Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that is anything but demanding by modern standards, yet the benchmark data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER combination reveals a fascinating study in component scaling and frame pacing at the extreme high end of performance. The measured results show a system capable of absurdly high frame rates, with the bottleneck shifting decisively based on resolution and settings. This analysis breaks down how this specific pairing behaves, where its strengths lie, and what the numbers indicate about the underlying hardware.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and its 36 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample headroom for data-heavy workloads. For a game like Inside, which is not thread-hungry, the CPU’s sheer single-core strength is the primary driver of performance. In synthetic benchmarks, the processor scores 354 points in Cinebench R15 single-core and 2439 in Cinebench R23 single-core, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of this game, the CPU is never the limiting factor at any tested resolution. Even at 1080p with Low settings, where the GPU is least stressed, the system produces 456 FPS. This indicates that the Ultra 7 270K Plus has more than enough processing power to feed the GPU, as the game’s physics and logic are relatively simple. The CPU’s multi-core capabilities, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44253, are largely irrelevant here, as Inside does not scale across many threads. However, the high single-thread score ensures that frame generation and draw call submission are never a bottleneck, allowing the GPU to run at its full potential. The data shows that the CPU's role in this combo is to stay out of the way, and it does so effectively, with the measured FPS deltas between settings being almost entirely attributable to GPU load.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Given the extreme frame rates on offer, the choice of settings is about balancing visual fidelity against the diminishing returns of refresh rate. The measured data provides clear guidance. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 271 FPS, while Ultra drops to 258 FPS—a negligible difference of 13 FPS. The Medium preset sits between them at 421 FPS, but this is already far beyond the refresh rate of most displays. The Low preset, at 456 FPS, offers no practical benefit over Medium for gameplay smoothness.

At 1440p, the pattern is similar but with a clearer distinction. The High preset yields 195 FPS, while Ultra produces 186 FPS. Both are exceptionally playable, and the visual upgrade from High to Ultra is marginal in a game with this art style. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the recommended choice for users with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, as it provides a significant visual boost over High for only a 9 FPS cost. At 4K, the High preset hits 123 FPS, while Ultra drops to 117 FPS. Here, the recommendation shifts to High, as the 6 FPS difference is imperceptible, and the lower preset ensures a more stable frame pacing. The data suggests that Ultra is never the optimal choice, as the performance cost does not translate into a proportional visual gain; High is the sweet spot for image quality per frame at all resolutions.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data is a textbook example of GPU-bound scaling. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS drops from 271 to 195, a 28% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the FPS drops from 195 to 123, a 37% reduction. This non-linear scaling, where the percentage drop increases with resolution, indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions.

The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus providing 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth, is a high-end card, but the pixel throughput demand of 4K is substantial. The GPU’s raw compute, measured at 44.10 TFLOPS FP32, is being taxed more heavily as resolution increases. The fact that the FPS at 4K High (123 FPS) is still very high confirms that the GPU is not overwhelmed, but the scaling pattern shows a clear trend. At 1080p, the CPU and GPU are both underutilized, leading to the massive frame rates. As resolution climbs, the GPU’s fill rate and shading units become the bottleneck, causing the FPS to drop proportionally. The data confirms that this is a GPU-limited scenario at 4K, with the CPU’s influence diminishing to near zero.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER ranks 110th out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. This is a top 4% ranking, which is impressive but not at the very pinnacle of performance. The rank reflects the fact that while both components are capable, the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is not the fastest GPU available, and the CPU, while powerful, does not offer a unique advantage in this specific title.

The ranking suggests that there are 109 other combinations that produce higher average frame rates, likely featuring top-tier GPUs like the RTX 4090 or newer Blackwell architecture cards. However, the gap in actual FPS is likely small, given the game’s low system requirements. The combo’s high rank confirms the balance of the pairing; neither component is a weak link. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA TITAN RTX (with a delta of -1.9%), show that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is performing in line with its expected tier. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6520P, has a delta of 0%, indicating that the Ultra 7 270K Plus is well-matched to its competition. Overall, this combo sits in the upper echelon of tested systems, providing a smooth experience that few other configs can match.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is based on the AD103 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 8448 shading units, 264 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2340 MHz and boosts up to 2610 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The 16 GB of GDDR6X VRAM is more than sufficient for Inside, which is a 2D side-scroller with no massive texture loads.

In this game, the GPU’s role is primarily to handle the rendering of the game’s atmospheric lighting and shadow effects. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as the FPS drops from 245 at Low to 117 at Ultra. This 128 FPS difference is entirely due to the increased computational load of higher settings. The GPU’s texture rate of 689.0 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 250.6 GPixel/s are more than adequate for 1080p and 1440p, where the card is not fully stressed. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5569 and Passmark G3D score of 31811 place it in the 76th percentile of all GPUs, confirming its high-end status. The GPU’s performance in this benchmark is consistent with its spec sheet, showing no thermal or power throttling, and the 285W TDP is well-supported by the rest of the system.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 456, achieved at 1080p with the Low settings preset.

Q: Does the Ultra preset ever outperform the High preset in terms of playability?

A: No, the data shows that Ultra always results in a lower average FPS than High at the same resolution. The delta is small (13 FPS at 1080p, 9 FPS at 1440p, 6 FPS at 4K), but High consistently offers higher performance.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at 1440p Medium?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum FPS of 265 and a maximum of 359, with an average of 312 FPS. This indicates a frame time variance of approximately 94 FPS between min and max.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 110th out of 2887 tested combinations, placing it in the top 4% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: At what resolution does the GPU become the clear bottleneck?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K. The FPS scales down significantly from 1440p to 4K (e.g., from 195 to 123 at High), showing increasing GPU load.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: Yes, the 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient for Inside. This is a 2D game with modest texture memory requirements, so the VRAM capacity has no measurable impact on the FPS results.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the system exhibits extreme performance. The Low preset produces an average of 456 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 421 FPS, with a minimum of 358 and a maximum of 484. The High preset averages 271 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 258 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 198 FPS, showing that the GPU is not stressed at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains high but begins to show scaling. The Low preset averages 390 FPS. The Medium preset averages 312 FPS, with a minimum of 265 and a maximum of 359. The High preset averages 195 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 186 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 204 FPS, similar to 1080p, but the overall numbers are lower.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The Low preset averages 245 FPS. The Medium preset averages 196 FPS, with a minimum of 167 and a maximum of 226. The High preset averages 123 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 117 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 128 FPS, which is smaller than at lower resolutions, but the absolute frame rates are still high. The 4K High and Ultra presets are the only settings where the FPS drops below 130, indicating a more significant GPU workload.