Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Inside, a title whose minimalist aesthetic belies its technical demands. The measured data shows this combination handles the game with significant headroom across all tested resolutions and settings, positioning it as a highly capable platform for this specific puzzle platformer.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern, though the magnitude of the frame rate drop is unusually steep due to the game’s modest CPU requirements. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system produces 337 FPS, which drops to 242 FPS at 2560x1440 — a reduction of 95 FPS (28.2%). Moving to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields 152 FPS, which is 185 FPS lower than the 1080p result, representing a 54.9% decline from the baseline.

The scaling pattern intensifies at higher settings. With High settings, the frame rate falls from 168 FPS at 1080p to 121 FPS at 1440p (a 47 FPS drop), and further to 76 FPS at 4K — a cumulative 54.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar trend: 269 FPS at 1080p, 194 FPS at 1440p, and 122 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding configuration, starts at 160 FPS at 1080p, drops to 115 FPS at 1440p, and bottoms out at 72 FPS at 4K.

The most telling observation is the ratio between 1080p and 4K performance. At Low settings, 4K delivers 45.1% of the 1080p frame rate; at High, it delivers 45.2%; at Medium, 45.4%; and at Ultra, 45.0%. This remarkably consistent proportion across all settings indicates that the scaling bottleneck is purely resolution-driven rather than setting-driven. The RX 6700 XT’s 12 GB VRAM and 384.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are sufficient even at 4K Ultra, as evidenced by the 72 FPS result not collapsing due to memory exhaustion.

The data suggests the limiting component at 1080p is the GPU, but the CPU is never the constraining factor. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D’s 8 cores and 16 threads, combined with its 96 MB of shared L3 cache, provide ample processing power to feed the GPU at even the highest frame rates. The 337 FPS result at 1080p Low indicates the GPU is fully utilized, while the CPU remains in reserve — a scenario where the frame rate is dictated by the graphics card’s pixel throughput rather than any processor limitation.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a Zen 5 architecture processor (Granite Ridge codename) built on a 4 nm TSMC process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz represent substantial clock speeds, but in Inside, the processor’s role is more about maintaining consistent frame pacing than raw throughput. The game’s puzzle-platformer nature means most scenes have modest object counts and simple physics, allowing the CPU to easily supply draw calls and game logic updates ahead of the GPU’s demands.

Benchmark data shows the processor’s capabilities: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22807 and single-core score of 2228, with a PassMark single-thread score of 4704. These numbers place the CPU in the 92nd percentile versus all CPUs, indicating it is significantly more powerful than what this game requires. The nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks — the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (0.1% lower score), Intel Core i9-14900 (0.5% higher), and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (0.7% lower) — all show that the 9850X3D sits in a performance tier where CPU-bound scenarios are rare.

The L3 cache configuration of 96 MB shared is particularly relevant for gaming. While Inside may not heavily benefit from the large cache due to its modest working set, the cache hierarchy ensures that any CPU-side data access patterns are handled efficiently. The processor’s memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 further removes potential bottlenecks, ensuring the CPU never starves the GPU of data.

In practice, the measured FPS data shows no CPU-induced frame rate ceiling. The highest recorded average, 337 FPS at 1080p Low, is far below any reasonable CPU limit for a processor of this caliber. Even the minimum FPS figures available — 229 FPS at 1080p Medium, 165 FPS at 1440p Medium, and 103 FPS at 4K Medium — indicate consistent frame delivery without stutters or hitches that would suggest CPU bottlenecking.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, based on the Navi 22 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, is the primary determinant of frame rates in this configuration. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient across all tested settings. The GPU’s boost clock of 2581 MHz and game clock of 2424 MHz are the clocks that directly influence the measured performance, with the base clock of 2321 MHz serving as the floor.

The GPU’s 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs define its pixel throughput capabilities. The texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 165.2 GPixel/s are the theoretical limits that, when combined with the 13.21 TFLOPS FP32 compute, determine how quickly the card can render Inside’s side-scrolling environments. The game’s relatively simple geometry and lighting mean these resources are not taxed to their absolute limits, but the scaling from 1080p to 4K demonstrates where the GPU’s capacity is exhausted.

The RX 6700 XT sits in the 72nd percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27425. Its nearest rivals — the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile (0% difference), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (0.5% higher), and NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell (1.1% higher) — indicate the card performs competitively with much newer or higher-tier products in synthetic benchmarks. However, in Inside, the card’s actual gaming performance is what matters, and the measured data shows it delivers 72 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is above the 60 FPS threshold typically considered playable.

The GPU’s 40 ray tracing cores are present but unused in this game, as Inside does not appear to utilize ray-traced effects based on the measured results. The DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures the card can handle the game’s API requirements, but the game’s release in 2016 predates many modern rendering features, meaning the GPU operates well within its architectural capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1367 out of 2887 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the 52.7th percentile of all system pairings. This mid-pack ranking is somewhat surprising given the high frame rates measured, but it reflects the fact that many other combinations — particularly those with higher-tier GPUs — achieve even higher scores in this game.

The ranking relative to the combo’s component percentiles is instructive. The CPU ranks in the 92nd percentile, while the GPU ranks in the 72nd percentile, yet the combo lands near the median. This disparity suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor for the overall ranking, as a stronger GPU paired with the same CPU would likely push the combo significantly higher. Conversely, the CPU’s high percentile is not fully leveraged in this game, as Inside does not appear to require the 9850X3D’s full processing capabilities.

The data shows that the combo achieves frame rates that would be considered excellent for most games, but in Inside, where performance is less demanding, the ranking is dragged down by the GPU’s mid-tier positioning. The RX 6700 XT’s performance relative to the RTX 3090 (0.5% lower in synthetic benchmarks) is notable, but in real gaming, the 3090’s higher VRAM and bandwidth would likely yield higher frame rates at 4K Ultra, where the 6700 XT produces 72 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What average frame rate does this system achieve at 1920x1080 with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 168 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, with no minimum or maximum frame rate reported for this configuration.

*Q: Is the system capable of 4K gaming in Inside?*

A: Yes, at 3840x2160, the system produces 76 FPS on High, 122 FPS on Medium, and 72 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Low setting yields 152 FPS, indicating the GPU can handle 4K resolution with all tested presets.

Q: What is the highest frame rate recorded across all tested configurations?

A: The highest average frame rate is 337 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium setting at 1080p produced 269 FPS with a minimum of 229 FPS and maximum of 310 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9850X3D has an average benchmark score of 58386, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i9-14900. It trails the Intel Xeon w5-2545 by 0.2% and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 by 0.7%.

Q: What is the GPU’s VRAM capacity and how does it affect 4K performance?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth. This capacity is sufficient for 4K Ultra settings, as evidenced by the 72 FPS average, with no indication of memory-related performance degradation.

Q: At which resolution does the system first drop below 100 FPS average?

A: The system drops below 100 FPS average only at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, producing 72 FPS. All other configurations, including 4K High at 76 FPS, remain above 100 FPS except for 4K Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings balance depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080 displays, the Ultra preset at 160 FPS is the best choice for users with high refresh rate monitors, as it delivers the highest visual quality while remaining well above the 144 Hz threshold. The Medium preset at 269 FPS is excessive for most displays but provides the maximum frame rate headroom for competitive play, though Inside is not a competitive title.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 121 FPS is the recommended configuration, as it exceeds the 120 Hz refresh rate common on 1440p monitors while offering better visual fidelity than Medium (194 FPS) or Low (242 FPS). The Ultra preset at 115 FPS is also viable for 1440p, providing the highest quality with only a 6 FPS penalty versus High — a negligible difference that makes Ultra the preferable choice for users prioritizing image quality.

For 3840x2160 displays, the Medium preset at 122 FPS is the standout recommendation. It delivers more than double the frame rate of Ultra (72 FPS) while providing better visuals than Low (152 FPS). The High preset at 76 FPS is acceptable for users with 60 Hz displays, but the 46 FPS advantage of Medium over High makes Medium the clear choice for 4K gaming, assuming the visual differences are not objectionable. The Low preset at 152 FPS is unnecessary at 4K unless the user has an extremely high refresh rate display, which is rare at this resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates span from 160 FPS to 337 FPS across the four settings. The Low preset produces the highest average at 337 FPS, followed by Medium at 269 FPS (with a minimum of 229 FPS and maximum of 310 FPS), High at 168 FPS, and Ultra at 160 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 68 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 8 FPS, indicating diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates range from 115 FPS to 242 FPS. Low produces 242 FPS, Medium produces 194 FPS (with a minimum of 165 FPS and maximum of 223 FPS), High produces 121 FPS, and Ultra produces 115 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 48 FPS, while High and Ultra differ by only 6 FPS, mirroring the 1080p scaling pattern.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 72 FPS to 152 FPS. Low produces 152 FPS, Medium produces 122 FPS (with a minimum of 103 FPS and maximum of 140 FPS), High produces 76 FPS, and Ultra produces 72 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 30 FPS, while High and Ultra differ by just 4 FPS. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium (103 FPS) is notably close to the average at 4K High (76 FPS), suggesting that the Medium preset provides more consistent frame delivery than the higher settings.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: the transition from Low to Medium incurs a moderate frame rate penalty (68 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, 30 FPS at 4K), while the transition from High to Ultra incurs a minimal penalty (8 FPS at 1080p, 6 FPS at 1440p, 4 FPS at 4K). This suggests that the Ultra preset offers marginal visual improvements over High at a negligible performance cost, making it the preferred choice for users who have already accepted the performance level of High settings.