Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination delivers a remarkably smooth experience in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is far more demanding on frame rates than its minimalist art style suggests. Measured data shows this pairing clearing the 60 FPS threshold at every resolution and preset combination tested, from 1080p Low to 4K Ultra. The benchmark results indicate a system with substantial headroom, particularly at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 200 FPS, making this a versatile setup for both high-refresh-rate displays and high-resolution output.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the RTX 5050 pushes frame rates to extremes. The Low preset averages 296 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded across the entire test suite. The Medium preset drops to an average of 237 FPS, with measured minimum and maximum values of 201 and 272 FPS respectively, showing a consistent frame delivery with no significant dips. High settings average 148 FPS, while the Ultra preset still maintains a robust 141 FPS average. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 155 FPS drop, but even at the most demanding 1080p setting, the system operates at more than double the playable threshold of 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally strong but begins to show more pronounced differences between presets. The Low preset averages 213 FPS, a 28% reduction compared to 1080p Low. Medium settings produce an average of 170 FPS, with minimum and maximum values of 145 and 196 FPS, indicating tight frame pacing. High settings deliver 106 FPS on average, while Ultra maintains 101 FPS. The gap between the lowest and highest presets at 1440p is 112 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p, suggesting the GPU is beginning to become a more significant factor.

At 3840x2160, 4K resolution, the performance curve flattens considerably. The Low preset averages 134 FPS, which is a 43% reduction from 1440p Low. Medium settings average 107 FPS, with minimum and maximum values of 91 and 123 FPS—the only test run in the entire dataset where the minimum falls below 100 FPS. High settings average 67 FPS, and Ultra averages 64 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 70 FPS, compared to 112 FPS at 1440p and 155 FPS at 1080p, demonstrating that resolution scaling has a substantial impact on this GPU's headroom.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the GPU is the primary performance driver at every resolution, but the CPU's influence becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p, where the RTX 5050 is less burdened by pixel throughput, the Core Ultra 5 225's single-thread performance—evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655—allows frame rates to scale dramatically with lower presets. The jump from 148 FPS at High to 296 FPS at Low represents a 100% improvement, which is primarily enabled by reduced GPU workload rather than CPU limitations.

At 1440p, the scaling between presets narrows. The difference between Low and High is 107 FPS, and between High and Ultra is only 5 FPS. This suggests that the GPU is beginning to saturate its rendering pipeline, as the CPU's 10 cores and 10 threads provide ample processing capacity for the game's physics and logic. The Core Ultra 5 225's PassMark multithread score of 30459 places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, indicating that even the most demanding scenes in Inside are unlikely to bottleneck this configuration.

At 4K, the GPU's role becomes dominant. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 3 FPS, while the difference between Low and Medium is 27 FPS. This compression of frame rates at the high end indicates that the RTX 5050's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors, rather than the CPU. The pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s are sufficient for the game's stylized visuals, but the GPU's 2560 shading units are clearly the bottleneck at 4K Ultra.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearestRivals data for the CPU and GPU provides context for how other hardware would behave in this configuration. For the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, the closest performance match is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F with a deltaPct of 0, meaning their average benchmark scores are virtually identical. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is 0.2% slower, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 is 0.4% slower, and the Intel Core i9-12900T is 0.5% slower. In practice, any of these CPUs paired with the RTX 5050 would produce nearly identical frame rates in Inside, as the game's CPU demands are modest relative to what these processors offer.

For the GPU, the nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL with a deltaPct of -0.6%, meaning it scores 0.6% lower than the RTX 5050. The AMD Radeon HD 8970M is 1% slower, and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile is 1.6% slower. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT is 1.6% faster, making it the only rival that would provide a measurable performance uplift. In Inside, these differences would translate to a few frames per second at most—for example, the RX 5600 XT might push 4K Ultra from 64 FPS to approximately 65 FPS, while the HD 8970M would likely drop it to around 63 FPS. None of these alternatives would change the fundamental verdict that this system runs the game smoothly.

The Verdict

The benchmark results are unambiguous: this PC can run Inside at playable frame rates across all tested configurations. The verdictByResolution data confirms that all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—clear the 60 FPS threshold at every resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 141 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above the playable threshold with room for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 101 FPS, which is still well above 60 FPS and suitable for 144Hz displays. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 64 FPS, which clears the threshold but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes; the 91 FPS minimum recorded at 4K Medium suggests that Ultra at 4K could dip below 60 FPS during intense moments, though the average remains safe.

The measured data shows no scenario where this combination fails to meet the playable threshold. Even the most demanding combination tested—4K Ultra at 64 FPS—exceeds 60 FPS by a small but definitive margin. For players targeting a locked 60 FPS experience, this system provides that at every resolution and preset. For those with high-refresh-rate displays, the 1440p Medium preset at 170 FPS or 1080p High at 148 FPS would be ideal targets.

Best Settings per Resolution

The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS at each resolution is Ultra at all three resolutions, according to the verdictByResolution data. At 1920x1080, Ultra delivers an average of 141 FPS, which is the best visual quality available while maintaining a frame rate more than double the playable threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 101 FPS, providing high-fidelity visuals on QHD displays with solid performance. At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 64 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold—this is the only configuration where the margin is slim, but it still qualifies as the best playable setting.

For users who prefer additional performance headroom over maximum visual fidelity, the data suggests alternative presets. At 4K, the Medium preset averages 107 FPS with a minimum of 91 FPS, offering a much larger safety margin than Ultra while still delivering respectable visuals. At 1440p, High settings at 106 FPS provide a similar balance, and at 1080p, Medium at 237 FPS would be ideal for competitive or high-refresh-rate play. However, the strict answer to the best settings question is Ultra at each resolution, as it is the most demanding preset that clears 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination ranks 2247 out of 3716 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the 60th percentile of all systems measured. This ranking reflects a configuration that is comfortably above average for this game, though not at the top tier. The CPU's 85th percentile standing among all CPUs and the GPU's 66th percentile among all GPUs combine to place this system in the upper-middle range of tested hardware.

The ranking is influenced by the fact that Inside is a relatively undemanding title, meaning even modest hardware can achieve playable frame rates. The RTX 5050's 66th percentile GPU score indicates that it sits above the median but below high-end cards, which explains why the combo does not break into the top quartile of tested systems. The CPU's strong single-thread performance—evidenced by its PassMark single-thread score of 4412—helps at lower resolutions, but the GPU's mid-range positioning ultimately limits the overall ranking. For a system targeting 1080p and 1440p play, this ranking is more than sufficient; for 4K Ultra, it is adequate but not exceptional, as the 64 FPS average demonstrates.