Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination delivers a strong performance profile in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer known for its minimalist aesthetic but demanding rendering techniques. The measured data shows this pairing is capable of high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, with the CPU’s substantial cache and the GPU’s 16 GB of memory providing a balanced foundation. The following analysis breaks down the benchmark results, focusing on scaling behavior, settings optimization, and component roles.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 353 FPS, which drops to 254 FPS at 1440p and 160 FPS at 4K. This represents a 54.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as pixel count increases, though the CPU still has headroom. The scaling is more pronounced at higher settings; for instance, at High settings, the frame rate goes from 177 FPS at 1080p to 127 FPS at 1440p and 80 FPS at 4K, a 54.8% drop across the resolution range.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is partially CPU-limited, especially at lower settings where the GPU can render frames quickly enough to expose the CPU’s processing limits. This is evidenced by the fact that the 9850X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, can push frame rates well above 300 FPS at 1080p Low. However, the scaling from 1440p to 4K is more gradual, with frame rates dropping by roughly 37-38% at each settings tier, which points to the RX 7700’s pixel throughput becoming the dominant constraint. The 4 nm CPU and 5 nm GPU process nodes contribute to this efficiency, but the raw compute demands of 4K resolution are what drive the performance curve.

Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 185 FPS (353 vs 168), while at 4K, the same comparison shows a difference of 84 FPS (160 vs 76). This indicates that the GPU’s shading units and texture units are being taxed more heavily at higher resolutions, making the settings choice more impactful for frame rate stability at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual fidelity and performance for most users. At 1920x1080, Medium produces 282 FPS with a minimum of 240 FPS, which is only 20% lower than Low’s 353 FPS but provides significantly better visual quality. The 240 FPS minimum ensures smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes, and the maximum of 325 FPS shows there is headroom for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, Medium delivers 203 FPS with a minimum of 173 FPS, making it the optimal choice for this resolution. The High preset at 1440p yields 127 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 37.4% reduction from Medium. For 4K, the Medium preset drops to 128 FPS with a minimum of 108 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration with measured minimum and maximum values. This suggests that Medium is the recommended preset for 4K, as it maintains a frame rate above 100 FPS consistently, whereas High and Ultra fall to 80 FPS and 76 FPS respectively.

The Ultra preset, while offering the highest visual quality, shows diminishing returns. At 1080p, Ultra runs at 168 FPS, which is still smooth, but at 4K it drops to 76 FPS, which may be below the threshold for high-refresh-rate monitors. Given that the game is a Puzzle Platformer where precision is key, the Medium preset’s frame time consistency, evidenced by the narrow min-max range, makes it the most reliable choice across all resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 plays a central role in determining the frame rates at higher resolutions and settings. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the game’s textures and visual effects, especially at 4K where memory pressure is highest. The GPU’s 2560 shading units and 96 ROPs handle the pixel fill rate efficiently, as seen in the 4K Medium result of 128 FPS.

The boost clock of 2459 MHz and game clock of 2041 MHz indicate that the GPU can sustain high frequencies under load, which contributes to the 25.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This compute capability is reflected in the benchmark scores, with a PassMark G3D score of 20974 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2865. The GPU’s 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the mid-range tier, which aligns with the observed performance in Inside.

The data shows that the RX 7700’s performance scales predictably with resolution. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully utilized at Low settings, as evidenced by the 353 FPS result, but at 4K Ultra, it is clearly the bottleneck with 76 FPS. The 16 GB memory capacity is a notable advantage, as it prevents any potential texture swapping or stuttering even at Ultra settings, though the frame rates suggest that the GPU’s compute throughput, not memory, is the limiting factor at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset provides a comprehensive view of the system’s capabilities. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 353 FPS, Medium 282 FPS (min 240, max 325), High 177 FPS, and Ultra 168 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 52.4% performance drop, with the largest single-step decline occurring between Medium and High (105 FPS difference). This suggests that the High preset introduces significant rendering demands, likely related to shadow quality or post-processing effects.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are: Low 254 FPS, Medium 203 FPS (min 173, max 234), High 127 FPS, and Ultra 121 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 20.1%, while the drop from Medium to High is 37.4%, indicating that the transition to High is where the GPU starts to struggle at this resolution. The Ultra preset at 1440p is only 6 FPS slower than High, suggesting that the additional settings in Ultra have minimal impact on performance at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 160 FPS, Medium 128 FPS (min 108, max 147), High 80 FPS, and Ultra 76 FPS. The 4K results show the most significant scaling challenges, with High and Ultra both falling below 100 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 108 FPS is the only 4K configuration that maintains a consistently high frame rate, making it the clear choice for 4K gaming. The delta between Low and Medium at 4K is 32 FPS, while the delta between High and Ultra is only 4 FPS, indicating that Ultra offers marginal visual improvements over High at a negligible performance cost.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum frame rate achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest measured frame rate is 353 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The Medium preset achieves 282 FPS, while High and Ultra reach 177 FPS and 168 FPS respectively.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: Yes, but with caveats. The Medium preset at 3840x2160 achieves 128 FPS with a minimum of 108 FPS, which is smooth. However, High and Ultra settings drop to 80 FPS and 76 FPS, respectively, which may not be ideal for high-refresh-rate displays.

*Q: How does the RX 7700’s 16 GB memory affect performance in Inside?*

A: The 16 GB GDDR6 memory with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture loading is not a bottleneck, even at 4K Ultra settings. The frame rate drops at higher settings are attributable to compute throughput, not memory capacity.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at different settings?

A: Only the Medium preset has measured minimum and maximum values. At 1080p, the range is 240-325 FPS, at 1440p it is 173-234 FPS, and at 4K it is 108-147 FPS. The narrow ranges indicate consistent frame pacing.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 1161 out of 2887 tested combos, placing it in the 60th percentile. This is a solid mid-to-upper tier ranking, reflecting the balanced performance of the CPU and GPU.

Q: Which resolution offers the best frame rate headroom for high refresh rates?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low and Medium presets provide 353 FPS and 282 FPS respectively, which are sufficient for 240Hz or higher monitors. At 2560x1440, the Low preset’s 254 FPS is also suitable for 240Hz displays.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D plays a critical role in ensuring the GPU is fed with data efficiently, particularly at lower resolutions where frame rates are extremely high. Its 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture, provide ample processing power for the game’s physics and logic. The 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a standout feature, as it reduces memory latency and improves data access for frequently used game assets.

The CPU’s base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz are reflected in its benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2228 and multi-core score of 22807. The PassMark single-thread score of 4704 and multithread score of 41318 further confirm its strong performance. The 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that the 9850X3D is a top-tier processor, which explains why frame rates at 1080p are not CPU-limited.

In Inside, the CPU’s role becomes more apparent at 1080p Low settings, where the 353 FPS result suggests that the GPU is rendering frames as fast as the CPU can submit them. The 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth and DDR5 support ensure that data transfer between the CPU and GPU is not a bottleneck. The 120 W TDP and 4 nm process node contribute to thermal efficiency, allowing the CPU to maintain boost clocks during extended gaming sessions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1161 out of 2887 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the 59.8th percentile. This ranking reflects a balanced system where the CPU’s high-end performance (92nd percentile among CPUs) is paired with a mid-range GPU (58th percentile among GPUs). The resulting performance is greater than the sum of its parts, as the CPU’s large cache and high clock speeds help the GPU achieve its full potential.

Compared to other tested combos, this system excels in scenarios where CPU performance is critical, such as at 1080p with low graphics settings. The 353 FPS result at 1080p Low is likely in the top tier of all tested systems, as few CPUs can sustain such high frame rates. However, at 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, and the combo’s ranking drops relative to systems with more powerful GPUs. The 16 GB GPU memory is a differentiator, as many competing GPUs in this performance class offer only 8 GB or 12 GB, which could cause issues in other games with higher memory demands.

The ranking of 1161 out of 2887 indicates that this combo is above average, but not in the top tier. The deltaPct values from the nearest rivals show that the CPU’s average benchmark score of 58386 is within 0.7% of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470, and within 0.5% of the Intel Core i9-14900. Similarly, the GPU’s average score of 15852 is within 1.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. This suggests that the combo’s performance is competitive with systems using slightly different component configurations, but the overall ranking is influenced by the specific demands of Inside.