Inside

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Inside, a game where the visual style is minimalist but the rendering demands are not trivial. The dataset reveals a component pairing that scales predictably with resolution, with the GPU becoming the clear limiting factor only at 4K Ultra. Across all 12 measured configurations, the combo never dips below 56 FPS on average, indicating that this hardware is well-suited for the game’s atmospheric, side-scrolling puzzle platformer genre.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but consistent with GPU-bound behavior. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 234.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 113.6 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of roughly 52%. This halving of performance is typical for a GPU that is being pushed harder at higher pixel counts. The pattern holds at Medium settings, where 207 FPS at 1080p drops to 90.7 FPS at 4K, a 56% loss. The scaling suggests that the RX 6600’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and its bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s are being taxed more heavily as resolution increases, but the card still maintains playable frame rates even at the highest pixel density.

The most interesting anomaly appears at High settings. Here, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is only from 127.7 FPS to 93.1 FPS, a 27% decline, but the subsequent drop to 4K is 93.1 FPS to 60 FPS, a 36% decline. This non-linear scaling indicates that at 4K High, the GPU is hitting a performance cliff, likely due to memory bandwidth constraints or pixel fill rate limits. The pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s are sufficient for lower resolutions, but 4K pushes the card closer to its theoretical limits.

Ultra settings exacerbate this trend. The 1080p Ultra score of 124.4 FPS is only slightly lower than High, but the 4K Ultra result drops to 56 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold often considered the baseline for smooth gameplay. This suggests that the RX 6600, while capable at 1080p and 1440p, is not designed for maxed-out 4K in this title. The data implies that resolution scaling is the primary bottleneck, with the CPU showing minimal influence on the frame rate curve.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 6600’s specifications provide context for these results. With a boost clock of 2491 MHz and a game clock of 2044 MHz, the card is running near its rated speeds in most scenarios. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 224.0 GB/s, which is adequate for Inside but not excessive. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 8.928 TFLOPS gives it enough raw compute for the game’s lighting and shadow effects, which are subtle but present.

The data shows that the GPU is the dominant factor in the measured FPS. At 1080p Low, the 234.5 FPS result is likely near the game’s engine limit, as the CPU’s single-thread score of 688 in 3dmark suggests it can keep up with the GPU’s output. However, the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is only from 234.5 FPS to 124.4 FPS, indicating that the GPU is not being fully saturated at lower settings. The GPU’s percentile rank of 69 versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25235, places it in the upper-midrange, which aligns with its performance in this game.

The memory speed of 14 Gbps effective is a key factor at 4K. The bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s is the same across all resolutions, so the drop in FPS at 4K cannot be attributed to a memory clock change. Instead, it is the increased demand for pixel throughput that causes the RX 6600 to fall behind. The card’s 64 ROPs and 112 TMUs are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the pixel fill rate becomes a limiting factor, as evidenced by the 56 FPS Ultra score.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, the Medium preset at 1440p appears to be the sweet spot. It delivers 147.6 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS floor, and the visual difference between Medium and High is often minimal in a game with Inside’s monochromatic palette. At 1080p, High settings at 127.7 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium (207 FPS) while still maintaining a high refresh rate.

At 4K, the data suggests that Low settings are the only viable option for smooth gameplay, with 113.6 FPS. The Medium setting at 4K (90.7 FPS) is also playable, but the gap to High (60 FPS) is too close to the 60 FPS threshold for comfort. The Ultra preset at 4K (56 FPS) should be avoided, as it falls below the standard refresh rate target. For users with 120 Hz or 144 Hz displays, the 1080p Medium setting (207 FPS) or 1440p Low setting (185.3 FPS) are the best choices to maximize frame rates without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.

The 1440p High setting (93.1 FPS) is a good middle ground for those with 1440p monitors who want a balance between quality and speed. However, the 1440p Ultra setting (91 FPS) offers almost the same performance with better visuals, making it a better choice if the hardware can sustain it. The data indicates that the RX 6600 is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p, with settings tuned to Medium or High, rather than pushing to Ultra at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 234.5 FPS, Medium produces 207 FPS, High produces 127.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 124.4 FPS. The small gap between High and Ultra (only 3.3 FPS) suggests that the Ultra preset adds minimal additional load over High, likely due to the game’s limited shadow or post-processing effects.

At 2560x1440, the scores are still impressive. Low settings yield 185.3 FPS, Medium yields 147.6 FPS, High yields 93.1 FPS, and Ultra yields 91 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is substantial (54.5 FPS), indicating that High settings introduce a significant rendering cost at this resolution. The Ultra result is only 2.1 FPS lower than High, reinforcing the pattern seen at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more varied. Low settings produce 113.6 FPS, Medium produces 90.7 FPS, High produces 60 FPS, and Ultra produces 56 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is a 22.9 FPS loss, while the jump from Medium to High is a 30.7 FPS loss. This suggests that the High preset at 4K is particularly demanding, possibly due to higher-resolution textures or more complex shaders. The Ultra preset at 4K is only 4 FPS lower than High, indicating that the GPU is already near its limit and the extra settings have diminishing returns.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K 60 FPS?*

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 113.6. At High settings, the average drops to 60 FPS, and at Ultra it falls to 56 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best setting for 1080p gaming?

A: High settings provide 127.7 FPS, which is a good balance. Medium settings offer 207 FPS if you prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.

Q: How does the RX 6600 compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 25235 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon 890M (25246, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (25287, -0.2% delta), indicating similar performance in synthetic tests, though game-specific results may vary.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: The data suggests not. The i5-10400F’s single-thread score of 688 in 3dmark and multi-thread score of 4748 are sufficient to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the consistent FPS scaling with resolution rather than CPU load.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and Ultra at 1440p?

A: Medium delivers 147.6 FPS, while Ultra delivers 91 FPS, a difference of 56.6 FPS. The visual upgrade may not justify the performance hit for most users.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM limit performance at 4K?

A: The data shows a significant drop at 4K High (60 FPS) compared to 1440p High (93.1 FPS), but the VRAM size alone is not the cause. The GPU’s pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s are more likely the limiting factors.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10297 and single-core score of 1453 indicate a solid midrange performer. In Inside, which is not a CPU-intensive title, the processor’s role is secondary to the GPU. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 4748 and 2-thread score of 1350 show that the CPU can handle both multithreaded and lightly threaded workloads without issue.

The data reveals that the CPU is not the limiting component in this game. At 1080p Low, the 234.5 FPS result is likely near the engine’s cap, but the CPU’s Passmark single-thread score of 2541 is high enough to avoid bottlenecks. The L3 cache of 12 MB and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate memory throughput for the game’s assets. The CPU’s percentile rank of 73 versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14168, places it above the median, and its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7552, has a delta of 0.4%, showing comparable performance.

The boost clock of 4.30 GHz is crucial for maintaining high frame rates, as Inside’s physics and puzzle logic are likely single-threaded. The Cinebench R20 single-core score of 610 and Geekbench single-core score of 1454 confirm that the i5-10400F can deliver the necessary per-core performance. However, the CPU’s impact on the measured FPS is minimal, as the GPU is the primary driver of the scaling across resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested configurations, this combo ranks 1379 out of 1671 combinations, placing it in the bottom 17% of all tested pairs. This ranking might seem low given the high frame rates observed, but it reflects the fact that Inside is an older, less demanding game from 2016, and many newer CPUs and GPUs achieve similar or higher scores. The rank is relative to all tested combos, which include high-end parts that naturally outperform this midrange pairing.

The combo’s rank indicates that while it is not a top-tier performer, it is more than adequate for Inside. The data shows that the RX 6600’s percentile of 69 and the i5-10400F’s percentile of 73 both fall in the upper half of their respective categories, yet the combined rank is lower due to the sheer number of more powerful combos. This suggests that for a game like Inside, the combo is overqualified for 1080p but struggles at 4K Ultra, which is a common trade-off for midrange hardware.

The rank of 1379 out of 1671 means that 292 combos perform worse, but it also implies that many cheaper or older parts can deliver similar FPS in this specific title. For users with this hardware, the takeaway is that the combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but not for pushing 4K at maximum settings. The measured data confirms that the pairing is balanced, with the GPU being the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides enough headroom to avoid limiting performance.