Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that remains surprisingly demanding on modern hardware, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and Intel Arc B390 produces a specific performance profile that is heavily dependent on resolution and quality settings. The data shows a system that can deliver high frame rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain smooth gameplay at 4K, highlighting a clear bottleneck in the graphics subsystem.

FAQ

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

A: At 1080p, the system achieves very playable frame rates, with an average of 156 FPS on Low settings and 125 FPS on Medium. 4K is the most challenging, with the average FPS dropping to 35 on High and 34 on Ultra, making it unsuitable for smooth play.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 perform relative to its closest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. It is 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M, 2.5% ahead of the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. At 4K, the average FPS drops to 35 on High settings, while at 1080p the same settings yield 78 FPS. This significant drop with increased resolution points to the graphics card being unable to keep up with the pixel count.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The difference is substantial. On Low settings, the combo averages 112 FPS, but on Ultra settings, this drops to 53 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of more than half when moving to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the CPU's multi-threading capability impact the frame rates?

A: While the Ryzen 7 7700 has 8 cores and 16 threads, the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K shows that the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's strong multi-threaded performance (e.g., 18,760 in Cinebench R23) is not the primary driver of the frame rate differences seen across resolutions.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested systems?

A: This pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2547 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the lower percentile of all system configurations.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and Panther Lake chip, fabricated on Intel's 3 nm process. Its performance is the central factor in this system's gaming capabilities. The GPU's benchmark data is limited but telling; it scores 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all older NVIDIA integrated or entry-level parts, with the Arc B390 holding a 1.3% lead over the GeForce GT 520MX.

The B390's performance characteristics are defined by its memory configuration, which is "System Shared." This means it relies on the system's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM, and its bandwidth is "System Dependent." This setup often leads to performance penalties, particularly at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth demands increase. The GPU's boost clock is 2500 MHz, and it offers 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, but the shared memory architecture is a significant constraint.

In Inside, the GPU's limitations become immediately apparent. At 4K with Ultra settings, the system averages only 34 FPS, and on High settings, it manages just 35 FPS. These low frame rates indicate that the integrated GPU is overwhelmed by the demands of rendering the game at this resolution. The fact that lowering the settings to Low at 4K doubles the average FPS to 70 shows how much of the performance is tied to the GPU's workload. The data suggests that the Arc B390 is a capable part for undemanding scenarios or low resolutions, but its performance in a game like Inside at high settings is constrained by its integrated nature and shared memory.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling across resolutions provides a clear picture of where the bottleneck lies. Moving from 1080p to 1440p and then to 4K shows a consistent and steep drop in average frame rates across all settings. For instance, on High settings, the average FPS goes from 78 at 1080p, to 56 at 1440p, and finally to 35 at 4K. This pattern is classic evidence of a GPU-bound scenario; as the number of pixels increases, the GPU must do more work, and its performance degrades accordingly.

The scaling also reveals that the CPU is not a limiting factor at these resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see more consistent frame rates across resolutions, as the CPU's workload would remain relatively constant. Instead, the frame rate drops almost linearly with the increase in pixel count. From 1080p to 4K on High settings, the average FPS falls by 43 FPS, a reduction of over 55%. This is a strong indicator that the Intel Arc B390's shading units, texture mapping units, and render output units are unable to process the increased pixel data quickly enough.

The data also suggests that the impact of resolution scaling is more severe at lower settings. On Low settings, the frame rate drops from 156 FPS at 1080p to 70 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 86 FPS. This is a larger absolute drop than what is seen on High settings, despite the lower overall workload. This may be because at Low settings, the game is less demanding on other parts of the system, making the GPU's pixel throughput even more of a limiting factor. The system is clearly not designed for 4K gaming with this GPU, but it can handle 1080p and even 1440p with playable results on lower settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and Intel Arc B390 combination in Inside provides a detailed look at its performance envelope.

At 1920x1080, the system performs admirably. On Low settings, it achieves an average of 156 FPS, making for an extremely smooth experience. Medium settings produce a strong average of 125 FPS, with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS, ensuring consistent frame pacing. Moving to High settings, the average drops to 78 FPS, which is still perfectly playable. On Ultra settings, the average is 74 FPS, indicating that even at the highest quality preset, the system can maintain a frame rate that is above the standard 60 FPS target.

At 2560x1440, the performance cost of the higher resolution becomes clear. Low settings yield a high average of 112 FPS. Medium settings still provide a solid average of 90 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS. However, High settings drop the average to 56 FPS, which starts to feel less fluid. Ultra settings further reduce the average to 53 FPS, placing it below the ideal 60 FPS threshold and indicating that the GPU is starting to struggle.

At 3840x2160, the integrated GPU's limitations are fully exposed. Low settings are the only playable option, with an average of 70 FPS. Medium settings drop to an average of 56 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS, which is noticeable. High settings average just 35 FPS, and Ultra settings average 34 FPS, both of which are not suitable for a smooth gaming experience. The data shows a clear performance cliff between 1440p and 4K, particularly on higher settings, confirming that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of all tested hardware combinations for Inside, this system's performance is on the lower end. The combo of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and Intel Arc B390 is ranked 2547 out of 2887 total tested combos. This places it in the bottom 12% of all configurations, which is a direct reflection of the GPU's low performance percentile.

The ranking is heavily influenced by the Intel Arc B390, which sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. While the CPU is a high-performing part in the 87th percentile of all CPUs, it cannot compensate for the graphics card's limitations in a graphics-intensive task like gaming. The combo rank of 2547 shows that this pairing is not competitive with the vast majority of other systems, and it is likely that most other tested combos feature a more powerful dedicated graphics card.

This low ranking is consistent with the measured frame rates. The system's ability to play Inside at 1080p with high settings is a positive, but its failure to maintain playable frame rates at 4K on higher settings is a significant drawback. The rank indicates that for users looking to play this game on a system with this specific configuration, they will need to make significant compromises in resolution and quality settings to achieve a satisfactory experience. It is a niche combination that prioritizes CPU power but is ultimately held back by its integrated graphics.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is a powerful 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, built on a 5 nm process. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz, and it can boost up to 5.30 GHz. This CPU is a high-end desktop part, as evidenced by its strong benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 18,760 and a single-core score of 1,930. It also achieves a Passmark multi-thread score of 34,470 and a 3DMark max-threads score of 8,479. With a TDP of just 65 W, it is also very power-efficient.

Despite its impressive compute capabilities, the CPU's role in Inside's performance is secondary to the GPU. The data shows that the frame rate scaling across resolutions is primarily dictated by the graphics card. The CPU's job is to feed the GPU with data, and in this case, it is more than capable of doing so. The game is not particularly demanding on the CPU, given its 2016 release date, and the Ryzen 7 7700's high single-thread performance ensures that game logic and physics are handled with ease.

The processor's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide a solid foundation for the system. However, the "System Shared" memory of the Intel Arc B390 means that the GPU is using the same memory pool, which could potentially introduce latency. Nevertheless, the CPU is not the bottleneck here. The substantial performance drop from 1080p to 4K, regardless of settings, is a clear sign that the Intel Arc B390 is the limiting component. The Ryzen 7 7700 is performing its role effectively, but it is constricted by the graphics solution it is paired with.