Inside

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the Intel Arc B390 delivers a highly playable experience in Inside, though the data reveals a clear performance ceiling at higher resolutions. Benchmark results show the combo handles 1080p with ease, but frame rates drop significantly as pixel count increases, indicating a shift in the bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across three resolutions and four quality presets to determine exactly where this system excels and where it struggles.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a classic scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K, with the most dramatic drop occurring at the highest resolution. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination produces an average of 156 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that figure to 112 FPS, a reduction of 44 FPS. The jump to 4K at Low settings yields 70 FPS, which is a further 42 FPS decline. This steep curve suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor at 4K, as the workload becomes increasingly pixel-bound.

For the Medium preset, the scaling is similar but slightly less aggressive. The system achieves 125 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 56 FPS at 4K. The 35 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is notable, and the further 34 FPS decline to 4K reinforces that the Arc B390 is struggling to maintain high frame rates as resolution increases. The High preset tells a similar story: 78 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. Here the 1440p result is identical to the 4K Medium result, which shows how much headroom is lost at higher quality settings.

Ultra settings produce the lowest overall frame rates, with 74 FPS at 1080p, 53 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 4K is 40 FPS, which is the smallest absolute difference of any preset. This indicates that at Ultra, the GPU is already near its limit even at 1080p, so the resolution scaling has less room to degrade performance further. The 4K Ultra result of 34 FPS is barely playable, while the 1080p Ultra result of 74 FPS remains smooth.

The data suggests that the AMD Ryzen 5 2600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is not the bottleneck at 1080p. The CPU's benchmark scores, including a Passmark multithread score of 13160 and a Cinebench R15 multicore score of 1248, indicate it has enough processing power to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. However, the Intel Arc B390, which sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs and has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs. The frame rate drops are consistent with a GPU that is overwhelmed by pixel fill rate demands at 4K.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output pipelines. The GPU operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and boosts to 2500 MHz. Its memory configuration is entirely system-shared, meaning the VRAM size, type, and bus width are all dependent on the host system's RAM. This design choice has direct implications for the game's performance, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth.

The GPU's pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, which are modest figures for a modern part. The FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS and FP16 performance of 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1) place it in the entry-level category. Its benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 puts it just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 1.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, according to the nearest rival data. This positioning explains why 4K Ultra settings yield only 34 FPS.

The system-shared memory is a critical factor in the measured results. Because the GPU has no dedicated VRAM, it relies on the system's DDR4 memory, which the Ryzen 5 2600 supports in dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s. This shared bandwidth creates contention between CPU and GPU workloads, which likely contributes to the frame rate drops at higher resolutions. The 4K Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 48 and a maximum of 65, with an average of 56. These fluctuations suggest the GPU is hitting memory bandwidth limits during complex scenes.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the Arc B390 is not a high-performance part. Its 9th percentile ranking across all GPUs means that 91% of tested graphics cards outperform it. The deltaPct values in the rival data are small — 1.3% over the GT 520MX and 2.7% over the GT 710 — which shows the Arc B390 is clustered with very old, low-end discrete GPUs. This is a critical context for the Inside results: the game is not demanding by modern standards, yet the GPU still cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K on Medium settings.

The boost clock of 2500 MHz is the maximum frequency the GPU can reach, but sustained workloads at 4K likely cause the chip to thermal throttle or power limit, given its 80 W TDP. The lack of dedicated VRAM and the reliance on system memory means that the GPU's performance is partly dependent on the CPU's memory controller and the speed of the installed RAM. For this specific combo, the Ryzen 5 2600's memory bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s is a hard ceiling that the Arc B390 cannot exceed.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and the desired frame rate. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 125 FPS on average, with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience without any significant drops. The Low preset at 1080p produces 156 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is unnecessary given the headroom available on Medium.

For 1440p gaming, the Low preset is the only option that guarantees high frame rates, averaging 112 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 90 FPS, which is still playable, but the minimum of 76 FPS could be noticeable in fast-paced sections. The High preset at 1440p drops to 56 FPS, which is borderline for a puzzle platformer, while Ultra at 56 FPS is also on the edge. The data indicates that Medium is the highest quality setting that maintains an acceptable frame rate at 1440p.

At 4K, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset achieves 70 FPS, which is the only setting that clears the 60 FPS mark. Medium at 4K produces 56 FPS, which is playable but with a minimum of 48 FPS that could cause perceptible stutter. High and Ultra at 4K produce 35 FPS and 34 FPS respectively, which are below the playable threshold for most users. For a game like Inside, which is a slow-paced puzzle platformer, 56 FPS on Medium might be acceptable, but Low is the recommended preset for a consistent experience.

The measured data shows that the gap between Medium and High is significant across all resolutions. At 1080p, the difference is 47 FPS (125 vs 78), at 1440p it is 34 FPS (90 vs 56), and at 4K it is 21 FPS (56 vs 35). This suggests that the High preset introduces visual effects that are disproportionately expensive on the Arc B390. The Ultra preset is only slightly worse than High, with a 4 FPS difference at 1080p and a 1 FPS difference at 4K, indicating that Ultra adds minimal additional load compared to the jump from Medium to High.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 + Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2547 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems. This rank is consistent with the GPU's low benchmark percentile and the CPU's mid-range standing. The Ryzen 5 2600 itself sits in the 75th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21484, which is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. The Intel Core Ultra 5 228V scores 21440 (0.2% behind), the Intel Core i9-11900H scores 21367 (0.5% behind), and the Intel Xeon D-1746TER scores 21635 (0.7% ahead). This means the CPU is not the primary drag on the combo's rank.

The GPU, however, is a different story. With a percentile of 9, the Arc B390 is firmly in the entry-level segment. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% behind), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1.5% behind), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (2.5% behind), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (2.7% behind). These are all ancient discrete GPUs from over a decade ago, which highlights how limited the Arc B390's performance is. The combo's rank of 2547 reflects this GPU bottleneck, as the CPU has ample headroom to support a much faster graphics card.

The data indicates that this combo is heavily imbalanced. The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 2239 and Geekbench single-core score of 1154 are respectable for its era, and its multithreaded performance (Passmark multithread score of 13160) is sufficient for modern games. However, the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is a fraction of what a mid-range discrete GPU would achieve. This imbalance means that the combo rank is almost entirely determined by the GPU's limitations, and the CPU is effectively wasted in this configuration for Inside.

Compared to other combos in the database, this system is in the bottom 12% for Inside. The game is not graphically intensive, so the fact that this combo only manages 74 FPS at 1080p Ultra is telling. Many older or integrated GPUs would struggle with the same workload, but the presence of a 6-core/12-thread CPU suggests the system could handle a much better GPU without any CPU-side bottleneck. The rank of 2547 out of 2887 is a clear signal that the Arc B390 is the limiting component, and users would see substantial gains from a GPU upgrade.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K 60 FPS?*

A: No. The measured data shows that at 4K, the highest average FPS is 70 on Low settings. The Medium preset drops to 56 FPS, and High and Ultra produce 35 FPS and 34 FPS respectively. None of the 4K presets reach 60 FPS on average, and the Medium preset has a minimum of 48 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 1080p gaming?

A: The Medium preset is the best balance, delivering 125 FPS average with a minimum of 106 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p achieves 74 FPS, which is still playable, but the 51 FPS difference between Medium and Ultra is not worth the visual gains for most players.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1460), and 2.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446). This places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 a bottleneck for this GPU?

A: The data suggests no. The CPU's average benchmark score of 21484 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, and it ranks in the 75th percentile of all CPUs. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are characteristic of a GPU bottleneck, not a CPU limitation.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 90 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS. This is a smooth experience, though the minimum suggests occasional dips that could be noticeable in fast-moving scenes.

Q: How does this combo's overall rank compare to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 2547 out of 2887 total tested combos for Inside, placing it in the bottom 12% of systems. This low rank is primarily due to the GPU's limited performance, as the CPU is a mid-range part.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table presents the exact measured FPS data from the FACT PACK, organized by resolution and settings preset. All values are averages unless otherwise noted.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: Average 156 FPS
• Medium: Average 125 FPS, Minimum 106 FPS, Maximum 144 FPS
• High: Average 78 FPS
• Ultra: Average 74 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: Average 112 FPS
• Medium: Average 90 FPS, Minimum 76 FPS, Maximum 103 FPS
• High: Average 56 FPS
• Ultra: Average 53 FPS

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: Average 70 FPS
• Medium: Average 56 FPS, Minimum 48 FPS, Maximum 65 FPS
• High: Average 35 FPS
• Ultra: Average 34 FPS

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each resolution step up costs roughly 30-40% of the frame rate, and each preset step up from Low to Medium costs about 20-25% of performance. The jump from Medium to High is particularly costly, with a 47 FPS drop at 1080p, a 34 FPS drop at 1440p, and a 21 FPS drop at 4K. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal, with only 4 FPS at 1080p, 3 FPS at 1440p, and 1 FPS at 4K. This suggests that the High preset contains the most demanding visual features, while Ultra adds only marginal effects.

For the Medium preset, the minimum FPS values are 106 at 1080p, 76 at 1440p, and 48 at 4K. These minimums indicate that even the Medium preset has frame time spikes, likely due to the system-shared memory bandwidth limitations of the Arc B390. The maximum FPS values of 144, 103, and 65 for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively show that the GPU can achieve higher frame rates in less demanding scenes, but the averages are dragged down by complex scenes that saturate the memory bus.

The Ryzen 5 2600's CPU benchmarks provide context for why the 1080p results are so strong. With a Passmark single-thread score of 2239 and a Cinebench R15 single-core score of 157.3, the CPU can handle the game's logic without bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions. However, at 4K, the GPU's pixel throughput of 60.00 GPixel/s becomes the limiting factor, as the fill rate demands of 4K overwhelm the 24 ROPs. The result is that the system delivers a playable 1080p experience, a decent 1440p experience on lower presets, and a barely playable 4K experience only on Low settings.