Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX combination delivers overwhelming performance in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is far from graphically demanding. The measured frame rates are exceptionally high across all resolutions and settings, indicating that this hardware is significantly overqualified for the title. The data shows a system that can push well beyond the refresh rates of most monitors, making the experience exceptionally smooth, though the scaling patterns reveal interesting dynamics about where the bottleneck lies.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic, but the game remains highly playable at every resolution. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 425 at 1920x1080 to 242 at 3840x2160, a reduction of 183 FPS or roughly 43%. This steep decline indicates that even at Low settings, the GPU is being pushed harder at higher resolutions, though the absolute numbers remain stratospheric.

Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings shows a drop from 381 to 242 FPS, a 36% decrease. At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 393 FPS at 1080p, 308 at 1440p, and 194 at 4K. The 4K Medium result includes a measured minimum of 165 FPS and maximum of 223 FPS, showing a relatively tight frame time distribution for a game running this fast.

The High and Ultra presets show a more pronounced scaling effect. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 268 at 1080p to 193 at 1440p and finally 121 at 4K. Ultra settings follow a similar trajectory: 255 at 1080p, 184 at 1440p, and 115 at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K at these higher presets is roughly 37-38%, which suggests the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The pattern across all settings is consistent: the RX 7900 XTX has ample headroom at 1080p, where the CPU likely plays a larger role in determining the ceiling. At 4K, the GPU workload scales up substantially, yet the card still delivers over 115 FPS at Ultra. This indicates that for a game like Inside, the limiting component at 1080p is more likely the CPU or game engine's frame generation cap, while at 4K the GPU becomes the dominant constraint, though neither component is truly taxed to its limit.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 115 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay. Even the most demanding preset at the highest resolution produces a triple-digit frame rate.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 381 FPS, while Ultra produces 184 FPS. That is a 197 FPS difference, meaning Ultra is roughly 52% slower than Low, though both are exceptionally fast.

Q: Is the RX 7900 XTX overkill for this game?

A: The data suggests yes. At 1080p Low, the system hits 425 FPS average. Even at 4K Ultra, it maintains 115 FPS. This hardware provides far more performance than necessary for a puzzle platformer, making it a strong choice for users who also play more demanding titles.

Q: How consistent are frame times at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the measured minimum and maximum frames are provided. At 4K, the range is 165 to 223 FPS (average 194). At 1440p, it is 262 to 355 FPS (average 308). At 1080p, it is 334 to 452 FPS (average 393). These ranges indicate stable performance with no significant stuttering.

Q: Which resolution provides the best experience for a 120 Hz display?

A: For a 120 Hz display, 4K Ultra at 115 FPS average is just slightly below the refresh rate, while 4K High at 121 FPS matches it nearly perfectly. For higher refresh rates like 144 Hz or 165 Hz, 1440p High at 193 FPS or 1440p Ultra at 184 FPS would be more appropriate.

Q: Does the game scale well with increased resolution?

A: Yes, but with diminishing returns. The frame rate drops consistently as resolution increases, but the game remains fluid at all tested settings. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows a 55% reduction in FPS, which is expected for a GPU-bound scenario.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is a flagship RDNA 3.0 graphics card with 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is rated at 2498 MHz with a game clock of 2365 MHz. These specifications are far beyond what Inside requires, given its 2016 release date and simple visual style.

The 24 GB VRAM allocation is particularly notable. Inside is not a memory-intensive title, so the frame buffer is unlikely to be a limiting factor at any resolution tested. The 384-bit memory bus and high bandwidth ensure that texture streaming and memory access are never bottlenecks, even at 4K with Ultra settings.

The GPU's raw compute power, measured at 61.39 TFLOPS FP32, is more than sufficient to handle the game's rendering workload. The benchmark data confirms this: at 4K Ultra, the card still produces 115 FPS average. The performance difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is significant (242 vs 115 FPS), indicating that the GPU is doing more work with higher settings, but the absolute performance remains high.

The RX 7900 XTX's percentile rank among all GPUs is 64, with an average benchmark score of 19410. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB with a delta of 0.4%, the NVIDIA Quadro K5200 at -1%, and the AMD FirePro D300 at -1.2%. These comparisons are based on synthetic benchmarks, not gaming performance, and the delta percentages are minimal, suggesting the card sits in a specific performance tier. However, in Inside, the card's gaming performance is exceptional, far exceeding what its percentile rank might suggest for other workloads.

The card's 192 ROPs and 6144 shading units provide ample pixel pushing and shader processing capability. The measured 4K performance, where the GPU is most stressed, still shows the card operating well within its limits. The 355 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for a high-end card, but users should ensure adequate cooling and power delivery, as the suggested PSU is 750 W.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the best experience depends on the user's display refresh rate and resolution preference. For 4K displays, High settings at 121 FPS average offers the best balance, as it delivers a frame rate that nearly matches a standard 120 Hz panel. Ultra settings at 4K drop to 115 FPS, which is still excellent but slightly below the 120 Hz threshold. Medium at 4K provides 194 FPS, which is unnecessary unless using a high-refresh 4K monitor, which is rare.

For 1440p displays, Ultra settings at 184 FPS are the recommended choice. This provides the highest visual quality while still exceeding the refresh rate of most 1440p gaming monitors, which typically cap at 144 Hz or 165 Hz. High settings at 193 FPS offer a slight performance boost with minimal visual difference in a game like Inside, but Ultra is the more immersive option given the hardware's headroom.

At 1080p, the system is so fast that any setting is viable. Ultra at 255 FPS average is recommended for maximum visual fidelity, as even this setting far exceeds the 240 Hz refresh rate of the fastest 1080p gaming monitors. Low settings at 425 FPS are only useful for competitive play, which is irrelevant for a single-player puzzle platformer.

The Medium preset provides the only measured minimum and maximum FPS values, indicating it may be the most thoroughly tested setting. At 4K Medium, the 165-223 FPS range shows stable performance. Users who prioritize frame time consistency over absolute visual quality might prefer Medium, but the average FPS at Ultra and High are also strong indicators of smooth performance.

Overall, the data suggests that High or Ultra settings at the user's native resolution provide the best experience. The performance headroom is so large that there is no reason to compromise on visual quality for frame rate, except when targeting specific refresh rate thresholds.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers extraordinary performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 425 FPS, the highest measurement in the entire dataset. Medium settings follow at 393 FPS, with a minimum of 334 FPS and maximum of 452 FPS. High settings yield 268 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 255 FPS average. The difference between Low and Ultra is 170 FPS, showing that the settings menu has a measurable impact, but even the lowest preset is far beyond what any standard display can show.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally high. Low settings average 381 FPS, Medium settings average 308 FPS (with a 262-355 FPS range), High settings average 193 FPS, and Ultra settings average 184 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 197 FPS in absolute terms, but the percentage difference is similar to 1080p. The 1440p results show that the GPU is beginning to work harder, but the frame rates are still in the triple digits for every preset.

At 3840x2160, the GPU workload increases substantially. Low settings still manage 242 FPS average, which is remarkable for 4K. Medium settings drop to 194 FPS average, with a measured range of 165 to 223 FPS. High settings produce 121 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 115 FPS average. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 127 FPS difference, indicating that the higher presets are more demanding at this resolution.

The data shows a consistent pattern: Low is always the fastest, followed by Medium, then High, with Ultra being the slowest. At every resolution, the average FPS for all settings exceeds 100, making Inside an exceptionally smooth experience regardless of configuration. The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data, but the absence of this data for other presets does not indicate instability.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The CPU features 128 MB of L3 cache, which is substantial for gaming workloads. Its benchmark scores are strong: Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 47737, and single-core reaches 6739. Geekbench multicore is 22884, and single-core is 3041.

In Inside, the CPU's role is likely minimal because the game is not computationally intensive. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (425 FPS) is likely near the upper limit of what the game engine can produce, and the CPU's high single-thread performance ensures that physics, game logic, and draw calls are processed quickly. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1269 and Passmark single-thread score of 4646 indicate strong per-core performance, which is crucial for games that rely on a primary thread.

The CPU's percentile rank is 91 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54762. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF with a delta of -0.6%, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K at 1.3%, and the Intel Xeon 6505P at 2%. These small delta percentages indicate that the 9900X3D is competitive with other high-end processors, though not the absolute fastest in every workload.

The 128 MB L3 cache is a defining feature of this processor, designed to reduce memory latency in gaming scenarios. While Inside may not fully utilize this cache, it contributes to the CPU's ability to maintain high frame rates without bottlenecking the GPU. The 4 nm process node and 16,630 million transistors suggest a highly efficient design, though the 120 W TDP is relatively modest for a 12-core part.

At higher resolutions, the CPU's influence diminishes as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at the same settings is consistent with GPU-bound behavior. However, the fact that the 1080p Low result (425 FPS) is higher than the 1440p Low result (381 FPS) and 4K Low result (242 FPS) confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The CPU is delivering enough performance to avoid becoming a bottleneck, even at the lowest settings where frame rates are highest.