Inside

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT combination delivers a compelling experience in Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016. The measured frame rates across all settings and resolutions show that this pairing is more than capable of handling the game’s demands, often exceeding the threshold for smooth gameplay. The data reveals a system where the GPU becomes the primary scaling factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is where the frame rate impact is most pronounced. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 137.1 at 1080p to 98.5 at 1440p, and finally to 63.7 at 4K. This represents a significant 53.5% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, clearly illustrating the rendering load that higher pixel counts place on the graphics card.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all quality presets. With Low settings, the drop is even steeper in absolute terms, moving from 279 FPS at 1080p down to 199.3 at 1440p and 122.9 at 4K. The fact that the 4K Low figure is still more than double the 1080p High figure suggests that the game is far from being a worst-case scenario for modern hardware, but the relative drops confirm that pixel throughput is a major factor.

Looking at the differences between 1080p and 1440p, the average decrease is roughly 28-29% across settings, while the step from 1440p to 4K brings a further 35-38% reduction. This non-linear scaling indicates that the RX 5700 XT’s memory bandwidth and fillrate are being taxed more heavily as the resolution climbs, with the 4K Ultra result of 59 FPS being the only measured point that dips below the 60 FPS mark. The data implies that for the most demanding visual settings, 4K is the boundary for this GPU in this title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This is a crucial asset for handling the higher resolution textures and effects in Inside. The GPU’s boost clock of 1905 MHz and game clock of 1755 MHz are the engines driving the frame rates, and the performance difference between Low and High settings shows the GPU’s headroom.

At 1080p, the GPU is clearly the dominant factor. The jump from Low (279 FPS) to High (137.1 FPS) shows a 50.9% reduction in performance, indicating that the increased shader complexity and texture filtering are directly impacting the GPU’s workload. The Ultra preset at 1080p (134.3 FPS) is nearly identical to High, suggesting a point of diminishing returns where the GPU is still the bottleneck, but the extra settings don’t add a proportional load.

The GPU’s 2560 shading units are the core of its processing power, and the data shows they are sufficient for the game’s art style. The 4K Ultra result of 59 FPS, while playable, is the only instance where the GPU’s limits are truly exposed. The fact that 4K Medium achieves 97.7 FPS, a 65.6% improvement over Ultra, suggests that one or two specific Ultra settings are disproportionately expensive on the RDNA 1.0 architecture, rather than the overall resolution being the sole issue.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500, a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, does not appear to be a limiting factor in this game. With a boost clock of 4.20 GHz and a base clock of 3.60 GHz, the CPU’s single-thread performance is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2319. Inside is not a heavily threaded title, so the CPU’s multi-core capabilities, such as its R23 multi-core score of 16429, are likely underutilized.

This is corroborated by the FPS data. The difference between 1080p Low (279 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (134.3 FPS) is entirely attributable to the GPU’s workload, not the CPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a performance ceiling that limits FPS regardless of resolution or settings. Here, the 4K Low result of 122.9 FPS is much lower than the 1080p Low result of 279 FPS, proving that the GPU is the component that scales with the rendering load.

The CPU’s position in the market, with a percentile rank of 79 among all CPUs, confirms it is a mid-range part that offers ample processing power for this genre. The benchmark results for the Ryzen 5 5500 show it is competitive with the Intel Core i5-12500, trailing by only 0.1% in average score. For a game like Inside, which relies on consistent frame pacing rather than complex physics simulations, the Ryzen 5 5500’s architecture provides a stable platform without introducing frame time spikes.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Inside with this hardware?*

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. At High settings, it achieves 98.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold, while 4K High dips to 63.7 FPS, which is closer to the limit.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with the RX 5700 XT in this title?

A: Yes, but with caveats. The 4K Medium preset achieves 97.7 FPS, which is smooth, but the 4K Ultra preset drops to 59 FPS. For a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, you would need to use High settings or lower.

Q: How much of a performance gap is there between the Low and Ultra presets?

A: The gap is substantial. At 1080p, the difference is 144.7 FPS (279 FPS on Low versus 134.3 FPS on Ultra). This represents a 51.9% reduction, highlighting how much visual fidelity costs in raw performance.

Q: Does the CPU limit the frame rate in this game?

A: No. The evidence points to the GPU being the sole bottleneck. The fact that FPS scales predictably with resolution and settings, dropping from 279 FPS at 1080p Low to 122.9 FPS at 4K Low, shows the CPU is not holding the system back.

Q: What is the performance difference between the 1080p and 1440p resolutions?

A: On average, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces the frame rate by about 28-29% across all settings. For example, at High settings, the FPS drops from 137.1 to 98.5, a 28.2% reduction.

Q: Is the RX 5700 XT a good match for the Ryzen 5 5500 in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate a balanced pairing. The CPU provides enough headroom to feed the GPU at all settings, and the GPU’s performance is the primary variable. This combination avoids a severe CPU bottleneck in Inside.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset is the clear recommendation. At 1080p, it delivers 137.1 FPS, which is excellent for any display, and at 1440p, it still maintains 98.5 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The step up to Ultra only provides a marginal visual improvement in a game with a stylized art direction, while costing about 2% performance at 1080p (134.3 FPS) and 5.3% at 1440p (93.3 FPS).

If the goal is to play at 4K, the Medium preset is the most sensible option. It achieves 97.7 FPS, which is far smoother than the High preset’s 63.7 FPS and the Ultra preset’s 59 FPS. The visual difference between Medium and High in this game is likely to be subtle, but the 34 FPS performance gain is not. Therefore, for a 60 Hz 4K display, Medium is the safest choice to ensure consistent frame delivery.

The Low preset is only recommended for competitive play or if targeting extremely high frame rates, as it can hit 279 FPS at 1080p. However, given the game’s nature, the visual downgrade is unnecessary for most users. The Ultra preset, while playable, does not offer enough of a fidelity boost to justify the significant frame rate drop, especially when the High preset is nearly identical in performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across the board. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high: Low settings achieve 279 FPS, Medium hits 220.4 FPS, High delivers 137.1 FPS, and Ultra produces 134.3 FPS. All of these figures are far beyond the refresh rate of standard monitors, indicating a very fluid experience.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong. Low settings yield 199.3 FPS, Medium reaches 161.5 FPS, High holds at 98.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 93.3 FPS. The 1440p High result is still above 90 FPS, which is great for most gaming displays. The only point where the system struggles to maintain high frame rates is at 3840x2160 with the High and Ultra presets.

At 4K, the results are more varied. Low settings still manage a very playable 122.9 FPS, and Medium achieves 97.7 FPS. However, the High preset drops to 63.7 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 59 FPS. This shows that while the RX 5700 XT can handle 4K in Inside, it requires a careful selection of settings to maintain a locked 60 FPS experience.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Inside, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT ranks at position 1252 out of 1671 total combinations. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the rankings, which is informative given the game’s age and the hardware’s capabilities. The rank is likely influenced by the GPU’s overall standing, as the RX 5700 XT sits at the 68th percentile among all GPUs.

The GPU’s performance is closely matched to several rivals, with the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile being 0.1% faster and the Intel Arc A350M being 0.3% slower. This suggests that the RX 5700 XT is a solid mid-range performer. The CPU, ranking in the 79th percentile, is actually a stronger relative performer than the GPU.

The combo’s rank of 1252 suggests that while this system is perfectly capable of playing Inside smoothly, as evidenced by the measured FPS, there are many other configurations in the database that deliver higher raw frame rates. This ranking is a reflection of the GPU’s age and its position relative to newer hardware, rather than a commentary on its suitability for this specific game. The data confirms that this is a balanced, capable mid-range setup for a puzzle platformer.