Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that scales almost linearly with resolution, and the measured data for the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D paired with the Intel Arc B570 shows a system that is decisively GPU-bound at every setting tier. The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K is remarkably consistent, indicating that the 6-core CPU is never the limiting factor, even in a game that relies on precise physics and rendering.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS deltas across resolutions tell a clear story about where the bottleneck resides. At Low settings, the system delivers 240 FPS at 1920x1080, which drops to 172 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 28% reduction), and then further to 108 FPS at 3840x2160 (a 55% reduction from 1080p). This pattern of near-halving performance as pixel count quadruples is the signature of a GPU-limited workload; the Arc B570’s 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated by the increasing render resolution.

At the other end of the spectrum, Ultra settings show the same trend but with lower absolute numbers. The 1080p Ultra result is 114 FPS, which falls to 82 FPS at 1440p (a 28% drop) and 52 FPS at 4K (a 54% drop). The consistency of these percentages across Low and Ultra presets is telling: the game’s visual complexity does not shift the balance between CPU and GPU load. Instead, the scaling is purely a function of pixel throughput, confirming that the Ryzen 5 5500X3D’s 12 threads are more than adequate to feed the GPU even at the highest framerates observed.

The medium preset offers the only complete min/max data in the pack, and it reinforces the GPU-bound analysis. At 1080p Medium, the average is 192 FPS with a minimum of 163 FPS and maximum of 221 FPS. Moving to 1440p Medium, the average drops to 138 FPS (min 117, max 159), and at 4K Medium, the average is 87 FPS (min 74, max 100). The spread between minimum and maximum frames stays relatively tight at each resolution, suggesting that the GPU is delivering frames steadily without CPU-induced hitches. If the CPU were struggling, we would expect the minimum FPS to collapse disproportionately compared to the average, but the data shows a uniform shift.

What is particularly interesting is the 4K High result of 54 FPS versus the 4K Medium result of 87 FPS. That is a 37% performance penalty for moving from Medium to High, which is a larger jump than the 20% penalty seen when moving from Medium to Low (108 FPS at 4K Low). This non-linear scaling between presets implies that High and Ultra introduce specific GPU-intensive effects (likely related to the game’s volumetric lighting and particle systems) that disproportionately tax the Arc B570’s 2304 shading units. The data suggests that for 4K gameplay, the user is walking a tightrope where the Medium preset is the only viable option above 60 FPS, while High and Ultra fall just short of that threshold.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: Only at Medium settings. The measured 4K Medium average is 87 FPS, which is above 60 FPS. However, the 4K High preset drops to 54 FPS and Ultra to 52 FPS, both below the 60 FPS threshold. Low at 4K runs at 108 FPS but sacrifices visual fidelity.

Q: How does the CPU’s thread count affect performance in this puzzle platformer?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500X3D has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. The data shows no evidence of CPU limitation; the FPS scales purely with resolution and settings, which indicates the 12 threads are sufficient to keep the GPU fed even at 240 FPS at 1080p Low.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B570’s 10 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: Yes, the measured results show playable framerates at all resolutions, including 4K. The memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s appears adequate, as the performance drops are consistent with pixel-count increases rather than VRAM capacity or bandwidth exhaustion.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low averages 172 FPS, while Ultra averages 82 FPS. This represents a 52% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest preset, which is a significant hit but still leaves Ultra above 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Inside?

A: The combo ranks 2301 out of 2887 tested combinations. This places it in the 79th percentile of all combos, indicating that while it performs adequately, there are many faster configurations in the database for this specific title.

Q: Does the game prefer higher CPU clocks or more cores?

A: The data does not show a preference. The CPU’s base clock of 3.00 GHz and boost of 4.00 GHz, combined with its 96 MB of shared L3 cache, produce no bottleneck. The FPS scales identically with resolution changes, which is typical of a GPU-bound workload.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance of visual quality and frame rate depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the High preset at 120 FPS is the recommended choice because it delivers a smooth experience while looking noticeably better than Low (240 FPS) or Medium (192 FPS). The Ultra preset at 114 FPS is only 5% slower than High, so users with high refresh rate monitors who want maximum fidelity can justify Ultra, but High offers virtually the same performance with a more stable frame pacing.

At 2560x1440, the decision becomes clearer. The Medium preset at 138 FPS is the sweet spot, as it provides a 60% improvement over High (86 FPS) while still looking substantially better than Low (172 FPS). The Ultra preset at 82 FPS is playable but sacrifices too much performance for marginal visual gains over High. For 1440p, Medium is the recommended preset because it maintains a high refresh rate headroom, and the min FPS of 117 FPS ensures no dips below 100 FPS.

For 3840x2160, the choice is forced by the data. High (54 FPS) and Ultra (52 FPS) both fall below the 60 FPS threshold, which is the standard for smooth gameplay. Low (108 FPS) and Medium (87 FPS) are the only options above 60 FPS. Medium is the clear recommendation because it is only 19% slower than Low but offers a substantially better visual presentation. The 4K Medium result of 87 FPS with a min of 74 FPS means the experience will be fluid, while 4K High would introduce visible stutter during complex scenes.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance. Low settings average 240 FPS, Medium averages 192 FPS with a minimum of 163 FPS and maximum of 221 FPS, High averages 120 FPS, and Ultra averages 114 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 72 FPS, which is a 38% reduction, indicating that High enables significant GPU workloads. The jump from High to Ultra is only 6 FPS, suggesting that Ultra’s additional effects are minimal at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the numbers scale down predictably. Low averages 172 FPS, Medium averages 138 FPS (min 117, max 159), High averages 86 FPS, and Ultra averages 82 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 117 FPS is still well above the 60 FPS target, making it a safe choice. The High to Ultra delta is again small at 4 FPS, but the Medium to High delta is 52 FPS, a 38% drop that mirrors the 1080p pattern.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its limits. Low averages 108 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS (min 74, max 100), High averages 54 FPS, and Ultra averages 52 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 74 FPS is above 60 FPS, but the High preset’s average of 54 FPS means it will dip below 60 FPS frequently. The Ultra preset at 52 FPS is essentially identical to High, reinforcing that the GPU is hitting a hard performance wall at 4K with higher settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2301 out of 2887 tested combinations for Inside. This placement at the 79th percentile (calculated from 2301/2887) means that roughly 20% of tested combos are slower, but a significant majority are faster. Given that Inside is a 2016 game with modest requirements, this rank suggests that the Arc B570 is not a high-end card for this title, despite its modern Xe2-HPG architecture.

The CPU’s own benchmark percentile is 85th among all CPUs, with an average score of 37018. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, scores 36945, a delta of 0.2%, making them statistically equivalent. The GPU’s percentile is 65th among all GPUs, with an average score of 20556. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, scores 20534, a delta of 0.1%. This means the CPU is a stronger component relative to its peers than the GPU is, which explains why the combo’s rank is dragged down by the GPU in this specific game.

The data implies that if the user were to pair this CPU with a more powerful GPU, the rank would improve substantially, but as configured, the Arc B570 is the limiting factor. The 2887 total combos include many with high-end GPUs, so a rank of 2301 is expected for a mid-range card like the Arc B570, which sits in the 65th percentile of all GPUs.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It operates at a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, with a 105 W TDP. Its defining feature is the 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is unusually large for a 5000 series chip and likely contributes to its strong PassMark scores, including 20363 in multithreaded tests and 2941 in single-threaded tests.

In the context of Inside, the CPU’s role is minimal because the game is clearly GPU-bound. The FPS scales with resolution and settings in a way that shows no CPU bottleneck. Even at 1080p Low where the system hits 240 FPS, the CPU is able to maintain that framerate, proving that its 12 threads and 4.00 GHz boost are more than sufficient for this puzzle platformer’s physics and logic. The PassMark physics score of 2282 is modest, but it does not translate to in-game limitations.

The CPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, scores 37093 on average, a delta of -0.2%, meaning the 5500X3D is slightly slower in synthetic benchmarks. However, this difference is negligible for gaming, and the data shows no scenario where the CPU’s performance impacts the measured FPS. The large L3 cache likely helps with data-heavy scenes, but the game’s simple geometry and lighting do not stress it.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, codenamed Battlemage, using a 5 nm process. It features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units, with a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz. It has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its FP32 performance is 11.52 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate.

The GPU’s role in Inside is dominant, as evidenced by the resolution scaling. The 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS versus the 1080p Ultra result of 114 FPS shows a 54% drop, which is consistent with a card that is maxed out at higher resolutions. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 14195 places it in the 65th percentile, and its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750, scores 20582 on average, a delta of -0.1%, meaning the B570 is essentially tied with its predecessor in synthetic tests.

The 10 GB VRAM is sufficient for Inside, as the game does not appear to exceed it, but the memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s is likely the constraint at 4K. The medium preset at 4K achieves 87 FPS because it reduces texture and effect loads, allowing the GPU to process frames faster. The High and Ultra presets at 4K both fall below 60 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s shading units and ROPs are saturated by the game’s advanced rendering features. The Arc B570’s 80 ROPs and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are the limiting factors at high resolutions, as the game’s pixel-heavy effects require more fill rate than the card can provide.