Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that places minimal demands on modern hardware, yet the measured frame rates for the Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT reveal a distinct performance hierarchy across settings and resolutions. The data shows this combination is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher settings, but the CPU’s architecture still plays a significant role in determining the absolute ceiling at lower graphical loads. With an overall combo rank of 299 out of 1671 tested configurations, this pairing sits comfortably in the upper tier of systems, delivering exceptional performance that far exceeds the game’s requirements, even at 4K Ultra.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, featuring a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its cache configuration includes a 20 MB shared L3 cache, which is substantial for a mid-range desktop part. In the context of Inside, a game with straightforward physics and logic that does not scale heavily with thread counts, the CPU’s single-thread performance is the primary driver of frame pacing. The processor’s benchmark scores reflect this strength: it achieves a 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3004, placing it in the 82nd percentile among all CPUs.

When comparing the i5-13400F to its nearest rivals, the average benchmark score of 25236 is essentially tied with the Intel Core i7-13620H, which scores 25201, a delta of just 0.1%. This indicates that for a game like Inside, which rarely utilizes more than a few cores, the i5-13400F’s performance is indistinguishable from that of a higher-tier mobile chip. The processor’s multithreaded capabilities, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21279, are more than sufficient for the game’s background tasks, but they are not the limiting factor. The data suggests that at 1080p Low settings, where the GPU is idle, the CPU’s single-thread throughput sets the maximum achievable frame rate, which is measured at 334.1 FPS. This is a clear indicator that the 10-core design, with its high boost clock, provides a robust foundation for the game’s logic, ensuring that no frame rate bottleneck originates from the processor side in any tested scenario.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is a high-end graphics card built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, featuring the Navi 31 chip with 5376 shading units and 192 ROPs. It comes equipped with 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 800.0 GB/s. The card’s boost clock is rated at 2394 MHz, with a game clock of 2025 MHz. For Inside, which is not a graphically intensive title, the GPU’s raw power is the dominant factor in determining frame rates at higher settings. The card’s PassMark G3D score of 29009 places it in the 82nd percentile, and its average benchmark score of 38358 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, which scores 38349, showing a delta of 0%.

The GPU’s immense memory bandwidth and 20 GB VRAM are far beyond the requirements of Inside, a game from 2016 that would not stress even a fraction of this capacity. However, the data shows that the GPU is the primary constraint when settings are increased. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate drops to 105.5 FPS, a significant reduction from the 4K Low result of 221.8 FPS. This 52% performance decrease when moving from Low to Ultra at 4K demonstrates that the GPU’s shading units and texture units are being heavily utilized, even for a puzzle platformer, as the higher preset likely enables additional post-processing and shadow effects. The RX 7900 XT’s 51.48 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power ensures that these effects are rendered with immense headroom, but the scaling pattern confirms that the GPU, not the CPU, is the component that dictates the final frame rate at higher quality presets.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Examining the measured FPS data, the most balanced experience at 4K is achieved with the High preset, which delivers an average of 113.1 FPS. This is only 7.6 FPS higher than the Ultra preset’s 105.5 FPS, indicating that the visual fidelity gains from Ultra come at a substantial performance cost for this GPU. Conversely, the Medium preset at 4K yields 177.3 FPS, a 57% improvement over High, but the visual difference between Medium and High is typically more pronounced in a game like Inside, which relies on atmospheric lighting and silhouette. For players with a 144Hz display, the High preset at 2560x1440, producing 181 FPS, is the sweet spot, offering a high refresh rate experience without compromising on image quality.

At 1080p, all presets exceed 235 FPS, with the Low preset reaching 334.1 FPS. This suggests that for most users, the Ultra preset at 1080p, at 235.9 FPS, is the optimal choice, as it provides the best visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate that far exceeds any standard display’s refresh rate. The data indicates that the GPU is so powerful that the differences between presets at 1080p are less critical, but the 4K results show a clear preference for High over Ultra, as the latter incurs a 7% performance penalty for marginal visual gains. The Low preset is not recommended unless the target is an extreme refresh rate, as it sacrifices the game’s artistic atmosphere for a performance boost that is unnecessary given the hardware’s capabilities.

FAQ

Q: Can the Intel Core i5-13400F bottleneck the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT in Inside?

A: The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 334.1 FPS, which is the highest measured frame rate. This suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU fast enough, but the fact that the FPS drops to 235.9 FPS at 1080p Ultra indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as the workload increases. The CPU’s single-thread score of 960 in 3DMark is high enough to avoid being the primary bottleneck in this game.

Q: How does the i5-13400F compare to its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-13620H?

A: The i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25236, while the i7-13620H scores 25201, resulting in a delta of 0.1%. This means the two processors are statistically equivalent in performance, and for a game like Inside, users would not notice any difference in frame rates between the two.

Q: Is 20 GB of VRAM necessary for Inside?

A: No, Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer with simple textures and geometry. The 20 GB of VRAM on the RX 7900 XT is far more than the game requires, and the measured frame rates show that performance is not limited by memory capacity, as even the 4K Ultra preset achieves over 100 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between the High and Ultra presets at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 113.1 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 105.5 FPS. This 7.6 FPS difference (approximately 7%) is relatively small, suggesting that the Ultra preset’s additional effects are not worth the performance loss for most users.

Q: How does the GPU’s benchmark score relate to its in-game performance?

A: The RX 7900 XT’s PassMark G3D score of 29009 places it in the 82nd percentile, and its average benchmark score of 38358 is on par with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile. The in-game data confirms this high standing, as the GPU maintains frame rates well above 100 FPS even at 4K Ultra.

Q: Does the CPU’s 10-core configuration provide any benefit in this game?

A: Inside does not scale well with multiple cores, and the game’s logic is primarily single-threaded. The i5-13400F’s 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient, but the performance is driven by its boost clock of 4.60 GHz and single-thread capabilities, rather than its core count.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At the High preset, the system achieves 246.1 FPS at 1080p, 181 FPS at 1440p, and 113.1 FPS at 4K. This represents a 54% drop in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 37% drop from 1440p to 4K. This scaling is indicative of a GPU-bound scenario, as the CPU’s workload remains constant while the GPU’s pixel-pushing demands increase exponentially with resolution. The fact that the 4K performance is still above 100 FPS demonstrates the RX 7900 XT’s immense rasterization power, but the consistent decline across resolutions confirms that the graphics card is the primary limiting factor at higher settings.

At the Low preset, the scaling is less severe but still present: 334.1 FPS at 1080p, 296.9 FPS at 1440p, and 221.8 FPS at 4K. The smaller drop from 1080p to 1440p (11%) compared to the High preset (26%) suggests that at Low settings, the CPU begins to play a more significant role in limiting performance. The 4K Low result of 221.8 FPS is the highest 4K measurement, indicating that even at this resolution, the GPU has enough headroom to render the simple scenes quickly, but the CPU’s frame generation limit is becoming apparent. This analysis shows that Inside is a game where the GPU dominates performance at high quality, but the CPU’s single-thread speed becomes a secondary constraint at lower graphical loads, a typical characteristic for a title with minimal geometric complexity and no advanced physics simulation.