Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016 that, on paper, should not stress a modern flagship combo like the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. The benchmark data confirms this, but it also reveals a fascinating pattern in how the frame rate scales with resolution and settings. The measured results show that this pairing is capable of extraordinary performance, yet the relationship between the CPU and GPU shifts dramatically depending on the workload, making this a compelling case study in bottleneck behavior rather than a simple demonstration of raw power.

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

The most revealing data point is the frame rate drop when moving from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 409.1 at 1080p to 293.8 at 4K, a reduction of 28.2%. This is a relatively modest decline for a 4x increase in pixel count, suggesting that the RTX 4090 is not being fully utilized at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system is likely hitting a CPU or engine-level limit, as the GPU has ample headroom to render far more frames than the processor can feed it. The i7-14700K, with its 20 cores and 28 threads, is powerful, but even it can become the limiting factor in a game that is not heavily multi-threaded.

The picture changes when we look at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 309.9, which drops to 223.2 at 1440p and then to 137.6 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 55.6%, a much steeper decline than the one seen at Low settings. This indicates that at Ultra, the GPU is now the primary constraint. The increased graphical workload—higher resolution textures, more complex shading, additional post-processing—pushes the RTX 4090 closer to its limits, making the frame rate more sensitive to resolution changes. The data suggests a clear transition: at Low settings, the CPU is the bottleneck; at Ultra, the GPU takes over.

The Medium and High settings sit between these extremes. At Medium, the 4K average of 235.7 FPS is 37.1% lower than the 1080p average of 374.5. At High, the 4K average of 145.6 FPS is 53.5% lower than the 1080p average of 313.1. This progression shows that as the preset quality increases, the scaling behavior shifts from a CPU-bound profile to a GPU-bound one. The implication is that for a game like Inside, which has a relatively simple visual style but can still be demanding at higher settings, the choice of preset determines whether the i7-14700K or the RTX 4090 is doing the heavy lifting.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate is 409.1 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 perform at 4K Ultra in this game?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 137.6, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay but represents a significant drop from lower resolutions.

Q: Is the i7-14700K a limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests yes. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 409.1, but at 4K Low, it is 293.8. The relatively small drop (28.2%) when increasing resolution by 4x indicates that the CPU is preventing the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates at 1080p.

Q: What is the difference between the best and worst average FPS in the measured data?

A: The best average FPS is 409.1 at 1080p Low, and the worst is 137.6 at 4K Ultra. This is a difference of 271.5 FPS, or roughly a 3x reduction in performance.

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

A: The combo ranks 16th out of 1671 tested combinations for this game, placing it in the top 1% of all systems.

Q: Does the RTX 4090’s large VRAM buffer matter for this game?

A: The RTX 4090 has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, which is far more than a puzzle platformer like Inside would require. The benchmark data shows no signs of memory-related stuttering or performance cliffs, so the VRAM is not a limiting factor in this title.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a behemoth, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC. It features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units. Its boost clock is rated at 2520 MHz, and it comes with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a massive 1.01 TB/s of memory bandwidth. These specifications are overkill for a game like Inside, which is not known for being graphically intensive. The measured FPS numbers confirm this, with the GPU easily pushing past 300 FPS at 1080p on most settings.

However, the GPU’s role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 137.6, which is still a very playable number, but the performance scaling shows that the RTX 4090 is finally being asked to work harder. The pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s are theoretical maximums, but the benchmark results suggest that the card is not saturating these capabilities at lower settings. Instead, the GPU is waiting for the CPU to deliver draw calls and game logic updates, which is why the frame rate is so high but not infinitely higher.

The RTX 4090’s 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die are impressive, but they do not translate into a proportional advantage in this title. The game’s simple geometric shapes and limited particle effects mean that the GPU’s raw compute power, measured at 82.58 TFLOPS for FP32, is largely underutilized. The data indicates that the GPU’s primary job in Inside is to handle the resolution scaling and visual effects at higher presets, while the CPU manages the game's logic. This is a classic example of a high-end GPU being paired with a high-end CPU to ensure no single component becomes a severe bottleneck, except at 1080p Low where the CPU still holds things back.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a rank of 16 out of 1,671 tested combinations for Inside. This places it in the top 1% of all systems tested, which is to be expected given the caliber of both components. The rank reflects the fact that this pairing can deliver some of the highest frame rates possible in this game. It is notably the rank is not #1, which implies that there are 15 other configurations that perform marginally better. These could include systems with even more powerful CPUs or better-tuned memory configurations, though the data does not specify which ones.

The percentile ranking is more telling. The i7-14700K itself is in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, and the RTX 4090 is in the 91st percentile among all GPUs. When combined, they produce a system that is near the top of the heap, but not the absolute best. The deltaPct values from the CPU’s nearest rivals show that the i7-14700K is essentially tied with the i7-14700KF (0% difference) and the AMD EPYC 9115 (0.3% difference), while being slightly behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (-0.5%). This suggests that the CPU choice is not the differentiating factor at this level; the game’s performance is more dependent on the GPU and the resolution/settings combination.

The fact that the combo ranks 16th rather than higher could be due to the game’s engine not fully utilizing the CPU’s 28 threads. The i7-14700K has 8 performance cores and 12 efficiency cores, but a puzzle platformer from 2016 likely only uses a few threads. This means that the CPU’s massive multi-core performance, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,534, is not fully leveraged. Instead, the single-core performance, which is strong at 6,287 in Cinebench R23, is what matters most for this game. The rank reflects that this combo is excellent, but there is room for other systems to edge it out in specific scenarios.

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

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo’s performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 309.9 at Ultra to 409.1 at Low, with Medium at 374.5 and High at 313.1. The difference between Low and Ultra is 99.2 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a significant additional load on the GPU. At 2560x1440, the numbers are slightly lower: Low reaches 364.6 FPS, Medium 335.8 FPS, High 236.3 FPS, and Ultra 223.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 141.4 FPS, but the overall performance is still extremely high.

At 3840x2160, the impact of resolution becomes clear. Low settings yield an average of 293.8 FPS, which is still very smooth, but Ultra drops to 137.6 FPS. Medium and High are at 235.7 FPS and 145.6 FPS, respectively. The data shows a consistent pattern: as resolution increases, the frame rate drops, but the drop is more pronounced at higher settings. This is because the GPU is doing more work per pixel at Ultra, so the increased pixel count has a multiplicative effect. The lowest measured average is 137.6 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is still well above the refresh rate of most monitors, making this combo capable of delivering a flawless experience in Inside.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience depends on the user's display and preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity. For a 1080p display with a 144 Hz refresh rate, the High preset at 313.1 FPS is more than sufficient, and it offers better visuals than Low. The Ultra preset at 309.9 FPS is nearly identical in performance, so if the user wants the absolute best visual quality, Ultra is the clear choice. The difference between High and Ultra is only 3.2 FPS at 1080p, which is negligible. Therefore, at 1080p, Ultra is recommended for the best visual experience without sacrificing performance.

For a 1440p display, the situation is similar. The High preset delivers 236.3 FPS, while Ultra delivers 223.2 FPS. The 13.1 FPS difference is small, and both are well above the 165 Hz refresh rate of many 1440p monitors. Again, Ultra is the recommended choice for the best image quality. At 4K, the decision becomes more nuanced. The High preset at 145.6 FPS is just above the 144 Hz threshold for some high-end 4K monitors, while Ultra at 137.6 FPS is slightly below. If the user has a 120 Hz 4K display, both are playable, but High might offer a slightly smoother experience. Given that the visual difference between High and Ultra in a puzzle platformer is likely minimal, High is a safe recommendation at 4K to ensure the frame rate stays as high as possible.

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. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, making it one of the fastest CPUs available for gaming. Its 33 MB of shared L3 cache and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory give it plenty of bandwidth for demanding applications. However, in Inside, the CPU’s role is less about raw multi-threaded performance and more about single-threaded speed and low latency. The game’s logic, physics, and AI are likely run on a few threads, so the i7-14700K’s high boost clock is what allows it to achieve frame rates like 409.1 FPS at 1080p Low.

The benchmark data shows that the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p Low. The fact that the frame rate does not increase significantly when moving from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (from 409.1 to 364.6 FPS) suggests that the CPU is already maxed out. The drop to 293.8 FPS at 4K Low is due to the GPU taking on more work, but the CPU is still able to feed it frames quickly. This proves the i7-14700K’s strong single-core performance, which is reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6,287. The CPU’s 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs further confirms its capability, but the game’s engine does not fully utilize its 20 cores. As a result, the i7-14700K is a superb match for the RTX 4090 in this title, providing enough headroom to avoid being a significant bottleneck at higher settings, while still being the primary constraint at the lowest settings.