Inside

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti delivers a performance profile in Inside that is defined by the GPU’s mid-range standing and the CPU’s top-tier compute headroom. Measured frame rates across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions show a consistent pattern where the graphics card becomes the limiting component only at higher settings, while the processor’s 24 cores and 6.00 GHz boost clock ensure that even the lowest preset at 1080p remains far above display refresh rates. This combination ranks 1681 out of 3716 tested combos in this game, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the database, with the data indicating that the RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB VRAM and 1665 MHz boost clock are the primary constraints on maximum frame rates rather than the i9-14900K’s Raptor Lake architecture.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Inside shows a clear and expected decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline varies significantly by settings preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 346 FPS at 1920x1080 to 249 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 97 FPS, and then further to 156 FPS at 3840x2160, representing another 93 FPS drop. This pattern indicates that at Low settings, even the 4K resolution remains highly playable, with the 156 FPS average still exceeding the refresh rate of most displays. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Low settings shows a 37% decrease in frame rate, which suggests that the GPU is beginning to face a heavier pixel throughput demand, but the overall headroom remains substantial.

At Medium settings, the resolution scaling is more pronounced. The average FPS at 1080p is 277, dropping to 199 FPS at 1440p (a 78 FPS decrease) and then to 125 FPS at 4K (a 74 FPS decrease). The minimum FPS values at Medium settings—235 at 1080p, 169 at 1440p, and 106 at 4K—show that frame time consistency degrades with resolution, but even the 4K minimum of 106 FPS remains well above 60 FPS thresholds. High settings produce 173 FPS at 1080p, 124 FPS at 1440p, and 78 FPS at 4K, with the 1440p to 4K transition representing a 37% reduction in performance. Ultra settings follow a similar curve: 165 FPS at 1080p, 118 FPS at 1440p, and 74 FPS at 4K.

The data reveals that the limiting component shifts depending on resolution and settings. At 1080p Low, the 346 FPS average is likely constrained by the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU with draw calls, as the RTX 3060 Ti’s 16.20 TFLOPS FP32 throughput should be capable of higher output in a puzzle platformer of this visual complexity. At 4K Ultra, the 74 FPS average indicates that the GPU’s 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 80 ROPs are the primary bottlenecks, as the pixel fill rate demand at 3840x2160 scales beyond what this Ampere chip can deliver. The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution—192 FPS at 1080p, 131 FPS at 1440p, and 82 FPS at 4K—shows that the RTX 3060 Ti’s performance headroom shrinks as pixel count grows, confirming that resolution scaling is GPU-bound at higher settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti’s role in Inside is defined by its 8 GB GDDR6 memory, 256-bit bus width, and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. These specifications provide sufficient memory capacity for this game’s art style, which features dark, atmospheric environments with limited texture complexity compared to open-world titles. The 8 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor at any of the tested settings, as evidenced by the fact that Ultra settings at 4K still produce 74 FPS average without any indication of memory-related stuttering in the measured data. The GA104 chip’s 4864 shading units and 152 texture mapping units handle the game’s lighting and shadow effects, which are characteristic of Playdead’s side-scrolling puzzle platformer genre.

The GPU’s clock behavior—1410 MHz base and 1665 MHz boost—contributes to the observed performance scaling. At 1080p Medium, the 277 FPS average suggests that the GPU can operate at or near its boost clock for extended periods, since the workload is not heavy enough to cause thermal throttling. However, at 4K Ultra, the 74 FPS average indicates that the GPU is likely running at lower effective clocks due to sustained load, though the exact clock behavior is not recorded in the data. The 133.2 GPixel/s pixel rate and 253.1 GTexel/s texture rate provide context for why the 4K Ultra preset yields less than half the frame rate of 1080p Low: the pixel throughput requirement at 3840x2160 is four times that of 1920x1080, and the RTX 3060 Ti’s ROP count of 80 limits the fill rate ceiling.

Relative to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RTX 3060 Ti’s average benchmark score of 16129 places it 0.7% behind the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (which scores 16014, a delta of 0.7% in favor of the RTX 3060 Ti) and 1.4% behind both the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT. This narrow performance band among similar GPUs suggests that the frame rates observed in Inside would be comparable across these cards, with differences of only a few FPS at most. The GPU’s percentile vs all GPUs of 59 indicates that it outperforms nearly three-fifths of all tested graphics cards, which aligns with its measured performance in this game where even 4K Ultra remains playable.

FAQ

*Q: Does the RTX 3060 Ti’s 8 GB VRAM cause any issues in Inside at 4K Ultra settings?*

A: The measured data shows no indication of VRAM-related problems. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 74, which is only 4 FPS lower than the 78 FPS at 4K High, suggesting that memory capacity is not the binding constraint. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for this puzzle platformer’s rendering needs.

*Q: How does the i9-14900K’s core count affect performance in Inside?*

A: The CPU’s 24 cores and 32 threads provide far more compute capacity than this game requires. At 1080p Low, the 346 FPS average indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU’s 6.00 GHz boost clock and 36 MB shared L3 cache can process the game’s logic and draw calls without becoming a bottleneck. The game likely uses only a few threads, so the high single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2262.5) is more relevant than the multi-core score of 39399.5.

Q: Is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings significant?

A: At 1080p, the difference between High (173 FPS) and Ultra (165 FPS) is only 8 FPS, or approximately 4.6%. At 1440p, the gap widens to 6 FPS (124 vs 118), and at 4K it narrows to 4 FPS (78 vs 74). These small differences suggest that Ultra settings do not impose a heavy additional cost over High in this game, making the Ultra preset a reasonable choice for users with displays that support high refresh rates.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo if the target is 144 FPS?

A: At 1440p High, the average FPS is 124, which falls short of 144 FPS. However, at 1440p Medium, the average is 199 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, the average is 165 FPS. If a user prioritizes maximum visual quality while maintaining 144 FPS, 1080p Ultra is the only preset that meets this target (165 FPS). For 1440p, Medium settings are required to exceed 144 FPS.

Q: How does this combo’s ranking compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1681 out of 3716 tested combos, placing it in the 45th percentile of all configurations. This means that roughly 45% of tested combos perform worse in Inside, while 55% perform better. Given that the RTX 3060 Ti’s GPU percentile is 59, the lower combo rank suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor, and the overall ranking is dragged down by the GPU’s mid-range position.

Q: Does the game benefit from the CPU’s multi-threading capabilities?

A: The data does not support a strong multi-threading benefit. The i9-14900K’s PassMark multithread score of 58674 is exceptionally high, yet the frame rates at 1080p Low (346 FPS) are likely capped by the GPU’s rendering pipeline rather than the CPU. Puzzle platformers like Inside typically have low thread counts, so the CPU’s 24 cores are largely idle, and the single-core performance (Geekbench single-core score of 2655) is what matters for game logic.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti achieves a rank of 1681 out of 3716 tested combos in Inside. This places the configuration in the upper half of the database, although not near the top. The rank is influenced by the GPU’s mid-range standing—its percentile vs all GPUs is 59, meaning it outperforms 59% of all graphics cards—while the CPU’s percentile vs all CPUs is 95, indicating that the i9-14900K is in the top 5% of processors. The discrepancy between these two percentiles explains why the combo rank is lower than the CPU rank alone would suggest: the RTX 3060 Ti holds back the overall performance in this game.

When comparing to other combos, the RTX 3060 Ti’s nearest rivals—the AMD Radeon RX 9060, AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT—have average benchmark scores within 1.7% of each other. If paired with the same i9-14900K CPU, these GPUs would likely produce similar frame rates in Inside, with differences of only a few FPS. This suggests that the combo rank is more sensitive to the GPU choice than the CPU, as the i9-14900K provides ample headroom for any of these mid-range cards.

The rank of 1681 out of 3716 places this combo in the 45th percentile, which means that a majority of tested configurations outperform it. However, the measured FPS data shows that this combo still delivers excellent playability at all resolutions and settings, with even the most demanding preset (4K Ultra) achieving 74 FPS. The ranking reflects the GPU’s position in the market rather than any deficiency in the configuration for this specific game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user’s display resolution and refresh rate target. For users with 1080p displays running at 60 Hz, any preset from Low to Ultra provides a comfortable margin, as even the lowest frame rate at this resolution (165 FPS at Ultra) far exceeds 60 FPS. For 144 Hz 1080p displays, Ultra settings (165 FPS) are the best choice, as they deliver the highest visual quality while still meeting the refresh rate target.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts based on refresh rate. For 60 Hz displays, Ultra settings (118 FPS) provide the best visual experience with a 58 FPS margin above the refresh rate. For 144 Hz displays, Medium settings (199 FPS) are required to exceed 144 FPS, while High settings (124 FPS) fall short. Users with 165 Hz 1440p displays would need to use Medium settings (199 FPS) to take full advantage of the refresh rate, as High and Ultra both fall below 165 FPS.

For 4K displays, the data shows that High settings (78 FPS) are only suitable for 60 Hz displays, while Medium settings (125 FPS) provide enough headroom for 120 Hz panels. Low settings at 4K (156 FPS) are only necessary for displays with very high refresh rates, such as 144 Hz, but the visual quality reduction may not be worth the frame rate gain. The 4K Ultra preset (74 FPS) is playable on 60 Hz displays but offers no benefit over High settings (78 FPS) in terms of frame rate, making High the better choice for 4K users who prioritize both quality and performance.

The Medium preset provides the best balance across all resolutions, with minimum FPS values of 235 at 1080p, 169 at 1440p, and 106 at 4K. These minimums ensure that frame times remain consistent, avoiding the stuttering that can occur when frame rates dip below display refresh rates. For most users, Medium settings at their native resolution will provide the smoothest experience, while High or Ultra can be selected if the display refresh rate is modest.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo covers four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are: Low 346, Medium 277, High 173, and Ultra 165. The Medium preset also includes minimum and maximum FPS values of 235 and 318, respectively, providing a 143 FPS range that indicates some frame time variability. The High and Ultra presets at 1080p show a relatively small gap of 8 FPS, suggesting that the visual differences between these presets do not incur a proportional performance cost.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low 249, Medium 199, High 124, and Ultra 118. The Medium preset’s minimum FPS is 169 and maximum is 229, a 60 FPS range that is narrower than the 1080p Medium range, indicating better frame time consistency at this resolution. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is 6 FPS, similar to the 1080p gap. The Low preset at 1440p (249 FPS) is still far above any display refresh rate, confirming that the GPU is not heavily stressed at this resolution with minimal settings.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low 156, Medium 125, High 78, and Ultra 74. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum FPS of 106 and maximum of 144, showing that frame times can vary by 38 FPS even at this demanding resolution. The High and Ultra presets at 4K are nearly identical (78 vs 74 FPS), which suggests that the Ultra preset’s additional effects are either not computationally expensive or are being capped by the GPU’s fill rate. The Low preset at 4K (156 FPS) demonstrates that the RTX 3060 Ti can still deliver high frame rates at 4K when visual quality is minimized, but the drop from 1080p Low (346 FPS) to 4K Low (156 FPS) illustrates the pixel throughput limitations of this GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K’s role in Inside is that of an over-provisioned component. With 24 cores, 32 threads, and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, this Raptor Lake processor provides compute resources that far exceed the demands of a puzzle platformer. The CPU’s benchmarks illustrate its capability: Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and single-core score of 2262.5, Geekbench multi-core of 21697 and single-core of 2655, and PassMark single-thread score of 4697. These scores place the CPU in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 95% of all processors tested.

In Inside, the CPU’s influence on frame rates is evident only at the lowest settings and resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 346 FPS average is likely near the CPU’s limit for generating draw calls in this game engine, though the exact ceiling is not defined in the data. The fact that 1080p Medium (277 FPS) and 1080p High (173 FPS) show decreasing frame rates as GPU load increases confirms that the GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings rise. The CPU’s 36 MB shared L3 cache and 80 KB L1 cache per core provide ample data locality for the game’s assets, which are relatively small compared to modern AAA titles.

The i9-14900K’s nearest rivals—the Intel Core i9-14900KF (delta -0.3%), Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (delta -0.6%), AMD EPYC 7413 (delta -1.2%), and AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (delta 1.7%)—all have average benchmark scores within 1.7% of the i9-14900K’s 79097. This means that swapping the CPU for any of these alternatives would likely produce identical frame rates in Inside, as the game does not stress multi-core performance. The CPU’s 6.00 GHz boost clock and 3.20 GHz base clock provide high single-threaded performance, which is the relevant metric for this game’s physics and logic calculations. The 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 platform are not performance factors in this context, as the CPU rarely runs at full load during gameplay.