Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer with a deliberately restrained visual style, but the benchmark data for the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination reveals that this pairing delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested configurations. The measured results place this system in the 1161st position out of 2887 tested combos, indicating a solidly above-average performance tier for this title. The data shows a system that is rarely stressed by the game's engine, with performance scaling that points toward the GPU as the primary variable at higher resolutions, while the CPU's substantial core and thread resources remain largely underutilized.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 clearly illustrates how resolution impacts the rendering load on the Radeon RX 7700. At the Low settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 353 FPS at 1080p to 254 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 160 FPS at 4K. This represents a 54.7% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, a substantial decline that underscores the pixel throughput demands placed on the GPU at higher resolutions. The scaling is consistent, with each resolution step costing roughly 28-37% of the previous frame rate, which is typical for a game where the visual complexity is relatively simple but the resolution still dictates the fill rate requirements.

Moving to the Medium preset, the pattern continues but with slightly different proportions. The average FPS at 1080p is 282, dropping to 203 at 1440p and 128 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 54.6%, nearly identical to the Low preset, suggesting that the Medium settings add a fixed overhead that scales proportionally with pixel count rather than introducing a new bottleneck. The minimum and maximum frame rates at 4K Medium are 108 and 147 FPS respectively, showing a 39 FPS spread that indicates some scene-to-scene variability, though even the minimum remains comfortably above 100 FPS.

The High and Ultra presets show a different scaling character. At High settings, the system delivers 177 FPS at 1080p, 127 FPS at 1440p, and 80 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K here is 54.8%, again consistent with the other presets. However, the Ultra preset yields 168 FPS at 1080p, 121 FPS at 1440p, and 76 FPS at 4K, with a 54.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The similarity in percentage scaling across all four presets — all hovering around 54-55% — strongly suggests that the limiting component at 4K is the GPU's pixel and texture processing capabilities, not the CPU or memory subsystem.

What the data does not show is a cliff-like collapse at any resolution. Even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains an average of 76 FPS, which is well above playable thresholds for most users. The consistent scaling pattern implies that the Radeon RX 7700's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to feed the rendering pipeline without introducing memory capacity or bandwidth bottlenecks, even at the highest pixel counts. The game's art style, with its muted palette and simple geometry, likely keeps shader complexity low, allowing the GPU to scale more predictably with resolution than in more visually dense titles.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF brings formidable processing resources to this pairing, with 20 cores and 28 threads operating at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This Raptor Lake Refresh processor, built on the 10 nm process, has a 33 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 cache per core, which provides ample fast storage for game logic and physics calculations. In a puzzle platformer like Inside, the CPU workload is typically modest, involving character movement, environmental interactions, and basic physics — none of which are likely to stress a processor of this caliber.

The benchmark data confirms this assessment. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 353 FPS, which is far beyond what any display can show, and even at 4K Ultra the frame rate stays above 75 FPS. If the CPU were a limiting factor, we would expect to see frame rates plateau or even decrease as resolution drops, because lower resolutions shift more of the workload onto the processor. Instead, the frame rates increase dramatically at lower resolutions, indicating that the CPU has ample headroom to feed the GPU with draw calls and game state updates without becoming a constraint.

The i7-14700KF's multi-threaded performance, as measured by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,167 points, places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70,163. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X with a delta of 0.9% and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K with a delta of -1%, show that this processor sits at the top of the consumer desktop hierarchy. For Inside, this means the CPU is never the bottleneck, and the measured FPS reflects the GPU's capabilities at each resolution and settings combination rather than any CPU limitation.

The single-thread performance, reflected in a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6,235 points, is also critical for a game that may rely on a primary game thread for logic updates. With a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, the i7-14700KF delivers the high single-thread throughput that puzzle platformers often require for consistent frame pacing. However, the fact that frame rates scale so predictably with resolution suggests that even this single-thread capability is not being pushed to its limit, as the game's logic is likely simple enough to run well on far less powerful processors.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame field places this specific combination of Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 7700 at rank 1161 out of 2,887 tested combos. This position in the upper 40% of all tested systems indicates that while this pairing is not at the very top tier for Inside, it delivers performance that surpasses the majority of configurations. The rank is likely influenced by the GPU's overall standing, as the Radeon RX 7700 sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 15,852, while the CPU is in the 94th percentile.

The GPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance class. The AMD Radeon R9 370X has a delta of -0.1% relative to the RX 7700, meaning they perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks, while the AMD Radeon RX 9060 is 1% faster and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is 1.7% faster. These small deltas indicate that the RX 7700 is positioned in a closely contested performance bracket, and its placement at rank 1161 in Inside suggests that the game's engine is not particularly sensitive to the architectural differences between these GPUs.

The CPU's rank among processors is much higher, but the combination rank is dragged down by the GPU's more modest standing. In a game like Inside, where the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rate at higher resolutions, the combo rank reflects the GPU's tier more than the CPU's capabilities. The data shows that this system outperforms more than half of all tested combos, which is a solid result for a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU. However, the rank also implies that there are many systems with more powerful GPUs that achieve higher frame rates, particularly at 4K where the RX 7700's 76 FPS at Ultra is respectable but not class-leading.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates, with the Low preset achieving an average of 353 FPS. The Medium preset yields 282 FPS with minimum and maximum values of 240 and 325 FPS, respectively, showing a 85 FPS range that indicates some variability but no stability concerns. High settings produce 177 FPS, while Ultra delivers 168 FPS, a relatively small difference of 9 FPS between the two highest presets at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 254 FPS, while Medium produces 203 FPS with a minimum of 173 FPS and a maximum of 234 FPS. High settings drop to 127 FPS, and Ultra yields 121 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at 1440p is just 6 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects have a minimal impact on performance at this resolution, likely because the GPU still has spare capacity.

Moving to 3840x2160, the performance becomes more demanding but remains playable across all presets. Low averages 160 FPS, Medium averages 128 FPS with a minimum of 108 FPS and maximum of 147 FPS, High averages 80 FPS, and Ultra averages 76 FPS. The minimum frame rate at 4K Medium of 108 FPS is particularly notable, as it ensures that even the most demanding scenes stay well above 100 FPS. The Ultra preset's 76 FPS average is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset, but it still clears the 60 FPS threshold comfortably.

The data also reveals consistent relationships between presets. At every resolution, Low is roughly 2.1 to 2.2 times faster than High, and Ultra is consistently 5-10% slower than High. Medium sits almost exactly between Low and High in performance, which suggests that the settings presets scale linearly in their GPU demands. This linearity indicates that the game's rendering pipeline is well-optimized, with no single setting causing a disproportionate performance hit.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Inside?

A: At 1920x1080, the system delivers between 168 and 353 FPS depending on the preset, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. At 2560x1440, frame rates range from 121 to 254 FPS, which is also excellent. Even at 3840x2160, the lowest average is 76 FPS at Ultra, so all three resolutions are viable depending on the display's refresh rate.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance?

A: The Ultra preset consistently costs 5-10% performance compared to High across all resolutions. At 1080p, the difference is 9 FPS (177 vs 168), at 1440p it is 6 FPS (127 vs 121), and at 4K it is 4 FPS (80 vs 76). The visual difference between these presets is not quantified in the data, but the performance cost is modest.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. Frame rates scale predictably with resolution, and the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads provide substantial headroom. The 54-55% drop in frame rates from 1080p to 4K across all presets is consistent with GPU-bound rendering, not CPU limitations.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate at 4K Medium, and is it stable?

A: At 4K Medium, the minimum frame rate is 108 FPS with a maximum of 147 FPS and an average of 128 FPS. This 39 FPS spread indicates some scene-to-scene variability, but the minimum is still far above 60 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 1161 out of 2887 tested combos, placing it in the upper 40% of all systems tested for Inside. The CPU is in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, so the combo rank reflects the GPU's more modest standing.

Q: Does the system maintain playable frame rates at all settings and resolutions?

A: Yes, the lowest measured average is 76 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. All other configurations exceed 100 FPS on average, and the minimum recorded frame rate across the entire dataset is 108 FPS at 4K Medium.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience based on the measured rows, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers an ideal balance of visual quality and performance, delivering 282 FPS with a minimum of 240 FPS and a maximum of 325 FPS. This configuration provides a wide safety margin above any display refresh rate and ensures that even the most complex scenes maintain high frame rates. The 85 FPS range between minimum and maximum is the largest in the dataset, but the absolute values are so high that this variability is imperceptible.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again stands out, producing 203 FPS with a minimum of 173 FPS and a maximum of 234 FPS. This is a strong option for users with 144Hz or 165Hz displays, as the average frame rate comfortably exceeds these refresh rates. The High preset at 1440p yields 127 FPS, which is also suitable for 120Hz displays, while the Ultra preset's 121 FPS is nearly identical and could be selected for slightly better visual quality without meaningful performance loss.

For 4K displays, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, offering 128 FPS on average with a minimum of 108 FPS. This is the only 4K configuration in the dataset with a recorded minimum above 100 FPS, making it the safest option for consistent performance. The High and Ultra presets at 4K deliver 80 and 76 FPS respectively, which are playable but leave less headroom for demanding scenes. The Low preset at any resolution offers the highest frame rates but sacrifices visual fidelity, which is unlikely to be worthwhile given the already high performance of the Medium preset.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation pipelines, with a boost clock of 2459 MHz and a game clock of 2041 MHz. The GPU is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a substantial resource for a game like Inside that may not heavily utilize texture memory but benefits from fast access to framebuffer data.

The GPU's compute capabilities, rated at 25.18 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, are more than sufficient for a puzzle platformer. The benchmark scores show a PassMark G3D score of 20,974 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,865, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon R9 370X with a delta of -0.1% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti with a delta of -1.7%, indicating that the RX 7700 performs in a tightly contested mid-range tier.

In the context of Inside, the GPU's role is primarily to handle resolution-dependent rendering tasks. The consistent 54-55% frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K across all presets points to pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth as the key determinants of performance at higher resolutions. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is far beyond the requirements of this game, so memory capacity is never a constraint. The 96 ROPs and 236.1 GPixel/s pixel rate are likely the limiting factor at 4K, as the GPU must process four times the pixels of 1080p. The data shows that even with this limitation, the RX 7700 maintains playable frame rates at 4K Ultra, confirming that it is a capable GPU for this title despite its mid-range positioning.