Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the Intel Arc B370 delivers a playable experience in Inside, but the data clearly shows that the integrated GPU is the primary bottleneck, not the processor. The optimal way to play this title is at 1080p with High settings, which offers a 70 FPS average with the visual quality of the High preset. While the Ultra preset at 1080p only drops the average to 67 FPS, the High preset provides a better balance of performance and visual fidelity, as the incremental visual gains of Ultra do not justify the performance cost relative to the measured data. However, the difference is marginal, and both are viable for smooth gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results for this combo indicate that the High settings preset is the most efficient choice across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, the High preset achieves an average of 70 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay in a puzzle platformer. The Low preset at 1080p pushes the average to 141 FPS, but this comes at a significant visual quality cost that is unnecessary for a game like Inside, which relies heavily on atmosphere and lighting. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a 113 FPS average, but the High preset is the sweet spot for this title, providing a substantial visual upgrade over Medium for only a 43 FPS drop, which is still well within acceptable performance parameters.

At 2560x1440, the High preset yields a 51 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for a smooth experience. The Medium preset at this resolution provides a more stable 81 FPS average, making it the better choice for 1440p gaming with this hardware. The data suggests that the GPU's limitations become more apparent as resolution increases, and the High preset's demands at 1440p are too steep for the Intel Arc B370 to maintain a consistent high frame rate. For 4K, the High preset drops to a 32 FPS average, which is not recommended for a playable experience. The Low preset at 4K is the only viable option, achieving a 64 FPS average, though this sacrifices nearly all visual enhancements.

The Ultra preset is consistently the worst-performing option at every resolution, with averages of 67 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. The data shows that the performance gap between High and Ultra is minimal at 1080p (only 3 FPS), but the gap widens significantly at higher resolutions. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are particularly taxing on the Intel Arc B370's limited resources, especially at higher pixel counts. For the best experience, users should stick with the High preset at 1080p or the Medium preset at 1440p, depending on their display resolution.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated GPU (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its performance characteristics are defined by its modest specifications: 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs. The GPU has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, which are relatively low compared to discrete graphics cards, explaining its limited gaming performance. The GPU's memory is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's DDR5 memory, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This shared memory architecture is a critical factor in its performance, as it competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth.

The GPU's benchmark score in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is 1184, which places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. This low percentile ranking is reflected in its nearest rivals, which include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (avg score 1186, delta -0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (avg score 1190, delta -0.5%), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (avg score 1192, delta -0.7%). The Intel Arc B370 is only 1.4% faster than the AMD FirePro M2000 (avg score 1168), indicating that its raw compute power is on par with decade-old discrete GPUs. This explains why the GPU struggles to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions and settings in Inside.

The GPU's low pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s further illustrate its limitations. These rates are sufficient for 1080p gaming but become increasingly inadequate as resolution increases. The FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS is the theoretical ceiling for the GPU's compute capabilities, but in practice, the shared memory and driver overhead limit real-world performance. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor in this combo, as the CPU's performance is far superior relative to its peers. The Ryzen 7 7700X is a high-end desktop processor, while the Arc B370 is an integrated solution designed for low-power devices, creating a significant imbalance in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 70 at 1920x1080 to 51 at 2560x1440, a 27% reduction, and then to 32 at 3840x2160, a 54% reduction from the 1440p figure and a 54% reduction from the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is overwhelmed by the increasing pixel count, and its limited ROPs and memory bandwidth cannot keep up with the demands of higher resolutions. The same pattern is observed across all settings, with the Low preset dropping from 141 FPS at 1080p to 101 FPS at 1440p and 64 FPS at 4K.

This scaling behavior is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the processor has sufficient headroom but the graphics hardware is the bottleneck. The Ryzen 7 7700X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is more than capable of handling the game's physics and logic at these frame rates, as evidenced by its high CPU benchmark scores. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19088 and single-core score of 1987 are far above what is needed for Inside, which is a relatively simple puzzle platformer. The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the FPS drop is nearly linear with the increase in pixel count, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance.

The 4K results are particularly telling. At 4K, the High preset averages only 32 FPS, while the Low preset averages 64 FPS. This doubling of performance when switching from High to Low at 4K indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and shader throughput are the primary constraints. The Medium preset at 4K achieves a 51 FPS average, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS, showing that there is some headroom for adjustment, but the overall performance is still marginal. For a smooth 4K experience, users would need to rely on the Low preset, which compromises the game's visual identity for playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a wide range of performance depending on the settings preset. The Low preset achieves an average of 141 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded, indicating a very smooth experience. The Medium preset averages 113 FPS, with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 130 FPS, showing a stable frame time distribution. The High preset averages 70 FPS, which is the recommended setting for a balanced experience. The Ultra preset averages 67 FPS, which is only 3 FPS lower than High, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not heavily taxing at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are more pronounced. The Low preset averages 101 FPS, which is still very playable. The Medium preset averages 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS, indicating some frame time variance but still a solid experience. The High preset averages 51 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS threshold but still playable for a slower-paced game like Inside. The Ultra preset averages 48 FPS, showing that the GPU is struggling to maintain high performance at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations are fully exposed. The Low preset averages 64 FPS, which is the only setting that provides a playable experience at 4K. The Medium preset averages 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS, showing significant frame drops. The High preset averages 32 FPS, which is not recommended for a smooth experience. The Ultra preset averages 30 FPS, making it the worst-performing option across all resolutions and settings. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming with this combo requires significant settings reductions to achieve acceptable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + Intel Arc B370 combo ranks 2654 out of 2887 tested combinations in Inside. This places it in the bottom 8% of all tested combos, which is a poor ranking for a game that is not particularly demanding. The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's low performance, as the CPU is a high-end part that performs well in synthetic benchmarks. The Ryzen 7 7700X has an average benchmark score of 35909, which places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (deltaPct 0.3%), the Intel Core 7 250H (deltaPct 0.5%), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 (deltaPct 0.5%), all of which have similar average scores.

In contrast, the Intel Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of 1184, which places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (deltaPct -0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (deltaPct -0.5%), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (deltaPct -0.7%). This massive discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's low percentile explains the combo's overall low ranking. The data indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck, and the combo's performance in Inside is directly tied to the GPU's capabilities rather than the CPU's. For users with this combo, the ranking suggests that upgrading the GPU would be the most effective way to improve gaming performance, as the CPU has ample headroom.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware?

A: The data shows that the High preset at 1920x1080 provides a 70 FPS average, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is recommended, achieving an 81 FPS average.

*Q: Why does the combo rank so low in Inside?*

A: The combo ranks 2654 out of 2887 tested combos because the Intel Arc B370 GPU performs in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, while the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU performs in the 85th percentile. The GPU's low performance is the primary factor limiting the combo's ranking.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. The FPS drops significantly with increasing resolution, from 141 FPS at 1080p Low to 64 FPS at 4K Low, indicating that the GPU cannot handle the pixel count. The CPU's high benchmark scores suggest it is not the limiting factor.

*Q: Can this combo play Inside at 4K?*

A: Yes, but only at the Low preset, which achieves a 64 FPS average. The Medium preset at 4K averages 51 FPS, while the High and Ultra presets average 32 FPS and 30 FPS respectively, which are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B370 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184, which is 0.2% slower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186) and 0.5% slower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190). It is 1.4% faster than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168).

Q: What is the performance difference between the High and Ultra presets?

A: At 1080p, the difference is only 3 FPS (70 vs 67). At 1440p, the difference is 3 FPS (51 vs 48). At 4K, the difference is 2 FPS (32 vs 30). The Ultra preset offers minimal performance gains over High across all resolutions.