Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT combination delivers a thoroughly playable experience in Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016. The data shows that this pairing is far more than sufficient for the game’s demands, with frame rates that remain high even at maximum settings and 4K resolution. This analysis breaks down the measured results to show exactly where the CPU and GPU each contribute, and how to best configure the game.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using TSMC’s 4 nm process. It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz, with a TDP of 120 W. The CPU features a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is a key asset for gaming performance. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 4800 points in Cinebench R23 single-core and 34004 points in multi-core, with a PassMark single-thread score of 4430 and a multithread score of 40009. Its average benchmark score of 37780 places it in the 90th percentile among all CPUs.

For Inside, the CPU’s role is largely about maintaining high minimum frame rates and ensuring the GPU is never waiting on data. The game is not a demanding multithreaded title, so the 8-core/16-thread configuration is overkill in raw throughput. However, the 96 MB L3 cache and strong single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4800) are what allow the system to push frame rates past 300 FPS at 1080p Low settings. The benchmark results indicate that at lower resolutions, the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU quickly becomes the primary factor, which is why we see such high frame rates at 1080p. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is effectively tied with the Intel Xeon 6353P (deltaPct -0.1) and Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (deltaPct -0.1), while being 0.6% behind the Intel Core i9-13900HK and 0.7% behind the Intel Core i5-13600KF in average benchmark scores. This indicates that for this game, any of these CPUs would perform nearly identically, but the 9800X3D’s cache advantage is likely what enables the very high frame rates observed.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

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

A: Yes. The measured data shows an average of 71.9 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is above the 60 FPS threshold, though it is the lowest average frame rate recorded across all tested configurations.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from Ultra to Low settings at 1440p?

A: The average frame rate more than doubles. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset delivers 115 FPS, while the Low preset delivers 240.3 FPS. That is a 125.3 FPS or 109% improvement.

Q: At which resolution and settings does the system exceed 300 FPS?

A: The only configuration that breaks the 300 FPS barrier is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which produces an average of 338.9 FPS. The next closest is 1080p Medium at 267.7 FPS.

Q: Is the GPU a bottleneck at 1080p Medium settings?

A: The data suggests the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at higher settings, but not at Medium. The frame rate at 1080p Medium is 267.7 FPS, which is lower than 1080p Low’s 338.9 FPS, indicating an increasing GPU workload. The CPU’s high single-thread performance and large cache likely allow it to keep up, but the GPU’s rendering load is what reduces the frame rate as settings increase.

Q: How does the RX 6700 XT compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 33721, which is 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 and 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A5000. It is 1% behind both the AMD Radeon HD 7950 and AMD Radeon RX 480.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1440p High and 4K High?

A: The average frame rate drops from 121.5 FPS at 2560x1440 High to 75.7 FPS at 3840x2160 High. This is a 45.8 FPS decrease, or roughly a 38% reduction in performance.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured frame rates show a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p High, the system produces 170.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 121.5 FPS, a 49.1 FPS reduction. At 4K High, the average falls to 75.7 FPS, another 45.8 FPS decrease. This pattern repeats across all settings presets.

The scaling behavior indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the primary limiting component as resolution climbs. The CPU’s performance headroom is evident at 1080p Low, where it can push 338.9 FPS, but the GPU’s rendering workload at 4K Ultra (71.9 FPS) shows where the bottleneck shifts. The frame rate drops are roughly proportional to the increase in pixel count, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. For example, going from 1080p to 4K quadruples the pixel count, and the average frame rate at High settings drops from 170.6 to 75.7 FPS, which is a 55% reduction. This is slightly less than the theoretical 75% reduction if it were purely pixel-limited, suggesting that the CPU’s strong performance (single-core score of 4800 in Cinebench R23) helps mitigate some of the impact at lower resolutions. However, the data clearly shows that to maintain higher frame rates at 4K, the GPU is the component that would need upgrading.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all presets. The Low settings produce an average of 338.9 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings drop to 267.7 FPS, and High settings produce 170.6 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding at this resolution, yielding 160.7 FPS. All of these are far above any practical refresh rate, making 1080p an effortless environment for this hardware.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high but begin to show the GPU’s workload. The Low preset averages 240.3 FPS, which is still exceptionally smooth. Medium settings average 191.3 FPS, and High settings drop to 121.5 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p produces 115 FPS, which is still comfortably above 60 FPS and suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the system remains playable but with more pronounced differences between presets. The Low preset averages 152.3 FPS, which is impressive for 4K. Medium settings drop to 120.9 FPS, and High settings produce 75.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution yields 71.9 FPS, which is the lowest average frame rate measured in the entire test suite. While still above 60 FPS, this is the point where the RX 6700 XT is clearly being pushed to its limits. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 80.4 FPS, demonstrating the significant impact of settings on GPU load.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with the Navi 22 chip, manufactured on TSMC’s 7 nm process. It features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 2321 MHz and a boost clock of 2581 MHz, with a game clock of 2424 MHz. It includes 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units. The GPU’s pixel rate is 165.2 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 413.0 GTexel/s, with a FP32 performance of 13.21 TFLOPS. Its TDP is 230 W, requiring a 550 W suggested PSU.

For Inside, the GPU’s role is to handle the game’s rendering workload, which scales heavily with resolution and settings. The 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for a 2016 puzzle platformer, and the data shows no signs of memory bandwidth constraints. The GPU’s benchmark scores indicate it is a solid mid-to-high-range performer, sitting in the 77th percentile among all GPUs with an average score of 33721. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800, is only 0.7% faster in synthetic benchmarks, which explains why the measured frame rates are so consistent. The GPU’s performance is what caps the frame rate at higher settings and resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the 71.9 FPS average is a direct result of the GPU’s rendering capability. The drop from 152.3 FPS at 4K Low to 71.9 FPS at 4K Ultra shows how the GPU’s shading units and ROPs are taxed by the increased visual detail. This hardware is clearly capable of handling Inside at maximum settings, but the frame rate will not reach the triple-digit figures seen at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of which settings presets offer the best experience at each resolution. The goal is to hit a stable frame rate that matches the target display refresh rate, with 60 FPS as the baseline for playability.

At 1920x1080, every preset is viable. The Ultra preset at 160.7 FPS is the best choice for users with high-refresh-rate monitors (144 Hz or higher) who want maximum visual quality. If a 240 Hz monitor is in use, the Medium preset at 267.7 FPS or Low at 338.9 FPS would be preferable, but the visual difference between Medium and Ultra is minimal in a game like Inside.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 121.5 FPS is the sweet spot. It offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium (191.3 FPS) while still easily exceeding 100 FPS. The Ultra preset at 115 FPS is also excellent, and the 6.5 FPS difference between High and Ultra is negligible. For players with 144 Hz monitors, either High or Ultra is recommended, as both stay above the 115 FPS mark.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Ultra preset at 71.9 FPS is playable and suitable for a 60 Hz display, but it leaves no headroom for frame drops. The High preset at 75.7 FPS offers a slightly better safety margin. The Medium preset at 120.9 FPS is the recommended choice for 4K gaming on a high-refresh-rate display, as it provides a substantial performance boost over High (a 45.2 FPS increase) while maintaining a high level of visual fidelity. The Low preset at 152.3 FPS is unnecessary for Inside because the visual downgrade is significant, and the Medium preset already delivers more than enough performance.

In summary, for the best balance of visual quality and performance, use Medium settings at 4K (120.9 FPS), High settings at 1440p (121.5 FPS), and Ultra settings at 1080p (160.7 FPS). This configuration ensures a smooth experience at high refresh rates without unnecessary compromises. The data shows that the system is never below 60 FPS in any tested configuration, making Inside an easy title for this hardware.