Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and AMD Radeon 890M combination delivers a playable experience for Inside, but the data shows a significant performance cliff as resolution increases. The benchmark results indicate that this mobile platform is best suited for 1080p gaming, with the integrated GPU acting as the primary constraint at higher resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates to determine the optimal settings and what they reveal about the system's capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data clearly indicates that the Low preset is the only reliable option for a consistently smooth experience at 4K, while Medium provides the best balance of visual quality and performance at 1080p and 1440p. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 139 FPS, which is more than sufficient for the game's puzzle-platforming mechanics. However, stepping up to Medium only drops the average to 111 FPS, a 20% reduction, while offering a substantial visual improvement. The Medium preset also provides a minimum FPS of 94, ensuring that frame pacing stays well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 1080p drops to 69 FPS, which is still playable but introduces a more noticeable performance cost for diminishing visual returns.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset remains the sweet spot, delivering an average of 80 FPS with a minimum of 68 FPS. This keeps the experience fluid and responsive. The Low preset at this resolution produces 100 FPS, but the jump to Medium is worth the 20 FPS loss for the enhanced fidelity. The High preset falls to 50 FPS, which starts to feel less consistent for a game that relies on precise timing in some sequences. For 4K, the situation is more challenging. The Low preset is the only setting that achieves a playable average of 63 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 50 FPS, and both High and Ultra fall below the 31 FPS mark, which is not ideal for a smooth experience. Therefore, the data suggests that users should prioritize the Medium preset for 1080p and 1440p gaming, and accept the Low preset for 4K to maintain playable frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this hardware?

A: The Medium preset offers the best experience at 1920x1080, providing an average of 111 FPS with a minimum of 94 FPS. This balances visual quality with a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only with significant compromises. At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves an average of 63 FPS, which is playable. However, the High and Ultra presets drop to 31 FPS and 30 FPS respectively, which are not recommended for a smooth experience.

Q: How does the performance scale from 1080p to 4K?

A: The performance impact is substantial. For example, on the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 139 at 1080p to 100 at 1440p, and then to 63 at 4K. This represents a 55% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K.

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

A: The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU, with its 16 cores and 22 threads, appears to be sufficient for the game's demands.

Q: What are the minimum FPS numbers for the Medium preset?

A: The Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 94 at 1080p, 68 at 1440p, and 43 at 4K. These are the only measured minimum FPS values in the data, providing a good indication of frame time consistency.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and AMD Radeon 890M ranks 2714 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the lower percentile of systems tested.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and pronounced scaling pattern that identifies the integrated GPU as the definitive performance limiter. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on the Low preset yields a drop from 139 FPS to 100 FPS, a 28% reduction. The scaling becomes more aggressive when moving to 3840x2160, where the Low preset yields 63 FPS, a further 37% reduction from the 1440p figure. This trend is consistent across all settings. For instance, on the High preset, the average FPS falls from 69 at 1080p to 50 at 1440p and finally to 31 at 4K. This linear degradation in performance with pixel count is a textbook indication that the AMD Radeon 890M is running out of fill rate and shading power.

The data suggests that the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is not the primary constraint. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a plateau in frame rates at lower resolutions as the GPU becomes less stressed. Instead, the frame rate continues to climb at 1080p, reaching 139 FPS on Low, which indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU faster than it can render frames. The 16-core, 22-thread processor is providing ample headroom. Therefore, the resolution scaling curve points directly to the Radeon 890M's compute capabilities as the limiting factor. Users seeking higher frame rates at 1440p or 4K would need to reduce graphical settings to compensate for the GPU's limitations, as demonstrated by the significant performance differences between the Low and Ultra presets at each resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The performance data for this specific hardware pairing in Inside places it at rank 2714 out of 2887 tested combos. This puts the system in the bottom 6% of all configurations tested, indicating that it is a relatively low-performance combination for this particular title. The ranking is a holistic view of the system's measured FPS across all tested resolutions and settings, not just a single point. Given that the GPU has a percentile rank of 45 against all GPUs and the CPU has a percentile rank of 83 against all CPUs, the overall combo rank is dragged down significantly by the integrated graphics solution.

This low ranking is contextualized by the GPU's nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon 890M's average benchmark score is 9210, which is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (9221, a 0.1% difference) and slightly lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (9273, a 0.7% difference). These rival GPUs are significantly older or less powerful than the 890M, yet they perform at a similar level in synthetic benchmarks. This suggests that while the 890M is a modern integrated GPU, its absolute performance is still in the range of entry-level discrete graphics from several generations ago. The combo's rank reflects this level of performance, showing that while it can run Inside, it does so at frame rates that are much lower than the majority of tested systems.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture. It features a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong multi-threaded capability, scoring 15028 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 24873 in Passmark's multithread test. Its single-thread performance is also respectable, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1743 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3468. These scores suggest the CPU is well-equipped to handle the logical and physics calculations required by a game like Inside.

For Inside, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU. The game is a 2D puzzle platformer with relatively simple geometry and lighting, meaning the graphical workload is not as demanding as a modern 3D title. The measured FPS scaling strongly suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 139 FPS, which is likely near the engine's frame rate limit or the point where the GPU becomes fully saturated. The CPU has enough headroom to process game logic and draw calls without limiting the frame rate. The data shows that reducing resolution from 4K to 1080p more than doubles the average FPS on most presets, which would not happen if the CPU were the primary constraint. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache and high boost clock help ensure that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's demands even at lower resolutions, but it is the Radeon 890M that determines the final frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured average frame rates for the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and AMD Radeon 890M combination across all tested resolutions and settings.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|---------|---------|

| 1920x1080 | Low | 139 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 111 | 94 | 127 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 69 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 66 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 100 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 80 | 68 | 92 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 50 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 47 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 63 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 50 | 43 | 58 |

| 3840x2160 | High | 31 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 30 | - | - |

At 1080p, the frame rates are robust. The Low preset achieves 139 FPS, while the Medium preset provides a highly playable 111 FPS. The High and Ultra presets offer 69 FPS and 66 FPS, respectively, which are still adequate for a smooth experience. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is significant, at 53%, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor as settings are increased.

At 1440p, the pattern continues. The Low preset maintains a high 100 FPS, but the Medium preset drops to 80 FPS. The High and Ultra presets fall to 50 FPS and 47 FPS, respectively. These numbers are still playable, but the margins are thinner. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is also 53%, consistent with the 1080p findings.

At 4K, the hardware struggles. The Low preset is the only one that achieves a playable average of 63 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 50 FPS, which may be acceptable for some, but the High and Ultra presets fall to 31 FPS and 30 FPS, respectively. The data shows that the Radeon 890M simply does not have the raw pixel throughput to handle 4K at higher quality settings. The performance drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 52%, showing a similar relative scaling, but the absolute numbers are too low for a good experience on the higher presets.