Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT delivers a performance profile in Inside that is heavily dictated by the game’s low graphical demands. The data shows a system capable of extreme frame rates, with the primary bottleneck shifting decisively to the CPU at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, interprets the component roles, and provides actionable recommendations based solely on the provided benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a classic scaling pattern where the GPU becomes more relevant as resolution increases, but the CPU remains a limiting factor even at 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 426 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 307 FPS, a reduction of 119 FPS (approximately 28%). At 4K Low, the frame rate falls further to 193 FPS, another 114 FPS reduction (approximately 37%). This steep decline indicates that while the RX 6800 XT is capable of massive throughput, the performance ceiling at lower resolutions is capped by the CPU’s ability to feed frames.

The scaling pattern shifts when looking at higher settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 203 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 146 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it reaches 92 FPS. The percentage drops from 1080p to 1440p (about 28%) and from 1440p to 4K (about 37%) are nearly identical to those seen at Low settings. This consistency suggests that the limiting component remains the same across all settings. The data indicates that even at 4K Ultra, the GPU is not being pushed to its absolute limit, as the frame rate is still very high for a puzzle platformer, and the CPU’s single-thread performance is likely the primary constraint.

The presence of a min FPS of 131 FPS at 4K Medium and 209 FPS at 1440p Medium shows that frame pacing is stable, with no severe stutters that would indicate a bottleneck in the system’s memory or cache hierarchy. The fact that the 4K High setting (97 FPS) is only 5 FPS higher than the 4K Ultra setting (92 FPS) suggests that the graphical difference between High and Ultra is minimal in terms of GPU load, but the performance headroom is still being limited by the CPU. This is a game where the CPU’s clock speed and IPC are the dominant factors, as the GPU is rarely the bottleneck.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, provides 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth. For a game like Inside, which is a 2D puzzle platformer, this memory configuration is massively over-provisioned, but it ensures no memory-related frame drops occur. The data shows that the GPU’s role is to provide a high baseline, but its clock speeds of 1825 MHz base and 2250 MHz boost are not the limiting factor here. The GPU’s performance percentile of 85 and its average benchmark score of 48477 place it well above the median, yet the measured FPS in Inside are not as high as the GPU’s raw compute would suggest.

Comparing the RX 6800 XT to its nearest rivals shows it is competitive: it is 1.5% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A1000 Mobile and 2.5% behind the Intel Arc A550M in average benchmark scores. However, in practice, the GPU’s role in Inside is to handle the rendering pipeline without breaking a sweat. The 16 GB VRAM is never likely to be saturated, and the 128 ROPs and 288 TMUs provide ample fill rate for the game’s art style. The fact that the 4K Ultra setting (92 FPS) is the lowest measured score indicates that the GPU can still handle the highest load, but the system’s overall performance is not GPU-bound. The data suggests that if the CPU were capable of higher frame generation, the GPU could likely output more frames even at 4K.

The GPU’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support and 72 RT cores are irrelevant for this title, but the raw rasterization power is more than sufficient. The passmark G3D score of 24980 further confirms the GPU’s strength, yet the FPS data shows a ceiling that is not directly proportional to the GPU’s capabilities. This is a scenario where the GPU is effectively waiting on the CPU, a common occurrence in games with low graphical complexity.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this system in Inside?*

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 426 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system produces an average of 92 FPS. This is the lowest average FPS in the measured data.

Q: Is there a significant performance difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: Yes, the data shows a difference of 8 FPS. High settings average 154 FPS, while Ultra settings average 146 FPS at 2560x1440 resolution.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The measured data includes minimum FPS values for Medium settings. At 1080p, the min FPS is 291, at 1440p it is 209, and at 4K it is 131. These values indicate stable frame pacing without major drops.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X has an average benchmark score of 37943. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14901E, has an average score of 37911, making the 9700X 0.1% faster.

Q: Does the GPU’s performance percentile suggest it is a high-end part?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is in the 85th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it performs better than the majority of graphics cards on the market.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT ranks 817th out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places the combo in the top 22% of all configurations tested. This ranking is notably lower than the component’s individual performance percentiles might suggest. The CPU is in the 86th percentile, and the GPU is in the 85th percentile, yet the combo’s rank is lower, which highlights that the game’s performance is not fully utilizing the hardware’s potential.

The ranking indicates that while this system is fast, there are many other combos that achieve higher frame rates in this specific title. This is likely due to the game’s engine being more sensitive to CPU clock speed and IPC rather than raw core count or GPU memory bandwidth. The data suggests that a CPU with a higher boost clock, like the 9700X’s 5.50 GHz, is beneficial, but the game might still favor processors with even stronger single-thread performance. The combo’s rank of 817 means it outperforms the majority of systems, but for a game as undemanding as Inside, the CPU’s ability to process draw calls and physics is the ultimate arbiter of performance. The 8 cores and 16 threads of the 9700X are more than adequate, but the game likely doesn’t scale well beyond a few threads, making the single-core score of 1280 in 3DMark more relevant than the multi-threaded scores.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this system depend on the user’s display refresh rate. For a 60 Hz display, the 4K Ultra setting (92 FPS) is more than sufficient, providing a smooth experience with maximum visual fidelity. The data shows that the difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 5 FPS (97 vs 92), so enabling Ultra is a reasonable choice if the user prefers maximum quality, as the frame rate remains well above 60 FPS.

For users with a 144 Hz display, the 1440p Ultra setting (146 FPS) is the recommended choice, as it exceeds the refresh rate threshold and offers high detail. The 1080p High setting (214 FPS) provides a massive headroom for high refresh rate monitors (240 Hz+), and the Low setting at 1080p (426 FPS) is only necessary for competitive play where every frame counts. The Medium settings provide the best balance for those who want a high frame rate with some visual enhancements, with the 1440p Medium setting (246 FPS) being a particularly strong option. Given that the 4K High setting (97 FPS) is close to the 4K Ultra setting (92 FPS), there is little reason to drop to High at 4K; instead, users should either choose Ultra for quality or drop to 1440p for higher refresh rates. The data clearly shows that the system can handle Ultra settings at all resolutions, so the recommendation is to use Ultra unless the user has a very high refresh rate display that requires lower settings to achieve maximum FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 426 FPS. Medium settings average 342 FPS, with a minimum of 291 FPS and a maximum of 393 FPS. High settings average 214 FPS, and Ultra settings average 203 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a reduction of 223 FPS, indicating that the CPU is the primary constraint at this resolution, as the GPU has ample headroom.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally high. Low settings average 307 FPS. Medium settings average 246 FPS, with a minimum of 209 FPS and a maximum of 283 FPS. High settings average 154 FPS, and Ultra settings average 146 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 119 FPS, while at Ultra settings, the drop is 57 FPS. This shows that the GPU is starting to take on more load, but the CPU is still the limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the system still maintains high frame rates. Low settings average 193 FPS. Medium settings average 154 FPS, with a minimum of 131 FPS and a maximum of 178 FPS. High settings average 97 FPS, and Ultra settings average 92 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 5 FPS, which is negligible. The 4K Medium setting (154 FPS) is notably higher than the 4K High setting (97 FPS), suggesting a large performance cliff between Medium and High. This data indicates that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are sufficient for 4K, but the CPU’s frame generation rate caps the maximum FPS, particularly at lower settings where the GPU can render frames faster than the CPU can issue them.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a Zen 5 architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its performance in Inside is critical, as the game’s low graphical complexity means the CPU is the primary driver of frame rate. The data supports this, as the FPS at 1080p Low (426 FPS) is substantially higher than at 4K Ultra (92 FPS), but the CPU’s single-thread performance is the key factor in achieving these numbers. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 is a strong indicator of the CPU’s capability to handle the game’s logic and rendering commands.

The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 per core likely contribute to the stable frame times observed, as the game’s assets and state can be quickly accessed. The 9700X’s average benchmark score of 37943 places it in the 86th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14901E, is only 0.1% faster. This indicates that the 9700X is at the top of its class for general performance. However, the combo’s rank of 817 in Inside suggests that other CPUs may have even better single-thread performance or lower latency, which is more beneficial for this title. The CPU’s TDP of 65 W is low, but this is not a factor in the game’s performance. The data shows that the CPU’s boost clock of 5.50 GHz is a significant asset, as the game likely runs on a single or dual threads, and the high clock speed allows for rapid frame generation. The multi-threaded scores, such as the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20485, are less relevant for Inside but confirm the CPU’s overall strength. The system’s performance is ultimately proof of the CPU’s ability to handle high FPS scenarios, making it the more critical component in this pairing for this specific game.