Inside

# Inside: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X + Intel Arc B390

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the Intel Arc B390 delivers a playable but constrained experience in Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016 that favors CPU throughput over GPU muscle. The combo ranks 2547th out of 2887 tested configurations, placing it in the lower 12th percentile of all tested combos. This ranking reflects a fundamental imbalance: the Ryzen 5 9600X is a high-end desktop processor, while the Arc B390 is an integrated GPU solution whose benchmark percentile sits at just 9, meaning it outperforms only about 9% of all GPUs in the database. The data reveals a system where the CPU has ample headroom, but the GPU becomes the decisive bottleneck at higher resolutions and quality settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X brings six cores and twelve threads to this pairing, built on the Zen 5 architecture codenamed Granite Ridge. Its base clock of 3.90 GHz boosts up to 5.40 GHz, and the 65 W TDP indicates an efficient design. The processor has 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 32 MB L3 cache, with support for DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration delivering 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications place the CPU in the 81st percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 29,713.

In Inside, the CPU's role is substantial because the game's physics and puzzle logic can stress single-thread performance. The Ryzen 5 9600X scores 1,253 in 3DMark single-thread and 2,183.5 in Cinebench R23 single-core, both strong figures that suggest the processor can handle the game's logic-heavy scenes without breaking a sweat. Multi-threaded performance is equally robust: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 17,528.5, and Geekbench multi-core reaches 14,438. The PassMark multithread score of 30,027 further confirms that the CPU has far more capacity than a game like Inside requires.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 9600X sits within a tight band: it is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, 0.5% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H, 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT, and 0.8% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS. These delta percentages are all within a single percentage point, meaning that from a CPU standpoint, this system is effectively on par with several other mid-range to high-end processors. The implication for Inside is that the CPU will not be the limiting factor at any resolution; instead, the GPU will dictate performance.

The 3DMark thread scaling data tells an interesting story: 2-thread score is 2,456, 4-thread is 4,649, 8-thread is 6,726, and 16-thread (max) is 7,585. This shows strong scaling up to 8 threads, with diminishing returns beyond that. Inside is not a heavily threaded title, so the 6-core/12-thread configuration is more than adequate. The single-thread score of 1,253 in 3DMark and 342 in Cinebench R15 single-core indicate that the CPU can maintain high frame rates in scenes where the game's logic is serialized.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on Intel's 3 nm process node. It has 1,536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation pipelines, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The base clock is 300 MHz, boosting to 2,500 MHz, and the memory is system-shared, meaning it uses the same DDR5 memory as the CPU rather than dedicated VRAM. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS, and FP16 at 15.36 TFLOPS.

The Arc B390's benchmark presence is minimal — only one score exists in the database: 1,482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. This places the GPU in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1,482. Its nearest rivals are all older, low-end NVIDIA parts: it sits 1.3% ahead of the GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M, 2.5% ahead of the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% ahead of the GeForce GT 710. These deltas are small, but they indicate the Arc B390 is positioned at the very bottom of the GPU performance spectrum, roughly comparable to entry-level parts from a decade ago.

For Inside, the GPU's role is critical because the game, while not graphically demanding by modern standards, still relies on the GPU to render the dark, atmospheric side-scrolling environments. The Arc B390's system-shared memory means that its effective bandwidth is "system dependent" — the data shows that the GPU's memory bandwidth is not fixed but varies with the CPU's memory configuration. In this case, the dual-channel DDR5 at 89.6 GB/s provides a reasonable foundation, but the GPU must share that bandwidth with the CPU, potentially causing contention.

The measured FPS data reveals the GPU's limitations clearly. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 34 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS target most players would consider smooth. Even at 1080p Ultra, the average is 74 FPS, which is playable but not exceptional. The GPU's 9th percentile ranking suggests that users should expect performance similar to what the nearest rivals deliver — the GT 520MX and GT 710 are both parts that would struggle with modern games, and Inside is no exception at higher settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across resolutions shows a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 156 FPS average, which drops to 112 FPS at 1440p Low, and further to 70 FPS at 4K Low. That is a 55% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings. At Medium settings, the drop is from 125 FPS at 1080p to 90 FPS at 1440p (a 28% reduction) and then to 56 FPS at 4K (a 55% reduction from 1080p). At High settings, the pattern continues: 78 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p (a 28% drop), and 35 FPS at 4K (a 55% drop from 1080p). Ultra settings show 74 FPS at 1080p, 53 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K.

The consistent ~55% drop from 1080p to 4K across Low, High, and Ultra settings indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, not the CPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the scaling would be less pronounced at lower settings where the GPU has less work to do. Instead, the data shows that even at Low settings, 4K resolution pushes the Arc B390 to its limits, cutting frame rates roughly in half compared to 1080p.

The Medium settings rows include min and max FPS values, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range is 106 to 144 FPS with an average of 125. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 76 to 103 with an average of 90. At 4K Medium, the range is 48 to 65 with an average of 56. The min-to-max spread narrows as resolution increases, suggesting that at higher resolutions the GPU is consistently saturated, reducing the variability that comes from scene complexity changes.

This scaling behavior implies that for players targeting higher resolutions, the Arc B390 will be the primary constraint. The CPU's performance headroom is evident: even at 4K Low, the system produces 70 FPS, which is well above the minimum playable threshold, but the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth limits prevent higher settings from being viable at that resolution.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where the combo consistently exceeds 60 FPS across all settings. At 1080p Low, Medium, High, and Ultra, average FPS ranges from 74 to 156. At 1440p, only Low and Medium settings exceed 60 FPS (112 and 90 respectively), while at 4K, only Low settings break 60 FPS (70).

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

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X is within 0.8% of its closest competitors. It is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE and 0.5% to 0.8% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H, Ryzen 7 5800XT, and Ryzen 7 8845HS. These differences are negligible in real-world gaming, confirming the CPU is not the limiting factor.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Arc B390 sits 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M, 2.5% ahead of the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% ahead of the GeForce GT 710. These are all low-end parts, and the small deltas indicate the Arc B390 is at the bottom of the GPU performance hierarchy.

Q: What settings are playable at 4K?

A: Only Low settings at 4K achieve an average of 70 FPS, which is playable. Medium at 4K drops to 56 FPS, and High and Ultra fall to 35 and 34 FPS respectively, which are below smooth gameplay thresholds. The 4K Medium row shows a min of 48 FPS and max of 65 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU's 81st percentile ranking and strong single-thread scores (1,253 in 3DMark, 2,183.5 in Cinebench R23) contrast sharply with the GPU's 9th percentile ranking. The consistent FPS drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings confirms GPU limitation.

Q: Does the system-shared memory affect performance?

A: The GPU's memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," meaning it relies on the CPU's DDR5 memory. The dual-channel configuration provides 89.6 GB/s, but this is shared between CPU and GPU. The measured FPS data suggests this arrangement limits high-resolution performance, as the 4K results show significant drops.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2547th out of 2887 tested configurations, placing it in the bottom 12% of all combos tested for Inside. This ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's low benchmark percentile of 9, despite the CPU's strong 81st percentile. The disparity between the two components is stark: the CPU is a modern 6-core desktop part with a 5.40 GHz boost clock, while the GPU is an integrated solution that performs on par with decade-old discrete parts.

The rank implies that most other tested combos deliver better overall performance in Inside. This is expected given the GPU's position in the database. The CPU, however, is not the reason for the low rank — its nearest rivals all have average scores within 1% of the Ryzen 5 9600X, and any of them paired with a better GPU would rank substantially higher. The takeaway is that this combo's ranking reflects the GPU's limitations, not the CPU's.

Within the context of Inside, the ranking makes sense because the game's 2D side-scrolling nature still requires consistent frame delivery. The combo's 74 FPS at 1080p Ultra is respectable, but the inability to maintain 60 FPS at 1440p High (56 FPS) or 4K Medium (56 FPS) hurts its standing. Many other combos in the database likely achieve 1440p High at 60+ FPS, pushing this configuration to the lower end of the rankings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 156 FPS. Medium settings average 125 FPS, with a min of 106 and max of 144. High settings average 78 FPS. Ultra settings average 74 FPS. All 1080p configurations exceed the 60 FPS threshold, with even the most demanding Ultra setting maintaining a playable frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. Low settings average 112 FPS, which remains smooth. Medium settings average 90 FPS, with a min of 76 and max of 103. High settings drop to 56 FPS, and Ultra falls to 53 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows the GPU's limits: the 28% reduction from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings aligns with the increased pixel count, but High and Ultra settings fall below 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles. Low settings average 70 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 56 FPS, with a min of 48 and max of 65. High settings drop to 35 FPS, and Ultra to 34 FPS. The 4K results show that only Low settings are truly playable, and even then, the system is close to its limit.

The data reveals a clear hierarchy: 1080p is fully playable at all settings, 1440p is playable at Low and Medium, and 4K is only playable at Low. The Medium settings rows are the only ones with min/max data, and they show that at 1080p the frame rate varies from 106 to 144, at 1440p from 76 to 103, and at 4K from 48 to 65. This variation suggests that the GPU's performance is scene-dependent, with simpler scenes hitting higher FPS and complex scenes dropping.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings depend on the target resolution. For 1080p, the data supports using Ultra settings, which average 74 FPS — this is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides the best visual quality. The difference between High (78 FPS) and Ultra (74 FPS) is only 4 FPS, so the visual upgrade from Ultra is worth the small performance cost.

For 1440p, Medium settings are the best choice, averaging 90 FPS with a min of 76 and max of 103. High settings drop to 56 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Low settings at 1440p average 112 FPS, but Medium provides a significant visual improvement while maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

For 4K, Low settings are the only option that exceeds 60 FPS, averaging 70 FPS. Medium settings at 4K average 56 FPS, which might be acceptable for players who prefer visual fidelity over frame rate, but the min of 48 FPS suggests occasional dips that could be noticeable. High and Ultra at 4K, with averages of 35 and 34 FPS respectively, are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

The overall recommendation is to prioritize the Medium preset when targeting 1440p or 4K, as it strikes the best balance between visual quality and performance. At 1080p, Ultra is the clear choice. The data shows that the GPU's performance ceiling is reached at 4K Medium, so players seeking higher visual quality at 4K would need to consider a different GPU.