Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that leans heavily on atmosphere and precise timing rather than raw graphical fidelity, and the measured frame rates for the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 combination reflect that. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly capable of delivering smooth gameplay across all tested resolutions and settings, with the primary performance lever being the graphics configuration rather than the CPU. This pairing produces a wide spread of frame rates, from a highly playable 61 FPS at 4K Ultra to a blistering 282 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that the GPU is the defining component for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers an average of 282 FPS, but this drops to 203 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 127 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 55% reduction in average FPS when moving from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, a significant hit that clearly demonstrates the Radeon RX 7600's rendering limits under increased pixel counts.

The trend is consistent across all settings levels. With High settings, the average frame rate falls from 141 FPS at 1080p to 101 FPS at 1440p and finally to 64 FPS at 4K. The scaling pattern shows that each resolution step-up imposes a roughly similar relative cost, which is typical for a game where the visual load is primarily on the fill rate and shader processing of the GPU. The 1440p results, sitting between the two extremes, show that this resolution is the sweet spot for maintaining high refresh rates, with the Medium preset hitting 162 FPS.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution decreases. At 4K, the difference between Low (127 FPS) and Ultra (61 FPS) is 66 FPS, but at 1080p, that same gap expands to 148 FPS (282 FPS vs 134 FPS). This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU more frames, allowing the more demanding Ultra settings to have a larger absolute impact on the frame rate. The data indicates that the limiting component shifts from the GPU at 4K to a more balanced workload at 1080p, although the CPU never becomes a bottleneck that prevents high frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for high refresh rate gaming with this combo?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo achieves an average of 162 FPS, which is ideal for 144Hz displays. For even higher refresh rates, 1920x1080 with Low settings delivers an average of 282 FPS, though the visual compromise may not be worth it for this title.

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

A: Yes, but with caveats. The data shows an average of 64 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings and 61 FPS with Ultra settings. Both are above the 60 FPS threshold, but there is little headroom for demanding scenes, as the minimum FPS was not recorded for these settings.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings?

A: The gap is substantial. At 1080p, the average frame rate drops from 282 FPS on Low to 134 FPS on Ultra, a 148 FPS difference. At 4K, the difference is less pronounced but still significant, with averages of 127 FPS and 61 FPS respectively.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 a bottleneck in this game?

A: The benchmark results suggest it is not a limiting factor. The 10-core, 10-thread processor with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz provides ample performance for this puzzle platformer, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p. The CPU's average benchmark score of 36938 places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: How does the Radeon RX 7600's performance compare to its closest rivals in synthetic tests?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 15171, putting it in the 57th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, scores 15199, a negligible 0.2% difference. The AMD Radeon 680M is slightly ahead with a score of 15270, a -0.7% delta.

Q: What is the frame rate consistency like at 1440p?

A: The Medium settings at 2560x1440 show a minimum of 138 FPS and a maximum of 186 FPS, with an average of 162 FPS. This indicates a stable experience with a 48 FPS variance, which should be smooth for most players.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 brings a 10-core, 10-thread configuration based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, providing the raw single-thread speed that puzzle platformers often rely on for game logic and physics. The processor's performance is well above average, with its average benchmark score of 36938 placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, but its capabilities ensure there are no frame rate ceilings imposed by processor limitations. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25891 and single-core score of 3655 highlight its balanced performance, while the PassMark single-thread score of 4412 confirms strong per-core performance. This is critical for maintaining high average frame rates, especially at 1080p where the system achieves 282 FPS on Low settings, a figure that requires the CPU to rapidly process game state updates.

The processor's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR5 interface ensures that data flows efficiently to the GPU. With 20 MB of shared L3 cache, the CPU can keep frequently accessed data close at hand. The fact that the combo ranks 1930 out of 2887 tested combinations for this game suggests that while the CPU is competent, the overall system performance is more heavily influenced by the GPU's capabilities in this particular title.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 combination ranks 1930 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the high frame rates measured, but it reflects the broad spectrum of hardware tested, which likely includes many high-end systems that push frame rates even higher. The rank indicates that while this combo is far from the top, it is also not near the bottom, offering a solid mid-tier experience.

When comparing the components individually, the CPU is the stronger part relative to its peers. The Core Ultra 5 225's average benchmark score of 36938 puts it within 0.5% of its nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F at 36945 and the Intel Core i9-12900T at 37112. This suggests the CPU is competitive with a wide range of processors. The GPU, however, sits closer to the median, with its average score of 15171 landing it in the 57th percentile, and its closest rival, the RTX 3050 OEM, is a mere 0.2% away.

The 2887-combo pool for this game is large, and the rank of 1930 means that roughly 67% of tested configurations perform better. This is likely due to the game's low system requirements, which allow even modest GPUs to achieve high frame rates, meaning that higher-end GPUs can push into the hundreds of FPS with ease. The measured data for this combo, such as 141 FPS at 1080p High, is certainly playable, but it does not stand out in a field where many combos can exceed 200 FPS on similar settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is the primary driver of frame rates in Inside, as evidenced by the significant performance scaling with resolution and settings changes. Built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, the GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. Its boost clock of 2655 MHz and game clock of 2250 MHz provide the processing power needed for the game's 2D side-scrolling visuals, which are deceptively demanding due to their lighting and particle effects.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s. These specifications allow the card to handle the game's rendering efficiently, but the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, dropping to an average of 61 FPS. In contrast, at 1080p Low, the GPU has ample headroom, allowing the CPU to push the frame rate to 282 FPS.

The Radeon RX 7600's average benchmark score of 15171 places it in the 57th percentile of all GPUs, and its closest competitor, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, is virtually identical with a score of 15199. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the frame rates do not suggest memory-related stuttering. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2310 and PassMark G3D score of 16634 provide additional context for its overall performance class.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast, with Low settings producing an average of 282 FPS, Medium at 226 FPS, High at 141 FPS, and Ultra at 134 FPS. The Medium settings also recorded a minimum of 192 FPS and a maximum of 259 FPS, indicating tight frame pacing.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop but remain high: Low at 203 FPS, Medium at 162 FPS, High at 101 FPS, and Ultra at 97 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution showed a minimum of 138 FPS and a maximum of 186 FPS, demonstrating a consistent experience. At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more modest, with Low at 127 FPS, Medium at 102 FPS, High at 64 FPS, and Ultra at 61 FPS. The 4K Medium settings recorded a minimum of 87 FPS and a maximum of 117 FPS.

The data reveals a clear hierarchy where resolution has a larger impact than settings. For example, dropping from 4K High (64 FPS) to 1440p High (101 FPS) yields a 37 FPS improvement, while dropping from 4K Ultra (61 FPS) to 4K High (64 FPS) yields only a 3 FPS gain. This suggests that players prioritizing higher resolutions should first consider lowering the resolution before adjusting quality presets. The 1080p Low result of 282 FPS is the standout figure, offering more than enough performance for even the fastest refresh rate displays currently available.