Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that scales dramatically with resolution and settings on the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H paired with the AMD Radeon 890M. The data shows a component combination that is heavily GPU-limited at 4K, yet surprisingly capable at 1080p, where the CPU's 14 cores and 18 threads are more than sufficient to feed the integrated graphics. The measured results indicate that the sweet spot for this hardware is 1080p on Medium, delivering a 111 FPS average that sits comfortably between the playable High preset and the maximally smooth Low preset.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a sharp performance cliff as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 69 FPS at 1080p to 50 FPS at 1440p, then plummets to 31 FPS at 4K. This represents a 55% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the AMD Radeon 890M's rendering pipeline becomes the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts. The scaling is not linear; the jump from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, with the frame rate falling by 38% versus the 27.5% drop seen when moving from 1080p to 1440p.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets, confirming that resolution is the dominant factor in performance degradation. At Low settings, the 890M manages 139 FPS at 1080p, 100 FPS at 1440p, and 63 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is still above the 60 FPS threshold, but the gap between Low and High at 4K is only 32 FPS, whereas at 1080p that same gap is 70 FPS. This compression of performance at higher resolutions strongly suggests that the GPU's shading units and texture mapping units are saturated, with the 185.6 GTexel/s texture rate and 5.939 TFLOPS FP32 throughput proving insufficient for 4K High or Ultra workloads.

Benchmark results indicate that the 890M's 32 ROPs and 1024 shading units are the limiting factors at 4K, as the pixel rate of 92.80 GPixel/s cannot keep up with the 8.3 million pixels required per frame at 3840x2160. The transition from Medium to High at 4K costs 19 FPS (from 50 to 31), while the same transition at 1080p costs 42 FPS (from 111 to 69). This inverted scaling pattern shows that at lower resolutions, the memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s from the dual-channel DDR5 system memory is less of a constraint, allowing the GPU to stretch its legs until the CPU becomes the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 890M, built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture with a 4 nm process at TSMC, is the central figure in Inside's performance story. Its boost clock of 2900 MHz and base clock of 400 MHz provide a wide dynamic range, but the average benchmark scores position it at the 45th percentile among all GPUs. The data places it nearly tied with the AMD Radeon Vega 8, with a delta of -0.1% in average benchmark score, and just 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960. This close grouping at the 9210 average benchmark score mark indicates that the 890M is a mid-tier integrated solution that punches at the level of older discrete graphics cards.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the host system's DDR5 memory, with bandwidth listed as "System Dependent." This architecture is critical for Inside, as the game's side-scrolling 2.5D perspective requires moderate texture memory but benefits from fast data transfer. The 890M's 64 TMUs and 32 ROPs are well-balanced for a 1920x1080 workload, but the 4K results show the ROP count becomes a hard ceiling. The measured 31 FPS average at 4K High, versus 30 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicates that the GPU is delivering near-identical performance regardless of the minimal differences between these two presets.

The 890M's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API capabilities are not heavily stressed by Inside, which was released in 2016 and relies on simpler rendering techniques. However, the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 8076 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 590 show it is capable of handling modern workloads. The 15 W TDP for the GPU portion, combined with the CPU's 28 W TDP, suggests a power-constrained platform, yet the measured FPS at 1080p Low (139 FPS) demonstrates that the integrated solution can deliver high refresh rates when the workload is light.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for optimizing the Inside experience on this hardware. The Medium preset at 1920x1080 is the recommended baseline, delivering a 111 FPS average with a minimum of 94 FPS and maximum of 127 FPS. This preset offers a 60.9% improvement over High settings while maintaining smoothness well above the 60 FPS standard. The gap between Medium and Low at 1080p is 28 FPS (139 versus 111), but the visual quality difference between these presets is typically less impactful in a puzzle platformer than the frame rate benefit.

For users prioritizing maximum frame rate, the Low preset at 1080p achieves 139 FPS, which is 25% higher than Medium and more than double the High preset's 69 FPS. This setting is ideal for competitive play or for users with high refresh rate displays, as it eliminates any potential for stutter in fast-moving scenes. Conversely, the Ultra preset at 1080p yields 66 FPS, which is only 3 FPS lower than High, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects do not significantly tax the 890M at this resolution.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the only viable option for 60+ FPS gameplay, with an 80 FPS average and a minimum of 68 FPS. The High preset at 1440p drops to 50 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold, while Low achieves 100 FPS for those wanting higher refresh rates. At 4K, only the Low preset (63 FPS) meets the 60 FPS target; Medium (50 FPS), High (31 FPS), and Ultra (30 FPS) all fall short. The data suggests that users should avoid 4K entirely unless they accept Low settings, as the scaling from Medium to High costs 19 FPS with minimal visual gain.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results show a clear progression across settings. The Low preset averages 139 FPS, making it the only preset to exceed 120 FPS. Medium follows with 111 FPS, maintaining a minimum of 94 FPS and a maximum of 127 FPS, which provides a stable experience with no frame drops below 90 FPS. High drops to 69 FPS, a significant 37.8% reduction from Medium, while Ultra yields 66 FPS, nearly identical to High. The minimal difference between High and Ultra suggests that the Ultra preset's extra effects are negligible at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low averages 100 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS. Medium delivers 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS and maximum of 92 FPS, maintaining playable frame rates throughout. High falls to 50 FPS, breaking the 60 FPS barrier and introducing potential judder. Ultra manages 47 FPS, only marginally below High. The 1440p results indicate that Medium is the highest playable preset, with a 60% performance advantage over High.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles significantly. Low averages 63 FPS, barely clearing the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 50 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS and maximum of 58 FPS, showing noticeable variance that could impact gameplay. High and Ultra produce nearly identical results at 31 FPS and 30 FPS respectively, effectively unplayable for smooth motion. The 4K data reveals that the 890M's 32 ROPs are the bottleneck, as the pixel fill rate of 92.80 GPixel/s is insufficient for the 8.3 million pixel framebuffer.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for playing Inside with this hardware?

A: The measured data shows 1920x1080 as the optimal resolution, with all four settings presets delivering playable frame rates. The lowest average is 66 FPS at Ultra, while Low reaches 139 FPS. At 1440p, only Low and Medium exceed 60 FPS, and at 4K, only Low achieves 63 FPS.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon 890M compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The 890M has an average benchmark score of 9210, placing it at the 45th percentile. It is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (9221, -0.1% delta), and slightly behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (9273, -0.7% delta) and GTX 465 (9294, -0.9% delta).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Inside?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 1440p and 4K, as frame rates drop significantly with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU's 14 cores and 18 threads with a 4.60 GHz boost clock are sufficient to maintain high FPS, with Low settings reaching 139 FPS.

Q: What settings preset should I use for 60 FPS gameplay at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 averages 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS, which is the only preset above 60 FPS. Low averages 100 FPS, while High drops to 50 FPS and Ultra to 47 FPS.

Q: Does the Ultra preset offer better performance than High at 4K?

A: No, the measured data shows Ultra at 30 FPS and High at 31 FPS at 3840x2160. The 1 FPS difference is within margin of error, indicating the GPU is saturated and cannot leverage the extra visual features.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H's benchmark performance compare to its rivals?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score is 29093, placing it at the 81st percentile. It is 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (29123), 0.5% behind the Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (29245), and 0.6% behind the Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270), but 0.5% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940).

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H provides the computational backbone for Inside, and its benchmark results show it is more than capable of handling the game's physics and logic. With 14 cores, 18 threads, and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11875.5 and a single-core score of 1700. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache ensure that level data and entity states remain close to the execution units, minimizing latency during puzzle interactions.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 29093 places it at the 81st percentile among all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (29123, -0.1% delta) and Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270, -0.6% delta). This positioning indicates that the 135H delivers desktop-class performance in a mobile form factor, though the 28 W TDP suggests power limitations under sustained loads. The PassMark multithread score of 22422 and single-thread score of 3521 confirm that the CPU can drive the 890M to its limits at 1080p, where the 139 FPS Low result shows no CPU-induced bottleneck.

The data reveals a clear division of labor: at 1080p, the CPU's fast single-core performance (1700 Cinebench R23 single-core) ensures that the game's main thread runs efficiently, while the 18 threads handle background tasks. At higher resolutions, the CPU's role diminishes as the GPU becomes the sole limiting factor. The 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth from dual-channel DDR5 is shared between CPU and GPU, and the measured 4K performance indicates this shared bandwidth is sufficient for the GPU's needs, as the system memory is the only memory available for the 890M.