Inside

Inside pairs the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H with the AMD Radeon 8050S, a mobile combo that lands in the 73rd percentile of all tested configurations for this puzzle platformer. The combo ranks 2105th out of 2887 tested setups, placing it firmly in the upper-middle tier. This is not a top-tier enthusiast pairing, but the benchmark data shows it delivers a thoroughly playable experience across all resolution and settings combinations, with the most demanding preset still clearing 59 FPS at 4K. The results indicate a well-balanced pairing where neither component becomes a glaring bottleneck, though the scaling patterns reveal clear strengths and limits for each part.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2105 out of 2887 tested combinations places it in the 73rd percentile of all systems tested in Inside. That is a solid standing for a mobile platform, especially considering the game’s age and the hardware’s mid-range positioning. The data suggests this combo outperforms roughly 27% of tested systems, but it also trails the top quartile by a noticeable margin. In practical terms, this means the combo is more than capable of running Inside smoothly, but it won’t dominate leaderboards for raw frame rates.

Compared to the CPU’s own percentile of 81 against all CPUs, the combo’s in-game rank is slightly lower, hinting that the GPU holds the pairing back a bit more than the processor does. The GPU sits at the 89th percentile against all GPUs, which is higher than the combo’s overall ranking, suggesting that other factors, such as memory bandwidth or platform limits, may slightly temper the in-game results. Still, the delta between the GPU’s percentile and the combo’s rank is modest, and the measured FPS data confirms that the system rarely struggles to maintain high frame rates.

The nearest rival comparisons for the CPU show a tight cluster of performance. The Core Ultra 5 135H’s average benchmark score of 29093 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, which scores 29123, a delta of -0.1%. Similarly, it trails the Intel Core i5-13500HX by -0.6% and the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 by -0.5%, while edging out the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT by 0.5%. These numbers reveal that the 135H is performance-competitive with desktop chips from a few generations ago, which bodes well for CPU-bound scenarios in Inside, though the game is not particularly demanding on the processor.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a similar clustering. The Radeon 8050S’s average score of 62108 is 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M, but it trails the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 by -2.5%, the AMD Radeon RX 7600M by -2.6%, and the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT LP by -2.7%. These small deltas indicate that the 8050S sits right at the edge of a performance tier, and the in-game results reflect that positioning—strong enough for high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, but not quite capable of maxing out 4K Ultra without compromise.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 8050S is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture with a 4 nm process node from TSMC. Its chip, codenamed Strix Halo, packs 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 32 ray tracing cores. The GPU’s base clock runs at 1295 MHz, with a boost clock reaching 2800 MHz. These clocks, combined with the shading unit count, yield a pixel rate of 179.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 358.4 GTexel/s, while FP32 performance sits at 11.47 TFLOPS. The GPU’s TDP is rated at 55 W, which is modest for a discrete-class part but typical for an integrated graphics solution on a high-end mobile chip.

The memory configuration is unique: the 8050S uses System Shared memory, meaning it draws from the system’s DDR5 pool rather than dedicated VRAM. The bus width and bandwidth are also listed as System Shared and System Dependent, respectively. In practice, this means the GPU’s performance can vary based on the system’s memory configuration, though the benchmark data shows it handles Inside’s demands without issue. The shared memory setup is a double-edged sword—it keeps the chip smaller and more power-efficient, but it can theoretically limit performance in memory-heavy scenarios. For Inside, which is not a memory-bandwidth-intensive title, the impact is minimal, as the measured FPS numbers show.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range-to-upper-mid positioning. It scores 65818 in Geekbench OpenCL and 58398 in Geekbench Vulkan, with an average benchmark score of 62108. The Vulkan score is notably lower than the OpenCL score, which could indicate driver optimization quirks, but Inside’s rendering engine does not heavily rely on Vulkan features. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring full compatibility with the game’s API requirements. The 8050S’s 89th percentile against all GPUs places it above the vast majority of tested graphics hardware, and the in-game results confirm that it delivers smooth frame rates even at 4K resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the combo scales across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions, revealing a clear pattern of GPU limitation at higher resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo hits 275 FPS, which drops to 198 FPS at 1440p and 124 FPS at 4K. That is a 55% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is the primary constraint as resolution increases. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 18 threads running at a 3.60 GHz base and 4.60 GHz boost, is more than capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU’s pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor at 4K.

At High settings, the scaling is steeper. The combo achieves 138 FPS at 1080p, 99 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K here is 55%, matching the Low settings pattern, which suggests that the GPU’s workload scales linearly with pixel count. However, the absolute frame rates at 4K High (62 FPS) are still very playable, just barely above the 60 FPS threshold. At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 220 FPS at 1080p, 158 FPS at 1440p, and 100 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result is particularly strong, offering a smooth 100 FPS average with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS.

The Ultra settings row shows the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p, the combo manages 131 FPS, which drops to 94 FPS at 1440p and 59 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only sub-60 FPS average in the entire dataset, and even then, it is just 1 FPS below the 60 FPS mark. This indicates that Ultra settings push the GPU to its limit at 4K, but the combo still delivers a nearly playable experience. The data clearly shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K across all settings, while the CPU has enough headroom to keep up at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 275 FPS, which is well beyond any display’s refresh rate. Medium settings drop to 220 FPS, with a minimum of 187 FPS and a maximum of 253 FPS, showing excellent frame pacing. High settings average 138 FPS, and Ultra settings average 131 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is small at 1080p—just 7 FPS—suggesting that the visual difference between these presets is not worth the frame rate cost for most players. The minimum FPS data is not available for High and Ultra, but the averages suggest that even the most demanding preset at 1080p will feel smooth on a standard 144 Hz monitor.

Moving to 1440p, the combo still impresses. Low settings average 198 FPS, dropping to 158 FPS on Medium with a minimum of 135 FPS and a maximum of 182 FPS. High settings average 99 FPS, and Ultra settings average 94 FPS. The 1440p High and Ultra results are both comfortably above 60 FPS, making them viable for high-refresh-rate gaming at this resolution. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is significant—a 28% drop at Low, a 28% drop at Medium, a 28% drop at High, and a 28% drop at Ultra—which aligns with the pixel count increase of 78% from 1080p to 1440p when accounting for the GPU’s headroom.

At 4K, the combo’s limits become apparent. Low settings average 124 FPS, which is still very playable. Medium settings average 100 FPS, with a minimum of 85 FPS and a maximum of 115 FPS, making this the sweet spot for 4K gaming on this hardware. High settings average 62 FPS, just above the 60 FPS threshold, and Ultra settings average 59 FPS, dipping just below it. The 4K High and Ultra results are very close, differing by only 3 FPS, which suggests that the game’s Ultra preset adds little visual benefit at this resolution while costing measurable performance. The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium at 4K (85 FPS), but the 59 FPS average at Ultra implies that occasional dips below 60 FPS are likely, making Medium the safer choice for consistent smoothness.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the benchmark data points to Medium settings as the optimal balance between visual quality and frame rate. At 1080p, Medium delivers 220 FPS, which is more than enough for any display, while High and Ultra both sit in the 131-138 FPS range. The jump from Medium to High costs 82 FPS at 1080p, which is a significant hit for what is likely a modest visual improvement in a game with Inside’s art style. At 1440p, Medium delivers 158 FPS, which is still excellent, while High drops to 99 FPS and Ultra to 94 FPS. The 59 FPS difference between Medium and High at 1440p is substantial, making Medium the clear choice for players who prioritize smoothness.

At 4K, Medium is the only settings preset that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, averaging 100 FPS with a minimum of 85 FPS. High settings at 62 FPS are technically playable, but the lack of minimum FPS data suggests potential dips below 60 FPS during demanding scenes. Ultra settings at 59 FPS are just below the threshold, and the 3 FPS difference between High and Ultra at 4K is negligible, meaning players who insist on Ultra should expect occasional stutter. For a puzzle platformer like Inside, where precise timing and smooth camera movement are crucial, Medium settings at 4K offer the best combination of visual fidelity and performance stability.

In summary, the recommendation is to use Medium settings across all resolutions. At 1080p and 1440p, Medium provides frame rates that exceed most high-refresh-rate displays, and at 4K, it delivers a smooth 100 FPS average. High settings are a reasonable alternative at 1080p and 1440p if the visual differences matter, but the performance cost is steep. Ultra settings should be avoided at 4K, as the 59 FPS average is too close to the 60 FPS threshold for comfort.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a 14-core, 18-thread processor from the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 7 nm process node. It features a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, with a TDP of 28 W. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 18 MB L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a theoretical bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, which is ample for feeding both the CPU and the GPU’s System Shared memory.

Benchmark results show the 135H is a capable processor for gaming. It scores 11875.5 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1700 in single-core, with a Passmark multithread score of 22422 and a single-thread score of 3521. The single-core performance is particularly relevant for Inside, which is a puzzle platformer with relatively light CPU demands. The CPU’s 81st percentile against all CPUs indicates it outperforms the majority of processors, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and Intel Core i5-13500HX, with deltas under 1%.

In the context of Inside, the CPU’s role is to maintain consistent frame pacing and handle game logic without becoming a bottleneck. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 275 FPS, which is likely CPU-limited in some scenarios, but the CPU’s strong single-thread performance ensures that frame times remain stable. At higher resolutions, the GPU takes over as the limiting factor, and the CPU’s headroom becomes less relevant. The 18 MB L3 cache and 18 threads provide ample resources for the game’s background processes, and the 28 W TDP means the CPU can sustain its boost clocks without thermal throttling in most mobile chassis. Overall, the 135H is more than sufficient for Inside, and the combo’s performance is ultimately constrained by the GPU at 4K, not the processor.