Inside

The Intel Core i7-14700K and Intel Arc B570 pairing delivers a highly capable experience in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is far more demanding on frame rates than its minimalist art style suggests. The data shows a system that can push very high refresh rates at mainstream resolutions, though the GPU becomes a clear limiting factor at 4K with higher quality presets. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, the role of each component, and how this specific combination ranks against all other tested configurations.

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, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide substantial headroom for gaming workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5 and a single-core score of 2160, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its average benchmark score of 69355 puts it in a statistical tie with the AMD EPYC 9115 (deltaPct 0.1) and just 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, indicating elite-level processing capability.

For Inside, a game with relatively simple physics and AI, the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 240 FPS, which is a typical ceiling for many games and far beyond what the GPU alone would dictate. The single-threaded performance, reflected in a Geekbench single-core score of 2569 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4472, ensures that the game's main logic thread has ample headroom. The multi-core capabilities, evidenced by a Geekbench multi-core score of 20767 and a Passmark multithread score of 52392, are largely irrelevant for this title but confirm the processor is not a weak link in any scenario.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals shows a cluster of very similar scores. The 0.1% lead over the EPYC 9115 and the 0.7% deficit to the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX are within margin of error. This means that for Inside, swapping the i7-14700K for any of these rivals would produce virtually identical frame rates. The processor's 125 W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory are noteworthy, but the benchmark data indicates that its primary contribution here is ensuring that frame pacing remains consistent, allowing the GPU to reach its full potential.

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

Examining the measured FPS rows, the sweet spot for this hardware combination varies significantly by resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 192 FPS average with a minimum of 163 FPS and a maximum of 221 FPS. This is an excellent balance, providing a fluid experience on high-refresh-rate monitors without the marginal gains of Low (240 FPS) that sacrifice visual fidelity. The High preset at 120 FPS is also viable, but the jump from Medium to High costs 72 FPS (a 37.5% drop), which is steep for the visual improvement in a game like Inside. Ultra at 114 FPS is only 6 FPS slower than High, making it a better choice if you want maximum quality at 1080p.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again proves optimal, with an average of 138 FPS and a minimum of 117 FPS. This maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS and approaches the 144 Hz refresh rate that many monitors support. The Low preset at 172 FPS is overkill, while High (86 FPS) and Ultra (82 FPS) dip below the 90 FPS threshold that some players find critical for smooth motion. The data suggests that Medium at 1440p is the clear recommendation for a responsive experience, as the min FPS of 117 ensures no noticeable stutters.

At 4K, the situation changes drastically. The Medium preset drops to 87 FPS average with a minimum of 74 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced segments. Low at 108 FPS is the only preset that provides a truly smooth experience at this resolution. High (54 FPS) and Ultra (52 FPS) both fall into the 50-60 FPS range, which is acceptable for a puzzle platformer but fails to leverage high-refresh-rate displays. The recommendation is to use Low at 4K for the best frame pacing, or Medium if you prioritize visual detail and can tolerate occasional dips to 74 FPS.

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

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Medium settings, the average frame rate drops from 192 FPS at 1080p to 138 FPS at 1440p (a 28.1% decrease) and then to 87 FPS at 4K (a 54.7% decrease from 1080p). This scaling is not linear with pixel count; the 4K resolution has 4 times the pixels of 1080p, but the FPS only drops by 55%. This indicates that the Intel Arc B570 is the limiting component, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed the GPU at all resolutions.

The pattern is similar for other settings. At High, the FPS drops from 120 at 1080p to 86 at 1440p (a 28.3% decrease) and then to 54 at 4K (a 55% decrease from 1080p). At Low, the drop is from 240 at 1080p to 172 at 1440p (a 28.3% decrease) and then to 108 at 4K (a 55% decrease). This consistent ~28% drop from 1080p to 1440p and ~55% drop from 1080p to 4K across all presets strongly suggests that the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are the determining factors, not the CPU.

The Intel Arc B570 has a 160-bit memory bus with 10 GB of GDDR6 memory providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is modest by modern standards, and the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo only manages 52 FPS. The GPU's 80 ROPs and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are clearly strained by the 8.3 million pixels of 4K. Conversely, the CPU's performance is so far ahead of the GPU's needs that even at 1080p Low, the frame rate caps at 240 FPS, which is likely a game engine limit or a V-sync ceiling rather than a hardware bottleneck.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: The Medium preset provides the best balance, with an average of 138 FPS and a minimum of 117 FPS. High and Ultra drop to 86 and 82 FPS respectively, which are playable but do not fully utilize high-refresh-rate monitors.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K at 60+ FPS in Inside?*

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 108 FPS average. At Medium, it drops to 87 FPS, and at High or Ultra, it falls to 54 and 52 FPS respectively, which are below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the i7-14700K compare to the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 69355, which is 0.2% lower than the Ryzen 9 7950X's 69515. This difference is negligible and would not produce a measurable difference in Inside.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B570 a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: Not at Low settings, where the system hits 240 FPS. At Medium, High, and Ultra, the GPU is the limiting factor, with frame rates of 192, 120, and 114 FPS respectively, which are still high but show the GPU's performance ceiling.

Q: What memory specifications does the Intel Arc B570 use?

A: It uses 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is 2375 MHz, which equates to 19 Gbps effective.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the Intel Core i7-14700K?

A: The launch MSRP is $409. This is the only pricing information available in the data, and no cost-performance analysis is possible from the provided facts.

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

The Intel Arc B570, based on the Xe2-HPG architecture and built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, is the primary driver of frame rates in Inside. Its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus yields 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for this game's modest texture requirements but becomes a limiting factor at 4K. The GPU has 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. This configuration produces 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 20534 (0.1% lower), and the Intel Arc A750, which scores 20582 (0.1% higher). This clustering indicates that the B570 is a mid-range performer, which aligns with its measured FPS in Inside. The Passmark G3D score of 14195 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2649 further contextualize its capabilities.

At 1080p, the GPU delivers 240 FPS on Low and 192 FPS on Medium, showing that it is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions. However, at 4K Ultra, the 52 FPS average reveals that the GPU's fill rate and bandwidth are overwhelmed. The 19.6 billion transistors on a 272 mm² die indicate a dense design, but the 160-bit memory bus is a clear constraint for high-resolution gaming. The GPU's 150 W TDP and PCIe 4.0 x8 interface are adequate for this workload, but the data suggests that for 4K gaming, a higher-tier GPU would be necessary to maintain 60 FPS on High or Ultra presets.

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

At 1920x1080, the system shows a wide range of performance across presets. Low settings produce an average of 240 FPS, which is likely a hard cap. Medium settings average 192 FPS, with a minimum of 163 FPS and a maximum of 221 FPS. High settings average 120 FPS, and Ultra settings average 114 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is substantial (72 FPS), while the gap between High and Ultra is only 6 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the highest preset.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but at lower absolute values. Low settings average 172 FPS. Medium settings average 138 FPS, with a minimum of 117 FPS and a maximum of 159 FPS. High settings average 86 FPS, and Ultra settings average 82 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 52 FPS, which is a 37.7% reduction, indicating a significant performance cost for the visual upgrade.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles with higher presets. Low settings average 108 FPS, which is the only preset above 60 FPS. Medium settings average 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS. High settings average 54 FPS, and Ultra settings average 52 FPS. The minimum FPS of 74 at 4K Medium shows that there are occasional dips, but they remain above the 60 FPS threshold. The data indicates that 4K is only viable at Low or Medium presets for a smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2301 out of 2887 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the bottom 20% of all configurations, which is surprising given the high CPU performance and mid-range GPU. The rank reflects that many other systems, likely with more powerful GPUs, achieve higher frame rates at 4K and higher settings. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking does not translate to a high combo rank because the GPU's 65th percentile performance holds the system back.

The data shows that the combo is competitive with other mid-range GPU pairings but falls behind any system with a higher-tier GPU. The rank of 2301 suggests that 586 other combos perform worse, likely with older or lower-end hardware. However, it also means that the vast majority of tested systems outperform this one in Inside, primarily due to GPU limitations at higher resolutions. For 1080p gaming, this combo would rank much higher relative to its peers, but the overall ranking is dragged down by the 4K results.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.9% of the i7-14700K, confirming that the processor is not the cause of the low rank. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.5% of the B570's average score. This indicates that the combo's rank is a function of the GPU's tier rather than a mismatch between components. A system with the same CPU but a higher-end GPU would likely rank in the top half of all combos, while this pairing is constrained by the B570's 10 GB memory and 160-bit bus. The rank of 2301 is a clear signal that for Inside, the GPU is the decisive factor in overall performance ranking.