Inside

# Inside: Intel Core i7-14700K + Intel Arc B390 — Measured Performance Analysis

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics produces a combo ranked 2547 out of 2887 tested combinations for Inside, placing it in the lower tier of systems measured for this puzzle platformer. The Arc B390, an integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, delivers playable but not exceptional frame rates, while the 20-core i7-14700K provides an overwhelming CPU headroom that the GPU simply cannot exploit in this 2D side-scrolling title. The data reveals a system where the graphical component is the clear bottleneck at every resolution, yet the sheer efficiency of the game's rendering demands means that even this modest iGPU can achieve 60+ FPS at lower settings and resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

With a rank of 2547 out of 2887 combos, this pairing sits in the 12th percentile of all tested systems for Inside — a surprisingly low position given the hardware involved. The i7-14700K itself is no slouch, holding the 94th percentile among all CPUs tested across the database with an average benchmark score of 69355. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 9115 (0.1% ahead), AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.2% ahead), AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.7% ahead), and AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (0.9% ahead) — all within a single percentage point, indicating the CPU is performing exactly as expected for its class.

The GPU tells a different story. The Arc B390 sits at only the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with its sole 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 placing it just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M, 2.5% ahead of the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710. These are all legacy or entry-level discrete GPUs from a decade ago, which contextualizes why this combo ranks so poorly. The disparity between the CPU's 94th percentile and the GPU's 9th percentile creates a massive imbalance — the processor is capable of far more than this integrated graphics solution can deliver.

The ranking suggests that for Inside specifically, most other tested combinations — including those with older or weaker CPUs but stronger GPUs — outperform this setup. The game is not demanding on the CPU, so the i7-14700K's 20 cores and 28 threads provide no measurable advantage in this title. What matters is raw GPU throughput, and the Arc B390's integrated nature limits it severely.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor built on the Panther Lake chip with Xe3-LPG architecture at a 3 nm process node. Its clock speeds range from a 300 MHz base to a 2500 MHz boost, and it features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 render output units. The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with bandwidth described as system-dependent — a critical limitation for gaming performance.

The GPU's compute capabilities are modest: 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 15.36 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1 ratio). It supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which means it can handle modern graphics APIs, but the underlying hardware throughput is limited. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, figures that align with its low-end positioning.

For Inside, the GPU's role is dominant. The game is a 2D puzzle platformer with atmospheric lighting and shadow effects, but its visual complexity is far below modern 3D titles. The measured results show the Arc B390 struggling at 4K Ultra (34 FPS) but managing a respectable 70 FPS at 4K Low. This pattern indicates the GPU is the limiting factor throughout — when settings increase, the frame rate drops proportionally, with no sign of CPU involvement in the bottleneck.

The 80 W TDP and lack of power connectors confirm this is an integrated solution sharing power and thermal budget with the CPU. The system-shared memory means bandwidth is dictated by the host system's RAM configuration, which for this benchmark setup appears sufficient to avoid catastrophic performance collapse but not enough to push high frame rates at demanding settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 156 FPS; at 1440p Low, it drops to 112 FPS; and at 4K Low, it falls to 70 FPS. This represents a 55% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings — a scaling curve that suggests the GPU is working progressively harder as pixel count increases, with no other component stepping in to mitigate the load.

The High settings tell a similar story: 78 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 28%, and from 1440p to 4K is 37.5%. These are substantial reductions that point squarely at the GPU as the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain relatively flat across resolutions, since the processor's workload would be similar regardless of pixel count.

The Ultra preset yields 74 FPS at 1080p, 53 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K — again showing steep declines with resolution. The Medium settings, which include min and max FPS data, show 125 FPS average at 1080p (min 106, max 144), 90 FPS at 1440p (min 76, max 103), and 56 FPS at 4K (min 48, max 65). The min-to-max ranges widen at lower resolutions, indicating more frame time variance when the GPU has headroom.

The data implies that for a smooth 60+ FPS experience, users must choose their resolution carefully. At 1080p, even Ultra nearly hits 60 FPS. At 1440p, only Low and Medium exceed 60 FPS. At 4K, only Low reaches 60 FPS, and it barely does so at 70 FPS average.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Inside at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, at 1080p with High settings (78 FPS), Medium (125 FPS), or Low (156 FPS). At 1440p, Low (112 FPS) and Medium (90 FPS) both exceed 60 FPS. At 4K, only Low (70 FPS) surpasses the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M, 2.5% ahead of the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710. It ranks at the 9th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Inside?

A: The measured data suggests 1080p is the sweet spot, as all four settings presets (Low 156 FPS, Medium 125 FPS, High 78 FPS, Ultra 74 FPS) comfortably exceed 60 FPS. Higher resolutions require dropping settings significantly to maintain playable frame rates.

Q: Is the i7-14700K holding back the Arc B390 in this game?

A: No. The CPU operates at the 94th percentile among all processors with an average benchmark score of 69355, while the GPU is at the 9th percentile. The GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution and settings combination tested.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for Inside?

A: This combo ranks 2547 out of 2887 total combinations, placing it in the lower 12% of systems tested for this game. This low ranking is attributable to the integrated GPU rather than the CPU.

Q: What frame rates can users expect at 4K with Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS and maximum of 65 FPS. This is technically playable but may experience noticeable dips below 60 FPS during demanding scenes.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, built on Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node. It operates at a 3.40 GHz base clock and boosts to 5.60 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 2 MB L2 per core, and 33 MB shared L3. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 CPU lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-14700K delivers strong results: 33440.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 2160 in single-core, 18544 in Cinebench R20 multi-core, and 2617 in single-core. Its Geekbench scores are 20767 multi-core and 2569 single-core. PassMark results show 52392 multi-thread, 4472 single-thread, and an average benchmark score of 69355.

For Inside, however, all this computational power is largely irrelevant. The game's CPU demands are minimal — a 2D puzzle platformer does not stress 20 cores or 28 threads. The measured frame rates show no indication of CPU limitation; if the processor were struggling, we would see inconsistent performance across settings at the same resolution, but instead the scaling is smooth and predictable.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 94 means it outperforms 94% of all processors in the database. Its nearest rivals — the AMD EPYC 9115 (0.1% higher average score), AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.2% lower), AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.7% lower), and AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (0.9% lower) — are all within a single percentage point, confirming the i7-14700K is performing at the top of its class. But in Inside, this CPU's capabilities are untapped, as the GPU becomes the sole determinant of frame rate.

The CPU's integrated UHD Graphics 770 is not used in this configuration; instead, the Arc B390 takes over graphics duties. The i7-14700K's launch MSRP is $409, though this price point does not factor into the performance analysis.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and whether the user prioritizes frame rate consistency or visual fidelity.

At 1080p, the Medium preset offers the best balance with 125 FPS average, 106 FPS minimum, and 144 FPS maximum. This provides a wide safety margin above 60 FPS and even approaches high-refresh-rate territory. The Ultra preset at 74 FPS is also viable if maximum visual quality is desired, while High at 78 FPS offers nearly identical performance with slightly lower visual demands.

At 1440p, Medium again emerges as the recommended choice with 90 FPS average (76 min, 103 max). The High preset at 56 FPS dips below 60 FPS, making it borderline for smooth gameplay. Low at 112 FPS is the only other preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, but the visual downgrade may not be worth the extra 22 FPS over Medium.

At 4K, the situation becomes more constrained. Low at 70 FPS is the only preset that maintains a 60+ FPS average, though Medium at 56 FPS (48 min, 65 max) is close enough that most players might accept the occasional dip for improved visuals. High and Ultra at 35 FPS and 34 FPS respectively are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

The data suggests that Medium settings provide the most consistent experience across all resolutions, maintaining frame rates above or near 60 FPS at 1080p and 1440p, while being the best playable option at 4K. The measured min and max values for Medium show tighter frame time distribution compared to other presets, indicating more predictable performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 156 FPS average
• Medium: 125 FPS average, 106 FPS minimum, 144 FPS maximum
• High: 78 FPS average
• Ultra: 74 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 112 FPS average
• Medium: 90 FPS average, 76 FPS minimum, 103 FPS maximum
• High: 56 FPS average
• Ultra: 53 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 70 FPS average
• Medium: 56 FPS average, 48 FPS minimum, 65 FPS maximum
• High: 35 FPS average
• Ultra: 34 FPS average

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each doubling of resolution (1080p to 1440p to 4K) reduces frame rates by roughly 40-55% depending on settings. The Medium preset at 1080p achieves 125 FPS, which drops to 90 FPS at 1440p (28% reduction) and 56 FPS at 4K (38% further reduction). This scaling behavior confirms the GPU-bound nature of the workload.

The minimum and maximum values for Medium settings provide additional insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the 106-144 FPS range shows a spread of 38 FPS, while at 1440p the spread narrows to 27 FPS (76-103), and at 4K it narrows further to 17 FPS (48-65). This suggests that as the GPU becomes more saturated, frame times become more consistent, reducing stutter but also lowering overall performance.

The Ultra preset at 1080p (74 FPS) performs nearly identically to High at 1440p (56 FPS) when accounting for resolution scaling, indicating that the visual quality settings have a similar impact to resolution increases on this GPU. The Low preset at 4K (70 FPS) matches High at 1080p (78 FPS) within a reasonable margin, showing that the game's scalability allows users to trade resolution against settings to achieve their preferred balance.

Ultimately, the measured FPS breakdown shows a system that can run Inside at 60+ FPS in most configurations except for high settings at 1440p and above, and any settings above Low at 4K. The Arc B390's integrated nature and system-shared memory keep it firmly in entry-level territory, but the game's modest requirements allow for acceptable performance when settings are chosen judiciously.