Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that leans heavily on atmosphere and precise timing, and the benchmark results for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 show a system that utterly dominates this title. The data indicates a setup that is not merely playable at maximum settings but is capable of delivering refresh rates that far exceed the needs of even the most demanding high-refresh-rate displays, making the limiting factor almost entirely the display itself rather than the hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals a fascinating dynamic where the CPU and GPU both have ample headroom. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 430 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops this to 385 FPS, a 10.5% reduction, and then to 3840x2160 it falls to 265 FPS, a 31.2% reduction from the 1440p figure. This pattern suggests that even at 4K with Low settings, the system is not yet fully GPU-bound, as the frame rates remain exceptionally high.

However, the scaling story changes dramatically when we look at higher graphical presets. At Ultra settings, the frame rates are 280 FPS at 1080p, 201 FPS at 1440p, and 126 FPS at 4K. The transition from 1080p to 1440p sees a 28.2% drop, and from 1440p to 4K a 37.3% drop. This steeper decline at Ultra settings indicates that the GPU is beginning to take on a more significant workload, though the absolute numbers remain far above the 60 FPS threshold. The fact that 1080p Ultra (280 FPS) is still higher than 4K Low (265 FPS) underscores that resolution scaling is more impactful than preset scaling for this particular GPU.

The data suggests that the RTX 4080 is powerful enough to handle this game's demands with substantial headroom at all tested configurations. The most telling comparison is between Low and Ultra at the same resolution. At 4K, Low produces 265 FPS while Ultra produces 126 FPS, a 52.5% reduction in performance. This shows that the graphical preset has a more substantial impact on frame rate than resolution does, indicating that the game's visual effects are computationally expensive relative to the pixel-pushing requirements. Ultimately, the limiting component at 1080p and 1440p is likely the CPU's ability to feed the GPU, but at 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, albeit one that still allows for tripled-digit frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What average frame rate can I expect at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 126 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This indicates that the system is capable of delivering a very smooth experience at maximum graphical fidelity on a 4K display.

Q: Is this CPU-GPU combo more likely to be limited by the processor or the graphics card in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate that at lower resolutions like 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high (up to 430 FPS on Low), suggesting the CPU is keeping pace but may be approaching its limit. At 4K, the frame rates drop more significantly, indicating the GPU becomes the more dominant limiting factor, though both components perform admirably.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 385 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 201 FPS. This represents a 47.8% decrease in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset, showing that the graphical settings have a considerable impact.

Q: Does the system maintain high frame rates even at the highest resolution?

A: Yes. Even at 3840x2160 with the most demanding Ultra preset, the average frame rate is 126 FPS. With the High preset at 4K, the average rises to 133 FPS, and with Medium it is 212 FPS, all of which are well above standard 60 FPS displays.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144Hz monitor?

A: All tested resolutions and presets exceed 144 FPS except for 4K at Ultra (126 FPS) and 4K at High (133 FPS). For a 144Hz display, you could run 1440p at Ultra (201 FPS) or 4K at Medium (212 FPS) to fully utilize the refresh rate.

Q: Are the frame rates consistent, or is there a large variance?

A: For the Medium preset, the data includes minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p, the range is 337 to 456 FPS with an average of 397. At 1440p, the range is 287 to 389 FPS with an average of 338. At 4K, the range is 181 to 244 FPS with an average of 212. This indicates a stable performance profile with minimal stuttering.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a formidable piece of hardware, and its specifications align perfectly with the high frame rates observed in Inside. The card features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for a game of this visual complexity, ensuring that texture streaming and memory allocation are never bottlenecks at any of the tested resolutions.

The GPU's clock speeds are also a factor in its performance. With a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, the RTX 4080 is able to maintain high throughput. The architecture, Ada Lovelace, is built on a 5 nm process from TSMC and contains 45,900 million transistors. This allows for a high degree of parallel processing, which is evident in the consistent performance across different settings. The GPU's 9728 shading units and 304 texture mapping units work in tandem to render the game's distinctive monochromatic visuals with ease.

The frame rates suggest that the game is not heavily reliant on ray tracing or other advanced features that would stress the RT and tensor cores. The RTX 4080 has 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores, but the observed performance at 4K Ultra (126 FPS) demonstrates that even without relying on these specialized units, the raw rasterization power of the card is immense. The GPU's 112 ROPs ensure that pixel fill rate is not a limiting factor, allowing for smooth output at high resolutions. Benchmark results from other tests, such as a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 and a Passmark G3D score of 34457, place this GPU in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, confirming its high-end status.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 101 out of 3716 tested combos in this specific game. This places the system in the top 2.7% of all configurations tested, proof of the hardware's capability. The ranking data suggests that there are 100 other combinations that perform better, but this is an exceptionally small fraction of the total, indicating that this setup is among the elite for running Inside.

Looking at the CPU's performance relative to its peers, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 scores an average benchmark score of 64640, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 4464P, scores 64823, a negligible 0.3% difference. This shows that the CPU is not a weak link in the chain. Similarly, the GPU's average benchmark score is 54247, and its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54209, a 0.1% difference. This parity in component performance suggests a well-balanced system where neither the CPU nor the GPU is significantly holding back the other.

The high combo rank is particularly impressive considering the game's release date in 2016. This modern hardware is able to run a game from that era with such efficiency that the frame rates are limited by the refresh rate of the display rather than the hardware's computational limits. The rank of 101 out of 3716 combos demonstrates that while there are faster systems, they likely offer diminishing returns for this specific title, as the frame rates are already so high that the difference would be imperceptible to most users.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how the system performs across a matrix of resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the system produces its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 430. This drops to 397 FPS at Medium, 294 FPS at High, and 280 FPS at Ultra. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 150 FPS, indicating that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to maintain high performance even at lower graphical loads where the CPU might be expected to be the bottleneck.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 385 FPS, Medium averages 338 FPS, High averages 211 FPS, and Ultra averages 201 FPS. The data for the Medium preset includes a minimum of 287 FPS and a maximum of 389 FPS, showing a variance of 102 FPS. This variance is a sign of consistent performance without major frame time spikes. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is more pronounced at higher settings, with Ultra seeing a 28.2% decrease, but the absolute numbers are still far beyond what is needed for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the system delivers 265 FPS on Low, 212 FPS on Medium, 133 FPS on High, and 126 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 181 FPS and a maximum of 244 FPS. This is the first resolution where the Ultra preset dips below the 144 FPS threshold that is common for high-refresh-rate gaming monitors. However, 126 FPS is still a stellar result for 4K Ultra settings. The data shows a clear trend: the system is powerful enough to handle 4K with ease, but users looking to fully utilize a 240Hz monitor would need to lower settings or resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data offers clear guidance for optimizing the experience in Inside. For users with a 4K display, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 126 FPS, which is ideal for a 120Hz display. If the display supports a higher refresh rate, such as 144Hz, the High preset at 133 FPS would be a better choice, as it provides a 5.6% increase in frame rate over Ultra while likely offering a visually similar experience. The Medium preset at 212 FPS is the best option for those with a 240Hz 4K monitor, as it provides a frame rate that can fully utilize such a display's capabilities without the visual fidelity loss of the Low preset.

For 1440p displays, the Ultra preset at 201 FPS is an excellent choice for any display with a refresh rate of up to 200Hz. This provides the best visual quality without sacrificing the high frame rates that make the game feel incredibly responsive. For those with 240Hz or higher refresh rate displays, the Medium preset at 338 FPS is the recommended setting, as it offers a significant boost in frame rate over Ultra (a 68.2% increase) while maintaining a higher level of visual fidelity than Low.

At 1080p, the system is so powerful that the Ultra preset at 280 FPS is the only sensible choice for any display. The frame rate is so high that the difference between presets becomes less impactful on the overall experience, but the Ultra preset ensures the game looks its best. The Low preset at 430 FPS offers minimal benefit for all but the most extreme esports-level displays, and the visual downgrade is not worth the marginal frame rate increase. In all cases, the data shows that this hardware combo is overqualified for the game, and users should prioritize visual quality without worrying about performance.