Inside

The benchmark data for Inside on the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher settings, yet surprisingly capable of high refresh rates at lower presets. The measured frames per second across resolutions paint a clear picture of a pairing that can adapt to different display capabilities, though with notable trade-offs between visual fidelity and raw speed.

Settings Recommendations

The performance hierarchy across the four settings presets is consistent at every resolution, with Low delivering the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, then High, and finally Ultra. The data suggests that the Ultra preset, while offering the most visual features, is the most demanding and should be reserved for 1080p displays. At 1920x1080, Ultra produces an average of 129.6 FPS, which is still smooth but represents a significant drop from the 279.2 FPS seen at Low. For players prioritizing a high refresh rate experience, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, particularly at 2560x1440 where it achieves 159.3 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the choice becomes more critical. The High preset manages 63.8 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay. However, the Ultra preset drops to 59.2 FPS, which may introduce perceptible stutter on standard 60 Hz displays. The data indicates that for 4K gaming, the High preset is the optimal balance, as it provides a playable experience while the Medium preset (101.6 FPS) and Low preset (124.4 FPS) offer much higher headroom for those who prefer performance over fidelity. The 1440p resolution with High settings at 99.7 FPS is another strong candidate, sitting comfortably above 60 FPS while maintaining a higher level of detail than Medium.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the primary performance driver in this configuration, a fact made evident by the substantial frame rate variations between settings at the same resolution. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is rated at 1905 MHz, with a game clock of 1755 MHz. The RDNA 1.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process, contains 2,560 shading units and 64 ROPs, yielding a pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is likely sufficient for Inside's art style, which is a 2D puzzle platformer with a muted color palette. The data suggests that the GPU is not limited by memory capacity at any of the tested settings, as frame rates scale predictably with the workload imposed by each preset. The FP32 performance of 9.754 TFLOPS provides the computational headroom needed for the game's lighting and physics effects, though the significant drop from Low to Ultra at 4K (124.4 FPS down to 59.2 FPS) indicates that the higher presets introduce effects that heavily tax the GPU's fill rate and shading capabilities. The GPU's 68th percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24,731, places it in a mid-range tier that is well-suited for this title's requirements.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to run this game at for a high refresh rate monitor?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 279.2 FPS, and with Medium settings it reaches 221.1 FPS. For 1440p, Medium settings provide 159.3 FPS, which is sufficient for most high refresh rate displays.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Inside?*

A: Yes, but with a caveat. The High preset at 3840x2160 produces 63.8 FPS, which is playable. The Ultra preset drops to 59.2 FPS, which may be borderline for some users. Lower presets provide much higher headroom, with Medium at 101.6 FPS and Low at 124.4 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance cost?

A: The performance penalty is significant. At 1920x1080, Ultra (129.6 FPS) is roughly 7% slower than High (140 FPS). At 2560x1440, the gap widens, with Ultra (96.3 FPS) being about 3% slower than High (99.7 FPS). At 4K, the difference is more pronounced, with Ultra (59.2 FPS) being 7% slower than High (63.8 FPS).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter. The frame rates scale significantly with settings at 1080p, from 279.2 FPS at Low to 129.6 FPS at Ultra. This 115% swing is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, as the CPU's workload remains relatively constant across settings.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at the same settings?

A: At High settings, the drop from 1920x1080 (140 FPS) to 2560x1440 (99.7 FPS) is a 29% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 279.2 FPS to 200.3 FPS, a 28% reduction. This consistent scaling confirms that resolution is a primary factor in determining the final frame rate.

Q: How does the system perform on the Ultra preset at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 yields 96.3 FPS, which is above 60 FPS and provides a smooth experience. This is a viable option for users who want maximum visual quality without needing the highest possible frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive look at performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 279.2 FPS on Low, 221.1 FPS on Medium, 140 FPS on High, and 129.6 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show that even at the most demanding settings, the system is well above the 100 FPS mark, making it ideal for competitive or high refresh rate play.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain robust. Low settings yield 200.3 FPS, Medium produces 159.3 FPS, High hits 99.7 FPS, and Ultra achieves 96.3 FPS. The 1440p data suggests that Medium is the most balanced preset, offering a near-160 FPS experience that will satisfy most users.

At 3840x2160, the performance landscape changes. Low settings still deliver a very playable 124.4 FPS, and Medium manages 101.6 FPS. However, High drops to 63.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 59.2 FPS. This resolution is where the RX 5700 XT's limits become apparent, as the higher presets push the GPU to its maximum capability. The 4K results show a clear division: presets below High are exceptionally smooth, while High and Ultra are only suitable for 60 Hz displays.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the fundamental characteristics of this hardware combination. At Low settings, the system loses 55% of its performance when moving from 1920x1080 (279.2 FPS) to 3840x2160 (124.4 FPS). At Medium, the loss is 54%, from 221.1 FPS to 101.6 FPS. For High settings, the drop is 54%, from 140 FPS to 63.8 FPS. At Ultra, the decline is 54%, from 129.6 FPS to 59.2 FPS.

This consistent ~54% reduction across all settings is a strong indicator that the GPU is the sole limiting factor. If the CPU were a bottleneck, the scaling from 1080p to 4K would be less severe, as the higher resolution would give the CPU more time to prepare frames. Instead, the near-linear relationship between pixel count and frame rate suggests that the RX 5700 XT is fully saturated at all resolutions. The pixel count doubles from 1080p to 4K, and the frame rate halves, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound workload. This means that users looking to improve 4K performance would need to upgrade the GPU, as the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is providing more than enough processing power to feed the graphics card.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a formidable processor, featuring 20 cores and 20 threads with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its 30 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth provide ample resources for game logic and asset streaming. The CPU's benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 50,009 and a single-core score of 7,060. Its Passmark multi-thread score of 58,838 and single-thread score of 4,904 place it in the 97th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79,102.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is to handle the game's physics calculations, AI routines, and the continuous loading of environmental assets. The data shows that this processor is not a bottleneck, as the frame rates are dictated entirely by the GPU's workload. The consistent performance scaling with resolution and settings confirms that the CPU has ample headroom. The 265K is within 0.2% of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF and Intel Core i9-14900KF in average benchmark scores, and it trails the Intel Core i9-14900K by 0.9%. This level of performance means that the CPU is effectively a non-issue for this game, and any frame rate limitations are solely due to the RX 5700 XT.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT achieves a rank of 1,238 out of 1,671 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the lower-mid portion of the overall ranking, which is a direct consequence of the GPU's mid-range standing. The RX 5700 XT, with a 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs, is the weaker link in this pairing. Its average benchmark score of 24,731 places it near the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile (24,763, 0.1% faster) and Intel Arc A350M (24,647, 0.3% slower), with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (24,592) and NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 (24,519) trailing by 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively.

The CPU's high performance, ranking in the 97th percentile, does not compensate for the GPU's limitations in this specific title. The rank of 1,238 indicates that most other tested configurations, likely those with more powerful GPUs, achieve higher frame rates in Inside. However, the data also shows that this combo is perfectly capable of delivering a smooth experience at 1080p and 1440p for the vast majority of settings. The ranking reflects the hardware's overall potential across all tested games, but in Inside, the actual gameplay experience is determined by the resolution and settings chosen, with the system providing a wide range of viable options from 279.2 FPS at 1080p Low to 59.2 FPS at 4K Ultra.