Inside

Inside is a 2D puzzle platformer that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware. Yet the measured frame rates for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 tell a more nuanced story, particularly at higher resolutions. This combination ranks 2631 out of 2887 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower tier of all possible system pairings. The data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, but surprisingly capable at 1080p, where the aging Polaris GPU can still deliver high refresh rates. The following analysis breaks down exactly how this CPU-GPU pairing behaves across the measured settings and resolutions, using only the provided benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking pattern in the measured FPS data is how dramatically performance collapses as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system delivers an average of 150 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops that average to 108 FPS, a 28% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 68 FPS, which is less than half of the 1080p result. This scaling behavior indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 580 is the primary limiting component at higher pixel counts, as the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 has ample headroom to feed frames at lower resolutions.

The gap between resolutions narrows at higher settings, but the trend remains consistent. With High settings, the average FPS goes from 75 at 1080p to 54 at 1440p, then down to 34 at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the same pattern: 71 FPS at 1080p, 51 at 1440p, and 32 at 4K. Interestingly, the jump from 1440p to 4K is proportionally larger than the jump from 1080p to 1440p at every settings level. For example, with Medium settings, the drop from 1080p (120 FPS) to 1440p (86 FPS) is 34 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K (54 FPS) is 32 FPS. The pixel count increase from 1440p to 4K is roughly 2.25x, which explains why the frame rate nearly halves at that transition.

What does this say about the limiting component? At 1080p, the RX 580 can still push above 70 FPS even on Ultra, which suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck. At 4K, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed, with Ultra dropping to 32 FPS and High to 34 FPS. The data indicates that 4K gaming with this combo is only viable on Low settings, where 68 FPS is achievable. The 1440p results are a middle ground: Low hits 108 FPS, Medium reaches 86 FPS, but High and Ultra fall below 60 FPS. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1440p, the Medium preset is the maximum setting that delivers acceptable performance.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K also highlights the lack of headroom in the RX 580. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus provide 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is insufficient for heavy 4K workloads in this game. The measured data shows that even at 4K Low, the frame rate is only 68 FPS, which is far below the 150 FPS seen at 1080p Low. This is a classic sign of a GPU that is hitting its fill-rate or bandwidth ceiling, rather than a CPU limitation.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is an end-of-life product built on the Polaris 20 chip using a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. Its specifications are modest by modern standards: 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operations pipelines. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, with memory running at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). This configuration yields a pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.175 TFLOPS.

In the context of Inside, these numbers translate to specific FPS results. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory is more than enough for a 2D game, even at 4K, but the bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The measured data shows that at 1080p, the RX 580 can deliver 150 FPS on Low and 120 FPS on Medium, which suggests the GPU is not fully saturated. However, at 4K, the same settings produce only 68 and 54 FPS respectively, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory resources are being pushed to their limits.

The RX 580's benchmark scores place it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12928. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (with a deltaPct of -0.1), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (-0.4), and the AMD Radeon 740M (+0.5). These rivals are all within 0.6% of the RX 580's average score, meaning the GPU sits in a crowded performance band. For Inside specifically, the measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (71 FPS) and 4K Ultra (32 FPS) reflects this mid-range positioning.

The GPU's DirectX 12 support (12_0) and Vulkan 1.3 capabilities are relevant for a 2016 game like Inside, which likely uses an older DirectX 11 render path. The passmark DirectX 11 score of 60 is the highest among the DirectX tests, while DirectX 12 scores 43 and DirectX 9 scores 124. This suggests the GPU performs better with legacy APIs, which aligns with Inside's release date of 2016-07-06. The game likely does not leverage the RX 580's full modern feature set, but the GPU's raw fill-rate and bandwidth are what matter most for this 2D title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a desktop processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake-S architecture and manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It features 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3. This CPU has a TDP of 65 W and supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration, providing 102.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is minimal. This is a 2D puzzle platformer that does not require significant multi-threaded processing. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (150 FPS) is likely near the game's engine limit, as the CPU can easily handle the physics and logic for a side-scrolling title. The CPU's benchmark scores support this: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and a single-core score of 5960, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 4464P (deltaPct -0.3), the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (+0.3), and the AMD EPYC 7343 (+0.7), all within 0.7% of its average score of 64640.

The fact that the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 has 20 cores and 20 threads is irrelevant for Inside, which likely uses only one or two cores. However, the CPU's high single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960) ensures that it can maintain high frame rates even when the GPU is not the bottleneck. At 1080p, the CPU is capable of pushing the RX 580 to its limits, as evidenced by the 150 FPS Low result. At 4K, the CPU is not the limiting factor; the GPU's performance drops to 32-68 FPS depending on settings, while the CPU idles.

The CPU's integrated graphics, Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 32EU, are not relevant for this discrete GPU setup, but they do not interfere with the measured results. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s is more than sufficient for a 2D game, and the PCIe Gen 5 interface (20 lanes) provides ample bandwidth for the RX 580, which uses PCIe 3.0 x16. The CPU's launch MSRP is $394, but this is not a factor in the performance analysis.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Inside?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets deliver playable frame rates. At 1080p, the lowest average is 71 FPS on Ultra, while Low reaches 150 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 51 FPS and High to 54 FPS, which may be borderline for some users. At 4K, only Low (68 FPS) and Medium (54 FPS) are above 30 FPS, making 1080p the recommended resolution for consistent performance.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest rivals in overall GPU benchmarks?

A: The RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 12928, which is 0.1% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940), 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986), and 0.5% higher than the AMD Radeon 740M (12870). The AMD FirePro W5100 (12847) is 0.6% lower. All of these GPUs are within a 1% performance band.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 a bottleneck for the RX 580 in Inside?

A: No. The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960 and multi-core score of 42216 place it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. At 1080p, the measured FPS reaches 150 on Low, which is higher than the GPU can sustain at 4K. The data indicates that performance drops are primarily due to the GPU, not the CPU.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 108 FPS, while Ultra produces 51 FPS. This is a difference of 57 FPS, or a 53% reduction from Low to Ultra. Medium sits in between at 86 FPS, and High at 54 FPS.

Q: Can this system achieve 60 FPS at 4K in Inside?

A: No. The measured data shows that at 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 68 on Low settings. Medium drops to 54 FPS, High to 34 FPS, and Ultra to 32 FPS. No preset at 4K achieves a stable 60 FPS average, though Low comes close.

Q: How does the Ultra 7 265's benchmark score compare to the EPYC 4464P?

A: The Ultra 7 265 has an average benchmark score of 64640, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 4464P's score of 64823. This places the two CPUs within 0.3% of each other, making them statistically equivalent in overall performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this system depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but the Medium preset (120 FPS average, with min/max of 102/138) offers the best balance between visual quality and smoothness. The High preset (75 FPS) and Ultra preset (71 FPS) are also viable, but they provide diminishing returns over Medium given the modest visual improvements in a 2D game. Low (150 FPS) is unnecessary unless the user has a 144 Hz monitor and wants to maximize frame rate, but the visual degradation is significant.

For users with a 2560x1440 display, the Medium preset (86 FPS average, with min/max of 73/99) is the clear recommendation. It is the only preset at 1440p that consistently stays above 60 FPS, while Low (108 FPS) sacrifices too much visual quality. High (54 FPS) and Ultra (51 FPS) both fall below 60 FPS, which may cause noticeable stuttering in a game that relies on precise platforming. The 86 FPS average on Medium provides headroom for dips, as evidenced by the 73 FPS minimum.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. Low (68 FPS) is the only preset that approaches 60 FPS, while Medium (54 FPS) is borderline. High (34 FPS) and Ultra (32 FPS) are not recommended, as they drop below 35 FPS, which is too low for a responsive puzzle platformer. For 4K users, Low is the only sensible choice, but even then, the 68 FPS average is not consistently smooth. A more realistic recommendation is to play at 1440p Medium or 1080p Ultra for the best experience.

The measured data also shows that the min/max FPS values for Medium settings provide useful context. At 1080p Medium, the range is 102-138 FPS, which indicates a stable experience with minimal frame time variance. At 1440p Medium, the range is 73-99 FPS, still acceptable. At 4K Medium, the range is 46-62 FPS, which shows larger swings that could be perceptible. This suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for this game, regardless of resolution, but it is only fully smooth at 1080p and 1440p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 150 FPS average
• Medium: 120 FPS average, with a minimum of 102 FPS and a maximum of 138 FPS
• High: 75 FPS average
• Ultra: 71 FPS average

At 1080p, the system is clearly GPU-bound only at the highest settings. Low and Medium deliver frame rates well above 100 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU without any bottleneck. The drop from Medium to High is steep, going from 120 FPS to 75 FPS, a 37.5% reduction. This indicates that the High preset introduces significant pixel shading or texture work that the RX 580 struggles with. Ultra is only slightly lower than High at 71 FPS, showing that the additional settings beyond High have a marginal impact on performance.

2560x1440:

• Low: 108 FPS average
• Medium: 86 FPS average, with a minimum of 73 FPS and a maximum of 99 FPS
• High: 54 FPS average
• Ultra: 51 FPS average

At 1440p, the scaling from 1080p is notable. Low drops from 150 to 108 FPS (28% reduction), Medium from 120 to 86 FPS (28.3% reduction), High from 75 to 54 FPS (28% reduction), and Ultra from 71 to 51 FPS (28.2% reduction). This consistent reduction across all settings suggests that the GPU's fill-rate is the limiting factor, as the pixel count increases by 1.78x from 1080p to 1440p. The Medium preset remains above 60 FPS, but High and Ultra fall into the 51-54 FPS range, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

3840x2160:

• Low: 68 FPS average
• Medium: 54 FPS average, with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 62 FPS
• High: 34 FPS average
• Ultra: 32 FPS average

At 4K, the RX 580 is severely challenged. Low drops to 68 FPS, which is a 55% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium falls to 54 FPS, High to 34 FPS, and Ultra to 32 FPS. The min/max data for Medium shows a range of 46-62 FPS, which indicates that even the average is not stable, with occasional dips below 50 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 14 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 20 FPS, showing that High settings are disproportionately expensive at this resolution. Ultra is only 2 FPS lower than High, suggesting that the game's Ultra preset adds minimal visual fidelity over High but still pushes the GPU to its absolute limit.

The measured FPS data is complete for all 12 combinations of 3 resolutions and 4 settings, with min/max provided only for the Medium preset at each resolution. The absence of min/max for Low, High, and Ultra does not affect the analysis, as the average FPS values are sufficient to draw conclusions about performance scaling and settings recommendations. Overall, this system is best suited for 1080p gaming, with 1440p Medium being a viable alternative, and 4K only playable on Low.