Inside

The data for Inside on the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 shows a combination that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, but the sheer power of the RTX 3080 ensures high frame rates across the board. The measured results indicate that this is a system capable of running the game flawlessly at 4K, with performance scaling that reveals a clear bottleneck shift as resolution increases.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a classic resolution scaling curve, with the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combination delivers an average of 206 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at Ultra drops the average to 151 FPS, a 26.7% reduction, while the jump to 3840x2160 at Ultra yields 95 FPS, which is 37.1% lower than the 1440p result. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 3080 is being pushed harder at each step, but the i5-11400F has enough headroom to keep up even at the lowest resolution tested.

The scaling pattern is even more telling when examining the Low settings. At 1080p Low, the average FPS reaches 273, which is the highest figure recorded in the dataset. At 1440p Low, it drops to 244 FPS, a 10.6% decrease, but at 4K Low, the average falls to 199 FPS, a further 18.4% reduction. This non-linear drop suggests that while the CPU can drive very high frame rates at lower resolutions, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth begin to constrain performance more severely as resolution climbs. The 4K Low result of 199 FPS is still exceptionally high, showing that even in the most demanding scenario, the combination stays well above the refresh rate of most monitors.

The Medium settings data provides the only min/max FPS figures in the pack, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 252 FPS with a minimum of 214 and a maximum of 290. The spread of 76 FPS indicates some variation, but the minimum remains high enough to avoid noticeable stutter. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 226 FPS with a min of 192 and max of 259, a similar spread. At 4K Medium, the average is 159 FPS with a min of 135 and max of 183, showing that even at the highest resolution, the frame rate rarely dips below 135 FPS. This consistency points to a well-balanced system where neither component causes severe frame pacing issues.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this CPU and GPU combination in Inside?*

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 273, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This suggests the RTX 3080 is not fully utilized at this resolution and settings combination, leaving performance headroom on the table.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 95, while at 1080p Ultra, it is 206. This represents a 53.9% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K, highlighting the significant GPU workload increase at higher resolutions.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the RTX 3080 in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combination reaches 273 FPS, which is close to the practical limit for many displays. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, appear sufficient to feed the GPU even at high frame rates.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the dataset, and at what settings?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 135, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is still a playable frame rate, indicating the system rarely drops below smooth performance levels.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested combinations?

A: The combination ranks 1338 out of 3716 tested combos, placing it in the top 36% of all systems. This is a strong showing, though the rank reflects the overall hardware pairing rather than just Inside performance.

Q: Does the RTX 3080's 10 GB VRAM cause any issues at 4K?

A: The data does not indicate any VRAM-related problems. The 4K Ultra result of 95 FPS is playable, and the 4K Medium minimum of 135 FPS shows no signs of texture thrashing or memory bottlenecks, suggesting 10 GB is sufficient for this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 plays the dominant role in determining Inside's performance, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus provides 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for maintaining high frame rates at 4K. The measured results show that as resolution increases, the frame rate drops proportionally more, confirming that the GPU's rasterization and memory subsystems are the primary workload drivers.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1440 MHz and a boost of 1710 MHz, are relatively modest for a high-end card, but the 8704 shading units and 272 texture mapping units do the heavy lifting. The data shows that at 1080p, the RTX 3080 is capable of exceeding 270 FPS on Low settings, which indicates that the GPU is not fully saturated at lower resolutions. However, the jump to 4K Ultra brings the average down to 95 FPS, a figure that aligns with the GPU's expected performance envelope given its FP32 throughput of 29.77 TFLOPS.

The VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this title. The 10 GB frame buffer is sufficient for all tested settings, as evidenced by the consistent performance scaling without sudden drops. The memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s is likely the key enabler for the 4K Medium result of 159 FPS, as the game's art style and puzzle-platformer nature may not require excessive texture memory but do benefit from fast data throughput. The GPU's 68 ray tracing cores and 272 tensor cores are not heavily utilized in this game, as Inside is a 2D side-scroller with limited 3D rendering, so the traditional rasterization pipeline is the primary focus.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination ranks 1338 out of 3716 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the 64th percentile of all systems. This is a respectable position, though not at the very top of the leaderboard. The rank reflects the overall performance of the pairing, and the measured FPS data shows that the system delivers excellent results, but there are likely more powerful combinations that achieve higher frame rates at the same settings.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 17177 places it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU's average score of 23172 puts it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. When combined, these components produce a system that is well above average, but the rank of 1338 suggests that some combinations with more recent hardware or higher-tier GPUs outperform it. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7H12, has a similar average score of 17120, which is only 0.3% lower, indicating that the i5-11400F is competitive with much more expensive server-class processors in synthetic benchmarks.

The GPU's nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA P106-100 and AMD Radeon RX 6600M, have average scores within 0.4% of the RTX 3080, but these are likely older or lower-tier cards. The RTX 3080's actual gaming performance in Inside is strong, but the combo rank indicates that the system is not optimized for this specific title compared to other pairings. The 3716 total combos include a wide range of hardware, and a rank of 1338 means there are 2378 combinations that perform worse, but also 1337 that perform better. This places the system in the upper-middle tier, which is consistent with the hardware's age and specifications.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 273, which is the peak performance recorded. Medium settings yield an average of 252 FPS, with a minimum of 214 and a maximum of 290, providing a smooth experience even during intense scenes. High settings reduce the average to 210 FPS, while Ultra settings bring it down to 206 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal, only 4 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset does not add a significant GPU load at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 244 FPS, which is still exceptionally high. Medium settings average 226 FPS, with a minimum of 192 and a maximum of 259, showing a slight reduction in consistency compared to 1080p. High settings drop to 158 FPS, a 24.8% decrease from 1080p High, while Ultra settings average 151 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to 7 FPS at this resolution, indicating that the GPU is starting to become more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the system still performs admirably. Low settings average 199 FPS, which is higher than many systems achieve at 1080p. Medium settings average 159 FPS, with a minimum of 135 and a maximum of 183, providing a playable experience with some headroom. High settings drop to 99 FPS, a 37.3% reduction from 1440p High, while Ultra settings average 95 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 4 FPS, mirroring the pattern seen at 1080p, which suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not particularly demanding on the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Ultra preset offers the best visual quality with only a marginal performance cost compared to High. At 1080p, the difference between High and Ultra is 4 FPS (210 vs 206), which is negligible for most users. At 1440p, the difference is 7 FPS (158 vs 151), still minor. At 4K, the difference is again 4 FPS (99 vs 95), making Ultra the clear choice for players who want the best visuals without sacrificing frame rate.

For players targeting 60 FPS, the Ultra preset is viable at all resolutions, with the lowest average being 95 FPS at 4K. This leaves significant headroom above the 60 FPS threshold, allowing for a stable experience even during demanding scenes. The Medium preset, with its minimum FPS of 135 at 4K, provides an even larger safety margin for those concerned about frame drops, but the visual fidelity loss may not be worth it given the system's capability.

The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates (273 FPS at 1080p), is only recommended for competitive play or for users with high-refresh-rate monitors who prioritize frame rate over visuals. Given that the system can maintain over 200 FPS at 1080p Ultra, the Low preset offers no practical benefit for most users. The data suggests that the Ultra preset is the optimal choice for this combination, as it provides the best visual experience while maintaining frame rates well above playable thresholds at every resolution tested.