Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016 that is far more forgiving on hardware than most modern titles, and the measured data for the Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 reflects that. The benchmark results show a system capable of delivering extremely high frame rates across all tested resolutions, with the primary question being how to balance visual fidelity against the sheer headroom available. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS rows to determine the best settings, the role of each component, and how the combo stacks up against other tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that the High preset offers the most compelling balance between image quality and performance for this combo. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 172.3 FPS, which is a substantial drop from the 225.1 FPS seen on Low, but it still provides a fluid experience that far exceeds standard 60 Hz displays. Moving to Medium yields 202.8 FPS, but the gap between Medium and High is only about 15% at 1080p, while the visual uplift from Medium to High is typically more noticeable in a puzzle platformer's atmospheric lighting and shadows.

The case for High becomes even stronger at higher resolutions. At 2560x1440, High averages 125 FPS, which remains excellent for fast-paced gameplay, while Ultra drops to 123.1 FPS—a negligible difference that suggests the Ultra preset is not well-optimized for this title. At 3840x2160, High holds at 80.7 FPS, which is still comfortably playable, whereas Ultra falls to 77.4 FPS. Given that the jump from High to Ultra costs roughly 4% performance at 4K and 4.5% at 1440p, but the measured data does not show a corresponding benefit in the FPS figures, High is the recommended starting point. For users prioritizing maximum smoothness on a 144 Hz or higher display, Low at 1080p is the only preset that breaks the 225 FPS barrier, but the visual compromise is steep for a game that relies on moody, monochromatic art direction.

How This Combo Ranks

The measured combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 1010 out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. This places the pairing in the bottom 40% of all configurations, which is surprising given the high absolute FPS numbers. The rank is likely skewed by the fact that many other tested combos feature newer or higher-end CPUs and GPUs that push frame rates even higher in a game that is not demanding. The data suggests that while this combo is far from the top, it is also far from being a bottleneck for the game's requirements.

The GPU itself holds a percentile rank of 73 against all GPUs, meaning it outperforms nearly three-quarters of the database entries. The CPU, however, sits at the 50th percentile, which indicates it is an average performer relative to all tested processors. This discrepancy explains the combo's mid-tier rank: the GPU is strong enough to drive high frame rates, but the six-core, six-thread CPU from the Coffee Lake architecture may limit the absolute ceiling in a game that is lightly threaded, though the measured FPS numbers do not show any critical stall points. Compared to the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 5060 is effectively tied with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, showing a delta of 0%, and it is just 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 570 in average benchmark score, which is a statistical dead heat.

GPU Role

The RTX 5060 features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. For Inside, a game that primarily uses 2D sprites and simple 3D geometry, this memory configuration is more than sufficient; the data shows no indication of VRAM constraints at any resolution. The GPU's base clock is 2280 MHz with a boost clock of 2497 MHz, and it has a pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s. These specs translate to raw throughput that easily handles the game's rendering demands.

The GPU's measured performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as a Passmark G3D score of 20891, suggests it has headroom for much heavier workloads. In Inside, the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is the key indicator of the GPU's role. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 172.3 at 1080p to 80.7 at 4K, which is a 53% reduction. This steep drop indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and the GPU must fill those pixels. The fact that the RTX 5060 still manages over 77 FPS at 4K on Ultra shows its capability, but the scaling curve reveals that the CPU becomes less relevant as resolution increases.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming with this combo?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 averages 125 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh monitors. Ultra is nearly identical at 123.1 FPS, but the marginal difference does not justify the extra load.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 80.7 FPS, and Low reaches 158.7 FPS. The game is playable at 4K on all presets, with the lowest being 77.4 FPS on Ultra.

Q: Why is the combo rank so low if FPS is high?

A: The combo ranks 1010 out of 1671 tested combos, which is below average, but the absolute FPS numbers are high. This suggests other combos with newer CPUs or GPUs achieve even higher frame rates, pushing this pairing down the rankings.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. At 1080p, the CPU appears to be a limiting factor, as the FPS difference between Low and High is only 53 FPS, which is not proportional to the GPU's workload increase.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 5060 has a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is more than adequate for Inside's simple textures and geometry, as proven by the high frame rates at all settings.

Q: Does the Low preset offer a significant FPS boost?

A: Yes, at 1080p, Low averages 225.1 FPS compared to 172.3 FPS on High, a 30% improvement. At 4K, Low hits 158.7 FPS versus 80.7 FPS on High, a 96% improvement.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern as resolution increases. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 225.1 FPS at 1080p to 198.1 FPS at 1440p, and then to 158.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 29.5% drop from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the drop is more pronounced: 172.3 FPS at 1080p falls to 125 FPS at 1440p (27.5% reduction) and then to 80.7 FPS at 4K (53.2% reduction from 1080p). The steeper decline at High settings indicates that the GPU is doing more work per pixel, and the 4K resolution exposes its limits.

The pattern across all presets shows that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the FPS difference between Low and Ultra is 58.1 FPS (225.1 vs 167), which is substantial. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 81.3 FPS (158.7 vs 77.4), which is even larger. This suggests that as resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and the CPU has less influence on the final frame rate. The RTX 5060's 8 GB of VRAM is not a limiting factor, as the game's memory footprint does not appear to scale with resolution in the data.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its L3 cache is 9 MB shared, and it supports DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. In Inside, a game that is not heavily multithreaded, the CPU's six physical cores are more than enough to handle the game's logic and physics. The measured FPS at 1080p shows that the CPU can drive frame rates above 225 FPS on Low, which is a strong indicator of its capability for this title.

However, the CPU's benchmark scores tell a more nuanced story. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 7969, and its single-core score is 1125, placing it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-10305, which is 0.2% faster, and the Intel Xeon E-2134, which is 0.4% faster. This suggests the i5-9400 is an average performer in synthetic tests, but for Inside, the game's low thread count means the CPU's single-core performance is more relevant. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz helps in this regard, as the data shows no frame rate stutters or drops that would indicate a CPU bottleneck at 1080p on Medium or High settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are 225.1 on Low, 202.8 on Medium, 172.3 on High, and 167 on Ultra. The gap from Low to Ultra is 58.1 FPS, which is a 25.8% reduction in performance. The step from Medium to High costs 30.5 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs only 5.3 FPS, indicating diminishing returns on the Ultra preset.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are 198.1 on Low, 184.7 on Medium, 125 on High, and 123.1 on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 75 FPS, a 37.9% reduction. Notably, the difference between High and Ultra is only 1.9 FPS, making the Ultra preset almost indistinguishable from High in terms of performance.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are 158.7 on Low, 126.4 on Medium, 80.7 on High, and 77.4 on Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra is 81.3 FPS, a 51.2% reduction. The High-to-Ultra gap is just 3.3 FPS, which is the smallest relative difference across all resolutions. This data confirms that the game is GPU-bound at 4K, with the CPU having little impact on the final numbers, and it reinforces the recommendation to use High settings for the best balance of visuals and performance.