Inside

The pairing of AMD’s Ryzen 5 5600GT with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4090 in Inside produces a fascinating bottleneck dynamic. The data shows a CPU that, while capable, is vastly outclassed by the GPU in this 2D puzzle-platformer. The result is a combo that delivers extremely high frame rates across the board, but the scaling patterns reveal that the processor is holding back the graphics card’s full potential, especially at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: performance scales inversely with resolution, but not in the way one might expect from a typical GPU-bound scenario. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo averages 236 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 High, the average drops slightly to 211 FPS, and at 3840x2160 High, it falls to 147 FPS. This is a significant drop from 1080p to 4K, representing a 37.7% decrease in average frame rate.

However, the more revealing metric is the scaling from Low to High settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (306 FPS) and High (236 FPS) is 70 FPS, a 22.9% reduction. At 1440p, the gap between Low (275 FPS) and High (211 FPS) is 64 FPS, or 23.3%. At 4K, the Low preset hits 235 FPS, while High drops to 147 FPS, a 37.4% reduction. The fact that the percentage drop from Low to High increases with resolution suggests that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor at higher pixel counts, which is typical.

Yet, the absolute numbers tell a different story. Even at 4K High, the combo maintains 147 FPS, which is far beyond what most displays can show. The real bottleneck is visible at 1080p, where the CPU’s limits are most exposed. The fact that the 1080p High score (236 FPS) is nearly identical to the 1440p High score (211 FPS) — a mere 10.6% difference — indicates that the CPU is struggling to feed the RTX 4090 enough frames. If the GPU were the sole limiter, we would expect a much larger gap between 1080p and 1440p. The data suggests that at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 5600GT’s single-thread performance is the primary constraint, preventing the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600GT a good match for the RTX 4090 in Inside?*

A: The data indicates a significant mismatch. The combo ranks 527th out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the 85.8th percentile of all combos. However, the CPU’s benchmark scores (e.g., 913 in 3dmark_single_thread) are far below what a top-tier GPU like the RTX 4090 could utilize, leading to CPU bottlenecks at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with this combo?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 2560x1440 provides the best balance. At High settings, it delivers 211 FPS, which is only 10.6% lower than 1080p High (236 FPS), but with significantly better image quality. At 4K High, the frame rate drops to 147 FPS, which is still playable but shows a substantial 30.3% reduction from 1440p.

Q: How does the CPU’s core count affect performance in this game?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600GT has 6 cores and 12 threads. In Inside, a 2D puzzle-platformer, the workload is primarily single-threaded. The CPU’s 3dmark_single_thread score of 913 is the relevant metric, and it appears to be the limiting factor at 1080p, where the FPS does not scale as aggressively with resolution as expected.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 140 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is the lowest average FPS recorded in the entire dataset, but it still exceeds the refresh rate of most standard 4K displays.

Q: Is there a big difference between Medium and High settings?

A: The data shows a smaller gap than one might expect. At 1440p, Medium averages 253 FPS while High averages 211 FPS, a 16.6% difference. At 4K, Medium averages 217 FPS while High averages 147 FPS, a 32.3% difference. The larger gap at higher resolutions indicates the GPU is doing more work at 4K, making the settings impact more pronounced.

Q: How does this combo compare to its nearest rivals in terms of raw GPU and CPU performance?

A: The GPU’s nearest rival by average benchmark score is the Intel Arc Pro A60, with a deltaPct of 0%. The CPU’s nearest rival is the Intel Core i5-12490F, with a deltaPct of -0.3%. This means the RTX 4090 is statistically tied with the Arc Pro A60 in overall benchmarks, while the 5600GT is nearly identical to the i5-12490F in CPU performance.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5600GT’s role in this combo is best understood through its architectural strengths and the game’s engine demands. This is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, specifically the Cezanne die. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. For a game like Inside, which is a side-scrolling puzzle-platformer with relatively simple geometry and physics, the workload is heavily single-threaded.

The CPU’s benchmark scores confirm this. Its 3dmark_single_thread score is 913, and its 3dmark_2_threads score is 1794. These are respectable numbers, placing the CPU in the 74th percentile of all CPUs. However, they are far from top-tier. In contrast, the GPU’s percentile vs all GPUs is 88, indicating a much higher relative standing. This discrepancy is the root of the bottleneck.

The data shows that at 1080p, the FPS differences between Low (306 FPS) and High (236 FPS) are substantial, but the absolute numbers are capped. The CPU’s multi-threaded performance, as seen in its cinebench_r23_multicore score of 17272, is not the limiting factor here; the single-thread performance is. The game logic, collision detection, and rendering draw calls are all processed sequentially, and the 5600GT’s single-core speed is insufficient to push the RTX 4090 to its limits at lower resolutions.

This is why we see a relatively small FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings (236 to 211 FPS, or 10.6%). The CPU is still the bottleneck at 1440p, but as the resolution increases, the GPU starts to take on more of the rendering load, which is why the drop from 1440p to 4K (211 to 147 FPS, or 30.3%) is much more severe. The CPU is a capable mid-range part, but it is simply not in the same league as the RTX 4090, which is an end-of-life flagship with a massive 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame field places this specific pairing at rank 527 out of 3716 tested combinations. This is a strong showing, placing it in the top 14.2% of all combos tested. However, this ranking is likely skewed by the sheer power of the RTX 4090. The GPU’s avgBenchmarkScore is 60347, and its percentileVsAllGpus is 88, meaning it outperforms 88% of all GPUs in the database.

The CPU’s percentileVsAllCpus is 74, which is lower than the GPU’s. This discrepancy suggests that the combo’s rank is being dragged down by the CPU’s relative weakness. If the GPU were paired with a more powerful CPU, the combo would likely rank much higher. The nearest rivals for the GPU, such as the Intel Arc Pro A60 (deltaPct 0%), have similar overall GPU scores, but they would likely be paired with different CPUs in other combos, making a direct comparison difficult.

The key takeaway from the rank is that while this combo is far from the bottom, it is not optimized. The 527th rank out of 3716 is a solid result, but it is not representative of the GPU’s full potential. The data suggests that a user with a stronger CPU would see better overall performance in this game, particularly at 1080p and 1440p where the CPU bottleneck is most apparent. The measured FPS numbers are all high enough to be playable, but the headroom is being left on the table.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. The data provides four presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. For this combo, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot for most users.

At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 283 FPS, which is 77 FPS higher than High (236 FPS) and only 23 FPS lower than Low (306 FPS). The Medium preset also has a minimum FPS of 240, which ensures a smooth experience even in demanding scenes. At 2560x1440, Medium averages 253 FPS with a minimum of 215 FPS, providing a substantial improvement over High (211 FPS) while still maintaining a very high frame rate.

At 4K, the Medium preset’s advantage is even more pronounced. It averages 217 FPS, which is 70 FPS higher than High (147 FPS) and only 18 FPS lower than Low (235 FPS). This makes Medium the clear choice for 4K gaming, as it offers a significant performance boost over High with minimal visual degradation. The Ultra preset is the worst performer, with an average of 140 FPS at 4K, which is only 7 FPS lower than High but shows that the extra settings are not worth the performance cost.

For users with a 144Hz or 165Hz monitor, the Medium preset is the only one that consistently stays above the refresh rate at all resolutions. High settings dip below 144 FPS at 4K (147 FPS average), and Ultra dips to 140 FPS. Low settings provide the highest frame rates but likely come with a noticeable visual quality hit. Therefore, the recommendation is to use Medium settings for a balanced experience, or High if you prefer visual fidelity and are playing at 1080p or 1440p where the frame rates are still comfortably high.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides a clear picture of performance across all resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080:

• Low: 306 FPS average
• Medium: 283 FPS average, with a minimum of 240 and maximum of 325
• High: 236 FPS average
• Ultra: 232 FPS average

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 275 FPS average
• Medium: 253 FPS average, with a minimum of 215 and maximum of 291
• High: 211 FPS average
• Ultra: 208 FPS average

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 235 FPS average
• Medium: 217 FPS average, with a minimum of 184 and maximum of 250
• High: 147 FPS average
• Ultra: 140 FPS average

The data reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions. The Low preset is the fastest, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium is relatively small, typically around 7-8%. The gap between Medium and High is larger, ranging from 16.6% at 1440p to 32.3% at 4K. The gap between High and Ultra is minimal, often less than 2%, indicating that the Ultra preset offers little additional visual benefit for the performance cost.

The minimum FPS data, available only for Medium settings, shows that the frame pacing is consistent. At 1080p, the minimum is 240 FPS, which is only 15.2% below the average. At 1440p, the minimum is 215 FPS, 15% below the average. At 4K, the minimum is 184 FPS, 15.2% below the average. This consistency suggests that the Medium preset provides a stable experience without significant frame drops, making it the most reliable choice for competitive or high-refresh-rate play.