Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT delivers a remarkably smooth experience in Inside, a 2D puzzle platformer that is not graphically demanding. The measured data shows that this combination exceeds 60 FPS at every resolution and settings preset tested, with performance scaling predictably as resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p and 1440p gaming, the Ultra preset is the optimal choice. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset produces an average of 139 FPS, while the High preset yields 146 FPS. The delta between these two is marginal, but Ultra provides the maximum visual quality without sacrificing the high refresh rate experience. At 2560x1440, Ultra maintains a solid 100 FPS average, which is more than sufficient for this genre. The data indicates that the GPU has ample headroom at these resolutions, making the visual upgrade to Ultra essentially free.

At 4K (3840x2160), the situation changes slightly. The Ultra preset drops to 63 FPS, which is still playable but closer to the edge of what many users would consider optimal. The High preset at 4K delivers 66 FPS, which is nearly identical. However, the Medium preset at 4K provides a substantial improvement: 106 FPS average with a minimum of 90 FPS and a maximum of 121 FPS. This represents a 60% performance increase over Ultra while the visual difference between Medium and Ultra in a game like Inside is often subtle due to its stylized art direction. Therefore, for 4K displays, the Medium preset offers the best balance, ensuring a consistently high frame rate with no dips below 90 FPS. The Low preset at 4K reaches 132 FPS, but the visual compromises are likely unnecessary given the Medium preset’s strong performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 2055 MHz, with a game clock of 2410 MHz and a boost clock of 2635 MHz. The GPU is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture using a 7 nm process from TSMC, with 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units.

In Inside, the GPU’s role is significant at higher resolutions but less critical at lower ones. The benchmark results show that at 1080p, the GPU is not the primary bottleneck. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 292 FPS versus 139 FPS, which indicates the GPU is still doing work, but the CPU is capable of feeding it enough data to maintain high frame rates. At 4K, the GPU becomes more stressed, as evidenced by the drop from 132 FPS on Low to 63 FPS on Ultra. The 8 GB VRAM allocation is not a concern in this title, as the game’s assets are not demanding enough to exceed this capacity, even at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s 10.79 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is more than adequate for this game’s rendering requirements, and the pixel rate of 168.6 GPixel/s helps maintain smooth output at high resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and RX 6650 XT ranks 1826 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which initially might seem surprising given the excellent frame rates measured. However, this ranking is relative to all other CPU and GPU pairings, and Inside is a game where even modest hardware can achieve high frame rates. The rank reflects that many other combinations, particularly those with more powerful GPUs, can push even higher frame rates. The percentile ranking is not available for this specific game, but the data indicates that while this combo performs well in absolute terms, it is not near the top of the leaderboard because the game is not demanding enough to separate the field significantly.

The CPU itself has a percentile rank of 91 against all CPUs, indicating it is a high-end processor. The GPU has a percentile rank of 65 against all GPUs, which is a mid-range performer. The combination’s rank of 1826 out of 2887 suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing for this specific game, preventing the combo from reaching the upper echelons of the rankings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are as follows: Low preset produces 292 FPS, Medium produces 234 FPS with a minimum of 199 FPS and a maximum of 269 FPS, High produces 146 FPS, and Ultra produces 139 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is a 53% reduction in frame rate, which is significant but expected as the GPU works harder on visual effects.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low preset averages 210 FPS, Medium averages 168 FPS with a minimum of 143 FPS and a maximum of 193 FPS, High averages 105 FPS, and Ultra averages 100 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is approximately 28% across all settings, which is a moderate decrease.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are: Low preset averages 132 FPS, Medium averages 106 FPS with a minimum of 90 FPS and a maximum of 121 FPS, High averages 66 FPS, and Ultra averages 63 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K results in a 37% reduction in performance from Low to Low, but the High and Ultra presets see a more substantial drop of approximately 37% and 37% respectively.

The data shows that the Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, indicating it may have been tested more thoroughly. The minimum FPS values at each resolution for Medium are all above 90 FPS, ensuring a stable experience without noticeable stutters.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but just barely. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 63, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. However, the Medium preset at 4K provides a much more comfortable margin with an average of 106 FPS and a minimum of 90 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The Ultra preset is recommended for 1440p. It delivers an average of 100 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors, while providing the highest visual fidelity. The High preset is only 5 FPS faster, so there is no meaningful reason to choose it over Ultra.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance affect the frame rates in this game?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has a boost clock of 5.50 GHz and a base clock of 4.40 GHz, with 12 cores and 24 threads. In Inside, the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution, as evidenced by the high frame rates even at 1080p. The CPU’s single-thread performance, as shown by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1269, is more than sufficient for this game’s logic.

*Q: Is the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM enough for Inside?*

A: Yes, the 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is more than enough for this game. Even at 4K Ultra settings, the game does not exceed the VRAM capacity, as the frame rates remain stable and do not show signs of texture thrashing or loading stutters.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with the Low preset?

A: The measured average is 292 FPS at 1080p with the Low preset. This is exceptionally high and indicates that the combination can easily drive high refresh rate monitors at 1080p, even with reduced graphical settings.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 1826 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. This is a mid-pack ranking, indicating that while the performance is excellent in absolute terms, many other pairings with more powerful GPUs achieve even higher frame rates, pushing this combo down the list.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge, and manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a substantial 128 MB of L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s.

In Inside, the CPU’s role is to manage game logic, physics, and draw calls. The game is not heavily multi-threaded, so the CPU’s massive core count is not fully utilized. However, the high boost clock of 5.50 GHz and strong single-thread performance are crucial for maintaining high frame rates. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 292 FPS, which is a clear indication that the CPU can handle the game’s demands without becoming a limiting factor. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6739 and multi-core score of 47737 demonstrate its capabilities, but for this specific game, the single-core performance is what matters most. The CPU’s percentile rank of 91 against all CPUs confirms it is a top-tier processor, and its performance in this game is more than adequate.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the bottleneck in this system. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 292. At 1440p Low, it drops to 210, and at 4K Low, it falls to 132. This represents a 28% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 37% drop from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU has sufficient headroom and the GPU’s rendering load increases with resolution.

For the Ultra preset, the scaling is more pronounced: 139 FPS at 1080p, 100 FPS at 1440p, and 63 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 28% and 37% respectively, which are similar to the Low preset. This consistency across settings indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution increases. The CPU’s performance does not degrade with resolution, as its workload remains constant. Therefore, the data clearly shows that the RX 6650 XT is the component that determines the frame rate ceiling at higher resolutions, while the Ryzen 9 9900X3D provides a stable and powerful foundation that never hampers performance. The 4K Ultra result of 63 FPS is the only point where the system approaches the edge of smoothness, confirming that the GPU is the bottleneck in this pairing for this game.