Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X paired with the Intel Arc B390 delivers a playable but heavily GPU-bound experience in Inside, with the data showing a clear ceiling imposed by the graphics processor across all tested resolutions. The combination ranks near the bottom of the database, at 2547 out of 2887 tested combos, yet the CPU’s substantial multithreaded headroom means that every performance bottleneck in this puzzle platformer traces back to the integrated GPU rather than the processor.

CPU Role, cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, built on a 7 nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, and its 64 MB of L3 cache provides ample headroom for game logic and asset streaming. In synthetic benchmarks, the processor posts a single-thread score of 941 in 3dmark_single_thread and a max-thread score of 10075, indicating that its raw compute capacity is far beyond what a 2D puzzle platformer requires.

The data suggests that Inside is not a CPU-intensive title. The Ryzen 9 5900X’s 3dmark_16_threads score of 9075 and cinebench_r23_multicore score of 16262 demonstrate that even heavily threaded workloads are handled with ease. The game’s physics, entity updates, and rendering commands are unlikely to stress even a fraction of the 12 cores available. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 156 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all settings, but this is still limited by the GPU rather than the CPU. The processor’s 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs further confirms that it is not the limiting component in this pairing.

The nearest rivals to the Ryzen 9 5900X in average benchmark score include the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H with a delta of 0.3% and the Intel Core i7-14650HX with a delta of -0.5%. These differences are negligible in real-world terms, meaning that swapping the CPU for any of these alternatives would produce nearly identical frame rates in Inside given the same GPU. The benchmark results indicate that the Ryzen 9 5900X’s performance headroom is effectively untapped in this title, as the game’s demands are modest relative to the processor’s capabilities.

GPU Role, VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process at Intel. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, and it uses system-shared memory, meaning its bandwidth is system dependent. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its theoretical peak performance is 7.680 TFLOPS for FP32 and 15.36 TFLOPS for FP16, but the integrated nature of the chip means that it shares power and thermal resources with the CPU.

The Arc B390’s benchmark results are underwhelming. Its only recorded 3dmark score is 1482 in the Steel Nomad DX12 test, placing it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX with a delta of 1.3% and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 with a delta of 2.7%, both of which are entry-level discrete graphics solutions from over a decade ago. This context is crucial: the Arc B390 is not a gaming-oriented part, and its performance in Inside reflects that positioning.

The GPU’s 24 ROPs and modest fill rate of 60.00 GPixel/s are the primary constraints at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 34 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it reaches 74 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at the same settings shows a drop of approximately 54% at Ultra, which is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The system-shared memory architecture also means that the GPU competes with the CPU for bandwidth, though the exact impact is not quantified in the data. The boost clock of 2500 MHz is respectable for an integrated part, but the low shading unit count and ROP count limit its ability to handle pixel-heavy workloads at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling, how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance curve as resolution increases, confirming that the Intel Arc B390 is the dominant bottleneck. At Low settings, the combo achieves 156 FPS at 1080p, 112 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. This represents a 55% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial reduction that aligns with the GPU’s limited pixel throughput. The pattern is consistent across all settings: at Medium, the averages are 125 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 56 FPS at 4K, a 55% drop as well. At High, the numbers are 78 FPS, 56 FPS, and 35 FPS respectively, a 55% drop. At Ultra, the numbers are 74 FPS, 53 FPS, and 34 FPS, a 54% drop.

The uniformity of these percentage drops, hovering around 54-55% from 1080p to 4K, is a strong indicator that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the drop would be less pronounced at higher resolutions, as the GPU would have more time to process each frame. Instead, the consistent scaling suggests that the Arc B390’s fill rate and shading capacity are saturated even at 1080p, and the additional pixel count at higher resolutions directly reduces frame output. The Ryzen 9 5900X’s performance is effectively irrelevant to these results; the data shows that the CPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by its strong synthetic scores, but the GPU cannot translate that headroom into higher frame rates.

The 1440p results offer a middle ground: at Medium settings, the combo achieves 90 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS, which is the only setting at that resolution with recorded min/max values. This suggests that 1440p Medium is a viable target for smoother gameplay, but the 4K numbers indicate that the Arc B390 is not suited for that resolution in this title. The data points to a GPU that is barely adequate for 1080p gaming and progressively less capable as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks, use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2547 out of 2887 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the bottom 12% of the database. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, as the CPU is a high-end desktop part with an 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The combo’s position is consistent with the GPU’s 9th percentile ranking, indicating that the integrated graphics solution drags the overall performance down significantly.

The nearest rival CPUs to the Ryzen 9 5900X, such as the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 440, have average benchmark scores within 0.4% of the Ryzen, but these processors would likely produce identical results in Inside when paired with the same GPU. The bottleneck is so severe that even a significantly weaker CPU would not change the frame rates, as the Arc B390’s performance ceiling is the limiting factor. The data shows that the combo’s ranking is a testament to the GPU’s limitations rather than any deficiency in the processor.

The fact that the Arc B390’s nearest GPU rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and the GeForce GT 710, which are both ancient entry-level parts, underscores how far this integrated solution falls short of modern gaming expectations. The combo’s rank of 2547 is not surprising given these competitive dynamics. It outperforms only the 340 combos that feature even weaker GPUs, and it is far behind any configuration with a dedicated graphics card. The verdict is clear: this pairing is CPU-heavy and GPU-light, and the ranking reflects the GPU’s inability to keep pace with the processor’s capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown, resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1080p, the combo’s best performance comes at Low settings, where it achieves an average of 156 FPS. Medium settings drop to 125 FPS, with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS. High settings yield 78 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 74 FPS. These numbers show that the Arc B390 can handle 1080p gaming at lower presets, but the drop from Low to Medium is steep, a 20% reduction, and the jump from High to Ultra is minimal, suggesting that the GPU is already near its limits at High.

At 1440p, the averages are 112 FPS at Low, 90 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS), 56 FPS at High, and 53 FPS at Ultra. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 20% drop, consistent with 1080p, but the High to Ultra transition is only a 5% drop, indicating that the GPU is becoming more constrained by pixel throughput than by shader complexity. The 1440p Medium result of 90 FPS is the most playable option at this resolution, as it maintains a reasonable frame rate without dipping below 76 FPS.

At 4K, the numbers fall off dramatically: 70 FPS at Low, 56 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS), 35 FPS at High, and 34 FPS at Ultra. The Low to Medium drop is 20%, but the High to Ultra drop is only 3%, showing that the GPU’s fill rate is the primary constraint at this resolution. The 4K Medium result of 56 FPS is borderline playable, but the 35 FPS at High and 34 FPS at Ultra are not smooth experiences. The data clearly shows that 4K is beyond the Arc B390’s comfortable range for this title, with only the Low preset approaching playability.

Settings Recommendations, which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data supports a clear recommendation: for the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, 1080p Medium is the optimal choice. At this resolution and setting, the combo achieves 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The jump from Low to Medium is a 20% performance cost, but the visual improvement in a puzzle platformer like Inside is worth the trade-off, especially since the frame rate remains high.

For users prioritizing frame rate above all else, 1080p Low delivers 156 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. However, the difference between Low and Medium is significant enough that most players would prefer the latter, as the game’s atmospheric lighting and shadows benefit from higher settings. At 1440p, Medium is the best option, yielding 90 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS. This is a playable experience, though it requires a 20% performance sacrifice compared to Low at the same resolution. The 1440p High and Ultra presets, at 56 FPS and 53 FPS respectively, are not recommended, as they fall below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth motion.

At 4K, the data suggests that only the Low preset is viable, with 70 FPS, but even this is not ideal given the visual compromises. The Medium preset at 4K produces 56 FPS with a minimum of 48 FPS, which is borderline and may result in noticeable stutter in fast-moving scenes. The High and Ultra presets at 34-35 FPS are not playable for most users. Given these results, the best experience is unequivocally 1080p Medium, which provides a high frame rate with acceptable visual quality. For those with 1440p displays, Medium is the recommended setting, but users should be prepared for a less fluid experience than at 1080p. The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as it offers negligible visual gains over High while costing a measurable drop in frame rate across all resolutions.