Inside

Inside is a 2D puzzle platformer that is far more forgiving on hardware than most modern titles, and the benchmark results for the Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the Intel Arc B580 reflect this. The data shows exceptionally high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, with the limiting factor shifting clearly from the GPU at 4K to the CPU at 1080p. This combination delivers a remarkably smooth experience, though the performance scaling reveals distinct bottlenecks depending on the workload.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, but the game’s modest demands keep even the heaviest preset playable. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 132.2 at 1920x1080 to 96.7 at 2560x1440, a 27% reduction, and then to 61.8 at 3840x2160, a further 36% drop. This scaling pattern indicates that the Intel Arc B580 is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, as the pixel throughput requirement grows faster than the CPU’s ability to feed frames.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (266.5 FPS) and Ultra (130.5 FPS) is 136 FPS, but at 4K, that gap shrinks to 65.1 FPS (125 vs 59.9). This compression suggests that at 4K, the GPU’s shading and memory bandwidth limits dominate, whereas at 1080p, the CPU can still push very high frame rates that the GPU struggles to match only at the highest settings.

Looking at the Medium preset, the scaling from 1080p (213.9 FPS) to 1440p (158.1 FPS) shows a 26% drop, nearly identical to the High preset’s 27% drop. However, from 1440p to 4K, Medium drops by 37% to 100.2 FPS, while High drops by 36% to 61.8 FPS. This suggests that the Arc B580’s compute units are not the sole bottleneck; rather, the memory interface—12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth—becomes more stressed as pixel count rises, but the game’s simple geometry keeps the demand moderate.

At 4K Ultra, the average of 59.9 FPS is nearly identical to 4K High’s 61.8 FPS, a mere 3% difference. This indicates that the Ultra preset’s extra effects are not heavily taxing the GPU, and the system is nearing a hard limit imposed by the combination of CPU draw-call overhead and GPU pixel fill. The 4K Low result of 125 FPS confirms that the GPU has ample headroom when settings are reduced, but the CPU’s single-thread performance becomes the next wall.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580’s specifications directly explain its behavior in this title. With 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs, the GPU delivers a pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s. These figures are more than adequate for a 2D platformer, but the 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is underutilized because Inside’s rendering does not rely on heavy shader work. Instead, the GPU’s memory subsystem—12 GB of GDDR6 at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective) on a 192-bit bus—plays a larger role in maintaining consistent frame times.

The base and boost clocks are both 2670 MHz, which is a fixed operating point for this card. This steady clock behavior helps avoid frame pacing issues, but the benchmark data shows that the GPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p. At 1080p Low, the average of 266.5 FPS is likely near the CPU’s maximum draw-call throughput, as the GPU’s pixel rate could theoretically support higher numbers. The B580’s 80 ROPs are sufficient for this game’s fill-rate needs, even at 4K Ultra.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the Arc B580’s average benchmark score of 23021 sits just above the AMD Radeon 760M (22999, deltaPct 0.1%) and NVIDIA P106-100 (22950, deltaPct 0.3%), but below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (23181, deltaPct -0.7%). In Inside, this translates to consistent performance, but the game’s low complexity means that even a modest GPU like the P106-100 would likely produce similar frame rates in most scenes. The B580’s advantage lies in its 12 GB VRAM, which is unnecessary for this title but future-proofs for heavier workloads.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-11400F and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1280 out of 1671 tested combinations in Inside. That places it in the 76th percentile, which is lower than one might expect given the high absolute frame rates. The reason is that Inside is so lightweight that many older or lower-end CPUs paired with mid-range GPUs can hit the game’s frame rate cap or become CPU-limited at similar levels, making the combo’s raw performance less distinctive.

The CPU itself ranks in the 75th percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 17181. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17189, deltaPct 0%), Intel Core i7-1260P (17212, deltaPct -0.2%), and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17215, deltaPct -0.2%). In Inside, this means the i5-11400F is not a weak link; its 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz provide ample single-thread performance for the game’s logic.

The GPU’s rank is 66th percentile against all GPUs, with an average score of 23021. Its nearest rival, the RTX 4060, is only 0.7% faster on average, which is within the margin of error for this benchmark. In Inside, the combo’s rank of 1280 suggests that the bottleneck is not the GPU, but rather the CPU’s ability to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions. At 4K, the combo moves up in relative standing because the GPU becomes the limiter, and the B580’s strong fill rate keeps it competitive.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p High settings?

A: The average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 96.7, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra compared to 4K High?

A: The difference is minimal. At 4K Ultra, the average is 59.9 FPS, while at 4K High it is 61.8 FPS, a 3% reduction. This indicates the Ultra preset adds little GPU load beyond High.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B580 the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 266.5 FPS, which is likely CPU-bound. The GPU’s pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s could support higher frame rates, but the CPU’s 6 cores and 4.40 GHz boost clock cap the output.

Q: What CPU score places the i5-11400F in its percentile?

A: The processor’s average benchmark score is 17181, placing it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 14372 and single-core score is 2029.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to the RTX 4060 in raw benchmarks?

A: The Arc B580’s average GPU benchmark score is 23021, while the RTX 4060 scores 23181. The deltaPct is -0.7%, meaning the B580 is slightly slower by less than 1%.

Q: Does this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K across all settings?

A: No. At 4K High (61.8 FPS) and Ultra (59.9 FPS), it hovers near 60 FPS. At 4K Medium (100.2 FPS) and Low (125 FPS), it far exceeds that threshold.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. Its base clock is 2.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, and it has 12 MB of shared L3 cache. These specifications are moderate by modern standards, but for Inside, they are more than sufficient. The game’s puzzle platformer genre relies heavily on single-threaded physics and logic, and the 11400F’s single-core performance—evidenced by its Cinebench R20 single-core score of 852 and PassMark single-thread score of 2981—is strong enough to avoid causing stutters.

The benchmark data shows that the CPU becomes the bottleneck at 1080p, where the average FPS at Low (266.5) is likely near the practical limit for this processor’s draw-call throughput. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1691 and 4-thread score of 3171 indicate that Inside, which likely uses only a few threads, can leverage the CPU’s fast cores effectively. However, the 4.40 GHz boost clock is not sustained indefinitely, and the 65W TDP means thermal throttling could occur in prolonged sessions, though the data does not show this affecting results.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-11400F’s average score of 17181 is nearly identical to the Ryzen 7 5700U (17189) and Intel Core i7-1260P (17212). This means that in CPU-bound scenarios like 1080p Low in Inside, all four processors would deliver nearly the same frame rates. The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s on dual-channel DDR4 is not a limiting factor here, as the game’s data footprint is small. Ultimately, the i5-11400F’s role is to feed the Arc B580 enough frames at lower resolutions, and it does so admirably, but at 4K, the GPU takes over as the primary constraint, making the CPU’s higher clock speeds less relevant.