Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 delivers a mixed bag of performance in the puzzle platformer Inside, with results that clearly indicate a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions while showcasing the CPU's strength at lower settings. The data reveals a system where the 8-core processor, with its 96 MB of shared L3 cache, is rarely the limiting factor, leaving the GCN 4.0-based graphics card to dictate the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a dramatic performance drop as resolution increases, a classic sign of a GPU-limited workload. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 150 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low yields 108 FPS, a 28% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 68 FPS, representing a 55% decrease from the 1080p Low figure. This steep decline is directly attributable to the Radeon RX 580's fillrate and shading capabilities being saturated by the increasing pixel count, rather than any CPU limitation.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Medium settings, the FPS drops from 120 at 1080p to 86 at 1440p, and further down to 54 at 4K. The High preset shows a similar trajectory: 75 FPS at 1080p, 54 at 1440p, and 34 at 4K. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, yields 71 FPS at 1080p, 51 at 1440p, and 32 at 4K. The ratio between 1080p and 4K results is remarkably consistent, with the 4K score being roughly 43-47% of the 1080p score across all settings, indicating a steady scaling curve that is purely render-bound.

The minimal FPS data points for Medium settings (46 at 4K, 73 at 1440p, and 102 at 1080p) show that the minimum frame rates scale similarly to averages. The gap between average and minimum stays tight, with the 4K Medium delta of 8 FPS and the 1440p Medium delta of 13 FPS. These stable frame intervals suggest a lack of CPU-side hitches or shader compilation stutter, which reinforces the conclusion that the render pipeline is the limiting factor, not the processor.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. Its memory operates at 2000 MHz, or 8 Gbps effective. The card's base clock is 1257 MHz and the boost clock is 1340 MHz. With 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, the GPU delivers a pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is 6.175 TFLOPS, with matching FP16 performance at a 1:1 ratio.

In Inside, a game released in 2016, the GPU’s raw capacity is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 32 FPS, which falls below the 34 FPS achieved at 4K High, shows that the shader units are being pushed to their limit. The memory bandwidth is sufficient for the game's art assets, as evidenced by the lack of severe frame dips, but the processing power is not enough to maintain a high frame rate at 4K. The GPU’s performance percentile of 53rd place against all GPUs, and an average benchmark score of 12928, places it in a mid-range position, and the game's data shows this placement is accurate.

The nearest rivals for this GPU are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile with a delta of -0.1, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER at -0.4, the AMD Radeon 740M at 0.5, and the AMD FirePro W5100 at 0.6. This close grouping of rivals shows that the RX 580's overall compute performance is similar to these cards, but its 8 GB of VRAM is a differentiating factor for memory-intensive scenes, even if the compute throughput isn't exceptional.

How This Combo Ranks

This particular CPU-GPU combination ranks 3386th out of 3716 tested combos in Inside with a rank of 3386. This places it in the lower 9th percentile of the tested configurations, which is a direct reflection of the GPU's limitations in this game. The combo rank is considerably lower than the CPU’s percentile against all CPUs (80th) and the GPU’s percentile against all GPUs (53rd). The CPU is clearly not the bottleneck; the ranking is dragged down by the graphics card.

The benchmark data for the CPU shows a single-thread score of 3234 in PassMark, a multi-thread score of 28309, and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14317. These scores are high enough to handle the physics and AI in Inside with ease. The combo rank is therefore a reflection of the GPU's inability to keep up with the CPU's speed. For players aiming at 1080p, the combo is likely adequate, but for 4K, the rank predictions are grim. The gap between the combo's rank and the GPU's percentile shows that pairing a top-tier CPU with a mid-range GPU in this game is a mismatch that yields performance only as fast as the weakest link.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates are as follows. Low settings yield an average of 150 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102 and a maximum of 138. High settings lower the average to 75 FPS. Ultra settings give an average of 71 FPS. The delta between High and Ultra is minimal, only 4 FPS, which is a small price to pay for the visual upgrade Ultra provides. The 1080p data shows that the system can handle the game's requirements well at this resolution, with all presets exceeding 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops. The Low preset yields an average of 108 FPS. Medium gives 86 FPS, with a minimum of 73 and a maximum of 99. High produces 54 FPS, and Ultra averages 51 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 32 FPS, which is a significant leap in demand. At 1440p, the High and Ultra presets drop below the 60 FPS threshold, meaning they are not ideal for a smooth experience, but they remain playable.

At 3840x2160, the numbers fall further. Low averages 68 FPS, a playable rate. Medium drops to 54 FPS, with a 46 FPS minimum and 62 FPS maximum. High and Ultra average 34 and 32 FPS respectively. The data indicates that 4K is only viable with the Low preset, as the Medium preset hovers near the edge of playability, and High/Ultra fall below 35 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for a 60 FPS target at 1080p is the Medium preset. It delivers an average of 120 FPS, with a minimum of 102, which is well above the target, a smooth result. The High preset at 75 FPS is also a solid choice, but the 4 FPS difference between High and Ultra is minimal, and Ultra's 71 FPS is close enough to High to be preferred if visual fidelity is desired. For players with 1080p displays, the data shows that High or Ultra provide a high frame rate, and the Medium preset is a safe option for those wanting the best frame time.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the only one that reaches 60 FPS, with 86 FPS. High and Ultra are below 60, at 54 and 51 FPS. The data suggests that Medium is the maximum of the game at 1440p for a 60 FPS target. For a 30 FPS target, High or Ultra are viable.

At 4K, the Low preset is the only option to reach 60 FPS. The 68 FPS average is above the target, while Medium is below 60. For a 30 FPS target, Medium is the best choice, with a 54 FPS average, while High and Ultra are lower than 30 at 34 and 32. Therefore, the most balanced experience for 4K would be the Low preset, as it provides a playable frame rate for the resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gameplay?

A: The Medium preset is the best for a 60 FPS target, with an average of 120 FPS and a minimum of 102. The High preset gives 75 FPS and Ultra 71 FPS, so Medium offers the highest headroom if you prefer to keep a stable frame rate.

Q: Can the system handle 4K at 60 FPS?

A: No. The only preset that approaches 60 FPS at 4K is Low, with an average of 68 FPS. Medium drops to 54 FPS, High to 34, and Ultra to 32 FPS. For a 60 FPS target, you would need to drop to 1440p or lower.

Q: How much impact does the CPU have on the performance?

A: The CPU is not a bottleneck. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D has a single-thread PassMark score of 3234 and a multi-thread score of 28309, which is more than enough for the game. The GPU is the limiting component, as indicated by the steady FPS drop with resolution increases.

Q: What is the difference in frame rate between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the frame rate drops from 75 FPS at 1080p to 54 FPS at 1440p, and then to 34 FPS at 4K. This is a 55% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, showing the GPU bound nature of the game.

Q: Is there a big difference between the Low and Ultra presets?

A: Yes. At 1080p, the Low preset yields 150 FPS, while Ultra yields 71 FPS, a 79 FPS difference. At 4K, the difference is 36 FPS (68 vs 32). The gap reduces with resolution increases, but Low always offers a much higher frame rate.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a desktop processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 3 architecture with a 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz and it boosts up to 4.50 GHz. It features a large 96 MB shared L3 cache, which is a substantial advantage for gaming workloads. The CPU's memory bandwidth is 51.2 GB/s from a dual-channel DDR4 setup. The processor's benchmark scores include a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14317 and a single-core score of 1452. Its PassMark multi-thread score is 28309, and single-thread is 3234. The 3DMark results show a 16-thread score of 7299 and a single-thread score of 884.

In Inside, the CPU's high single-thread performance and the large cache are not fully utilized because the game is not CPU-intensive. The 8-core 16-thread configuration is overkill for the game, as evidenced by the fact that the frame rates are stable and don't show any CPU-related stutter. The CPU's percentile is 80th among all CPUs, and its nearest rivals show similar scores, with the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U at 27887, the Intel Core i9-10900K at 27872, and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 at 27932. The 5800X3D's score is 27896, which is 0.0% different from the 6800U. This data confirms that the processor is far from being a bottleneck in this title, and the measured FPS is determined by the graphics card. The data indicates a CPU that is ready to handle more demanding games, but in Inside, it's the GPU's performance that sets the limits.