Inside

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers an exceptionally high-performance experience in Inside, a puzzle platformer that is far more forgiving on hardware than most modern titles. The measured frame rates are consistently high across all settings and resolutions, making this combination one of the strongest tested for this specific game. The data indicates that this system is heavily overqualified for the title, providing massive headroom that ensures a flawless experience regardless of user preferences.

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. This is a desktop-class CPU with a 125 W TDP, and its benchmark results place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs tested, indicating top-tier performance. Its average benchmark score of 69355 puts it statistically in a dead heat with its nearest rivals, including the AMD EPYC 9115 (0.1% ahead), the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.2% behind), the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.7% behind), and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (0.9% behind). These negligible deltas show that the i7-14700K is at the very peak of CPU performance, and its single-core capabilities are equally strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2160 and Geekbench single-core score of 2569.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is less about brute-force multi-core rendering and more about maintaining high frame rates with minimal bottlenecking. The game is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer, so its physics and logic are not heavily threaded. The i7-14700K’s high boost clock of 5.60 GHz is the critical factor here, ensuring that any single-threaded game logic is processed with minimal latency. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the system hits an average of 408 FPS, which is a clear indicator that the CPU is not a limiting factor at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. The passmark single-thread score of 4472 further confirms that the processor excels at the type of rapid, sequential calculations that such games rely on. Even at 4K Ultra, the average frame rate remains above 126 FPS, showing that the CPU provides consistent performance headroom even when the GPU is under maximum load. The processor's 33 MB of shared L3 cache also helps in keeping frequently accessed game data close at hand, reducing potential stutters in gameplay.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the primary driver of the exceptional visuals and high frame rates in Inside. It is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz. With 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, it is a formidable piece of hardware, and its benchmark scores reflect this. It holds the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247, placing it just 0.1% above its direct successor, the RTX 4080 SUPER, and ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by 1.1%, the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6%, and the AMD Radeon 8060S by 2.7%.

For a game like Inside, which features a distinctive, minimalist art style with heavy use of shadows and lighting, the RTX 4080’s raw power is more than sufficient. The data shows that the GPU is the primary scaling factor as resolution increases. At 1080p High, the system achieves an average of 294 FPS, but this jumps to 408 FPS at Low settings. This performance ceiling is likely dictated by the CPU's ability to feed the GPU frames, not the GPU's rendering capacity. The 16 GB of VRAM is far more than Inside requires, even at 4K Ultra, ensuring there are no memory-related hitches. The high boost clock of 2505 MHz ensures that the GPU can quickly process the game's shaders and lighting effects, which are crucial for the game's atmospheric tension. Moving to 1440p High, the average FPS is 211, and at 4K High, it drops to 133 FPS, demonstrating a clear GPU-bound scaling pattern as the pixel count increases.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable and distinct scaling pattern across resolutions, highlighting a shift in the system's bottleneck. At 1080p, the system is clearly CPU-bound or engine-limit-bound, as the frame rates are extremely high across all settings. For instance, at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 408, which is an enormous number that most displays cannot even utilize. At 1080p Ultra, it drops to 280 FPS. This relatively small drop from Low to Ultra (a 31% decrease) suggests that the GPU has plenty of headroom at this resolution, and the limiting factor is the CPU's ability to process the game's logic.

As we move to 1440p, the GPU starts to take on more work. The average FPS at 1440p High is 211, which is a 28% drop from the 1080p High result of 294 FPS. This is a more significant proportional decrease than the settings change within 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck. At 1440p Ultra, the average is 201 FPS, showing that even at this resolution, the system is massively overperforming for a game like Inside.

The most telling data is at 4K. At 3840x2160 High, the average FPS is 133, a 55% drop from the 1080p High result. This is a steep decline that firmly establishes the GPU as the limiting component at this resolution. The RTX 4080 is being pushed harder, but it still delivers a flawless, smooth experience. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 126, which is still far above the 60 FPS target for most gamers. The scaling from 4K High to 4K Ultra is minimal (a 5% drop), whereas the scaling from 1080p High to 4K High is massive (a 55% drop). This indicates that while the CPU is excellent at 1080p, the 4K results are almost entirely dictated by the GPU's rendering capabilities. The system is so powerful that even at 4K Ultra, the game remains highly playable.

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

Given the exceptional performance of this combo, the choice of settings comes down to a trade-off between maximizing visual fidelity and achieving absurdly high refresh rates. The data shows that the game is so well-optimized that even the most demanding preset yields frame rates that are far beyond what is necessary for a smooth experience.

• Ultra Preset: This is the recommended setting for most users. At 4K Ultra, the system still manages an average of 126 FPS, which is well above the 120 Hz refresh rate of many high-end monitors. At 1440p Ultra, the average jumps to 201 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it reaches 280 FPS. Since the game is a puzzle platformer, the enhanced shadows, lighting, and particle effects at Ultra settings will likely enhance the atmospheric experience without any perceptible downside. The data shows that the performance cost of moving from High to Ultra is relatively small (e.g., 133 FPS to 126 FPS at 4K), making Ultra the clear choice for maximizing visual quality.

• High Preset: This preset is a solid fallback if you have a monitor with a refresh rate exceeding 120 Hz at 4K. At 4K High, the average FPS is 133, which is only a 5% improvement over Ultra. At 1440p High, it hits 211 FPS, and at 1080p High, it reaches 294 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is likely subtle in a game with Inside's art style, but the extra headroom could be useful for eliminating any potential frame-time spikes.

• Medium Preset: This preset offers the highest measurable minimum FPS in the data set. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 212, with a minimum of 181 FPS and a maximum of 244 FPS. This is the only preset where minimum FPS data is recorded, suggesting it provides the most stable frame pacing. However, given that the Ultra preset already averages 126 FPS, the need for this stability is minimal. It is recommended only for users with very high refresh rate displays (240Hz+) who want to guarantee frame rates above 200 FPS at 4K.

• Low Preset: This setting is unnecessary for this hardware. While it achieves the highest frame rates (408 FPS at 1080p, 366 FPS at 1440p, and 265 FPS at 4K), the visual downgrade is not worth the performance gain, as the system is never struggling to maintain high FPS at higher settings. The data suggests that Low settings are a waste of the hardware's potential.

The best experience per the measured rows is Ultra at 1440p or 4K. At 1440p Ultra, the 201 FPS average provides a fluid experience for high-refresh-rate monitors. For those with a 4K display, 4K Ultra at an average of 126 FPS is still an excellent experience, and the minor drop in FPS versus High is a worthwhile trade for the increased visual fidelity. The system is never below 126 FPS average, so the highest visual preset is the most logical choice.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific configuration of the Intel Core i7-14700K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 132nd out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the top 3.5% of all systems tested, which is an exceptional result. This ranking confirms the sheer power of both components. Given that the game is not particularly demanding, this high rank is not surprising, as any system with a top-tier CPU and GPU will likely dominate the leaderboard.

The ranking suggests that only a handful of systems with even more powerful components (such as the RTX 4090 or newer generation CPUs) achieve higher frame rates. The delta between this combo and the top-ranked ones is likely small, as the game's frame rate is often capped by the engine or CPU at lower resolutions. This rank of 132 out of 3716 confirms that users of this combo will have a top-tier experience, with performance that is indistinguishable from the absolute best systems in the database for this title. The benchmark results indicate that the combination is perfectly balanced for this game, meaning there is no significant bottleneck between the CPU and GPU, allowing them to work in tandem to produce these high frame rates.

FAQ

*Q: What is the maximum average frame rate this combo achieves in Inside?*

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 408 at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the absolute ceiling of the system's performance in this game.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the main bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows that the GPU becomes the limiting component at 4K. The average FPS drops from 294 at 1080p High to 133 at 4K High, a 55% decrease, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound scaling. The CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU at these high pixel counts.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its direct successor, the RTX 4080 SUPER, in benchmarks?

A: According to the data, the RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER's score of 54209. In this case, the original model is marginally ahead of its successor in the aggregate benchmark, though the difference is negligible.

Q: What is the best settings preset to use if I have a 144Hz monitor?

A: You can safely use the Ultra preset at 4K. The measured average FPS for 4K Ultra is 126, which is close to a 144Hz refresh rate, but to ensure you consistently hit above 144 FPS, using the Ultra preset at 1440p (201 FPS) or the High preset at 4K (133 FPS) are both excellent choices.

Q: Does the i7-14700K offer a significant performance advantage over its rivals in this game?

A: The CPU's nearest rivals show a performance delta of less than 1% in average benchmark scores. For example, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is only 0.2% slower. In a game like Inside, this difference is imperceptible, meaning the i7-14700K offers no practical advantage over the top AMD alternatives.

*Q: Is the 16 GB of VRAM on the RTX 4080 sufficient for Inside?*

A: Yes, the 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is far more than enough. The game is a puzzle platformer with a minimalist art style, and the data shows no performance issues related to VRAM capacity at any resolution or settings preset. The 716.8 GB/s memory bandwidth is also more than adequate for the game's texture and lighting data.