Inside

The Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination ranks 136th out of 3716 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the top 3.7% of all systems benchmarked. This pairing is exceptionally well-suited for the game, delivering frame rates that far exceed the requirements of smooth 4K gameplay. The data shows that this combo is not merely capable but overwhelmingly dominant for this title, with performance metrics that suggest the GPU is the primary driver of the experience even at the highest settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame of 136 out of 3716 places this system in the 96.3rd percentile, a position that reflects near-elite status among all tested configurations. This rank is not a surprise given the individual components: the CPU sits in the 94th percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 86th percentile of all graphics cards. The combination of a top-tier CPU and a high-end GPU results in a system that leaves little performance on the table.

Benchmark results for the individual components support this high placement. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5 and single-core score of 2160 indicate strong processing power that prevents bottlenecking in a game like Inside, which is not typically CPU-intensive. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 34245 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600 further confirm its high-end status. When compared to its nearest rivals, the CPU's average benchmark score of 69355 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X at 69515, a delta of -0.2%, showing that the i7-14700K is competitive with the best consumer chips. The GPU's average score of 54209 is virtually tied with the RTX 4080 at 54247, a delta of -0.1%, confirming that the SUPER variant offers a marginal but measurable improvement over its predecessor.

This rank suggests that for Inside, the system is overkill in the best way possible. It ensures that even in the most demanding scenarios, the game will run flawlessly. The data indicates that the user will be limited by the game's engine or the display's refresh rate rather than the hardware's capabilities.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the central component in this system's performance for Inside. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s, which is more than sufficient for the textures and effects used in this puzzle platformer. The GPU's 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores, running at a boost clock of 2550 MHz, deliver the raw compute power needed to maintain high frame rates.

The GPU's role becomes clear when examining the performance scaling across settings at 4K. At 3840x2160, the average frame rate drops from 264 FPS on Low to 126 FPS on Ultra, a significant 52% reduction. This scaling demonstrates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution, as the workload increases substantially with graphical fidelity. The fact that even the Ultra preset at 4K maintains an average of 126 FPS shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER has enough headroom to handle the game's most demanding settings without dropping below playable frame rates.

The GPU's Passmark DirectX 12 score of 134, while low compared to its other benchmark scores, is not indicative of poor performance in Inside, which does not rely heavily on the latest DirectX 12 features. Instead, the high FP32 performance of 52.22 TFLOPS and texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s are more relevant. These specs ensure that the GPU can process the game's 2.5D environments and lighting effects efficiently. The data shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the deciding factor in this combo's ability to hit 132 FPS at 4K High, a figure that would be unattainable with a less powerful GPU.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for this combo. The best experience, balancing visual quality and frame rate, is achieved at the High preset. At 4K, the High preset delivers an average of 132 FPS, which is comfortably above the 120 FPS threshold for high-refresh-rate displays. This is a significant improvement over the Ultra preset, which drops to 126 FPS, a marginal difference that is unlikely to be visually noticeable but could impact frame pacing.

For users with 1440p displays, the High preset is also the recommended choice, delivering 210 FPS. This is more than enough for any high-refresh-rate monitor, and the visual jump from Medium to High is worth the 78 FPS reduction. At 1080p, the High preset achieves 292 FPS, which is excellent, but the Medium preset at 377 FPS is also a strong option if maximum frame rates are the priority. However, the High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance across all resolutions.

The Ultra preset, while playable, offers diminishing returns. At 4K, it only reduces the frame rate by 6 FPS compared to High, but the visual difference between High and Ultra in Inside is minimal due to the game's art style. The data suggests that the Ultra preset is best reserved for users who prioritize maximum settings over frame rate stability. The Low preset, while offering the highest frame rates, is not recommended as it would compromise the game's atmospheric visuals without providing a meaningful performance benefit at these levels. The Medium preset is a viable alternative, but the High preset is the clear winner for this hardware combination.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with maximum settings?*

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 126 FPS at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. This is well above the standard 60 FPS target, indicating that the system has ample headroom for 4K Ultra gaming.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 High, the average frame rate is 292 FPS, while at 3840x2160 High, it drops to 132 FPS. This represents a 55% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K, highlighting the significant GPU workload increase at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to the standard RTX 4080 in this system?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 54209, which is slightly lower than the RTX 4080's 54247, a delta of -0.1%. This indicates the SUPER variant performs nearly identically to the standard 4080 in synthetic tests.

*Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700K a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in Inside?*

A: No, the data does not suggest a bottleneck. The CPU's high single-core score of 2160 in Cinebench R23 and its 94th percentile ranking indicate it is more than capable of feeding the GPU. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent with GPU-bound behavior.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only recorded minimum FPS values are for the Medium preset. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 320 FPS, at 1440p Medium it is 286 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 180 FPS. For other presets, minimum FPS data was not measured.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core performance compare to its rivals?

A: The i7-14700K's average benchmark score of 69355 is 0.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 9115's 69288 and 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X's 69515. This places it in the same performance tier as these high-end competitors.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear and expected scaling pattern as resolution increases. At High settings, the average frame rate is 292 FPS at 1080p, 210 FPS at 1440p, and 132 FPS at 4K. This represents a 28% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 55% drop from 1080p to 4K. This scaling pattern is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound workload, where the CPU is not the limiting factor.

The relationship between resolution and frame rate is not linear, which is typical for a game like Inside. The drop from 1440p to 4K (37%) is more severe than the drop from 1080p to 1440p (28%), which suggests that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are being taxed more heavily at 4K. The RTX 4080 SUPER's 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth and 285.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient to handle this, but the workload becomes more demanding.

At Low settings, the frame rates are even higher, with 408 FPS at 1080p, 366 FPS at 1440p, and 264 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is a 35% drop, which is less severe than at High settings. This is because Low settings reduce the GPU workload, making the CPU relatively more important. However, the CPU's strong performance ensures that even at Low settings, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. The data clearly shows that the GPU is the primary limiter for this combo in Inside, as the frame rate drops are directly proportional to the increase in pixel count.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K plays a supporting but crucial role in this combo. With 20 cores and 28 threads, it provides more than enough processing power for Inside, a game that is not known for heavy CPU utilization. The CPU's base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensure that single-threaded performance is excellent, which is important for the game's physics and logic calculations.

The CPU's benchmark results reinforce its capability. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5 and single-core score of 2160 show a balanced performance profile. The Passmark single-thread score of 4472 is high, confirming that the CPU can handle the game's main thread without bottlenecking. The CPU's L3 cache of 33 MB shared across the cores is beneficial for game data access, though Inside does not have large data sets that would require extensive cache.

In terms of its role, the CPU's performance in the measured FPS data is indirect. The fact that frame rates scale so heavily with resolution and settings is evidence that the CPU is not the bottleneck. If the CPU were underpowered, the frame rates would be more consistent across different settings at the same resolution. Instead, the data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor, which is the ideal scenario for a high-end gaming system. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking compared to all CPUs, and its competitive position against rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (delta of -0.7%) and AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (delta of -0.9%), ensure that it will not hold back the RTX 4080 SUPER in this or any other game.