Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT combination delivers a remarkable performance profile in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is far more demanding on the GPU than its minimalist aesthetic suggests. The measured data shows this pairing is capable of high refresh rates even at 4K, with the primary bottleneck shifting decisively based on resolution and quality preset. This analysis walks through the measured FPS data, explaining the scaling behavior, the role of the specific hardware components, and how the combo ranks among the 1,671 tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but consistent with a GPU-bound title. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 407.3 FPS at 1920x1080 to 305.1 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 102.2 FPS (approximately 25%). Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 192.3 FPS, which is 47% lower than the 1440p result. This scaling pattern indicates that the RX 6800 XT is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the CPU’s performance headroom becomes less relevant when pixel throughput demands increase.

The High preset shows a similar trend but with a more pronounced drop at the top end. From 214.3 FPS at 1080p, the average falls to 156.0 FPS at 1440p (a 27% reduction) and then to 97.6 FPS at 4K (a 37% reduction from 1440p). The Ultra preset behaves comparably: 204.8 FPS at 1080p, 148.0 FPS at 1440p, and 91.5 FPS at 4K. The consistent pattern across presets suggests that Inside's rendering load scales almost linearly with pixel count, with no sudden cliff or unexpected stutter. The 4K-to-1440p ratio for High is 0.63, meaning 4K delivers roughly 63% of the 1440p frame rate, which is typical for a well-optimized engine.

The low preset’s 4K result of 192.3 FPS is notable because it remains above 144 Hz, indicating that even at the highest resolution, the combo can drive high-refresh displays when visual fidelity is reduced. The data shows that the 9800X3D’s 3D V-Cache and high clock speeds are not the bottleneck here; instead, the RX 6800 XT’s 512.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 20.74 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are the primary drivers of these scaling figures.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average is 407.3 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This drops to 340.6 FPS on Medium, 214.3 FPS on High, and 204.8 FPS on Ultra.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K on all presets?

A: Yes. The lowest measured average at 3840x2160 is 91.5 FPS on Ultra, which is 31.5 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset averages 97.6 FPS, Medium 156.4 FPS, and Low 192.3 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: The difference is 8 FPS on average. High delivers 156.0 FPS, while Ultra delivers 148.0 FPS, a reduction of 5.1%. The gap widens slightly at 4K, where Ultra is 6.1 FPS slower than High (91.5 vs 97.6).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor for this game?

A: Based on the scaling, the GPU is the limiting factor. The RX 6800 XT’s performance drops by over 50% from 1080p to 4K on Low settings, while the Ryzen 7 9800X3D’s 16 threads and 96 MB L3 cache provide ample headroom for a 2016 puzzle platformer.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The difference is 202.5 FPS, with Low averaging 407.3 FPS and Ultra averaging 204.8 FPS. This represents a 49.7% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the combo rank in the top quarter of all tested configurations?

A: Yes. It ranks 382nd out of 1,671 tested combos, placing it in the 77th percentile. This is a strong result, though not the absolute top, indicating that some configurations with higher-end GPUs achieve faster frame rates.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT is the dominant component in determining Inside's frame rates. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 512.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for the game’s high-resolution texture streaming and shadow rendering. The GPU’s boost clock of 2250 MHz and game clock of 2015 MHz ensure that the 4608 shading units are kept busy, especially at 4K where the pixel fill rate of 288.0 GPixel/s is directly taxed.

The benchmarks support this: the GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 24,980 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,689 indicate a high level of raw rasterization performance. However, the GPU’s percentile rank of 87 shows it is not the absolute fastest, which explains why the combo does not reach the top ranks. The 300 W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with its performance class, but the data shows that the GPU’s 20.74 TFLOPS FP32 is sufficient to push Inside well past 100 FPS at 4K on High settings.

The VRAM allocation is not a concern here. Even at 4K Ultra, the game does not appear to exceed 16 GB, as the average FPS of 91.5 remains stable without any signs of texture thrashing. The GPU’s RDNA 2.0 architecture handles the game’s DirectX 12 Ultimate features efficiently, though Inside does not heavily use ray tracing, so the 72 RT cores are largely idle. The memory clock of 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective) is a key factor in the 4K scaling, as the bandwidth is sufficient to feed the 128 ROPs without creating a bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate for most users. At 1080p, High averages 214.3 FPS, which is more than enough for any 144 Hz monitor, while at 1440p it maintains 156.0 FPS, comfortably above 144 Hz. At 4K, High delivers 97.6 FPS, which is just shy of 100 FPS but still smooth on a 120 Hz display. The Ultra preset only adds a marginal visual improvement over High, but it costs 6.1 FPS at 4K and 8.0 FPS at 1440p, making it a poor trade-off for the modest gain.

For users prioritizing maximum refresh rates at 1080p, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. It averages 340.6 FPS, which is 126.3 FPS faster than High, while still offering improved shadows and textures over Low. The Low preset is only recommended for extreme frame rate chasing, as it hits 407.3 FPS at 1080p, but the visual downgrade is noticeable. At 4K, the Medium preset is the best choice for high-refresh displays, as its 156.4 FPS average is 58.9 FPS higher than High, and it remains playable on 144 Hz panels.

The data indicates that the Ultra preset is not worth the performance penalty. The difference between High and Ultra is consistent across resolutions, but the visual impact in a game like Inside is minimal due to its stylized art direction. Therefore, the recommendation is to use High for 4K and 1440p, and Medium for 1080p if the display refresh rate exceeds 240 Hz.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RX 6800 XT ranks 382nd out of 1,671 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the top 22.9% of all configurations, which is a strong result given the GPU’s age. The rank is driven by the GPU’s performance, as the CPU’s 90th percentile rank versus all CPUs means it is not holding the system back. The combo’s measured FPS at 1080p High (214.3) is higher than what many CPUs alone could achieve, confirming that the GPU is the primary contributor.

Compared to the RX 6800 XT’s nearest rivals, the combo’s performance is competitive. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 49,982 is 0.5% higher than the Intel Arc A550M (49,737) and 1.7% lower than the NVIDIA RTX A1000 (50,826). The NVIDIA CMP 50HX (49,071) is 1.9% slower, and the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER (48,704) is 2.6% slower. This means the RX 6800 XT is positioned at the upper mid-range, and the 382nd rank reflects that it is outclassed by only a few high-end GPUs.

The CPU’s nearest rivals are mostly Intel parts, but their average scores are within 0.7% of the 9800X3D’s 37,780. This indicates that the CPU is not a differentiator for Inside, as the game is not heavily threaded. The 9800X3D’s 16 threads and 96 MB L3 cache offer no measurable advantage over these rivals in this title, reinforcing that the GPU is the decisive factor for the combo’s rank.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for the combo is as follows. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 407.3 FPS on Low, 340.6 FPS on Medium, 214.3 FPS on High, and 204.8 FPS on Ultra. At 2560x1440, the averages are 305.1 FPS on Low, 244.1 FPS on Medium, 156.0 FPS on High, and 148.0 FPS on Ultra. At 3840x2160, the averages are 192.3 FPS on Low, 156.4 FPS on Medium, 97.6 FPS on High, and 91.5 FPS on Ultra.

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent penalty. At 1080p, the drop from Low to Ultra is 202.5 FPS (49.7%). At 1440p, it is 157.1 FPS (51.5%). At 4K, it is 100.8 FPS (52.4%). The percentage penalty increases slightly with resolution, which is expected as the GPU becomes more saturated. The 4K Low result of 192.3 FPS is particularly impressive, as it exceeds the 1440p High result of 156.0 FPS, showing that the GPU has substantial headroom when settings are reduced.

The data also shows that the Medium preset at 4K (156.4 FPS) is faster than the High preset at 1440p (156.0 FPS), a 0.4 FPS difference that is within measurement noise. This indicates that the GPU’s performance is more sensitive to resolution than to the quality preset, which is typical for a game with simple geometry but heavy fill-rate demands. The Ultra preset at 1080p (204.8 FPS) is nearly identical to the High preset at 1080p (214.3 FPS), differing by only 9.5 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset’s additional effects are not costly at lower pixel counts.