Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT delivers a striking performance profile in Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016. Measured data across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions, combined with four quality presets, reveals a system that is dramatically overqualified for this title, yet the scaling behavior between settings and resolutions exposes the classic balance between CPU and GPU limits. This combination ranks 1378th out of 3716 tested combos for the game, placing it comfortably in the upper third of all configurations tested, which is consistent with a mid-high range pairing that excels at this type of lightweight, 2D-side-scrolling title.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K is where the most informative behavior emerges. At the Low preset, the average frame rate moves from 317 FPS at 1920x1080 down to 278 FPS at 2560x1440, then drops to 175 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 44.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At the High preset, the numbers are 193 FPS, 139 FPS, and 87 FPS respectively, a 54.9% drop from 1080p to 4K. The Ultra preset shows 184 FPS, 132 FPS, and 83 FPS, a 54.9% drop. The Medium preset, which is the only one in the data with both min and max values recorded, goes from 293 FPS at 1080p to 222 FPS at 1440p to 140 FPS at 4K, representing a 52.2% drop from 1080p to 4K.

The scaling pattern indicates a strong GPU dependency at 4K. At 1080p, the Low preset runs at 317 FPS, which is likely near the engine's internal frame rate ceiling or the CPU's rendering command limit. At higher resolutions, the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth of the RX 7700 XT become the primary constraints. The GPU provides 432.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and a pixel rate of 244.2 GPixel/s, but the game's simple 2D visuals mean these resources are not heavily utilized. The drop from 4K Low at 175 FPS to 4K Medium at 140 FPS to 4K High at 87 FPS shows that each quality preset increment costs roughly 20-35 FPS at 4K, with the largest single-step penalty occurring when moving from Medium to High.

At 1080p, the differences between presets are much smaller, suggesting that the CPU or the game logic become the bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 5900X has 12 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. For a game with relatively simple scene complexity, the CPU is unlikely to be the limiting factor at any resolution, but the frame rate at 1080p Low (317 FPS) and 1080p Medium (293 FPS) indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU with frames at near-maximum rates. The drop from 1080p to 4K at the Low preset is the smallest absolute difference among all settings, which suggests that at Low the GPU is still the primary limit, but the gap narrows as the pixel count grows.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the central component for this benchmark, with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1435 MHz, a game clock of 2171 MHz, and a boost clock of 2544 MHz. The memory runs at 2250 MHz, with 18 Gbps effective. This configuration places the GPU in the 67th percentile for all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22549. The nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile (with a delta of 0.5% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (0.8% lower delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (1.5% lower delta), and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (1.7% higher delta). These delta values are all within 2% of the RX 7700 XT's average score, showing that the GPU is positioned in a highly competitive segment.

In Inside, the GPU's memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s is not a limiting factor even at 4K, as the game's texture complexity is low. The high boost clock of 2544 MHz helps maintain high frame rates even at lower resolutions. The measured FPS at 1080p Low is 317 FPS, which is close to the 360 Hz refresh rate of some high-end monitors but still far from the GPU's theoretical maximum. The data shows that the RX 7700 XT is capable of delivering over 300 FPS at 1080p Low and over 250 FPS at 1080p Medium, which is more than enough for any display. The GPU's 96 ROPs and 216 TMUs handle the 2D sprite rendering efficiently, but the performance scaling from 1080p to 4K indicates that the GPU is still the dominant factor at 4K, where the pixel fill rate of 244.2 GPixel/s is taxed more heavily.

The VRAM usage is not a concern in this game; the 12 GB frame buffer is far more than needed for a 2D puzzle platformer, even at 4K with Ultra settings. The memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s is also overkill, but it does ensure that the GPU never waits for texture data. The benchmark scores for the GPU are modest in the context of modern games, but Inside is an older title from 2016, and the GPU's performance is amplified by the low rendering complexity. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3316 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 138383 reflect its overall compute capability, but the game's workload is far simpler.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a Zen 3 architecture processor with 12 cores and 24 threads, based on the 7 nm process, and it is an 8-core. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache and 512 KB per-core L2 cache provide ample fast storage for game logic. The CPU's average benchmark score is 41376, with a percentile ranking of 87 among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H (0.3% higher delta), the Intel Core Ultra 7 356H (0.4% higher delta), the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 440 (0.4% higher delta), and the Intel Core i7-14650HX (0.5% lower delta). These differences are negligible, indicating that the 5900X is competitive with modern mobile and desktop CPUs.

In Inside, the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck at any resolution, but the frame rates at 1080p suggest that the CPU can handle the game logic at high speed. The game's puzzle platformer genre typically involves physics calculations for objects, player movement, and lighting effects, but the 12-core/24-thread processor is not fully utilized. The single-thread performance is critical for games, and the 5900X scores 1527 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 941 in 3DMark single-thread, which are adequate for delivering high frames. The boost clock of 4.80 GHz ensures that the game's main thread runs at high speed. At 1080p, the 5900X can feed the GPU with enough data to reach 317 FPS at Low and 293 FPS at Medium, which is far beyond typical display refresh rates.

The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads are not a limiting factor in a game that likely uses only a few threads. The data shows that at 4K, the frame rates are lower than at 1080p, which indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting component at higher resolutions. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 9075 and Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16262 demonstrate its multi-threaded capabilities, but for this game, the CPU's single-thread performance is more relevant. The Geekbench single-core score of 2083 and the Passmark single-thread score of 3469 indicate that the 5900X can handle the game's logic with ease, leaving the GPU as the primary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 5900X and the RX 7700 XT ranks 1378 out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the top 37% of all tested configurations. This is a solid rank for a combination of a 2020 CPU and a 2023 GPU, but the game's age and simplicity mean that even mid-range hardware can achieve high FPS. The ranking is likely influenced by the fact that many tested combos include higher-end GPUs such as the RTX 4090 or RX 7900 XTX, which can push 4K frame rates higher. However, the combo's rank is respectable, and the performance is entirely playable at any resolution.

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU are not directly comparable to the combo's rank, but the CPU's delta to its rivals is small. The 5900X is 0.3% faster than the Core Ultra 7 366H, 0.4% faster than the Core Ultra 7 356H, and 0.4% faster than the Ryzen AI 5 PRO 440, while being 0.5% slower than the Core i7-14650HX. These differences are within the margin of error, so the CPU's rank is not a differentiator. The GPU's comparable rivals include the RTX 5060 Mobile (0.5% faster), RTX 4060 Mobile (0.8% faster), RTX 2080 (1.5% faster), and RX 5700 (1.7% slower). This indicates that the combo is in a tightly grouped performance band, and the game's frame rates are more dependent on the GPU than the CPU.

The combo rank of 1378 out of 3716 means that 2338 other combos rank lower, but the majority of those are likely lower-end. The combo is not in the top 500, which suggests that the RX 7700 XT is not a top-tier GPU for 4K gaming, but for a game like Inside, the frame rates are already high. The rank is a reflection of the overall hardware market, not just the game's performance. In absolute terms, the combo delivers 87 FPS at 4K High, which is well above the 60 FPS target, and 317 FPS at 1080p Low, which is excellent.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows that the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality. At 1920x1080, Medium provides 293 FPS average, with a min of 249 FPS and a max of 337 FPS. The min of 249 FPS is well above 240 Hz, so this preset is suitable for high-refresh monitors. At 2560x1440, Medium delivers 222 FPS, with min 189 FPS and max 256 FPS, which is still above the 144 Hz sweet spot. At 3840x2160, Medium drops to 140 FPS, with min 119 FPS and max 161 FPS, which is above 60 FPS but below 144 FPS. The High preset is slightly lower: 193 FPS at 1080p, 139 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with 184 FPS at 1080p, 132 FPS at 1440p, and 83 FPS at 4K, but the visual difference is minimal in a 2D game.

For players with a 144 Hz monitor, the Medium preset at 1440p is ideal, providing 222 FPS average, while the High preset at 1440p provides 139 FPS, which is just under the 144 Hz threshold. For 4K, the Medium preset provides 140 FPS, which is sufficient for a smooth experience, but the High preset at 87 FPS is also acceptable if the visual fidelity is prioritized. The Low preset is not recommended because it sacrifices visual quality for high FPS that are not necessary for a puzzle platformer. The Ultra preset is the best, but the performance cost is only about 5-8% lower than High, and the visual benefits are not significant in this game. Therefore, the Medium preset is the best choice for the majority of users, as it provides the highest FPS with a minimum above 60 FPS at all resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four quality presets.

At 1920x1080:

• High: avg 193 FPS
• Low: avg 317 FPS
• Medium: avg 293 FPS, min 249, max 337
• Ultra: avg 184 FPS

At 2560x1440:

• High: avg 139 FPS
• Low: avg 278 FPS
• Medium: avg 222 FPS, min 189, max 256
• Ultra: avg 132 FPS

At 3840x2160:

• High: avg 87 FPS
• Low: avg 175 FPS
• Medium: avg 140 FPS, min 119, max 161
• Ultra: avg 83 FPS

The data shows that the Low preset is the fastest, with 317 FPS at 1080p, 278 FPS at 1440p, and 175 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset is the second fastest, with 293 FPS at 1080p, 222 FPS at 1440p, and 140 FPS at 4K. The High preset delivers 193 FPS at 1080p, 139 FPS at 1440p, and 87 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the slowest, with 184 FPS at 1080p, 132 FPS at 1440p, and 83 FPS at 4K. The differences between High and Ultra are small, only 9 FPS at 1080p, 7 FPS at 1440p, and 4 FPS at 4K, indicating that the Ultra preset adds minimal visual benefit for a small performance cost.

For the Medium preset, the measured min and max values provide insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p, the min of 249 FPS and max of 337 FPS show a 88 FPS difference, which is about 35% of the average. At 1440p, the min is 189 FPS and max is 256 FPS, a difference of 67 FPS. At 4K, the min is 119 FPS and max is 161 FPS, a difference of 42 FPS. These ranges indicate some frame rate variability, but the average values are high enough that the variability is not a concern. The lack of min/max data for the other presets means that only the Medium preset can be evaluated for consistency, but the high average values suggest a stable experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum FPS this combo can achieve in Inside?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 317 FPS at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. The Medium preset reaches 293 FPS at 1080p, and the High preset 193 FPS at 1080p.

Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K 144 Hz?

A: At 3840x2160, the Medium preset delivers 140 FPS average, which is close to 144 Hz but not above it. The High preset drops to 87 FPS and Ultra to 83 FPS, so 144 Hz at 4K is not achievable with these presets.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: The 4K Ultra preset yields 83 FPS, while the 1080p Low is 317 FPS. The large drop from lower resolutions suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads are not fully utilized by the game.

Q: How does the RX 7700 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 7700 XT's average benchmark score is 22549. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile is 0.5% faster, the RTX 4060 Mobile is 0.8% slower, the RTX 2080 is 1.5% slower, and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 is 1.7% faster.

Q: What is the best preset for a 60 FPS experience?

A: At 4K, the Medium preset provides 140 FPS, and the High preset 87 FPS. For a 60 FPS target, even the Ultra preset at 83 FPS is sufficient, so all presets meet the 60 FPS requirement at 4K.

Q: Does the combo rank high in the database?

A: The combo ranks 1378 out of 3716 tested combos, placing it in the top 37% of configurations tested for Inside. This is a strong result given the game's low hardware requirements.