Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers a remarkably strong performance profile in Inside, a 2D puzzle platformer where the GPU is rarely the limiting factor. Across all measured configurations, this combo produces frame rates that are overwhelmingly smooth, with the data showing a clear pattern: this system is built for high-refresh-rate gaming at any resolution, and its performance headroom is so large that users can prioritize visual fidelity without sacrificing playability.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions, with the GPU only beginning to assert itself at 4K. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 178 FPS at 1920x1080 to 128 FPS at 2560x1440, a 28% reduction, and then further to 80 FPS at 3840x2160, a 55% reduction from 1080p. This pattern indicates that at 1080p, the Ryzen 7 9700X's single-thread performance is the primary driver, as the RTX 5060 is not being fully utilized.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced when examining the Low preset. Here, the system produces 355 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 255 FPS at 1440p and 161 FPS at 4K. The fact that the 4K Low result is still above 160 FPS demonstrates that even at the highest resolution, the combination of the CPU's boost clock of 5.50 GHz and the GPU's boost clock of 2497 MHz is sufficient to maintain an extremely high frame rate. The 55% drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings shows that the GPU's pixel throughput becomes a more significant factor at higher resolutions, but the absolute numbers remain so high that this is of little practical concern.

Notably, the Medium preset is the only configuration with complete min/max data. At 1080p Medium, the average is 284 FPS with a minimum of 242 FPS and maximum of 327 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 204 FPS with a minimum of 174 FPS and maximum of 235 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 128 FPS with a minimum of 109 FPS and maximum of 148 FPS. The min FPS values are consistently above 100 FPS even at 4K, which confirms that this system never experiences significant frame drops, making it suitable for variable refresh rate displays.

The Ultra preset shows the largest absolute drop with resolution: 169 FPS at 1080p, 122 FPS at 1440p, and 76 FPS at 4K. This represents a 55% reduction from 1080p to 4K, nearly identical to the Low preset's scaling. This consistency suggests that the performance bottleneck shifts uniformly across all settings as resolution increases, which is typical for a game like Inside where the visual complexity is relatively modest compared to modern 3D titles.

Settings Recommendations

For users with a high refresh rate monitor (144Hz or above), the Medium preset provides the optimal balance of visual quality and performance headroom. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 284 FPS, which is nearly double the refresh rate of a 144Hz display. Even at 1440p Medium, the 204 FPS average leaves substantial margin above 144Hz, with a minimum of 174 FPS ensuring no dips below the refresh rate threshold.

The High preset is the best choice for those prioritizing image quality over raw frame rates. At 1440p High, the 128 FPS average is just below the 144Hz threshold but remains perfectly playable on a 120Hz display. At 1080p High, the 178 FPS average provides a smooth experience on 144Hz panels, though the lack of min/max data means users should expect some variability. For 4K displays, High preset at 80 FPS is viable for 60Hz panels, but Medium at 128 FPS is the better option for maintaining high refresh rates.

The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p displays with a 144Hz refresh rate, where the 169 FPS average provides sufficient headroom. At 1440p Ultra, the 122 FPS is below the 144Hz threshold, making High a better choice for competitive play. At 4K Ultra, the 76 FPS average is still smooth for a 60Hz display but offers no benefit over High's 80 FPS with potentially lower visual consistency.

The Low preset is almost never necessary given the hardware's capability. At 4K Low, the 161 FPS average is still above 144Hz, meaning users can comfortably move up to Medium or High without sacrificing smoothness. The data strongly suggests that Medium is the "sweet spot" for this game and hardware combination, as it maintains FPS above 120 at all resolutions while providing better visual quality than Low.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060's specifications are well-suited to Inside's rendering demands, though the game's 2D nature means the GPU is rarely pushed to its limits. The card features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This is more than sufficient for a puzzle platformer, as the game's textures and effects do not require large memory pools.

The GPU's clock speeds are a key factor in its performance. The base clock of 2280 MHz and boost clock of 2497 MHz allow the card to maintain high throughput, which is evident in the frame rates achieved. The GPU's compute capabilities, including 19.18 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 30 RT cores, are largely underutilized in this game, as Inside does not feature ray tracing or heavy compute workloads. However, this means the card operates well below its thermal and power limits, with a 145 W TDP ensuring efficient operation.

The GPU's benchmark scores contextualize its performance relative to other cards. Its Passmark G3D score of 20891 places it in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 860M (with a -0.3% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (also -0.3% delta), while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary is -0.8% slower and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is 1.2% faster. This indicates that the RTX 5060 sits in a competitive mid-range segment, though its performance in Inside is far above what these benchmark averages might suggest due to the game's light GPU load.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3628 reflects its ability to handle modern APIs, though this game's DirectX 12 Ultimate support is not heavily exercised. The card's pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s are more relevant to Inside's rendering, and these figures help explain why the GPU can maintain high FPS even at 4K.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K with maximum settings?*

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 Ultra settings, the system achieves an average of 76 FPS. This is playable on a 60Hz 4K display, though not ideal for 120Hz+ panels. For higher refresh rates at 4K, the Medium preset offers 128 FPS with a minimum of 109 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144Hz 1440p monitor?

A: The Medium preset is recommended, as it delivers 204 FPS average with a minimum of 174 FPS, ensuring no drops below 144Hz. The High preset at 128 FPS is slightly below the 144Hz threshold, while Ultra at 122 FPS is also below.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average frame rate drops from 178 FPS at 1920x1080 to 80 FPS at 3840x2160, a 55% reduction. This is a significant loss, but the 4K result remains smooth for 60Hz displays.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is the primary bottleneck, as the Ryzen 7 9700X's single-thread performance limits frame rates to around 355 FPS at Low settings. At 4K, the GPU becomes more relevant, but the RTX 5060 still delivers over 76 FPS at Ultra, so neither component is severely limiting.

*Q: Does this system ever drop below 60 FPS in Inside?*

A: No. The lowest measured average is 76 FPS at 4K Ultra settings. The only configuration with min FPS data, the Medium preset, shows minimums of 242 FPS at 1080p, 174 FPS at 1440p, and 109 FPS at 4K, all well above 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: This combination ranks 1494 out of 3716 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the top 40% of all systems. This ranking reflects the strong performance relative to other hardware configurations.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a significant contributor to this system's exceptional performance in Inside. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), the CPU provides substantial multithreaded capability, though the game's 2D nature means single-thread performance is more critical. The CPU's boost clock of 5.50 GHz is particularly important, as Inside's logic and physics calculations benefit from high clock speeds.

The CPU's benchmark results demonstrate its capabilities. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20485 and single-core score of 2211 place it in the 86th percentile among all CPUs. Its Passmark single-thread score of 4654 is excellent, and this directly translates to the high frame rates seen at 1080p where the CPU is the limiting factor. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 further confirms the CPU's strength in lightly-threaded workloads.

The CPU's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the Intel Core i9-14901E (with a 0.1% delta), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (also 0.1% delta), the Intel Core 5 211E (0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 (0.4% delta). This tight grouping indicates that the 9700X is competitively positioned, though its specific advantage in Inside comes from its high boost clock and low latency Zen 5 cores.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 89.6 GB/s bandwidth ensures that data can be fed to the GPU without bottleneck. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache is ample for the game's working set. The CPU's 65 W TDP is remarkably low for an 8-core processor, indicating efficient power delivery that allows sustained boost clocks during gaming sessions.

At 4K Ultra settings, the CPU still manages to provide enough processing power to keep the GPU fed, as evidenced by the 76 FPS result. This suggests that even in the most demanding configuration, the CPU is not the primary constraint. The data indicates that users could potentially pair this CPU with a more powerful GPU in the future to achieve even higher 4K performance, as the CPU's headroom at higher resolutions is substantial.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 in Inside is as follows:

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 355 FPS average
• Medium: 284 FPS average (minimum 242 FPS, maximum 327 FPS)
• High: 178 FPS average
• Ultra: 169 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 255 FPS average
• Medium: 204 FPS average (minimum 174 FPS, maximum 235 FPS)
• High: 128 FPS average
• Ultra: 122 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 161 FPS average
• Medium: 128 FPS average (minimum 109 FPS, maximum 148 FPS)
• High: 80 FPS average
• Ultra: 76 FPS average

The data reveals that the Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max measurements, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the spread from minimum to maximum is 85 FPS, indicating some variability but with the minimum still above 240 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the spread narrows to 61 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it narrows further to 39 FPS. This trend suggests that frame pacing becomes more consistent as resolution increases, likely because the GPU's workload becomes more uniform.

The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows consistent patterns. At 1080p, the drop from Low to Ultra is from 355 FPS to 169 FPS, a 52% reduction. At 1440p, the drop is from 255 FPS to 122 FPS, a 52% reduction. At 4K, the drop is from 161 FPS to 76 FPS, a 53% reduction. This consistency indicates that the graphical settings have a linear impact on performance regardless of resolution, which is typical for a game with modular visual effects.

The performance gap between High and Ultra is relatively small at all resolutions. At 1080p, the difference is only 9 FPS (178 vs 169); at 1440p, it is 6 FPS (128 vs 122); and at 4K, it is 4 FPS (80 vs 76). This suggests that Ultra offers marginal visual improvements over High at a negligible performance cost, making Ultra a viable choice for users who want maximum quality without significant FPS loss.

Overall, the measured FPS data paints a picture of a system that is overqualified for Inside. Even the most demanding configuration (4K Ultra) delivers an average of 76 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS standard for most displays. The system's performance headroom is so substantial that users can freely experiment with settings without fear of encountering unplayable frame rates, making this an excellent combination for this game.