Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT combination delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Inside, a puzzle platformer where frame pacing is critical for precise movement. The measured data indicates that this pairing is heavily overqualified for the game’s visual demands, offering high refresh rate performance even at 4K resolution. This analysis breaks down the specific benchmark results, scaling behavior, and component roles to provide a clear picture of what this system achieves.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT secures a rank of 1826 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. This places the pairing in the 63rd percentile of all system configurations tested in this specific title, which is a solidly above-average position. While it does not threaten the top echelons of the database populated by flagship CPUs and GPUs, this rank is entirely consistent with a mid-range, high-value desktop pairing that prioritizes broad game compatibility over raw top-end performance.

Benchmark results indicate that the CPU is the stronger partner in this duo relative to its peers. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 achieves an 85th percentile ranking against all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 36938. Its nearest rivals in the synthetic CPU benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, which scores 36945 with a 0% deltaPct, and the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, which scores 37018 with a -0.2% deltaPct. This effectively puts the Ultra 5 225 in a dead heat with these competing chips, separated by fractions of a percent. The data shows that the processor’s performance level is firmly in the upper-middle class of desktop CPUs.

In contrast, the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT’s percentile ranking is lower, at 65% against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19765. Its nearest rivals in the GPU database are professional workstation cards, including the NVIDIA Tesla K40m (19885, -0.6% deltaPct) and the AMD FirePro D300 (19637, 0.7% deltaPct). While these are not gaming competitors, the comparison shows the GPU's raw compute performance aligns with that tier of hardware. In the context of Inside, the measured frame rates are so high that the GPU’s lower relative rank does not hinder the experience; it is simply the limiting factor at the highest settings and resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s. Its clock speeds are substantial for the class, with a base clock of 2055 MHz, a game clock of 2410 MHz, and a boost clock of 2635 MHz. This configuration provides a fill rate of 168.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s, which are more than sufficient for a 2D side-scrolling puzzle platformer.

For this specific game, the GPU’s role is to render the atmospheric lighting and shadow effects that define Inside’s visual identity. The data shows that the GPU handles this effortlessly. At 1080p Ultra settings, the card produces an average of 139 FPS. This number remains consistently high across all tested settings, indicating that the GPU is never a bottleneck for a standard 60 Hz display, and it is capable of driving high refresh rate monitors at 1080p and 1440p. The 8 GB VRAM allocation is not stressed by this title, as evidenced by the high frame rates, and the card's 32 ray accelerators, while present, are not a factor in this game's rendering pipeline.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 139 FPS. Moving up to 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 100 FPS, a 28% reduction. At 4K Ultra, the average falls to 63 FPS, a further 37% drop from the 1440p figure. This pattern is consistent with a system where the GPU becomes the primary limiting component at higher resolutions.

However, the scaling is not linear across all settings. At Low settings, the frame rates are exceptionally high, which highlights the CPU's capability. At 1080p Low, the system produces 292 FPS. At 1440p Low, it produces 210 FPS. At 4K Low, it still manages 132 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p Low is 28%, and from 1440p to 4K Low is 37%, mirroring the percentage drops seen at Ultra settings. This consistency suggests that even when the GPU load is reduced, the CPU provides a stable foundation, and the GPU remains the determinant of final performance as resolution scales. The data indicates that this pairing is suitable for 4K gaming in this title, but with a compromise on settings to maintain higher frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

For a 60 Hz display, the data shows that the Ultra preset at 4K is the optimal choice, as it achieves an average of 63 FPS, which is right at the target refresh rate. The High preset at 4K offers a small performance bump to 66 FPS but does not provide a meaningful advantage over Ultra, making Ultra the better visual choice when the frame rate target is 60. For users with 1440p high refresh rate monitors (120 Hz or higher), the Medium preset is the clear recommendation, delivering an average of 168 FPS with a minimum of 143 FPS, ensuring the frame rate stays above the 120 FPS threshold. The High preset at 1440p achieves 105 FPS, which is suitable for 100 Hz displays but falls short of 120 Hz.

At 1080p, the system is capable of exceeding 200 FPS on the Low and Medium presets. The Medium preset, with an average of 234 FPS and a minimum of 199 FPS, is the best choice for competitive or high refresh rate gaming (240 Hz monitors), as it ensures the frame rate rarely dips below 200. The High preset at 1080p averages 146 FPS, which is ideal for a 144 Hz display. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 139 FPS, which is only marginally slower than High and will be indiscernible in a game with this art style, so High is the more efficient choice for 144 Hz displays. The benchmark results indicate that the Medium preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions, offering a substantial frame rate increase over High while maintaining a stable minimum FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following breakdown details the exact measured average frame rates across all tested configurations.

1920x1080:

• Low: 292 FPS average.
• Medium: 234 FPS average, with a minimum of 199 FPS and a maximum of 269 FPS.
• High: 146 FPS average.
• Ultra: 139 FPS average.

2560x1440:

• Low: 210 FPS average.
• Medium: 168 FPS average, with a minimum of 143 FPS and a maximum of 193 FPS.
• High: 105 FPS average.
• Ultra: 100 FPS average.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 132 FPS average.
• Medium: 106 FPS average, with a minimum of 90 FPS and a maximum of 121 FPS.
• High: 66 FPS average.
• Ultra: 63 FPS average.

The data shows a consistent hierarchy where lower settings yield significantly higher frame rates. The Medium preset is the only configuration with complete min/max data, showing stable frame delivery. The gap between High and Ultra is consistently small across all resolutions, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional visual effects are not particularly demanding for this GPU.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K 60 FPS?*

A: Yes. At 4K with the Ultra preset, the system achieves an average FPS of 63, which is above the 60 FPS target. The High preset at 4K also averages 66 FPS.

Q: What is the best setting for a 144 Hz 1080p monitor?

A: The High preset at 1080p averages 146 FPS, which is ideal for a 144 Hz display. The Ultra preset averages 139 FPS, which is slightly below the maximum refresh rate but still playable.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 has an average benchmark score of 36938. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F scores 36945 with a 0% deltaPct, making them statistically identical. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018 with a -0.2% deltaPct, meaning the Ultra 5 is marginally slower.

Q: Is the GPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the system produces 292 FPS. Even at 1080p Ultra, the average is 139 FPS. The GPU is not a limiting factor until resolution increases to 4K.

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

A: The difference is small. At 1080p, High averages 146 FPS and Ultra averages 139 FPS (a 7 FPS difference). At 4K, the difference is 3 FPS (66 vs 63).

Q: Does the system support high refresh rates at 1440p?

A: Yes, at 1440p Medium, the system averages 168 FPS, which is suitable for a 165 Hz monitor. At 1440p High, it averages 105 FPS, which is suitable for a 100 Hz monitor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor from the Arrow Lake architecture, based on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, backed by 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The processor’s performance in standardized benchmarks is strong. In Cinebench R23, it scores 25891 points in multi-core and 3655 points in single-core tests. This level of performance places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is well above average for gaming and general productivity.

In the context of Inside, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, physics, and object interactions. The data shows that the processor is not a limiting factor at any tested resolution or setting. The frame rates at 1080p Low (292 FPS) are exceptionally high, suggesting that the CPU can feed the GPU faster than the GPU can render at lower resolutions. The single-thread performance, indicated by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655, is sufficient for the game’s primary thread, which is typical for a puzzle platformer. The multi-core performance ensures that any background tasks or additional engine threads are handled without causing frame drops. The processor’s 65W TDP and support for DDR5 memory further solidify its position as a capable, modern foundation for this GPU, ensuring the system performs at the level dictated by the graphics card.