Inside

Inside, the 2016 puzzle platformer from Playdead, is not a typical stress test, but the measured data for the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination reveals distinct performance ceilings that shift dramatically across resolutions and presets. The benchmark results indicate a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at lower settings but becomes more balanced as graphical load increases, with the 16 GB frame buffer of the RX 7600 XT providing ample headroom even at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, comparative positioning, and the specific roles each component plays in delivering the game’s hauntingly atmospheric experience.

FAQ

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

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 140 FPS. This is the lowest average at 1080p, as the High preset delivers 147 FPS, Medium delivers 205 FPS, and Low delivers 222 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination ranks 2706 out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the lower percentile of all tested configurations.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 199 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to an average of 101 FPS. This represents a significant performance delta of 98 FPS, or roughly half the frame rate.

Q: Is the RX 7600 XT's 16 GB of VRAM a limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests no. At 4K with the Ultra preset, the average FPS is 63, which is still playable, and the VRAM capacity is not cited as a bottleneck in any of the measured rows. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent with general GPU load scaling rather than a memory capacity issue.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU act as the primary bottleneck at 1080p Low settings?

A: The data strongly indicates a CPU bottleneck at 1080p Low. The average FPS is 222, which is a very high frame rate, but the scaling from Low to Medium (222 to 205 FPS) is minimal, suggesting the CPU is nearing its maximum output before the GPU load increases significantly.

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 147 at 1920x1080 to 67 at 3840x2160. This is a reduction of 80 FPS, or approximately a 54% decrease in frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, running on the Intel Socket 1151 platform. With a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, it is not a high-end part by modern standards, but its benchmark scores indicate it is a capable mid-range performer. Its average benchmark score is 2254, which places it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, showing typical performance for its class.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not fully taxed. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 222 FPS. This is nearly double the 4K High result, but the performance scaling from Low to Medium at 1080p is relatively small, going from 222 to 205 FPS. This suggests that at these lower graphical loads, the i5-9400 is approaching its limit for frame generation. The processor's 6 cores and 6 threads are sufficient for the game's physics and logic, but the lack of hyper-threading may be a factor in this ceiling. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-9400 is nearly identical in performance, with a delta of -0.2% against the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and 0.3% against the Intel Core i7-10710U. This places it in a performance tier where pushing frame rates beyond the 200 FPS mark at 1080p Low becomes challenging.

As resolution increases, the CPU load does not grow proportionally, while the GPU load does. This is why the 1080p Low and Medium results show a smaller gap than the 1440p Medium and High results. At 1440p Medium, the average is 170 FPS, while High drops to 106 FPS. This indicates the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor at higher settings, freeing the CPU from its role as the main bottleneck. The data suggests that for this game, the i5-9400 is more than adequate to feed the RX 7600 XT at resolutions above 1080p, where the GPU's rendering workload dominates the frame time.

The L3 cache size of 9 MB (shared) and the dual-channel DDR4 memory support with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s are standard for this platform and do not appear to create specific bottlenecks in this title. The CPU's performance in Cinebench R23, with a multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935, reflects a processor that handles both multi-threaded and single-threaded tasks adequately, which is sufficient for a puzzle platformer like Inside.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is a RDNA 3.0 architecture GPU with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. It has a base clock of 1980 MHz, a boost clock of 2755 MHz, and a game clock of 2470 MHz. The GPU is a solid mid-range performer, with an average benchmark score of 17083, placing it in the 60th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, is only 0.7% faster on average, showing this card is competitive in its class.

In Inside, the GPU's role becomes dominant as the settings and resolution increase. The game is not graphically intense by 2024 standards, but it does scale well with GPU load. At 1080p High, the RX 7600 XT delivers 147 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces this to 106 FPS, and at 4K High, it further drops to 67 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates a standard GPU-bound workload, where the rendering resolution directly impacts the frame rate.

The 16 GB of VRAM is a significant asset, but it is not necessarily a limiting factor in this game. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings (147 to 67 FPS) is a 54% reduction, which is consistent with the increase in pixel count and not a sign of VRAM capacity issues. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 288 GB/s is ample for the game’s textures and effects. The 64 ROPs and 128 TMUs are sufficient for the game's rendering demands, and the data shows that the GPU can produce very high frame rates when not CPU-limited.

At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 63, which is still a playable frame rate for a puzzle platformer, indicating the GPU has enough headroom to handle the highest settings even at the highest resolution. The GPU's FP32 performance of 22.57 TFLOPS is more than enough for this title, and the benchmark results confirm that the RX 7600 XT is never the bottleneck at 1080p or 1440p, where the CPU often is. The GPU's performance is only truly tested at 4K, where it still manages to maintain playable frame rates across all presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how the system scales with resolution and settings. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are consistently high across all presets. The Low preset leads with 222 FPS, followed by Medium at 205 FPS (with a min of 174 and max of 235 FPS), High at 147 FPS, and Ultra at 140 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is substantial (58 FPS), while the gap between High and Ultra is smaller (7 FPS), suggesting diminishing returns in visual quality for the performance cost at the top end.

Moving to 2560x1440, the scaling is more pronounced. The Low preset averages 199 FPS, which is only a 23 FPS drop from the 1080p result, showing the CPU is still a limiting factor at this resolution with low settings. The Medium preset averages 170 FPS (min 144, max 195), a 35 FPS drop from 1080p Medium. High averages 106 FPS, and Ultra averages 101 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is only 5 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset is not significantly more demanding than High at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck. The Low preset averages 133 FPS, which is a 66 FPS drop from 1080p Low, confirming that the CPU is no longer the main constraint. The Medium preset averages 107 FPS (min 91, max 123), a 63 FPS drop from 1440p Medium. High averages 67 FPS, and Ultra averages 63 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is roughly linear in terms of pixel count, and the frame rates reflect this. The data shows that the system can handle 4K at Ultra with an average of 63 FPS, which is playable but not as smooth as lower resolutions.

The lack of min/max data for most presets except Medium is notable. The Medium presets at all resolutions show a min FPS that is significantly lower than the average, indicating occasional frame drops. For example, at 1080p Medium, the min is 174 FPS, and at 1440p Medium, it is 144 FPS. This could be due to scene complexity or loading events, but it does not detract from the overall smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination ranks 2706 out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This rank places it in the lower 27% of all tested systems, which is surprising given the high frame rates measured. This low relative ranking is likely because many of the tested combos include much higher-end CPUs and GPUs that can push frame rates beyond what this system achieves, particularly at lower resolutions.

The combo's performance is solid in absolute terms, but its rank is dragged down by the sheer number of systems that can exceed 200 FPS at 1080p. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking and the GPU's 60th percentile ranking suggest that while both components are mid-range, they are not top-tier, and the combination does not break into the upper echelons of performance. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1440p gaming, where it can still achieve high frame rates, and it is more than capable of handling 4K at playable speeds.

When compared to other combos, this system is not at the bottom, but it is not near the top either. The rank of 2706 out of 3716 indicates that a significant number of systems outperform it, likely because they feature newer or higher-end components. However, the measured FPS data shows that for a game like Inside, this combo provides an excellent experience at 1080p and 1440p, and a satisfactory one at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings balance depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For a 60 FPS target, the system can run at 4K Ultra with an average of 63 FPS, which is just above the threshold. This is the best experience for visual fidelity at 4K. For a 144 Hz monitor at 1440p, the High preset is the best choice, as it averages 106 FPS, which is lower than the 144 Hz refresh rate but still smooth. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 170 FPS, which would be ideal for a 165 Hz monitor, providing a very smooth experience with a slight reduction in visual quality.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset averages 140 FPS, which is suitable for a 144 Hz monitor, but the High preset is nearly identical at 147 FPS, so there is no reason to choose Ultra over High. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 205 FPS, which is excellent for high refresh rate displays, and it offers a significant performance boost over High with only a minor visual sacrifice. The Low preset at 1080p averages 222 FPS, but it is not recommended due to the minimal visual quality improvement from Medium to Low.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this system across all resolutions. At 1080p, it provides 205 FPS, at 1440p it provides 170 FPS, and at 4K it provides 107 FPS. This preset offers a good balance between visual quality and performance, and it is the only preset with measured min and max FPS data, indicating it has been tested more thoroughly. For the best overall experience, Medium settings are recommended for high refresh rate gaming, while High or Ultra can be used for more visually demanding scenarios at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the nature of the system's bottlenecks. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 222 at 1080p to 199 at 1440p, a 23 FPS decrease, and then to 133 at 4K, a 66 FPS decrease from 1080p. The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p (10% reduction) compared to the larger drop from 1440p to 4K (33% reduction) indicates that the CPU is still a limiting factor at 1440p Low, but the GPU becomes the sole bottleneck at 4K Low.

At Medium settings, the FPS drops from 205 at 1080p to 170 at 1440p (17% reduction) and then to 107 at 4K (37% reduction from 1440p). This shows a more linear scaling pattern, suggesting the GPU is becoming more dominant. At High settings, the FPS drops from 147 at 1080p to 106 at 1440p (28% reduction) and then to 67 at 4K (37% reduction from 1440p). This pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound workload, where the frame rate is directly proportional to the number of pixels rendered.

The data shows that the limiting component shifts from the CPU to the GPU as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is the bottleneck, capping frame rates at around 222 FPS. At 1440p, the CPU is still a factor at Low settings, but the GPU starts to take over at higher presets. At 4K, the GPU is the definitive bottleneck, and the CPU has no impact on the frame rate. This analysis is supported by the fact that the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is less than the drop from 1440p to 4K at all settings, which is expected as the pixel count increases by 2.25x from 1080p to 1440p and by 2.25x from 1440p to 4K, yet the frame rate drops are not perfectly proportional, confirming the CPU's role at lower resolutions.