Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that is far more demanding on the GPU than its minimalist art style suggests. The measured data for the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT combo shows a setup that can deliver high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, but requires careful settings management to maintain a locked 60 FPS at 4K. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is well-balanced for the game's engine, with the GPU being the primary scaling factor across resolutions and presets.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a predictable and steep drop as resolution increases, confirming that the Radeon RX 5700 XT is the limiting component in this configuration. At the Low preset, the average frame rate falls from 275.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 197.7 FPS at 2560x1440, a 28% reduction. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 123.9 FPS, which is 55% lower than the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU-bound scenario where pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck.

When the settings are raised to Ultra, the same resolution scaling trend persists but with lower absolute values. The average FPS goes from 130.9 at 1080p to 92.7 at 1440p, and then plummets to 58.3 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K at Ultra is particularly severe at 37%, indicating that the 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and the GPU's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated by the combination of high resolution and maximum graphical fidelity. The data suggests that players targeting 4K should avoid the Ultra preset, as the average FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

The scaling from Medium to High at each resolution also reveals how the game's settings interact with the hardware. At 1080p, the difference between Medium (221.4 FPS) and High (137.4 FPS) is a massive 38%, showing that the High preset introduces significant additional shading or post-processing work. This gap narrows at 4K, where Medium averages 100.2 FPS and High averages 62.5 FPS, a 37% difference that still represents a substantial performance hit. The benchmark results indicate that the RX 5700 XT has enough headroom at 1080p to run any preset comfortably, but at 4K, only the Low and Medium presets offer playable frame rates above 60 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 3840x2160, the data shows that the Medium preset is the optimal choice. It delivers an average of 100.2 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target. The High preset at 4K averages 62.5 FPS, which is technically playable but leaves little room for frame time spikes. The Low preset at 4K pushes the average to 123.9 FPS, but the visual fidelity loss is unnecessary given the Medium preset's performance.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the sweet spot, averaging 98.6 FPS. This resolution offers a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while still maintaining frame rates that are smooth on a 144Hz monitor. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 92.7 FPS, which is also playable, but the marginal visual gains over High come with a 6% performance penalty. For competitive play or maximum refresh rates, the Low preset at 1440p hits 197.7 FPS, which is well beyond the refresh rate of most high-end displays.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 130.9 FPS, making it the recommended choice for players who prioritize image quality over raw frame rates. The High preset at 137.4 FPS is nearly identical in performance, so the choice between the two comes down to personal preference for specific visual effects. The Medium preset at 221.4 FPS and Low at 275.1 FPS are overkill for most displays, but they demonstrate that the combo has substantial headroom at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT combination ranks 1257 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the 75th percentile of all tested configurations, indicating that it performs better than the majority of systems but is not at the top tier. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning, as the RX 5700 XT falls in the 68th percentile against all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs. The data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing, and the combo's rank is primarily determined by the GPU's capabilities.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, which scores 0.1% higher on average, and the Intel Arc A350M, which scores 0.3% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile and NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 score 0.6% and 0.9% higher, respectively. These small deltaPct values indicate that the RX 5700 XT is a competitive mid-range option, and the measured FPS in Inside aligns with this positioning. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-14600K, score only 0.2% higher on average, confirming that the Ryzen 9 5950X is not holding back the GPU in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 275.1 at Low to 130.9 at Ultra, with Medium at 221.4 and High at 137.4. At 2560x1440, the averages are 197.7 (Low), 161.6 (Medium), 98.6 (High), and 92.7 (Ultra). At 3840x2160, the averages are 123.9 (Low), 100.2 (Medium), 62.5 (High), and 58.3 (Ultra).

The data reveals that the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is roughly linear, with a 28% to 32% performance drop depending on the preset. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more severe at the higher presets, with the Ultra preset losing 37% of its performance and the High preset losing 36%. The Low and Medium presets lose 37% and 38% respectively, indicating that the GPU's memory bandwidth is a consistent limiting factor at 4K regardless of the settings. The RX 5700 XT's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K resolution stretches the hardware to its limits.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with a stable 60 FPS?

A: The data shows that the Medium preset at 3840x2160 averages 100.2 FPS, which is well above 60 FPS. The High preset averages 62.5 FPS, which is borderline, while the Ultra preset drops to 58.3 FPS. For a guaranteed stable 60 FPS, the Medium preset is the recommended choice.

Q: What is the best preset for 1080p gaming?

A: The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 averages 130.9 FPS, which is the highest quality setting that still maintains a high frame rate. The High preset is nearly identical at 137.4 FPS, so either works well for a standard 60Hz or 144Hz monitor.

Q: How much performance do I lose going from 1080p to 4K?

A: At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 275.1 at 1080p to 123.9 at 4K, a 55% reduction. At the Ultra preset, the drop is from 130.9 to 58.3, a 55% reduction as well. The relative performance loss is consistent across presets.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU ranks in the 93rd percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 68th percentile. The FPS scaling with resolution and settings points to GPU-bound performance, with the CPU having ample headroom.

Q: How does this combo compare to similar systems?

A: The combo ranks 1257 out of 1671 tested, placing it in the top 25% of all configurations. The GPU's nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile, scores only 0.1% higher on average, indicating that the RX 5700 XT is a competitive option for this game.

Q: What is the minimum FPS across all tested settings?

A: The lowest average FPS recorded is 58.3 at 4K with the Ultra preset. All other settings and resolutions maintain average frame rates above 60 FPS, with the next lowest being 62.5 FPS at 4K with the High preset.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide ample bandwidth for gaming workloads. While Inside is not a heavily threaded title, the CPU's single-thread performance is strong, as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 944 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5450.

The data shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this game. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1856 and 4-thread score of 3595 indicate that the processor's per-core performance is sufficient for the game's engine. The CPU's percentile rank of 93 against all CPUs further confirms that it is a top-tier processor, and its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-14600K, score only 0.2% higher on average. In Inside, the Ryzen 9 5950X provides more than enough processing power to feed the RX 5700 XT, allowing the GPU to be the sole determinant of frame rates across all resolutions and settings. The benchmark results show no evidence of CPU-related frame drops or stuttering, even at 1080p where the GPU is less stressed. The 16-core processor handles the game's background tasks and physics calculations effortlessly, leaving the GPU free to render the game's atmospheric visuals.