises. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6,287, keeps the frame rate high even at lower resolutions where CPU overhead typically dominates.

At High settings, the scaling pattern shifts. The 1080p-to-1440p reduction is 30%, while 1440p-to-4K is 38%. This consistency suggests the GPU is the primary constraint across all resolutions at High settings. The i7-14700K's 20 cores and 28 threads provide ample processing headroom, with its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,534 indicating the CPU can feed the GPU without bottlenecking even at 1080p.

The modest scaling penalties between resolution steps indicate this game is not heavily GPU-bound. A more demanding title would show steeper FPS drops when moving to 4K. Inside's stylized visuals and limited draw distances mean the RX 9070's 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient. The limiting component at 1080p Low is likely the CPU's ability to issue draw calls, but the 409.3 FPS result shows the i7-14700K handles this workload with ease.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems for Inside?

A: This configuration ranks 367th out of 1,671 tested combos, placing it in the top 22% of all systems. The CPU sits at the 96th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks at the 79th percentile among all graphics cards.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p display?

A: Medium settings at 2560x1440 produce 248.2 FPS, which is the highest frame rate that still provides substantial visual quality improvements over Low's 310 FPS. High and Ultra drop to 154.4 and 150.4 FPS respectively, which are still playable but offer diminishing returns.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming at high refresh rates?

A: At 3840x2160, Medium settings average 156.6 FPS, which exceeds 120 Hz refresh rates. High and Ultra average 95.3 and 92.4 FPS respectively, which suit 60 Hz displays but not 120 Hz or higher panels. Low settings reach 193.7 FPS but sacrifice visual fidelity.

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-14700K compare to its closest rivals?

A: The i7-14700K's average benchmark score of 70,074 is statistically tied with the Intel Core i7-14700KF at 70,104 (0% delta). The AMD EPYC 9115 trails by 0.3%, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X leads by 0.5%, and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 is 1.4% ahead.

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

A: Low settings average 409.3 FPS, while Ultra averages 203.7 FPS, representing a 50% reduction. The largest single step occurs between Medium at 347.8 FPS and High at 219.2 FPS, a 37% drop, suggesting High introduces significant rendering effects.

Q: Is this system CPU-bound or GPU-bound in Inside?

A: The data indicates a balanced pairing. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 409.3 FPS, showing the CPU can sustain very high frame rates. The consistent 37-39% FPS drops when moving from 1440p to 4K across High and Ultra settings indicate the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU's headroom is sufficient throughout.