Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX combo delivers extreme performance in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is far more demanding on the GPU than the CPU at higher settings. The data shows this pairing sits at rank 151 out of 2887 tested combos, placing it in the top 5.2% of all configurations tested for this game. This is a high-end pairing that excels at high refresh rates, with the primary bottleneck shifting from the CPU at 1080p to the GPU at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark results place this combination in the 151st position out of 2887 tested combos, which puts it in the 94.8th percentile of all configurations tested for Inside. This is a top-tier result, reflecting the strength of both components in a game that is not particularly demanding by modern standards. The performance is so high that it is likely limited by the game's engine or the display refresh rate rather than the hardware itself.

When looking at the CPU's overall benchmark standing, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 achieves a 93rd percentile ranking against all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 64640 is nearly identical to its closest rivals, with the AMD EPYC 4464P scoring 64823 (0.3% higher) and the AMD EPYC 9124 scoring 65104 (0.7% higher). This places the Core Ultra 7 265 in a tightly contested performance band, where differences of less than 1% are negligible in real-world gaming scenarios. The data indicates this CPU is a solid performer, but its placement in the top 5% of gaming combos is largely due to the GPU pairing.

The GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, has a more modest 64th percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average score of 19410. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (0.4% higher), the NVIDIA TITAN Xp (1.2% higher), and the AMD FirePro D300 (1.2% lower). This is misleading, as the RX 7900 XTX is clearly a much more capable card than these rivals in raw specifications. The percentile is skewed by the benchmark database including many older and lower-end cards, but the measured FPS in Inside confirms it is a powerhouse.

The combination's rank of 151 is impressive, but the data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The performance gap between this combo and lower-ranked ones is likely minimal at lower resolutions, as the game becomes GPU-bound at higher settings. At 4K, the GPU's role becomes more significant, but the overall rank remains high due to the card's substantial memory bandwidth and compute power.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its base clock is 2.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This configuration is overkill for Inside, which is a puzzle platformer that does not utilize many threads. The CPU's high single-core performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5960 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4689, ensures that the game's main logic and physics calculations are handled with ease.

The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth provide ample data throughput for the game. However, at 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS reaches 430, which suggests the CPU is still capable of pushing more frames if the GPU could render them faster. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the FPS is 430, while at 1440p Low it drops to 385, and at 4K Low it drops to 242. This scaling indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions, as the FPS drop is consistent with increased pixel count.

In multi-threaded workloads, the CPU scores 42216 in Cinebench R23, which is strong, but Inside does not benefit from this. The Passmark multi-thread score of 49682 further confirms its capability, but the game's engine is likely single-threaded or lightly threaded. The CPU's performance in this game is more than sufficient, and the data suggests that even a much weaker CPU would not significantly impact FPS at higher settings. The CPU's role in this combo is to ensure there is no frame pacing issues or stutters, which is achieved thanks to its high boost clock and efficient architecture.

The CPU's 65W TDP and 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes are irrelevant to the gaming performance here, but they do indicate a modern platform. The data shows the CPU is not the limiting component in this combo at any resolution tested, as the FPS scales inversely with resolution, which is a GPU-bound pattern.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the dominant component in this combo for Inside. It features a Navi 31 chip on a 5 nm process, with 6144 shading units and 192 ROPs. The card's memory configuration is substantial: 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is crucial for high-resolution textures and ensures that the game assets are loaded quickly, though Inside is not a texture-heavy title.

The GPU's boost clock is 2498 MHz, with a game clock of 2365 MHz. This high clock speed, combined with 96 ray tracing cores, ensures that the game runs at extremely high frame rates. The measured FPS data shows the GPU's scaling: at 4K High, it achieves 121 FPS, while at 4K Low it hits 242 FPS. This indicates that the game is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, as lowering settings nearly doubles the frame rate.

The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 31238 is high, but its percentile ranking of 64 is misleading due to the benchmark database's composition. In Inside, the GPU's performance is the primary factor for FPS at 4K. At 1080p, the GPU is still capable of producing 430 FPS at Low settings, which is likely beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. The GPU's 61.39 TFLOPS FP32 performance is more than enough for this game, and the data shows that it is not a bottleneck until 4K, where it still delivers playable frame rates.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 960 GB/s is a key differentiator. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 115, which is a drop from 121 at 4K High. This small difference between High and Ultra settings suggests that the GPU is becoming limited by its compute units rather than memory bandwidth. The card's 355W TDP is high, but it is a necessary trade-off for this level of performance. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting component at 4K, but it is so powerful that it still delivers high frame rates in this older game.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank for this game?

A: The combo ranks 151 out of 2887 tested combinations, placing it in the top 5.2% of all configurations for Inside.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the data shows the CPU is not the bottleneck. At Low settings, the average FPS is 430, which is extremely high. The GPU is still capable of rendering these frames, but the CPU's single-core performance is sufficient to keep up.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265 has an average benchmark score of 64640, which is 0.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 4464P and 0.7% lower than the AMD EPYC 9124. It is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking?

A: The RX 7900 XTX ranks in the 64th percentile against all GPUs, with an average score of 19410. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB, scores 19334, which is 0.4% lower.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 4K High and 4K Ultra?

A: At 4K High, the average FPS is 121, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 115. This is a small 6 FPS difference, indicating that the Ultra preset adds settings that have a minimal performance impact.

Q: How much FPS is gained by lowering settings from Ultra to Low at 1440p?

A: At 1440p Ultra, the average FPS is 184. Lowering to Low settings increases the average FPS to 385, which is a 201 FPS gain. This suggests that the game is very sensitive to settings at this resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 268. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 193 FPS, a 28% decrease. Then moving to 4K High drops it further to 121 FPS, a 37% decrease from 1440p. This scaling is consistent with a GPU that is being increasingly taxed by pixel count.

However, at Low settings, the scaling is different. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 430. At 1440p Low, it is 385 FPS, only a 10% drop. At 4K Low, it drops to 242 FPS, a 37% drop from 1440p. This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is more of a factor at 1080p and 1440p, but the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck at 4K.

The Medium settings show a similar pattern to High. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 397, which drops to 308 FPS at 1440p (a 22% drop) and then to 194 FPS at 4K (a 37% drop). This consistent 37% drop from 1440p to 4K across all settings indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at 4K.

The data shows that at 1080p, the combo is capable of exceeding 400 FPS at Low and Medium settings, which is far beyond what most displays can handle. At 1440p, it still delivers over 300 FPS at Medium settings, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 4K, the FPS drops to a range of 115-242 FPS depending on settings, which is still smooth but shows the GPU's limitations.

The limiting component shifts from the CPU at 1080p Low to the GPU at 4K Ultra. At 1080p Low, the 430 FPS is likely close to the CPU's maximum frame generation capability. At 4K Ultra, the 115 FPS is a direct result of the GPU's rendering workload. The data indicates that this combo is overkill for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is well-suited for 4K at High or Ultra settings.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data suggests that the High preset is the sweet spot. At 4K High, the average FPS is 121, which is excellent for a smooth experience. The Ultra preset only drops this to 115 FPS, a 5% decrease, but the visual difference between High and Ultra is likely minimal for a game like Inside. The High preset offers a better balance of frame rate and visual quality.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 193 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset still delivers 184 FPS, which is also excellent. However, the Medium preset at 1440p delivers 308 FPS, which is overkill for most displays. The data shows that the Medium preset at 1440p provides a massive frame rate boost, but the visual quality may be lower than High.

For 1080p, the High preset delivers 268 FPS, which is more than enough for any monitor. The Ultra preset delivers 255 FPS, which is nearly identical. The Low preset at 1080p delivers 430 FPS, but this is likely unnecessary and may introduce visual artifacts. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 397 FPS, which is also excessive.

The recommendation is to use the High preset at any resolution. At 1080p and 1440p, it provides frame rates that are far above the refresh rate of most monitors, ensuring a perfectly smooth experience. At 4K, it provides 121 FPS, which is excellent for a game of this genre. The Ultra preset offers no significant visual advantage for a 6 FPS drop at 4K, so it is not recommended unless the user has a specific need.

The Medium preset is a viable alternative for users who want to maximize frame rates at 4K, where it delivers 194 FPS. However, the visual difference between Medium and High may be noticeable in a puzzle platformer where the art style is a key feature. The data indicates that the High preset is the best all-around choice, providing a balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. The Low preset should be avoided unless the user has a display with a refresh rate above 240Hz, as the frame rates at Low settings are only beneficial for competitive play, which is not the focus of this game.