Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X pairs with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT to deliver extremely high frame rates in Inside, a game where the CPU's architecture and the GPU's raw throughput combine to remove nearly all performance bottlenecks. The Ryzen 9 5900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. Its substantial core count is not the primary driver of Inside's performance, as the game is not heavily threaded, but the processor's strong single-thread capabilities, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 941 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4680, ensure that the game's main simulation and rendering logic never waits on the CPU. This is critical for a puzzle platformer where consistent frame pacing is more important than raw multi-threaded grunt.

The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth provide ample data throughput for the game's asset streaming. While the processor’s multi-threaded might, shown in its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33150, is impressive on paper, benchmark results for Inside show that the game’s frame rates scale more directly with the GPU and the selected settings. The 5900X sits in the 90th percentile among all CPUs based on average benchmark scores, and its closest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-13700F (0.9% ahead) and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8845HS (0.7% behind), show that its performance level is well established. However, the data indicates that for Inside, the CPU is not the limiting factor; even at the lowest settings and highest frame rates, the processor has ample headroom, making the GPU the primary determinant of performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combo reveals that the game's performance is heavily influenced by the graphics preset, with all settings delivering playable or exceptional results. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 314.8 FPS, which is the highest measured frame rate across all tests. This suggests that for players with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, the Low preset offers the smoothest experience, though the Medium preset at 293.7 FPS and High preset at 229.9 FPS provide diminishing returns in frame rate for presumably better visual quality. The Ultra preset at 1080p still delivers a very high 218 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts slightly. The Low preset yields 283.4 FPS, and Medium follows closely at 260.8 FPS. The High preset drops to 164.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 155.4 FPS. Given the substantial drop from Medium to High, the Medium preset appears to be the optimal balance for 1440p, offering a frame rate nearly double that of the High preset while still maintaining a significant visual upgrade over Low. For 4K resolution (3840x2160), the Medium preset at 166 FPS stands out as the best experience, as it is significantly ahead of the High preset (104.2 FPS) and the Ultra preset (96.8 FPS), while the Low preset (206 FPS) sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a marginal gain over Medium.

The data clearly indicates that the Ultra preset is the least efficient choice at every resolution, providing the lowest frame rates without a proportional benefit in performance metrics. For the best overall experience, the Medium preset is recommended for 1440p and 4K, as it delivers frame rates well above 60 FPS and even above 100 FPS at 4K, while the Low preset is only advisable for 1080p users seeking maximum refresh rates.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this CPU and GPU combo can achieve in Inside?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 314.8, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to the High preset in terms of performance?

A: The Ultra preset consistently delivers lower average FPS than the High preset at all resolutions. For example, at 2560x1440, Ultra averages 155.4 FPS, while High averages 164.7 FPS.

Q: Is the combo capable of 4K gaming at high frame rates?

A: Yes, the data shows that at 3840x2160, the Medium preset achieves an average of 166 FPS, and even the High preset reaches 104.2 FPS, which is well above the standard 60 FPS threshold.

Q: At which resolution and preset is the performance gap between Low and Medium the smallest?

A: At 2560x1440, the gap is relatively small, with Low averaging 283.4 FPS and Medium averaging 260.8 FPS, a difference of 22.6 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 434th out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the top 26% of all systems tested for Inside.

Q: Does the CPU's multi-threaded performance impact the game's frame rates?

A: No, the data suggests the game is not heavily multi-threaded, as the frame rates scale more with GPU settings. The CPU's single-thread performance is more relevant, and it is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Inside, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT holds a combo rank of 434 out of 1671 total combinations. This places it in the upper quartile of all tested systems, indicating a strong performance level. The rank is likely influenced by the GPU's high memory bandwidth and the CPU's solid single-core performance, which are the key factors for this game. The CPU itself is in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 39453 is very close to its nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 4245P (0.2% higher) and the Intel Core i7-13700 (1% higher). This suggests that the CPU is not a differentiator in the ranking; instead, the GPU's capabilities, such as its 16 GB of VRAM and high fill rates, are what push this combo above the median. The 434th position out of 1671 combos means that while many systems can run Inside well, this specific configuration provides a high level of performance, particularly at 1440p and 4K resolutions, where the frame rates are consistently above 150 FPS on Medium settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is the dominant component in determining Inside's frame rates, as evidenced by the significant variation in performance across different settings and resolutions. This GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s, which is ample for the game's textures and rendering data. Its boost clock of 2970 MHz, combined with 4096 shading units and 128 ROPs, allows for high pixel throughput, with a pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s. The GPU’s raw compute power is substantial, with an FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS, which is more than sufficient for a puzzle platformer like Inside. The GPU's performance percentile is 82, and its average benchmark score of 39647 is similar to its closest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon Pro 575 (0.1% higher) and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (0.2% lower). However, in game-specific tests, the RX 9070 XT shows its strength, as the frame rates scale predictably with the settings preset and resolution.

The data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences. For instance, moving from Low to Ultra settings at 1920x1080 reduces the average FPS from 314.8 to 218, a drop of 96.8 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is being taxed more heavily by the increased visual effects, but it still maintains extremely high frame rates. At 4K, the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM and high bandwidth become even more critical, as the Ultra preset still manages an average of 96.8 FPS, which is playable. The GPU's capabilities are not fully utilized at lower resolutions and settings, as the CPU can keep up, but the benchmark results clearly show that the RX 9070 XT is the component responsible for the high performance ceiling of this combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo show a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings, with all results indicating a highly capable system for Inside. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from a peak of 314.8 on Low settings to a still-impressive 218 on Ultra settings. The Medium preset at 293.7 FPS and High at 229.9 FPS fill out the middle, showing that the game scales well with the GPU's load but remains smooth even at the highest quality settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 283.4 FPS, while Medium drops to 260.8 FPS. The High preset averages 164.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 155.4 FPS. The gap between the Low and Medium presets is relatively small (22.6 FPS), but the gap between Medium and High is significant (96.1 FPS), suggesting that the High preset introduces a substantial increase in GPU workload. At 3840x2160, the 4K resolution, the frame rates are still very high. The Low preset averages 206 FPS, Medium averages 166 FPS, High averages 104.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 96.8 FPS. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the combo maintains an average above 90 FPS, which confirms the GPU's power.

Across all resolutions, the Ultra preset provides the lowest average FPS, while Low provides the highest. The Medium preset consistently offers the best balance, as it provides a significant improvement over Low in visual quality while maintaining frame rates that are at least 60% higher than the Ultra preset at the same resolution. For example, at 4K, Medium achieves 166 FPS compared to Ultra's 96.8 FPS, a 71.5% increase in performance. This breakdown indicates that users should prioritize the Medium preset for a 4K experience, while 1080p users can comfortably use the High preset for a visually rich experience without sacrificing smoothness.