Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the AMD Radeon 760M presents a fascinating case study in system bottlenecking within the Puzzle Platformer genre. The data for Inside reveals a system where a top-tier 16-core processor is constrained by an integrated GPU, producing a performance profile that is highly dependent on resolution and settings. This analysis examines the measured FPS across three resolutions and four quality presets, interpreting what the numbers mean for the end-user experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Inside shows a dramatic and expected decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low preset, the average frame rate drops from 96 FPS at 1080p to 69 FPS at 1440p, a 28% reduction. Pushing further to 4K at the same Low settings yields an average of 43 FPS, representing a 55% drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling curve indicates that even at the lowest visual fidelity, the rendering workload at 4K is more than the AMD Radeon 760M can comfortably manage, with the data suggesting the GPU is the primary limiting component.

The pattern persists across all quality presets, but the magnitude of the drop is more pronounced at higher settings. For High settings, the 1080p average of 48 FPS falls to 34 FPS at 1440p (a 29% decrease) and then to 22 FPS at 4K (a 54% decrease from 1080p). The Ultra preset follows a similar trajectory, with averages of 46 FPS, 33 FPS, and 21 FPS for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, respectively. The near-identical 4K performance at High (22 FPS) and Ultra (21 FPS) suggests that the GPU is completely saturated, and additional pixel count has a more significant impact than the incremental shading differences between those presets.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep for the Low preset, with a 38% performance hit (69 to 43 FPS). This is a larger relative drop than the 1080p to 1440p transition, indicating that the memory bandwidth and fill-rate requirements of 4K are a significant hurdle for this IGP. The 1080p results, with a Low preset average of 96 FPS, suggest the CPU has ample headroom to feed the GPU at this resolution, but the GPU's capabilities are quickly exhausted as the pixel count rises. The data implies that 1080p is the only viable resolution for a consistently fluid experience, and even then, the highest settings will challenge the system.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimizing the playable experience. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 77 FPS, with a minimum recorded of 65 FPS. This represents a stable performance level well above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended starting point for a smooth experience. The Low preset achieves 96 FPS average, offering an even greater performance cushion, but the visual compromise may be unnecessary given the Medium preset's success.

The gap between Medium and High at 1080p is significant, with the High preset dropping to an average of 48 FPS. This is a 38% reduction in average frame rate, which would likely be visible as a decrease in fluidity. The Ultra preset's 46 FPS average is only marginally lower than High, indicating that the additional settings in Ultra are not the primary cost; rather, the step from Medium to High represents a substantial increase in GPU workload that this system cannot sustain at 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more challenging. The Low preset averages 69 FPS, which is playable, but the Medium preset falls to 55 FPS, with a minimum of 47 FPS. For users prioritizing frame rate, 1440p Low is the only preset that consistently stays above 60 FPS. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p, averaging 34 and 33 FPS respectively, are not recommended for a responsive experience. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves a playable 60 FPS; the Low preset's 43 FPS average is the best case, but it falls short of smoothness targets. The data suggests that for this combo, 1080p Medium is the "sweet spot," offering a balance of visual quality and performance, while 1440p should be reserved for the Low preset.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 760M's role in these results is central, as its performance ceiling defines the system's capabilities. The GPU, based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, features a boost clock of 2599 MHz and 512 shading units. Its performance percentile of 35 among all GPUs places it in the lower tier, which aligns with its integrated nature. The benchmark data shows a Passmark G3D score of 5310, which is a modest result for gaming. In the context of Inside, the GPU's 16 ROPs and 32 TMUs are likely the limiting factors at higher resolutions, as the fill-rate and texture processing demands increase.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it uses the system's DDR5 memory, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This is a critical bottleneck, as the integrated GPU must compete with the CPU for memory bandwidth. The measured FPS drops, particularly the steep decline from 1440p to 4K, are consistent with a memory-bandwidth-constrained scenario. The fact that the 4K High (22 FPS) and 4K Ultra (21 FPS) results are nearly identical suggests that the GPU is not limited by shader complexity but by the sheer data transfer required for a 3840x2160 framebuffer. The FP32 performance of 5.323 TFLOPS indicates a theoretical compute capability, but the practical results show that this power is insufficient for high-resolution gaming in this title.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 400 is a low result, reinforcing its position as an entry-level graphics solution. In comparison to its nearest rivals, the data shows the Radeon 760M is within 0.5% of the AMD Radeon RX 6400 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M in average benchmark score, but it lags behind the NVIDIA Quadro P2000 by the same margin. This puts its raw compute power in a similar league to older dedicated entry-level cards, but its shared memory architecture and bandwidth constraints prevent it from achieving the same sustained performance in real-world gaming at high resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The system's overall ranking in Inside is remarkably low, sitting at rank 2876 out of 2887 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 0.4% of all tested configurations, which is a stark indicator of its performance limitations for this game. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's weak performance, despite the CPU's strength. The combo's rank is not a reflection of the CPU, which is a top-tier mobile processor, but of the integrated graphics solution's inability to keep pace with even a modestly demanding game at higher resolutions.

The data suggests that the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is severely bottlenecked by the AMD Radeon 760M. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713, place it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs. However, this processing power is largely idle during gaming, as the GPU cannot generate frames fast enough to utilize it. The ranking indicates that the vast majority of other tested combos, likely including those with even modest dedicated GPUs, provide a better gaming experience in Inside. The only combos ranked lower are likely those with even weaker integrated graphics or older, less capable hardware.

This performance profile makes the combo unsuitable for the intended purpose of high-refresh-rate or high-resolution gaming. While the CPU is a powerhouse for productivity tasks, the gaming experience is entirely dictated by the GPU's limits. The 2876th rank out of 2887 combos is a clear warning that this is not a gaming configuration, and users should expect to play at 1080p with lower settings to achieve acceptable frame rates.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Inside with this CPU/GPU combo?*

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system can consistently achieve high frame rates. At 1080p, the Low preset averages 96 FPS and the Medium preset averages 77 FPS, while at 1440p, the best average is 69 FPS on Low settings.

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K?*

A: The measured results show that 4K is not playable. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 43 FPS on the Low preset, with the High and Ultra presets dropping to 22 and 21 FPS, respectively, all below a smooth 60 FPS target.

Q: Which settings preset should I use for the best experience?

A: Based on the data, the 1080p Medium preset provides the best balance, with an average of 77 FPS and a minimum of 65 FPS. This offers a significant performance margin over the High preset (48 FPS average) while providing better visuals than Low.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon 760M's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 6019, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6400 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M, but 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro P2000. This indicates it performs in a similar tier to these older dedicated entry-level GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this system?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU is a high-end 16-core processor, but the measured FPS drops sharply with resolution, which is a classic sign of GPU saturation. The CPU's performance is not the constraint in this game.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset?

A: The minimum FPS values are only recorded for the Medium preset across all resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum is 65 FPS; at 1440p, it is 47 FPS; and at 4K, it is 29 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the measured average FPS for the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and AMD Radeon 760M combination in Inside.

1920x1080:

• Low: 96 FPS average
• Medium: 77 FPS average (65 min, 88 max)
• High: 48 FPS average
• Ultra: 46 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 69 FPS average
• Medium: 55 FPS average (47 min, 63 max)
• High: 34 FPS average
• Ultra: 33 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 43 FPS average
• Medium: 35 FPS average (29 min, 40 max)
• High: 22 FPS average
• Ultra: 21 FPS average

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark results are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and a single-core score of 6030, placing it in the 95th percentile of all CPUs. This processing power, however, is largely irrelevant in the context of Inside's measured FPS, as the game's performance is constrained by the GPU.

The CPU's large L3 cache of 64 MB and support for high-speed DDR5 memory are features that would benefit a powerful dedicated GPU, but they are underutilized in this configuration. The data implies that the CPU is never the bottleneck at any resolution or setting. For example, the drop from 48 FPS at 1080p High to 34 FPS at 1440p High is a 29% reduction, which is a GPU-side scaling effect. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain more consistent across resolutions.

The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, have average benchmark scores within 0.6% of the 8945HX, confirming its top-tier status. However, this performance does not translate to gaming gains in this specific test because the Radeon 760M cannot convert the CPU's computational throughput into frames. The CPU is effectively waiting for the GPU for the majority of the time, making its role in the gaming experience passive. The data strongly suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield a massive performance increase, while upgrading the CPU would have no measurable impact on Inside's frame rates.