Inside

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Inside, a puzzle platformer where frame rates are so high that the limiting component shifts dramatically depending on your resolution and quality settings. At 1080p, this combo is purely CPU-bound at lower presets, posting triple-digit averages that exceed 200 FPS, while at 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, dropping the average to 59.6 FPS. The data indicates a system that is overkill for the game's demands at most settings, but the scaling pattern reveals exactly where each component’s headroom runs out.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep, predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that drop is heavily influenced by the graphics preset. At Low settings, the frame rate falls from 277.8 FPS at 1920x1080 to 200.2 FPS at 2560x1440, a 28% reduction, and then to 128.2 FPS at 3840x2160, another 36% drop. This pattern suggests that even at Low, the GPU is starting to feel the pixel-count pressure at 4K, though the 1080p result is so high that it is clearly limited by the CPU’s single-thread performance rather than the Radeon RX 6600 XT.

At High settings, the scaling is more moderate: 139 FPS at 1080p drops to 102.3 FPS at 1440p (a 26% decrease) and then to 63.2 FPS at 4K (a further 38% decrease). The 4K High result is nearly identical to the 4K Ultra figure of 59.6 FPS, indicating that the GPU is saturated at this resolution regardless of whether you push from High to Ultra. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at High is smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K, which is expected since 4K has over twice the pixel count of 1440p.

Ultra settings tell the clearest story about the GPU bottleneck. The 1080p Ultra average of 131.9 FPS is only 5% lower than the High preset at the same resolution, showing that the GPU still has reserve capacity at 1080p. However, at 4K Ultra, the 59.6 FPS result is just below the 60 FPS threshold, making it the only configuration where the experience feels potentially compromised on a standard 60Hz display. The scaling from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra represents a 55% performance loss, which is substantial but not catastrophic for a game of this visual fidelity.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 917 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2622. This matters because Inside is a game that does not heavily utilize many threads; the data indicates that at 1080p Low, the CPU is the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 277.8 FPS ceiling that does not improve further even though the GPU could theoretically push higher frames.

The processor’s 32 MB of L3 cache and 12 threads provide ample headroom for a game like this, but the 1080p Low result of 277.8 FPS versus the 1440p Low result of 200.2 FPS shows that the CPU is still the limiting factor at the lowest resolution. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1793 and 4-thread score of 3363 suggest that the game likely only uses a few cores, and the 5600X’s leadership in single-threaded workloads (evidenced by a percentile of 78 against all CPUs) ensures it can maintain high frame rates when the GPU is not fully taxed.

At 4K, the CPU’s role diminishes entirely. The 4K Ultra average of 59.6 FPS is nearly identical to the 4K High average of 63.2 FPS, and both are far below the 1080p results, confirming that the GPU is the sole bottleneck at this resolution. The Ryzen 5 5600X’s 6 cores and 12 threads are never stressed by Inside, and even at 1080p Ultra, the 131.9 FPS result is more than sufficient for any display, leaving the CPU with significant unused capacity.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Inside with this combo for a smooth 60 FPS experience?*

A: All four settings at 4K except Ultra deliver above 60 FPS, with 4K High averaging 63.2 FPS. The 4K Ultra preset drops to 59.6 FPS, so for a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, High settings are the safe choice.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600X holding back the Radeon RX 6600 XT in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the CPU is the limiting factor, as the 277.8 FPS result is likely capped by the processor’s single-thread performance. At 1440p and above, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, so the CPU is not a constraint at higher resolutions.

Q: How much performance do I lose by switching from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 139 FPS at 1920x1080 to 63.2 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 55% reduction. This is a significant loss but still leaves the game playable at 4K.

Q: Does the Ultra preset offer a meaningful improvement over High at any resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra (131.9 FPS) is only 5% slower than High (139 FPS), so the visual upgrade comes at a minimal cost. At 4K, the difference is just 3.6 FPS (59.6 vs 63.2), making Ultra a marginal downgrade with likely little visual benefit.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average is 159.9 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings. This is well above any display’s refresh rate, so the experience will be extremely smooth.

*Q: Is this combo ranked well among all tested configurations for Inside?*

A: This combo ranks 1219 out of 1671 tested combinations, placing it in the lower 27% of all combos for this game. This is surprising given the high frame rates, but the ranking likely reflects that many other systems achieve even higher averages due to the game’s low demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear progression from Low to Ultra. The Low preset averages 277.8 FPS, which drops to 225.9 FPS at Medium, 139 FPS at High, and finally 131.9 FPS at Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium (51.9 FPS) is larger than the gap between High and Ultra (7.1 FPS), indicating that the Ultra preset adds only a small performance penalty over High.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are still exceptionally high. Low averages 200.2 FPS, Medium drops to 159.9 FPS, High comes in at 102.3 FPS, and Ultra is 94.7 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 53% loss, but even the lowest result at this resolution remains comfortably above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s workload becomes apparent. Low averages 128.2 FPS, Medium drops to 99.3 FPS, High falls to 63.2 FPS, and Ultra is 59.6 FPS. This is the only resolution where any preset dips below 60 FPS, and it happens only at Ultra. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is just 3.6 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is fully saturated and the extra settings have diminishing returns.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1219 out of 1671 tested configurations in Inside, placing it in the 27th percentile of all tested combos. This is a low ranking for a system that produces such high absolute frame rates, but it reflects the game’s low system requirements. Many other CPUs and GPUs can also hit very high frame rates in this puzzle platformer, so the 5600X and RX 6600 XT do not stand out relative to the broader pool.

The CPU itself has a percentile of 78 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20680. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT (average score 20740, delta -0.3%), the Intel Core i7-10700 (20746, -0.3%), and the Intel Core i5-12490F (20794, -0.5%). These differences are negligible, meaning the 5600X is essentially tied with these alternatives in synthetic benchmarks, and any performance difference in Inside would be imperceptible.

The GPU’s percentile is 71 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27985. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27956, delta 0.1%) and the AMD Radeon R9 M395X (27883, 0.4%), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 scores slightly higher at 28238 (delta -0.9%). The RX 6600 XT is thus positioned as a mid-tier card that trades blows with older high-end models, which is consistent with the measured frame rates in this game.

Settings Recommendations

For a 60 FPS experience at 4K, the High preset is the optimal choice, as it averages 63.2 FPS while the Ultra preset drops to 59.6 FPS. The 3.6 FPS penalty for Ultra is unlikely to justify any potential visual improvement, so High provides the best balance. At 1440p, any preset works, but the Medium setting at 159.9 FPS offers a strong middle ground between visual quality and performance, especially since the jump to High costs 57.6 FPS.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset is recommended despite its 131.9 FPS average, as the performance loss versus High (139 FPS) is only 5%, and the visual gains are the most pronounced at this resolution. For players with high-refresh-rate displays, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 277.8 FPS, which is more than enough to saturate any monitor, but the Medium setting at 225.9 FPS still exceeds 200 FPS and likely offers better visuals.

The data suggests that the Low preset is only necessary for extreme frame rate targets, such as 240Hz or higher displays. At 4K, the Medium preset at 99.3 FPS is a strong option for those who want high visual quality without sacrificing smoothness, as it is 36 FPS faster than High. Overall, the best experience per the measured rows is 1440p Medium or High, depending on whether you prioritize frame rate or fidelity, with both delivering well above 100 FPS.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 6600 XT, based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 23 chip, has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. Its boost clock of 2589 MHz and game clock of 2359 MHz contribute to a FP32 performance of 10.60 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards but adequate for a game like Inside. The GPU’s 32 ray accelerators and 64 ROPs handle the game’s rendering without issue, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p.

At 4K, the GPU’s memory bandwidth and pixel throughput become the limiting factors. The 4K Ultra result of 59.6 FPS shows that the card is working near its maximum capacity, as the pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s is strained by the 3840x2160 resolution. The 4K Low result of 128.2 FPS is notably higher, indicating that the GPU has more headroom when the shading load is reduced, but the 4K High and Ultra results cluster tightly around 60 FPS, suggesting a hard ceiling for this card at that resolution.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it at the 71st percentile, with a PassMark G3D score of 16461 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 89263. These numbers align with its measured performance in Inside, where it delivers playable frame rates at 4K but excels at lower resolutions. The 8 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the memory demands do not appear to cause any stuttering or frame drops, based on the consistent averages. The GPU’s role is clear: it is the primary bottleneck at 4K, but it has ample power for the game’s intended experience at 1080p and 1440p.