Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT delivers an exceptionally strong performance profile for Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer. The benchmark data shows this combination is far beyond the demands of the title, producing triple-digit frame rates even at the most demanding settings and resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS results to understand where the CPU and GPU each contribute, how the system scales across resolutions, and what settings provide the optimal experience.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The processor features a 30 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 50009 and a single-core score of 7060, placing it in the 97th percentile of all CPUs.

For a game like Inside, which is not heavily threaded, the single-core performance is what matters most. The data suggests that at 1080p with Low settings, the system hits 380.6 FPS, which is a massive frame rate that indicates the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more data than it can render. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4904 and Cinebench R15 single-core score of 711 demonstrate its strength in lightly-threaded workloads. The 20 cores are mostly idle during gameplay, but the high boost clock of 5.50 GHz ensures that the few active threads execute with minimal latency.

Interestingly, the CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF (avg score 79240, delta -0.2%) and the Intel Core i9-14900KF (avg score 79245, delta -0.2%). The Core Ultra 7 265K scores 79102 on average, which is effectively identical to these alternatives. The data shows a delta of -0.9% against the Intel Core i9-14900K and -1.2% against the AMD EPYC 7413. This means that for Inside, any of these CPUs would likely produce similar results, as the game's frame rate at lower resolutions is more constrained by the GPU's rendering speed than by CPU processing power.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process. It features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 1435 MHz, a boost clock of 2544 MHz, and a game clock of 2171 MHz. It contains 3456 shading units, 216 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs, with a pixel rate of 244.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 549.5 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is rated at 35.17 TFLOPS.

This GPU sits in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30097. Its nearest rivals are notably close: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 has a delta of 0%, the AMD Radeon RX 570 is -0.2% behind, and the NVIDIA Tesla M60 is 0.4% ahead. In Inside, the GPU's 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient, as the game is not memory-intensive. The measured FPS data shows that at 4K Ultra settings, the system still delivers 83.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The GPU's high boost clock and ample shading units handle the game's simple 2D side-scrolling visuals with ease.

The data reveals that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates are extremely high (380.6 FPS on Low), but as resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and frame rates drop significantly. This is typical behavior for a well-balanced system where the CPU is not the bottleneck. The GPU's 96 ROPs and 216 TMUs are more than adequate for the pixel and texture work required by Inside, which uses a muted color palette and relatively simple geometry.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data across resolutions provides clear evidence of where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with High settings, the system achieves 190.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the frame rate drops to 136.3 FPS, a reduction of 54 FPS or roughly 28%. At 4K, the frame rate falls further to 85.9 FPS, another 50 FPS drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions.

Looking at Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. At 1080p Low, the system hits 380.6 FPS, which is an extremely high frame rate. At 1440p Low, it drops to 276.9 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 173 FPS. The percentage drops from 1080p to 1440p is about 27%, and from 1440p to 4K is about 37%. This non-linear scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload increases with pixel count.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU still has headroom, as the frame rates are so high that they exceed most display refresh rates. The fact that 1080p Low yields 380.6 FPS and 1080p Ultra yields 184.3 FPS (a 196.3 FPS difference) shows that the GPU's workload scales with settings, but the CPU is not the constraint. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain relatively constant across resolutions at the same settings. Instead, the clear downward trend from 1080p to 4K confirms that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting in this configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 380.6 at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

*Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations in Inside?*

A: This combo ranks 589th out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the top 35% of all configurations.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: At 4K, the GPU is the limiting component. The frame rate drops from 173 FPS on Low to 83.4 FPS on Ultra, showing the GPU's rendering load increases with settings.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the system delivers 190.3 FPS at 1080p and 85.9 FPS at 4K, a difference of 104.4 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU's multi-core performance matter for this game?

A: No, Inside is not heavily threaded. The CPU's single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7060) is what enables high frame rates at lower resolutions.

Q: How close is this GPU to its nearest competitor in raw benchmarks?

A: The RX 7700 XT's average benchmark score is 30097, with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 having an identical score (delta 0%).

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT ranks 589th out of 1671 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the 64.8th percentile of all configurations. This rank is notably high given that Inside is a lightweight game that many systems can run well, but it reflects the raw processing power available in this pairing.

The CPU's 97th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs indicate that this is a high-end configuration. The data shows that this combo outperforms the vast majority of systems tested, but it is not at the very top of the list. The 589th rank suggests that there are many combinations with higher-end GPUs (such as the RTX 4090 or RX 7900 XTX) that achieve even higher frame rates, particularly at 4K resolution.

However, for the target resolution of 1080p or 1440p, this combo delivers frame rates that are far beyond what is necessary for a smooth experience. The rank of 589 implies that this system is overkill for Inside, but the measured FPS data confirms that it provides a flawless experience at any settings level.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience is achieved at 1440p with High settings, which delivers 136.3 FPS. This provides a balance between visual quality and performance, with frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1080p, even Ultra settings yield 184.3 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any monitor.

For players with 4K displays, the High preset at 85.9 FPS is the recommended choice. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 83.4 FPS, which is only a marginal difference of 2.5 FPS, so the visual upgrade may be worth it. The Low preset at 4K (173 FPS) is unnecessary, as the frame rate is far beyond what any display can show.

The data suggests that Medium settings offer diminishing returns. At 1080p, Medium yields 306.4 FPS compared to High's 190.3 FPS, but the visual difference between Medium and High is typically minimal for a game like Inside. The sweet spot is High settings, which provides a significant visual improvement over Medium while maintaining frame rates above 85 FPS at all resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 380.6 FPS
• Medium: 306.4 FPS
• High: 190.3 FPS
• Ultra: 184.3 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 276.9 FPS
• Medium: 221.5 FPS
• High: 136.3 FPS
• Ultra: 129.2 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 173 FPS
• Medium: 141.1 FPS
• High: 85.9 FPS
• Ultra: 83.4 FPS

The data shows a consistent pattern across all resolutions: Low settings provide the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra being the most demanding. The gap between High and Ultra is small (5-6 FPS at most resolutions), suggesting that Ultra may only add minor visual enhancements. The difference between Low and Medium is more substantial, with Medium delivering roughly 20-25% lower frame rates than Low across all resolutions.

At 1080p, the system exceeds 180 FPS at every settings level, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1440p, the frame rates remain above 129 FPS even at Ultra settings, which is excellent for most gaming displays. At 4K, the frame rates drop below 100 FPS for High and Ultra settings, but still remain well above the playable threshold of 60 FPS. The minimum FPS was not recorded in the data, but the average FPS values indicate that this combo provides a consistently smooth experience for Inside at any resolution and settings combination.