Inside

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination delivers a formidable performance profile for Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer. The measured data shows that this pairing is capable of high refresh rate gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, while still maintaining playable frame rates at 4K. The analysis below breaks down the system's resolution scaling, CPU and GPU roles, and provides specific FPS figures across all tested settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance delta between 1080p and 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, though the CPU remains a relevant factor at the lowest settings. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 155 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 111 FPS, a 28% reduction. Scaling up to 4K High yields 70 FPS, which is a 55% decrease from the 1080p figure and a 37% drop from 1440p. This steep decline indicates that the Radeon RX 9060's rendering pipeline becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases.

However, the scaling pattern shifts dramatically when examining Low settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 268 FPS. At 1440p Low, it reaches 222 FPS, and at 4K Low, it still manages 140 FPS. The percentage drops here are 17% from 1080p to 1440p and 37% from 1440p to 4K. The fact that 1080p Low hits 268 FPS—a figure that likely approaches the engine's frame pacing limits—suggests that the Ryzen 5 5500X3D's six cores are sufficient to feed the GPU at this level. The comparatively smaller drop from 1080p to 1440p Low (17%) versus the drop at High settings (28%) implies that the CPU is still holding the system back slightly at the lowest resolution.

The Medium settings tier provides the most complete data, including minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the average is 247 FPS with a minimum of 210 and a maximum of 284. The 1440p Medium average drops to 178 FPS (min 151, max 204), and 4K Medium falls to 112 FPS (min 95, max 128). The minimum frame rates at 4K Medium (95 FPS) show that even in demanding scenes, the system stays well above 60 FPS. The frame time consistency, as indicated by the spread between min and max, remains tight across all Medium presets, suggesting no significant stuttering issues.

The Ultra preset shows the most pronounced resolution scaling. The 1080p Ultra average is 147 FPS, 1440p Ultra is 106 FPS, and 4K Ultra is 66 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that dips below the 70 FPS mark, indicating that this setting pushes the RX 9060 to its limits. The data suggests that for 4K gameplay, users should consider High or Medium settings, while 1080p and 1440p users can comfortably run Ultra without sacrificing smoothness.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K with high refresh rates?*

A: No. The measured 4K High average is 70 FPS, and 4K Ultra drops to 66 FPS. While these are playable, they do not reach high refresh rate territory. For 120+ FPS at 4K, the Low preset is required, which achieves 140 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximum frame rates?

A: The 1080p Low preset delivers the highest measured average at 268 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and speed, 1080p Medium provides 247 FPS, and 1440p Medium offers 178 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: It depends on the settings. At 1080p Low, the 268 FPS result suggests the CPU is nearing its limit with the GPU waiting. At 4K High and Ultra, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as frame rates drop by more than half compared to 1080p.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5500X3D compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score is 37018, placing it in the 85th percentile. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, scores 36945, representing a 0.2% difference. The Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112, a -0.3% delta, meaning the 5500X3D is statistically tied with these processors.

Q: How does the RX 9060's raw performance compare to its rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 16014, with a 59th percentile ranking. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, which is -0.7% relative to the RX 9060. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 15852, a 1% difference, indicating near-identical average performance.

Q: Are the frame rate minimums stable across settings?

A: The data shows consistent minimums. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 210 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it is 151 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 95 FPS. These figures suggest no major frame pacing issues occur at Medium settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It operates on the AMD Socket AM4 platform with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. The processor features a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is a defining characteristic of the X3D line and proves beneficial for gaming workloads that rely on data locality.

In the context of Inside, a game that is not heavily threaded, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain a high minimum frame rate and feed the GPU efficiently. The benchmark data indicates that the 5500X3D excels at this task. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 268 FPS, which is likely near the engine's ceiling. The Passmark single-thread score of 2941 and the multithread score of 20363 provide context for this capability. The processor's percentile rank of 85 against all CPUs confirms its position as a high-end gaming chip.

The importance of the large L3 cache becomes evident when comparing the 5500X3D to its rivals. The nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, has an average score of 36945, only 0.2% lower than the 5500X3D's 37018. This indicates that in general compute tasks, the cache advantage does not translate to a massive lead. However, in gaming scenarios like Inside, the cache can reduce memory latency, which helps maintain consistent frame times. The measured FPS data, particularly the tight minimums at Medium settings (210 FPS at 1080p, 151 FPS at 1440p), suggests the CPU is delivering stable performance without bottlenecking the GPU until the very high frame rates are reached.

The CPU's 12 threads and 6 cores are ample for Inside, which likely uses only a few threads. The Passmark physics score of 2282 and the floating-point math score of 34511 indicate robust computational power that goes largely unused in this title. The data implies that the Ryzen 5 5500X3D is not a limiting factor at 1440p and 4K, where the GPU is clearly the constraint. The processor's 105 W TDP and 7 nm process node make it an efficient choice for maintaining high frame rates without excessive power draw.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across three resolutions and four quality presets.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance. The Low preset achieves the highest average at 268 FPS. The Medium preset averages 247 FPS, with a minimum of 210 and a maximum of 284, showing excellent frame pacing. The High preset averages 155 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 147 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is relatively small at 8 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects do not heavily tax the GPU at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong. The Low preset averages 222 FPS. The Medium preset averages 178 FPS (min 151, max 204), which is a 28% drop from the 1080p Medium result. The High preset averages 111 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 106 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra narrows further to just 5 FPS at this resolution, indicating that the GPU is starting to become the limiting factor for the highest quality settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is firmly the bottleneck. The Low preset averages 140 FPS, which is still very playable. The Medium preset averages 112 FPS (min 95, max 128), maintaining a consistent experience above 90 FPS. The High preset averages 70 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 66 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings shows a 37% performance loss, which aligns with the increased pixel count. The Medium preset's minimum of 95 FPS at 4K is particularly notable, as it ensures a smooth experience even during complex scenes.

The data shows a clear trend: the RX 9060 scales predictably with resolution, and the CPU keeps up with the GPU's demands until the very high frame rates at 1080p Low. The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot for frame rate consistency, as it is the only tier with reported minimum and maximum values, and those values show tight distributions across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks 1700 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. This places the system in the 41st percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 59% of tested combos perform better in this specific game. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the high absolute frame rates achieved, but it reflects the fact that Inside is not a demanding title, and many higher-end GPUs can achieve similar or higher frame rates.

The ranking is influenced by the GPU's overall performance tier. The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014 and sits in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, scores 16129, which is 0.7% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 15852, which is 1% lower. This indicates that the RX 9060 is a mid-to-high tier GPU, and while it delivers excellent results in Inside, it is not at the top of the performance hierarchy.

The CPU's ranking is more favorable. The Ryzen 5 5500X3D holds an 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average score of 37018. Its rivals—the Ryzen 5 5600F, Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, Core Ultra 5 225, and Core i9-12900T—all score within 0.3% of the 5500X3D, showing that the processor is well-matched with its peers. The high CPU percentile combined with the mid-range GPU percentile explains why the combo ranks in the lower half of all tested configurations: the GPU is the limiting factor for the overall ranking.

For context, the combo's rank of 1700 out of 2887 suggests that while this system is capable of high frame rates in Inside, there are many other tested combinations that achieve even higher performance. This is likely due to the presence of more powerful GPUs in the database. However, the measured FPS data shows that this combo is more than sufficient for a smooth experience, especially at 1080p and 1440p.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's resolution and refresh rate priorities.

For 1080p displays with a 144 Hz or 240 Hz refresh rate, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 247 FPS with a minimum of 210 FPS, ensuring that frame rates never dip below the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. The jump from Medium to High results in a significant 92 FPS drop (from 247 to 155), which is a steep cost for minor visual improvements. The Ultra preset at 147 FPS is also viable for 144 Hz displays, but the Medium preset provides a larger safety margin above the refresh rate.

For 1440p displays with a 144 Hz refresh rate, the Medium preset is again the optimal choice. The 178 FPS average and 151 FPS minimum ensure that the display is consistently fed with frames above its refresh rate. The High preset at 111 FPS would still provide a good experience on a 120 Hz display, but it cannot fully utilize a 144 Hz panel. The Ultra preset at 106 FPS is similarly limited. The Low preset at 222 FPS is unnecessary unless the user prioritizes absolute frame rate over visual fidelity.

For 4K displays with a 60 Hz refresh rate, the High preset is the best balance. The 70 FPS average is above the 60 Hz refresh rate, providing a smooth experience. The Medium preset at 112 FPS is even better if the display supports a higher refresh rate, as it offers a substantial performance buffer. The Ultra preset at 66 FPS is also playable on a 60 Hz display, but the marginal visual gains over High are not worth the 4 FPS reduction in average frame rate. The Low preset at 140 FPS is overkill for most 4K displays and would sacrifice visual quality unnecessarily.

The data strongly suggests that the Medium preset offers the best overall experience across all resolutions. It is the only preset with complete minimum and maximum frame rate data, indicating that the developers or testers found it to be the most stable configuration. The frame rate consistency at Medium settings, with minimums of 210 FPS at 1080p, 151 FPS at 1440p, and 95 FPS at 4K, demonstrates that this preset avoids the performance cliffs seen when moving to High or Ultra. For users seeking the highest visual quality, High is a viable alternative at 1080p and 4K, but Medium is the recommended default for a stutter-free experience.