Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer with modest graphical demands, and the measured data for the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 reflects this. The combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, with the data showing that the GPU is the primary scaling factor as resolution increases. The following analysis breaks down the benchmark results, focusing on how the hardware handles the game's workload, what the frame rate scaling reveals about system bottlenecks, and which settings offer the most balanced experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combination?

A: The highest average frame rate is 320.3 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How much of a performance drop occurs when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls from 207.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 90.7 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 116.7 FPS.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 5950X bottleneck the RX 9070 in this game?

A: The data suggests no CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 320.3 FPS, and at 1440p Low it hits 282.5 FPS, indicating the GPU is still the limiting factor even at high frame rates.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 282.5 FPS, while Ultra produces 148.1 FPS. This represents a 134.4 FPS difference, or roughly 48% lower performance at Ultra.

Q: How does the RX 9070's benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 34780, which is 0.2% lower than the NVIDIA A2's score of 34866, making the two effectively equivalent in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score for the RX 9070?

A: The RX 9070 scores 6290 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which is one of its highest individual benchmark results.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 48 chip, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus. Its memory bandwidth is listed at 644.6 GB/s, which is ample for a game like Inside that does not demand excessive texture throughput. The GPU's base clock is 1330 MHz, with a boost clock of 2520 MHz and a game clock of 2070 MHz, providing substantial headroom for sustained performance.

In the context of Inside's measured results, the GPU's role is clearly dominant. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate is 90.7 FPS, which is still well above playable thresholds, but it is the lowest result in the entire dataset. This indicates that the GPU is being pushed to its limits at the highest resolution and settings, though it never falls below 90 FPS. The RX 9070's 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, as Inside is not memory-intensive; the data does not show any signs of VRAM-related stutters or frame drops.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 25381 and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290 provide context for its raw compute ability. However, in Inside, the frame rates suggest that the GPU is never fully saturated at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system hits 320.3 FPS, which is likely approaching the limits of the game engine's rendering loop rather than the GPU's capabilities. The GPU's percentile rank of 79 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34780, places it in a solid mid-to-high tier, but the measured FPS data shows it performing exceptionally well in this specific title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 320.3 at 1920x1080 to 282.5 at 2560x1440, and then to 198 at 3840x2160. This represents a 122.3 FPS drop from 1080p to 4K, which is a 38% reduction. The scaling is not linear, indicating that the GPU is handling the increased pixel count with diminishing returns as resolution rises.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is more pronounced. The average FPS goes from 207.4 at 1080p to 148.1 at 1440p, and then down to 90.7 at 4K. This is a 116.7 FPS drop from 1080p to 4K, representing a 56% reduction. The larger percentage drop at Ultra settings compared to Low settings suggests that the higher settings are increasing the GPU's workload per pixel, making the resolution scaling more aggressive.

The data indicates that the limiting component is the GPU across all resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates regardless of resolution, especially at lower settings where the GPU has less work to do. Instead, the consistent drop in FPS as resolution increases confirms that the RX 9070 is the primary constraint. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU's 16 cores and 32 threads could theoretically become a factor, the system still achieves 320.3 FPS, which is far above the refresh rates of most monitors.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 291.9 FPS, which is only 28.4 FPS lower than Low but provides better visual quality. At 1440p, Medium hits 248.6 FPS, maintaining a high frame rate while improving fidelity. At 4K, Medium still achieves 157.2 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

High settings are also viable, with 216 FPS at 1080p, 158.2 FPS at 1440p, and 99.9 FPS at 4K. These numbers indicate that High is a strong choice for users with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p or 1440p, and it remains playable at 4K. Ultra settings, while visually the most demanding, produce 207.4 FPS at 1080p, 148.1 FPS at 1440p, and 90.7 FPS at 4K. These are all still playable, but the performance cost relative to High is significant, especially at 4K where the drop from High to Ultra is 9.2 FPS.

The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot for most users, as it provides a substantial visual upgrade over Low without the performance penalty of Ultra. For those seeking maximum frame rates, Low is the obvious choice, but the difference between Low and Medium is relatively small at 1080p (28.4 FPS) and 1440p (33.9 FPS), making Medium the recommended preset for a better visual experience without sacrificing much performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 320.3 FPS on Low, 291.9 FPS on Medium, 216 FPS on High, and 207.4 FPS on Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is 112.9 FPS, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High (75.9 FPS). This suggests that High settings introduce a significant graphical feature that impacts performance, while Ultra adds a smaller incremental cost.

At 2560x1440, the results show 282.5 FPS on Low, 248.6 FPS on Medium, 158.2 FPS on High, and 148.1 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Medium to High is 90.4 FPS, which is more pronounced than at 1080p. This indicates that the higher resolution amplifies the cost of High settings, likely due to increased shading and texture work.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are 198 FPS on Low, 157.2 FPS on Medium, 99.9 FPS on High, and 90.7 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 107.3 FPS drop, with the most significant reduction again occurring between Medium and High (57.3 FPS). The 4K results are the lowest in the dataset, but all remain above 90 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience even at the most demanding settings.

The data shows a consistent pattern: Medium to High is the largest performance step at every resolution. This is likely due to a specific rendering feature enabled at High, such as higher-quality shadows or post-processing effects, which disproportionately impacts the GPU's workload.

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. Its 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide ample bandwidth for gaming workloads. In Inside, the CPU's role is minimal, as the game is not computationally demanding and the frame rates are primarily limited by the GPU.

The CPU's benchmark scores support this assessment. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 38607 and single-core score of 5450 indicate strong overall performance, but these figures are largely irrelevant for a game like Inside, which likely uses only a few threads. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1856 and single-thread score of 944 suggest that even a modest dual-core processor could handle the game's logic without issue.

The measured FPS data confirms that the CPU is not a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 320.3 FPS, which is far beyond what most displays can show. If the CPU were limiting performance, we would expect to see similar frame rates at all resolutions, but the data shows a clear drop as resolution increases. This indicates that the RX 9070 is the limiting component, and the 5950X has more than enough processing power to feed the GPU.

The Ryzen 9 5950X's percentile rank of 93 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49062, places it in the top tier. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, has an average score of 49166, which is 0.2% higher. This difference is negligible in real-world gaming, and the 5950X's additional cores and threads provide headroom for other tasks, though they do not impact Inside's performance.