Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016, and the benchmark data for the Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the Intel Arc B370 reveals a system that is surprisingly capable at lower settings but quickly runs out of graphical headroom at higher presets and resolutions. The measured rows show a clear pattern: this is a combo where the integrated-class GPU is the dominant performance bottleneck, while the 20-core CPU sits largely idle. The data indicates that users should focus on graphical settings and resolution rather than CPU-bound tweaks to achieve playable frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data points decisively toward the Low preset as the optimal experience for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 141 FPS, which is more than double the 70 FPS achieved on High and more than triple the 67 FPS on Ultra. This suggests that the Low preset provides the smoothest and most responsive experience for the vast majority of displays, and the headroom above 144 FPS (if the display supports it) is substantial. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 113 FPS, which is also highly playable, but the jump from Medium to High costs 43 FPS, a 38% reduction, indicating a steep performance cliff as graphical fidelity increases.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset still manages a very respectable 101 FPS average, making it the only preset at this resolution that clears the 100 FPS mark. Medium at 1440p drops to 81 FPS, which is still fluid for a puzzle platformer, but High falls to 51 FPS and Ultra to 48 FPS. For users with a 1440p monitor, Low or Medium are the viable choices; the data shows that High and Ultra introduce noticeable framerate dips that could detract from the game's precise movement mechanics. At 4K (3840x2160), the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability at 64 FPS average, while Medium drops to 51 FPS, and High and Ultra fall to 32 FPS and 30 FPS respectively. The 4K High and Ultra results are below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered ideal for action games, and the minimum FPS data for Medium (43 FPS) suggests occasional stutters.

The best experience per the measured rows is therefore a trade-off: 1080p Low for maximum smoothness, or 1080p Medium if visual quality is prioritized over the extra 28 FPS. The data shows that the Ultra preset offers marginal visual gains over High (67 vs 70 FPS at 1080p) while costing more performance, making it the least efficient choice. Users should avoid High and Ultra at 1440p and 4K entirely, as the average FPS falls below 55, which is risky for a game that requires precise timing for environmental puzzles.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its benchmark results are formidable: it scores 33,440.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,160 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 20,767. The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 94, meaning it outperforms 94% of processors in the database. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (deltaPct -0.2%) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (deltaPct -0.7%), showing that the i7-14700K sits at the very top of the desktop CPU hierarchy.

However, in Inside, this CPU's immense power is almost entirely irrelevant. The game is a 2D puzzle platformer with simple physics and minimal AI, so the rendering workload is far more demanding than the game logic. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 141 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 67 FPS. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively constant across settings, as the CPU workload (game logic, physics, draw calls) does not scale significantly with graphical preset. The fact that FPS halves from Low to Ultra indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck, not the CPU.

The CPU's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache are more than sufficient for a game like Inside, which has a small memory footprint. The processor's high single-thread performance (2,160 in Cinebench R23 single-core) ensures that the main game thread is never starved, but the data suggests that even a much weaker CPU would deliver identical frame rates in this title. The CPU's role here is to stay out of the way, and the measured results confirm that it does so effectively. The 125W TDP and 10nm process node are irrelevant to the actual gameplay experience, as the CPU is clearly not breaking a sweat.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the polar opposite of the i7-14700K. This is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3nm process node, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. It features 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its FP32 compute is rated at 6.144 TFLOPS, and it has a 25W TDP. The GPU's benchmark score is 1,184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, and its percentile vs all GPUs is a mere 5, meaning it outperforms only 5% of graphics cards in the database. Its nearest rivals are ancient parts like the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (deltaPct -0.2%) and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (deltaPct -0.5%).

This GPU is the definitive bottleneck in this system. The measured FPS data shows a clear correlation between graphical settings and performance, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p, the GPU delivers 141 FPS on Low, 113 FPS on Medium, 70 FPS on High, and 67 FPS on Ultra. The incremental performance drop from Low to Medium (28 FPS) and Medium to High (43 FPS) highlights how quickly the GPU saturates as texture quality, shadow resolution, and post-processing effects increase. The GPU's memory is "System Shared," meaning it relies on system RAM (DDR4 or DDR5 in this case), and its bandwidth is "System Dependent." This shared memory architecture is a major contributor to the performance cliff at higher presets, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth.

The GPU's 2400 MHz boost clock is respectable for an IGP, but the low pixel rate (48.00 GPixel/s) and texture rate (96.00 GTexel/s) limit its ability to fill high-resolution frames. At 4K, the GPU is overwhelmed: even on Low, it only manages 64 FPS, and on Ultra it drops to 30 FPS. The 4K results (32 FPS High, 51 FPS Medium with a 43 FPS minimum) clearly show that the Arc B370 is not designed for high-resolution gaming. The data implies that the GPU's 1280 shading units are insufficient for the pixel-shading demands of 4K, despite the game's relatively simple art style. For users, this means that the GPU dictates the entire performance envelope; CPU upgrades would yield zero benefit in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested combinations of CPUs and GPUs in the database for Inside, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700K and Intel Arc B370 ranks at 2,654 out of 2,887 total combos. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, which is a stark contrast to the CPU's top-tier ranking (94th percentile) and the GPU's bottom-tier ranking (5th percentile). The combo rank of 2,654 reflects the GPU's severe limitation, dragging down an otherwise exceptional processor.

The data suggests that this combo is heavily imbalanced. In a game like Inside, which is not CPU-intensive, pairing a flagship CPU with a low-end IGP results in a system that performs like a budget laptop. The combo rank of 2,654 out of 2,887 indicates that the vast majority of tested systems (including those with much older and weaker CPUs) outperform this combination, simply because they have dedicated graphics cards. The nearest CPU rivals for the i7-14700K (AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX) would likely achieve significantly higher combo ranks when paired with even a modest discrete GPU, but the data for those exact pairings is not available in this pack.

The practical implication is that the i7-14700K's 20 cores and 28 threads are wasted in this configuration. The measured FPS numbers (141 FPS max on Low at 1080p) are achievable with a much cheaper CPU, as the GPU is the limiting factor. The combo rank serves as a warning: this pairing is only suitable for non-gaming tasks or very light gaming at low settings. The 2,654 rank is not a reflection of the CPU's capability, but rather evidence of how much the GPU holds the system back.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K provides clear evidence of the GPU-bound nature of this system. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 141 at 1080p to 101 at 1440p (a 28% decrease) and then to 64 at 4K (a 55% decrease from 1080p). This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU that is limited by pixel throughput and memory bandwidth. The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s is a fixed hardware limit, and as resolution increases, the GPU must process more pixels per frame, resulting in a near-linear FPS drop.

At the Medium preset, the FPS drops from 113 at 1080p to 81 at 1440p (a 28% decrease) and then to 51 at 4K (a 55% decrease). The consistency of these percentage drops across Low and Medium settings indicates that the GPU is uniformly saturated. At the High preset, the FPS drops from 70 at 1080p to 51 at 1440p (a 27% decrease) and then to 32 at 4K (a 54% decrease). The Ultra preset shows a similar pattern: 67 at 1080p, 48 at 1440p, and 30 at 4K.

The data reveals that the FPS drops are almost exactly proportional to the pixel count increase. 4K has 4 times the pixels of 1080p, but the FPS does not drop by 4x; instead, it drops by roughly half. This suggests that the GPU is not purely pixel-bound but also has other bottlenecks like fill rate and shader complexity. However, the fact that the FPS at 4K Low (64) is nearly identical to the FPS at 1080p High (70) strongly implies that the GPU's raw compute (6.144 TFLOPS) is the limiting factor, not just memory bandwidth. The scaling indicates that the CPU is never the bottleneck, as the FPS consistently follows the GPU's workload. For a puzzle platformer, this means that users should choose a resolution that matches the GPU's capability: 1080p for smooth play, 1440p for acceptable play, and 4K only for Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 141 FPS average
• Medium: 113 FPS average, with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 130 FPS
• High: 70 FPS average
• Ultra: 67 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 101 FPS average
• Medium: 81 FPS average, with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS
• High: 51 FPS average
• Ultra: 48 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 64 FPS average
• Medium: 51 FPS average, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS
• High: 32 FPS average
• Ultra: 30 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: the Low preset is always the fastest, and the Ultra preset is always the slowest, with High and Ultra being nearly identical at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference between High (70 FPS) and Ultra (67 FPS) is only 3 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds negligible visual improvements while costing performance. At 1440p, High and Ultra are within 3 FPS of each other (51 vs 48), and at 4K, they are within 2 FPS (32 vs 30). The Medium preset offers a balanced middle ground, but its minimum FPS values (96 at 1080p, 69 at 1440p, 43 at 4K) indicate that frame pacing can be inconsistent during complex scenes, which could be problematic for a game that requires precise timing. The Low preset is the only one that maintains a minimum FPS above 60 at 1080p (implied by the 141 average), making it the safest choice for a consistently smooth experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for this combo?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with the Low preset is the only configuration that delivers a high average FPS (141) with no recorded minimum FPS below 60. At 1440p, the Low preset still achieves 101 FPS, while at 4K, only the Low preset (64 FPS) is close to playable. Higher presets at any resolution above 1080p result in average FPS below 55, which is risky for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700K too powerful for the Intel Arc B370?

A: Yes, based on the data, the CPU is vastly overqualified. The CPU ranks in the 94th percentile, but the combo ranks 2,654 out of 2,887. The measured FPS scales with graphical settings and resolution, not with CPU load, indicating the GPU is the sole bottleneck. A weaker CPU would likely produce identical FPS numbers in this game.

Q: Why does the FPS drop so much from 1080p to 4K?

A: The FPS drops by roughly 55% from 1080p to 4K at every preset (e.g., 141 to 64 on Low). This is because the GPU's pixel rate is fixed at 48.00 GPixel/s, and 4K requires four times the pixels of 1080p. The GPU's compute capacity (6.144 TFLOPS) is insufficient for high-resolution rendering, as evidenced by its 5th percentile ranking.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1,184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, which is 0.2% lower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1,186) and 0.5% lower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1,190). It is 1.4% higher than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1,168). These are all very old GPUs, confirming the Arc B370's low-end positioning.

Q: What does the combo rank of 2,654 out of 2,887 mean?

A: It means that 2,653 other tested CPU-GPU combinations performed better than this one in Inside. This places the combo in the bottom 8% of all systems, which is expected given the GPU's 5th percentile ranking. The CPU's top-tier performance does not compensate for the GPU's limitations in this game.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth using?

A: No, the data shows that Ultra offers almost no performance benefit over High. At 1080p, Ultra is 67 FPS vs High's 70 FPS; at 1440p, it's 48 vs 51; at 4K, it's 30 vs 32. The negligible difference suggests that Ultra and High have similar rendering demands, but both are significantly slower than Medium and Low, making them poor choices.