Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware. Yet, the measured frame rates for the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti reveal a title that scales dramatically with resolution and settings, exposing the boundaries between the CPU and GPU. The data shows a combination that is overwhelmingly capable at 1080p and 1440p, but which begins to show its limits at 4K with higher presets, where the GPU's raw throughput becomes the defining factor.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is stark, particularly when comparing the Low and Ultra presets. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers an average of 307 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low reduces this to 275 FPS, a modest 10.4% drop. However, the jump to 4K Low yields an average of 175 FPS, which is a 43% reduction from the 1440p figure and a 43% reduction from 1080p. This pattern indicates that while the CPU is capable of feeding frames at lower resolutions, the GPU's rendering load at 4K becomes the primary constraint.

The scaling is more pronounced at higher settings. At Ultra, the 1080p average is 184 FPS, dropping to 132 FPS at 1440p (a 28.3% decrease), and then to 83 FPS at 4K (a 37.1% decrease from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result of 83 FPS represents a 54.9% reduction from the 1080p Ultra result. This aggressive drop suggests that the game's higher presets introduce effects that are disproportionately expensive at higher pixel counts, likely related to the GPU's fill-rate and memory bandwidth demands.

The limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (307 FPS) and Ultra (184 FPS) is 123 FPS, indicating that even the highest preset cannot saturate the system's potential. This suggests a CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions, where the Core Ultra 5 125H's 14 cores and 18 threads are processing the game's logic faster than the GPU can render the most demanding visuals. At 4K, the gap between Low (175 FPS) and Ultra (83 FPS) is 92 FPS, and the absolute numbers are lower, pointing to a GPU bottleneck. The RTX 5070 Ti, with its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is being pushed to its limits by the 8.3 million pixels of 4K.

The Medium preset provides a clear illustration of this bottleneck shift. At 1080p Medium, the average is 283 FPS, with a minimum of 241 FPS and a maximum of 326 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 222 FPS, with a minimum of 189 FPS and a maximum of 256 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 140 FPS, with a minimum of 119 FPS and a maximum of 161 FPS. The minimum frame rates at each resolution are consistently about 15-16% below the average, suggesting a stable frame pacing with occasional dips, but not a systemic stutter.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 307 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low preset.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average of 83 FPS. This is the lowest average frame rate recorded in the dataset.

Q: Is the frame rate stable at 1440p Medium?

A: The data shows an average of 222 FPS at 1440p Medium, with a minimum of 189 FPS and a maximum of 256 FPS. The minimum is 14.9% below the average, indicating a generally stable experience with occasional dips.

Q: Which resolution provides the smallest performance gap between Low and Ultra presets?

A: At 1920x1080, the gap between Low (307 FPS) and Ultra (184 FPS) is 123 FPS. At 2560x1440, the gap is 143 FPS (275 vs 132). At 3840x2160, the gap is 92 FPS (175 vs 83). Therefore, 4K shows the smallest absolute gap.

Q: Does the game utilize the CPU's multi-threading capabilities?

A: The frame rates at 1080p (307 FPS Low, 283 FPS Medium, 193 FPS High, 184 FPS Ultra) suggest that the game is not heavily thread-bound, as the CPU is capable of sustaining very high frame rates. The Core Ultra 5 125H's 18 threads are sufficient to avoid becoming the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the performance delta between the CPU and its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H has an average benchmark score of 27507, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800's score of 27535, and 0.3% lower than both the Intel Core i5-12600K and AMD Ryzen 7 5700X, which score 27578.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing for Inside. Its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for the game's 4K performance. The measured frame rates show a clear correlation between memory pressure and resolution. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 83 FPS, which is likely where the GPU's 43.94 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 235.4 GPixel/s pixel rate are being fully utilized.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 2295 MHz and a boost of 2452 MHz, are relatively close, suggesting a stable power delivery and thermal profile. The 300 W TDP and 700 W suggested PSU indicate this is a high-power part, and the game's results reflect that. The 4K Medium result of 140 FPS, compared to the 4K Low result of 175 FPS, shows a 20% performance cost for moving from Low to Medium. This cost is likely due to increased texture detail and shading complexity, which directly impacts the GPU's shading units and TMUs.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores place it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 49957. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, scores 50001, a 0.1% difference. The RTX 5070 Ti is 2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (score 50951) and 3.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (score 48477). These rivalries are relevant because they contextualize the GPU's raw power, but the in-game data shows that Inside is a title where the GPU's memory subsystem and compute capabilities are the primary drivers of frame rate at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. The Low preset achieves an average of 307 FPS. Medium is slightly lower at 283 FPS, with a minimum of 241 and a maximum of 326. High drops to 193 FPS, and Ultra is 184 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is only 9 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not significantly more demanding than High's.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low averages 275 FPS. Medium averages 222 FPS, with a minimum of 189 and a maximum of 256. High averages 139 FPS, and Ultra averages 132 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is most pronounced at High settings, where the average falls from 193 to 139 FPS, a 28% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is thoroughly tested. Low averages 175 FPS. Medium averages 140 FPS, with a minimum of 119 and a maximum of 161. High averages 87 FPS, and Ultra averages 83 FPS. The gap between High (87) and Ultra (83) is just 4 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset at 4K is not meaningfully more demanding than High. The 4K Low result of 175 FPS is still very high, demonstrating that the GPU has ample headroom for this game when settings are reduced.

Settings Recommendations

For a 60 FPS target at 3840x2160, the Ultra preset is not viable, as it averages 83 FPS, but the High preset averages 87 FPS, which is also below 90. The Medium preset, with an average of 140 FPS, provides a significant margin over 60 FPS and is the most balanced choice for 4K gaming. The minimum of 119 FPS on Medium ensures that the experience remains smooth even during demanding scenes.

For a 144 Hz target at 2560x1440, the High preset averages 139 FPS, which is just below the 144 Hz threshold. The Medium preset, at 222 FPS, provides a substantial buffer and is the recommended choice for high-refresh-rate monitors. The minimum of 189 FPS on Medium is still above 144 Hz, ensuring a consistent experience.

For a 240 Hz target at 1920x1080, the High preset averages 193 FPS, which is below 240. The Medium preset, at 283 FPS, is the best option for maximizing refresh rate, with a minimum of 241 FPS that still clears the 240 Hz mark. The Low preset, at 307 FPS, offers the absolute highest frame rate but may compromise visual fidelity unnecessarily. The Ultra preset, at 184 FPS, is not recommended for 240 Hz but is perfectly playable on a 165 Hz display.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, with its 14 cores (including performance and efficiency cores) and 18 threads, is a mobile part that performs admirably in this desktop-oriented benchmark scenario. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.50 GHz provide sufficient single-thread performance for game logic. The synthetic benchmarks show a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 12804.5 and a single-core score of 1647.5, which places it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's role in Inside is primarily to maintain a high frame rate ceiling. At 1080p Low, the 307 FPS result suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the GPU is capable of rendering frames faster than the game's logic updates. However, the 123 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor when settings are increased. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (average score 27535, delta -0.1%) and the Intel Core i5-12600K (average score 27578, delta -0.3%). This shows that the Core Ultra 5 125H is competitive with desktop parts from previous generations, despite being a mobile processor.

The CPU's 18 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory bus with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth are more than sufficient for a puzzle platformer. The data suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor in any of the measured scenarios; even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS is 83, the frame rate is likely constrained by the GPU's pixel throughput rather than the CPU's ability to issue draw calls.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ranks 1419 out of 3716 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the top 38.2% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a mobile CPU paired with a high-end desktop GPU. The rank is likely held back by the CPU's mobile pedigree, as the RTX 5070 Ti is a top-tier part that could pair with faster desktop CPUs.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 86% (vs all GPUs) and the CPU's percentile ranking of 79% (vs all CPUs) suggest that the GPU is the stronger component in this pairing. The combo rank of 1419 reflects the overall system, and the measured frame rates at 1080p and 1440p indicate that the system is capable of delivering high-refresh-rate experiences in Inside. The 4K results, while not the highest, are still very playable, with the Medium preset offering an average of 140 FPS. The ranking is a holistic measure, and the in-game data shows that this combo is balanced well for a game like Inside, where the GPU is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions.