Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that places minimal demands on modern hardware, and the measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti reflects this. The combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested configurations, with the primary performance ceiling appearing at the CPU level in lower resolutions and at the GPU level in higher ones. This analysis examines the measured FPS data to understand the scaling behavior, component roles, and optimal settings for this specific setup.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling, though the absolute numbers are high enough that the transition is less punishing than in more demanding titles. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 193 at 1920x1080 to 139 at 2560x1440, representing a 28% reduction, and then further to 87 at 3840x2160, a 37% drop from the 1440p result. This scaling curve is steep but not linear, indicating that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The Low settings data shows a similar trend but with a more pronounced drop at the highest resolution. Starting at 337 FPS at 1080p, the average falls to 278 at 1440p (a 17.5% decrease) and then to 175 at 4K (a 37% decrease from 1440p). The smaller drop between 1080p and 1440p compared to the larger drop between 1440p and 4K suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is holding performance back at 1080p and 1440p, while the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck only at 4K.

Medium settings provide the most complete dataset, including minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p, the average is 309 FPS with a minimum of 263 and maximum of 356. Moving to 1440p, the average drops to 222 FPS (a 28.2% decrease), with the minimum at 189 and maximum at 256. At 4K, the average falls to 140 FPS (a 36.9% decrease from 1440p), with a minimum of 119 and maximum of 161. The consistency of the percentage drops between resolution steps across settings indicates that the rendering workload scales predictably with pixel count.

Ultra settings show the lowest frame rates, with 184 FPS at 1080p, 132 at 1440p, and 83 at 4K. The percentage drops are 28.3% from 1080p to 1440p and 37.1% from 1440p to 4K, closely mirroring the scaling seen at other settings. This consistency suggests that the game’s rendering pipeline scales uniformly with resolution regardless of the quality preset, which is typical for a 2D puzzle platformer where geometry and effects are relatively simple.

The 4K results, ranging from 83 FPS at Ultra to 175 FPS at Low, indicate that the RTX 5070 Ti is never fully overwhelmed by this game. Even at the highest quality settings, the average frame rate stays comfortably above 60 FPS, making 4K gaming viable with this combination. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as evidenced by the larger percentage drops when moving from 1440p to 4K compared to the 1080p to 1440p transition.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is a high-end mobile GPU built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, featuring 8,960 shading units, 280 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pipelines. It operates at a base clock of 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2452 MHz, and its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 896.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. These specifications place it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 49,957.

For Inside, the GPU’s role is primarily to handle the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth demands of the game’s 2D visuals. The game’s release in 2016 means it was designed for hardware that is now several generations old, so the RTX 5070 Ti’s capabilities far exceed the requirements. The measured data shows that even at 4K Ultra settings, the GPU maintains an average of 83 FPS, which is more than sufficient for a puzzle platformer where precise timing is rarely critical.

The GPU’s memory configuration of 16 GB is more than adequate for this title, as the game’s art assets are unlikely to consume more than a fraction of that capacity even at 4K resolution. The 896.0 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and framebuffer operations do not become bottlenecks. The measured results support this, as the frame rate scaling between resolutions follows the expected pattern for a GPU-bound workload rather than showing signs of memory capacity or bandwidth limitations.

The GPU benchmark scores provide additional context for its performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,604 and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 225,122 indicate strong overall performance, while the Passmark G3D score of 32,974 and Passmark GPU Compute score of 20,203 show solid compute capabilities. These scores align with the GPU’s 86th percentile ranking, confirming that it is a capable performer that should handle Inside with significant headroom.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combination depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all settings deliver well above 144 FPS, with Low at 337 FPS, Medium at 309 FPS, High at 193 FPS, and Ultra at 184 FPS. For players with high refresh rate monitors, Medium settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance, offering 309 FPS average with a minimum of 263 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even during demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, the choice becomes more nuanced. Low settings deliver 278 FPS, Medium 222 FPS, High 139 FPS, and Ultra 132 FPS. For players targeting 144Hz displays, both Low and Medium settings comfortably exceed this threshold, with Medium providing a 222 FPS average and a 189 FPS minimum. High settings at 139 FPS fall just short of 144Hz but remain highly playable, while Ultra at 132 FPS is also acceptable for most users.

At 3840x2160, the measured data shows Low at 175 FPS, Medium at 140 FPS, High at 87 FPS, and Ultra at 83 FPS. For 60Hz displays, all settings are viable, with even Ultra maintaining an 83 FPS average. For 120Hz or 144Hz displays, Low settings at 175 FPS or Medium at 140 FPS are the recommended choices. Medium settings provide a substantial visual improvement over Low while still maintaining a frame rate that exceeds 120 FPS.

The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot across all resolutions, offering substantial visual improvements over Low while maintaining frame rates that are significantly higher than High or Ultra. The minimum FPS values for Medium settings are 263 at 1080p, 189 at 1440p, and 119 at 4K, all of which are above 60 FPS and provide a smooth experience. For players who prioritize visual fidelity over maximum frame rates, High settings at 1440p or 4K remain viable options, though the frame rate drops are noticeable compared to Medium.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this CPU and GPU combination in Inside?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 337 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 2560x1440, the maximum is 278 FPS also with Low settings, and at 3840x2160, the maximum is 175 FPS with Low settings.

Q: Can this combination maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average of 83 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that the RTX 5070 Ti has sufficient headroom for this game even at the highest resolution and quality settings.

Q: How does the frame rate scale between 1080p and 1440p at Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the average FPS is 309 with a minimum of 263. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average drops to 222 with a minimum of 189. This represents a 28.2% reduction in average FPS when moving from 1080p to 1440p.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes the limiting factor at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the game runs at 337 FPS, which is exceptionally high. The relatively smaller drop to 278 FPS at 1440p Low (17.5% decrease) compared to the larger drop to 175 FPS at 4K Low (37% decrease from 1440p) indicates that the GPU is not fully utilized at 1080p and 1440p.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings produce an average of 139 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 132 FPS. The difference is 7 FPS, or approximately 5%, indicating that Ultra provides a minimal performance penalty for the highest visual quality.

Q: How does the minimum FPS at 4K Medium compare to the average FPS at 4K High?

A: The minimum FPS at 3840x2160 Medium is 119, while the average FPS at 3840x2160 High is 87. This means that even the worst-case frame rate on Medium settings exceeds the average frame rate on High settings by 32 FPS, highlighting the significant performance advantage of Medium over High at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a mobile processor from the Core Ultra Series 1, featuring 16 cores and 22 threads based on the Meteor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 45 W TDP. The processor includes 24 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth. Its benchmark scores place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,670.

For Inside, the CPU’s role is primarily to handle game logic, physics calculations, and frame pacing. The game’s 2016 release means it was designed for CPUs with far fewer cores and lower clock speeds, so the Ultra 9 185H’s 16 cores and 22 threads provide substantial headroom. The processor’s single-thread performance, as indicated by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1,810.5 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1,794, is more than sufficient for the game’s relatively simple computational demands.

The multi-threaded performance of the Ultra 9 185H is equally impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17,984.5 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 11,657. However, Inside is unlikely to utilize more than a few cores effectively, as puzzle platformers typically have limited parallel workloads. The Passmark physics score of 1,956 and Passmark single-thread score of 3,697 provide further evidence of the CPU’s capability in single-threaded tasks that are more relevant to this game.

The measured FPS data supports the interpretation that the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the game runs at 337 FPS, which is exceptionally high and likely approaching the CPU’s frame generation limit. The fact that the frame rate only drops to 278 FPS at 1440p Low, a 17.5% decrease, while the pixel count increases by 78%, suggests that the GPU is not fully utilized at these settings and the CPU is constraining the frame rate. This pattern is consistent across all settings, with the CPU becoming less of a bottleneck as resolution increases and the GPU workload becomes more dominant.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for this combination shows consistent performance across all resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 184 at Ultra to 337 at Low. The Medium setting provides a balanced 309 FPS average with a minimum of 263 and maximum of 356. High settings deliver 193 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 184 FPS. All 1080p results are exceptionally high, with even the lowest configuration exceeding 180 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but show the expected decrease from 1080p. Low settings deliver 278 FPS average, Medium provides 222 FPS with a minimum of 189 and maximum of 256, High achieves 139 FPS, and Ultra reaches 132 FPS. The 1440p results indicate that all settings are playable on high refresh rate displays, with Low and Medium easily exceeding 144 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop more significantly, though remain respectable. Low settings deliver 175 FPS average, Medium provides 140 FPS with a minimum of 119 and maximum of 161, High achieves 87 FPS, and Ultra reaches 83 FPS. The 4K results show that even the most demanding configuration maintains an average above 80 FPS, making 4K gaming with this combination a viable option.

The Medium settings data is the only configuration with complete minimum and maximum FPS values across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the frame time consistency is excellent, with a 93 FPS spread between minimum and maximum. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 67 FPS, and at 4K, it narrows further to 42 FPS. This decreasing spread at higher resolutions indicates that frame pacing becomes more consistent as the GPU becomes more heavily utilized.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti combination ranks 979th out of 2,887 tested combinations in Inside, placing it in the top 33.9% of all configurations in the database. This ranking is notable because it reflects the absolute performance of the combination relative to all other tested systems, including those with desktop components and more powerful GPUs.

The ranking is influenced by the fact that Inside is not a demanding game, so the difference between high-end and mid-range hardware is less pronounced than in more graphically intensive titles. The CPU’s 85th percentile ranking and the GPU’s 86th percentile ranking are both respectable, but the combination’s 979th rank out of 2,887 suggests that many other configurations, particularly those with desktop CPUs or higher-end GPUs, achieve similar or better frame rates in this game.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 with an average score of 35,719 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core 7 250H with 35,728 (0.2% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 with 35,802 (0.4% higher). The delta percentages are minimal, indicating that the Ultra 9 185H performs nearly identically to these competing processors. In Inside, this means that swapping between these CPUs would result in negligible frame rate differences.

The GPU’s nearest rivals show similarly small deltas. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 has an average score of 50,001 (0.1% higher), the Intel Arc A550M scores 49,737 (0.4% lower), and the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT scores 50,951 (2% higher). These small differences suggest that the RTX 5070 Ti’s performance in Inside is representative of the broader mid-to-high-end GPU market, with the game’s low demands allowing even older or less powerful GPUs to achieve competitive frame rates.