Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016 that is remarkably forgiving on modern hardware, and the measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT confirms this. The benchmark results show a system that is capable of delivering extremely high frame rates at nearly every setting, with the primary question being whether to prioritize visual fidelity or raw refresh rate headroom. The following analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions and presets to determine the optimal configuration for this specific combination.

Settings Recommendations

The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience, as it provides a substantial increase in visual quality over Low while maintaining frame rates that are more than sufficient for the game's puzzle-platforming mechanics. At 1080p, Medium delivers an average of 236 FPS, which is more than double the refresh rate of most standard displays and provides ample headroom for any potential frame time spikes. The measured minimum of 201 FPS and maximum of 271 FPS at this setting indicate a stable experience, with the 70 FPS range between minimum and maximum suggesting consistent performance rather than erratic fluctuations.

For users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the Low preset at 1080p presents an interesting option, as it achieves an average of 295 FPS. This is the only preset that comes close to saturating a 300 Hz display, though the jump from Low to Medium is significant in terms of visual quality for a relatively modest 59 FPS cost. The High preset at 1080p, averaging 147 FPS, is still excellent for a 144 Hz display, but Medium provides a better balance for those who want both smoothness and graphical fidelity. Ultra at 1080p, with an average of 140 FPS, is only 7 FPS slower than High, suggesting that the game's Ultra settings do not impose a heavy additional load on this particular GPU configuration.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again emerges as the recommended choice, with an average of 170 FPS and a minimum of 144 FPS. This means that even in the most demanding moments, the system will not drop below the 144 Hz threshold that many gaming monitors use as their standard refresh rate. The High preset at 1440p (106 FPS average) is still smooth, but the 64 FPS gap between High and Medium at this resolution is notable. For 4K, the situation changes slightly, as the Medium preset averages 107 FPS with a minimum of 91 FPS, which is still playable but begins to show the limits of this combination. The Low preset at 4K (133 FPS average) becomes the safer choice for those who prioritize frame rate over resolution-based detail.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, plays a significant role in these results, particularly as resolution increases. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is notable for a game like Inside, which relies on atmospheric lighting and shadow effects rather than massive texture loads. The ample 16 GB capacity ensures that even at 4K Ultra, the game's assets fit comfortably within the frame buffer, though the performance data suggests that the GPU's processing power, rather than memory capacity, is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The clock speeds are also relevant to the performance profile. The GPU has a base clock of 1980 MHz, a game clock of 2470 MHz, and a boost clock of 2755 MHz. The substantial difference between base and boost clocks, nearly 800 MHz, indicates that the card dynamically adjusts its frequency based on thermal and power headroom. In a lighter title like Inside, the GPU is unlikely to be thermally constrained, allowing it to operate closer to its boost clock for extended periods. This is reflected in the 4K Low result of 133 FPS, which shows that even at high resolution, the GPU can maintain a high frame rate when the graphical load is reduced.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide context for its position in the market. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 17132 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2348, with a percentile ranking of 60 against all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, scores slightly higher at 17208, a delta of -0.7%. This places the RX 7600 XT in a competitive position, though the data for Inside shows that the game is not particularly demanding on the GPU. The scaling from 1080p to 4K is more pronounced than the scaling between presets, indicating that the GPU's fill rate and shading capabilities are being tested more heavily at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245, with its 14 cores and 14 threads, is a formidable processor that is largely underutilized in Inside. The CPU's architecture, Arrow Lake-S on a 3 nm TSMC process, provides a strong single-threaded foundation, which is what matters most for this game's physics and logic calculations. The boost clock of 5.10 GHz is particularly relevant, as Inside is not a heavily multithreaded title. The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 4394 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648 indicate strong per-core performance, which likely prevents any CPU bottleneck from emerging in the frame rate data.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, while not directly tested by Inside, are reflected in its overall benchmark scores. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32924 and Passmark multithread score of 38706 place it in the 90th percentile against all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, scores 49228 in the average benchmark, a delta of -0.5%, meaning the Intel chip is essentially on par with that high-end competitor. For Inside, this means the CPU has more than enough headroom to feed the GPU, and the frame rates are unlikely to be limited by processor performance at any resolution.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth is also a factor, though Inside is not a memory-bandwidth-intensive game. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data storage for the game's relatively small asset files. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU is present but irrelevant for this analysis, as the discrete GPU handles all rendering tasks. The CPU's 65 W TDP is modest, suggesting it operates efficiently without generating excessive heat that could throttle performance in a compact system.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database's measured combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT achieves a rank of 1767 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the 61st percentile of all tested configurations, which is a solid position for a mid-range combination. The rank suggests that while this system is far from the top-tier configurations that might feature flagship CPUs and GPUs, it significantly outperforms the majority of tested systems. The fact that this rank is achieved in a game that is not visually demanding indicates that the combination's strength lies in its ability to maintain high frame rates at reasonable settings, rather than pushing the boundaries of graphical fidelity.

The CPU's individual ranking is notably high, with a percentile of 90 against all CPUs. This means that the processor is in the top 10% of all CPUs tested, which is a strong foundation for the system. The GPU's percentile of 60 is more modest, indicating that the graphics card is the weaker link in this pairing for games that scale heavily with GPU compute. However, for Inside specifically, the GPU's performance is more than adequate, as evidenced by the high frame rates across all resolutions. The combination rank of 1767 out of 2887 suggests that there are many other systems with more powerful GPUs that would outperform this setup in more demanding titles, but for Inside, the balanced nature of this pairing provides a very good experience.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 a bottleneck for the RX 7600 XT in Inside?

A: No. The CPU's single-threaded performance, evidenced by a boost clock of 5.10 GHz and a Passmark single-thread score of 4394, is more than sufficient for this puzzle platformer. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings changes, indicating the GPU is the primary determinant of performance.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144 Hz monitor with this setup?

A: At 1440p with Medium settings, the system averages 170 FPS with a minimum of 144 FPS, making it the ideal configuration for a 144 Hz display. The High preset at 1440p (106 FPS) would not fully utilize the monitor's refresh rate, while Medium ensures the frame rate stays above the threshold.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from Ultra to Low at 4K?

A: The average frame rate more than doubles, going from 63 FPS at Ultra to 133 FPS at Low. This 70 FPS increase is substantial and shows that the GPU's processing load is heavily influenced by the preset level, making Low a viable option for 4K high-refresh-rate gaming.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM of the RX 7600 XT provide any advantage in Inside?

A: While the game does not require 16 GB of VRAM, the ample memory capacity ensures there is no risk of frame drops due to texture swapping at any resolution or settings preset. The 288.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is the more critical specification for this game's performance.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its nearest rival in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, which is within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900's score of 49228. This places the two processors at a near-performance parity in general compute tasks.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth using at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 140 FPS, which is only 7 FPS lower than the High preset (147 FPS). Given the minimal performance cost, Ultra is the preferred choice for maximum visual quality on a 1080p display, provided the user does not require frame rates above 140 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured data shows a clear progression across settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 295 FPS, while Medium drops to 236 FPS with a minimum of 201 FPS and maximum of 271 FPS. High averages 147 FPS, and Ultra averages 140 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is the most significant, with a 59 FPS reduction, while the difference between High and Ultra is a mere 7 FPS. This suggests that the High and Ultra presets have similar GPU requirements, and the primary scaling occurs between the lower and higher tiers of settings.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern emerges but with lower absolute numbers. Low averages 212 FPS, Medium averages 170 FPS with a minimum of 144 FPS and maximum of 195 FPS, High averages 106 FPS, and Ultra averages 101 FPS. The relative gap between Low and Medium is 42 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 5 FPS. The consistency of this High-to-Ultra gap across resolutions suggests that these two presets differ mainly in minor effects that have a fixed cost, rather than scaling with resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more stratified. Low averages 133 FPS, Medium averages 107 FPS with a minimum of 91 FPS and maximum of 123 FPS, High averages 67 FPS, and Ultra averages 63 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 26 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 4 FPS. The most dramatic scaling occurs between Medium and High, with a 40 FPS drop, indicating that the High preset introduces a significant additional GPU load at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals important information about the limiting component in this system. At Medium settings, the average frame rate drops from 236 FPS at 1080p to 170 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 66 FPS, and then to 107 FPS at 4K, another reduction of 63 FPS. This scaling pattern is consistent with the GPU being the primary bottleneck, as the frame rate roughly halves with each doubling of pixel count. The CPU's role becomes less significant at higher resolutions, as the GPU is more heavily tasked with rendering the additional pixels.

The Low preset shows similar scaling, with 295 FPS at 1080p dropping to 212 FPS at 1440p and then to 133 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are smaller than at Medium settings, which indicates that the GPU has more headroom at Low settings and is less constrained by its pixel throughput capabilities. In contrast, the High preset shows a more pronounced drop, with 147 FPS at 1080p falling to 106 FPS at 1440p and then to 67 FPS at 4K. The High preset's 4K performance of 67 FPS is less than half of its 1080p performance, highlighting the GPU's limitations when higher-quality effects are enabled at high resolutions.

The resolution scaling data strongly suggests that the system is GPU-limited at all settings and resolutions tested. The CPU, with its high single-thread performance, does not appear to introduce any frame rate ceiling, as the performance scales predictably with the GPU's workload. For users seeking to maximize frame rates, reducing resolution is far more effective than reducing settings, as the difference between 1080p and 1440p is generally larger than the difference between High and Low at the same resolution. This indicates that the RX 7600 XT's processing power, rather than the CPU or memory configuration, is the definitive factor in this game's performance.