Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a surprisingly robust experience in Inside, a puzzle platformer that proves far more demanding on the GPU than its minimalist aesthetic suggests. The measured data reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution, offering high refresh rate capability at 1080p while maintaining playability at 4K. This analysis breaks down the benchmark results, focusing on where the bottleneck lies and how this specific hardware pairing performs across the tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the GPU as the primary performance limiter in this title. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 120 FPS at 1920x1080 to 86 FPS at 2560x1440, a 28% reduction, before falling further to 54 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 55% total decline from the 1080p baseline. This steep curve is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario; the Intel Arc B570's rendering workload scales directly with pixel count, and the data reflects that pressure.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced when examining the Low settings preset. Here, the system achieves 240 FPS at 1080p, drops to 172 FPS at 1440p, and still manages 108 FPS at 4K. The fact that 4K Low outperforms 1080p High (108 FPS vs 120 FPS) is telling: the settings preset has a more significant impact on performance than the resolution jump. This suggests that while the GPU is the limiting factor, its headroom is substantial enough that even at 4K, the card is not completely overwhelmed, provided the visual load is reduced.

The Medium settings data reinforces this analysis. With a 74 FPS minimum at 4K and a 163 FPS minimum at 1080p, the frame pacing remains consistent across resolutions, indicating that the Arc B570's 10 GB of VRAM and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to avoid memory-related stutters. The scaling from 192 FPS at 1080p Medium to 87 FPS at 4K Medium shows a 55% reduction, mirroring the High preset's drop almost exactly. This linear scaling is a hallmark of a GPU-bound workload where the CPU, in this case the Core Ultra 5 225 with its 10 cores and 10 threads, is not introducing a bottleneck at any tested resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS values, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual fidelity and performance for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, Medium produces an average of 192 FPS, which is a 60% improvement over the High preset's 120 FPS, while the visual difference between Medium and High in a game like Inside is typically minimal due to its flat-shaded, low-polygon art style. The 1440p Medium result of 138 FPS is also excellent, comfortably exceeding the 120 Hz refresh rate that many monitors support.

For users prioritizing a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, the Medium preset is the clear choice. The 87 FPS average at 3840x2160 with a 74 FPS minimum provides a substantial cushion above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring smooth gameplay even during scenes with heavy particle effects or complex lighting. In contrast, the High preset at 4K averages 54 FPS, which falls below 60 FPS and may result in noticeable judder on standard 60 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 52 FPS, making it the least suitable option for this resolution.

The Low preset, while delivering 240 FPS at 1080p and 172 FPS at 1440p, sacrifices too much visual quality to be recommended for general play. Given that the Medium preset provides more than double the frame rate of Ultra at 1080p (192 FPS vs 114 FPS) and maintains a 74 FPS minimum at 4K, it represents the optimal compromise. The data suggests that players should avoid Ultra settings entirely, as the performance cost is steep: Ultra at 1080p (114 FPS) is slower than High at 1440p (86 FPS) and only marginally faster than Medium at 4K (87 FPS), indicating diminishing returns on visual quality that do not justify the frame rate penalty.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with a 5 nm process, plays a decisive role in determining the performance envelope of this system. Its 2304 shading units and 80 ROPs, combined with a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, deliver a raw compute throughput of 11.52 TFLOPS FP32. These specifications translate directly into the measured frame rates, which show the card handling Inside's rendering demands with consistency across the resolution spectrum.

The 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This proves adequate for the game's asset streaming, as evidenced by the absence of any min FPS anomalies in the High and Ultra presets at 4K where VRAM pressure would typically manifest. The Medium preset at 4K shows a min FPS of 74, which is 85% of the average, indicating stable memory performance without capacity-related hitches. The card's 18 ray tracing cores are likely underutilized in Inside, given that the game's lighting model is pre-baked and does not rely on real-time RT effects.

The GPU's performance percentile of 65 places it above the median of all tested GPUs, and its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (0.1% faster) and the Intel Arc A750 (0.1% slower). This positions the B570 as a solid mid-range performer, and the benchmark data confirms this classification: it delivers 120 FPS at 1080p High, which is sufficient for high refresh rate gaming, while maintaining 54 FPS at 4K High, a playable frame rate for a slow-paced puzzle platformer. The card's 150 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest efficient power delivery, though the measured data does not include power consumption figures.

How This Combo Ranks

In the comprehensive database of tested CPU and GPU combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 with the Intel Arc B570 achieves a rank of 2301 out of 2887 combos. This places it in the 80th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 80% of the configurations in the database for this specific game. While this rank might seem low at first glance, it is important to consider that the database includes many high-end combinations featuring flagship GPUs, and the rank is relative to all of them.

The combo rank reflects the balanced nature of this system. It is not a top-tier enthusiast setup, but it is far from a low-end budget build. The Core Ultra 5 225, with its 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs, provides a strong foundation, while the Arc B570's 65th percentile GPU ranking is the weaker link in the chain. The combined result of 2301 out of 2887 suggests that while the CPU has headroom to drive a more powerful GPU, the current pairing is well-matched for the demands of Inside, as the resolution scaling analysis shows no CPU-induced bottlenecks.

Compared to the CPU's nearest rivals, the Core Ultra 5 225's average benchmark score of 36938 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945, 0% delta) and slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (37018, -0.2% delta). This indicates that the CPU is performing at the expected level for its class, and the combo's rank is primarily influenced by the GPU's mid-range standing. The data suggests that swapping the Arc B570 for a higher-tier GPU would significantly improve the combo rank, as the CPU would not be a limiting factor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225, featuring 10 cores and 10 threads on the Arrow Lake architecture, provides ample processing power for Inside, which is not a CPU-intensive title. The CPU's base clock of 3.30 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz, combined with a 20 MB shared L3 cache, ensure that frame pacing remains consistent across all tested configurations. The absence of a minimum FPS below the average in the High and Ultra presets at any resolution indicates that the CPU is never waiting on data or hitting a compute ceiling.

The CPU's benchmark scores confirm its capability. A Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25891 and a single-core score of 3655 highlight strong performance for a desktop processor. In gaming workloads, the single-core performance is often more critical, and the Core Ultra 5 225's PassMark single-thread score of 4412 demonstrates that it can handle the game's logic and physics calculations without introducing latency. The 65 W TDP suggests efficient operation, and the 3 nm process node indicates a modern, power-savvy design.

Given that Inside is a puzzle platformer with relatively simple AI and physics, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent GPU-bound pattern, with the frame rate dropping by approximately half when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings preset. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain flat across resolutions, which is not the case. The data shows a 54 FPS average at 4K High versus 120 FPS at 1080p High, a clear indication that the Arc B570's rendering capacity is the determining factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 240 FPS, which is the maximum measured value in the dataset. Medium settings produce 192 FPS with a minimum of 163 FPS and a maximum of 221 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience even in demanding scenes. High settings average 120 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 114 FPS. The 6 FPS difference between High and Ultra at this resolution is minimal, suggesting that Ultra's extra effects do not heavily tax the GPU at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings maintain a high 172 FPS average, while Medium settings deliver 138 FPS with a min of 117 FPS and max of 159 FPS. High settings average 86 FPS, which is still suitable for 60 Hz displays and high refresh rate monitors. Ultra settings fall to 82 FPS, indicating that the GPU is beginning to feel the pressure of higher pixel counts. The transition from High to Ultra at this resolution costs 4 FPS, a negligible difference.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limits become apparent. Low settings still manage an average of 108 FPS, which is playable, but Medium settings drop to 87 FPS with a min of 74 FPS. High settings average 54 FPS, barely below the 60 FPS target, and Ultra settings bottom out at 52 FPS. The data shows a clear hierarchy: Medium is the only preset that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS at 4K, while High and Ultra require compromises in visual settings or acceptance of sub-60 FPS gameplay. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K costs 21 FPS (108 to 87), while the jump from Medium to High costs 33 FPS (87 to 54), highlighting the disproportionate cost of higher settings at this resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings preset for this system to achieve a locked 60 FPS experience?

A: The data indicates that the Medium preset at 3840x2160 provides an average of 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS, ensuring a stable 60 FPS experience. At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 86 FPS, also comfortably above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance?

A: Across all resolutions, the Ultra preset is only slightly slower than High. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 114 FPS versus 120 FPS for High, a 5% difference. At 2560x1440, the gap narrows to 82 FPS versus 86 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it is 52 FPS versus 54 FPS. The visual upgrade from Ultra is often imperceptible in Inside, making High a more efficient choice.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The resolution scaling data clearly shows the GPU is the bottleneck. Frame rates drop by approximately half when moving from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 at the same settings preset, which is the expected behavior for a GPU-bound workload. The Core Ultra 5 225's 10 cores and high boost clock provide sufficient headroom.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 240 FPS compared to Medium's 192 FPS, a 25% increase. At 2560x1440, the gap is 172 FPS versus 138 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it is 108 FPS versus 87 FPS. The Medium preset offers a significant visual improvement over Low for a moderate frame rate cost.

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

A: Yes. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 138 FPS, and the Low preset averages 172 FPS. Even the High preset at 86 FPS is suitable for 144 Hz displays, though it will not fully saturate them. The Ultra preset at 82 FPS is also above 60 FPS.

Q: How does this GPU compare to its closest rivals in terms of raw performance?

A: The Intel Arc B570's average benchmark score is 20556, which is 0.1% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.1% slower than the Intel Arc A750 (20582). It also outperforms the AMD Radeon R9 M390X by 0.5%. These deltas are minimal, indicating performance parity with these cards.