Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer with a deliberately muted, monochrome presentation, but its rendering demands are not trivial. The measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER combination reveals a config that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet surprisingly CPU-sensitive at the extreme frame rates achievable in this title. The benchmark results show a system capable of delivering exceptional performance across all tested settings, with the frame rate scaling curve indicating a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution changes.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a dramatic and consistent drop in performance as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 271 FPS at 1080p to 195 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 123 FPS at 4K. This represents a 55% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial scaling penalty. The curve is not linear; the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 76 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 72 FPS, showing a remarkably consistent performance penalty per pixel increase across this range.

This scaling behavior indicates that the limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the system is likely hitting a ceiling imposed by the CPU or game engine logic, as the frame rates are extremely high. The jump from 420 FPS on Low at 1080p to 376 FPS at 1440p is a modest 10% drop, suggesting that at these very high frame rates, the processor is struggling to feed the GPU with enough data. However, at 4K, the scaling is more pronounced; the frame rate at High drops to 123 FPS, which is only 45% of the 1080p High result. This points to the GPU becoming the primary constraint at higher resolutions, as the pixel fill rate and shading demands increase significantly.

The Medium settings row provides the only min and max FPS data, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 4K Medium, the average is 196 FPS with a min of 167 and a max of 226 FPS. This spread of 59 FPS indicates some frame time variance, but the min FPS is still well above the refresh rate of most displays. At 1080p Medium, the average is 388 FPS with a min of 329 and a max of 446 FPS, a spread of 117 FPS. The larger variance at lower resolutions further supports the notion that CPU-side frame generation becomes less consistent when the GPU is not the bottleneck.

The scaling pattern across all settings is consistent: Low settings produce the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra. The difference between Low and Ultra at each resolution is notable. At 1080p, Low produces 420 FPS while Ultra produces 258 FPS, a 63% increase. At 4K, the difference is smaller in absolute terms but similar in percentage: Low yields 245 FPS and Ultra yields 117 FPS, a 109% increase. This suggests that the visual fidelity improvements from Low to Ultra have a significant cost, but the relative cost is higher at 4K due to the GPU being the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the clear performance driver at 4K and 1440p resolutions. Its specifications—16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus with a bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s—provide ample headroom for the game's assets. The GPU's boost clock of 2610 MHz and base clock of 2340 MHz are relatively high, and the data suggests they are being utilized effectively to maintain the high frame rates observed. The GPU's compute capabilities, rated at 44.10 TFLOPS FP32, are more than sufficient for a puzzle platformer of this era, even at Ultra settings.

The VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in any of the measured scenarios. With 16 GB available, the game's texture and geometry data at 4K Ultra will not come close to exhausting the memory pool. The data shows that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivers 117 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is a demanding scenario, and the lack of min FPS data for this setting suggests it remains stable. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 672.3 GB/s is also unlikely to be a constraint at these settings, as the game's art style uses limited texture detail compared to modern AAA titles.

The GPU's role becomes more pronounced when comparing the 4K results to the 1080p results. The frame rate at 4K High (123 FPS) is less than half of the 1080p High (271 FPS), despite the resolution only having four times the pixels. This indicates that the GPU is being fully utilized at 4K, with the rendering pipeline becoming the primary bottleneck. The 4K Low result of 245 FPS demonstrates that even with reduced shading and effects, the GPU can still push a very high frame rate, but it is still substantially lower than the 1080p Low result of 420 FPS.

The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's nearest rivals—the NVIDIA Quadro M5000, GRID M60-1Q, RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell, and TITAN RTX—have average benchmark scores that are within 1.9% of this card's score. In this game, the measured FPS results show that the GPU is performing at a level that is consistent with its position in the overall GPU hierarchy, but the specific game engine's characteristics amplify its strengths at higher resolutions. The GPU's 76th percentile ranking versus all GPUs suggests it is a high-end part, and the measured data confirms it delivers a premium experience in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and RTX 4070 Ti SUPER combination ranks 154th out of 2887 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the top 5.3% of all configurations tested, indicating a very high-performing pairing. The combo's percentile rank is influenced by both the CPU and GPU, but given the game's reliance on the GPU at higher resolutions, the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is likely the primary driver of this strong ranking. The CPU, which ranks in the 90th percentile versus all CPUs, does not hold the system back, even at the high frame rates observed at 1080p.

The combo's rank of 154 suggests it outperforms the vast majority of tested systems. The data shows that this pairing is capable of delivering over 100 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is a rare achievement among the 2887 tested combos. The fact that it ranks so high confirms the GPU's raw power and the CPU's ability to keep up with it. The CPU's average benchmark score of 48995 is within 0.8% of its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, and its 14 cores and 24 MB of L3 cache provide sufficient processing headroom.

The combo's position in the ranking is not just a function of raw performance; it also reflects the system's balance. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is the bottleneck, but the CPU is still capable of feeding it enough data to achieve 123 FPS at High settings. At 1080p, the CPU becomes the limiting factor, but it still manages to deliver 420 FPS on Low settings, which is an exceptional result. This balance means the combo is not held back by a weak component, and it achieves a high rank across all resolutions and settings.

When compared to other combos, the 154th rank indicates that there are only 153 configurations that perform better in this specific game. These are likely to include more powerful GPUs, such as the RTX 4090 or newer generation cards, but the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's performance is still near the top of the chart. The combo's rank of 154 out of 2887 is a strong result, and the measured FPS data supports this position, with the system delivering a consistently high-frame-rate experience across all tested scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Does the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER provide enough VRAM for this game at 4K Ultra?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, and the measured data shows it achieves 117 FPS at 4K Ultra. The game's asset demands are well within this capacity, and the VRAM is not a performance constraint in any of the measured settings.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 420 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra it drops to 258 FPS. This scaling suggests the CPU is limiting performance at lower resolutions, as the GPU is not fully saturated. The CPU's 14 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock are still sufficient to deliver very high frame rates, but the bottleneck is evident.

Q: What is the best resolution to use for a 144Hz display?

A: At 4K, the Ultra setting averages 117 FPS, which is below a 144Hz refresh rate. However, at 1440p, the High setting averages 195 FPS, which exceeds 144Hz. For a 144Hz display, 1440p High or 4K Medium (196 FPS) would be suitable options.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU's nearest rivals have average benchmark scores within 1.9% of its score. In this game, the measured FPS results are consistent with this ranking, and the GPU outperforms most other tested configurations, as indicated by the combo's 154th rank out of 2887.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 4K?

A: The only data with min and max FPS is at Medium settings. At 4K Medium, the average is 196 FPS, with a min of 167 and a max of 226 FPS. This indicates some frame time variance, but the minimum is still very high, suggesting a smooth experience.

Q: Is the game more CPU or GPU intensive at 4K?

A: The data shows that at 4K, the frame rate drops significantly compared to 1440p, indicating the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU's role is reduced at this resolution, as the GPU's pixel and shading workload dominates the frame time.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. On Low settings, the average FPS is 420, which is an exceptionally high result. Medium settings yield 388 FPS, with a minimum of 329 and a maximum of 446 FPS. High settings produce an average of 271 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 258 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 162 FPS, indicating that the visual settings have a significant impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains very strong. Low settings average 376 FPS, showing a 10% drop from 1080p. Medium settings average 312 FPS, with a min of 265 and a max of 359 FPS. High settings produce 195 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 186 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, averaging around 25-30%, which is expected given the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are still high, but the GPU is clearly working harder. Low settings average 245 FPS, which is a 42% drop from 1080p. Medium settings average 196 FPS, with a min of 167 and a max of 226 FPS. High settings produce 123 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 117 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is minimal, at just 6 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds little visual benefit for the extra cost at this resolution.

The data shows that Medium settings are the sweet spot for frame rate consistency, as they are the only settings with reported min and max FPS values. At all resolutions, the Medium preset maintains a minimum FPS that is above 60, and the average is well above 100. The Ultra preset offers the lowest performance but still achieves over 115 FPS at 4K, which is a playable and often excellent frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 plays a critical role in enabling the high frame rates observed at lower resolutions. With 14 cores and 14 threads, it is a multi-threaded processor, but its performance in this game is more dependent on single-thread speed. The CPU's boost clock of 5.10 GHz is high, and its single-core Cinebench R23 score of 4648 indicates strong per-thread performance. The passmark single-thread score of 4394 further supports this, showing the CPU is capable of processing game logic and draw calls quickly.

The CPU's role is most evident at 1080p, where the frame rates exceed 400 FPS on Low settings. At these frame rates, the GPU is not the bottleneck, and the CPU's ability to prepare frames becomes the limiting factor. The drop from 420 FPS at 1080p Low to 376 FPS at 1440p Low is a 10% reduction, which is less than the 25% increase in pixel count. This suggests that the CPU is still able to feed the GPU at 1440p, but the GPU is starting to become more of a factor.

The CPU's 24 MB of L3 cache and DDR5 memory support with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s provide sufficient data throughput for the game. The memory bus is dual-channel, which is standard, and the system does not appear to be memory-bandwidth constrained in this title. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, has an average benchmark score that is 0.8% higher, indicating the Ultra 5 245 is competitive in general workloads. In this game, the CPU's performance is adequate to avoid becoming a significant bottleneck at 4K, where the GPU takes over.

At 4K, the CPU's role diminishes, but it still needs to keep up with the GPU's frame production. The data shows that at 4K High, the system achieves 123 FPS, which is a demanding scenario. The CPU's 14 cores are not fully utilized by a puzzle platformer, but the high boost clock ensures that the primary game thread can run at full speed. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking versus all CPUs confirms that it is a high-performance part, and it does not hold back the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in any of the measured settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this system. At all three resolutions, Medium settings provide a minimum FPS that is above 60, and an average FPS that is well above 100. At 1080p, Medium averages 388 FPS, which is an excellent result. At 1440p, the average is 312 FPS, and at 4K, it is 196 FPS. The Medium preset also has the only available min and max FPS data, indicating a stable frame rate with acceptable variance.

For users with a 4K display, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 196 FPS, which is significantly higher than the High preset's 123 FPS and the Ultra preset's 117 FPS. The visual difference between Medium and High at 4K is likely to be minimal in a game with Inside's art style, but the performance difference is substantial. The Low preset at 4K offers 245 FPS, but this comes at the cost of reduced visual fidelity, which may not be desirable.

At 1440p, the High preset is a strong option, delivering an average of 195 FPS. This is above the 144Hz refresh rate of most gaming monitors, and the visual quality is higher than Medium. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 186 FPS, which is only 9 FPS lower, and may be preferred by users who want the highest quality settings. The data shows that the performance difference between High and Ultra is small at this resolution, making either a viable choice.

At 1080p, all settings provide exceptionally high frame rates. The Ultra preset averages 258 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display. The High preset at 271 FPS is also a solid choice. For users with a 360Hz or faster monitor, the Low preset at 420 FPS would be the only way to fully utilize the display's refresh rate, but this comes at a significant visual cost. The Medium preset at 388 FPS is a better compromise, offering high fidelity and a frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors.