Inside

The Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016. The measured data shows this pairing ranks 83rd out of 1,671 tested combinations, placing it in the top 5% of all systems. Across all measured configurations, the average frame rates never drop below 114.3 FPS, indicating that this hardware is far beyond the requirements of the title. The analysis below breaks down how the CPU and GPU each contribute to these results, what settings provide the best experience, and how resolution scaling affects performance.

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, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boosts up to 5.60 GHz. This processor sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70,074. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, scores 70,104, a negligible 0% difference, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X scores 70,420, putting the i7-14700K 0.5% behind. The AMD EPYC 9115 trails by 0.3% with a score of 69,887.

For a game like Inside, which is a 2.5D side-scrolling puzzle platformer, the CPU's raw thread count is largely unnecessary. The game's logic and physics are not heavily parallelized, meaning the 20 cores are mostly idle. However, the single-core performance is critical, and the i7-14700K delivers a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6,287 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2,932. These scores demonstrate excellent per-thread throughput, which translates to consistent frame pacing and high minimum frame rates in lighter titles.

The data confirms this. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 411.8 FPS. This is the highest frame rate in the entire measured set, and it indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than it can render at higher settings. The gap between the Low (411.8 FPS) and Ultra (258.4 FPS) presets at 1080p is 153.4 FPS, or roughly 37%. This difference is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's workload increasing with graphical fidelity, not a CPU bottleneck. Even at the most demanding 4K Ultra settings, the system still produces 114.3 FPS, proving that the CPU is never the limiting factor in this title.

The processor's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support contribute to low latency access to game data, though the game's small asset sizes mean this is not a significant factor. The 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier indicate headroom for overclocking, but the measured results show no need for it. In summary, the i7-14700K's high single-core performance and massive multicore headroom make it overkill for Inside, but its strength ensures that the GPU is always the primary driver of frame rate changes.

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

The measured data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings preset for this hardware. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 258.4 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display. However, the Medium preset achieves 374.3 FPS, a substantial 44.8% increase over Ultra, while the High preset lands at 268.7 FPS. Given that the game is a slow-paced puzzle platformer with no competitive multiplayer, the visual differences between High and Ultra are likely minimal, but the frame rate difference is only 10.3 FPS. The High preset at 1080p is the sweet spot, offering 268.7 FPS while maintaining higher visual fidelity than Medium.

Moving to 1440p, the High preset drops to 196.6 FPS, still far above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most high-end monitors. The Ultra preset at this resolution produces 184.8 FPS, a 6% reduction from High. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 308 FPS, but this is unnecessary performance headroom. For a balanced experience at 1440p, the High preset is recommended, as it provides a 6.4% higher frame rate than Ultra while retaining nearly all of the graphical features.

At 4K, the situation changes. The Ultra preset delivers 114.3 FPS, which is still playable and smooth. The High preset at 4K achieves 123.7 FPS, an 8.2% improvement over Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K produces 195.6 FPS, but the visual downgrade from High is more noticeable at this resolution. The Low preset at 4K reaches 243.3 FPS, which is impressive but sacrifices too much visual quality for a single-player puzzle game.

The data suggests that the High preset is the best default choice across all resolutions. It offers the best balance between visual quality and frame rate, with 268.7 FPS at 1080p, 196.6 FPS at 1440p, and 123.7 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is only marginally slower (averaging about 5-6% lower frame rates across resolutions) and may be preferred by users with high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p displays who want maximum fidelity. However, for 4K, High is the clear recommendation, as the 9.4 FPS gain over Ultra is meaningful for maintaining a stable 120 FPS target.

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

The measured frame rates across resolutions reveal a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern. At 1080p High, the system achieves 268.7 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the frame rate drops to 196.6 FPS, a 26.8% reduction. At 4K High, the frame rate falls to 123.7 FPS, which is a 37.1% reduction from 1440p and a 54% reduction from 1080p. This scaling is consistent with the GPU's rendering workload increasing quadratically with pixel count.

This pattern is more pronounced at lower settings where the CPU can feed frames faster. At Low settings, the system goes from 411.8 FPS at 1080p to 364.4 FPS at 1440p (an 11.5% drop) to 243.3 FPS at 4K (a 33.2% drop from 1440p). The larger relative drop at 4K Low compared to 4K High (33.2% vs 37.1%) suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU is becoming the bottleneck at 4K, as the CPU is capable of much higher frame rates.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows the most significant drop across all settings, averaging around 25-30%. This is typical for a GPU with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and a 192-bit bus, as the memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The RTX 4070 Ti's boost clock of 2610 MHz and 7,680 shading units are sufficient for this game, but the pixel throughput is what matters. The GPU's pixel rate of 208.8 GPixel/s is the key metric here, and the data shows it handles 4K comfortably but with diminishing returns.

The fact that the frame rate at 4K Ultra (114.3 FPS) is still above 100 FPS indicates that neither the CPU nor the GPU is severely stressed. The limiting component is clearly the GPU, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate drops with increasing resolution. The CPU's role is to maintain the frame floor, and with a single-thread score of 4,472 in Passmark, it does so without issue. To sum up, this system is heavily GPU-bound in Inside, and the resolution scaling behavior confirms that the RTX 4070 Ti is the component determining the final frame rate.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 411.8 FPS, achieved at 1080p with Low settings.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: At 4K Ultra, the system produces an average of 114.3 FPS. This is still above 100 FPS, indicating smooth performance even at the most demanding configuration.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates a GPU bottleneck. Frame rates drop consistently as resolution increases (from 268.7 FPS at 1080p High to 123.7 FPS at 4K High), while the CPU's high single-core performance (6,287 in Cinebench R23) ensures it never limits the frame rate.

Q: What is the difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, High settings yield 196.6 FPS, while Ultra yields 184.8 FPS. The difference is 11.8 FPS, or approximately 6%, favoring High.

Q: How does this system rank compared to other tested combinations?

A: This combination ranks 83rd out of 1,671 tested combos, placing it in the top 5% of all systems tested for Inside.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, Low achieves 411.8 FPS, while Ultra achieves 258.4 FPS. This is a difference of 153.4 FPS, with Low being 59.4% faster than Ultra.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process with 35,800 million transistors. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 2310 MHz, with a boost clock of 2610 MHz. In the benchmark database, this GPU holds an 85th percentile ranking with an average score of 44,900. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, scores 45,152, a 0.6% difference, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT trails by 1.6% with a score of 45,642.

For Inside, the GPU's role is straightforward. The game is not graphically demanding, so the RTX 4070 Ti's 7,680 shading units and 80 ROPs are more than sufficient. The 12 GB VRAM is never a concern, as the game's textures and geometry are minimal. The measured data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains 114.3 FPS, which reflects the GPU's raw compute power (40.09 TFLOPS FP32) rather than its memory subsystem.

The GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks correlates with the game results. The Passmark G3D score of 31,624 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5,024 indicate a high-end card. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 205,028 suggests strong compute capability, though this is not heavily utilized in a puzzle platformer. The GPU's pixel rate of 208.8 GPixel/s is the limiting factor at 4K, as the frame rate scaling from 1440p to 4K (a 37.1% drop at High settings) matches the pixel count increase.

The RTX 4070 Ti's end-of-life production status does not affect its current performance. The data shows that this GPU is overkill for Inside, but it provides headroom for future titles. The 285 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this performance class. In this specific game, the GPU's role is to render the simple 2D scenes at extremely high frame rates, which it does without breaking a sweat. The measured frame rates, ranging from 114.3 FPS at 4K Ultra to 411.8 FPS at 1080p Low, demonstrate that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance, and it delivers exceptional results in every configuration.