Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a performance profile that is heavily dictated by resolution, with the data showing a clear transition from CPU-bound territory at 1080p to GPU-bound territory at 4K in Inside. The measured frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets provide a detailed look at how this combination handles a 2D puzzle platformer, revealing that while the GPU is capable of high refresh rates at lower resolutions, the scaling curve flattens significantly as pixel count rises.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the shifting bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 309 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops this to 222 FPS, a 28.2% reduction. Pushing further to 3840x2160 Low yields 140 FPS, which is a 36.9% drop from the 1440p figure and a 54.7% drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline at the highest resolution indicates that the Radeon RX 9060 is the primary limiting factor, as the pixel throughput demand doubles from 1440p to 4K, and the GPU cannot maintain the same level of performance.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. For High settings, the progression is 155 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p (a 28.4% drop), and 70 FPS at 4K (a 36.9% drop from 1440p). Medium settings show 247 FPS at 1080p, 178 FPS at 1440p, and 112 FPS at 4K, with a 37.1% reduction between the latter two. Ultra settings follow the same trend: 147 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K, representing a 37.7% drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across presets—all hovering near 37%—suggests that the GPU’s rendering pipeline is the limiting factor at 4K, regardless of the graphical workload.

Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low (309 FPS) and Ultra (147 FPS) is 162 FPS, a 52.4% reduction. At 4K, the difference between Low (140 FPS) and Ultra (66 FPS) is 74 FPS, a 52.9% reduction. This indicates that while the absolute frame rates drop, the relative cost of higher quality settings remains proportionally similar. The data also shows the CPU’s influence at 1080p: the jump from Medium (247 FPS) to Low (309 FPS) is a 25.1% increase, which is larger than the corresponding jump at 4K, where Medium (112 FPS) to Low (140 FPS) is a 25.0% increase. This suggests the Ryzen 7 7700X can still feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions, but the GPU’s fill rate becomes the absolute ceiling at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What average frame rate does this combo achieve at 4K with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 70 at 3840x2160 resolution with High settings. This is the second-lowest average among the four presets at that resolution, with only Ultra settings producing a lower result at 66 FPS.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 7700X or the Radeon RX 9060 the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches 309 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all configurations. The 54.7% drop from this point to 4K Low (140 FPS) indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s 8-core, 16-thread configuration with a 5.40 GHz boost clock is sufficient to drive high frame rates at 1080p.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings produce 111 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 106 FPS. This is a small 4.5% difference, suggesting that the visual gains from Ultra over High come at a relatively minor performance cost at this resolution.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average is 66 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. This is the only measured configuration that dips below the 70 FPS mark, and it represents the most demanding scenario tested.

Q: Does the Radeon RX 9060’s 8 GB VRAM prove sufficient in this game?

A: The measured data shows no indication of VRAM-related stuttering or frame drops, as the lowest minimum FPS recorded is 95 at 4K Medium settings. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth appears adequate for Inside, given that even the most demanding preset at 4K maintains a playable average above 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo’s ranking in this game compare to its general hardware percentile?

A: The combo ranks 1615 out of 2887 tested combinations in Inside, placing it in the 56th percentile. This is lower than the CPU’s standalone 85th percentile and the GPU’s 59th percentile, suggesting that the game’s specific demands do not favor this pairing as strongly as other workloads might.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 9060’s specifications directly correlate with the observed frame rates. With a boost clock of 2990 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz, the GPU’s peak performance is substantial, yet its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This bandwidth figure is likely a key factor in the 4K performance, as the game’s pixel fill requirements at 3840x2160 demand significant memory throughput. The measured 4K results—70 FPS High and 66 FPS Ultra—show a hard limit that aligns with the GPU’s 191.4 GPixel/s pixel rate, indicating that the render output units are saturated at this resolution.

The GPU’s architectural strengths are evident in the scaling from Medium to Low settings. At 1080p, the jump from Medium (247 FPS) to Low (309 FPS) is a 25.1% improvement, while at 4K, the same settings change yields a 25.0% improvement (112 to 140 FPS). This consistent percentage suggests that the GPU’s shading units and texture mapping units are not the primary constraint; rather, the fixed-function pixel processing is. The 64 ROPs and 112 TMUs, combined with the 21.43 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, are more than sufficient for the game’s 2D rendering, but the bandwidth and pixel rate become the deciding factors at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which has an average score only 0.7% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700, which is 1% lower. This places the RX 9060 in a competitive mid-range bracket. In Inside, the GPU’s 59th percentile ranking reflects its position, but the game’s relatively simple geometry means that the bottleneck is almost purely pixel throughput, making the 128-bit memory bus a more significant factor than in more complex 3D titles. The 4K Medium result of 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS shows the GPU can maintain stability, but the 4K Ultra result of 66 FPS indicates that pushing all settings to maximum at 4K will tax the memory subsystem heavily.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance. Low settings produce an average of 309 FPS, Medium settings produce 247 FPS with a minimum of 210 and a maximum of 284, High settings produce 155 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 147 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 162 FPS, and the Medium preset’s minimum of 210 FPS shows that even with frame time variance, the experience remains well above 200 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down predictably. Low settings average 222 FPS, Medium settings average 178 FPS with a minimum of 151 and a maximum of 204, High settings average 111 FPS, and Ultra settings average 106 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 151 FPS is still high, but the High to Ultra gap narrows to just 5 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns from the Ultra preset at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 140 FPS, Medium settings average 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 and a maximum of 128, High settings average 70 FPS, and Ultra settings average 66 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 95 FPS is the lowest recorded minimum across all tests, indicating that even at this resolution, the game remains fluid, but the High and Ultra presets hover near the 60 FPS threshold. The delta between High and Ultra at 4K is only 4 FPS, which is the smallest gap between any two adjacent settings in the entire dataset.

The data reveals that the Medium preset offers the most consistent frame time behavior, as it is the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum values across all three resolutions. This suggests that the Medium preset provides the best balance of GPU workload distribution, avoiding the spikes that might occur with other settings. The 1080p Medium result of 247 FPS average with a 210 FPS minimum is particularly strong, offering a 37 FPS headroom over the average.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Inside, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and AMD Radeon RX 9060 achieves a rank of 1615 out of 2887 combos. This places the combo in the lower-middle portion of the ranking, at approximately the 56th percentile. This is notably lower than the CPU’s individual standing, where the Ryzen 7 7700X holds an 85th percentile rank among all CPUs, and slightly lower than the GPU’s 59th percentile rank among all GPUs.

The combo’s rank suggests that while both components are individually capable, their combination in this game does not produce top-tier results. The CPU’s nearest rivals—the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, Intel Core 7 250H, AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, and Intel Core Ultra 9 185H—all have average benchmark scores within 0.7% of the 7700X, yet their pairing with different GPUs may yield better rankings in Inside. Similarly, the GPU’s nearest rivals, including the RTX 3060 Ti with a 0.7% higher score, might offer different frame rates in this specific game due to architectural differences.

The rank of 1615 out of 2887 is a middling result. It indicates that roughly 44% of tested combos perform better in Inside, which is surprising given the game’s modest graphical requirements. This suggests that the combo’s performance is limited by factors other than raw compute power, likely the GPU’s memory bandwidth and the CPU’s single-thread performance in a game that may not scale well with the 8-core, 16-thread configuration. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1090 and Geekbench single-core score of 2289 are strong, but the game may not fully utilize them at lower resolutions where the GPU becomes the bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 247 FPS average with a minimum of 210 FPS, providing a 37 FPS buffer over the average. At 1440p, Medium achieves 178 FPS average with a 151 FPS minimum, which is still well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on high-end monitors. At 4K, Medium produces 112 FPS average with a 95 FPS minimum, which is the only preset that maintains a minimum above 90 FPS at this resolution.

The High preset is a reasonable alternative for users prioritizing visual fidelity, but the performance cost is steep. At 1080p, High drops to 155 FPS, a 37.2% reduction from Medium. At 1440p, High delivers 111 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 70 FPS. The Ultra preset offers negligible gains over High—only 4 FPS difference at 4K and 5 FPS at 1440p—making it the least efficient choice. The Low preset, while delivering 309 FPS at 1080p and 140 FPS at 4K, sacrifices too much visual quality for a game that is already well-suited to Medium settings.

For users with a 144 Hz monitor, the Medium preset at 1440p is the optimal choice, as the 151 FPS minimum ensures no drops below the refresh rate. For 4K displays, Medium is the only preset that keeps the minimum above 90 FPS, making it the recommended setting for a smooth experience. The data shows that the Medium preset’s frame time consistency—evident from the recorded minimum and maximum values—is superior to other settings, which likely translates to fewer hitches and a more stable gameplay experience.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, provides a strong foundation for this game. The CPU’s boost clock of 5.40 GHz and base clock of 4.50 GHz are high, and its single-thread performance is reflected in the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1987 and Geekbench single-core score of 2289. These scores suggest that the CPU can handle the game’s logic and physics calculations without becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

The CPU’s role is most evident in the 1080p results, where it must feed the GPU with enough frames to reach 309 FPS on Low settings. The fact that the combo achieves this high frame rate indicates that the CPU’s 16 threads are not saturated, and the 32 MB of shared L3 cache likely helps with data locality. However, the 1080p Ultra result of 147 FPS, which is only slightly lower than the 1440p High result of 111 FPS, shows that the GPU is still the primary limiter even at 1080p, as the CPU can clearly push beyond 147 FPS given the Low setting result of 309 FPS.

The CPU’s benchmark scores, including a Passmark multithread score of 35686 and a 3DMark max threads score of 8852, indicate that it is a capable processor. Its percentile rank of 85 places it in the top 15% of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals are all within 0.7% of its average score. In the context of Inside, the CPU’s performance is more than adequate, as the game’s 2D nature likely does not demand extensive multi-threading. The measured data confirms this: the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is dominated by GPU limitations, with the CPU maintaining its end of the bargain even at the highest settings. The CPU’s 105 W TDP and 5 nm process node are not directly reflected in the game’s performance, but they contribute to the overall system efficiency.