Inside

Inside is a sidescrolling puzzle platformer that places minimal stress on modern hardware, and the measured results for the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the AMD Radeon 8050S confirm this. The data shows a system that obliterates standard refresh rate targets at 1080p and remains highly playable even at 4K, though the specific settings preset chosen significantly alters the performance ceiling. This analysis walks through the measured FPS rows to determine the optimal configuration, the role of each component, and how this specific combo ranks against the broader test pool.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data for Inside provides clear guidance on which settings preset delivers the best experience. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves an average of 220 FPS with a minimum of 187 FPS and a maximum of 253 FPS. This is a substantial step down from the Low preset’s 275 FPS average, but the visual fidelity gains are typically significant in a game with moody, atmospheric lighting. The High preset at 1080p drops to 138 FPS average, while Ultra sits at 131 FPS average. Given that the Medium preset’s minimum of 187 FPS far exceeds the 144 Hz refresh rate common on gaming displays, it is the best choice for 1080p—it maintains a massive frame rate cushion while offering better image quality than Low.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern emerges. Medium produces a 158 FPS average with a 135 FPS minimum, which remains comfortably above 120 FPS. High drops to 99 FPS average, and Ultra to 94 FPS. The Low preset hits 198 FPS average, but the difference between Low and Medium in terms of frame rate is 40 FPS, while the visual upgrade is usually more noticeable in a puzzle platformer where subtle environmental details matter. Therefore, Medium is the recommended preset for 1440p as well; the 135 FPS minimum ensures smooth gameplay on high-refresh monitors without sacrificing the atmospheric visuals.

At 3840x2160, the decision becomes more nuanced. Medium delivers a 100 FPS average with an 85 FPS minimum, which is excellent for 4K gaming. High drops to 62 FPS average, and Ultra to 59 FPS average. Low produces 124 FPS average. For 4K, the Medium preset is the optimal balance—it provides a 100 FPS average that is smooth on 120 Hz displays, while the 85 FPS minimum prevents noticeable stutter. High and Ultra are playable at 60 FPS-class levels, but they lack the headroom for consistent frame pacing. The data suggests that Medium is the universal sweet spot across all three resolutions, offering the best experience per the measured rows by maintaining high averages and respectable minimums.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a 14-core, 18-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on a 7 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz, with 18 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12804.5 and a single-core score of 1647.5. In the context of Inside, a game that is not computationally demanding, this CPU is far from being a bottleneck. The measured FPS numbers, particularly the 275 FPS average at 1080p Low, indicate that the processor can feed the GPU with more than enough frames.

The CPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals is telling. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27535, which is a 0.1% delta from the Ultra 5 125H’s average benchmark score of 27507. The Intel Core i5-12600K and AMD Ryzen 7 5700X both score 27578, representing a 0.3% delta. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G scores 27382, a 0.5% delta. These negligible differences (within 0.5%) mean that, for a game like Inside, any of these CPUs would produce virtually identical frame rates. The 18 threads and 4.50 GHz boost clock ensure that the game’s physics and logic threads are handled without issue, but the data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences between settings and resolutions.

The single-core performance, as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1647.5, is adequate for the game’s serial tasks. Inside is not a title that scales heavily with multi-core processors; it is an older puzzle platformer from 2016. The CPU’s 79th percentile ranking among all CPUs further reinforces that it is a capable mid-range part. In summary, the CPU role here is to provide a stable foundation, and the measured FPS data shows no signs of CPU-induced frame drops, as even the 4K Ultra preset maintains a 59 FPS average.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for playing Inside at 1080p with this hardware?

A: The Medium preset is recommended. It achieves a 220 FPS average with a minimum of 187 FPS, which provides a substantial frame rate buffer above 144 Hz displays while offering better visuals than the Low preset’s 275 FPS average.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Inside?

A: Yes, at 4K with Medium settings, the system produces a 100 FPS average with an 85 FPS minimum. High settings drop to 62 FPS average, and Ultra to 59 FPS average, which are still playable but closer to standard 60 Hz refresh limits.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H compare to its nearest rivals in raw processing power?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score is 27507. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800 scores 27535, which is 0.1% higher. The Intel Core i5-12600K and AMD Ryzen 7 5700X both score 27578, being 0.3% higher. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G scores 27382, which is 0.5% lower. These differences are negligible for gaming.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce a 198 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce a 94 FPS average. This represents a 104 FPS drop, indicating that Ultra setting has a significant impact on rendering load.

Q: Is the AMD Radeon 8050S a high-performing GPU relative to other tested cards?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 62108, placing it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M, scores 61896, which is 0.3% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 scores 63693, which is 2.5% higher.

Q: Why does the Medium preset have a minimum FPS listed, but High and Ultra do not?

A: The measured data includes minimum and maximum FPS values only for the Medium preset across all resolutions (e.g., 187 min and 253 max at 1080p). The High and Ultra presets only have average FPS values listed in the FACT PACK, so a minimum cannot be reported.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and AMD Radeon 8050S ranks 2105 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the overall rankings, which is surprising given the high frame rates observed. This discrepancy is likely due to the fact that many tested combos include much more powerful desktop GPUs and CPUs that push frame rates even higher, particularly at lower resolutions. The rank of 2105 out of 2887 means that approximately 73% of tested combos perform better in this specific game, but the absolute performance is still excellent.

The data shows that this combo is not at the top of the charts, but it is far from the bottom. The rank is a relative measure against a wide array of hardware, and the measured FPS numbers—such as the 275 FPS average at 1080p Low—indicate that this system is more than capable of delivering a flawless experience in Inside. The 89th percentile GPU ranking (vs. all GPUs) and the 79th percentile CPU ranking (vs. all CPUs) suggest that both components are above average individually, but their combined rank in this game is pulled down by the presence of higher-end parts in the test pool. For the target audience of a mobile or compact system, this rank is acceptable given the frame rates delivered.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows clear scaling behavior as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 275 at 1080p to 198 at 1440p (a 28% decrease), and then to 124 at 4K (a 37% decrease from 1440p). At Medium settings, the averages are 220 at 1080p, 158 at 1440p, and 100 at 4K. This represents a 28% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 37% drop from 1440p to 4K. At High settings, the numbers are 138, 99, and 62, showing a 28% drop and then a 37% drop. Ultra settings produce 131, 94, and 59, with similar percentage drops.

The consistent percentage drops across all settings indicate that the GPU is the limiting component as resolution increases. The frame rate scales nearly linearly with the number of pixels, which is expected for a game that is not CPU-bound. The transition from 1080p to 1440p increases the pixel count by 1.78 times, and the frame rate drops by roughly 28% on average across settings, which is less than the pixel increase, suggesting some headroom. The transition from 1440p to 4K increases pixels by 2.25 times, and frame rates drop by about 37%, which is closer to the expected scaling. This behavior confirms that the AMD Radeon 8050S is the primary determinant of performance, as its workload grows with resolution, while the CPU’s frame generation capability remains constant.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 275 FPS. The Medium preset produces an average of 220 FPS, with a minimum of 187 FPS and a maximum of 253 FPS. High settings yield a 138 FPS average, and Ultra yields a 131 FPS average. The data shows a clear hierarchy: Low is the fastest, Medium is a balanced step down, and High and Ultra are close to each other, with only a 7 FPS difference between them.

At 2560x1440, Low settings average 198 FPS. Medium averages 158 FPS, with a minimum of 135 FPS and a maximum of 182 FPS. High averages 99 FPS, and Ultra averages 94 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 59 FPS, which is larger than the 82 FPS gap seen at 1080p, indicating that the GPU’s workload increases more substantially at higher resolutions.

At 3840x2160, Low settings average 124 FPS. Medium averages 100 FPS, with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS. High averages 62 FPS, and Ultra averages 59 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 3 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset’s extra effects have diminishing returns at 4K. The Medium preset’s minimum of 85 FPS is the key metric, as it ensures that the frame rate does not dip below the threshold for smooth 4K gameplay.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 8050S is a mobile integrated GPU based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units, with a boost clock of 2800 MHz. The GPU’s memory is system shared, meaning it uses part of the CPU’s main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. Its benchmark scores include a Geekbench OpenCL score of 65818 and a Vulkan score of 58398, with an average benchmark score of 62108, placing it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs.

In Inside, the GPU’s role is dominant. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the primary factor in determining performance across different settings and resolutions. The FP32 compute of 11.47 TFLOPS and the pixel rate of 179.2 GPixel/s are more than sufficient for a 2D puzzle platformer, which is why even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains a 59 FPS average. The GPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals is tight: it is 0.3% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (which scores 61896), but 2.5% slower than the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (63693) and 2.6% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 7600M (63775).

The system-shared memory architecture means that the GPU’s bandwidth is system dependent, but this is not a limiting factor in Inside due to the game’s low memory footprint. The 2800 MHz boost clock is high for an integrated part, and the 2048 shading units provide ample parallel processing power. The data indicates that the GPU handles the rendering load efficiently, as evidenced by the smooth scaling from 1080p to 4K. The GPU’s 89th percentile ranking supports its capability, and in the context of Inside, it delivers frame rates that far exceed playability requirements, with the bottleneck shifting to the CPU only at very low resolutions and settings, where the 275 FPS average at 1080p Low suggests the CPU can keep up.