Inside

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 combination delivers playable performance in Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer, but the data reveals a component that is clearly overmatched at higher resolutions. The measured frames per second (FPS) across 12 test scenarios show a system that excels at 1080p but struggles to maintain smooth motion at 4K, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about where the performance ceiling lies. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo averages 65 FPS, which falls to 47.1 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 29.3 FPS at 4K. That represents a 55% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings, a significant penalty that points to the GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus being overwhelmed by the pixel count.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the system delivers 134.2 FPS at 1080p, 94.4 FPS at 1440p, and 62.3 FPS at 4K. While the percentage drops are less severe at lower settings, the absolute numbers still show a massive gap between 1080p and 4K. Interestingly, the gap between 1440p and 4K is larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p, which suggests that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth hit a wall when moving to 4K.

The data implies that the Ryzen 5 3600 with its 6 cores and 12 threads is not the limiting factor here. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see smaller FPS differences between resolutions, as the CPU workload would remain constant. Instead, the FPS scales dramatically with resolution, which is a classic signature of GPU-bound performance. At 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to push the GTX 1650 to its limits, but at 4K, the GPU simply cannot keep up with the rendering demands.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows offer a clear hierarchy for players seeking the best experience. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 104.4 FPS, which is more than sufficient for a puzzle platformer, while High settings achieve 67.3 FPS and Ultra drops slightly to 65 FPS. The jump from Medium to High costs about 35% of the frame rate, which is a substantial trade-off for what is likely a marginal visual improvement in a game with Inside's art style.

For 1440p, the Medium preset at 74.3 FPS is the sweet spot, providing smooth gameplay without sacrificing too much visual fidelity. High settings at 1440p produce 46 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less fluid, and Ultra at 47.1 FPS is nearly identical, suggesting that Ultra offers no real benefit over High at this resolution. At 4K, the Low preset at 62.3 FPS is the only option that maintains acceptable smoothness, while Medium at 48.6 FPS and High at 32.5 FPS are both below the 60 FPS threshold that many players prefer.

The data shows that Medium settings are the default recommendation for most scenarios, as they provide the best balance between frame rate and visual quality. At 1080p, Medium offers a massive 60% FPS advantage over Ultra, and at 1440p, it is 58% faster than Ultra. The only scenario where Low is necessary is 4K, where even Medium cannot maintain a stable 50 FPS.

GPU Role

The GTX 1650's specifications directly explain the measured results. With 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus providing 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth, the GPU is clearly designed for 1080p gaming, not 4K. The TU117 chip, built on a 12 nm process, contains 896 shading units and 32 ROPs, which are modest numbers that align with its performance class.

The clock speeds are also telling. The base clock of 1485 MHz and boost clock of 1665 MHz are relatively high for a card of this tier, but the FP32 performance of 2.984 TFLOPS indicates a hard ceiling on compute throughput. This explains why the FPS drops so dramatically at 4K, as the GPU simply runs out of processing power to handle the increased pixel load.

The GPU's benchmark scores corroborate the gaming results. The PassMark G3D score of 7880 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 305 both place the GTX 1650 in the lower-middle tier of graphics cards, with a percentile rank of 43 among all GPUs. The nearest rivals, including the AMD Radeon 550X and NVIDIA Quadro P2200, have nearly identical average scores, which confirms that this is a budget-oriented part. Interestingly, the GTX 1650's successor, the GeForce 20 series, would presumably handle 4K much better, but the data shows that this card is simply not equipped for that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows a wide range of performance depending on settings. Low settings produce 134.2 FPS, which is exceptionally smooth and indicates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at high frame rates. Medium settings drop to 104.4 FPS, still excellent for the genre. High settings achieve 67.3 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 65 FPS, which is surprisingly close to High and suggests diminishing returns at the top end.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates become more constrained. Low settings yield 94.4 FPS, which is still very playable, but Medium drops to 74.3 FPS and High falls to 46 FPS. Ultra settings at 47.1 FPS are essentially identical to High, which is an unusual result that suggests the GPU is hitting a hard limit around 47 FPS at this resolution regardless of settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overburdened. Low settings produce 62.3 FPS, which is the only configuration that maintains a playable frame rate. Medium settings drop to 48.6 FPS, High falls to 32.5 FPS, and Ultra produces 29.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 22%, while the gap between Medium and High is 33%, indicating that each step up in quality costs more performance at this resolution.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Inside?*

A: The data shows that 1080p provides the best performance, with all settings exceeding 65 FPS. At 1440p, only Low and Medium settings maintain frame rates above 70 FPS, while at 4K, only Low settings achieve over 60 FPS.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 3600 bottleneck the GTX 1650 in this game?

A: No, the FPS scaling with resolution indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15045 and single-core score of 2124 suggest it has ample headroom for this game's workload.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1650's average benchmark score of 8713 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon 550X at 8749 (0.4% difference) and the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 at 8671 (0.5% difference), indicating they are all in the same performance class.

Q: Is Ultra settings worth the FPS cost?

A: At 1080p, Ultra provides 65 FPS compared to High's 67.3 FPS, a negligible difference. At 1440p, Ultra actually performs slightly better than High (47.1 vs 46 FPS), suggesting these presets are effectively equivalent.

Q: What settings should be used for 4K gaming?

A: Low settings at 4K produce 62.3 FPS, which is the only playable option. Medium at 48.6 FPS and High at 32.5 FPS are both below the 60 FPS threshold, making them less desirable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threading affect performance?

A: The Ryzen 5 3600's 12 threads and PassMark multithread score of 17700 indicate strong parallel processing, but Inside is a puzzle platformer that likely doesn't utilize all threads. The Cinebench R15 single-core score of 214 shows adequate single-thread performance for this game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, provides a solid foundation for this GPU pairing. The CPU's boost clock of 4.20 GHz and base clock of 3.60 GHz are competitive for its generation, and the 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency. The 7 nm Zen 2 architecture with 3,800 million transistors on a 74 mm² die is efficient, with a TDP of only 65 W.

Benchmark results show the Ryzen 5 3600 is a mid-range performer. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15045 and single-core score of 2124 place it in the 76th percentile among all CPUs, which is respectable. The PassMark single-thread score of 2562 and multithread score of 17700 indicate balanced performance. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-11400, has an almost identical average score of 18150 with a deltaPct of -0.1, meaning the two CPUs are effectively tied.

In Inside, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 134.2 FPS, which shows the CPU is capable of high frame rates. The fact that FPS drops significantly at higher resolutions confirms that the CPU is not the bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 3600's PCIe Gen 4 support with 16 lanes is also more than sufficient for the GTX 1650, which uses a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 3600 and GTX 1650 ranks 1624 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the bottom 3% of all configurations. This is a surprisingly low rank for a game that is not graphically demanding, but it reflects the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. The GTX 1650's 43rd percentile rank among all GPUs is the primary factor dragging down this combo's position.

The data suggests that the CPU is holding up its end of the bargain, as its 76th percentile rank among CPUs is much higher than the GPU's rank. However, the combo's overall rank is determined by the weakest link, which is clearly the GTX 1650. The measured FPS at 1080p are competitive with many mid-range systems, but the combo's inability to maintain high frame rates at 1440p and 4K pushes it down the rankings.

The rank of 1624 out of 1671 implies that most other tested combos, likely with more powerful GPUs, achieve better performance in Inside. This is unsurprising given that the GTX 1650 is an entry-level card, but it does highlight that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming. For players who prioritize higher resolutions, the data clearly indicates that a more capable GPU would be necessary to improve the ranking and overall experience.