Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, on this particular hardware pairing, turns into a demonstration of how far modern components can push an older title. The measured data for the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination shows a game that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but which still leaves enough headroom at 1080p to expose the processor’s limitations. The results reveal a system capable of delivering well over 100 frames per second in every tested configuration, with the gap between the weakest and strongest settings narrowing as resolution climbs.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a clear and predictable pattern as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop tells a specific story about this game’s engine. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average frame rate falls from 209.9 FPS to 163.6 FPS, a reduction of roughly 22%. The jump from 1440p to 3840x2160 is more severe, with the High preset dropping further to 104.7 FPS, which represents an additional 36% decline. This scaling behavior indicates that the rendering pipeline is heavily reliant on pixel throughput, and the RTX 4070’s 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth are being taxed progressively harder as the pixel count increases.

The scaling at Low settings is particularly telling. At 1080p Low, the system produces 272.7 FPS, which is the highest frame rate in the entire dataset. At 1440p Low, that figure drops to 243.7 FPS, a much smaller relative decrease than what is seen at High settings. This suggests that at Low settings, the game is partially limited by the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU with draw calls, rather than purely by pixel fill rate. By the time the resolution reaches 4K Low, the average is 205.1 FPS, showing that even the most demanding resolution tested still leaves substantial performance on the table.

The delta between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p, the spread between Low (272.7 FPS) and Ultra (204.8 FPS) is 67.9 FPS. At 1440p, that spread grows to 86.8 FPS (243.7 vs. 156.9). At 4K, the spread reaches 104.4 FPS (205.1 vs. 100.7). This increasing gap indicates that the GPU becomes the dominant limiting factor at higher resolutions, and that the visual complexity of Ultra settings compounds the pixel load. The data points to a system where 4K Ultra remains eminently playable, but where the performance ceiling is firmly dictated by the graphics card.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark profile shows a processor that is strong in single-threaded tasks but less impressive in heavily threaded workloads. For instance, the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2029 is respectable, while the multi-core score of 14372 indicates that its 6 physical cores are adequate but not exceptional for modern multi-threaded titles. The PassMark single-thread score of 2981 reinforces this, placing the CPU in the 75th percentile among all processors.

In the context of Inside, which is a puzzle platformer not known for demanding physics simulations or complex AI, the CPU’s role is primarily to maintain a high frame rate ceiling. The measured results show that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 272.7 FPS, which is likely near the engine’s practical limit for this processor. The fact that 1080p Medium (250.3 FPS) and 1080p High (209.9 FPS) are both lower suggests that the GPU is still doing meaningful work even at lower resolutions, but the CPU’s 12 threads are sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck at these frame rates.

Compared to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, the i5-11400F sits within a narrow band. The AMD Ryzen 7 5700U has an average score of 17189, essentially identical to the i5-11400F’s 17181, a delta of 0%. The Intel Core i7-1260P and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U are both 0.2% slower, while the Intel Core i5-1240U is 0.2% faster. This clustering suggests that the i5-11400F’s performance is well-balanced for its generation, and that the 6-core/12-thread configuration is enough to keep pace with more power-efficient mobile parts in synthetic tests, even if it lacks the raw multi-core grunt of higher-end desktop chips.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the undisputed star of this pairing. Built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, it packs 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output pipelines. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory runs across a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for a game from 2016. The boost clock of 2475 MHz and pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s give it the raw throughput to handle Inside’s modest visual demands with ease.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its position in the market. Its PassMark G3D score of 26927 places it in the 81st percentile among all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 37283 is competitive with its immediate rivals. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 trails by 0.6%, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A is 1.9% behind. On the flip side, the AMD Radeon RX 5300M is 2.5% faster, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is 2.2% ahead. This tight grouping indicates that the RTX 4070 desktop variant is positioned near the top of its performance class, despite being listed as end-of-life.

In this game, the GPU’s dominance is evident from the 4K results. At 4K Ultra, the system still manages 100.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. The 4K High preset improves that to 104.7 FPS, and 4K Medium reaches 166.2 FPS. The fact that the RTX 4070 can push over 200 FPS at 4K Low (205.1 FPS) reflects its headroom, especially considering that Inside’s art style relies on atmospheric lighting and shadow work rather than brute-force geometric complexity. The GPU’s 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 46 RT cores are largely idle in this title, but the raw shading power is more than enough to flatten any potential bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full measured frame rate dataset provides a comprehensive picture of how this system behaves across all tested scenarios. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest averages: 272.7 FPS at Low, 250.3 FPS at Medium, 209.9 FPS at High, and 204.8 FPS at Ultra. The difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is just 5.1 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset’s additional effects have a minimal impact on this resolution. This is a common pattern for older games where the Ultra settings introduce subtle improvements that are overshadowed by the GPU’s raw speed.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. Low settings produce 243.7 FPS, Medium drops slightly to 227.9 FPS, High settles at 163.6 FPS, and Ultra comes in at 156.9 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at 1440p is 64.3 FPS, which is a much larger jump than at 1080p. This indicates that the High preset introduces rendering features that are more pixel-intensive, and the GPU’s fill rate becomes a more significant factor as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the system still never falls below triple digits. Ultra averages 100.7 FPS, High is 104.7 FPS, Medium reaches 166.2 FPS, and Low tops out at 205.1 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the closest the system comes to being challenged, but it remains comfortably playable. The data shows that this combination of CPU and GPU is overkill for Inside, with even the most demanding settings leaving enough headroom for a high-refresh-rate display at 1440p or a standard 60 Hz panel at 4K with room to spare.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest frame rate this system achieves in Inside?

A: The highest measured average is 272.7 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest is 100.7 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, which is 0% different from the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U. It is 0.2% faster than the Intel Core i7-1260P and 0.2% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, but 0.2% slower than the Intel Core i5-1240U.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 the limiting factor at 4K?

A: Yes, the data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter at 3840x2160. The spread between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is 104.4 FPS, which is larger than the 67.9 FPS spread seen at 1080p, showing the GPU is being taxed harder at higher resolutions.

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

A: Yes, the measured average at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 100.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration and bandwidth?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The memory clock is listed as 1313 MHz, with 21 Gbps effective speed.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The CPU scores 2029 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 14372 in multi-core. In 3DMark, it scores 868 in single-thread and 5652 in max-thread tests, showing a roughly 6.5x scaling factor from single to multi-threaded workloads.