Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that places minimal stress on modern hardware, and the measured results for the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 confirm this. The data shows a configuration that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet capable of delivering extreme frame rates at 1080p, making it a versatile option for both high-refresh-rate displays and 4K gaming.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario, particularly at the higher quality presets. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops from 168 FPS at 1920x1080 to 121 FPS at 2560x1440, a 28% reduction. Moving to 3840x2160, the average falls further to 76 FPS, which is a 55% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 7700's rendering throughput is the limiting component at these settings, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, demanding significantly more from the GPU's 2560 shading units and 96 ROPs.

The scaling pattern changes dramatically when the preset is lowered. At Low settings, the frame rate at 1080p is 353 FPS, which drops to 254 FPS at 1440p (a 28% reduction) and then to 160 FPS at 4K (a 55% reduction from 1080p). Interestingly, the percentage drops are nearly identical to those seen at Ultra settings, suggesting that even at Low settings, the GPU remains the primary bottleneck. The RX 7700's boost clock of 2459 MHz and its 624.1 GB/s memory bandwidth are being fully utilized, and the workload is not shifting to the CPU despite the simpler graphics pipeline.

The Medium preset provides the only complete dataset with minimum and maximum frame rates, offering a clearer picture of the scaling. At 1080p Medium, the average is 282 FPS with a minimum of 240 FPS and a maximum of 325 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 203 FPS (a 28% reduction), with a minimum of 173 FPS and a maximum of 234 FPS. Finally, at 4K Medium, the average is 128 FPS (a 55% reduction from 1080p), with a minimum of 108 FPS and a maximum of 147 FPS. The consistent 28% and 55% reductions across presets confirm that resolution scaling is the dominant factor, and the component mix does not alter this behavior.

The data indicates that the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, with its 10 cores and 10 threads, is not a limiting factor in any of these scenarios. The CPU's boost clock of 4.90 GHz provides ample single-thread performance for the game's logic, and its 20 MB of shared L3 cache ensures low-latency data access. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller performance gap between 1080p and 1440p, as the GPU would have more headroom to work with. Instead, the consistent percentage drops across all presets point squarely at the GPU as the performance ceiling.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience depends heavily on the target display resolution and refresh rate. For 4K gaming, the High preset delivers an average of 80 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for high-refresh-rate panels. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 76 FPS, a marginal improvement in visual fidelity that does not justify the 5% performance penalty. The Medium preset at 4K offers a more comfortable 128 FPS average, with a minimum of 108 FPS ensuring that frame pacing remains stable even in demanding scenes. For a 60 Hz 4K display, High or Ultra would suffice, but for a 120 Hz+ display, Medium is the better choice to maintain a consistent frame rate.

At 1440p, the High preset achieves 127 FPS, which is suitable for most gaming monitors. However, the Ultra preset only reaches 121 FPS, a negligible difference that makes High the superior choice for nearly identical visual quality. For users with 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors, the Medium preset at 203 FPS is the best option, providing enough headroom to prevent drops below the refresh rate. The Low preset at 254 FPS is excessive and offers no tangible benefit over Medium, as the visual compromise is significant.

At 1080p, the data shows that the High preset at 177 FPS is more than sufficient for any current display. The Ultra preset at 168 FPS is also viable, and the 5% performance difference between High and Ultra is negligible at this resolution. The Medium preset at 282 FPS is only useful for extreme esports-style setups with 240 Hz+ monitors, but the visual quality reduction is likely not worth it for a puzzle platformer where frame pacing is more important than raw speed. The Low preset at 353 FPS is entirely unnecessary, as the GPU is clearly not the bottleneck at this point, and the CPU's performance is sufficient to maintain high frame rates without needing to sacrifice graphics settings.

The data suggests that the "best experience" is a balance between visual fidelity and frame rate consistency. The Medium preset at 4K provides the highest average FPS with a recorded minimum, ensuring smooth gameplay. At 1440p, High is the sweet spot, and at 1080p, High or Ultra are both excellent choices. The Low preset is only recommended if the user prioritizes raw frame rate above all else, but the measured data shows that the GPU has enough headroom to handle higher settings without significant performance degradation.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, the measured data shows an average of 76 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is playable, but not ideal for high-refresh-rate 4K displays. The High preset at 80 FPS offers a similar experience, while the Medium preset at 128 FPS is better suited for 120 Hz+ 4K panels.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144 Hz 1440p monitor?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 203 FPS, with a minimum of 173 FPS. This ensures the frame rate stays above the 144 Hz refresh rate even during demanding scenes. The High preset at 127 FPS would also work, but it may occasionally drop below the refresh rate.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions and settings. The consistent percentage drops in frame rate from 1080p to 4K across presets show that the AMD Radeon RX 7700's rendering capabilities are the limiting factor, not the Intel Core Ultra 5 225.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 4K?

A: At Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops from 168 FPS at 1080p to 76 FPS at 4K, a 55% reduction. The same 55% reduction is observed at Low settings (353 FPS to 160 FPS) and Medium settings (282 FPS to 128 FPS).

Q: Should I use the Low preset for the highest possible frame rate?

A: Only if you have a display that can exceed 353 FPS at 1080p or 160 FPS at 4K. For most users, the High or Medium presets provide a better visual experience with frame rates that are already high enough to be considered excellent.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum frame rates for the Medium preset?

A: The measured data includes these values. At 1080p, the minimum is 240 FPS and the maximum is 325 FPS. At 1440p, the minimum is 173 FPS and the maximum is 234 FPS. At 4K, the minimum is 108 FPS and the maximum is 147 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a detailed view of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 353 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded in the entire test suite. The Medium preset at 1080p produces an average of 282 FPS, with a minimum of 240 FPS and a maximum of 325 FPS. The High preset at 1080p reaches 177 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 168 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is only 5%, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional visual effects have a minimal impact at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 254 FPS, which is still exceptionally high. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 203 FPS, with a minimum of 173 FPS and a maximum of 234 FPS. The High preset at 1440p achieves 127 FPS, and the Ultra preset reaches 121 FPS. The performance difference between High and Ultra remains at 5%, consistent with the 1080p results. The frame rate drop from 1080p to 1440p is approximately 28% across all presets, confirming the GPU-bound nature of the workload.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset produces 160 FPS, which is still a very playable frame rate. The Medium preset at 4K averages 128 FPS, with a minimum of 108 FPS and a maximum of 147 FPS. The High preset at 4K achieves 80 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 76 FPS. The frame rate drop from 1440p to 4K is approximately 37% across all presets, which is less than the 28% drop from 1080p to 1440p but still significant. This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s is being taxed more heavily at 4K, but the 16 GB of GDDR6 memory is sufficient to avoid any capacity-related stuttering.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: Low > Medium > High > Ultra at every resolution. The performance gap between Low and Medium is substantial, averaging a 25% difference, while the gap between High and Ultra is minimal, averaging only 5%. This suggests that the Ultra preset offers diminishing returns for the performance cost, and the High preset is the most efficient choice for visual quality.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is the dominant component in this game's performance profile. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for a puzzle platformer like Inside, even at 4K with Ultra settings. The memory clock runs at 2438 MHz, or 19.5 Gbps effective, and the data shows no signs of memory capacity or bandwidth being a limiting factor, as the frame rates remain consistently high across all resolutions.

The GPU's clock speeds play a significant role in the measured results. The base clock is 1900 MHz, with a game clock of 2041 MHz and a boost clock of 2459 MHz. The boost clock is the key figure here, as it represents the maximum frequency the GPU can achieve under load. The high boost clock allows the RX 7700 to maintain high frame rates even at 4K, where the pixel workload is intense. The GPU's 2560 shading units and 96 ROPs are responsible for the raw pixel throughput, and the data shows that these are being fully utilized at higher resolutions.

The GPU's overall performance is reflected in its benchmark scores. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 20974 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2865, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 15852, and its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon R9 370X, which has an average score of 15862, a delta of -0.1%. This indicates that the RX 7700 is a mid-range GPU, but its performance in Inside is exceptional due to the game's relatively low graphical demands.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and 40 RT cores are largely irrelevant for this game, as Inside does not utilize ray tracing or advanced DX12 features. However, the GPU's raw rasterization performance is more than adequate, as demonstrated by the high frame rates at 4K. The GPU's TDP of 200 W and its dual-slot design with 2x 8-pin power connectors are consistent with its performance class, but these are not factors in the measured FPS results.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 plays a supporting role in this game's performance, as the data shows that it is never the bottleneck. The CPU has 10 cores and 10 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This high boost clock is crucial for gaming, as it provides strong single-thread performance that is essential for game logic and physics calculations. The CPU's architecture, Arrow Lake, is built on a 3 nm process node by TSMC, which contributes to its efficiency and performance.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration ensures that frequently accessed data is stored close to the cores, reducing latency and improving performance. The CPU's memory support includes dual-channel DDR5 with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, which is more than sufficient to feed the GPU's data demands. The CPU's PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes provides ample bandwidth for the GPU and other peripherals.

In terms of benchmark scores, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25891 and a single-core score of 3655. Its Passmark single-thread score is 4412, and its multithread score is 30459. These scores place the CPU in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36938. Its nearest rival is the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, which has an average score of 36945, a delta of 0%. This indicates that the Core Ultra 5 225 is a strong performer for its class.

The CPU's role in Inside is to maintain a high enough frame rate that the GPU remains the limiting factor. The data shows that this is achieved, as the frame rates at 1080p Low (353 FPS) are extremely high, indicating that the CPU is capable of handling the game's logic at very high speeds. If the CPU were weaker, we would expect to see frame rates plateau at lower values, particularly at 1080p where the GPU has less work to do. The fact that the frame rates continue to scale with resolution suggests that the CPU is not a constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1161 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the 60th percentile of all tested configurations, which is a solid mid-pack result. The ranking reflects the overall performance of the combo, and the data shows that it is well-suited for this game, delivering high frame rates at all resolutions.

The combo's ranking is influenced by the GPU's position in the market, as the RX 7700 sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The CPU, however, is a stronger component, sitting in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. This means that the combo's performance is limited by the GPU, and a more powerful GPU would likely improve the ranking further. However, for a game like Inside, the current combo provides more than enough performance for an excellent experience.

The combo's rank of 1161 out of 2887 suggests that there are 1160 combos that perform better in this game, and 1726 combos that perform worse. This is a respectable position, and the measured FPS data confirms that the combo is capable of running the game smoothly at 4K with High settings, which is a demanding scenario. The rank also indicates that the combo is not an outlier, but rather a representative example of a mid-range gaming system that performs well in this specific title.

The data shows that the combo is well-balanced for this game, with the GPU being the primary bottleneck but not to the extent that it causes poor performance. The CPU's strong single-thread performance ensures that it does not hold back the GPU, and the result is a smooth and responsive gaming experience. The rank of 1161 out of 2887 reflects the combo's overall capability, and it is clear that this configuration is a viable option for anyone looking to play Inside at high settings and resolutions.