Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer. The data shows this pairing is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom to push extreme frame rates at 1080p. With an average of 427 FPS at 1080p Low settings, this combo is capable of far exceeding the refresh rates of most displays, making the bottleneck analysis particularly revealing when examining the scaling between resolutions and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly indicates a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 214 FPS at 1920x1080 to 154 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 60 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 97 FPS, representing a 117 FPS total decrease from the 1080p figure. This steep scaling curve is a hallmark of a GPU that is being pushed to its limits, as the number of pixels increases by roughly 2.25 times from 1080p to 1440p and another 2.25 times from 1440p to 4K.

The scaling pattern is even more pronounced at Low settings. The 1080p Low result of 427 FPS is extraordinarily high, but this plummets to 307 FPS at 1440p and then to 193 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is approximately 55%, whereas at High settings, the drop from 214 FPS to 97 FPS is a steeper 55% as well. This consistency suggests that the rendering load is scaling predictably with resolution, but the absolute frame rates at Low settings are so high that the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the clear limiting factor.

Examining the Medium settings data provides the most detail, as it includes minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the average is 342 FPS, with a minimum of 291 FPS and a maximum of 393 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 246 FPS, with a minimum of 209 FPS and a maximum of 283 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 154 FPS, with a minimum of 131 FPS and a maximum of 178 FPS. The narrowing of the gap between minimum and maximum frame rates at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is working more consistently, as it is constantly saturated with work, reducing the variance caused by CPU hiccups.

The Ultra settings results follow the same trend, with 203 FPS at 1080p, 146 FPS at 1440p, and 92 FPS at 4K. The fact that the 4K Ultra score of 92 FPS is still above 60 FPS suggests that this combination can handle the game at maximum settings even at the highest resolution, though the margin is much smaller than at lower resolutions. The data implies that while the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K, the CPU is more than capable of feeding it frames at lower resolutions, where the frame rates become almost comically high.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications align well with the observed performance scaling. With 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, the memory bandwidth of 512.0 GB/s is substantial for a game like Inside, which is not known for having massive texture requirements. The VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for any resolution tested, meaning memory capacity is not a bottleneck in any of the measured scenarios.

The GPU's clock speeds are also a relevant factor. The base clock is listed at 1825 MHz, with a boost clock of 2250 MHz and a game clock of 2015 MHz. The game clock is particularly relevant, as it represents the expected clock speed during typical gaming workloads. The high boost clock of 2250 MHz helps the GPU maintain high throughput, especially at lower resolutions where the processor can request frames at a rapid pace. The data shows the GPU is capable of delivering over 400 FPS at 1080p Low, which requires immense pixel fill rate and shader throughput.

The GPU's raw compute capabilities are reflected in its benchmark scores, which show it performing well above average. The Passmark G3D score of 24980 and the Passmark GPU Compute score of 13245 indicate that the GPU has significant processing power for both graphics and compute tasks. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3689 is a modern test that shows the GPU is still relevant for current APIs, even though Inside is a much older title. The GPU's RDNA 2.0 architecture, with 4608 shading units and 72 ray accelerators, provides a strong foundation for both traditional rasterization and any ray-traced effects that might be present in other games.

In the context of Inside, the GPU's role is to render the game's distinctive monochromatic art style and its complex lighting and shadow effects. The game's visual style, while not extremely demanding by modern standards, still requires a capable GPU to run at high frame rates, especially at higher resolutions. The data shows that the RX 6800 XT is more than up to the task, as even the 4K Ultra setting, which is the most demanding configuration tested, achieves an average of 92 FPS. This suggests that for this game, the GPU has significant headroom, and the limiting factor at 4K is more about the pixel throughput required for 4K rendering rather than any lack of memory or processing power.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F provides a formidable foundation for this gaming combination, and its performance characteristics are clearly visible in the low-resolution results. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, the CPU has ample processing power for a game like Inside, which is not heavily multithreaded. The high boost clock of 5.50 GHz is particularly important for gaming, as it ensures that the single-threaded performance is excellent, which is often the primary determinant of frame rates in older or less parallelized titles.

The CPU's benchmark scores confirm its strength. The Passmark single-thread score of 4691 is very high, and the multithread score of 36470 is also impressive. The data shows that the CPU sits in the 94th percentile when compared to all other CPUs, indicating that it is one of the top performers available. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX and Intel Core i7-14700KF, have average scores that are within 1% of the 9700F, showing that it is in the top tier of desktop processors.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls. The game's puzzle platformer nature means that there is a constant stream of objects and interactions that the CPU must process. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this title, as the frame rates at 1080p Low are exceptionally high, reaching an average of 427 FPS. This indicates that the CPU can process frames much faster than the GPU can render them at lower resolutions. The fact that the frame rate drops significantly at higher resolutions while keeping the same settings is a clear indication that the GPU becomes the limiting factor, not the CPU.

The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache is also a relevant factor, as it helps reduce memory latency and improve data access for frequently used game assets. The DDR5 memory support, with a dual-channel bus and 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth, ensures that the CPU is not starved for data. The "F" designation in the CPU name indicates that it lacks integrated graphics, which is irrelevant for this test since a discrete GPU is used. Overall, the CPU's high clock speeds and strong single-threaded performance ensure that it can easily feed the RX 6800 XT, allowing the GPU to be the primary performance driver.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of all tested combinations, this pairing of the Ryzen 7 9700F and RX 6800 XT holds a position of 594 out of 2887 in the combo rank for Inside. This places it in the top 20% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing for a system that does not feature the absolute top-tier components. The rank of 594 reflects the GPU's high performance and the CPU's ability to support it without becoming a bottleneck.

The ranking context is important because it shows that while this combo is not the absolute fastest, it is significantly above average. The data suggests that the GPU is the primary driver of this rank, as its performance is well above the 85th percentile for all GPUs. The CPU also contributes positively, with its 94th percentile ranking ensuring that it does not hold back the GPU. The combination of a top-tier CPU and a high-end GPU results in a system that is very well-balanced for gaming.

The nearest rivals for the GPU provide some context. The NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile has an average score that is 1.5% higher, while the Intel Arc A550M is 2.5% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is 3% lower. This shows that the RX 6800 XT is competitive with modern and professional-grade GPUs in synthetic benchmarks. However, the actual performance in Inside is what matters for this ranking, and the measured FPS data shows that the combo is capable of delivering high frame rates across all settings and resolutions.

The combo's rank of 594 out of 2887 suggests that there are many other combinations that can achieve higher frame rates, likely with more powerful GPUs like the RTX 5090 or RX 7900 XTX. However, the data shows that this combo offers a very high level of performance, especially considering that it is not the newest or most expensive hardware. The fact that it can achieve an average of 203 FPS at 1080p Ultra and 92 FPS at 4K Ultra is a strong indicator that it is more than sufficient for a smooth gaming experience in Inside.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The average frame rate at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 246 FPS, with a minimum of 209 FPS and a maximum of 283 FPS.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Low setting compared to the 4K Low setting?

A: The 1080p Low setting achieves an average of 427 FPS, while the 4K Low setting achieves 193 FPS. This represents a 234 FPS difference, or roughly 2.2 times higher performance at 1080p.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The data indicates a GPU bottleneck at 4K. For example, at High settings, the average frame rate drops from 154 FPS at 1440p to 97 FPS at 4K, while the CPU's high single-thread score of 4691 suggests it has ample headroom to render frames faster than the GPU can output them.

Q: What is the best minimum frame rate recorded for this combination?

A: The highest minimum frame rate recorded is 291 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. The lowest minimum frame rate recorded is 131 FPS, occurring at 3840x2160 with Medium settings.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested combinations?

A: This combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ranks 594th out of 2887 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the top 20% of all configurations.

Q: Can this system handle the game at maximum settings?

A: Yes. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 203 FPS at 1080p, 146 FPS at 1440p, and 92 FPS at 4K. All of these values are well above the standard 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rate data for this combination provides a complete picture of its performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 427 FPS for Low, 342 FPS for Medium, 214 FPS for High, and 203 FPS for Ultra. The Medium setting at this resolution has a minimum of 291 FPS and a maximum of 393 FPS, showing a relatively tight distribution. The 1080p Low result of 427 FPS is the highest average recorded in the entire dataset, indicating the CPU's ability to push frames at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 307 FPS for Low, 246 FPS for Medium, 154 FPS for High, and 146 FPS for Ultra. The Medium setting at this resolution has a minimum of 209 FPS and a maximum of 283 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, but the frame rates remain very high, with even the Ultra setting achieving 146 FPS. The 1440p Low result of 307 FPS is still higher than the 4K High result, highlighting the impact of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 193 FPS for Low, 154 FPS for Medium, 97 FPS for High, and 92 FPS for Ultra. The Medium setting at this resolution has a minimum of 131 FPS and a maximum of 178 FPS. The 4K results show a clear progression, with the frame rate decreasing as settings are increased. The 4K Ultra result of 92 FPS is the lowest average recorded, but it is still comfortably above 60 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 101 FPS, which is smaller than the 224 FPS gap at 1080p, further confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings for the best experience depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate of the display. For a 1080p display, the High setting offers an excellent balance, with an average of 214 FPS. This is more than enough for any high-refresh-rate monitor, and the visual quality upgrade from Medium to High is generally worth the 128 FPS reduction. The Ultra setting at 1080p provides 203 FPS, which is only 11 FPS less than High, making it a viable option for users who want maximum graphical fidelity without sacrificing much performance.

For 1440p displays, the Medium setting is the sweet spot, delivering an average of 246 FPS. This is a very high frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most 1440p gaming monitors, which typically max out at 165 Hz or 240 Hz. The High setting at 1440p provides 154 FPS, which is still excellent and would be ideal for a 144 Hz monitor. The Ultra setting offers 146 FPS, which is also very playable, but the 8 FPS difference between High and Ultra is minimal, making High a more sensible choice for the marginal visual improvement.

For 4K displays, the Medium setting is the clear recommendation, as it provides an average of 154 FPS with a minimum of 131 FPS. This ensures a consistently smooth experience on a 120 Hz or 144 Hz 4K monitor. The High setting at 4K drops to 97 FPS, which is still above 60 FPS but may not be ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. The Ultra setting at 4K, at 92 FPS, is only 5 FPS less than High, so users with a 60 Hz 4K display could opt for either, but Medium offers the best combination of high frame rate and headroom. The Low setting is not recommended at 4K, as the 193 FPS result does not justify the significant visual downgrade, given that Medium is only 39 FPS lower.