Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT combination delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016. The measured data shows this pairing is heavily GPU-limited at lower resolutions, while the CPU’s strong single-thread performance ensures the frame rate remains high even in the most demanding scenes. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, but the overall experience is smooth across all tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the bottleneck lies for this combination. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 415 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low settings reduces this to 299 FPS, a drop of 116 FPS (approximately 28%). At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the average falls further to 188 FPS, which is 227 FPS lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline as resolution increases indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor even at Low settings, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed frames at these high rates.

The pattern holds across all settings presets. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 208 at 1080p, to 149 at 1440p, and finally to 94 at 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 55 FPS drop (approximately 37%), which is proportionally larger than the 59 FPS drop (approximately 28%) seen from 1080p to 1440p. This accelerating decline at higher resolutions is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario, where the rendering workload grows faster than the GPU’s ability to process it.

Interestingly, the Ultra preset shows the same pattern but at lower absolute numbers. The average FPS at Ultra is 198 at 1080p, 142 at 1440p, and 89 at 4K. The delta between High and Ultra is consistent across resolutions, with Ultra being roughly 10 FPS slower at each step. This suggests that the Ultra preset adds a fixed cost per frame, likely from additional visual effects that do not scale with resolution.

The data also reveals that the game is not particularly demanding on the CPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 415 FPS average is close to the limit of what most displays can show, and the fact that it drops to 299 FPS at 1440p Low indicates the GPU is already struggling to keep up with the CPU’s frame generation capability. The CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, are more than sufficient for this title, which is a puzzle platformer with relatively simple physics and logic.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT plays the dominant role in determining performance in Inside. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than adequate for a game from 2016, which likely does not require more than a few gigabytes of VRAM even at 4K with Ultra settings. The high bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and frame buffer operations do not become a limitation.

The GPU’s clock speeds are significant for this title. The base clock is 1295 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz and a boost clock of 2430 MHz. The game clock represents the expected operating frequency during typical gaming loads, and the boost clock provides additional headroom for lighter scenes. In a game like Inside, which has a dark, stylized art style with limited geometric complexity, the GPU can often run at or near its boost clock, maximizing frame throughput.

The measured FPS data shows that the RX 7800 XT is capable of delivering 188 FPS at 4K Low settings. This is a strong result for a 4K resolution, indicating that the GPU’s 3840 shading units and 96 ROPs are efficiently utilized. The FP32 performance of 37.32 TFLOPS provides ample compute power for the pixel and vertex shaders used in this game. The GPU’s 60 ray tracing cores are irrelevant for Inside, as the game does not use ray-traced effects, but the traditional rasterization pipeline benefits from the high texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s.

The GPU’s percentile rank is 51, meaning it outperforms approximately half of all GPUs in the database. This is a mid-range ranking, but the measured results in Inside show that the card is more than sufficient for this title. The nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (with a deltaPct of -0.5%) and the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (with a deltaPct of -1.8%). These rivals have significantly lower memory bandwidth and compute capabilities, yet they are close in average score, which suggests that the benchmark average is heavily influenced by other, more demanding applications.

In Inside, the RX 7800 XT’s 16 GB of VRAM is a non-factor for performance, as the game’s texture sizes and draw calls are modest. The memory clock of 2438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective) provides the necessary bandwidth to sustain high frame rates without stuttering. The data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 89, which is playable, though not as fluid as the 1080p results.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 208 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Low result compare to 1080p Low?

A: The 4K Low result is 188 FPS, which is 227 FPS lower than the 415 FPS achieved at 1080p Low.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter at 1440p. The average FPS drops from 299 at Low to 142 at Ultra, showing that the GPU’s rendering workload is the main constraint.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 128 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a significantly better experience than High?

A: No. At 1080p, Ultra averages 198 FPS versus 208 FPS for High, a difference of only 10 FPS. At 4K, the difference is 5 FPS (89 for Ultra vs 94 for High).

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations in this game?

A: This combo ranks 670 out of 2887 tested combos, placing it in the top 23% of all configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 670 out of 2887 tested combos in Inside. This places the configuration in the top 23% of all tested systems, which is a strong result given the game’s age and low system requirements. The rank reflects the combination’s ability to maintain high frame rates across all resolutions and settings.

The ranking is likely influenced by the CPU’s exceptional single-thread performance. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has a single-thread score of 1269 in 3dmark and 6739 in Cinebench R23, which are strong numbers. In a game like Inside, which may not be heavily multithreaded, the CPU’s single-thread speed is crucial for maintaining high FPS. The CPU’s percentile rank against all CPUs is 91, indicating it is faster than 91% of all CPUs in the database.

However, the combo rank is not higher because the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The RX 7800 XT has a percentile rank of 51, meaning it is only average compared to all GPUs. While it performs well in Inside, there are many faster GPUs in the database that would achieve higher frame rates, particularly at 4K. The combo rank of 670 suggests that most of the higher-ranked combinations likely use more powerful GPUs, even if their CPUs are slower.

The nearest rivals to the CPU in terms of average benchmark score include the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (deltaPct of -0.6%) and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (deltaPct of 1.3%). These CPUs are similar in overall performance, but the Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s 3D V-Cache may provide an advantage in gaming workloads that are sensitive to cache capacity. The data shows that the CPU’s L3 cache is 128 MB, which is substantial and can reduce memory latency in games that have large working sets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 198 at Ultra to 415 at Low. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 332 FPS, with a minimum of 282 FPS and a maximum of 382 FPS. This is the only preset at 1080p with recorded minimum and maximum values, indicating that the frame time variance is low enough to capture these extremes.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 142 at Ultra to 299 at Low. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 239 FPS, with a minimum of 203 FPS and a maximum of 275 FPS. The minimum FPS of 203 at 1440p Medium is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, showing that the combo does not experience significant frame drops.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 89 at Ultra to 188 at Low. The Medium preset at 4K averages 150 FPS, with a minimum of 128 FPS and a maximum of 173 FPS. This is the only 4K preset with full min/max data, and the minimum of 128 FPS is respectable for 4K, though it represents a 22 FPS drop from the average.

The data shows a clear trend: higher resolutions and higher settings both reduce the average FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is consistent across resolutions, with Ultra being roughly half the FPS of Low. This suggests that the Ultra preset adds significant visual effects that tax the GPU. The difference between Medium and High is smaller, with High being about 60-70% of Medium’s FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for most users. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 208, which is more than sufficient for any display. At 1440p High, the average is 149 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. Even at 4K High, the average of 94 FPS is playable on high refresh rate monitors, though not at the highest refresh rates.

The Ultra preset provides only a marginal visual improvement over High, as evidenced by the small FPS difference. At 1080p, the difference is 10 FPS (198 vs 208), and at 4K, it is 5 FPS (89 vs 94). Given that Ultra is likely to include effects like higher shadow quality or post-processing that are barely perceptible in Inside’s dark, minimalist art style, High is the recommended preset.

For users with high refresh rate displays (144Hz or higher), the Medium preset at 1440p may be the better choice. The average FPS of 239 at 1440p Medium ensures the frame rate stays well above the 144 FPS threshold, with a minimum of 203 FPS providing a consistent experience. At 1080p Medium, the average of 332 FPS is more than enough for even the fastest displays, though the minimum of 282 FPS is the only data point available.

The Low preset is only recommended for users seeking the absolute highest frame rates, perhaps for competitive play or benchmarking. At 1080p Low, the average of 415 FPS is likely to exceed the refresh rate of any consumer display, making it a mostly academic exercise. At 4K Low, the 188 FPS average is still very high, but the visual quality reduction may not be worth the FPS gain over High.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D plays a supporting role in this combination, but its performance is critical for achieving the highest frame rates. The CPU has 12 cores and 24 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge). The base clock is 4.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, which provides excellent single-thread performance. The single-thread benchmarks confirm this: 1269 in 3dmark and 6739 in Cinebench R23.

In Inside, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates. The game is a puzzle platformer with a simple 2.5D perspective, so the CPU’s workload is not particularly heavy. However, the measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 415 FPS, which suggests that the CPU is capable of generating frames faster than the GPU can render them at that resolution. The CPU’s 128 MB of L3 cache is likely beneficial, as it can hold more of the game’s code and data, reducing memory access latency.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (deltaPct of -0.6%) and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (deltaPct of 1.3%). These CPUs have similar overall performance, but the Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s higher single-thread scores (6739 in Cinebench R23 vs. presumably lower for the Intel parts) give it an edge in games that are not heavily multithreaded. The CPU’s percentile rank of 91 confirms that it is faster than the vast majority of CPUs in the database.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s over DDR5 dual-channel memory is more than sufficient for Inside. The game does not require high memory bandwidth, and the CPU’s 24 threads are likely underutilized, with most of the work being done on a few cores. The data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this configuration, as the FPS scales inversely with resolution, which is a GPU-bound behavior. The CPU’s role is to ensure that the GPU is never starved of data, and the measured results indicate that it succeeds in this task.