Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016 that places almost no sustained load on modern hardware, and the measured results for the Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 confirm this. The data shows a combination that is entirely GPU-bound at lower settings, but which transitions into a scenario where the CPU’s six cores and twelve threads are more than sufficient to feed the graphics card at every resolution tested. The benchmark rows provided offer a clear picture of how this specific pairing scales across presets and resolutions, making it a straightforward case for analysis without the complexity found in more demanding titles.

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

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a six-core, twelve-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP and a 12 MB shared L3 cache. In the context of Inside, a game that is primarily a 2D side-scrolling puzzle experience with limited physics simulation, this level of compute power is far beyond what the title requires. The CPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its capability: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340 and a single-core score of 2024, while its 3DMark single-thread score is 868. These numbers indicate a processor that can handle far more complex workloads than Inside presents.

The role of the CPU in this specific game’s results becomes evident when examining the FPS data across different settings. At 1080p Low, the measured average FPS is 273, which is so high that it suggests the game is not being limited by the processor’s ability to issue draw calls or process game logic. The CPU’s 3DMark 16-thread score of 5619 and its PassMark multi-thread score of 16908 are largely irrelevant here because Inside does not utilize more than a couple of cores effectively. What matters more is the single-thread performance, and the processor’s Geekbench single-core score of 1777, combined with its PassMark single-thread score of 2981, shows that it has adequate per-core strength to avoid becoming a bottleneck.

The data indicates that the i5-11400F is not the limiting component in this configuration for Inside. Even at 1440p High, where the average FPS drops to 106, the CPU still has headroom, as evidenced by the fact that raising the resolution to 4K High only reduces the average FPS to 67. This pattern of decreasing FPS with increasing resolution, while the CPU’s workload remains constant, points to the GPU being the primary performance driver. The processor’s 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient for a game that was released in 2016, and its 71st percentile ranking against all CPUs suggests it is a mid-to-upper-tier part that will not struggle with this title’s modest requirements.

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

The measured FPS data provides four preset options at each resolution: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. The best experience depends on the target display’s refresh rate and the user’s preference for visual fidelity versus raw frame rate. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves an average of 273 FPS, which is exceptionally high and will exceed the refresh rate of virtually any monitor. The Medium preset at 1080p still delivers a very high average of 237 FPS, with a minimum of 201 FPS, ensuring that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate remains well above 144 Hz. The High preset at 1080p drops to an average of 148 FPS, which is still smooth for high-refresh displays but represents a significant reduction from Medium. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields an average of 141 FPS, only slightly lower than High.

For 1440p, the Medium preset stands out as the best balance, delivering an average of 170 FPS with a minimum of 145 FPS. This is a substantial drop from the 213 FPS average of the Low preset, but the visual improvement is noticeable. The High preset at 1440p averages 106 FPS, which is still playable but may not be ideal for users with 144 Hz monitors. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 101 FPS, which is nearly identical to High, suggesting diminishing returns. At 4K, the Medium preset is the most reasonable choice, averaging 107 FPS with a minimum of 91 FPS, which is above 60 FPS but not by a wide margin. The High preset at 4K averages 67 FPS, which is borderline for a 60 Hz display, while the Ultra preset at 4K averages 64 FPS.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this combination across all resolutions. It provides a significant jump in visual quality over Low while maintaining frame rates that are at least 50% higher than High in most cases. Specifically, at 1080p, Medium is 89 FPS faster than High, and at 1440p, it is 64 FPS faster. At 4K, Medium is 40 FPS faster than High. The Ultra preset offers only marginal gains over High, with a difference of 7 FPS at 1080p, 5 FPS at 1440p, and 3 FPS at 4K, which is not worth the performance cost. Therefore, the Medium preset delivers the best experience for users seeking a balance between smoothness and visual fidelity.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the RTX 5050 in Inside at 1080p?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 273, which is extremely high. The CPU’s single-thread performance, indicated by a Geekbench single-core score of 1777 and a PassMark single-thread score of 2981, is sufficient to feed the GPU. The bottleneck is not the processor, as raising the resolution to 1440p and 4K causes FPS to drop, which points to the GPU as the limiting factor.

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achieved by this combo at 1080p?

A: The maximum average FPS is 273, which is achieved at the Low preset. The Medium preset comes close with 237 FPS, while the High preset drops to 148 FPS. The Ultra preset yields 141 FPS, which is the lowest average at this resolution.

Q: How does the 4K Medium preset compare to the 4K High preset in terms of frame rate?

A: The 4K Medium preset averages 107 FPS, with a minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 123 FPS. The 4K High preset averages 67 FPS. This means Medium is 40 FPS faster on average, providing a much smoother experience while still maintaining a playable frame rate.

Q: Does the RTX 5050 have enough VRAM for Inside at maximum settings?

A: The RTX 5050 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth. The game’s Ultra preset at 4K averages 64 FPS, which indicates that the GPU is not running out of memory, as the game is not visually demanding. The VRAM capacity is more than adequate for this title.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Ultra and High presets at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Ultra preset averages 101 FPS, while the High preset averages 106 FPS. This is a difference of only 5 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset offers very little performance gain over High. Both are substantially lower than the Medium preset’s 170 FPS average.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Inside?

A: This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1826 out of 2887 tested combos. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is expected given that Inside is not a demanding game and many higher-end configurations exist.

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

The measured FPS data provides a complete matrix of performance for this combination. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 273 FPS. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 237 FPS, with a minimum frame rate of 201 FPS and a maximum of 272 FPS. The High preset at 1080p averages 148 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 141 FPS. This shows a clear trend where the difference between Low and Medium is 36 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is only 7 FPS, indicating diminishing returns at the top end.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 213 FPS, which is a 60 FPS drop from 1080p Low. The Medium preset averages 170 FPS, with a minimum of 145 FPS and a maximum of 196 FPS. The High preset at 1440p averages 106 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 101 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 64 FPS, which is larger than the 36 FPS gap seen at 1080p between the same two presets. This suggests that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 134 FPS, which is a significant drop from the 213 FPS at 1440p. The Medium preset averages 107 FPS, with a minimum of 91 FPS and a maximum of 123 FPS. The High preset averages 67 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 64 FPS. The difference between Medium and High at 4K is 40 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is only 3 FPS. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the best balance, with frame rates that are consistently higher than 100 FPS except at 4K, where it still averages 107 FPS.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz, with 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The GPU is equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. Its FP32 performance is 13.17 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate. The GPU’s benchmark scores show a PassMark G3D score of 17326 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 90334, which place it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs.

In the context of Inside, the GPU’s role is to render the game’s 2D environments and lighting effects. The game is not graphically intensive, so the RTX 5050 has ample power to handle it at high frame rates. The measured data shows that at 1080p Low, the GPU is able to produce 273 FPS, which is near the limit of what the GPU can output for this title. The fact that the 4K Low preset still achieves 134 FPS indicates that the GPU is not being stressed by the game’s resolution scaling, as most of the performance drop comes from the increased pixel count.

The 8 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Inside, as the game’s textures and effects are not memory-intensive. The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s is also not a limiting factor, as the game does not require large amounts of data transfer. The boost clock of 2572 MHz ensures that the GPU runs at its maximum speed during gameplay, which is reflected in the high frame rates. The RTX 5050 is clearly the dominant component in this pairing, as the FPS scales directly with resolution and settings, which is the expected behavior for a GPU-bound workload.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1826 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. This ranking places it in the 63rd percentile of all tested configurations, which is lower than might be expected given the high frame rates achieved. The reason for this is that Inside is a game that can be run at very high FPS even on modest hardware, so the ranking is influenced by the fact that many other combos with more powerful CPUs and GPUs achieve even higher frame rates.

The CPU’s nearest rivals, based on average benchmark score, include the AMD EPYC 7H12 with a delta of 0.3%, the Intel Core i5-12450H with a delta of -0.4%, and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G with a delta of -0.6%. These rivals have very similar CPU performance, with a difference of less than 1% in average score. The GPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL with a delta of -0.6%, the AMD Radeon HD 8970M with a delta of -1%, and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT with a delta of 1.6%. These GPUs are also within a small margin of the RTX 5050’s average benchmark score.

The ranking of 1826 out of 2887 suggests that while this combo is capable of running Inside at very high frame rates, it is not in the top tier of configurations. The data shows that the combo is limited by the GPU, as the CPU has significant headroom. If paired with a more powerful GPU, the frame rates would be higher, and the ranking would improve. However, for the intended use case of playing Inside at high settings, this combo performs adequately, as evidenced by the 4K Medium average of 107 FPS.

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

The resolution scaling of this combo provides clear evidence of the GPU being the limiting component. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 273 at 1080p to 213 at 1440p, a reduction of 22%, and then to 134 at 4K, a further reduction of 37%. This pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound workload, where the number of pixels being rendered directly impacts performance. The CPU’s workload is constant across resolutions, so if the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain similar regardless of resolution.

At the Medium preset, the average FPS drops from 237 at 1080p to 170 at 1440p, a 28% reduction, and then to 107 at 4K, a 37% reduction from 1440p. The minimum frame rate at Medium drops from 201 at 1080p to 145 at 1440p and then to 91 at 4K. This shows that the GPU is increasingly stressed as resolution increases, with the 4K Medium preset still maintaining an average above 100 FPS, but with a minimum that dips below 100 FPS.

At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 148 at 1080p to 106 at 1440p, a 28% reduction, and then to 67 at 4K, a 37% reduction. The Ultra preset follows a similar pattern, with averages of 141, 101, and 64 FPS at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, respectively. The consistent percentage drops across all presets indicate that the GPU is the sole limiting factor, as the CPU’s performance is not being taxed. The 4K Ultra preset at 64 FPS is just above 60 FPS, which is the minimum for smooth gameplay on a 60 Hz display. The data strongly suggests that the RTX 5050 is the component that determines the frame rate, while the i5-11400F provides sufficient support to avoid any CPU-related stutters or bottlenecks.