Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX delivers extraordinary frame rates in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is clearly not demanding by modern standards. The measured data shows a system so powerful that it often exceeds the refresh rates of typical high-end monitors, making the analysis less about playability and more about understanding the scaling behavior of a top-tier combination against a lightweight title.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking observation from the measured FPS data is the relatively modest impact of resolution on this specific configuration. At 1080p with High settings, the system produces 268 FPS. Moving to 1440p reduces this to 193 FPS, a drop of 75 FPS or roughly 28%. Pushing further to 4K yields 121 FPS, which is another 72 FPS drop, or about 37% from the 1440p figure. This pattern suggests a system that is not severely constrained by the graphics processor at lower resolutions.

When examining the Low preset, the scaling is even more revealing. The system hits 387 FPS at 1080p, 347 FPS at 1440p, and 242 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is just 40 FPS (about 10%), while the leap to 4K costs another 105 FPS (about 30%). This indicates that at 1080p and 1440p with Low settings, the frame rate is likely being limited by factors other than the GPU, such as the CPU or memory bandwidth, since the RX 7900 XTX is capable of much higher output in this old title.

The Medium preset data includes minimum and maximum FPS values, providing a clearer picture of frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 357 FPS with a minimum of 304 and a maximum of 411. This tight range suggests consistent performance without significant hitches. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 308 FPS, with a min of 262 and a max of 355. The spread between min and max remains relatively small, indicating that even when the workload increases, the high-end hardware maintains stable delivery. At 4K Medium, the average is 194 FPS, with a min of 165 and a max of 223, showing that the GPU is finally becoming a more significant factor, yet the frame times are still very consistent.

The data implies that the primary limiter at lower resolutions is not the Radeon RX 7900 XTX. The Ryzen 9 7900X, with its 12 cores and boost clock of 5.60 GHz, is more than capable of feeding frames, but even it has a ceiling. The fact that 1080p Low only yields 387 FPS, while 1080p High yields 268 FPS, shows that the gap between presets narrows as resolution increases. This is classic behavior for a system where the CPU becomes the bottleneck in lighter scenes, and the GPU becomes the bottleneck in heavier ones.

FAQ

*Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achieved by this combination in Inside?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 387, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This highlights how effortlessly this hardware handles the game's minimal graphical demands.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to the 4K Low performance?

A: The difference is substantial. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 115, while at 4K Low, it jumps to 242 FPS. This represents a performance gap of 127 FPS, or an approximate 110% increase in frame rate when moving from the highest to the lowest preset.

Q: Is the frame rate stable enough for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p?

A: Yes. At 1440p with Medium settings, the data shows an average of 308 FPS with a minimum of 262 FPS. This minimum is still well above the threshold for 240Hz displays, indicating that the frame pacing is consistent enough to avoid noticeable stutters.

Q: Does the RX 7900 XTX's 24 GB of VRAM provide any advantage in this game?

A: No. Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016 with simple visuals. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 115, which is not limited by the 24 GB of GDDR6 memory. The VRAM capacity is far beyond what this title requires, making it a non-factor in performance.

Q: How does the system's performance at 1080p Ultra compare to 4K High?

A: The system achieves 255 FPS at 1080p Ultra and 121 FPS at 4K High. This represents a 134 FPS difference, or about 53% lower performance at 4K. It shows that while the GPU is powerful, the higher resolution still exacts a significant toll on frame rates.

Q: What does the combo rank of 304 out of 3716 imply?

A: It means this specific CPU and GPU combination ranks in the top 8.2% of all tested combos for this game. This is a strong showing, but it also reflects that many other high-end systems can run this older title at similarly high frame rates.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a flagship GPU built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a 5 nm process. Its specifications are immense, including 6144 shading units, 96 RT cores, and a memory interface of 384 bits. The 24 GB of GDDR6 memory provides a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s, which is a massive amount of throughput for a game like Inside. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 2498 MHz, with a game clock of 2365 MHz. The data suggests that the GPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p and 1440p for most settings.

At 1080p High, the system produces 268 FPS. This is a high number, but considering the game's age and graphical simplicity, it is not surprising. The GPU's raw compute power, measured at 61.39 TFLOPS FP32, is vastly underutilized. The performance difference between 1080p High (268 FPS) and 1080p Low (387 FPS) is 119 FPS, which shows that the GPU has more headroom, but the CPU or other system components are preventing it from being fully utilized.

The GPU's role becomes more apparent at 4K. At 4K High, the average is 121 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 115 FPS. The small difference between these two presets (6 FPS) suggests that at this resolution, the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck, but even then, it is barely strained. The 4K Medium result of 194 FPS, compared to 4K Low at 242 FPS, shows a 48 FPS difference, which is a more significant gap. This indicates that the Medium preset introduces enough graphical effects to start engaging the GPU more heavily, but the overall performance remains exceptionally high.

The percentile ranking for this GPU is 64, which places it in the 64th percentile of all GPUs in the database. However, its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB and the NVIDIA TITAN Xp, with delta percentages of 0.4 and 1.2, respectively. This is a bizarre comparison, as the RX 7900 XTX is a modern high-end card, and these rivals are older or lower-tier. This indicates that the benchmark database's average score calculation is heavily weighted by synthetic tests, which may not reflect real-world gaming performance in a title like Inside.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured FPS data, the choice of settings depends entirely on the target refresh rate of the display. For users with a 60Hz or 144Hz monitor, the data shows that even the most demanding preset, Ultra, provides more than enough performance. At 4K Ultra, the system averages 115 FPS, which is well above 60 FPS and close to 120Hz. At 1440p Ultra, the average is 184 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it is 255 FPS. These numbers are all supremely playable.

For users with a 240Hz monitor, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 357 with a minimum of 304, ensuring that the frame rate rarely dips below the 240Hz threshold. At 1440p Medium, the average is 308 FPS with a minimum of 262, which also stays above 240Hz. This makes Medium the recommended preset for maximum smoothness on high-refresh-rate displays, as it provides a high average and a safe minimum.

The High preset is also a viable option, but the data shows it offers a lower average than Medium. At 1080p High, the average is 268 FPS, which is still above 240Hz, but the minimum FPS is not recorded, making the Medium preset's guaranteed minimum more attractive. At 1440p High, the average drops to 193 FPS, which is below the 240Hz threshold for a significant portion of the time, potentially causing visible judder on such displays. Therefore, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate stability, particularly for those seeking to maximize refresh rates.

For 4K gaming, the Ultra preset is recommended, as it provides an average of 115 FPS. This is suitable for 120Hz displays, though the lack of a recorded minimum FPS introduces some uncertainty. The High preset at 4K delivers 121 FPS, which is nearly identical, so users might prefer High for a slight performance buffer. Ultimately, the data suggests that Medium is the optimal choice for competitive or high-refresh-rate play, while Ultra is the best for visual fidelity at high resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX holds a rank of 304 out of 3716 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the 91.8th percentile, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of systems in the database for this game. This is a strong result, but it is not the absolute top, which suggests that other combinations, likely with even more powerful CPUs or GPUs, can achieve slightly higher frame rates.

The ranking is influenced by the fact that Inside is a lightweight title. The Ryzen 9 7900X itself has an average benchmark score of 53288, which places it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7313P, has an average score of 53206, a delta of 0.2%. This shows the CPU is performing as expected. The RX 7900 XTX has an average benchmark score of 19410, but its percentile is only 64, and its nearest rivals are much older cards like the GTX 1060 3 GB and the TITAN Xp. This low percentile is likely due to the benchmark suite's weighting, which may not favor the RDNA 3.0 architecture's strengths in synthetic tests.

In the context of Inside, the high rank of 304 suggests that the system is well-balanced for this game. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 2617 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4238, ensures that the game's logic and physics are handled efficiently. The GPU's massive power ensures that even at 4K Ultra, the system is not overly taxed. The rank indicates that while there are systems that can push higher FPS, this combination offers a premium experience without any major weaknesses.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a comprehensive look at the system's performance across three resolutions and four settings tiers. At 1920x1080, the frame rates range from a low of 255 FPS at Ultra to a high of 387 FPS at Low. The Medium preset averages 357 FPS, with a minimum of 304 and a maximum of 411 FPS. The High preset averages 268 FPS. These numbers show a clear hierarchy, with Low being the fastest and Ultra being the slowest.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops proportionally. The Low preset averages 347 FPS, which is a 40 FPS decrease from 1080p. The Medium preset averages 308 FPS, with a minimum of 262 and a maximum of 355 FPS. The High preset averages 193 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 184 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at this resolution is only 9 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not particularly demanding on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers very high frame rates. The Low preset averages 242 FPS, which is a significant drop from 1440p but still extremely playable. The Medium preset averages 194 FPS, with a minimum of 165 and a maximum of 223 FPS. The High preset averages 121 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 115 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium at 4K is 48 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is just 6 FPS. This indicates that the Medium preset is the point where the GPU starts to feel the load, but the Ultra preset offers diminishing returns in terms of performance cost.

The minimum FPS data is only available for the Medium preset. At 1080p, the minimum is 304 FPS, which is 85 FPS below the average. At 1440p, the minimum is 262 FPS, which is 46 FPS below the average. At 4K, the minimum is 165 FPS, which is 29 FPS below the average. This trend shows that as resolution increases, the frame time consistency improves, likely because the GPU becomes the bottleneck and its workload is more uniform.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support provide ample bandwidth for gaming. In Inside, which is not a multi-threaded title, the CPU's single-core performance is crucial. The Geekbench single-core score of 2617 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2016.5 indicate that the CPU is exceptionally fast in single-threaded workloads.

The CPU's role in this game is primarily to maintain high frame rates without bottlenecking the GPU. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 387 FPS. This is a high number, but it is not as high as the GPU's theoretical maximum, suggesting a CPU limit. The Ryzen 9 7900X's boost clock of 5.60 GHz helps in this regard, but even it has a ceiling when feeding a GPU as powerful as the RX 7900 XTX. The difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low is 145 FPS, which shows that the GPU is still the primary driver of resolution scaling.

The CPU's multi-core performance is also a factor, though less so in this game. Its Passmark multithread score of 51406 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29300 are impressive, but they are not directly relevant to a puzzle platformer. The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads are overkill for Inside, but they ensure that any background processes or system overhead do not interfere with the game's performance. The data suggests that the CPU is more than sufficient for this game, providing a stable platform for the GPU to operate.

The comparison with the CPU's nearest rivals reveals its position. The AMD EPYC 7313P has a similar average score, with a delta of 0.2%, while the Intel Core i7-14700F is 0.6% slower. This shows that the Ryzen 9 7900X is competitive in overall benchmarks. However, in Inside, the specific frame rates are more dependent on the CPU's single-thread speed and the GPU's performance. The data indicates that this CPU does not hold the system back, allowing the RX 7900 XTX to deliver the high frame rates seen in the measurements.