Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware. Yet, the measured frame rates for the Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D tell a more nuanced story about where bottlenecks appear as resolution and settings scale. The data shows a configuration that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but reveals unexpected CPU limitations at 1080p, making this an interesting case study in component pairing for a relatively light game title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial but not uniform across all settings presets, which provides clear insight into the limiting component at each step. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 233 at 1920x1080 to 208 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 25 FPS (10.7%), and then to 179 at 3840x2160, another 29 FPS drop (13.9%). This scaling pattern suggests the GPU is becoming progressively more loaded, but the CPU is still capable of feeding it adequately at lower resolutions.

The Medium settings preset shows a similar trajectory: 215 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 192 FPS at 1440p (a 23 FPS decrease), and then to 165 FPS at 4K (a 27 FPS decrease). The High preset follows the same pattern, with 179 FPS at 1080p, 160 FPS at 1440p, and 137 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset yields 176 FPS at 1080p, 158 FPS at 1440p, and 135 FPS at 4K. Across all presets, the average drop from 1080p to 4K is roughly 40-45%, which is a significant performance penalty that points directly at the RTX 5090 D as the primary performance limiter at 4K.

However, the data reveals a critical nuance: the delta between 1080p and 1440p is consistently smaller than the delta between 1440p and 4K. For example, at Low settings, the 1080p-to-1440p drop is 25 FPS, while the 1440p-to-4K drop is 29 FPS. This widening gap indicates that as pixel count increases, the GPU workload grows disproportionately, confirming that the RTX 5090 D is the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The fact that the 4K Ultra preset (135 FPS) is only 2 FPS slower than the 4K High preset (137 FPS) further suggests that at this resolution, the GPU is saturated regardless of the graphics settings, and the frame rate is dictated almost entirely by pixel throughput rather than scene complexity.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark results show a single-thread score of 688 in 3dmark and a multi-thread score of 4748 in the 16-thread test, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10283 and a single-core score of 1451. These numbers place the CPU at the 68th percentile among all tested CPUs, indicating it is a solid mid-range performer but not a top-tier part.

In the context of Inside, a game that is not known for demanding AI or physics simulations, the CPU's role appears to be secondary at higher resolutions but becomes more pronounced at 1080p. The data shows that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 233 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset. This suggests that the CPU is capable of driving the game engine at very high frame rates when the GPU is not heavily loaded. However, the 1080p Ultra preset only reaches 176 FPS, which is 57 FPS lower than the Low preset at the same resolution. This difference is likely due to increased draw calls and scene complexity at Ultra settings, which places additional load on the CPU's single-thread performance.

The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this game, as evidenced by the consistently high frame rates across all resolutions. The 3dmark 2-thread score of 1350 and 4-thread score of 2560 indicate that the CPU's per-core performance is sufficient to handle the game's main thread, but the 1080p results suggest there is a ceiling. At 233 FPS Low, the system is likely approaching the point where the CPU's frame pacing becomes the limiting factor, as the GPU is capable of rendering far more frames at this low graphical load.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is an absolute behemoth of a graphics card, featuring 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Its 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs are paired with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, delivering 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The card's benchmark scores are equally impressive, with a 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14326 and a Passmark G3D score of 44065, placing it at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs.

Given this GPU's raw power, it is surprising that the frame rates in Inside are not higher, particularly at 1080p where the CPU becomes a limiting factor. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 233 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 179 FPS. This 54 FPS reduction (23.2%) is entirely attributable to the GPU's workload increasing with resolution. The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of VRAM is vastly over-provisioned for this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the memory requirements are minimal, but the GPU's compute resources are still being taxed by the pixel fill rate.

The GPU's pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are more than sufficient for a 2D-style puzzle platformer, but the data indicates that the card is being utilized at only a fraction of its potential in this title. The 4K Ultra preset's 135 FPS average represents a significant underutilization of the RTX 5090 D's capabilities, as this GPU is capable of rendering far more demanding titles at similar frame rates. The bottleneck at 4K is not the GPU's raw throughput but rather the game's engine being unable to fully exploit the card's parallel processing capabilities, likely due to the game's 2016-era rendering pipeline.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination ranks 1138 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the 60.6th percentile of all tested systems. This ranking is surprisingly low given the GPU's position at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, but it reflects the fact that the CPU is only at the 68th percentile among all CPUs. The combo's ranking suggests that while the GPU is capable of delivering high frame rates, the CPU's performance ceiling prevents the system from achieving the top-tier results that the GPU alone might suggest.

The CPU's nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Xeon 6756E (0.2% faster), Intel Core 7 160UL (0.3% slower), AMD EPYC 7552 (0.5% faster), and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (0.6% slower). These rivals are all within 1% of the i5-10400F's performance, indicating that the CPU is well-matched with its peers. The GPU's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (1.1% slower), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (1.6% faster), NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (2.1% faster), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (2.4% faster). The RTX 5090 D sits comfortably among these competitors, though its positioning is notable because the Tesla P100 cards, which are workstation-oriented, outperform it in the aggregate benchmarks.

The combo's rank of 1138 out of 2887 means that 1749 other combinations deliver better performance in Inside. This is a significant number, and it indicates that the i5-10400F is holding back the RTX 5090 D in this particular game. Systems with faster single-threaded CPUs likely achieve higher frame rates, particularly at 1080p where the CPU bottleneck is most evident. The data suggests that pairing the RTX 5090 D with a higher-end CPU would yield substantially better results, as the GPU is clearly not the limiting factor at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Inside?

A: The highest average FPS is 233, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Low preset compared to the 4K Ultra preset?

A: The 1080p Low preset averages 233 FPS, while the 4K Ultra preset averages 135 FPS, making the 1080p Low preset 98 FPS faster (72.6% higher).

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

A: The combo ranks 1138 out of 2887 tested combos, placing it in the 60.6th percentile.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU act as the primary bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as evidenced by the frame rate dropping from 179 FPS at 4K Low to 135 FPS at 4K Ultra, while the CPU's load remains relatively constant.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between the Medium and Ultra presets at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 192 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 158 FPS, a difference of 34 FPS.

Q: Which component has a higher percentile ranking among its peers?

A: The GPU has a 92nd percentile ranking, while the CPU has a 68th percentile ranking, indicating the GPU is relatively stronger compared to its peers.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 233, followed by Medium at 215, High at 179, and Ultra at 176. The Medium preset also provides the only min/max FPS data at this resolution, with a minimum of 183 FPS and a maximum of 247 FPS, indicating a frame time variance of 64 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 208 FPS, Medium averages 192 FPS with a min of 164 and max of 221, High averages 160 FPS, and Ultra averages 158 FPS. The 1440p results show a similar pattern to 1080p, with Low being 50 FPS faster than Ultra (208 vs 158 FPS). The Medium preset's min/max spread of 57 FPS (164 to 221) is slightly narrower than at 1080p, suggesting more consistent frame pacing at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 179 FPS, Medium averages 165 FPS with a min of 140 and max of 190, High averages 137 FPS, and Ultra averages 135 FPS. The 4K results show the smallest relative differences between presets, with only a 44 FPS gap between Low and Ultra (179 vs 135 FPS), compared to a 57 FPS gap at 1080p and a 50 FPS gap at 1440p. The Medium preset at 4K has a min/max spread of 50 FPS (140 to 190), which is the narrowest of any resolution, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor and frame rates are more tightly clustered.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality for this combo. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 215 FPS, which is only 18 FPS slower than Low but likely provides significantly better visual fidelity. The Medium preset also has the most complete data across all resolutions, with min/max values recorded at every resolution, allowing for a more accurate assessment of frame pacing consistency.

For users with 2560x1440 displays, the Medium preset at 192 FPS is an excellent choice, as it maintains high frame rates while offering improved visuals over Low. The High preset at 160 FPS is also viable, but the 32 FPS difference between Medium and High may not justify the visual improvements, depending on the user's preference for frame rate over graphical fidelity. The Ultra preset at 158 FPS is only 2 FPS slower than High, suggesting that the graphical improvements from High to Ultra are essentially free in terms of performance, but the jump from Medium to High costs 32 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset's 165 FPS average is the most compelling option, as it provides a high frame rate while maintaining reasonable visual quality. The Low preset at 179 FPS offers a 14 FPS advantage, but the visual downgrade may be noticeable. The High preset at 137 FPS and Ultra at 135 FPS are both playable, but they represent a 28-30 FPS reduction compared to Medium, which may not be worth the visual gains given the already high base frame rate. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo across all resolutions, delivering frame rates that are consistently 20-30% higher than High and Ultra while being only 10-15% slower than Low.