Inside

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 1942 out of 3716 tested combinations in Inside. That places this combo slightly below the median of all recorded configurations, which is notable given the GPU's high-end positioning. The rank reflects the entire system, and in a game like Inside, the relatively modest CPU drags the overall standing down despite the GPU's strength. The RTX 3080 sits in the 68th percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-9400 sits in the 47th percentile among all CPUs. The combination of a mid-pack processor and a top-tier graphics card produces a system that outperforms roughly 52% of tested combos in this title, but it is nowhere near the top of the database.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 2254 places it within 0.4% of several direct rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 and the Intel Core i3-10305. The GPU, with an average benchmark score of 23172, sits within 0.4% of the AMD Radeon RX 6600M and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X in aggregate compute results. In Inside specifically, the measured frame rates show that this combination is far more capable than the overall rank suggests. The rank is computed against all game titles in the database, and Inside is a light, side-scrolling puzzle platformer, so the system's standing here is heavily influenced by the CPU's single-thread performance in a game that does not scale well across many cores.

CPU and GPU Roles

Inside is a 2D puzzle platformer, and the recorded data shows that the GPU is the dominant component at every resolution, but the CPU still matters at lower settings. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system produces 222.5 FPS. Moving to Medium drops to 204.6 FPS, High to 170.4 FPS, and Ultra to 170.8 FPS. The scaling between Low and Ultra at 1080p is roughly 23%, which indicates that the GPU is handling most of the workload and the CPU is not the primary limiter even at the lowest settings. At 2560x1440, the spread is similar: Low delivers 201.9 FPS, Medium 182.9 FPS, High 151.7 FPS, and Ultra 148.1 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is about 27%, again pointing to GPU-bound behavior.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes even more dominant. Low produces 172.2 FPS, Medium 154.9 FPS, High 101.2 FPS, and Ultra 95.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is roughly 44%, which is a much larger spread than at lower resolutions. This is expected: as resolution increases, the pixel fill rate and shading workload scale up, and the RTX 3080's 8704 shading units and 96 ROPs are pushed harder. The CPU's role diminishes at 4K because the frame rate is already far above the 60 FPS playable threshold, and the i5-9400's six cores are sufficient to feed the GPU. The data shows that the CPU matters most at 1080p Low, where the frame rate peaks at 222.5 FPS, but even there the i5-9400 does not bottleneck the system into sub-60 territory. In short, this game is GPU-limited at all resolutions, with the CPU only becoming relevant when trying to push extreme frame rates at 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded measurements cover three resolutions and four settings levels each. No minimum or maximum frame rates were recorded, so the analysis relies on average FPS only. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 222.5 FPS on Low, 204.6 FPS on Medium, 170.4 FPS on High, and 170.8 FPS on Ultra. Interestingly, Ultra is marginally faster than High at 1080p, which is within measurement variance but still notable. At 2560x1440, the results are 201.9 FPS on Low, 182.9 FPS on Medium, 151.7 FPS on High, and 148.1 FPS on Ultra. The step from High to Ultra at 1440p costs only 3.6 FPS, so the visual upgrade is nearly free in performance terms.

At 3840x2160, the results are 172.2 FPS on Low, 154.9 FPS on Medium, 101.2 FPS on High, and 95.6 FPS on Ultra. The largest single drop in the entire dataset occurs between Medium and High at 4K, a fall of 53.7 FPS, which suggests that High enables a significant increase in shading or texture work that the RTX 3080 must process. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is 5.6 FPS, a much smaller step. Across all resolutions, the Low setting is always the fastest, and Ultra is always the slowest, but the magnitude of the difference grows with resolution. At 1080p, Ultra is 23% slower than Low; at 1440p, it is 27% slower; at 4K, it is 44% slower. The system never drops below 95.6 FPS at any resolution and setting combination, so every recorded configuration clears the 60 FPS playable threshold by a wide margin.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database are all within 0.4% of its average benchmark score. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-9400's 2254. The Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, 0.4% lower. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher. What this means for Inside is that swapping the i5-9400 for any of these processors would produce nearly identical frame rates, because the game is GPU-bound at all tested settings. The i7-1068NG7 and i3-10305 are slightly stronger in aggregate compute, but the difference is within noise for a game that relies more on the GPU.

The GPU's nearest rivals are similarly close. The NVIDIA P106-100 scores 23249, 0.3% higher than the RTX 3080's 23172. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 scores 23250, 0.3% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 6600M scores 23273, 0.4% higher. The AMD Radeon R9 M290X scores 23276, 0.4% higher. These aggregate scores are close, but the RTX 3080's architecture is far more advanced, with 28,300 million transistors on an 8 nm Samsung process and 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus. The aggregate score alone does not capture the RTX 3080's advantage in modern workloads, but for Inside, any of these GPUs would deliver similar frame rates because the game is not demanding enough to stress the difference. The recorded data shows that the RTX 3080 is overkill for this title, and users with any of these rival GPUs would see comparable performance in Inside specifically.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers 170.8 FPS. Every setting at 1080p clears 60 FPS, but Ultra is the best choice for maximum visual quality without sacrificing playability. At 2560x1440, Ultra again is the best setting, delivering 148.1 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at 1440p is small, so there is no reason to drop below Ultra. At 3840x2160, Ultra delivers 95.6 FPS, which is the lowest recorded frame rate in the entire dataset but still far above the 60 FPS threshold. The verdict data confirms that all four settings at all three resolutions are playable, meaning the system can run Inside at maximum settings at 4K with headroom to spare.

The most demanding preset at each resolution is always Ultra, and it always stays above 60 FPS. At 1080p, the margin is 110.8 FPS above the threshold; at 1440p, the margin is 88.1 FPS; at 4K, the margin is 35.6 FPS. The system is so far above the playable threshold that users could even enable additional rendering features if the game supported them, though the database records only the four standard presets. The best settings recommendation is simply to use Ultra at every resolution, because the frame rate never approaches the 60 FPS floor.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Inside, and it can do so at the highest settings at every resolution tested. The verdict data lists all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) as playable at 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080. The best setting at 4K is Ultra with an average of 95.6 FPS, at 1440p it is Ultra with 148.1 FPS, and at 1080p it is Ultra with 170.8 FPS. The system clears the 60 FPS playable threshold at every combination, with the lowest recorded frame rate being 95.6 FPS at 4K Ultra. The RTX 3080 is the clear driver of this performance, as its 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are far more than Inside requires.

The i5-9400, despite being in the 47th percentile among CPUs, does not hold the system back in this game. Inside is not a CPU-intensive title, and the six-core, six-thread processor with a 4.10 GHz boost clock is sufficient to keep the GPU fed. The combination ranks 1942 out of 3716, but that rank reflects performance across all games, not just Inside. In this specific title, the system is exceptionally capable. Users with a 60 Hz display can run Ultra at 4K with a 35.6 FPS buffer above the refresh rate, and those with higher refresh rate monitors can enjoy 1440p or 1080p at frame rates well above 144 FPS. The only limitation is the lack of recorded minimum frame rates, so stutter behavior cannot be assessed, but the average frame rates are so high that any transient dips would still likely stay above 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes. The recorded average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 95.6 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The verdict data lists Ultra as the best setting at 4K.

Q: Which component matters more for Inside, the CPU or the GPU?

A: The GPU matters more at all resolutions. The frame rate drops by 44% from Low to Ultra at 4K, while the CPU's role is limited because even the lowest settings at 1080p produce 222.5 FPS, indicating no CPU bottleneck.

Q: What is the lowest frame rate this combo produces in Inside?

A: The lowest recorded average FPS is 95.6 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. No minimum frame rates were recorded, so this is the lowest average across all tested combinations.

Q: How close are the nearest CPU rivals to the i5-9400?

A: The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 is 0.2% faster, the Intel Core i7-10710U is 0.3% slower, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 is 0.4% slower, and the Intel Core i3-10305 is 0.4% faster in aggregate benchmark scores. For Inside, these differences would have negligible impact.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 overkill for Inside?

A: The data suggests yes. The GPU delivers at least 95.6 FPS at 4K Ultra, and the nearest GPU rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6600M and AMD Radeon R9 M290X, have aggregate scores within 0.4%, meaning they would likely perform similarly in this game.

Q: What settings should be used at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 deliver 148.1 FPS, which is the best recorded result at that resolution. All settings at 1440p clear 60 FPS, but Ultra provides the highest visual quality without dropping below 148 FPS.