Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that scales unusually well with high-end hardware, and this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT produces a fascinating dataset. The measured frames per second (FPS) across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that is rarely, if ever, the bottleneck, pushing frame rates that far exceed the refresh rates of most displays. The data suggests a combination that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but exposes interesting CPU overhead characteristics at 1080p, making it a prime candidate for analysis of component scaling in a less demanding title.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1440p to 4K tells a clear story about where the graphical workload lands. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 151.3 at 2560x1440 to 93.6 at 3840x2160, a substantial reduction that indicates the GPU is working progressively harder as pixel count increases. The same pattern emerges at Ultra settings, where the frame rate falls from 145.6 at 1440p to 90.1 at 4K. This consistent decline of roughly 55 FPS between these two resolutions across both High and Ultra presets shows that the Radeon RX 6800 XT’s rendering pipeline is the primary constraint as resolution climbs.

However, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is far more interesting. At High settings, the drop from 213.3 FPS at 1920x1080 to 151.3 FPS at 2560x1440 represents a loss of 62 FPS, which is a steeper relative decline than the 1440p-to-4K step. This suggests that at 1080p, the system is not purely GPU-limited; the CPU is likely contributing to the ceiling. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is powerful, but the data implies that even this processor begins to feel the strain of feeding frames at such high rates. The 4K results, by contrast, show a more predictable GPU-bound behavior, where the frame rate scales more directly with the resolution’s pixel count, indicating the graphics card is the definitive limiting factor there.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 6800 XT’s specifications are substantial, and the benchmark results reflect that capability. With 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth, the card has ample resources for a game like Inside, which is not known for massive texture loads. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra, 90.1, is remarkably high for a title of this genre, and it shows that the GPU’s 4608 shading units and 128 ROPs are more than sufficient to handle the graphical demands. The boost clock of 2250 MHz, with a game clock of 2015 MHz, contributes to this performance, but the data suggests the card is never truly stressed.

The role of the GPU becomes more apparent when examining the Low preset results. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 297.7 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. This figure is likely approaching the practical limit of what the CPU can feed, as the GPU has plenty of headroom left. The fact that the 4K Low preset still manages 195.2 FPS, a figure that would be considered high for many modern games at that resolution, underscores the card’s raw power. The GPU’s 20.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is clearly not a bottleneck here; instead, the data implies that the card’s role is to provide a high baseline that allows the CPU’s performance characteristics to be observed at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for the best experience. For players targeting 4K, the High preset at 93.6 FPS is the optimal choice, as it delivers a smooth, playable frame rate that is above the 90 FPS threshold, while the Ultra preset at 90.1 FPS offers only a marginal visual improvement for a slight performance cost. The Medium preset at 156 FPS is a compelling alternative for those who prioritize frame rate over fidelity, but the data shows that High is the sweet spot for a balanced experience at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 243.5 FPS is the standout recommendation, as it provides a significant jump over High’s 151.3 FPS while still maintaining a high level of visual quality. The Low preset at 267 FPS is only slightly faster, meaning the extra performance from dropping to Low is negligible compared to the visual downgrade. For 1080p, the High preset at 213.3 FPS is the recommended choice, as it offers a substantial improvement over Medium’s 272.1 FPS in terms of fidelity, and the frame rate is already far beyond what most monitors can display. The Ultra preset at 203.5 FPS is a viable option for those who want maximum quality, as the 10 FPS difference from High is unlikely to be noticeable in gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Inside?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 297.7, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How much faster is the 4K High preset compared to the 4K Ultra preset?

A: The 4K High preset averages 93.6 FPS, which is 3.5 FPS higher than the 4K Ultra preset’s 90.1 FPS.

Q: Does the system maintain playable frame rates at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, all four settings presets at 3840x2160 produce average FPS above 90, with the Low preset reaching 195.2 FPS and the Ultra preset at 90.1 FPS.

Q: Is the performance difference between 1440p and 1080p more significant than the difference between 1440p and 4K?

A: The data shows a 62 FPS drop from 1080p High (213.3 FPS) to 1440p High (151.3 FPS), while the drop from 1440p High to 4K High (93.6 FPS) is 57.7 FPS, indicating a slightly steeper relative decline at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 297.7 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 203.5 FPS, a difference of 94.2 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU’s memory bandwidth relate to the game’s performance?

A: The GPU’s 512.0 GB/s bandwidth, paired with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, is sufficient to maintain high frame rates across all resolutions, as the lowest measured average FPS is 90.1 at 4K Ultra.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a unique processor, and its role in this game’s performance is subtle but critical. With 8 cores and 16 threads, it has the parallel processing power to handle the game’s logic and physics, but its standout feature is the 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large cache is likely a key factor in the high frame rates observed at 1080p, as it can store more of the game’s data closer to the cores, reducing latency. The CPU’s base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 4.50 GHz are moderate, but the benchmark results show that raw clock speed is not the primary driver here.

The data reveals that the CPU is a limiting factor at 1080p, particularly at the Low preset where the 297.7 FPS figure is likely near the processor’s maximum frame output. The 3DMark single-thread score of 884 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3397 are respectable, but they are not exceptional for a modern processor. This suggests that the CPU’s advantage in this game comes more from its cache architecture than its core speed. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7299 and the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24063 show that the processor has ample multi-threaded capability, but the game’s single-threaded nature at high frame rates means the CPU’s per-core performance is what matters most.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides a comprehensive view of the system’s performance. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 90.1 at Ultra settings to 195.2 at Low settings, with Medium at 156 and High at 93.6. This shows a clear scaling pattern where higher settings reduce frame rates, but even the most demanding preset remains well above 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, the numbers are significantly higher: Low averages 267 FPS, Medium 243.5, High 151.3, and Ultra 145.6. The gap between High and Ultra is relatively small at this resolution, suggesting a point of diminishing returns.

At 1920x1080, the system achieves its peak performance. The Low preset averages 297.7 FPS, which is the highest in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 272.1 FPS, High at 213.3, and Ultra at 203.5. The differences between presets at 1080p are more pronounced than at 1440p, indicating that the CPU is beginning to influence the results. For instance, the jump from Ultra to High is only 9.8 FPS, but the jump from High to Medium is 58.8 FPS, showing that the Medium preset is where the GPU’s workload is significantly reduced. This breakdown highlights that the system is capable of delivering extremely high frame rates, but the CPU becomes a bottleneck at the highest settings and lowest resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this pairing of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D and the Radeon RX 6800 XT ranks 567th out of 1671 combos for Inside. This placement, which is in the top 34% of all tested systems, is notable given the game’s age and the high performance of both components. The combo’s rank is likely influenced by the fact that Inside is a less demanding title, meaning that many lower-tier systems can also achieve high frame rates, compressing the performance curve. However, the data shows that this combo still outperforms the majority of systems, with the CPU’s percentile rank of 83 and the GPU’s percentile rank of 87 indicating that both components are in the top tier of their respective categories.

The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 8024P and the Intel Core i9-11900K, have average scores that are within 0.1% of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, showing that the processor is competitive with other high-end options. The GPU’s rivals, including the Intel Arc A550M and the NVIDIA RTX A1000, also have similar average scores, with deltas of 0.5% and -1.7% respectively. This suggests that the combo’s ranking is not due to any single component being exceptional, but rather the combination of a strong CPU with a strong GPU that together deliver consistent, high performance. The rank of 567 indicates that while there are 566 combos that perform better, this system is still a formidable choice for playing Inside at high frame rates across all resolutions.