Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware. Yet, the measured data for the Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 reveals a fascinating scaling curve that defies the genre's typical simplicity. The benchmark results indicate a system capable of extreme frame rates, but the relationship between resolution, settings, and the CPU/GPU duo tells a more nuanced story about where the performance ceiling actually lies.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals a system that transitions from being heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions to firmly GPU-bound at 4K. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 155 FPS at 1920x1080 to 111 FPS at 2560x1440, a 28% reduction. Pushing further to 3840x2160 yields just 70 FPS, which represents a 55% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep decline is the classic signature of a GPU that is being saturated by pixel count.

However, the scaling pattern changes drastically when looking at the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system outputs an enormous 309 FPS average. At 1440p Low, it still maintains 222 FPS, and even at 4K Low, it produces 140 FPS. The delta between 1080p and 4K at Low is 55%, identical to the High preset's percentage drop, but the absolute values suggest the CPU is the limiting factor at the lower resolutions. With 309 FPS at 1080p, the i5-13400F is likely at its practical limit for this game's engine, preventing the GPU from stretching its legs further.

The Medium preset provides the most telling data for resolution scaling, as it is the only one with min and max FPS values recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 247 FPS with a minimum of 210 and maximum of 284. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 178 FPS (min 151, max 204), and at 4K Medium, it settles at 112 FPS (min 95, max 128). The consistency of the min/max spread—roughly 30 FPS at each resolution—suggests the frame pacing remains stable even as the GPU load increases.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU is the bottleneck, as evidenced by the relatively small gap between Low (309 FPS) and Medium (247 FPS) compared to the massive jump from Medium to Ultra (147 FPS). At 4K, the GPU takes over as the primary constraint; the difference between Low (140 FPS) and Medium (112 FPS) is 28 FPS, while the gap from Medium to Ultra (66 FPS) is 46 FPS, showing that the RX 9060's shading units and memory bandwidth become the decisive factors.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its architecture is Raptor Lake, built on a 10 nm process. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 22,604 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 3,191 in single-core, placing it in the 77th percentile against all CPUs. The nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS with a deltaPct of 0, indicating essentially identical performance, and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D at -0.3%.

For a game like Inside, which is a 2.5D side-scroller, the CPU's single-thread performance is typically more critical than multicore muscle. The single-core score of 3,191 in Cinebench R23 and 1,996 in Geekbench single-core suggests strong per-thread capabilities. The 3DMark single-thread score of 960 reinforces this. However, the game does not appear to be heavily threaded, as the 3DMark 16-thread score of 7,314 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 7,307, showing a plateau.

The CPU's role becomes evident when examining the 1080p Low preset at 309 FPS. This figure represents the engine's ceiling with this processor, regardless of how much GPU headroom exists. The boost clock of 4.60 GHz is likely being sustained to reach these frame rates. The L3 cache of 20 MB shared is ample for a game with limited asset streaming requirements, and the dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 provides sufficient bandwidth.

Interestingly, the CPU's percentile ranking at 77 means it outperforms 77% of all tested processors, yet the combo rank in this specific game is 1,615 out of 2,887 combos. This discrepancy suggests that while the CPU is strong in general compute, the game's engine may not utilize its full potential, or the GPU pairing creates an imbalance at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides three distinct presets—Low, Medium, and High/Ultra—with Ultra being the most demanding. For a game like Inside, which thrives on atmospheric lighting and shadow play, the visual fidelity differences between Low and Medium are likely significant, but the frame rate cost is also substantial.

At 1080p, the Medium preset offers the best balance of quality and performance in the data. The average of 247 FPS is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on gaming monitors, and the minimum of 210 FPS ensures no perceptible stutter. The Ultra preset at 147 FPS is still playable, but the 100 FPS drop from Medium to Ultra is a steep price for what is likely marginal visual improvement in a game with a muted color palette.

At 1440p, Medium again stands out with 178 FPS average and a 151 FPS minimum. This preset maintains a comfortable margin above 144 Hz. High at 111 FPS is acceptable for 60 Hz displays but falls short of high-refresh-rate gaming. Ultra at 106 FPS is nearly indistinguishable from High in the data, suggesting diminishing returns.

At 4K, the recommendation shifts to Low. The 140 FPS average at Low is the only preset that approaches high-refresh-rate territory at this resolution. Medium at 112 FPS is the realistic choice for a 60 Hz display, but the 95 FPS minimum could cause occasional dips. Ultra at 66 FPS is the visual enthusiast's choice, but it sacrifices the smoothness that the game's precise platforming mechanics benefit from.

The data suggests that Medium is the "sweet spot" for this combo, as it consistently delivers the highest frame rates with recorded min/max stability. The 1080p Medium min of 210 FPS and 4K Medium min of 95 FPS indicate that the preset scales gracefully across resolutions, maintaining a consistent 30-40 FPS spread between min and max.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 309, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low preset. The next highest is 247 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 222 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25,292. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS, scores 25,284 with a deltaPct of 0, meaning they are statistically tied. The Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D both score slightly higher at 25,362 and 25,365 respectively, with a deltaPct of -0.3%.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the bottleneck at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo achieves only 66 FPS average. This is a 57% drop from 4K Low (140 FPS), indicating the GPU is the limiting factor. The RX 9060's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus are likely saturated at this resolution and preset.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested combinations for Inside?

A: The combo ranks 1,615 out of 2,887 total tested combos, placing it in the 56th percentile. This is lower than the CPU's standalone 77th percentile, suggesting the GPU pairing holds back overall performance in this specific game.

Q: Does the game benefit from the CPU's multi-threading capabilities?

A: No. The 3DMark scores show 16-thread at 7,314 versus 2-thread at 1,880. The 8-thread score of 5,591 is 76% of the 16-thread score, indicating the game scales poorly beyond 8 threads. The CPU's 10 cores are not fully utilized.

Q: What is the frame rate stability like at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with min and max FPS data. At 1080p, the spread is 210-284 FPS (average 247). At 1440p, it is 151-204 FPS (average 178). At 4K, it narrows to 95-128 FPS (average 112), showing tighter frame pacing at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a 4 nm process from TSMC. It features 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2990 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's pixel rate is 191.4 GPixel/s and texture rate is 334.9 GTexel/s.

In synthetic benchmarks, the GPU scores 17,631 in Passmark G3D and 3,322 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. It sits in the 59th percentile against all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti with a deltaPct of -0.7%, meaning the RX 9060 is slightly slower. The AMD Radeon R9 370X and RX 7700 are 1% faster, while the Radeon Pro W5500 is 2.1% faster.

The GPU's role in Inside is defined by the resolution scaling data. At 1080p, the GPU is underutilized, as evidenced by the 309 FPS at Low settings. The CPU is the bottleneck. At 1440p, the balance shifts, and at 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The 66 FPS at 4K Ultra suggests the 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's assets, but the 128-bit memory bus limits fill rate at high resolutions.

The boost clock of 2990 MHz is aggressive, and the FP32 throughput of 21.43 TFLOPS is more than adequate for a puzzle platformer. The 28 RT cores are unused, as Inside does not feature ray tracing. The GPU's 59th percentile ranking is modest, but the game's low graphical complexity means it still delivers playable frame rates even at 4K.

The data shows a clear pattern: the GPU's performance scales linearly with pixel count, but the CPU's single-thread ceiling caps the maximum frame rate. At 1080p, the GPU is never the limiting factor, as the 309 FPS Low result is 25% higher than the 247 FPS Medium result, showing the CPU's headroom is the constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides 12 measured configurations across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080: Low averages 309 FPS, Medium averages 247 FPS (min 210, max 284), High averages 155 FPS, and Ultra averages 147 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is only 8 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 92 FPS.

At 2560x1440: Low averages 222 FPS, Medium averages 178 FPS (min 151, max 204), High averages 111 FPS, and Ultra averages 106 FPS. The High to Ultra delta narrows to 5 FPS, while Medium to High is 67 FPS.

At 3840x2160: Low averages 140 FPS, Medium averages 112 FPS (min 95, max 128), High averages 70 FPS, and Ultra averages 66 FPS. The High to Ultra delta is 4 FPS, and Medium to High is 42 FPS.

The trend is clear: the gap between Medium and High grows as resolution increases (92 FPS at 1080p, 67 FPS at 1440p, 42 FPS at 4K), while the High to Ultra gap shrinks (8 FPS, 5 FPS, 4 FPS). This indicates that High and Ultra settings impose nearly identical GPU loads, while Medium offers a significant reduction in work.

The min FPS data for Medium settings shows a consistent 30 FPS spread at 1080p (210-284) and 1440p (151-204), but the absolute minimum of 95 FPS at 4K is the only recorded value below 100 FPS. This suggests that Medium at 4K is the boundary for maintaining smooth gameplay, as the 95 FPS minimum is still above 60 FPS but approaches the threshold for high-refresh-rate displays.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for this specific pairing in Inside is 1,615 out of 2,887 total combos, placing it in the 56th percentile. This is notably lower than the CPU's standalone 77th percentile and the GPU's 59th percentile. The discrepancy indicates that the combination underperforms relative to what the individual components suggest.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context: the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS is a 0% delta, meaning identical synthetic performance, yet the combo ranking suggests that in this game, the i5-13400F's desktop architecture with its 10 cores and 16 threads does not translate to a proportionate advantage. The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 3060 Ti at -0.7%, implies the RX 9060 is slightly slower in general compute, but the 4K performance of 70 FPS at High suggests the 8 GB VRAM is not the limiting factor.

The rank of 1,615 means that 1,614 other combos achieve higher frame rates in Inside. This is likely due to the game's low CPU requirements, meaning that even lower-end GPUs paired with mid-range CPUs can achieve high frame rates at 1080p. The combo's strength lies in its consistency across resolutions, but it does not excel in any single metric.

The data suggests that the bottleneck at 4K Ultra (66 FPS) is the GPU, while at 1080p Low (309 FPS) it is the CPU. The combo's rank could be improved by pairing the CPU with a stronger GPU, or by pairing the GPU with a weaker CPU without significant loss at lower resolutions. The 56th percentile ranking is respectable but unremarkable, showing that this is a balanced mid-range pairing rather than a performance outlier.