Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a title that is clearly not demanding on modern hardware. The measured frame rates are extraordinarily high across all tested resolutions and settings, indicating that this pairing is massively overqualified for the game's requirements. The data shows a system that can push this puzzle platformer to its limits with ease, making the bottleneck analysis more about the game's engine than the hardware's capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, though the CPU still has significant headroom. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 294 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops the average to 211 FPS, a 28% reduction, and then to 4K High at 133 FPS, another 37% reduction. This pattern shows a clear and expected scaling curve where the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

However, the scaling is not linear, which indicates that the CPU is still contributing meaningfully at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 420 FPS, but at 1440p Low it only drops to 376 FPS (a 10% reduction), and at 4K Low it reaches 265 FPS (a 30% reduction from 1440p). The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests that the CPU is still capable of feeding the GPU frames efficiently at this level. The more significant drop to 4K indicates the GPU is now the primary constraint.

The Medium settings data provides the only min/max frame rate measurements in the dataset. At 1080p Medium, the average is 388 FPS with a minimum of 329 FPS and a maximum of 446 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 338 FPS with a minimum of 287 FPS and a maximum of 389 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 212 FPS with a minimum of 181 FPS and a maximum of 244 FPS. The delta between minimum and maximum frames remains consistent at roughly 30% of the average across all these resolutions, suggesting that the frame pacing is stable and the performance ceiling is not being hit.

The Ultra settings show the most pronounced scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the system hits 280 FPS, which drops to 201 FPS at 1440p Ultra (a 28% reduction) and 126 FPS at 4K Ultra (a 37% reduction from 1440p). This closely mirrors the High settings scaling, which suggests that the game's Ultra preset adds graphical features that scale with resolution in a predictable manner. The fact that the system can maintain above 120 FPS at 4K Ultra is remarkable for a game of this type.

Overall, the resolution scaling data suggests that this hardware combination is far beyond what Inside requires. Even at the most demanding configuration tested (4K Ultra), the average frame rate of 126 FPS is well above the typical 60 FPS target. The bottleneck analysis shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, but the CPU is still providing ample headroom at 1080p and 1440p, as evidenced by the extremely high frame rates in those tests.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications clearly explain the measured performance. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. For a game like Inside, which is a 2D puzzle platformer with relatively simple textures and geometry, this memory configuration is more than sufficient. The data shows no signs of VRAM limitations, even at 4K Ultra settings.

The RTX 4080's clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz. These high clocks contribute directly to the frame rates observed in the benchmark results. The GPU's memory runs at 1400 MHz with 22.4 Gbps effective speed, which pairs well with the 256-bit bus to deliver the high bandwidth mentioned earlier. The 9728 shading units and 304 texture mapping units provide substantial compute throughput for any graphical workload this game can present.

The GPU's architectural advantages are also relevant. Built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, the RTX 4080 achieves a pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s. These figures are far beyond what any current game requires, especially a title from 2016. The FP32 performance of 48.74 TFLOPS further underscores the GPU's capability, though such raw compute power is not heavily utilized by Inside's rendering engine.

The RTX 4080's performance percentile of 86 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247, places it in the upper echelon of graphics hardware. Its nearest rival is the RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores 54209 (a 0.1% delta), indicating that the non-SUPER variant is essentially at parity with its successor. The other rivals listed — the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, and AMD Radeon 8060S — all score within 2.7% of the RTX 4080, but none of these are relevant to the Inside performance discussion since the game is so light.

Given the GPU's immense power, the frame rates in this benchmark are almost certainly limited by the game's engine or CPU at lower resolutions. The fact that the system reaches 420 FPS at 1080p Low but only 133 FPS at 4K High shows that the GPU is being taxed more heavily at higher resolutions, but even the 4K Ultra figure of 126 FPS is far from the GPU's theoretical maximum. The RTX 4080 is operating well within its comfort zone, and the data suggests that Inside does not come close to stressing this component.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings for this hardware combination depend on the user's display and preference for visual fidelity. At 1080p, all settings presets deliver over 280 FPS, making the choice purely aesthetic. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 280 FPS, which is still far beyond any display's refresh rate, so players can enable maximum visual quality without any practical performance penalty.

At 1440p, the situation is similar. The Ultra preset achieves 201 FPS, which is still exceptionally high. The High preset delivers 211 FPS, while Medium and Low produce 338 FPS and 376 FPS, respectively. For users with a 144Hz or 165Hz display, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation, as it provides the best visual quality while still exceeding the refresh rate of even the most common high-refresh monitors.

At 4K, the recommendations become more nuanced. The Ultra preset delivers 126 FPS, which is above the 120Hz threshold but may not fully utilize a 144Hz display. The High preset at 133 FPS is marginally better, while Medium at 212 FPS and Low at 265 FPS offer significantly higher frame rates. For a game like Inside, which has a dark, atmospheric art style, the visual difference between High and Ultra may be minimal, so the High preset at 133 FPS provides a solid balance of quality and performance.

The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best compromise for most users. At 1080p Medium, the average is 388 FPS with a minimum of 329 FPS, ensuring consistent frame delivery. At 1440p Medium, the average is 338 FPS with a minimum of 287 FPS, which is still well above any display's refresh rate. At 4K Medium, the average is 212 FPS with a minimum of 181 FPS, providing a large margin over the 60 FPS standard.

For users with high-refresh displays (144Hz or higher), the Ultra preset is recommended at 1080p and 1440p, as the frame rates exceed the display's capabilities. At 4K, the High preset is the best choice for those wanting to stay above 120 FPS, while Medium is recommended for those prioritizing frame rate stability. The Low preset is only necessary for users with extremely high refresh rate displays (360Hz or above) at 1080p, where the 420 FPS average can be fully utilized.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a comprehensive view of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the system achieves the following averages: Low at 420 FPS, Medium at 388 FPS (with a minimum of 329 FPS and maximum of 446 FPS), High at 294 FPS, and Ultra at 280 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 14 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds minimal graphical enhancements over High.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 376 FPS, Medium at 338 FPS (minimum 287 FPS, maximum 389 FPS), High at 211 FPS, and Ultra at 201 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to 10 FPS at this resolution. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is most pronounced at the High and Ultra settings, with reductions of 28% and 28%, respectively. The Low and Medium settings see smaller reductions of 10% and 13%, indicating that these presets are less GPU-intensive.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 265 FPS, Medium at 212 FPS (minimum 181 FPS, maximum 244 FPS), High at 133 FPS, and Ultra at 126 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is significant across all settings, with reductions ranging from 30% (Low) to 37% (High and Ultra). The Medium preset shows a 37% reduction as well, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

The minimum frame rates at Medium settings provide insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the minimum of 329 FPS represents 85% of the average, while at 1440p, the minimum of 287 FPS is also 85% of the average. At 4K, the minimum of 181 FPS is 85% of the average as well. This consistent ratio suggests that the game maintains stable frame delivery without major spikes or drops, regardless of resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and RTX 4080 combination ranks 118th out of 3716 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the top 3.2% of all systems tested for this game. This high ranking is expected given the extreme performance of the RTX 4080 and the capable CPU, but it also reflects the game's low system requirements, which allow even mid-range hardware to achieve high frame rates.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals is relevant to understanding this ranking. The Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, which places it at the 90th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G at 49196 (0.4% faster), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 at 49228 (0.5% faster), the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H at 48698 (0.6% slower), and the Intel Core i5-14600K at 48618 (0.8% slower). These differences are negligible, meaning the CPU is not a limiting factor in this game.

The GPU's ranking is similarly strong. The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, placing it at the 86th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54209 (0.1% slower), while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828 (1.1% faster), the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698 (2.6% faster), and the AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757 (2.7% faster). These differences are minor and do not translate into meaningful performance gaps in Inside, where the game is not GPU-bound at lower resolutions.

The combo rank of 118 out of 3716 indicates that there are 117 other combinations that perform better in this specific game. Given the hardware's capabilities, these higher-ranked combos likely feature even more powerful GPUs, such as the RTX 4090 or RTX 4080 SUPER, or possibly CPUs with higher single-thread performance. However, the practical difference between rank 118 and rank 1 is minimal in Inside, as the frame rates are already so high that they exceed display refresh rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved with this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate is 420 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Does the system maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system achieves an average of 126 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209, a delta of 0.1% — essentially identical performance.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings yield 211 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 201 FPS, a difference of only 10 FPS.

Q: Is the Core Ultra 5 245 a bottleneck in this game?

A: No, the CPU's average benchmark score of 48995 places it at the 90th percentile, and its nearest rivals are within 0.8% performance, indicating it is not a limiting factor.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the minimum frame rate is 181 FPS, with an average of 212 FPS and a maximum of 244 FPS.