Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016 that scales unusually well on the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile pairing, with measured results showing this combo ranks 1943rd out of 3716 tested configurations. The data reveals a title that is far more GPU-bound at 4K than at 1080p, where the CPU’s 14 cores and 14 threads become the more relevant constraint. Across all measured settings, the RTX 5070 Mobile’s 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 384.0 GB/s bandwidth prove sufficient, while the Ultra 5 235HX’s 5.10 GHz boost clock drives high frame rates at lower resolutions. The following analysis breaks down how resolution scaling, GPU role, and settings choices affect the experience, based strictly on the measured FPS rows and benchmark scores provided.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Inside shows a clear pattern: dropping from 3840x2160 to 1920x1080 more than doubles average frame rates at every preset, which indicates the GPU becomes the primary limiter as pixel count rises. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 74 at 4K to 118 at 1440p to 164 at 1080p — a 122% increase from 4K to 1080p. This steep scaling curve is typical of a game where the RTX 5070 Mobile’s 13.13 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU has headroom to spare.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic. The 4K average of 148 FPS jumps to 236 at 1440p and reaches 328 at 1080p. That 4K-to-1080p uplift of 122% suggests that at Low preset, the GPU is doing less work per pixel, so the frame rate becomes increasingly dependent on the CPU’s ability to feed frames. The Ultra 5 235HX, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 34731 and single-core score of 4903, appears capable of sustaining very high frame rates, but the 328 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low may reflect a game engine limit or CPU threading constraint rather than raw GPU capability.

Medium settings show a similar trend: 118 FPS at 4K, 189 at 1440p, and 262 at 1080p. The 1440p-to-1080p jump is 39%, while the 4K-to-1440p jump is 60%. This nonlinear scaling indicates that at 4K Medium, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, but at 1080p Medium, the CPU’s 14 threads (matching its 14 cores, with no hyperthreading) may start to matter more. The min and max FPS values for Medium settings — 101 to 136 at 4K, 160 to 217 at 1440p, and 223 to 302 at 1080p — show consistent frame pacing without severe dips, suggesting the combo handles the game’s physics and rendering loops without stutter.

Ultra settings at 4K yield 71 FPS average, which is only 4% lower than High’s 74 FPS. This small delta between High and Ultra at 4K suggests that the Ultra preset adds minimal extra GPU load in this game, or that the RTX 5070 Mobile is already near its limit at 4K regardless of preset. At 1440p Ultra, the average is 112 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it is 156 FPS. The 4K-to-1080p scaling for Ultra is 120%, nearly identical to High, which reinforces that resolution is the dominant factor, not preset complexity.

What the scaling data says about the limiting component is nuanced. At 4K, all four presets (Low 148, Medium 118, High 74, Ultra 71) show that the GPU is the constraining factor, since even Low cannot exceed 148 FPS. At 1080p, the gap between Low (328) and Ultra (156) is 110%, indicating that the GPU still matters at lower resolutions but that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck — otherwise, all presets would converge to a similar FPS. The 1080p Low result of 328 FPS is particularly telling: it is 2.2x the 4K Low result, which implies the RTX 5070 Mobile’s pixel throughput (68.40 GPixel/s) is being fully utilized at 4K, while at 1080p, the GPU has spare capacity that the CPU can feed.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB206 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. Its 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for Inside’s art style — a dark, side-scrolling puzzle platformer that does not demand massive texture pools. The GPU’s 4608 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs provide a balanced configuration for this game’s 2D-rendered 3D environments.

Clock speeds for this mobile part are modest: a base of 907 MHz and a boost of 1425 MHz. These clocks are lower than typical desktop GPUs, but the measured FPS results show that Inside is not a demanding title for this hardware. At 4K Ultra, the average of 71 FPS is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and at 1440p High, the 118 FPS average is well above display refresh rates for most laptops. The 50 W TDP of the RTX 5070 Mobile suggests it is a power-efficient part, which aligns with the IGP slot width and lack of power connectors — this is a chip designed for thin-and-light gaming laptops.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. Its PassMark G3D score of 20355 places it at the 75th percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti (deltaPct -0.1), RTX 2080 Ti (deltaPct 0.5), AMD Radeon RX 6800 (deltaPct -0.6), and RX 6700 (deltaPct -1.7). These deltas are all within 1.7% of the RTX 5070 Mobile’s average benchmark score of 29928, meaning this GPU performs nearly identically to those last-generation desktop cards in synthetic tests. For Inside, this level of performance is more than sufficient — even the weakest preset combination (4K Ultra at 71 FPS) clears the 60 FPS bar.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not stressed by Inside, as the game’s visual style uses limited high-resolution textures. The memory clock of 1500 MHz (24 Gbps effective) and 128-bit bus width produce 384.0 GB/s, which is ample for the game’s data streaming. The GPU’s 13.13 TFLOPS FP32 and FP16 (1:1) performance indicates that compute-heavy effects are not a factor here. The DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility mean the game can run with modern rendering paths, though Inside’s original 2016 release predates some of these features.

In the measured FPS data, the GPU’s role becomes clearer when comparing Low and Ultra presets at the same resolution. At 1080p, Low averages 328 FPS while Ultra averages 156 FPS — a 110% difference that shows the GPU’s shading units and ROPs are doing more work at Ultra. At 4K, the same preset comparison yields 148 FPS vs 71 FPS, a 108% difference, which is proportionally similar. This consistency indicates that the RTX 5070 Mobile scales its workload linearly with preset complexity, and the CPU does not introduce a bottleneck at any resolution tested.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings for this combo?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 71 FPS. This is the lowest average across all measured configurations, but it remains above 60 FPS for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 Mobile compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5070 Mobile’s average benchmark score is 29928, which is 0.1% lower than the RTX 3070 Ti (29945), 0.5% higher than the RTX 2080 Ti (29783), 0.6% lower than the RX 6800 (30095), and 1.7% lower than the RX 6700 (30433). These deltas are all within a narrow band.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 1080p Low settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Low, the average FPS is 328, which is the highest measured value. Since the 4K Low average is 148 FPS, the GPU is still the primary limiter at 1080p Low, but the CPU’s 14 threads and 5.10 GHz boost clock are capable of feeding that frame rate.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS values recorded at Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 Medium, the min FPS is 101 and max is 136. At 2560x1440 Medium, min is 160 and max is 217. At 1920x1080 Medium, min is 223 and max is 302. These ranges show consistent performance without major dips.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Inside?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and RTX 5070 Mobile combination ranks 1943rd out of 3716 tested combos, placing it in the middle of the pack for this game.

Q: What is the CPU’s single-thread performance, and why does it matter for Inside?

A: The Ultra 5 235HX scores 4903 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 494 in Cinebench R15 single-core. Since Inside is a puzzle platformer with relatively simple physics, single-thread performance is important for maintaining high frame rates at lower resolutions, which the data supports.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear hierarchy across presets. Low settings produce an average of 328 FPS, which is the highest of any configuration in the data. Medium settings yield 262 FPS average, with a min of 223 and max of 302. High settings drop to 164 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 156 FPS average. The gap between Low and Medium is 66 FPS (25% reduction), while the gap between High and Ultra is only 8 FPS (5% reduction). This suggests that High and Ultra presets impose similar GPU loads at 1080p, and the extra visual features in Ultra do not cost much performance.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 236 FPS, Medium averages 189 FPS (min 160, max 217), High averages 118 FPS, and Ultra averages 112 FPS. The 1440p results are roughly 72% of the 1080p results at each preset (236/328 = 72%, 189/262 = 72%, 118/164 = 72%, 112/156 = 72%). This consistent ratio indicates that the GPU’s pixel processing scales linearly with resolution, and the CPU is not introducing a bottleneck at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 148 FPS for Low, 118 FPS for Medium (min 101, max 136), 74 FPS for High, and 71 FPS for Ultra. The 4K-to-1440p ratio is also consistent: 148/236 = 63%, 118/189 = 62%, 74/118 = 63%, 71/112 = 63%. The slightly lower ratio at 4K (63% vs 72% for 1440p-to-1080p) indicates that 4K places proportionally more load on the GPU, which is expected given the 2.25x pixel count increase from 1440p to 4K.

The min and max FPS data for Medium settings provide insight into frame pacing. At 4K Medium, the range is 101 to 136 FPS, which is a 35 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 160 to 217 FPS (57 FPS spread), and at 1080p Medium, the range is 223 to 302 FPS (79 FPS spread). The widening range at lower resolutions suggests that the CPU’s frame generation becomes less consistent as the GPU finishes frames faster, but no stutter or severe drops are indicated.

Notably, the data does not include min or max FPS for Low, High, or Ultra presets — only averages are provided. This limits the analysis of worst-case performance for those settings, but the Medium preset’s min values (101 at 4K, 160 at 1440p, 223 at 1080p) all stay well above playable thresholds.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile ranks 1943rd out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the 52nd percentile (1943/3716 = 0.523), meaning it outperforms just over half of all tested configurations. Given that the GPU sits at the 75th percentile among all GPUs and the CPU at the 91st percentile among all CPUs, the mid-pack ranking for this specific game suggests that Inside is not particularly demanding on either component, and many lower-tier combos can achieve similar frame rates.

The CPU’s nearest rivals provide context for its performance class. The AMD EPYC 8124P scores 52121 in average benchmark score, which is 0.1% higher than the Ultra 5 235HX’s 52073. The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X scores 51947 (0.2% lower), the Intel Core i7-14700 scores 52301 (0.4% higher), and the Intel Core i9-13900F scores 51730 (0.7% lower). All four rivals are within 1% of the Ultra 5 235HX’s average score, indicating that this mobile CPU performs on par with high-end desktop processors from previous generations. For Inside, this means the CPU is never the limiting factor at any resolution or preset.

The GPU’s nearest rivals show a similar tight grouping. The RTX 5070 Mobile’s average score of 29928 is nearly identical to the RTX 3070 Ti (29945, deltaPct -0.1), RTX 2080 Ti (29783, deltaPct 0.5), RX 6800 (30095, deltaPct -0.6), and RX 6700 (30433, deltaPct -1.7). This places the mobile GPU in the same performance tier as these desktop cards, which is notable given the 50 W TDP. In Inside, the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (71 FPS) is comparable to what these desktop GPUs would likely achieve, based on their benchmark parity.

The rank of 1943 out of 3716 should be interpreted with caution. Since Inside is a lightweight game by modern standards, many combos with older or weaker GPUs can still hit high frame rates. The data shows that this combo’s 4K Ultra average of 71 FPS is the only configuration below 100 FPS, and even that is above 60 FPS. The mid-pack ranking likely reflects the fact that Inside does not stress high-end hardware, so the RTX 5070 Mobile’s capabilities are not fully utilized compared to more demanding titles.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, Ultra settings provide an average of 156 FPS, which is sufficient for 144 Hz displays. The drop from High (164 FPS) to Ultra (156 FPS) is only 8 FPS, so enabling Ultra does not carry a significant penalty. For players with 240 Hz panels, Medium settings at 262 FPS average would be the better choice, as it nearly doubles the Ultra frame rate while maintaining a minimum of 223 FPS.

At 2560x1440, High settings average 118 FPS, which is ideal for 120 Hz displays. Ultra settings at 112 FPS are nearly identical, so the choice between High and Ultra comes down to visual preference rather than performance. Medium settings at 189 FPS average (min 160) would suit 165 Hz or 180 Hz panels, providing a smoother experience with a 77 FPS advantage over High. Low settings at 236 FPS are excessive for most displays but would work for 240 Hz panels.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. Ultra settings average 71 FPS, which is playable but below 75 Hz refresh rates. High settings at 74 FPS are marginally better, and the 3 FPS difference between High and Ultra suggests that High is the better choice for 4K, as it offers the same performance with potentially lower visual load. Medium settings at 118 FPS (min 101) are the clear recommendation for 4K gaming, as they provide a 59% improvement over Ultra while still delivering a minimum above 100 FPS. Low settings at 148 FPS would be suitable for 144 Hz 4K displays, though the visual quality trade-off may be significant.

The data indicates that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the 262 FPS average with a 223 FPS minimum ensures no frame drops below 200 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the 189 FPS average and 160 FPS minimum keep gameplay smooth on high-refresh panels. At 4K Medium, the 118 FPS average and 101 FPS minimum are above the 100 FPS threshold, making it the only preset at 4K that consistently exceeds three-digit frame rates. For players prioritizing visual fidelity, High at 4K (74 FPS) or Ultra at 1440p (112 FPS) are viable, but Medium offers the best balance of performance and quality based on the measured data.