Inside

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 pairing presents a fascinating study in component balance within the context of Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer. The benchmark data reveals a system where the GPU is overwhelmingly dominant, capable of pushing frame rates far beyond what the CPU's six processing threads might typically support in more demanding titles. The measured results show a configuration that excels at high-refresh-rate gameplay, though the data also indicates clear scaling limits imposed by the processor at lower resolutions.

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

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor shares a 9 MB L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory. In the broader landscape of all tested CPUs, it sits at the 50th percentile, indicating a perfectly average standing. Its average benchmark score of 2305 places it in very close competition with the Intel Core i3-10305, which scores 2300 (a 0.2% difference), and the Intel Xeon E-2134 at 2295 (0.4% faster for the i5).

For a game like Inside, which is not known for heavy multi-threaded workloads, the i5-9400's six physical cores are generally sufficient. The data suggests that this processor is not a bottleneck at higher resolutions, but its influence becomes more apparent as the render resolution drops. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as the CPU has ample time to prepare frames. However, at 1080p, the CPU's performance ceiling is tested. The benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125, indicate a modest level of processing power. This single-core performance is often more critical for game logic and draw calls than raw multi-core throughput, and it is this metric that likely prevents the system from achieving even higher frame rates at 1080p. The data shows that while the CPU is a capable partner, it is the component that prevents the system from scaling perfectly to the GPU's maximum potential in the lowest resolution tests.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is a powerhouse built on the Ampere architecture, using the GA102 chip manufactured on an 8 nm process by Samsung. It features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a substantial 760.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's core clocks are listed at 1440 MHz base and 1710 MHz boost. With 8704 shading units, 272 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, it is a massive piece of silicon, also containing 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores. Its compute capabilities include 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, and it holds an 80th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The RTX 3080's average benchmark score of 35787 places it in close contention with the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (35860, a -0.2% difference for the 3080) and the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (36101, -0.9% for the 3080). In the context of Inside, the GPU's immense power is evident. Even at 4K Ultra settings, the system manages an average of 95.6 FPS, a figure that would be considered high-end for most modern games. The GPU's prowess is most clearly demonstrated by the fact that it can push frame rates well above 200 FPS at 1080p Low settings, reaching 222.5 FPS. This indicates that the graphics card has a vast amount of untapped potential in this game, with its performance only being constrained by the CPU at lower resolutions and by the increasingly demanding graphical settings at higher resolutions.

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

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a significant bottleneck for the RTX 3080 in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU can be a limiting factor at lower resolutions. The frame rate difference between 1080p and 1440p is relatively small (e.g., 170.4 FPS to 151.7 FPS at High settings), while the jump from 1440p to 4K shows a more significant drop (151.7 FPS to 101.2 FPS). This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is limiting the GPU's output, while at 4K, the GPU's rendering load becomes the primary constraint.

Q: How does the RTX 3080's performance in Inside compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3080's average benchmark score of 35787 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, which scores 35860, a difference of only -0.2%. It is also very close to the AMD Radeon 880M (35646, a 0.4% difference) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile (35435, a 1% difference). The benchmark data shows these cards are all in the same performance tier.

Q: What is the single best performance metric for the CPU in this analysis?

A: The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and single-core score of 1125 provide a snapshot of its processing ability. Its 50th percentile ranking versus all CPUs indicates it is a mid-range performer, which is consistent with its role as a potential limiter in CPU-bound scenarios.

Q: Does the game's genre affect the performance profile of this hardware?

A: Yes. As a Puzzle Platformer, Inside is not a graphically intensive title compared to modern AAA games. This allows the RTX 3080 to produce extremely high frame rates, such as 222.5 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows that the game's demands are easily met by the GPU, shifting the performance bottleneck to the CPU at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the most demanding setting tested for this system?

A: The most demanding configuration tested is 4K resolution with Ultra settings, which yields an average FPS of 95.6. This is the lowest frame rate recorded across all the tested settings and resolutions.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution?

A: The impact of settings is substantial. At 4K, the average FPS drops from 172.2 on Low to 95.6 on Ultra, a difference of 76.6 FPS. At 1080p, the difference is 51.7 FPS, going from 222.5 FPS on Low to 170.8 FPS on Ultra. This shows that graphical settings have a significant impact on the GPU's workload.

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

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's capabilities across all resolution and settings combinations. Starting at 1920x1080, the system achieves 222.5 FPS on Low, 204.6 FPS on Medium, 170.4 FPS on High, and 170.8 FPS on Ultra. The performance at 1080p is remarkably high, with even the most demanding settings staying well above the 144 Hz refresh rate threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS figures are 201.9 on Low, 182.9 on Medium, 151.7 on High, and 148.1 on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is noticeable but not dramatic, with all settings still producing highly playable frame rates. The system continues to perform exceptionally well, with no configuration falling below 148 FPS.

At the demanding 3840x2160 resolution, the performance remains strong. The average FPS is 172.2 on Low, 154.9 on Medium, 101.2 on High, and 95.6 on Ultra. This is the only resolution where the frame rates begin to approach the lower end of the spectrum, with the Ultra preset still maintaining a respectable 95.6 FPS average. The data shows a clear and consistent progression of frame rates decreasing as resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

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

The scaling of FPS from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic CPU and GPU bottleneck shift. At High settings, the system produces 170.4 FPS at 1080p, 151.7 FPS at 1440p, and 101.2 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is only 18.7 FPS, a modest 11% decrease. This small decrease suggests that the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p; the GPU is not being fully utilized because the processor cannot feed it data fast enough. As the resolution increases to 1440p, the GPU begins to work harder, but the CPU is still able to keep up, resulting in a small FPS drop.

However, the transition from 1440p to 4K shows a much steeper decline, with the FPS dropping by 50.5 FPS to 101.2. This significant 33% drop indicates that the GPU has now become the bottleneck. The increased pixel count at 4K presents a much larger workload for the RTX 3080, which now takes over as the primary limiting factor. This pattern is consistent across all settings. For instance, at Ultra settings, the FPS drops from 170.8 at 1080p to 148.1 at 1440p, and then to 95.6 at 4K. The data clearly shows that the combination of high resolution and high settings is the only way to fully stress the GPU in this game.

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

Analyzing the measured rows, the most balanced experience appears to be at 2560x1440 with High settings, which yields 151.7 FPS. This configuration provides a significant increase in visual fidelity over Medium settings (182.9 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate well above 144 FPS for high-refresh-rate monitors. The jump from High to Ultra at this resolution only costs 3.6 FPS (148.1 FPS), which is a negligible difference, making Ultra the better choice for maximum quality without a performance penalty.

At 4K, the High preset at 101.2 FPS offers a better balance than Ultra (95.6 FPS). The difference between the two is only 5.6 FPS, but the visual difference between High and Ultra is often marginal in many games. For users with a 4K 60 Hz display, the High preset provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 154.9 FPS is also an option for those wanting a smoother experience, but the data suggests that High is the superior choice for a 4K experience. At 1080p, the Ultra preset (170.8 FPS) is the clear recommendation, as it offers the highest visual quality with frame rates still high enough to take full advantage of a 144 Hz or even 165 Hz monitor. The performance drop from Medium to Ultra is only 33.8 FPS, but the visual gains are worth it.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The specific combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 holds a rank of 905 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the 54th percentile of all tested system configurations. This rank is surprisingly low given the raw power of the RTX 3080, which highlights the impact of the CPU on the overall score.

The ranking suggests that while this system is capable of very high frame rates, many other combinations of hardware are able to achieve even higher performance. The data implies that the i5-9400 is holding the RTX 3080 back from reaching its full potential in this specific game. Since Inside can run at extremely high frame rates, the CPU becomes a more significant factor in the final score than it would in a more demanding title. The combo's rank of 905 indicates that there are many other systems, likely with more powerful processors, that can achieve higher average frame rates. This serves as a clear indicator that for this game, the CPU is a more significant contributor to the final performance ranking than the GPU.