Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer with modest system demands, yet the measured results for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER show extreme performance headroom. The data reveals a system that is dramatically overqualified for the title, delivering playable frame rates even at the most demanding settings and resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, examines the role of each component, and provides practical guidance based strictly on the provided benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the performance scales from 1080p to 4K, revealing a system that is heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions and still remarkably capable at 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 413 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 370 FPS, a 43 FPS or roughly 10.4% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 245 FPS, which is a 168 FPS drop from 1080p, or about 40.7% lower. This scaling pattern indicates that as resolution increases, the GPU workload grows substantially, but the frame rates remain exceptionally high throughout.

The High settings preset shows a similar trend. At 1080p High, the average is 271 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 195 FPS, a 76 FPS reduction or 28% less performance. At 4K High, the average is 123 FPS, which is 148 FPS below the 1080p High result, representing a 54.6% decrease. This steeper drop at High settings compared to Low suggests that the additional graphical effects in the High preset amplify the resolution scaling impact, putting more strain on the GPU's shading and memory subsystems.

Medium settings provide the most complete data with min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 381 FPS with a minimum of 324 and maximum of 439. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 312 FPS with a range of 265 to 359. At 4K Medium, the average is 196 FPS with a minimum of 167 and maximum of 226. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p Medium is a 69 FPS drop (18.1%), while moving from 1440p to 4K Medium costs another 116 FPS (37.2%). The 4K Medium minimum of 167 FPS still exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end displays, indicating smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes.

Ultra settings show the most pronounced resolution penalty. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 258 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 186 FPS, a 72 FPS reduction (27.9%). At 4K Ultra, the average falls to 117 FPS, which is 141 FPS below the 1080p Ultra result, a 54.7% decrease. The fact that 4K Ultra still maintains a 117 FPS average suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 16 GB of VRAM and 672.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the highest settings without memory capacity or bandwidth bottlenecks, even at 4K.

The scaling data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU's single-thread performance becomes the limiting factor, as frame rates exceed what most displays can show. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the primary constraint, yet the performance remains far above playable thresholds. The resolution scaling pattern is consistent with a puzzle platformer that has relatively simple geometry and effects, allowing the GPU to maintain high throughput even as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER plays the dominant role in this game's performance, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling with resolution. The GPU features 8448 shading units, 264 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines, all running at a base clock of 2340 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz. This Ada Lovelace architecture chip, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC with 45,900 million transistors, delivers 44.10 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The memory subsystem consists of 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, providing 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth at an effective 21 Gbps.

In the measured results, the GPU's memory configuration proves more than adequate. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate of 117 FPS with no reported minimum suggests that the 16 GB VRAM capacity is never stressed by Inside's texture and buffer requirements. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s allows for efficient texture streaming and framebuffer operations, which is critical at 4K where pixel fill rates demand high memory throughput. The pixel rate of 250.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 689.0 GTexel/s provide the raw throughput needed to maintain the observed frame rates.

The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's benchmark scores place it in the 76th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 31087. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 with an average score of 31206 (0.4% higher), the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q at 31220 (0.4% higher), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell at 31532 (1.4% higher), and the NVIDIA TITAN RTX at 31676 (1.9% higher). These comparisons show that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER performs within a narrow band of these other cards, differing by less than 2% in synthetic benchmarks. However, in Inside specifically, the measured FPS shows this GPU is more than sufficient, with even the lowest 4K setting (Ultra at 117 FPS) far exceeding typical 60 FPS targets.

The GPU's clock behavior, with a 270 MHz difference between base and boost, allows for dynamic performance scaling. The boost clock of 2610 MHz is sustained under load, contributing to the consistent frame rates observed across different settings. The 264 tensor cores and 66 RT cores are not directly relevant to Inside's rendering, but they do not hinder performance. The GPU's 285 W TDP and triple-slot design indicate a high-power component, but the measured FPS data suggests it operates well within its thermal envelope in this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER ranks 166th out of 2887 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the top 5.7% of all system configurations. This high ranking reflects the substantial performance headroom this combo provides for a game that does not demand extreme hardware. The rank of 166 out of 2887 means that approximately 2721 other tested combinations perform worse, while only 165 combinations perform better in this specific title.

The CPU component of this combo, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235, has an average benchmark score of 46062 and sits in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 with an average score of 46030 (0.1% lower), the Intel Core i9-13900HX at 46098 (0.1% higher), the AMD EPYC 4364P at 45970 (0.2% lower), and the AMD EPYC 7303 at 45960 (0.2% lower). These deltas are negligible, indicating that the Ultra 5 235 performs essentially identically to these other processors in synthetic benchmarks. In the context of Inside, this CPU performance is far beyond what the game requires, as evidenced by the high frame rates even at 1080p.

The GPU's rank of 76th percentile among all GPUs, combined with the CPU's 89th percentile ranking, creates a balanced system where neither component is a significant bottleneck. The combo rank of 166 out of 2887 suggests that the system's overall performance in Inside is limited by neither the CPU nor the GPU, but rather by the game's own engine and rendering path. The fact that this combo outperforms 94.3% of tested configurations in Inside confirms that it is a top-tier pairing for this title, even though the game itself is not graphically intensive by modern standards.

The data indicates that the combo's high rank is driven more by the GPU than the CPU, since the game is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the 117 FPS average demonstrates that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's capabilities are the deciding factor, while the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 400 FPS. This ranking suggests that users with this combo can expect consistently high performance in Inside across all settings and resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's display and preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity. At 1080p, all settings presets deliver exceptionally high frame rates, with Low at 413 FPS, Medium at 381 FPS, High at 271 FPS, and Ultra at 258 FPS. The difference between Medium and Ultra at 1080p is 123 FPS, but even Ultra's 258 FPS far exceeds any practical display refresh rate. For 1080p users, the Medium preset offers the best balance, with a 381 FPS average and a minimum of 324 FPS, ensuring no drops below common high-refresh-rate thresholds.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again provides the best experience. It delivers a 312 FPS average with a minimum of 265 FPS, which is more than sufficient for 1440p 240 Hz displays. The High preset at 195 FPS and Ultra at 186 FPS are also viable, but they offer diminishing returns in visual quality for the frame rate cost. The Low preset at 370 FPS is excessive for most displays and sacrifices too much visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 1440p represents the sweet spot, offering smooth gameplay with a comfortable margin above typical refresh rates.

For 4K users, the situation is different. The Medium preset at 196 FPS with a minimum of 167 FPS is the clear recommendation, as it maintains high frame rates while providing better visuals than Low. The High preset at 123 FPS is also playable and may be preferred for its visual quality, but it leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 117 FPS drops below the 120 FPS marker, which may be noticeable on 120 Hz displays. The Low preset at 245 FPS is unnecessarily high and sacrifices too much visual quality at 4K. The Medium preset at 4K offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with the minimum of 167 FPS ensuring no significant stutters.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides the most balanced experience, with the highest minimum frame rates relative to average. The data shows that Medium at 4K has a minimum-to-average ratio of 85.2%, while at 1440p it is 84.9% and at 1080p it is 85.0%. This consistency indicates that the Medium preset maintains stable frame pacing regardless of resolution. For users with high-refresh-rate displays, the Medium preset is recommended. For those prioritizing visual quality over frame rate, the High preset at 4K or Ultra at 1440p are acceptable alternatives, though they offer marginal visual improvements over Medium.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 413 FPS, the highest measured value in the entire dataset. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 381 FPS average with a minimum of 324 FPS and maximum of 439 FPS. The High preset produces 271 FPS average, while the Ultra preset yields 258 FPS. No minimum or maximum values are reported for Low, High, or Ultra at 1080p, but the averages alone indicate that this resolution is thoroughly saturated by the hardware.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 370 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a 312 FPS average, with a minimum of 265 FPS and maximum of 359 FPS. The High preset averages 195 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 186 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with percentage reductions of 10.4% for Low, 18.1% for Medium, 28.0% for High, and 27.9% for Ultra. This pattern shows that higher settings amplify the resolution penalty, as the increased pixel count stresses the GPU more when additional effects are enabled.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 245 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K shows a 196 FPS average, with a minimum of 167 FPS and maximum of 226 FPS. The High preset averages 123 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 117 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more severe, with reductions of 33.8% for Low, 37.2% for Medium, 36.9% for High, and 37.1% for Ultra. This consistency across settings indicates that the resolution increase itself is the dominant factor, rather than the specific settings preset.

The full dataset reveals that the Medium preset is the only one with complete min and max data across all three resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the 324 FPS minimum ensures that frame rates never drop below common 240 Hz display thresholds. At 1440p Medium, the 265 FPS minimum is still well above 144 Hz displays. At 4K Medium, the 167 FPS minimum exceeds 144 Hz displays and approaches 165 Hz thresholds. The maximum values of 439 FPS at 1080p, 359 FPS at 1440p, and 226 FPS at 4K show that the system can burst well above average when scene complexity is low.

The High and Ultra presets show similar averages at 4K, with only 6 FPS separating them (123 vs 117 FPS). At 1440p, the difference is 9 FPS (195 vs 186 FPS), and at 1080p it is 13 FPS (271 vs 258 FPS). This small gap suggests that the Ultra preset adds minimal visual improvements over High while costing some performance. The Low preset, by contrast, shows massive frame rate jumps, with 413 FPS at 1080p, 370 FPS at 1440p, and 245 FPS at 4K, indicating that Low removes many rendering features that significantly impact GPU load.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 plays a supporting role in Inside's performance, as the game's frame rates are primarily limited by the GPU at higher resolutions. This CPU features 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It is built on Intel's Arrow Lake architecture at a 3 nm process node from TSMC, containing 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with a dual-channel bus providing 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14769 and a single-core score of 2085. Its PassMark multithread score is 37816, with a single-thread score of 4516. These results place the CPU in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46062. The nearest rivals are closely matched, with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 scoring 46030 (0.1% lower), the Intel Core i9-13900HX scoring 46098 (0.1% higher), and both the AMD EPYC 4364P and EPYC 7303 scoring 45970 and 45960 respectively (0.2% lower each). These tiny deltas indicate that the Ultra 5 235 is competitive with these processors in general computing tasks.

For Inside, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p resolution, where frame rates reach 413 FPS at Low settings. At these frame rates, the CPU's single-thread performance becomes more relevant, as the game's logic and physics updates must keep pace with the GPU's output. The boost clock of 5.00 GHz provides strong single-thread performance, which is likely important for maintaining high frame rates at 1080p. The 14 threads are more than sufficient for a game like Inside, which does not heavily utilize multi-threading.

At 4K resolution, the CPU's influence diminishes significantly. The frame rates of 117 to 245 FPS at 4K are primarily determined by the GPU's pixel processing capabilities. The CPU's 24 MB of L3 cache and DDR5 memory support ensure that asset streaming and game logic are not bottlenecks, but the measured data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The CPU's TDP of 65 W and 3 nm process node indicate efficient operation, but these specifications are not directly reflected in the game's performance.

The CPU's benchmark results, particularly the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14769, suggest that it has plenty of headroom for Inside's computational demands. The PassMark physics score of 2570 and integer math score of 87948 confirm that the CPU can handle any physics or logic calculations the game requires without becoming a limiting factor. In comparison to its rivals, the CPU's performance is essentially identical, meaning any of the four rival processors would likely produce similar results in Inside. The CPU's role is to provide a stable foundation for the GPU, and the data shows it does so effectively across all measured resolutions and settings.