Inside

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT pairing presents a fascinating generational clash in Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer. The 2018 six-core CPU is paired with a 2022 flagship GPU, and the measured frame rates reveal a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher settings, yet still delivers incredibly high performance. This combination ranks 996th out of 1671 tested combos in this game, placing it in the middle of the pack despite the raw power of the graphics card.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 160.1 frames per second.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XT's performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 38358, which is effectively tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, which has a deltaPct of 0.0%.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance score?

A: In Cinebench R23, the Ryzen 5 2600 scores 11186 points in the multi-core test.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 155.2 on Low settings to 106.5 on Ultra settings, a difference of 48.7 FPS.

Q: Is the GPU's memory interface wide?

A: Yes, the Radeon RX 7900 XT has a 320-bit memory bus, which contributes to its 800.0 GB/s memory bandwidth.

Q: Where does this specific CPU+GPU combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The data shows this combo ranks 996th out of 1671 total tested combos for Inside.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 7900 XT is the clear driver of performance in this pairing, and its specifications underscore its capacity to handle a game like Inside with ease. The GPU is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture and features 5376 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 192 raster operation units. Its boost clock is rated at 2394 MHz, with a game clock of 2025 MHz. Crucially, the card is equipped with 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, yielding a substantial 800.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This large memory pool and high bandwidth ensure that the GPU never has to wait for data, even when rendering at high resolutions.

The GPU's compute capabilities are equally impressive, with an FP32 throughput of 51.48 TFLOPS. This raw power is reflected in its benchmark scores, such as a Passmark G3D score of 29009 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 169834. In the context of Inside, which is not a graphically demanding title by modern standards, this GPU is massively over-provisioned. The measured FPS data confirms this, as even at 4K Ultra settings, the game runs at an average of 106.5 FPS. The bottleneck is rarely the GPU, and the difference between settings presets at any given resolution is relatively small compared to what one might see in a AAA title, suggesting the game's engine is easily fed by this card's immense fill rate and memory subsystem.

Resolution Scaling

Examining the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals how the performance scales with pixel count and where the limiting component lies. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 160.1 at 1920x1080 to 144 at 2560x1440, and finally to 111.2 at 3840x2160. This represents a 30.5% drop in performance from 1080p to 4K. For a 4x increase in pixel count, a 30% FPS reduction is relatively modest, indicating that the RX 7900 XT has enough raw throughput and memory bandwidth to handle the higher resolutions without being severely constrained.

The scaling across all settings tells a similar story. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 206.3 at 1080p to 182.9 at 1440p and 155.2 at 4K. At Ultra, the numbers are 156.2, 136.7, and 106.5 respectively. The fact that the 1080p to 4K performance penalty is consistent across presets suggests the limiting factor is the GPU's ability to fill pixels, not the CPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a much smaller difference between 1080p and 4K, as the CPU's workload would remain constant while the GPU's increases. Here, the steady decline with resolution points to the GPU being the primary driver of performance, even though it is powerful enough to keep frame rates high at all tested resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive look at performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across the board. The Low preset yields an average of 206.3 FPS, which increases to 186.7 FPS on Medium, 160.1 FPS on High, and 156.2 FPS on Ultra. The difference between High and Ultra is only 3.9 FPS, suggesting Ultra has a minimal additional cost at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains very strong. The Low preset delivers 182.9 FPS, Medium drops to 167.2 FPS, High to 144 FPS, and Ultra to 136.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 46.2 FPS, which is more pronounced than at 1080p, but still indicates a highly playable experience on any setting. At 3840x2160, the card still delivers excellent numbers. Low settings run at 155.2 FPS, Medium at 145.8 FPS, High at 111.2 FPS, and Ultra at 106.5 FPS. Even the most demanding preset at 4K remains well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the Low preset is nearly 2.5x that. The consistency across resolutions demonstrates that this is a high-end GPU that can easily handle this title's modest demands.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, plays a secondary but important role in this system. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz, which can boost up to 3.90 GHz. While this is an older CPU based on the Zen architecture, its benchmark scores show it is a capable processor. In Cinebench R23, it scores 11186 points multi-core and 1579 points single-core. Its average benchmark score is 19616, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs. It is closely matched with rivals like the Intel Core i5-1345U, which has an average score of 19691 and a deltaPct of -0.4.

For a game like Inside, which is a puzzle platformer and not a CPU-intensive simulation, the Ryzen 5 2600 is more than sufficient. The high frame rates, even at 1080p where the CPU's workload is proportionally higher, indicate that the CPU is not a significant bottleneck. The fact that FPS scales downward as resolution increases suggests the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's demands. The processor's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are adequate for feeding the GPU with draw calls and game state data. In this context, the CPU is a stable foundation that allows the RX 7900 XT to operate without being held back, even if it is not the most modern processor on the market.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combination depend on the target refresh rate and resolution. At 1920x1080, all presets are viable, but the Ultra preset, at 156.2 FPS, is the best choice for maximizing visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The difference between High and Ultra is only 3.9 FPS, so there is little reason not to select Ultra. At 2560x1440, the High preset, with 144 FPS, is a sweet spot for high-refresh-rate monitors. While Ultra runs at 136.7 FPS, the 7.3 FPS gain from High to Ultra is not significant, and High provides a more stable frame-time buffer.

At 3840x2160, the situation shifts. The High preset, at 111.2 FPS, provides an excellent balance for 4K gaming. It is 35.7 FPS faster than the Ultra preset, while the visual difference between High and Ultra in a game like Inside is likely to be subtle. The Medium preset, at 145.8 FPS, is the choice for those prioritizing very high frame rates at 4K, though the jump from High to Medium is only 34.6 FPS. For the absolute best visual experience at 4K, Ultra at 106.5 FPS is still playable, but the data suggests that High offers a more efficient use of the GPU's resources, delivering a significant FPS advantage with a minimal graphical compromise.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 2600 and the RX 7900 XT ranks 996th out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems, which is an interesting result given the GPU's high-end status. The ranking suggests that while the GPU is exceptionally powerful, the overall system performance is tempered by the older CPU. The 996th rank is likely influenced by the fact that many other tested combos feature more modern processors that can better feed high-end graphics cards, especially in games that are more CPU-sensitive.

However, the measured FPS data tells a story of a system that is still extremely capable. The rank might be lower than expected, but the actual gameplay experience, as evidenced by the 4K Ultra average of 106.5 FPS, is excellent. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking and its positive deltaPct of 0.7 against the Intel Core i7-10700F show that it is not a weak link. The 996th rank likely reflects the presence of many other high-performance combos in the database, and the fact that this older CPU, while competent, does not push the GPU to its absolute limits in every scenario. This pairing confirms the GPU's raw power, but the data implies that upgrading the CPU would unlock even more performance in this and other titles.