Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, on paper, should not challenge modern hardware. Yet, the measured data for the Intel Core Ultra X7 368H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti combination reveals a title that is surprisingly demanding at higher presets, while remaining exceptionally fluid at lower ones. The benchmark results show a system capable of delivering over 300 FPS at 1080p on Medium settings, but one that also sees that frame rate cut by more than half when moving to 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS figures, examines the scaling behavior, and contextualizes the performance against other tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking observation from the measured data is the severe performance penalty imposed by resolution scaling. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 193 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 139 FPS, a reduction of 28%. The jump to 4K High further reduces the average to 87 FPS, which is 55% lower than the 1080p High result. This indicates that the game scales very poorly with resolution, suggesting a significant dependency on the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth rather than the CPU's processing power.

The pattern holds true across all settings presets. At Low settings, the frame rate plummets from 382 FPS at 1080p to 278 FPS at 1440p (a 27% drop), and then to 175 FPS at 4K (a 37% drop from 1440p). For Medium settings, the figures are 309 FPS at 1080p, 222 FPS at 1440p, and 140 FPS at 4K. The consistency of this scaling pattern—roughly a 25-30% loss from 1080p to 1440p and another 30-40% loss from 1440p to 4K—points directly to the GPU as the primary limiting factor.

This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The Intel Core Ultra X7 368H, with its 16 cores and 18 MB of shared L3 cache, is clearly capable of feeding the RTX 5070 Ti enough data to keep it busy at lower resolutions. However, as the pixel count increases, the demand on the GPU's shading units and memory subsystem grows exponentially. The RTX 5070 Ti, with its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus providing 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is a very capable card, but the data shows it is the bottleneck in this pairing for Inside at 4K.

The difference between the Low and High presets at the same resolution also highlights the GPU's workload. At 4K, the gap between Low (175 FPS) and High (87 FPS) is 88 FPS, or roughly 50%. This suggests that the High preset introduces significant additional rendering work, likely involving more complex lighting and post-processing effects that are not present in the Low preset. The fact that the Ultra preset only drops the average by another 4 FPS compared to High at 4K (83 FPS vs 87 FPS) is interesting; it implies that the incremental cost of Ultra over High is relatively small, and that the performance ceiling is being approached.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Inside at for a competitive edge in frame rate?

A: The data shows 1080p is the clear winner for maximum fluidity. At Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 382 FPS, and even at Ultra settings, it maintains an average of 184 FPS. This is far above the refresh rate of most monitors, ensuring a perfectly smooth experience.

Q: Is the RTX 5070 Ti the bottleneck for this game, or is the CPU holding it back?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting component. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial across all presets, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU's high multi-threaded benchmark scores (e.g., 28,221 in Cinebench R23) suggest it can easily keep up with the game's logic and physics demands.

Q: How does the 16 GB of VRAM on the RTX 5070 Ti factor into performance?

A: While the FACT PACK does not list specific VRAM usage for Inside, the card's 16 GB capacity and 896.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely sufficient to handle the game's textures and frame buffers at 4K. The performance scaling suggests that bandwidth and pixel throughput, rather than raw VRAM capacity, are the primary constraints.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the Medium and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields an average of 222 FPS (with a minimum of 189 FPS and maximum of 256 FPS), while the Ultra preset yields an average of 132 FPS. This represents a 90 FPS difference, or about a 40% reduction in frame rate, for the visual enhancements provided by the Ultra preset.

Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K above 100 FPS?

A: No, not based on the measured data. The highest average FPS recorded at 3840x2160 is 175 FPS on Low settings. The High and Ultra presets both fall below 90 FPS (87 and 83 FPS, respectively). To exceed 100 FPS at 4K, you would need to use the Low or Medium presets.

Q: How does the combo's performance in this game compare to its overall ranking?

A: The combo ranks 890th out of 2887 tested combinations for Inside. This places it in the 69th percentile of all tested combos, indicating that while it performs well, there are many other systems that deliver higher frame rates in this specific title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is the undisputed workhorse in this pairing for Inside. The measured FPS data makes it clear that the GPU's capabilities dictate the playable settings and resolutions. Its architecture, Blackwell 2.0, is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC and contains 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die. The card operates at a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2452 MHz, which is high for a mobile-friendly part, though this specific SKU is a desktop model with a 300 W TDP.

The memory subsystem is a critical component of its performance. With 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, the RTX 5070 Ti offers a massive bandwidth of 896.0 GB/s. This is particularly relevant for a game like Inside, which, despite its artistic style, may still utilize high-resolution textures and effects that benefit from high bandwidth. The fact that the 4K High preset (87 FPS) is significantly slower than the 4K Low preset (175 FPS) suggests that the High preset's effects are heavily reliant on this bandwidth and the GPU's compute capabilities.

The GPU's compute power is substantial, with 8,960 shading units and a FP32 performance of 43.94 TFLOPS. However, the benchmark results show that this power is not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K with High settings. The game seems to have a rendering path that is very sensitive to resolution, likely due to fill-rate demands. The pixel rate of 235.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 686.6 GTexel/s are high, but the 4K resolution requires over 8 million pixels, and the High preset appears to be doing a lot of per-pixel work.

The GPU's benchmark scores support its classification as a high-end part. It scores 32,974 in Passmark G3D and 22,5122 in Geekbench Vulkan, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. However, its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (2% higher average score) and the RX 6800 XT (3.1% lower average score). This suggests that despite its modern architecture, its raw performance is comparable to the previous generation of high-end cards, which explains why it struggles with the 4K High preset in this specific game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. Here is a breakdown of the average frame rates:

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 382 FPS average. This is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire dataset, showing the combo is more than capable of running the game at extreme speeds.
• Medium: 309 FPS average, with a minimum of 263 FPS and maximum of 356 FPS. The frame pacing is consistent, as indicated by the tight min/max range.
• High: 193 FPS average. This is a significant drop from Medium, suggesting the High preset enables more computationally expensive effects.
• Ultra: 184 FPS average. The step from High to Ultra is minimal (9 FPS), indicating that the Ultra preset is not much more demanding than High at this resolution.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 278 FPS average. The CPU still has headroom to push the GPU, but the 27% drop from 1080p shows the increased pixel load.
• Medium: 222 FPS average, with a minimum of 189 FPS and maximum of 256 FPS. This is a very playable range for high-refresh-rate monitors.
• High: 139 FPS average. This is a comfortable frame rate for most displays, but represents a 28% decrease from the 1080p High result.
• Ultra: 132 FPS average. The gap between High and Ultra narrows further to just 7 FPS.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 175 FPS average. This is still a very high frame rate, proving the game can be played smoothly at 4K if settings are reduced.
• Medium: 140 FPS average, with a minimum of 119 FPS and maximum of 161 FPS. This is a solid result for 4K gaming.
• High: 87 FPS average. This is the most significant drop-off, showing that the High preset is too demanding for 4K on this combo.
• Ultra: 83 FPS average. This is the lowest recorded score, but still technically playable, though it may not feel perfectly smooth on a 120 Hz+ display.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra X7 368H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is ranked 890th out of 2,887 combos tested for Inside. This ranking places it in the 69th percentile of all test results. This is a solid, above-average position, but it is not a top-tier result for this specific game.

The ranking suggests that while this hardware is powerful, there are many other combinations that achieve higher frame rates in Inside. Given the game's poor resolution scaling, it is likely that systems with even more powerful GPUs, such as those with higher bandwidth or more shading units, would rank significantly higher. The CPU's performance is likely not a limiting factor, as its nearest rivals (e.g., AMD Ryzen 9 7940H) have similar average benchmark scores, and the game is clearly GPU-bound.

The rank of 890 out of 2887 indicates that this combo is in the top 31% of all tested systems. This is a good result, but it also highlights that for a game like Inside, which is not heavily threaded, the GPU's raw rasterization power is the key differentiator. The RTX 5070 Ti, while a strong card, is not the absolute fastest in the database, and the 4K High preset results confirm this. The data suggests that users seeking a higher rank would need to pair this CPU with a more powerful GPU or lower their resolution and settings to match the top-tier performers.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate.

For 1080p, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation. The average of 184 FPS is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on many monitors, and the 9 FPS difference between High and Ultra is negligible. There is no reason to sacrifice visual quality when the hardware can easily handle the maximum preset.

For 1440p, the High preset is the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. The average of 139 FPS is excellent for a high-refresh-rate monitor, and it is a 53% improvement over the 222 FPS of the Medium preset. The Ultra preset, at 132 FPS, is also viable, but the 7 FPS gain from High to Ultra is not worth the potential for slight frame drops on a 144 Hz display.

For 4K, the situation is more nuanced. Medium is the highest preset that delivers a consistently smooth experience, with an average of 140 FPS and a minimum of 119 FPS. The High and Ultra presets drop below 90 FPS, which may still be playable on a 60 Hz display, but will not feel as fluid. For a 4K 120 Hz+ display, Medium is the recommended preset. The Low preset at 175 FPS is also an option for those who prioritize maximum frame rate over visual quality, but the leap to Medium is significant in terms of visual improvements, so Medium is the best choice for most users.

In summary, the data indicates that this combo is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming or smooth 60+ FPS 4K gaming with medium settings. Pushing for 4K High or Ultra results in frame rates that are below the threshold for high-refresh-rate monitors, and the game's resolution scaling makes it clear that the GPU is the component that must be managed to achieve the desired performance.