Inside

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER delivers a thoroughly playable experience in Inside, a game that is far more demanding than its minimalist art style suggests. In the benchmark database, this combination ranks 1138 out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the lower third of systems. That rank, however, is slightly misleading for this specific title; the measured frame rates show that this pairing has ample headroom for the game’s puzzle-platforming mechanics, even at high resolutions. The data indicates a system that will never struggle with the title’s core gameplay, though the ranking reflects how other, more powerful hardware can push far higher frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s position at 1138 out of 1671 combos puts it in the 32nd percentile of all tested systems. This is a modest standing, but it is essential to contextualize that rank within the game’s actual performance demands. The benchmark results show that even at the most demanding tested settings (4K Ultra), the system maintains an average of 59.2 FPS, which is just under the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the baseline for smooth gameplay. The rank is dragged down by the GPU’s age and position in the overall hierarchy, not by a fundamental inability to run the game. The CPU, however, is a modern part that ranks in the 85th percentile against all CPUs, and its nearest rivals—the Intel Core i5-13490F and AMD Ryzen 5 230—are within 0.3% of its average benchmark score. This suggests the processor is not a bottleneck in this pairing; the GPU is the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is a Turing-architecture card built on a 12 nm process, featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus. This memory configuration provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical resource for a game like Inside that uses a high-contrast, monochromatic palette with heavy use of volumetric lighting and shadows. The GPU’s boost clock of 1650 MHz, combined with 2176 shading units, allows it to handle the game’s rendering load effectively. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 19774 places it in the 63rd percentile against all GPUs, and its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN, which is a mere 0.3% behind. This proximity in score indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is at the edge of a performance tier; it is not a high-end part, but it is sufficient for this game’s demands. The GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM is not a constraint at any tested setting, as the game’s textures are relatively modest, and the measured frame rates show a clear scaling pattern tied to resolution and preset.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K resolution smoothly?*

A: Yes, at 4K with High settings, the average frame rate is 65.3 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target. Dropping to Ultra settings reduces the average to 59.2 FPS, which is still close to playable, but High is the safer choice for consistent smoothness.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings?

A: The gap is substantial. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves an average of 283.1 FPS, while Ultra drops to 133.8 FPS. This represents more than a halving of frame rate, showing that the Ultra preset is significantly more taxing on the GPU.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this system for this game?

A: The data suggests no. The Ryzen 5 9600X has 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and its benchmark scores are strong. The GPU is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling across resolutions, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario.

Q: What is the best resolution to play at for a high refresh rate monitor?

A: At 1440p with Medium settings, the system averages 163.3 FPS, which is suitable for a 144 Hz monitor. For a 240 Hz display, the 1080p Low preset at 283.1 FPS is the only setting that can push beyond that threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its closest competitor?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 19774, which is 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN’s score of 19706. This indicates nearly identical raw performance in synthetic tests.

Q: Does the game benefit more from CPU or GPU upgrades in this pairing?

A: The benchmark results show that frame rates scale dramatically with resolution changes, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance. Upgrading the GPU would yield a larger FPS increase than upgrading the already capable CPU.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the High preset is the clear winner across all tested resolutions. At 1080p, High yields 142.2 FPS, which is smooth on most displays and visually rich. At 1440p, High drops slightly to 100.5 FPS, still comfortably above 60 FPS and ideal for a 100 Hz monitor. At 4K, High achieves 65.3 FPS, which is the only preset at that resolution that maintains a playable frame rate without dipping below 60 FPS. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as it provides marginal visual improvements over High but costs a significant performance penalty: 8.4 FPS at 1080p, 6.1 FPS at 1440p, and 6.1 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset is a fallback for those seeking higher refresh rates, but it sacrifices visual quality for FPS gains that are not necessary given the High preset’s already solid performance. The Low preset is only recommended for competitive play, where frame rates above 200 FPS are desired.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates show a clear and predictable scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 283.1 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. Medium reduces this to 225.7 FPS, High to 142.2 FPS, and Ultra to 133.8 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is modest, but the step from Medium to High is a substantial drop of 83.5 FPS, indicating that High introduces more demanding effects. At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds: Low averages 203.7 FPS, Medium 163.3 FPS, High 100.5 FPS, and Ultra 94.4 FPS. The gap between High and Medium here is 62.8 FPS, which is significant. At 3840x2160, the system shows its limits: Low averages 125.1 FPS, Medium 100.4 FPS, High 65.3 FPS, and Ultra 59.2 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 6.1 FPS, but it is the difference between being above and below the 60 FPS line. The data shows that the RTX 2060 SUPER’s 8 GB of VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the game’s memory requirements at all settings, as frame rates scale consistently without any anomalies that would suggest memory swapping or bandwidth limitations.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge, and built on TSMC’s 4 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with 32 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 25525 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3603 in the single-core test, which places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. For Inside, a game that is not heavily threaded, the CPU’s strong single-core performance is more relevant than its multi-core capability. The game’s puzzle logic and physics calculations are likely to be handled by a few threads, and the CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 indicates it has ample processing power for these tasks. The fact that frame rates scale so heavily with resolution and settings confirms that the CPU is not the limiting factor; the GPU is doing the heavy lifting. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13490F and AMD Ryzen 5 230, are within 0.3% in average benchmark scores, meaning any of these processors would deliver similar performance in this game. The Ryzen 5 9600X’s 65 W TDP and modern architecture ensure it runs efficiently without throttling, allowing the RTX 2060 SUPER to operate at its full potential.