Inside

# Inside: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X + AMD Radeon RX 7700 Benchmark Analysis

This combination of AMD's Ryzen 5 9600X processor and Radeon RX 7700 graphics card delivers surprisingly strong performance in Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016 that remains demanding at higher settings. The combo ranks 1548th out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all systems tested for this game. This ranking suggests the pairing hits a sweet spot for 1080p and 1440p gaming, though the data reveals interesting scaling behavior at 4K that warrants closer examination.

How This Combo Ranks

The 1548th rank out of 3716 combos places this system in the 58th percentile among all tested configurations for Inside. This is a respectable position, though not exceptional, given that the GPU itself sits at the 58th percentile among all graphics cards. The CPU, meanwhile, ranks at the 81st percentile among all processors, indicating the processor has more headroom than the graphics card in this pairing.

Examining the GPU's nearest rivals provides context for this ranking. The Radeon RX 7700 scores 20,974 in Passmark G3D, which is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon R9 370X's 15,862 average (just 0.1% difference) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 at 15,679 (1.1% higher). Interestingly, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16,129, which is 1.7% higher than the RX 7700. This clustering of scores suggests the RX 7700 sits in a competitive mid-range tier, and its performance in Inside reflects this positioning.

The CPU's benchmark profile shows a similar pattern. With an average benchmark score of 29,713, the Ryzen 5 9600X sits just 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (29,656) and 0.5% below the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (29,868). The Ryzen 7 5800XT (29,879) and Ryzen 7 8845HS (29,955) are slightly ahead at 0.6% and 0.8% respectively. This tight clustering indicates the 9600X delivers performance squarely in line with established mid-range options.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 7700 brings substantial memory resources to Inside, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is generous for a 2016 puzzle platformer, even at higher resolutions. The 16 GB capacity ensures that texture streaming and asset loading never become bottlenecks, even when the game is forced to load large scenes at 4K resolution.

Clock speeds play a significant role in this game's performance. The GPU's base clock runs at 1900 MHz, with a game clock of 2041 MHz and a boost clock reaching 2459 MHz. The memory operates at 2438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective), which provides ample bandwidth for the game's art style. Inside uses a distinctive monochromatic visual style with heavy use of shadows and lighting effects, and the 96 ROPs (render output units) help maintain fill rates at higher resolutions.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 2,560 shading units and 40 ray tracing cores built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture. The FP32 performance of 25.18 TFLOPS suggests the card can handle the game's physics and particle effects without strain. The pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s provide theoretical limits far beyond what Inside requires, and the measured frame rates confirm this headroom.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals fascinating scaling behavior across resolutions. At 1080p, the system achieves 353 FPS on Low settings, dropping to 282 FPS on Medium, 177 FPS on High, and 168 FPS on Ultra. Moving to 1440p, these figures drop to 254 FPS (Low), 203 FPS (Medium), 127 FPS (High), and 121 FPS (Ultra). At 4K, performance falls further to 160 FPS (Low), 128 FPS (Medium), 80 FPS (High), and 76 FPS (Ultra).

The scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component. From 1080p Low to 1440p Low, performance drops from 353 FPS to 254 FPS, a 28% reduction. From 1440p to 4K Low, it drops further to 160 FPS, another 37% reduction. This consistent scaling across all settings suggests the GPU is the primary limiter, as the CPU's performance headroom (81st percentile) exceeds what the GPU can feed at lower resolutions.

However, the gap between High and Ultra settings is remarkably small across all resolutions. At 1080p, High achieves 177 FPS while Ultra manages 168 FPS, only a 5% difference. At 1440p, the difference is 127 FPS versus 121 FPS (5%). At 4K, High gets 80 FPS while Ultra gets 76 FPS (5%). This pattern suggests the Ultra preset adds minimal graphical features over High, or that the GPU has sufficient headroom to absorb the additional load.

FAQ

*Q: Is this combination capable of running Inside at 4K with playable frame rates?*

A: Yes. The data shows 4K High settings achieve 80 FPS average, and 4K Medium reaches 128 FPS. Even 4K Ultra maintains 76 FPS, which remains above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X scores 29,713 on average, which is 0.2% above the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (29,656) and 0.5% below the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (29,868). The Ryzen 7 5800XT (29,879) and Ryzen 7 8845HS (29,955) are marginally ahead.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile compared to all graphics cards?

A: The Radeon RX 7700 sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15,852. Its Passmark G3D score of 20,974 places it in the mid-range tier.

Q: Is the 16 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: Yes, the 16 GB GDDR6 memory is more than adequate for Inside. The game's measured frame rates show no signs of memory-related bottlenecks, even at 4K Ultra settings.

Q: How much performance is gained by lowering settings from Ultra to Low?

A: At 1080p, Low achieves 353 FPS versus 168 FPS on Ultra, a 110% improvement. At 1440p, the gain is 254 FPS versus 121 FPS (110%). At 4K, Low reaches 160 FPS versus 76 FPS on Ultra, a 111% improvement.

Q: Does the combo rank improve at higher resolutions?

A: The combo ranks 1548th out of 3716 tested combinations overall. The measured data shows the system maintains consistent performance across resolutions, with the GPU becoming the limiting factor at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p resolution, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 353 FPS, while Medium settings reduce this to 282 FPS with a minimum of 240 FPS and maximum of 325 FPS. High settings achieve 177 FPS, and Ultra settings reach 168 FPS. These numbers indicate the system can easily drive high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p, even on the most demanding preset.

The 1440p results show a predictable step down. Low settings still manage an impressive 254 FPS, while Medium settings deliver 203 FPS with a range of 173 to 234 FPS. High settings achieve 127 FPS, and Ultra settings reach 121 FPS. This resolution remains highly playable across all settings, with even the Ultra preset maintaining frame rates well above 100 FPS.

At 4K, the system shows its limits but remains playable. Low settings achieve 160 FPS, and Medium settings deliver 128 FPS with a range of 108 to 147 FPS. High settings drop to 80 FPS, while Ultra settings reach 76 FPS. The 4K Medium setting offers the best balance, providing 128 FPS average with a minimum of 108 FPS, which stays comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 9600X brings six cores and twelve threads to this pairing, running at a base clock of 3.90 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This Zen 5 architecture processor, built on TSMC's 4 nm process, delivers strong single-threaded performance that benefits games like Inside which rely heavily on a few primary threads.

The CPU's benchmark scores indicate substantial headroom for this game. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17,528.5 and single-core score of 2,183.5 demonstrate strong performance across both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads. The Geekbench scores of 14,438 (multicore) and 2,923 (single-core) reinforce this profile, showing the processor can handle game logic and physics calculations without becoming a bottleneck.

The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core provide ample fast memory for the game's assets and code. With a TDP of 65 watts, the processor runs efficiently while maintaining high clock speeds. The memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s from dual-channel DDR5 support ensures the CPU can feed data to the GPU without delays. In Inside, where the CPU percentile (81st) exceeds the GPU percentile (58th), the processor clearly has more capability than this particular game demands.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data strongly suggests Medium settings provide the optimal experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium achieves 282 FPS with a minimum of 240 FPS, offering a 60% improvement over High settings (177 FPS) while maintaining frame times well above display refresh rates. At 1440p, Medium delivers 203 FPS with a minimum of 173 FPS, again providing substantial headroom over High settings (127 FPS).

For 4K gaming, Medium settings are equally compelling. The 128 FPS average with a minimum of 108 FPS exceeds the 80 FPS achieved on High settings by 60%, while maintaining frame rates that satisfy even 120 Hz displays. The minimum FPS of 108 ensures consistent performance without noticeable dips.

Ultra settings offer minimal visual gains for a 5% performance cost across all resolutions, making them a reasonable choice for players with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p or 1440p. However, at 4K, Ultra's 76 FPS average provides less headroom for demanding scenes, making Medium the safer choice for consistent performance. Low settings, while achieving the highest frame rates, offer no visual benefits and are only recommended for competitive play on extremely high refresh rate displays.