Inside

Resolution Scaling

The measured frames-per-second data for _Inside_ with the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling across the three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 275 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops the average to 198 FPS, a reduction of 77 FPS. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls further to 124 FPS. This trajectory shows that even at the lowest quality preset, the rendering load increases substantially with pixel count, but the system maintains a playable frame rate at all three resolutions.

The scaling at High settings follows a similar but slightly steeper curve. The 1080p High average is 137 FPS, which drops to 99 FPS at 1440p and then to 62 FPS at 4K. The 4K figure is notably close to the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck at this resolution. The Medium preset shows a more pronounced drop from 1080p to 1440p: 220 FPS down to 158 FPS, then further down to 99 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset exhibits the most dramatic relative decline, with 131 FPS at 1080p, 94 FPS at 1440p, and only 59 FPS at 4K.

This data indicates that the limiting component shifts as resolution increases. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough across all settings that the CPU's strong single-thread performance is likely keeping the pipeline fed. At 4K, however, the average FPS values converge to a narrower band (59 to 124 FPS across settings), which points to the GPU's pixel throughput becoming the constraining factor. The RX 5700 XT, with its 8 GB of memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, handles the game's visual data, but the higher resolutions demand more from the rendering pipeline. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 65 FPS (124 vs 59), whereas at 1080p that same gap is 144 FPS (275 vs 131). This compression of performance differences at higher resolutions is a classic sign of GPU-bound operation.

The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS, giving a spread of 30 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the spread is 48 FPS (134 min to 182 max), and at 1080p Medium it is 66 FPS (187 min to 253 max). The wider variance at lower resolutions suggests that CPU-side frame pacing or scene complexity has more room to influence the frame time when the GPU is not saturated. At 4K, the narrower variance indicates the GPU is consistently busy, leaving less headroom for fluctuation.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a desktop processor from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm process from TSMC. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. The processor draws a TDP of 120 watts and supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. Its L3 cache is 96 MB shared, which is substantial for a gaming-focused chip.

In terms of synthetic benchmarks, the 9800X3D posts strong numbers. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 23230, and the single-core score is 2080. The Geekbench multicore result is 18696, with a single-core score of 2964. The Passmark multithread score is 40009, and the single-thread score is 4430. These figures place the CPU in the 87th percentile relative to all CPUs in the database. The average benchmark score is 39768.

For _Inside_, a puzzle platformer, the CPU's role is less about raw core count and more about maintaining high frame rates without stutter. The game's 2D side-scrolling perspective means that even with complex physics or lighting effects, the workload is not heavily threaded. The 9800X3D's high boost clock of 5.20 GHz and strong single-core performance (evidenced by the 2080 Cinebench R23 single-core score) are likely contributors to the high average FPS at 1080p, where the CPU is less likely to be the bottleneck. The 16 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks, but the game itself probably uses only a few cores. The measured results show 275 FPS at 1080p Low, which indicates that the CPU is not limiting the frame rate at this resolution. Even at 1080p Ultra, the average of 131 FPS is well above the threshold where CPU limitations would typically appear.

The processor's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS with an average score of 39603 (deltaPct 0.4), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 at 40048 (deltaPct -0.7), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 at 39485 (deltaPct 0.7), and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 at 40081 (deltaPct -0.8). These deltas are minimal, all within 1% of the 9800X3D's average score. This suggests that for CPU-bound workloads, the 9800X3D is statistically similar to these other processors, but its 3D V-Cache (96 MB L3) likely provides a specific advantage in gaming scenarios that synthetic benchmarks may not fully capture.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is a graphics card from the Radeon RX 5000 series, based on the Navi 10 chip with the RDNA 1.0 architecture. It is built on a 7 nm process from TSMC, with a die size of 251 mm² and 10,300 million transistors. The GPU has a base clock of 1605 MHz, a game clock of 1755 MHz, and a boost clock of 1905 MHz. Its memory is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The card features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation pipelines. It supports PCIe 4.0 x16 and is rated at a TDP of 225 watts.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 5700 XT scores 16277 in Passmark G3D and 9524 in Geekbench OpenCL. Its Vulkan score is 68310, and the DirectX 12 score in 3DMark Steel Nomad is 2134. The GPU sits in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16361. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (avg score 16351, deltaPct 0.1), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (avg score 16408, deltaPct -0.3), the AMD Radeon PRO W7500 (avg score 16415, deltaPct -0.3), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 (avg score 16504, deltaPct -0.9). All of these deltas are under 1%, indicating that the RX 5700 XT performs similarly to these cards in aggregate benchmarks.

For _Inside_, the GPU's impact is most visible at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 4K, the frame rates across settings range from 59 FPS (Ultra) to 124 FPS (Low). The card's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for a game of this era and style, as _Inside_ does not feature expansive open worlds or heavy texture streaming. The pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s are adequate for the game's art style, which uses simple geometry with dramatic lighting. The measured FPS at 4K High (62 FPS) suggests that the GPU is working near its limit at this resolution, as dropping to Medium raises the average to 99 FPS, a significant jump. This indicates that the Ultra preset likely enables additional effects that disproportionately tax the GPU. The RX 5700 XT is an end-of-life product, but its performance in this title remains respectable, particularly given the game's release date of 2016-07-06.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT ranks 2725 out of 3716 tested combos in the database for _Inside_. This places the combo in the lower third of all tested configurations. The rank reflects a pairing of a high-end, current-generation CPU (released 2024-11-06) with an older, end-of-life GPU (released 2019-07-06). The 9800X3D is clearly capable of delivering high frame rates, as shown by its synthetic scores and the measured results at 1080p, but the RX 5700 XT limits the overall performance, particularly at 4K.

The combo's rank of 2725 suggests that there are 991 other tested combinations that perform worse. Given the CPU's percentile of 87 and the GPU's percentile of 59, the bottleneck is evident: the GPU is the weaker component in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the CPU's strength shines through with 275 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, the GPU's limitations cap the frame rate at 59 FPS. This rank is a reflection of the GPU's age and its inability to fully utilize the CPU's potential in more demanding scenarios. For a game like _Inside_, which is not graphically intensive by modern standards, the combo still performs adequately, but the data indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in achieving higher frame rates at higher resolutions. The rank would likely improve with a more modern GPU, but as tested, this pairing sits below the median of all combos.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings for this combo?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 137 FPS.

Q: Does the RX 5700 XT bottleneck the CPU at 4K resolution?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 62 FPS on High and 59 FPS on Ultra, while the CPU is capable of much higher frame rates, as seen at 1080p where the same settings yield 137 FPS and 131 FPS respectively.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested combos for _Inside_?

A: The combo ranks 2725 out of 3716 tested combinations, placing it in the lower third of all tested configurations.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 198 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 94 FPS, a difference of 104 FPS.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo at any resolution?

A: The only recorded minimum FPS values are for the Medium preset: 84 FPS at 4K, 134 FPS at 1440p, and 187 FPS at 1080p. No minimum FPS is listed for other settings.

Q: Which component is more likely to limit performance at 1080p Low?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 275, which is high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2080) is likely sufficient, and the GPU is not overwhelmed, so neither component is strictly limiting, but the CPU's strength is the enabling factor for such high frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the choice of settings depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver high average FPS: 275 FPS on Low, 220 FPS on Medium, 137 FPS on High, and 131 FPS on Ultra. The jump from High to Ultra yields only a 6 FPS difference (137 to 131), which suggests that Ultra provides marginal visual improvements at a negligible performance cost. For players with a 144 Hz or higher refresh rate monitor, the Medium preset at 220 FPS offers a comfortable margin above the refresh rate, while Ultra at 131 FPS is still above 120 FPS. The Low preset's 275 FPS is excessive for most displays but demonstrates the headroom available.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 158 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming. High drops to 99 FPS, which is still smooth for a 100 Hz display. Ultra at 94 FPS is close to High, and the difference is minimal. Low at 198 FPS provides maximum headroom but may look noticeably less detailed. For a balance of visual quality and performance, Medium is recommended at 1440p, as it maintains a frame rate above 150 FPS while offering better fidelity than Low.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. Low averages 124 FPS, Medium averages 99 FPS, and High averages 62 FPS, with Ultra at 59 FPS. For a 60 Hz display, High settings at 62 FPS are playable, but the frame rate is close to the threshold. Medium at 99 FPS provides a substantial buffer and is the best option for 4K, as it offers significantly higher frame rates than High and Ultra while still providing a reasonable visual quality. Ultra's 59 FPS is just below 60, which may cause occasional hitches. Low at 124 FPS is the fastest but sacrifices visual fidelity. The data shows that Medium is the sweet spot at 4K, delivering nearly double the frame rate of Ultra while likely retaining most of the visual impact.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT in _Inside_ is as follows.

At 1920x1080:

• Low: average 275 FPS
• Medium: average 220 FPS, minimum 187 FPS, maximum 253 FPS
• High: average 137 FPS
• Ultra: average 131 FPS

At 2560x1440:

• Low: average 198 FPS
• Medium: average 158 FPS, minimum 134 FPS, maximum 182 FPS
• High: average 99 FPS
• Ultra: average 94 FPS

At 3840x2160:

• Low: average 124 FPS
• Medium: average 99 FPS, minimum 84 FPS, maximum 114 FPS
• High: average 62 FPS
• Ultra: average 59 FPS

The data shows that the Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values, providing a frame time variance of 66 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K. The absence of min/max data for other presets means that only average values are available for comparison. Across all resolutions, the Low preset offers the highest average FPS, while Ultra offers the lowest. The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is as follows: at 1080p, the drop is 144 FPS; at 1440p, the drop is 104 FPS; and at 4K, the drop is 65 FPS. This diminishing gap with increasing resolution confirms the GPU-bound nature of higher pixel counts. The measured data is marked as "dataIsMeasured": true, indicating that these are actual test results rather than estimates.