Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX paired with the AMD Radeon 8060S ranks 1600th out of 2887 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database for this specific title. This position is somewhat surprising given the individual component scores, but it reflects the reality that Inside is a lightweight game where even mid-range hardware can achieve high frame rates, making the ranking less about raw capability and more about the specific optimization of this mobile combo. The data indicates the combo sits just past the 55th percentile of all tested systems, meaning a majority of other configurations deliver higher average FPS, though the absolute performance here is far from insufficient for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1600 out of 2887 places it in the 44th percentile of all tested pairings for Inside. This is a notable discrepancy from the individual hardware percentiles—the CPU ranks in the 95th percentile among all processors, and the GPU in the 87th percentile among all graphics cards. The gap suggests that while each component is strong on its own, their combined performance in this particular game is bottlenecked by something other than sheer compute power, likely the shared memory architecture or the game's engine limits.

Benchmark results indicate that the average FPS across all settings and resolutions is 155.4, which is respectable but not class-leading. The combo’s nearest rival in the CPU benchmark database, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, scores nearly identically with a delta of just 0.1%, indicating that the Ryzen 9 8945HX is not leaving performance on the table relative to its direct competitor. On the GPU side, the Radeon 8060S is just 0.1% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB in average benchmark score, yet the RX 6750 GRE is a discrete desktop card with dedicated VRAM, while the 8060S relies on system memory.

In practical terms, this ranking means the combo will handle Inside without any struggle, but it won't top leaderboards. The 44th percentile position is heavily influenced by the fact that many desktop systems with older, cheaper parts can also hit high frame rates in this title. For a mobile platform, the performance is above average, but the ranking reflects that Inside simply does not demand the extreme hardware that this combo provides, leading to diminishing returns in the overall standings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Dragon Range, and built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz, boosting up to 5.40 GHz, and it carries 64 MB of L3 cache. For Inside, a puzzle platformer that is not heavily multithreaded, these specifications are largely overkill. The game's physics and logic rarely scale beyond a few cores, meaning the CPU is never the limiting factor in this combo.

In the CPU’s PassMark multithread benchmark, it scores 51,405, and its single-thread score is 3,907. The single-thread performance is more relevant for Inside, as the game's main thread handles most of the simulation. A single-thread score in the top 5% of all CPUs ensures that even the most demanding scenes with complex puzzle interactions will not cause frame hitches. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42,713 and single-core score of 6,030 further confirm that this CPU has ample headroom for any game, including those far more demanding than Inside.

The CPU's 55 W TDP is remarkably low for a 16-core part, indicating that it can sustain high clocks without excessive thermal load, which is beneficial for a mobile platform. However, the data shows that in Inside, the CPU's role is to stay out of the way. The measured FPS differences across resolutions—from 309 FPS at 1080p Low to 70 FPS at 4K High—demonstrate that the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases, not the CPU. At 1080p, the CPU's strong single-thread performance allows the GPU to stretch its legs, but at 4K, the CPU's workload remains relatively constant while the GPU struggles to keep up.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 8060S is an integrated GPU based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process. It features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, with a boost clock of 2,900 MHz. Critically, it uses system-shared memory, meaning its VRAM size and bandwidth are dependent on the CPU's DDR5 memory configuration. This is a fundamental difference from discrete GPUs and directly impacts its performance in Inside.

The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 2,162, and its Geekbench Vulkan score is 80,483. These numbers place it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, which scores 0.1% higher on average. The comparison to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is also telling: the 8060S is only 0.6% slower in average benchmark score, despite the RTX 5080 being a flagship discrete card. This suggests that the 8060S is a highly capable iGPU, but its performance in Inside is heavily influenced by the shared memory bandwidth.

The measured FPS data illustrates this clearly. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 247 FPS, dropping to 178 FPS at 1440p Medium and 112 FPS at 4K Medium. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 28% drop, and from 1440p to 4K is a 37% drop. This non-linear scaling is typical of a memory-bandwidth-limited GPU. As the resolution increases, the demand on the shared memory bandwidth grows, and the iGPU cannot access data fast enough to maintain the same frame rates. The GPU’s pixel rate of 185.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 464.0 GTexel/s are high for an integrated part, but they are constrained by the system memory's capability, which is listed as "System Dependent."

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Radeon 8060S faster than a dedicated graphics card?

A: In average benchmark scores, the Radeon 8060S is 0.1% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and 2.8% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080. However, in Inside, its performance is limited by shared system memory, so direct comparisons to discrete cards with dedicated VRAM should be made cautiously.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 8945HX compare to its closest CPU rival?

A: The Ryzen 9 8945HX has an average benchmark score of 76,212, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX's 76,155, and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D's 75,779. The differences are negligible in real-world terms.

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Inside?*

A: At 1440p High, the combo achieves 111 FPS, which is smooth and visually detailed. At 1080p High, it reaches 155 FPS, but the jump to 4K High drops it to 70 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and frame rate, 1440p is the sweet spot.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The CPU's single-thread score of 3,907 in PassMark is exceptionally high, and the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a clear GPU bottleneck as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 309 FPS, indicating the CPU is not holding back the GPU.

Q: Why is the combo rank lower than the individual component percentiles?

A: The CPU ranks in the 95th percentile and the GPU in the 87th percentile, but the combo ranks in the 44th percentile for this game. This is because Inside is an older, lighter title where many older or cheaper desktop combos also achieve high frame rates, diluting the ranking for this high-end mobile pairing.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 4K Medium, it averages 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS, which is playable. At 4K High, it drops to 70 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 67 FPS. For a locked 60 FPS experience, 4K High is viable, but 4K Medium is safer.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases. Starting at 1080p Low, the combo produces 309 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 222 FPS, a 28% reduction. At 4K Low, the average is 140 FPS, another 37% drop from 1440p. This scaling is consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions.

At Medium settings, the frame rates are 247 FPS at 1080p, 178 FPS at 1440p, and 112 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 28%, and from 1440p to 4K is 37%. High settings show a similar trend: 155 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p (a 28% drop), and 70 FPS at 4K (a 37% drop). Ultra settings follow with 147 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p (a 28% drop), and 67 FPS at 4K (a 37% drop).

The consistent 28% and 37% drops across all settings strongly suggest that the system-shared memory bandwidth is the limiting factor. As the pixel count increases, the GPU needs to access more texture and frame buffer data from system memory, and the available bandwidth cannot keep up. This is not a CPU limitation; the CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution. The data indicates that this combo is best used at 1080p or 1440p for high refresh rate gaming, while 4K is reserved for less demanding titles or lower presets.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data suggests prioritizing 1440p Medium or High settings. At 1440p Medium, the combo delivers 178 FPS with a minimum of 151 FPS, ensuring no drops below 144 Hz for most displays. This provides a smooth and responsive experience with good visual fidelity for a puzzle platformer. The min FPS of 151 is particularly important, as it indicates that even in complex scenes, the frame rate does not dip below playable levels.

If a higher refresh rate display is available, 1080p High is the best choice, hitting 155 FPS with no recorded minimums, meaning the frame rate is stable. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p only yields a 5% performance increase (from 147 to 155 FPS), while the visual difference in a game like Inside is negligible. Therefore, High settings are more efficient than Ultra for this title.

At 4K, the data recommends Medium settings, which produce an average of 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS. This is above 60 FPS but may not be sufficient for a 120 Hz display. 4K High drops to 70 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced sections. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as the 67 FPS average is only marginally better than High and still below the 70 FPS of High, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds overhead without proportional visual benefits. In summary, the best experience is 1440p High for a balance of quality and speed, or 1080p High for maximum frame rates, while 4K should be limited to Medium for a reliable frame rate.