Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, on paper, should not stress modern high-end hardware. Yet, the measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti reveals a fascinating interplay between a very fast GPU and a CPU that is surprisingly capable for this title. The data shows a combination that is not just playable but exceptionally fast, with the primary bottlenecks shifting dramatically depending on the resolution and preset selected. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS figures to understand exactly where the limits lie, how to optimize the experience, and how this specific pairing ranks against thousands of other configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about where the performance ceiling resides for this combo. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the system produces an average of 257 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 184 FPS, a reduction of 28.4%. The jump to 3840x2160 yields 116 FPS, a further 36.9% drop from the 1440p result. This scaling pattern indicates that at 4K, the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor, though the absolute numbers remain very high.

The trend is even more pronounced at lower settings, which strips away GPU load and exposes the CPU's capabilities. At Low settings, the 1080p average is 404 FPS. At 1440p, it only drops to 362 FPS, a mere 10.4% decrease, suggesting the CPU is holding strong. However, at 4K Low, the average plummets to 243 FPS, a 33.4% drop from 1440p. This significant fall at 4K, even on Low settings, indicates that the GPU's raw throughput is being saturated by the pixel count, regardless of the simpler shading work.

The Medium preset provides the most detailed data, including min and max FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average is 373 FPS with a min of 317 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 310 FPS with a min of 263 FPS. The scaling here is a 16.9% drop in average FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 195 FPS with a min of 166 FPS, a 37.1% drop from 1440p. The consistent pattern of a larger performance hit when moving from 1440p to 4K, compared to the move from 1080p to 1440p, strongly suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti's memory bandwidth and compute resources are the deciding factors at the highest resolution.

The data implies that at 1080p and 1440p, the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is more than sufficient to feed the GPU, allowing the GeForce card to stretch its legs. The performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at these resolutions is relatively modest, which is typical for a CPU-bound scenario. However, at 4K, the GPU load becomes so heavy that the difference between presets becomes a more reliable indicator of performance scaling, confirming that the resolution is the primary variable influencing the frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based strictly on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings configuration depends on the user's target resolution and refresh rate. For 4K gaming, the High preset offers the best balance, delivering 122 FPS on average. This is a significant jump from the Ultra preset's 116 FPS, and while the Medium preset provides a higher 195 FPS, the visual fidelity trade-off is substantial. The data shows that the High preset is the sweet spot for 4K, providing a comfortable margin above 120 FPS without the performance cost of Ultra.

At 2560x1440, every preset is playable, but the High preset at 194 FPS is the most compelling choice. It is only 10 FPS slower than the Ultra preset (184 FPS) but offers a massive 116 FPS advantage over the Low preset (362 FPS). For users with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, the Medium preset at 310 FPS is the best option to maximize frame rates while maintaining a moderate level of visual quality, as the min FPS of 263 FPS still ensures smooth gameplay.

For 1080p, the choice is entirely dependent on the display's refresh rate. The Ultra preset at 257 FPS is more than enough for a 240Hz panel. The Medium preset at 373 FPS is a better option for 360Hz or higher displays, though the jump from High (269 FPS) to Medium (373 FPS) is substantial. The Low preset at 404 FPS represents the absolute ceiling of the CPU-GPU combination in this game, but it offers diminishing returns for most users. The data suggests that the High or Medium presets are the most sensible choices for 1080p, as they provide a massive frame rate headroom with minimal risk of hitting a CPU bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, provides a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The benchmark results indicate this bandwidth is sufficient for Inside, even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS remains above 116. The GPU's high boost clock of 2610 MHz and its 7680 shading units contribute to a raw compute throughput of 40.09 TFLOPS, which is more than adequate for this game's art style.

The GPU's role as the primary bottleneck at 4K is evident from the resolution scaling. The 33.4% drop in FPS from 1440p to 4K at Low settings, where the CPU is least stressed, points directly to the GPU's pixel processing limits. The RTX 4070 Ti's performance percentile of 84 vs. all GPUs confirms it is a high-tier card, but the data shows that even this level of performance cannot fully saturate a 4K display with maximum settings in this title, as the Ultra preset drops to 116 FPS.

Interestingly, the GPU's VRAM capacity of 12 GB does not appear to be a limiting factor in any of the measured scenarios. The fact that the GPU is the limiting component at 4K confirms its architecture's efficiency, but the data also shows that the card is powerful enough to push frame rates well beyond 200 FPS at lower resolutions, indicating that its capabilities are somewhat wasted in a game this light on graphical demands.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 183rd out of 2887 total combos for Inside. This places it in the top 6.3% of all tested systems, a strong result that reflects the high-end nature of both components. The combo's ranking suggests that while it is not the absolute fastest configuration available, it outperforms the vast majority of systems tested for this game.

The CPU itself holds an 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs, indicating it is a very capable processor. Its nearest rival in average benchmark score is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, with a negligible 0% deltaPct. This means the Ultra 5 225's processing power is on par with that established competitor, which helps contextualize its ability to drive high frame rates in Inside. The GPU's 84th percentile ranking among all GPUs further solidifies that this system is built from components that are each well above average, and their combination in this game yields a result that is greater than the sum of its parts, as evidenced by the top 6.3% ranking.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Inside?

A: Yes. The measured data shows an average of 122 FPS at 4K High and 116 FPS at 4K Ultra, making it fully playable at the highest resolution with smooth frame rates.

Q: What is the best setting for the highest frame rate?

A: The Low preset provides the highest average FPS at all resolutions, reaching 404 FPS at 1080p, 362 FPS at 1440p, and 243 FPS at 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, as the FPS difference between Low and Ultra presets is relatively small (404 FPS vs 257 FPS), indicating the GPU has extra headroom that the CPU cannot fully utilize.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM cause any issues?

A: No. The benchmark results show no indication of VRAM limitations, as the GPU is able to maintain high frame rates even at 4K Ultra, and the bottleneck is more likely related to raw compute and memory bandwidth.

Q: How does this system rank compared to others?

A: It ranks 183rd out of 2887 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.3% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured average FPS is 310, with a minimum of 263 FPS and a maximum of 356 FPS, ensuring a consistent and highly responsive experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 404 FPS. The Medium preset yields an average of 373 FPS, with a minimum of 317 FPS and a maximum of 429 FPS. High settings produce an average of 269 FPS, while Ultra settings bring the average down to 257 FPS. All 1080p results are far above the refresh rate of standard monitors.

At 2560x1440, performance remains stellar. The Low preset averages 362 FPS. Medium settings result in an average of 310 FPS, with a minimum of 263 and a maximum of 356 FPS. The High preset averages 194 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 184 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1440p is a sweet spot for high-refresh-rate gaming with this hardware.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits, though performance is still excellent. Low settings average 243 FPS. Medium settings deliver an average of 195 FPS, with a minimum of 166 and a maximum of 224 FPS. The High preset averages 122 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 116 FPS. These 4K results confirm that the RTX 4070 Ti is powerful enough to handle the resolution, but the scaling from 1440p shows a clear performance cost.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225, with its 10 cores and 10 threads, runs at a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This architecture, built on TSMC's 3 nm process, delivers strong single-thread performance, as seen in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655. In a game like Inside, which is not heavily multi-threaded, this single-thread strength is crucial for maintaining high frame rates.

The data shows that the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions. The fact that the average FPS at 1080p Low (404 FPS) is only slightly higher than at 1440p Low (362 FPS) suggests that the CPU is nearing its maximum output for this title. The CPU's percentile ranking of 85 vs. all CPUs confirms its high-end status. Its performance is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, with a 0% deltaPct, showing that it is a modern equivalent to that popular processor. The CPU's strong Passmark scores, including a single-thread score of 4412 and a physics score of 2342, further support its capability to handle the logic and physics of the game without being a significant bottleneck, except when trying to push frame rates beyond the 400 FPS threshold.