Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that scales surprisingly well across a wide range of hardware, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 with the Intel Arc B370 demonstrates exactly how a modern CPU can compensate for a modest integrated GPU. The measured frame rates show a clear pattern: this combo delivers playable performance at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles to maintain a smooth experience at 4K. The data indicates that the Arc B370, with its system-shared memory and integrated design, is the primary bottleneck, while the Ryzen 7 7700’s eight Zen 4 cores provide ample headroom for the game’s physics and logic.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Inside?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the most reliable choice. At Medium settings, the combo averages 113 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, Medium settings drop to an average of 81 FPS, which is still smooth, but the margin for error is smaller. The 3840x2160 results are mostly below 60 FPS, making 4K unsuitable for consistent gameplay.

Q: How does the combo perform at Ultra settings?

A: The Ultra preset is too demanding for the Intel Arc B370. At 1920x1080, the average FPS is 67, which is playable but close to the edge. At 2560x1440, the average drops to 48 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls to 30 FPS. The data suggests that Ultra is only viable at 1080p, and even then, the lack of minimum FPS data means there is potential for stutter.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The Intel Arc B370 is clearly the limiting factor. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all older integrated or entry-level discrete parts. In contrast, the Ryzen 7 7700 sits in the 87th percentile of all CPUs with an average score of 40081. The massive gap in relative performance indicates that the GPU cannot keep up with the CPU’s processing power.

Q: What are the minimum FPS numbers for this combo?

A: Minimum FPS data is only available for the Medium preset. At 3840x2160, the minimum is 43 FPS. At 2560x1440, the minimum is 69 FPS. At 1920x1080, the minimum is 96 FPS. For other settings, only average FPS is provided, which means frame-time consistency cannot be fully assessed from this data.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its closest rivals in raw benchmarks?

A: The Intel Arc B370’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score is 1184. Its nearest rival, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, scores 1186, which is a 0.2% difference. The AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192, putting the Arc B370 0.7% behind. These negligible deltas confirm that the Arc B370 performs at a level comparable to hardware from a much older generation.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 7700’s high thread count benefit this game?

A: While Inside is not a heavily threaded title, the Ryzen 7 7700’s 16 threads ensure that background tasks do not interfere with gameplay. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18760 and single-core score of 1930 indicate excellent headroom. The benchmark results show that the CPU is never the bottleneck, as the FPS scales primarily with resolution and settings, which points to GPU limitation.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience. The primary goal is to maintain an average FPS above 60, with preference given to higher resolutions where possible.

For 1920x1080, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. It delivers an average of 113 FPS, with a minimum of 96 FPS, ensuring a smooth and consistent experience. While the Low preset offers 141 FPS, the visual fidelity of a puzzle platformer benefits from the Medium settings, which still provide a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The High preset at 70 FPS is also viable, but the lack of minimum FPS data makes it a riskier choice for those sensitive to frame drops. Ultra at 67 FPS is borderline; it is playable, but the Medium preset provides a more stable baseline.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. It averages 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. The High preset at 51 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, and the Ultra preset at 48 FPS is not ideal for a game that relies on precise timing for its puzzles. The Low preset at 101 FPS is an option for those who prefer maximum smoothness over visual quality, but Medium offers a superior balance.

For 3840x2160, the results are less favorable. The Medium preset averages 51 FPS with a minimum of 43 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a smooth experience. The Low preset at 64 FPS is the only 4K setting that clears the 60 FPS threshold. However, the visual downgrade to Low at this resolution may not be worth the performance gain. The High and Ultra presets at 32 FPS and 30 FPS respectively are not recommended for serious gameplay.

The best experience across the board is achieved with the Medium preset at 1920x1080. It offers a high average frame rate, a solid minimum frame rate, and a good balance of visual quality. For users with 1440p monitors, the Medium preset at that resolution is the best compromise, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 + Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2654 out of 2887 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested configurations, which is a poor showing for a system built around a modern CPU. The ranking reflects the significant performance limitation imposed by the integrated GPU.

This low rank is primarily due to the Arc B370’s position in the hardware landscape. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, meaning it outperforms only a tiny fraction of the database. Its nearest rivals, such as the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, are all legacy parts from a different era of computing.

In contrast, the CPU is a top-tier performer. The Ryzen 7 7700’s average benchmark score of 40081 puts it in the 87th percentile, and its nearest rivals are all modern processors like the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 and the Intel Core i9-13905H. The delta percentages between the Ryzen 7 7700 and its rivals are minimal, ranging from 0.1% to -0.6%, indicating that it performs on par with the best available CPUs.

The disparity between the CPU and GPU performance creates a system that is out of balance. The data shows that the combo’s rank is dragged down by the GPU, which cannot translate the CPU’s processing power into high frame rates. In Inside, this results in a system that is capable of high CPU-bound performance but is ultimately held back by its graphics solution. This rank suggests that users would see a massive improvement in this game by pairing the Ryzen 7 7700 with a dedicated graphics card.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo starts with an average of 141 FPS on Low, drops to 113 FPS on Medium, 70 FPS on High, and 67 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset is the only one with minimum FPS data, showing a floor of 96 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 101 FPS on Low, 81 FPS on Medium, 51 FPS on High, and 48 FPS on Ultra. The minimum FPS for Medium at this resolution is 69 FPS, with a maximum of 93 FPS. This shows a typical performance curve where the GPU becomes more stressed as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 64 FPS, which is the only 4K setting above 60 FPS. The Medium preset averages 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS. The High and Ultra presets average 32 FPS and 30 FPS respectively, which are not playable for a smooth experience.

The scaling between Low and Medium is consistent across all resolutions, with an average drop of roughly 25-30%. The drop from Medium to High is more severe, with averages falling by 35-40%. The gap between High and Ultra is smaller, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds minimal visual impact while still taxing the GPU.

The 1080p Medium results are the most complete, with a minimum FPS of 96 and a maximum of 130. This indicates a stable frame delivery with no major stutters. The 1440p Medium results show a wider spread, with a minimum of 69 and a maximum of 93, which is still acceptable but shows more variance. The 4K Medium results have the widest spread, from 43 to 59 FPS, indicating that the GPU is struggling to maintain consistency at this resolution.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel’s 3 nm process. It features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and can boost up to 2400 MHz.

The critical aspect of this GPU is its memory configuration. It uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Dependent," which means performance is directly tied to the system’s RAM and memory controller. In this configuration with the Ryzen 7 7700, the memory bandwidth is rated at 83.2 GB/s, which is shared between the CPU and GPU.

This shared memory setup is a major bottleneck. In Inside, the game’s textures and frame buffers must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth. The benchmark results show that the GPU’s performance is limited, with an average 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184. This score places the Arc B370 in the 5th percentile, and its nearest rivals are all much older, lower-performing parts.

The GPU’s pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, which are figures that reflect its limited ROP and TMU counts. The FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS. These specifications explain why the GPU struggles at higher resolutions, as it simply does not have the raw fill rate to push pixels at 4K. The boost clock of 2400 MHz helps at lower resolutions, but the lack of dedicated memory bandwidth is a fundamental limitation that cannot be overcome by clock speed alone.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is a desktop processor from the 7000 series, built on the Zen 4 architecture with a 5 nm process. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU has a 65 W TDP and supports DDR5 memory.

The cache hierarchy is substantial, with 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and a 32 MB shared L3 cache. This large cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency. The CPU’s memory bandwidth is rated at 83.2 GB/s, which is shared with the integrated GPU in this setup.

In Inside, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, physics, and object interactions. The benchmark results show that the Ryzen 7 7700 is more than capable of this task. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18760 and single-core score of 1930 indicate strong performance in both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads. The Geekbench scores of 15371 multicore and 2525 single-core further confirm its capabilities.

The 16 threads ensure that the game can run smoothly even with background processes active. The CPU’s high boost clock of 5.30 GHz is particularly beneficial for games like Inside, which rely on a single primary thread for game logic. The data indicates that the CPU is never the bottleneck, as the FPS drops are directly correlated with increases in resolution and settings, which are GPU-bound tasks.

The CPU’s percentile ranking of 87th places it among the top processors in the database. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 and the Intel Core i9-13905H, show that it is on par with modern high-end mobile and desktop parts. This means that the Ryzen 7 7700 provides a solid foundation for the system, but its potential is currently untapped due to the limitations of the integrated GPU.