Inside

# Inside on Intel Core i5-9400 + AMD Radeon RX 9060

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer from 2016. Across all tested resolutions and settings, the combo never dips below 66 FPS average, with peak performance reaching 222 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions but capable of exploiting the CPU's six cores effectively at lower settings, where frame rates climb well past typical high-refresh display thresholds.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic resolution scaling curve that highlights the GPU as the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. At 1080p High, the combo produces 155 FPS average. Moving to 1440p High drops performance to 111 FPS, a 28.4% reduction. At 4K High, the average falls to 70 FPS, which represents a 54.8% decline from the 1080p figure. This steep drop pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the RX 9060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus are increasingly strained by the pixel throughput demands.

The scaling pattern becomes even more telling when examining the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system hits 222 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 199 FPS (a 10.4% reduction), and at 4K Low, it reaches 140 FPS (a 36.9% reduction from 1080p). The relatively modest drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests the CPU is still able to feed the GPU adequately at these frame rates, but the larger 4K penalty indicates the Radeon's 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs are the limiting factor.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling. From 147 FPS at 1080p Ultra to 106 FPS at 1440p Ultra (a 27.9% drop) and then to 66 FPS at 4K Ultra (a 55.1% drop from 1080p). The pattern across all presets is remarkably consistent: roughly a 28% penalty for stepping from 1080p to 1440p, and another 35-40% penalty for stepping from 1440p to 4K. This suggests the game's rendering load scales predictably with pixel count, and the RX 9060's 288.0 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes the limiting factor at 4K, particularly with higher quality settings enabled.

The data indicates that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo in Inside, offering over 100 FPS at every preset including Ultra. Even at 4K, the combination remains playable at all settings, though High and Ultra presets hover near the 60-70 FPS range, which may not satisfy users with high-refresh 4K displays. The 4K Medium result of 112 FPS average with a 95 FPS minimum shows that dropping from High to Medium yields a 60% performance uplift, making it the sensible choice for 4K play.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, but just barely playable. The 4K Ultra preset produces an average of 66 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold but leaves little headroom. For smoother 4K gameplay, the Medium preset at 112 FPS average is a much safer option.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with high-refresh monitors?

A: At 1080p High, the average is 155 FPS, which exceeds 144 Hz displays. The Low preset reaches 222 FPS, and Medium achieves 205 FPS, so users with 240 Hz panels can approach that target with lower settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions. The Intel Core i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads with a 4.10 GHz boost clock, which appears sufficient for this title. The consistent FPS scaling across resolutions points to the RX 9060 as the performance limiter.

Q: How does the 4K Medium result compare to 4K High?

A: 4K Medium delivers 112 FPS average with a 95 FPS minimum, while 4K High produces 70 FPS average. This represents a 60% improvement from lowering settings one step, indicating Medium is the optimal 4K preset for this hardware.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 95 FPS at 4K Medium. The 1440p Medium preset shows a 151 FPS minimum, and 1080p Medium shows a 174 FPS minimum. All other settings report average FPS only, without minimum or maximum values.

Q: Does the 6-core CPU hold back performance at lower resolutions?

A: The evidence suggests no significant CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 222 FPS average, which is well beyond typical display refresh rates. The Core i5-9400's 6 cores and 6 threads, with 9 MB of shared L3 cache, appear adequate for Inside's puzzle platformer workload.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 2,887 tested combos in Inside, this pairing of Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks at position 1,905. This places it in the 34th percentile of all tested combinations, meaning roughly two-thirds of tested systems deliver higher average performance in this specific title. The ranking reflects the fact that Inside is not a demanding game by modern standards, and many newer or higher-end components can achieve very high frame rates.

The CPU itself sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 2,254. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (scoring 2,259, a 0.2% difference), the Intel Core i7-10710U (2,248, 0.3% difference), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2,246, 0.4% difference), and the Intel Core i3-10305 (2,264, 0.4% difference). These tight margins indicate the i5-9400 is squarely mid-pack in overall CPU performance.

The GPU performs better relative to its peers. The Radeon RX 9060 sits at the 59th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16,014. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti at 16,129 (a 0.7% difference), followed by the AMD Radeon R9 370X at 15,862 (1% difference), the AMD Radeon RX 7700 at 15,852 (1% difference), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 at 15,679 (2.1% difference). The RX 9060's 4 nm process node and RDNA 4.0 architecture with 28 RT cores and 21.43 TFLOPS FP32 performance place it in the upper-mid tier of graphics hardware.

The combination's relatively low rank in Inside specifically suggests that this game favors other hardware configurations. Given that Inside is a 2.5D puzzle platformer with modest visual demands, the ranking indicates that many combos with faster CPUs or GPUs achieve higher frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU's 6-thread configuration may limit peak FPS compared to processors with more threads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 222 FPS, followed by Medium at 205 FPS with a minimum of 174 FPS and maximum of 235 FPS. High settings produce 155 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 147 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 75 FPS, representing a 33.8% performance penalty for maximum quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the scaling shows a similar pattern with lower absolute numbers. Low achieves 199 FPS average, Medium reaches 178 FPS with a 151 FPS minimum and 204 FPS maximum, High produces 111 FPS, and Ultra delivers 106 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 93 FPS, a 46.7% penalty. Notably, the difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is only 5 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns from the Ultra preset.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low yields 140 FPS average, Medium delivers 112 FPS with a 95 FPS minimum and 128 FPS maximum, High drops to 70 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 66 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 74 FPS, a 52.9% penalty. The 4K Medium result stands out as the best balance, offering over 110 FPS average while the minimum stays above 90 FPS.

Comparing presets across resolutions, the Medium preset shows the most consistent scaling pattern. From 1080p Medium at 205 FPS to 1440p Medium at 178 FPS (13.2% drop) to 4K Medium at 112 FPS (45.4% drop from 1080p), the progression is smooth. The High preset shows steeper drops: 155 to 111 (28.4%) to 70 (54.8%). Ultra follows a similar curve: 147 to 106 (27.9%) to 66 (55.1%). Low settings scale most gently at first: 222 to 199 (10.4%) to 140 (36.9%).

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to the Medium preset as the optimal choice for most users, particularly at higher resolutions. At 4K, Medium delivers 112 FPS average with a 95 FPS minimum, which is the only 4K preset that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while providing a minimum above 90 FPS. The jump from Medium to High at 4K costs 42 FPS (a 37.5% reduction), which is a substantial sacrifice for marginal visual improvements in a game like Inside.

For 1440p displays, Medium remains the best balance, offering 178 FPS average with a 151 FPS minimum. This comfortably exceeds 144 Hz refresh rates and provides headroom for frame time spikes. High at 1440p produces 111 FPS, which is also viable for 60 Hz and lower-end 120 Hz displays, but the 67 FPS gap between Medium and High makes Medium the clear choice for smooth gameplay.

At 1080p, the choice depends on display refresh rate. Users with 144 Hz panels can run High at 155 FPS and stay above the refresh ceiling. Those with 240 Hz displays should consider Medium at 205 FPS or Low at 222 FPS to approach that target. The Ultra preset at 147 FPS still exceeds 144 Hz but offers no advantage over High in terms of frame rate headroom.

The data suggests avoiding Ultra settings at all resolutions unless visual fidelity is the absolute priority. The difference between High and Ultra is only 8 FPS at 1080p (155 vs 147), 5 FPS at 1440p (111 vs 106), and 4 FPS at 4K (70 vs 66). These marginal gains come with the lowest frame rates of any preset, making Ultra the least efficient choice. Conversely, the step from Medium to High provides significant visual quality improvements for a moderate FPS cost at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the cost is too steep.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 brings 6 cores and 6 threads to this combination, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. This Coffee Lake architecture processor, built on Intel's 14 nm process, features 9 MB of shared L3 cache and 256 KB of L2 cache per core. Its dual-channel DDR4 memory support provides 42.7 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is adequate for a game like Inside that does not appear to be memory-bandwidth sensitive.

In the context of Inside's measured performance, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The fact that frame rates scale predictably with resolution at every preset indicates the Radeon RX 9060 is the limiting component. However, the CPU's 6-thread configuration does set an upper ceiling on achievable frame rates. At 1080p Low, the 222 FPS average suggests the i5-9400 can sustain very high frame delivery, but faster processors with higher thread counts might push even further.

The CPU's benchmark scores place it in the middle of the pack. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 6,629 and single-core score of 935 indicate solid, if not exceptional, processing power. The Geekbench multicore score of 5,141 and single-core score of 1,389 reinforce this assessment. With a 47th percentile ranking among all CPUs, the i5-9400 is a competent but not class-leading processor.

For a puzzle platformer like Inside, the CPU demands are modest. The game's genre does not typically require massive thread counts or extreme single-core performance. The i5-9400's 6 cores and 6 threads, combined with its 4.10 GHz boost capability, provide more than enough processing headroom for this title. The data confirms this: even at the highest frame rates measured (222 FPS at 1080p Low), the CPU does not appear to bottleneck the GPU. The nearest CPU rivals, including the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500, all score within 0.4% of the i5-9400, suggesting that any of these processors would deliver nearly identical performance in Inside when paired with the same GPU.