Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware. Yet, the measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800M reveals a fascinating performance curve that is heavily dependent on resolution and settings. The benchmark results show a system capable of extreme frame rates at lower resolutions, but one that also exhibits a surprisingly steep drop-off at 4K, suggesting a complex interplay between the CPU's 20 cores and the GPU's 12 GB memory buffer.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Inside with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured frames per second, 2560x1440 provides the sweet spot. At High settings, it delivers 103 FPS, which is nearly double the average of most displays' refresh rates. While 1920x1080 offers higher frame rates (143 FPS at High), the 1440p resolution offers a significant visual upgrade without sacrificing the smoothness needed for a platformer.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: The data shows a massive difference. At 3840x2160, Low settings yield an average of 129 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to just 61 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of more than half, indicating that Ultra settings at 4K place a significant load on the GPU, likely due to the increased rendering resolution.

Q: Is the AMD Radeon RX 7800M more powerful than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti?

A: According to the average benchmark scores, the RX 7800M is slightly less powerful, with a score of 27883 compared to the GTX 980 Ti's 28020. The deltaPct shows the RX 7800M is 0.5% behind the GTX 980 Ti in this metric, placing them in a very similar performance tier.

Q: What is the CPU's single-core performance compared to its multi-core performance?

A: The Core Ultra 7 265HX shows strong results in both. In Cinebench R23, it scores 5737 points in the single-core test and 40642 points in the multi-core test. The multi-core score is roughly 7 times higher, reflecting the benefit of its 20 cores and 20 threads when workloads can be parallelized.

Q: Does the game utilize the GPU's full potential at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system reaches an average of 286 FPS. This extremely high frame rate suggests the GPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution. The CPU, with its high boost clock of 5.30 GHz, is likely the primary driver of performance at these lower resolutions.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 7 265HX compare to the Intel Core i7-13790F?

A: In terms of average benchmark scores, they are nearly identical. The Core Ultra 7 265HX scores 63173, while the i7-13790F scores 63080. The deltaPct is only 0.1%, meaning the Core Ultra 7 is just 0.1% faster in this aggregate metric, making them direct competitors in CPU performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for optimizing the gameplay experience. For players targeting a standard 60 FPS experience, the Ultra preset at 4K is technically playable with an average of 61 FPS, but the headroom is minimal and any demanding scene could cause a noticeable dip. The Medium preset at 4K offers a much more comfortable average of 103 FPS with a minimum of 88 FPS, ensuring consistent smoothness.

However, the most compelling experience is found at 2560x1440 with the High preset. This combination delivers an average of 103 FPS, identical to 4K Medium, but with superior visual quality. The jump to 1440p from 1080p is substantial, and the High preset at this resolution provides a perfect balance of fidelity and performance. The data shows that High settings at 1440p achieves this high frame rate without the frame-time variance seen in the 4K Medium result.

At 1920x1080, the system is so powerful that even the Ultra preset achieves an average of 136 FPS. This makes 1080p an excellent choice for players with high-refresh-rate monitors, as the hardware can easily push beyond 144 FPS on the High preset (143 FPS) and even reach 229 FPS on Medium. The only scenario where the experience becomes suboptimal is at 4K with the Ultra preset, where the average frame rate drops to 61 FPS, which is a significant decrease from the 103 FPS seen at 4K Medium.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M plays a crucial role in dictating performance at higher resolutions. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory is sufficient for the game's assets, even at 4K, eliminating any potential VRAM capacity issues. However, the processing load is where the GPU's limits become apparent. The benchmark data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

The transition from 1080p to 4K at High settings demonstrates this clearly. At 1080p, the system achieves 143 FPS, but at 4K, this drops to 65 FPS. This 54% reduction in performance is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The GPU's 3840 shading units and 96 ROPs are tasked with rendering over four times the number of pixels at 4K compared to 1080p. The measured 224.2 GPixel/s pixel rate is a theoretical maximum that is being heavily taxed at this resolution.

The GPU's clock speeds also contribute to its performance scaling. With a boost clock of 2335 MHz, the RX 7800M has significant processing power. The data suggests that the game is not limited by memory bandwidth, as the 432.0 GB/s available is substantial, but rather by the sheer compute throughput required for 4K rendering. The performance gap between Low (129 FPS) and Ultra (61 FPS) at 4K further emphasizes the GPU's workload, showing that the more complex shaders and effects at Ultra settings heavily impact the frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's capabilities across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system is overwhelmingly powerful. The Low preset produces an impressive average of 286 FPS, while Medium delivers 229 FPS (with a minimum of 194 FPS and maximum of 263 FPS). High settings still achieve a very high 143 FPS, and even the demanding Ultra preset maintains a smooth 136 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally high. The Low preset reaches 206 FPS, while Medium drops to 164 FPS (minimum 140 FPS, maximum 189 FPS). High settings provide a solid 103 FPS, and Ultra settings yield 98 FPS. This resolution shows only a modest performance penalty compared to 1080p, indicating that the system has ample headroom.

The 3840x2160 resolution reveals the system's limits. Low settings still manage a very playable 129 FPS, and Medium follows at 103 FPS (minimum 88 FPS, maximum 119 FPS). However, High settings drop to 65 FPS, and Ultra falls to 61 FPS. The scaling is not linear; the jump from Medium to High at 4K represents a 37% performance loss, which is much more significant than the 9% loss seen when moving from Medium to High at 1440p. This suggests that the High and Ultra presets introduce effects that are disproportionately expensive at 4K resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX and AMD Radeon RX 7800M is ranked 1877 out of 2887 tested combos in this game. This places it in the 65th percentile of all tested systems, which is a respectable position. The data indicates that while this is a powerful mobile setup, there are many other combinations that achieve higher frame rates in this specific title.

This ranking is likely influenced by the fact that Inside is not a particularly demanding game for modern CPUs. The Core Ultra 7 265HX is a high-end processor, but the game's physics and logic may not scale perfectly with its 20 cores. The GPU, while capable, is ranked in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, which is consistent with the overall combo ranking. The system's performance is robust, but the data shows it is not at the absolute top tier for this game, as many desktop configurations with more powerful GPUs will inevitably surpass it.

The ranking reflects a balanced system. It is not held back by a single weak component, but it also does not excel to the point of being a top contender. The measured FPS at 1080p and 1440p are excellent and will provide a flawless experience for most users, but the ranking shows that there is a significant population of systems that can achieve even higher frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX, with its 20 cores and 20 threads, appears to play a supporting role in this game. The high boost clock of 5.30 GHz is likely a critical factor in ensuring high minimum frame rates and smooth gameplay. The data from Cinebench R23 shows a single-core score of 5737, which is excellent, and this strength is vital for a game that relies on a primary game logic thread.

The multi-core performance, as evidenced by the Cinebench R23 score of 40642, is also substantial. However, the measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck at higher resolutions. For instance, at 4K, the frame rate drops significantly from Low (129 FPS) to High (65 FPS), which is a characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data, but the GPU cannot render the frames fast enough at these higher resolutions.

The CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system hits 286 FPS. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU is efficiently processing the game's instructions and submitting draw calls to the GPU. The processor's 30 MB of shared L3 cache likely helps in this regard, reducing latency for frequently accessed data. The data shows that with this CPU, the system can achieve frame rates high enough to saturate even the most demanding high-refresh-rate displays at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is the most telling indicator of the system's balance. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 143 FPS at 1080p to 103 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 65 FPS at 4K. This represents a 55% decrease in performance from 1080p to 4K. This scaling curve is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload increases exponentially with resolution.

The data reveals an interesting anomaly when comparing the Low and Ultra presets. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p (286 FPS) to 4K (129 FPS) is also substantial, at 55%. However, the absolute frame rates are so high that the system remains fluid even at 4K. This suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU is still the limiting factor at 4K, just not to the point where it impacts playability.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is where the GPU's limitations are most pronounced. On High settings, the frame rate drops by 37% (from 103 FPS to 65 FPS), while the drop from 1080p to 1440p is only 28% (from 143 FPS to 103 FPS). This steeper decline at higher resolutions confirms that the RX 7800M's compute resources are being exhausted. The data implies that for a perfectly smooth 4K experience with this GPU, players would need to stick to Medium or Low settings, as the High and Ultra presets push the GPU past its comfort zone.