Inside

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer. The measured data shows this combination is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while still providing frame rates far beyond what any display can utilize. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings to determine the optimal configuration for this hardware pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 320 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 287 FPS, a 10.3% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 207 FPS, which is a 35.3% drop from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern indicates that the RX 9070 XT is handling the rendering workload efficiently, with the CPU providing ample headroom at lower resolutions.

The High settings preset shows a similar trend but with steeper drops. Starting at 230 FPS in 1080p, the average falls to 165 FPS at 1440p (a 28.3% decrease) and then to 104 FPS at 4K (a 54.8% decrease from 1080p). The Ultra preset follows this pattern closely: 219 FPS at 1080p, 157 FPS at 1440p, and 99 FPS at 4K. The progressive decline between each resolution step indicates that the GPU's rendering capabilities are the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

Medium settings show the most interesting scaling behavior. At 1080p, the average is 296 FPS with a minimum of 251 FPS and maximum of 340 FPS. At 1440p, this drops to 264 FPS (min 224, max 304), a 10.8% reduction. The 4K Medium result is 166 FPS (min 141, max 191), representing a 43.9% drop from 1080p. The minimum FPS values at each resolution stay remarkably close to the averages, suggesting consistent frame pacing without major stutters.

The data reveals that the transition from 1440p to 4K causes the largest relative performance loss across all settings. For High settings, this step costs 61 FPS (from 165 to 104), while for Medium it costs 98 FPS (from 264 to 166). This steep drop at 4K confirms that the RX 9070 XT's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are being pushed to their limits at this resolution, even for a game as visually simple as Inside.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. At 1080p, every settings preset exceeds 200 FPS average, with Low hitting 320 FPS, Medium at 296 FPS, High at 230 FPS, and Ultra at 219 FPS. Given that all options provide exceptionally smooth gameplay, the choice comes down to visual fidelity versus raw frame rate headroom.

At 1440p, the Medium preset emerges as the sweet spot. It delivers 264 FPS average with a 224 FPS minimum, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor. The High preset at 165 FPS and Ultra at 157 FPS are also viable, but they sacrifice over 90 FPS compared to Medium. The Low preset at 287 FPS offers minimal visual benefits over Medium while providing only a marginal frame rate increase, making it a poor trade-off.

For 4K gaming, the Medium preset at 166 FPS is the clear recommendation. It maintains fluid motion with a 141 FPS minimum, while the High preset drops to 104 FPS and Ultra to 99 FPS. The gap between Medium and High at 4K is substantial at 62 FPS, indicating that the Medium preset avoids the most demanding rendering effects that cause the GPU to struggle. The Low preset at 207 FPS is technically faster but eliminates too many visual details for a game that relies on atmosphere and lighting.

Considering the data holistically, the Medium preset provides the best experience across all three resolutions. It offers the most consistent frame rates relative to the maximum available, with only a 43.9% drop from 1080p to 4K compared to High's 54.8% drop and Ultra's 54.8% drop. Players with 1440p or 4K displays should prioritize Medium settings to maintain frame rates above 160 FPS, while 1080p users can safely enable Ultra for the best visuals without compromising performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D brings 6 cores and 12 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 4.00 GHz and boost clock of 4.50 GHz. This Raphael-based chip features 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is substantial for a 6-core processor. The CPU's benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance at 3494 in PassMark, with a multithread score of 25047 and a PassMark single-thread percentile ranking in the 89th percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's impact on Inside's performance is most evident at 1080p, where frame rates reach up to 320 FPS at Low settings. At these high frame rates, the CPU must feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations quickly enough to avoid becoming a bottleneck. The 7500X3D's 12 threads and 4.50 GHz boost clock appear sufficient for this task, as the scaling from 1080p to 4K remains consistent with GPU limitations rather than showing CPU stalls.

The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in any tested configuration. Even at 1080p Low with 320 FPS, the combo's performance scales predictably with resolution changes, suggesting the CPU has headroom remaining. The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate memory throughput for the game's data requirements.

Comparing to nearby processors, the 7500X3D's average benchmark score of 44573 places it just 0.2% above the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and 0.5% above the Intel Core i9-13950HX. It trails the Intel Core i5-14600 by 0.7% (score 44889). These margins are negligible in real-world gaming, and the 7500X3D's large L3 cache likely benefits games that rely on frequent data access patterns, though the measured FPS data alone cannot isolate this effect.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 7500X3D and RX 9070 XT ranks 659th out of 2887 tested combos in Inside. This places the pairing in the top 22.8% of all configurations tested for this game, which is a strong result given the game's age and the hardware's modern specifications. The rank reflects the combo's ability to maintain high frame rates across all settings and resolutions.

The ranking is particularly notable because Inside is a puzzle platformer with relatively simple graphics, meaning many older or lower-end GPUs can run it well. The 659th position out of 2887 indicates that this combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, likely due to the RX 9070 XT's raw compute power and the CPU's strong single-thread performance. The GPU's 48.66 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 128 ROPs ensure that even the most demanding settings are handled with ease.

This rank also suggests that the combo is not overkill for the game, as there are 658 configurations that perform better. These higher-ranked combos likely include more powerful GPUs or CPUs with higher clock speeds, but the difference in actual gameplay is minimal given that even the lowest tested average FPS (99 at 4K Ultra) is well above standard refresh rates. The data shows that this combo sits in a performance tier where further upgrades would yield diminishing returns for this specific title.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the primary driver of Inside's performance, as evidenced by the resolution scaling patterns. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. Its 4096 shading units and 128 ROPs operate at a base clock of 1660 MHz with a boost of 2970 MHz, providing substantial fill rate for the game's 2D-rendered scenes.

The GPU's benchmark results show strong DirectX performance, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260 and a PassMark G3D score of 26795. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 65879 indicates robust API support, which is relevant for a game that can utilize various rendering paths. The GPU's 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it above average, though its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Radeon HD 7770M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, which are significantly older architectures.

In Inside, the GPU's role becomes apparent when comparing settings presets. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 24 FPS (from 320 to 296), while the jump from Medium to High costs 66 FPS (to 230), and High to Ultra costs 11 FPS (to 219). This non-linear scaling suggests that the Medium preset uses a reasonable balance of GPU resources, while High introduces effects that disproportionately impact performance. At 4K, the Ultra preset drops to 99 FPS, showing that the GPU's 16 GB memory buffer is sufficient but the compute units are saturated at higher resolutions.

The RX 9070 XT's 304 W TDP and PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensure it can sustain high clock speeds during extended gaming sessions. The 48.66 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is more than adequate for a puzzle platformer, and the data confirms that the GPU is the component that determines frame rates at 4K, while at 1080p the CPU manages to keep up with the GPU's output.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Inside?*

A: The data shows that 1440p Medium provides the best balance with 264 FPS average, but 4K Medium at 166 FPS is also excellent. For maximum frame rates, 1080p Low hits 320 FPS.

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

A: It ranks 659th out of 2887 combos, placing it in the top 22.8% of all systems tested for Inside.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. At 4K, the average FPS drops to 104 on High and 99 on Ultra, while the CPU shows no signs of bottlenecking at lower resolutions.

Q: What settings preset should I use for 1440p gaming?

A: Medium is recommended, delivering 264 FPS average with a 224 FPS minimum. High and Ultra are also playable at 165 FPS and 157 FPS respectively.

Q: Does the RX 9070 XT's 16 GB of VRAM matter for this game?

A: The 16 GB memory capacity is more than sufficient for Inside, and the 644.6 GB/s bandwidth ensures smooth texture streaming at all tested resolutions.

Q: How does the 7500X3D compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: It scores 44573 average, which is 0.2% above the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, 0.5% above the Core i9-13950HX, and 0.7% below the Core i5-14600.