Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016, and this data pairs a 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 7500F with an 11 GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. The measured frame rates are unusually high across the board, which makes the bottleneck analysis more about the ceiling of the GPU at lower resolutions than about CPU limitations. The 7500F is a Zen 4 part on the AMD Socket AM5 platform, running on a 5 nm process, and its benchmark profile suggests it is more than capable of feeding the GTX 1080 Ti in this title.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F brings 6 cores and 12 threads to the table, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This is a modern architecture with a 65 W TDP, and its benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance, which is critical for a game like Inside that relies on consistent frame pacing rather than massive multi-threaded scaling. The single-thread benchmark scores are particularly telling: a Geekbench single-core score of 2374 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3218 indicate that the CPU can handle the game's logic and physics without becoming a limiting factor.

Looking at the broader CPU benchmark suite, the Ryzen 5 7500F posts a multi-threaded Cinebench R23 score of 22799 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 12362. These are strong numbers, but the game's performance is more dependent on the per-core speed. The 3DMark single-thread score of 974 is notable because it suggests that even when the game engine is only using one or two threads, the CPU can keep up with the GPU's demands. The data for the 7500F shows it ranks in the 77th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24964. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-11850H, scores 24935, which is only 0.1% lower, indicating that the 7500F is positioned at a very competitive performance tier.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is to handle the game's deterministic physics and object interactions. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 317 FPS, which is far beyond what the GTX 1080 Ti can produce at higher settings. This suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution tested. The 7500F's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR5 dual-channel) are sufficient for the game's data streaming needs. The CPU's boost clock of 5.00 GHz is particularly relevant because Inside is a game with a fixed camera perspective and minimal draw calls, meaning the CPU is mostly idle, leaving headroom for the GPU to be the primary performance driver. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is never the limiting component in this pairing, as even at 4K Ultra the average FPS of 68 is more likely a GPU constraint than a CPU one.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is a Pascal architecture part with 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 484.4 GB/s. Its base clock is 1481 MHz with a boost clock of 1582 MHz, and the memory runs at 1376 MHz (11 Gbps effective). This GPU has 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 88 ROPs, which gives it a pixel rate of 139.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 354.4 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 11.34 TFLOPS, which is substantial for a 2017 card, but its age shows in the benchmark percentile, ranking in the 58th percentile against all GPUs.

The GTX 1080 Ti's average benchmark score is 15548, with its nearest rival being the AMD Radeon R9 M380 at 15521 (0.2% lower) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 at 15290 (1.7% lower). This places the 1080 Ti in a performance class that is still relevant for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but its 11 GB VRAM is more than enough for Inside, which is not a VRAM-heavy title. The GPU's role in the measured FPS is clear: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 317 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 151 FPS. This 52% reduction from Low to Ultra at the same resolution indicates that the GPU is handling the additional shading and post-processing effects.

The data shows that the GTX 1080 Ti is the primary performance limiter in this pairing, especially at higher settings. At 4K High, the average FPS is 72, which is only 47% of the 1080p Low frame rate. This scaling suggests that the GPU's compute units are saturated by the increased pixel count. The 1080 Ti's boost clock of 1582 MHz is a fixed attribute, and the game's performance at 4K Ultra (68 FPS) versus 4K Low (143 FPS) shows a 52% drop, indicating that the GPU's shader and texture units are the bottleneck, not the memory bandwidth. The 11 GB of VRAM is never a constraint, as the game's textures are modest, but the GPU's raw throughput is what determines the frame rate at higher settings.

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

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of performance scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 317 FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 143 FPS, a 55% reduction. This is a significant drop, but it is not linear with the pixel count (a 4x increase in pixels would suggest a 75% drop if the GPU were the sole limiter). The fact that the drop is less severe indicates that the CPU is helping to maintain frame rates at lower resolutions, but the GPU is still the dominant factor.

At Medium settings, the scaling is more pronounced: 1080p Medium has an average FPS of 254, 1440p Medium drops to 183 FPS (28% reduction), and 4K Medium drops to 115 FPS (55% reduction from 1080p). This pattern suggests that the GPU's fill rate and shader performance are being taxed more heavily as resolution increases. At High settings, the trend continues: 1080p High is 159 FPS, 1440p High is 114 FPS (28% reduction), and 4K High is 72 FPS (55% reduction from 1080p). The consistent percentage drops from 1440p to 4K (around 37% at Medium and 37% at High) indicate that the GPU is the limiting component, as the CPU's workload does not scale with resolution.

The Ultra setting shows the same behavior: 1080p Ultra is 151 FPS, 1440p Ultra is 109 FPS (28% reduction), and 4K Ultra is 68 FPS (55% reduction from 1080p). The data strongly suggests that the GTX 1080 Ti is the bottleneck at all resolutions above 1080p, particularly at 4K where the GPU's 3584 shading units are saturated. The CPU's role is to feed the GPU, and since the game is not CPU-intensive, the Ryzen 5 7500F is never the limiting factor. This is evidenced by the fact that the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistently around 28% across all settings, which aligns with the pixel count increase from 2.07 million to 3.68 million (a 78% increase in pixels, but the frame rate only drops 28%, indicating that the GPU is not fully utilizing its resources at 1080p).

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

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average FPS of 317, with no min or max FPS recorded. Medium settings average 254 FPS, with a minimum of 216 and a maximum of 292. High settings average 159 FPS, and Ultra settings average 151 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is only 8 FPS, which suggests that the Ultra preset adds minimal additional GPU load beyond High, likely due to some effects being capped or less demanding.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. Low settings average 228 FPS, Medium averages 183 FPS (with a min of 155 and max of 210), High averages 114 FPS, and Ultra averages 109 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is only 5 FPS, which is within the margin of error for most benchmark runs. This consistency suggests that the GPU's compute units are the limiting factor for these settings, not the memory or the CPU.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are the lowest. Low settings average 143 FPS, Medium averages 115 FPS (with a min of 97 and max of 132), High averages 72 FPS, and Ultra averages 68 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium at 4K is 28 FPS (20% reduction), while the drop from Medium to High is 43 FPS (37% reduction), and from High to Ultra is 4 FPS (6% reduction). The fact that Ultra is only 4 FPS lower than High at 4K indicates that the GPU is hitting a performance ceiling where additional settings have diminishing returns. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 97, which is above 60 FPS, but the average of 115 FPS suggests that the GPU is still capable of smooth gameplay at this resolution.

The data shows that the combo is playable at 4K with Medium settings (115 FPS average) and even at 4K High (72 FPS), but the Ultra preset at 4K (68 FPS) is borderline for a 60 FPS display. At 1440p, all settings are playable, with the lowest average being 109 FPS at Ultra. At 1080p, the combo is overkill for this game, as even Ultra settings produce 151 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti combo ranks 2004 out of 3716 tested combinations for Inside. This places it in the 46th percentile of all combos, meaning it performs better than 46% of the tested systems. This is a mid-pack ranking, which is surprising given the high frame rates measured. The reason for this ranking likely lies in the fact that many other combos feature more powerful GPUs (like RTX 30-series or 40-series cards) or newer CPUs that can push even higher frame rates at 1080p.

The combo's rank is influenced by the GPU's age, as the GTX 1080 Ti is an end-of-life product with a 58th percentile ranking against all GPUs. In contrast, the Ryzen 5 7500F is a modern CPU with a 77th percentile ranking. The delta between the CPU and GPU performance explains why the combo is not higher in the rankings: the GPU limits the overall system performance in a game like Inside, which is not CPU-bound. The combo's rank of 2004 out of 3716 suggests that there are 1712 combos that perform better, likely with newer GPUs that have higher boost clocks and more shading units.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Core i7-13620H (0.2% higher average score) and the Intel Core 5 210H (0.4% higher) are within a hair of the 7500F's performance, but the GPU's nearest rivals (the Radeon Pro W5500 at -0.8% and the RTX 2060 at +1.7%) show that the 1080 Ti is in a tight performance band. The combo's rank is therefore more a function of the GPU's age than the CPU's capability. In the context of Inside, the frame rates are already high enough for smooth gameplay, so the rank does not reflect a poor experience, but rather the presence of faster hardware in the database.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience depends on the display's refresh rate. For a 60 Hz display, the 4K High preset (72 FPS average) is ideal, as it provides a smooth experience with higher visual fidelity than Medium. For a 144 Hz display, the 1440p High preset (114 FPS average) is the best choice, as it balances visual quality with a frame rate that exceeds 100 FPS. The 1440p Ultra preset (109 FPS) is also viable for a 144 Hz display, but the 5 FPS difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is negligible, so High offers better performance with almost identical visuals.

For a 240 Hz display, the 1080p High preset (159 FPS) is the maximum that can be maintained, as the Ultra preset (151 FPS) falls below the 240 Hz threshold. The 1080p Medium preset (254 FPS) is overkill for a 240 Hz display, but it provides headroom for any frame rate drops. The data shows that the Medium preset at 1080p has a minimum FPS of 216, which is still above 144 Hz, making it a safe choice for high refresh rate gaming.

The most balanced recommendation is the 1440p High preset, as it delivers 114 FPS average with no recorded minimum FPS below 100. This preset offers a significant visual improvement over 1080p while maintaining a frame rate that is smooth on most modern displays. The 4K Medium preset (115 FPS) is also a strong option for 4K displays, as it provides a higher resolution with a frame rate that is above 100 FPS. However, the 4K High preset (72 FPS) is only recommended for 60 Hz displays, as the frame rate is not sufficient for higher refresh rates.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with a 60 Hz display?

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average FPS of 72 at 4K High and 68 at 4K Ultra, both of which are above 60 FPS. The 4K Medium preset averages 115 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best setting for a 144 Hz monitor?

A: The 1440p High preset (114 FPS average) is the best option, as it exceeds the 144 Hz refresh rate and offers good visual quality. The 1080p Ultra preset (151 FPS) is also suitable if you prefer 1080p, but 1440p High provides a higher resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the resolution scaling. The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with GPU-bound performance, while the CPU's high single-thread scores (Geekbench single-core of 2374) indicate it has ample headroom.

Q: Does the 11 GB VRAM ever get fully used in Inside?

A: The data does not provide VRAM usage metrics, but the game's 2016 release date and the high frame rates at 4K suggest that VRAM is not a bottleneck. The 11 GB of GDDR5X is more than sufficient for this title.

Q: What is the highest FPS this combo can achieve?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 317 at 1080p Low settings. This is the maximum recorded in the data, with no higher values across any resolution or setting.

Q: How does this combo rank against all others in the database?

A: This combo ranks 2004 out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the 46th percentile. This is a mid-pack ranking, primarily due to the GTX 1080 Ti's age, despite the CPU's modern architecture.