Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the Intel Arc B370 places this combination at rank 2654 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. This positioning places the combo in the lower 8% of all tested configurations, indicating that while the game is playable, this particular hardware pairing is not optimized for high-end performance in this title. The data shows a significant gap between this combo and the top performers, which is expected given the Arc B370's status as an integrated graphics solution with a benchmark percentile ranking of just 5th among all GPUs.

The ranking becomes more meaningful when examining the raw scores. The GPU's average benchmark score of 1184 places it in direct competition with legacy mobile and entry-level desktop parts from over a decade ago, such as the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and the ATI Radeon HD 5770. This context explains the combo's overall position; the CPU is highly capable, but the graphics subsystem severely limits the final frame rates. The combination's rank is therefore a reflection of the GPU bottleneck, not the processor's capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2654 out of 2887 places this system in the bottom tier of performance for Inside. With only 233 combos ranked lower, this configuration is not positioned for high-refresh-rate or high-fidelity gaming. The data suggests that the system will handle the game's puzzle-platforming mechanics, but it will do so with significant compromises in visual quality or frame pacing to achieve playable performance.

The gap between this combo and the middle of the pack is substantial. The CPU alone, with an average benchmark score of 48995, sits in the 90th percentile of all processors, showing that the processor is not the limiting factor in the ranking. The bottleneck is unequivocally the GPU, which scores in the 5th percentile. This creates a massive imbalance where the system's potential is capped by the integrated graphics solution, resulting in the low overall ranking.

Comparing the GPU to its nearest rivals in the database clarifies the situation further. The Arc B370's score of 1184 is virtually identical to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570's 1186, a difference of only -0.2%. This places the Intel part in the same performance class as graphics hardware from roughly 2010, which explains why the combo fails to climb the rankings for a game released in 2016. The data indicates that this pairing is fundamentally mismatched for demanding gaming scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 brings substantial processing power to this combo, featuring 14 cores and 14 threads. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz can boost up to 5.10 GHz, providing strong single-threaded performance that is often critical for game logic and physics calculations. The processor's architecture, Arrow Lake-S built on a 3 nm process, delivers high efficiency, though its 65 W TDP suggests it is designed for mainstream desktop use rather than extreme overclocking scenarios.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates its strengths. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32924 and single-core score of 4648 indicate a processor that can handle both heavily threaded workloads and the lighter, latency-sensitive tasks common in game engines. The PassMark single-thread score of 4394 further confirms this, showing that the CPU can quickly process the serialized instructions that often bottleneck frame rates in puzzle platformers like Inside.

The CPU's closest rivals in the database are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, with average scores of 49196 and 49228 respectively. The Core Ultra 5 245 trails these by only -0.4% and -0.5%, showing that it is competitive with mid-range and high-end desktop processors from AMD. This level of performance means the CPU is more than capable of feeding the GPU with data; the frame rate limits observed in Inside are not due to processor inadequacy but rather the graphics subsystem's inability to keep pace.

FAQ

Q: Why is the combo rank so low when the CPU is in the 90th percentile?

A: The combo rank of 2654 out of 2887 is driven by the GPU's performance, not the CPU. The Intel Arc B370 scores in the 5th percentile among all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 1184 places it near the bottom of the database. The CPU's high percentile ranking cannot compensate for the graphics bottleneck.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B370's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 is nearly identical to the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570's 1186, showing a -0.2% difference. It also trails the ATI Radeon HD 5770 by -0.5% and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M by -0.7%. This places it in the same performance class as these older parts.

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

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the definitive limiting factor. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 141 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 67 FPS. The CPU's strong scores, such as 32924 in Cinebench R23 multicore, show it is not saturated, while the GPU's low percentile ranking suggests it is the bottleneck.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo?

A: The Medium preset at 1080p provides the best balance, delivering an average of 113 FPS with a minimum of 96 FPS. This is the only preset that maintains a minimum frame rate above 90 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay throughout. The Low preset offers higher average FPS but does not provide the same visual quality.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, which is -0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and -0.5% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900. It outperforms the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%.

Q: Does the game run smoothly at 4K resolution?

A: At 4K with High settings, the average frame rate is 32 FPS, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay. Lowering to 4K Medium improves this to 51 FPS, but the minimum frame rate of 43 FPS suggests occasional stutter. For a consistently smooth experience, lower resolutions are required.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo show a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution and settings increase. At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its best performance. With Low settings, the average frame rate reaches 141 FPS, which is highly playable for a puzzle platformer. Moving to Medium settings reduces the average to 113 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 96 FPS and maximum of 130 FPS. High settings at 1080p yield 70 FPS, while Ultra drops to 67 FPS, showing a significant gap between the Low/Medium presets and the higher visual quality options.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down noticeably. The Low preset maintains an average of 101 FPS, which remains smooth. Medium settings produce 81 FPS average, with a minimum of 69 FPS and maximum of 93 FPS. High settings drop to 51 FPS, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1440p is playable only at the Low or Medium presets, as the High and Ultra options push the GPU beyond its comfortable operating range.

The 3840x2160 resolution reveals the GPU's limitations most clearly. Low settings produce an average of 64 FPS, which is playable but shows a substantial decrease from the 141 FPS at 1080p. Medium settings average 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS, indicating potential frame drops in visually complex scenes. High settings drop to 32 FPS, and Ultra falls to 30 FPS, both of which are below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The data shows that 4K gaming is only viable with the Low preset, and even then, the frame rate is half of what is achievable at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K highlights the GPU-bound nature of this combo. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 141 at 1080p to 101 at 1440p, a reduction of 28.4%. Moving from 1440p to 4K Low brings the average down to 64 FPS, another 36.6% decrease. The cumulative effect from 1080p to 4K is a 54.6% reduction in average frame rate, which is a steep decline that points directly at the graphics processor as the bottleneck.

The scaling pattern under Medium settings is similar but less dramatic in percentage terms. The 1080p average of 113 FPS drops to 81 FPS at 1440p, a 28.3% reduction. At 4K, the average falls to 51 FPS, a 37.0% decrease from the 1440p figure. Overall, the Medium preset loses 54.9% of its performance from 1080p to 4K. This consistent drop across presets indicates that the GPU's rendering throughput is the limiting factor, as the CPU's processing power remains constant regardless of resolution.

The data suggests that the Intel Arc B370, with its system-shared memory and 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, is simply not designed for high-resolution gaming. The 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate and 96.00 GTexel/s texture rate cannot keep up with the demands of 4K rendering in Inside. The resolution scaling analysis confirms that users should target 1080p for the best experience, as the performance penalty for moving to higher resolutions is severe and does not provide a playable frame rate at the higher quality presets.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers the optimal gaming experience for this combo. The average frame rate of 113 FPS is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the minimum of 96 FPS ensures that the game remains fluid even during demanding scenes. The maximum of 130 FPS shows that the system has headroom for less intensive moments. This preset balances visual quality with performance, avoiding the stark visual compromises of the Low preset while maintaining smooth gameplay.

The Low preset at 1080p delivers the highest average frame rate at 141 FPS, but it does so by sacrificing visual fidelity. For a game like Inside, which relies heavily on atmospheric lighting and shadow effects to create tension, the Low preset may diminish the intended experience. The Medium preset provides a better balance, as the minimum frame rate of 96 FPS is significantly higher than the 70 FPS average of the High preset, making it the only preset that guarantees a consistent 60+ FPS experience without major visual degradation.

For users willing to accept lower frame rates, the High preset at 1080p offers an average of 70 FPS, which is still playable. However, the drop from 113 FPS at Medium to 70 FPS at High is substantial, indicating that the GPU struggles with the additional shading and texture work. The Ultra preset, at 67 FPS, provides no meaningful improvement over High and is not recommended. At higher resolutions, the Medium preset at 1440p, with an average of 81 FPS and minimum of 69 FPS, is the only viable option outside of Low settings, but users should expect a less consistent experience than at 1080p.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the definitive bottleneck in this combo, and its specifications explain why. Operating as an integrated graphics solution with a TDP of just 25 W, it features a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The GPU relies on system-shared memory, which means its bandwidth and capacity are dependent on the host system's DDR5 configuration, a significant disadvantage for a game that requires consistent memory access for texture streaming.

The GPU's compute capabilities are modest, with 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output pipelines. The FP32 throughput of 6.144 TFLOPS and the pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s are figures that align with entry-level graphics solutions. The presence of 10 ray tracing cores is noteworthy, but Inside does not utilize ray tracing, so this hardware goes unused in this title. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 places it at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, directly competing with parts from the ATI Radeon HD 5000 series.

The GPU's performance in Inside mirrors its synthetic benchmark results. The measured frame rates show that the Arc B370 can handle the game at lower resolutions and settings, but it struggles when the rendering load increases. The data shows a clear correlation between the GPU's low percentile ranking and the combo's poor performance at higher settings. The 25 W power envelope and integrated nature of this GPU make it unsuitable for anything beyond casual gaming at 1080p with reduced visual quality, and the benchmark results confirm this limitation across all tested resolutions.