Inside

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and AMD Radeon RX 580 combination delivers a peculiar performance curve in Inside, one that reveals a system heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions but surprisingly capable at 1080p. The measured data shows a dramatic shift in frame rates as resolution increases, with the gap between Low and Ultra presets narrowing significantly at 4K, indicating where the bottleneck truly lies.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about component balance. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 150 FPS, but this drops to 108 FPS at 1440p and further to 68 FPS at 4K. That is a 54.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, a steep decline that points squarely at the GPU as the limiting factor. The RX 580's 256-bit memory bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count quadruples.

The scaling pattern shifts with higher settings. At High settings, the drop from 75 FPS at 1080p to 54 FPS at 1440p to 34 FPS at 4K represents a 54.7% loss from 1080p to 4K, nearly identical to the Low preset. However, the Ultra preset behaves differently: 71 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K, a 54.9% reduction. The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings suggests the resolution scaling is purely GPU-bound, with the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads providing ample headroom even at 1080p.

The Medium preset offers the most telling data, as it includes minimum and maximum frame rate readings. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 120 FPS with a minimum of 102 and maximum of 138. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 86 FPS with a range of 73 to 99. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 and maximum of 62. The minimum frame rates scale proportionally with averages, indicating no sudden stuttering or CPU-related hitches at any resolution. The 4K Medium result of 54 FPS is exactly the same as the 1440p High result, showing how settings and resolution trade off against each other in this GPU-limited scenario.

The data shows that 1080p is the sweet spot for this combination, with even Ultra settings maintaining 71 FPS. At 1440p, the combo dips below 60 FPS on High and Ultra presets, while 4K is only playable at Low settings with 68 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 32 FPS is the only sub-30 reading in the entire dataset, though the 4K Medium minimum of 46 FPS suggests the frame pacing remains consistent even when the average drops.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested combinations in Inside, this pairing of the Ryzen 5 5600F and RX 580 ranks 2631 out of 2887 combos. That places it in the bottom 8.9% of all configurations tested, a surprisingly low position given the playable frame rates at 1080p. The ranking reflects the game's age and the fact that many modern combos can push far higher frame rates on this 2016 title.

The CPU's individual standing is far more respectable. The Ryzen 5 5600F sits in the 85th percentile among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 36945. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 at 36938 (a 0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D at 37018 (-0.2% delta), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 at 37093 (-0.4% delta), and the Intel Core i9-12900T at 37112 (-0.5% delta). The 5600F is effectively tied with these processors, sitting within half a percent of each, which means the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo's low ranking.

The GPU tells a different story. The RX 580 sits in the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12928. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile at 12940 (-0.1% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER at 12986 (-0.4% delta), the AMD Radeon 740M at 12870 (0.5% delta), and the AMD FirePro W5100 at 12847 (0.6% delta). The RX 580 is essentially a peer of these GPUs, but that peer group is now several generations old, which explains why the combo ranks so low in a game that rewards raw pixel throughput.

The combination of a strong CPU and a mid-tier GPU results in a system that underperforms in this benchmark's overall ranking, but the measured frame rates show the pairing is still viable for 1080p gaming. The low combo rank is more a reflection of the GPU's age than any fundamental flaw in the pairing.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is built on the Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. The GPU packs 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, with 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation units. Its clocks are set to a base of 1257 MHz and a boost of 1340 MHz, with memory running at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus.

The 8 GB of GDDR5 memory provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is the defining characteristic for this game's performance. Inside is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer, but the measured data shows it still scales heavily with memory bandwidth and GPU compute. The RX 580's pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s are the raw throughput figures that determine how quickly the game can fill the screen. The FP32 performance of 6.175 TFLOPS places it comfortably above integrated graphics but well below modern discrete GPUs.

The GPU's benchmark scores reveal its strengths and weaknesses. The PassMark G3D score of 8813 and the DirectX 11 score of 60 are respectable, but the DirectX 12 score of 43 and DirectX 10 score of 46 are lower, indicating the architecture does not scale perfectly with newer API features. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 45173 and OpenCL score of 37453 show solid compute performance, but the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1005 confirms the GPU's age. The RX 580's percentile ranking of 53rd among all GPUs means half of all GPUs tested outperform it, and in a game like Inside that is not particularly demanding, this mid-pack position translates to the frame rates seen in the measured data.

The GPU's TDP of 185 W and the suggested 450 W power supply indicate this is not an efficient part by modern standards, but the power connectors and dual-slot design are straightforward. The 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs provide standard connectivity. For Inside specifically, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM is more than sufficient, as the game does not appear to be VRAM-limited at any resolution or settings level based on the consistent scaling patterns.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 150 FPS, Medium averages 120 FPS with a range of 102 to 138, High averages 75 FPS, and Ultra averages 71 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 79 FPS, representing a 52.7% performance drop from the lowest to highest settings. The Medium preset's minimum of 102 FPS ensures no noticeable stuttering, and even the Ultra average of 71 FPS is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. Low settings produce 108 FPS, Medium averages 86 FPS with a range of 73 to 99, High averages 54 FPS, and Ultra averages 51 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is roughly 28-30%, consistent with the increased pixel count. The High and Ultra presets both dip below 60 FPS at this resolution, making them less ideal for players who prefer consistent 60+ FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 73 FPS keeps the experience smooth, but the Ultra preset at 51 FPS would be noticeably less fluid.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed. Low settings produce 68 FPS, Medium averages 54 FPS with a range of 46 to 62, High averages 34 FPS, and Ultra averages 32 FPS. The 4K Low result of 68 FPS is the only 4K preset that maintains a playable average above 60 FPS. The 4K Medium minimum of 46 FPS shows that even the mid-range preset can dip below 50 FPS, and the High and Ultra presets at 34 and 32 FPS respectively are borderline unplayable for a game that benefits from smooth motion.

The Medium preset is the only one with full min/max data across all three resolutions, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the 102-138 FPS range is tight. At 1440p, the 73-99 FPS range maintains proportionally. At 4K, the 46-62 FPS range shows the GPU is still delivering consistent frames, just at a lower level. This consistency suggests the RX 580 is not hitting any hard bottlenecks in Inside, just running out of raw throughput as resolution increases.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 5000 series processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It features 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. The CPU has 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache, totaling 4,150 million transistors on a 74 mm² die. The 65 W TDP and AMD Socket AM4 compatibility make it a straightforward drop-in upgrade for many existing systems.

The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance. The PassMark multithread score of 19236 and integer math score of 59339 indicate solid compute throughput. The floating point math score of 34548 and extended instructions score of 16266 demonstrate the Zen 3 architecture's efficiency. The single-thread score of 2872 places it well above the average CPU, and the data compression score of 232836 shows the 12 threads are effectively utilized in parallel workloads.

In Inside, the CPU's role is minimal because the game is not CPU-intensive. The measured frame rates scale almost perfectly with resolution, which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 150 FPS, but the CPU's single-thread score of 2872 and physics score of 1043 suggest it is not the limiting factor at any resolution. The fact that the frame rate drops by nearly half from 1080p to 4K at every settings level confirms the GPU is the bottleneck, not the CPU.

The Ryzen 5 5600F's 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs means it outperforms the vast majority of processors tested. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, scores 36938 with a 0% delta, meaning the two CPUs are effectively identical in average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D at 37018 (-0.2% delta) and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 at 37093 (-0.4% delta) are also within a rounding error of the 5600F's 36945 average. This peer group of high-performing CPUs means the 5600F provides more than enough processing power for Inside, even at 1080p with Low settings where the frame rate is highest.

The CPU's DDR4 memory support with dual-channel configuration and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for this game, though the 5600F also supports ECC memory, which is a niche feature for a gaming-focused processor. The PCIe Gen 4 interface with 20 lanes provides plenty of bandwidth for the RX 580's PCIe 3.0 x16 connection, though the GPU's older interface does not fully utilize the newer standard.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combination. At 1080p, Medium delivers 120 FPS average with a minimum of 102 FPS, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay in a puzzle platformer. The jump from Low to Medium costs 30 FPS but likely provides meaningful visual improvements. The jump from Medium to High costs 45 FPS, which is a steep price for presumably modest visual gains in a game with a stylized art direction.

For players with 1440p displays, the Medium preset at 86 FPS average is the recommended choice. The minimum of 73 FPS ensures the experience stays above 60 FPS at all times. The High preset at 54 FPS and Ultra at 51 FPS are both below the 60 FPS threshold, which could introduce perceptible judder in a game that requires precise timing for puzzle solving. The Low preset at 108 FPS is smooth but likely sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game that relies on atmosphere and lighting.

At 4K, the Low preset at 68 FPS is the only viable option. The Medium preset at 54 FPS average with a 46 FPS minimum is borderline, and the High and Ultra presets at 34 and 32 FPS respectively are too low for comfortable gameplay. Players with 4K displays should accept the visual compromises of Low settings to maintain playable frame rates, or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p to unlock the Medium preset's smoother performance.

The Ultra preset is difficult to recommend at any resolution. At 1080p, it delivers 71 FPS, which is playable, but the 49 FPS difference from Medium suggests the extra visual features are not worth the performance cost. At 1440p and 4K, the Ultra preset drops to 51 and 32 FPS respectively, making it the worst choice for a game that has minimal competitive or fast-paced elements. The data shows that Medium provides the best frame rate headroom, ensuring the game remains responsive during the puzzle-solving moments that require precise input.

The Low preset should only be used at 4K, where it is the sole path to 60+ FPS. At 1080p and 1440p, the Low preset's high frame rates of 150 and 108 FPS respectively are overkill for a puzzle platformer, and the visual downgrade would likely detract from the game's atmospheric presentation. The Medium preset strikes the right balance across all resolutions, offering 120 FPS at 1080p, 86 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K, making it the default recommendation for this hardware combination.