Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, while not visually demanding by modern standards, still benefits from high refresh rates due to its precise timing mechanics. The benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT reveals a configuration that delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested settings, with the system ranking in the 88th percentile of all tested combinations (rank 187 out of 1671). The results show a clear performance hierarchy based on resolution, but the most striking finding is how the CPU becomes the limiting factor at lower resolutions, while the GPU takes over at 4K, creating a nuanced scaling picture that this analysis will break down.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows that resolution has a profound impact on performance, but the scaling pattern is not uniform across all settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 381.7 FPS, which drops to 340.8 FPS at 1440p and further to 225.2 FPS at 4K. This represents a 11% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, but a substantial 34% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The larger drop at 4K indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases, whereas the relatively small gap between 1080p and 1440p suggests the CPU is still able to feed the GPU adequately at these resolutions.

Looking at the High preset, the scaling pattern shifts. At 1080p, the system produces 248.4 FPS, which decreases to 177.2 FPS at 1440p (a 29% drop) and then to 114.9 FPS at 4K (a 35% drop from 1440p). The more consistent scaling across resolutions at High settings suggests that this preset better balances the load between CPU and GPU, with neither component becoming the sole limiting factor. In contrast, the Ultra preset shows a similar trend: 234.6 FPS at 1080p, 172.1 FPS at 1440p, and 107.5 FPS at 4K, with the 4K figure representing a 54% reduction from the 1080p baseline.

The Medium preset provides the most interesting scaling data. At 1080p, it achieves 356 FPS, dropping to 282.3 FPS at 1440p and 182 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 21%, while the 1440p to 4K drop is 36%. This pattern, where the lower-resolution gap is smaller than the higher-resolution gap, points to a system that becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution rises. At 1080p, the Ryzen 7 7700X's 16 threads and high single-core performance (evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1090 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4281) are sufficient to keep the RX 7900 XT well-fed, but the GPU's workload at 4K overwhelms its capabilities relative to the CPU's headroom.

The key takeaway from the scaling data is that this configuration delivers playable frame rates at every resolution and preset combination tested. Even the most demanding scenario — 4K Ultra at 107.5 FPS — exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by a significant margin. The system's performance at 1080p, where even Ultra settings produce 234.6 FPS, indicates that the CPU is rarely the bottleneck at this resolution, allowing the GPU to operate near its theoretical maximum output.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded across all tested configurations?

A: The highest average FPS is 381.7, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This represents the ceiling for this CPU-GPU combination, with the next closest being 356 FPS at the same resolution with Medium settings.

Q: How does the Ultra preset performance compare between 1440p and 4K?

A: At 1440p Ultra, the system produces 172.1 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 107.5 FPS. This is a 38% reduction, indicating that the GPU's rendering load at 4K significantly impacts performance even with the RX 7900 XT's 20 GB of GDDR6 memory and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes a limiting factor at 1080p, particularly at higher settings. The difference between Low (381.7 FPS) and Ultra (234.6 FPS) at 1080p is 147.1 FPS, but the scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra (234.6 to 172.1 FPS) shows a 27% drop that cannot be solely attributed to GPU load, given the RX 7900 XT's strong compute capabilities (51.48 TFLOPS FP32).

Q: What percentile does this CPU-GPU combination rank in for Inside specifically?

A: The combination ranks 187 out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the 88th percentile. This indicates that the Ryzen 7 7700X and RX 7900 XT pair performs better than the vast majority of other configurations tested for this game.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XT's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RX 7900 XT has an average benchmark score of 38358, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile (38349, 0% delta). The GPU outperforms the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (38225, 0.3% ahead) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135, 0.6% ahead), but trails the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 (38494, -0.4% behind).

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in the entire test suite?

A: The lowest average FPS is 107.5, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. This remains well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay and demonstrates that the system never drops below playable thresholds in any tested configuration.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's display resolution and refresh rate priorities. At 1080p, the High preset at 248.4 FPS provides an excellent balance between visual fidelity and performance, while the Ultra preset at 234.6 FPS offers only a 6% reduction in frame rate for presumably better visual quality — a worthwhile trade-off for users with high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset at 356 FPS is excessive for most displays, as it exceeds the refresh rate of all but the most specialized gaming monitors.

For 1440p users, the High preset at 177.2 FPS is the recommended choice, as it delivers frame rates that comfortably exceed 144 Hz refresh rates while maintaining good visual quality. The Ultra preset at 172.1 FPS is nearly identical in performance, so users with the GPU headroom should opt for Ultra to maximize visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 282.3 FPS is again overkill for practical purposes, though it could be useful for competitive players seeking maximum responsiveness.

At 4K, the High preset at 114.9 FPS is the sweet spot, providing smooth gameplay on 120 Hz displays while retaining sufficient visual quality. The Ultra preset at 107.5 FPS is also viable, though it offers no meaningful advantage over High given the marginal FPS difference. The Medium preset at 182 FPS is the best choice for users with 144 Hz 4K displays, as it maintains frame rates above the refresh rate threshold while sacrificing some visual fidelity. The Low preset at 225.2 FPS is only recommended for users with extreme refresh rate displays or those prioritizing competitive performance over visuals.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves 381.7 FPS, the Medium preset reaches 356 FPS, the High preset produces 248.4 FPS, and the Ultra preset yields 234.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 25.7 FPS (7%), while the gap between Medium and High is 107.6 FPS (30%). The difference between High and Ultra is only 13.8 FPS (6%), suggesting diminishing returns at the highest settings.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down proportionally. The Low preset records 340.8 FPS, Medium achieves 282.3 FPS, High produces 177.2 FPS, and Ultra yields 172.1 FPS. The Low to Medium drop is 58.5 FPS (17%), while the Medium to High drop is 105.1 FPS (37%), and the High to Ultra drop is just 5.1 FPS (3%). This pattern indicates that the Medium to High transition is where the most significant performance cost occurs.

At 3840x2160, the system still maintains high frame rates but with a more compressed range. The Low preset delivers 225.2 FPS, Medium reaches 182 FPS, High produces 114.9 FPS, and Ultra yields 107.5 FPS. The Low to Medium drop is 43.2 FPS (19%), Medium to High drops 67.1 FPS (37%), and High to Ultra drops only 7.4 FPS (6%). The consistency of the High to Ultra gap across resolutions (6% at 1080p, 3% at 1440p, and 6% at 4K) suggests that the Ultra preset adds a fixed overhead regardless of resolution.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT plays a central role in this configuration's performance, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU's 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus provides 800.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for a 2016 puzzle platformer with relatively simple textures and geometry. The memory clock runs at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective), and the GPU's boost clock reaches 2394 MHz with a game clock of 2025 MHz, providing substantial compute throughput.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial, with 5376 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 192 raster output units. The FP32 performance of 51.48 TFLOPS and the pixel rate of 459.6 GPixel/s explain why the card can maintain high frame rates even at 4K. The texture rate of 804.4 GTexel/s ensures that even the most texture-heavy scenes in Inside are processed without bottlenecks. The GPU's 84 ray tracing cores are largely irrelevant for this game, which does not use ray-traced effects, but they contribute to the overall benchmark score.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 38358 places it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile at 38349 (a 0% delta). The PassMark G3D score of 29009 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5623 indicate strong raw performance, though these synthetic benchmarks do not directly translate to Inside's specific rendering requirements. The GPU's end-of-life production status and launch MSRP of 899 USD position it as a high-end card from the previous generation, but its performance in this game demonstrates that it remains highly capable for less demanding titles.