Inside

Inside is a 2D puzzle-platformer from 2016, and the benchmark data for this particular pairing of an Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 reveals a system that is surprisingly capable at high resolutions, though the performance scaling exposes a clear bottleneck as pixel counts increase. The measured frames per second (FPS) across three resolutions and four quality presets show a configuration that can handle the game’s art style with ease at 1080p, but which begins to show strain at 4K, particularly on the highest settings. The data suggests this is a GPU-limited scenario at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strong single-threaded performance ensures the frame rate remains fluid regardless of the graphical load.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop tells a compelling story about where the performance ceiling lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 231 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 166 FPS, a reduction of 65 FPS, and then to 4K it falls further to 104 FPS. This pattern is consistent with a GPU that is being pushed harder as the pixel count grows, with the CPU having ample headroom to maintain high frame rates at the lower resolution.

The scaling becomes more dramatic when examining the High preset. At 1080p, the average is 115 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 83 FPS, and at 4K, it plummets to 52 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K represents a 54.8% reduction in frame rate, which is significant. This steep decline is a classic sign of the GPU becoming the limiting factor, as the GTX 1070’s 256-bit memory bus and 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth are taxed heavily by the 8.3 million pixels of 4K, compared to the 2.1 million pixels at 1080p. The data indicates that while the CPU can feed the GPU at 1080p, the GTX 1070 simply cannot render the game’s visual effects and shadows fast enough at 4K to maintain the same level of performance.

Interestingly, the Medium preset shows a more moderate scaling pattern. The average FPS goes from 184 at 1080p, to 133 at 1440p, and then to 83 at 4K. This preset appears to strike a better balance, reducing the load on the GPU enough that the resolution scaling is less punishing. The Ultra preset mirrors the High preset’s behavior, with 110 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K. The consistent pattern across High and Ultra suggests that the game’s most demanding settings, likely involving advanced lighting and post-processing effects, are what trigger the GPU bottleneck at higher resolutions. The measured lows for Medium (71 FPS at 4K, 113 at 1440p, 157 at 1080p) also confirm that the experience remains smooth even in demanding scenes, with no severe frame time spikes that would indicate a CPU stutter.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. In the context of Inside, a game that is not heavily threaded, the CPU’s raw single-thread performance is the most critical factor. The benchmark results for this CPU show a strong single-core score of 2085 in Cinebench R23, and a PassMark single-thread score of 4516. These figures indicate that the processor can handle the game’s logic and physics calculations with considerable headroom, which is why the frame rates at 1080p are so high.

The CPU’s performance in multi-threaded tests is also notable, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a PassMark multi-thread score of 37816. However, given that Inside is a puzzle-platformer, the game is unlikely to utilize all 14 cores effectively. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in any of the measured configurations. At 1080p Low, the 231 FPS average is a clear indication that the CPU can push the GPU to its maximum output. The fact that the frame rate drops by over 50% when moving from 1080p to 4K on the High preset, while the CPU load remains relatively constant, confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint.

The processor’s 24 MB of shared L3 cache may also help with game asset streaming, but the primary takeaway is that the Core Ultra 5 235 provides more than enough processing power for this title. Its performance relative to rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, which has an average benchmark score of 46030, and the Intel Core i9-13900HX at 46098, shows that the Ultra 5 235 is in the same performance class. With a deltaPct of only 0.1% from these rivals, the data shows that this CPU is a high-end part that will not create a bottleneck in this game. The 89th percentile ranking versus all CPUs further underscores its capability.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Inside, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 ranks 3056 out of 3716 total combos. This places it in the 17.8th percentile, which may seem low at first glance, but it is important to consider the context. The combo’s rank is heavily influenced by the GPU, which is an older Pascal architecture part that has been superseded. The GTX 1070’s average benchmark score is 9780, which places it in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include professional workstation cards like the AMD FirePro W5000 and the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M.

The ranking suggests that while this system is far from the top of the performance charts, it is still capable of running the game at playable frame rates. The data shows that the combo’s performance is directly tied to the GPU’s limitations. For a game like Inside, which has a stylized visual design that is not overly demanding on hardware, the GTX 1070 is still adequate for a smooth experience at 1080p and even 1440p. The rank of 3056 indicates that there are many faster combinations, but the measured FPS data shows that this specific pairing does not struggle to maintain playable performance. The combination of a modern, high-end CPU with a mid-range, older GPU results in a system that is CPU-bottlenecked at lower resolutions, but the overall ranking is dragged down by the GPU’s performance ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at how the system performs across different settings and resolutions. At 1080p, the GTX 1070 pairs well with the Core Ultra 5 235, delivering an average of 231 FPS on Low, 184 FPS on Medium, 115 FPS on High, and 110 FPS on Ultra. The Medium and Low presets are incredibly smooth, with the Low preset’s 231 FPS indicating that the GPU is not even being fully utilized at this resolution. The High and Ultra presets still provide an excellent experience, with averages well above 100 FPS, and the Medium preset’s minimum of 157 FPS shows that there is no risk of stuttering.

At 1440p, the frame rates remain very strong. The Low preset averages 166 FPS, while Medium averages 133 FPS. The High preset drops to 83 FPS, and Ultra to 79 FPS. The 1440p results are particularly impressive for a GTX 1070, a card that was marketed primarily for 1080p gaming. The minimum FPS for Medium at 1440p is 113, which is still very smooth. The High and Ultra presets are still playable, but the frame rate has dropped to a level where the GPU is clearly working harder, and the data indicates that the 256-bit memory interface is starting to feel the strain.

At 4K, the system’s limitations become apparent. The Low preset averages 104 FPS, which is still very good, but the Medium preset drops to 83 FPS Book a minimum of 71 FPS. The High preset averages 52 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 50 FPS. These figures show that while the game is still playable at 4K on Low and Medium, the High and Ultra presets will result in a less fluid experience. The drop from 83 FPS at 1440p Medium to 52 FPS at 4K High is a 37.3% reduction, which is a significant penalty. The data clearly shows that the GTX 1070 is the limiting factor at 4K, and that even a powerful CPU like the Core Ultra 5 235 cannot compensate for the GPU’s lack of raw pixel-pushing power.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is based on the Pascal architecture and features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. Its base clock is 1506 MHz, with a boost clock of 1683 MHz. The card has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s. These specifications, while dated, are still relevant for a game like Inside. The GPU’s performance percentile of 47% and an average benchmark score of 9780 show that it is a mid-range part in the current landscape, with rivals like the AMD FirePro W5000 and NVIDIA Quadro M2000M being closely matched.

In this game, the GPU’s role is primarily to render the atmospheric lighting, shadows, and post-processing effects that give Inside its distinctive look. The data shows that the GTX 1070 can handle these tasks well at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the pixel count becomes too much. The card’s 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for the game’s textures, but the raw compute power is not enough to maintain high frame rates at the Ultra preset on a 4K display. The FP32 performance of 6.463 TFLOPS and the texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s are the key metrics that determine how fast the GPU can process the game’s visual data.

The results indicate that the GTX 1070 is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can deliver extremely high frame rates on all presets. At 1440p, it is still a capable performer, but users may need to adjust settings to maintain a high refresh rate experience. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, and the data suggests that users should stick to Low or Medium settings for a smooth experience. The GPU’s DirectX 12 support (12_1) is sufficient for the game, and its 47th percentile ranking reflects its age, but for this specific title, the card still has enough power to deliver a solid gaming experience, especially when paired with a strong CPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the data shows that the Ultra preset is the best choice, as it provides an average of 110 FPS with the highest visual quality. The High preset offers a modest increase to 115 FPS, but the difference is minimal, making Ultra the clear winner for the best experience. The Medium preset at 184 FPS and Low at 231 FPS are unnecessary for this resolution, as the GPU has enough headroom to run the game at its maximum quality without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 83 FPS, which is smooth enough for most displays, and the visual improvement over Medium is noticeable. The Ultra preset averages 79 FPS, which is still playable, but the data shows that the High preset offers a better balance between frame rate and image quality. The Medium preset at 133 FPS is also a great option for users with high refresh rate displays, but the High preset provides a more visually rich experience without a significant performance penalty.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the only sensible choice for a consistently smooth experience. It averages 83 FPS with a minimum of 71 FPS, which is acceptable for a 60Hz display. The Low preset at 104 FPS is even smoother, but the visual quality is noticeably reduced. The High and Ultra presets, with averages of 52 and 50 FPS respectively, are playable but will not feel as fluid, especially in fast-moving scenes. For 4K users, the Medium preset offers the best compromise, providing a stable frame rate while retaining enough visual fidelity to appreciate the game’s art style. The data suggests that the GTX 1070’s 8 GB of VRAM is not a limiting factor at these settings, but its compute performance is what forces the recommendation down to Medium.