Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers an overwhelming performance envelope for Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016. Benchmark data shows this combination is not merely playable but excessively powerful, pushing frame rates into the hundreds even at 4K Ultra settings. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and presets, examines the CPU/GPU dynamic, and contextualizes the hardware within its nearest rivals.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a system that never approaches the playable threshold of 60 FPS, let alone dips below it. At 3840x2160 (4K), the average frame rates scale predictably with preset complexity. The Low preset yields an average of 321 FPS, while Medium drops to 256 FPS with a minimum of 218 FPS and a maximum of 295 FPS. The High preset averages 160 FPS, and the most demanding Ultra preset still maintains a robust 153 FPS average. Notably, the gap between High and Ultra at 4K is a modest 7 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns in visual fidelity versus frame rate at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance headroom expands considerably. The Low preset produces an average of 386 FPS. Medium scales up to 356 FPS average, with a recorded minimum of 303 FPS and a maximum of 410 FPS. High settings average 255 FPS, while Ultra remains comfortably above 240 FPS at 243 FPS average. The delta between 4K and 1440p at Ultra is 90 FPS, indicating that resolution scaling is a significant factor in this game's performance profile.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the system operates in a realm where the CPU likely becomes a more prominent bottleneck. The Low preset averages 431 FPS, the highest figure recorded across all configurations. Medium averages 398 FPS, with a minimum of 338 FPS and a maximum of 457 FPS. High settings average 331 FPS, and Ultra averages 326 FPS. Interestingly, the spread between High and Ultra at 1080p is just 5 FPS, nearly identical to the 4K delta, which suggests that the Ultra preset adds a consistent, small overhead regardless of resolution.

The only configuration with complete min/max data is the Medium preset, which shows a consistent pattern: at 1080p, the spread between minimum and maximum is 119 FPS; at 1440p, it is 107 FPS; and at 4K, it is 77 FPS. This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that frame pacing becomes more consistent as the GPU workload increases, reducing the variance caused by CPU-driven frame generation spikes.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates a classic resolution-dependent shift in component roles. At 1080p, the system's frame rates are extraordinarily high, reaching 431 FPS on Low. This suggests that the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is capable of feeding the GPU at these extreme rates. However, the scaling from 1080p Low (431 FPS) to 1440p Low (386 FPS) is a drop of 45 FPS, and to 4K Low (321 FPS) a further drop of 65 FPS. This progressive decline with resolution is a hallmark of the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The GPU's role is more clearly defined at 4K. The RTX 5090 D, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, is tasked with rendering at 3840x2160. The drop from 4K Medium (256 FPS) to 4K High (160 FPS) is a substantial 96 FPS, showing that the High preset's additional shading and texture work heavily taxes the GPU. Conversely, the CPU's influence is most apparent at 1080p, where the frame rates are so high that any single-threaded game logic or draw call overhead would be exposed. The fact that 1080p Ultra (326 FPS) is nearly identical to 4K High (160 FPS) in terms of absolute performance is not a direct comparison, but it highlights that the CPU has ample headroom to maintain high frame rates even when the GPU is less stressed.

Benchmark scores support this division of labor. The CPU's passmark_single_thread score of 4691 and passmark_multithread score of 36470 place it in the 94th percentile among all CPUs. The GPU's passmark_g3d score of 44065 and its 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs indicate that both components are top-tier, but the game's simple geometry and lighting mean that the CPU's high single-thread performance is more than sufficient to avoid bottlenecks, while the GPU's raw throughput is what ultimately dictates the frame rate ceiling at higher resolutions.

Best Settings per Resolution

The verdict data confirms that every preset at every resolution is playable, meaning the system never drops below the 60 FPS threshold. The "best settings" are defined as the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, and in this case, the Ultra preset is achievable at all three resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset runs at an average of 153 FPS. This is the most visually demanding configuration tested, and it still delivers more than double the playable threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 243 FPS, offering a significant frame rate advantage over 4K while maintaining the same visual quality. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 326 FPS, which is the highest frame rate achievable at the highest settings across all tested resolutions.

For users seeking the absolute highest frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p provides 431 FPS, but this is unnecessary for a game like Inside, where the visual atmosphere is a core part of the experience. The data suggests that the optimal configuration is 1440p Ultra, which balances the visual fidelity of the Ultra preset with a 243 FPS average that is far beyond any display's refresh rate, ensuring a perfectly smooth experience. At 4K, the 153 FPS average on Ultra is still exceptionally high and would be the choice for users with 4K displays seeking maximum detail.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for what other hardware would behave similarly in this game. For the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, the closest competitors are the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, with an average benchmark score of 69875 and a delta of 0.2% (essentially identical), and the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which scores 70163 and is 0.2% slower. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515 (0.7% slower), and the Intel Core i7-14700K scores 69355 (0.9% slower). In Inside, these CPUs would all deliver near-identical frame rates, as the game is not heavily multithreaded, and the 9700F's single-thread score of 4691 is comparable to these rivals.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are more disparate. The AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT has an average score of 76904, which is 1.1% lower than the RTX 5090 D. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940, which is 1.6% higher. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB and 16 GB variants score 79396 and 79605, respectively, which are 2.1% and 2.4% higher. These deltas are small, but the Tesla P100 is a compute-oriented card without display outputs, making it unsuitable for gaming. In practice, the RX 6850M XT would be the closest gaming alternative, potentially delivering frame rates within 2% of the RTX 5090 D in Inside. However, the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of VRAM is far in excess of what Inside requires, so these rivals would not be VRAM-limited in this specific title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 8th out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This top-0.2% placement is a direct result of the extreme performance of both components. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking and the GPU's 92nd percentile ranking individually are high, but their combined performance in a game that is not particularly demanding on either component results in a near-top-tier ranking.

The data shows that the 7 combos ranked above this one likely consist of even more powerful CPUs or GPUs, such as those with higher single-thread scores or more specialized gaming features. However, the practical difference is negligible for Inside, as the frame rates are already so high that any improvement would be imperceptible on standard displays. The ranking confirms that this combo is in the elite tier of hardware for this game, and users can expect maximum settings at any resolution without concern for performance degradation.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 153 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: The highest average FPS is 431, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the CPU's high single-thread performance (passmark_single_thread score of 4691) is sufficient to avoid bottlenecks, but the GPU still dictates the frame rate ceiling, as evidenced by the drop from 431 FPS on Low to 326 FPS on Ultra.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT?

A: The RX 6850M XT has an average benchmark score of 78940, which is 1.6% higher than the RTX 5090 D's score. In Inside, this would translate to a negligible frame rate difference.

Q: What is the frame rate variance on Medium settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 356, with a minimum of 303 FPS and a maximum of 410 FPS, showing a spread of 107 FPS.

Q: Is the 1080p Ultra preset significantly faster than the 4K Ultra preset?

A: Yes, the 1080p Ultra preset averages 326 FPS, while the 4K Ultra preset averages 153 FPS, a difference of 173 FPS in favor of the lower resolution.