Inside

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread desktop processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz, boosting up to 5.60 GHz. The chip carries 33 MB of shared L3 cache, with 2 MB of L2 per core and 80 KB of L1 per core. This processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes from the CPU.

For a puzzle platformer like Inside, the CPU's massive thread count is mostly irrelevant. The game is a side-scrolling, physics-driven title with a modest thread footprint. What matters more is the single-thread performance, where the 14700KF excels. Its Cinebench R23 single-core score is 6235, and its Geekbench single-core score is 2578. The high boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensures that the few threads Inside actually uses will run at near-maximum speed, minimizing any potential CPU bottleneck.

The multi-thread capabilities are not wasted, however. A 20-core processor with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167 and a Passmark multithread score of 52425 will handle any background tasks or OS overhead without stealing cycles from the game. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 240 FPS average, which is a ceiling often associated with CPU limits or frame-rate caps. The 14700KF's high boost clock and strong single-core score (Passmark single-thread: 4480) are what allow the system to push that high at lower resolutions where the GPU has less work.

The processor sits in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70163. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, scores 69996, just 0.2% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 70879, which is 1% higher. This places the 14700KF in elite company, though the differences among these top-tier chips are small enough that game-specific performance will hinge on other factors.

How This Combo Ranks

This pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700KF with the Intel Arc B570 ranks 2301 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. That places it in the lower-middle tier of all combinations in the database, which is surprising given the individual components' standings. The CPU is in the 94th percentile, and the GPU is in the 65th percentile, yet the combo lands near the 20th percentile rank (2301/2887 is roughly 79.7% of the way down the list).

The discrepancy suggests that the Arc B570 is the limiting factor in this pairing, or that the game's engine does not scale well with this particular hardware combination. The GPU has an average benchmark score of 20556, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534 (0.1% higher). The Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, which is 0.1% higher than the B570. This tight grouping means the B570 performs nearly identically to a laptop-class RTX 3070 in synthetic benchmarks, but real-world game performance can vary.

In context, the combo rank of 2301 means there are 586 combos that perform worse. For a game released in 2016, the hardware is more than capable of high frame rates, but the rank suggests that many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver better results. The data shows that the 14700KF alone is a top-tier chip, but when paired with a mid-tier GPU like the B570, the combo's overall ranking drops. This is a classic case of the GPU holding the system back from reaching the full potential of the CPU.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 240, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the Intel Core i7-14700KF compare to its nearest CPU rival?

A: The 14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70163, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F's score of 69996.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS this combo produces?

A: The lowest average FPS is 52, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the Arc B570 outperform the Intel Arc A750?

A: No. The Arc A750 has an average benchmark score of 20582, which is 0.1% higher than the B570's score of 20556.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combo ranks 2301 out of 2887 tested combinations.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 120. At 4K High, it drops to 54, a 55% reduction.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers four resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings levels (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). Not all combinations include min and max FPS values, but the averages paint a clear picture.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance. Low settings yield 240 FPS average. Medium settings drop to 192 FPS, with a minimum of 163 and a maximum of 221. High settings produce 120 FPS average. Ultra settings bring the average down to 114 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 126 FPS, showing that the settings slider has a substantial impact at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the numbers scale down proportionally. Low settings produce 172 FPS average. Medium settings yield 138 FPS, with a minimum of 117 and a maximum of 159. High settings average 86 FPS. Ultra settings average 82 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 90 FPS, a smaller absolute gap than at 1080p but still significant.

At 3840x2160, the GPU starts to struggle. Low settings produce 108 FPS average. Medium settings drop to 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 100. High settings average 54 FPS. Ultra settings average 52 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 56 FPS, and the gap between Medium and High is 33 FPS, making High a steep step down from Medium.

Across all resolutions, the Medium setting is the only one with recorded min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the range is 163 to 221 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it is 117 to 159 FPS. At 4K Medium, it is 74 to 100 FPS. These ranges indicate consistent frame pacing, with the minimums staying well above playable thresholds even at 4K.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, codenamed Battlemage, from the Arc 5 generation. It uses a 5 nm process from TSMC with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. The GPU has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines, along with 18 ray tracing cores. Its base and boost clocks are both 2500 MHz, with memory clocked at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective).

The memory subsystem consists of 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's pixel rate is 200.0 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 360.0 GTexel/s. It delivers 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 23.04 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1 ratio). The card has a 150 W TDP and requires a 450 W power supply, drawing power from a single 8-pin connector.

In Inside, the GPU's role becomes more prominent as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to push the GPU to its limits, but the B570 still manages 240 FPS at Low settings. At 4K, the GPU's 380.0 GB/s bandwidth and 11.52 TFLOPS of compute become the bottleneck. The 4K High average of 54 FPS and 4K Ultra average of 52 FPS show that the GPU is saturated at the highest resolution.

The B570's benchmark scores are modest. Its Passmark G3D score is 14195, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2649. It sits in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, scores 20534, just 0.1% lower. This places the B570 in the mid-range segment, and the data confirms it is the limiting factor in this combo for Inside at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

At 1920x1080, every setting level is playable. Ultra averages 114 FPS, which is smooth for a puzzle platformer. Medium averages 192 FPS, and Low reaches 240 FPS. For the best visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness, Ultra is the recommended choice, as the 114 FPS average is well above the 60 FPS threshold and only 6 FPS lower than High.

At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 82 FPS, which is still comfortable. High averages 86 FPS, a marginal improvement. The data shows that Medium at 138 FPS offers a significant boost over High and Ultra, with the min FPS of 117 ensuring no drops below 60. For a balance of quality and performance, Medium is the sweet spot at this resolution, as the jump from Medium to High costs 52 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. Ultra averages 52 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay. High averages 54 FPS, nearly identical. Medium averages 87 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS, ensuring a consistently smooth experience. Low averages 108 FPS. Given that the difference between High and Ultra is only 2 FPS, neither is ideal. Medium is the recommended setting for 4K, as it provides 87 FPS average with a 74 FPS minimum, which is the best combination of visual quality and frame rate stability.

Across all resolutions, Medium offers the most consistent performance, with recorded min and max values that never dip below 74 FPS even at 4K. For players prioritizing frame rate, Low at 1080p delivers the maximum 240 FPS. For visual quality, Ultra at 1080p is viable, but at higher resolutions, the GPU's limitations become evident.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component in this system. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 120 at 1080p, to 86 at 1440p, to 54 at 4K. This represents a 28.3% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 37.2% drop from 1440p to 4K. The overall reduction from 1080p to 4K is 55%.

At Low settings, the scaling is different. The average FPS goes from 240 at 1080p, to 172 at 1440p, to 108 at 4K. This is a 28.3% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 37.2% drop from 1440p to 4K, matching the High settings pattern. The absolute numbers are higher, but the relative drops are identical, suggesting a consistent scaling behavior.

At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 192 at 1080p, to 138 at 1440p, to 87 at 4K. The drops are 28.1% and 37.0%, respectively. At Ultra settings, the average FPS goes from 114 at 1080p, to 82 at 1440p, to 52 at 4K, with drops of 28.1% and 36.6%.

The consistent percentage drops across all settings indicate that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the scaling would be less predictable, with larger drops at lower resolutions where the CPU has more work relative to the GPU. The data shows a smooth, linear degradation as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions.

The 1080p Low result of 240 FPS is likely a cap, either from the game engine or the display output. The fact that the 1440p Low result is 172 FPS and the 4K Low result is 108 FPS shows that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still doing meaningful work. The 14700KF has enough single-thread performance to feed the B570 at 1080p, but as resolution climbs, the GPU's 380.0 GB/s bandwidth and 11.52 TFLOPS become the deciding factor. The data confirms that for this combo, the Intel Arc B570 is the component that determines the frame rate ceiling at 1440p and above, while the CPU's high boost clock ensures it is never the bottleneck at any resolution.