Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers an extraordinary performance envelope for Inside, a game that places minimal demands on modern hardware. The measured data shows this combination achieving triple-digit frame rates even at the most demanding settings, positioning it as a top-tier performer for this title, though not the absolute fastest combination ever tested.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific CPU-GPU pairing achieves a combo rank of 27 out of 3,716 tested combinations for Inside. That places it in the top 1% of all systems evaluated, which is a remarkable result for a puzzle platformer that launched in 2016. The ranking reflects the sheer brute-force capability of both components rather than any game-specific optimization, as the title's simple 2.5D side-scrolling visuals barely stress either part.

The data suggests that the RTX 5090 is operating well below its potential in this title. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 142.5 FPS average, which is more than double the playable threshold of 60 FPS. The GPU's percentile ranking of 92 against all GPUs indicates it is among the top 8% of graphics cards ever benchmarked, yet Inside cannot fully utilize its capabilities. The CPU, with a percentile ranking of 86 against all processors, similarly has headroom to spare.

What is telling is the performance scaling across resolutions. Moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings reduces average FPS from 319.8 to 142.5, a 55% drop. This indicates the GPU is beginning to matter more at higher resolutions, but even at 4K Ultra the system is nowhere near struggling. The rank of 27 suggests that a handful of other combinations—likely those with even more extreme CPU or GPU configurations—can push slightly higher frame rates, but the differences are academic when every setting combination already clears 142 FPS.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is bracketed by several processors with nearly identical average benchmark scores. The Intel Core i9-14901E scores 37,911 against the Ryzen's 37,943, a mere 0.1% difference. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 matches at 37,904, also 0.1% behind. The Intel Core 5 211E trails by just 0.3%, and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 is 0.4% behind. In practical terms for Inside, any of these CPUs would produce virtually indistinguishable frame rates, as the game is not CPU-bound at any resolution tested.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are more eclectic. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79,605 versus the RTX 5090's 79,842, a 0.3% difference. The Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB is 0.6% behind, and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT trails by 1.1%. Interestingly, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 80,959, which is 1.4% higher than the RTX 5090 in the aggregate benchmark. This suggests that for synthetic workloads, the RTX 5090's advantage is not overwhelming, though in gaming-specific scenarios the GeForce architecture typically pulls ahead.

What this means for Inside is that a system built with any of these rival components would deliver essentially the same experience. The game's performance is so far beyond the playable threshold that the 0.1% to 1.4% differences in synthetic benchmarks translate to imperceptible changes in frame rate. The bottleneck for this title is not hardware capability but the game's own engine limits.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals an interesting dynamic between the CPU and GPU for Inside. At 1080p, the system achieves 424.1 FPS on Low settings, which is remarkably high. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 24.6% reduction in performance, from 424.1 to 319.8 FPS. This indicates that at lower resolutions, the GPU is still the limiting factor, as increasing graphical fidelity directly impacts frame rate.

At 1440p, the pattern shifts slightly. Low settings produce 379.4 FPS, Medium drops to 350, High to 242.5, and Ultra to 230.3. The gap between Low and Medium is only 7.7%, suggesting the CPU may be involved at these lower settings, but the larger gaps between Medium and High (30.7% reduction) indicate the GPU reasserts its dominance as settings increase.

The 4K results show the clearest GPU scaling. Low settings hit 305.5 FPS, Medium drops to 244.2 (20.1% reduction), High to 154.7 (36.7% reduction from Medium), and Ultra to 142.5 (7.9% reduction from High). The diminishing returns from High to Ultra at 4K suggest the game's Ultra preset offers minimal visual improvement over High while requiring significantly more GPU resources.

Across all resolutions, the CPU's role appears minimal. The Ryzen 7 9700X's single-thread score of 3,023 in Geekbench and multi-thread score of 17,906 are far beyond what Inside requires. The game's modest physics and AI systems are unlikely to stress even a single core of this processor. The GPU, with its 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, is similarly overqualified. The real takeaway is that this combo is so powerful that neither component becomes a meaningful bottleneck; the game simply cannot scale high enough to challenge them.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Inside at 60 FPS on maximum settings?*

A: Yes, and with substantial headroom. At 4K Ultra, the system averages 142.5 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 1440p Ultra, it reaches 230.3 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it hits 319.8 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 scores 79,842 in the aggregate benchmark, which is 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, 0.6% higher than the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB, and 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. However, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X scores 1.4% higher at 80,959.

Q: Which resolution provides the best balance of visual quality and performance?

A: All three tested resolutions clear 60 FPS at every preset. The most demanding configuration, 4K Ultra, still averages 142.5 FPS. If maximizing frame rate is the priority, 1080p Low produces 424.1 FPS, but even 4K Ultra is far beyond the playable threshold.

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

A: The GPU is the primary driver of performance differences between settings, particularly at higher resolutions. At 4K, moving from Low to Ultra reduces FPS from 305.5 to 142.5, a 53.4% decrease. The CPU, with its 86th percentile ranking, has ample headroom and is unlikely to bottleneck at any tested configuration.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested systems?

A: This pairing ranks 27th out of 3,716 tested combinations for Inside, placing it in the top 1% of all systems. The high rank is driven by the extreme capabilities of both components, though the game's modest demands mean even lower-ranked systems would likely perform well.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the system averages 242.5 FPS. This is 4.2 times higher than the 60 FPS playable threshold, providing a smooth experience on any display, including high-refresh-rate monitors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, with average frame rates recorded for each combination. No minimum or maximum FPS values were captured, so the analysis relies on averages.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the system produces the following average frame rates:

• Low: 305.5 FPS
• Medium: 244.2 FPS
• High: 154.7 FPS
• Ultra: 142.5 FPS

The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a linear decline in performance, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High, a 36.7% reduction.

At 2560x1440, the results are:

• Low: 379.4 FPS
• Medium: 350 FPS
• High: 242.5 FPS
• Ultra: 230.3 FPS

The 1440p data shows a smaller gap between Medium and High (30.7%) compared to 4K, and the overall scaling is less severe, with Ultra still delivering 60.7% of Low's frame rate.

At 1920x1080, the results are:

• Low: 424.1 FPS
• Medium: 392.1 FPS
• High: 330.7 FPS
• Ultra: 319.8 FPS

The 1080p results show the smallest performance penalty for increasing settings, with Ultra delivering 75.4% of Low's frame rate. This reinforces that the GPU is less stressed at lower resolutions, allowing the CPU to help maintain higher frame rates.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the best settings are defined as the most demanding preset that still maintains an average frame rate at or above 60 FPS. Since every preset at every resolution clears this threshold, the "best" setting is always Ultra.

At 3840x2160, Ultra settings produce 142.5 FPS average. This is 2.4 times the playable threshold, providing a significant buffer for demanding scenes or background processes.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings deliver 230.3 FPS average. This is 3.8 times the playable threshold, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming on 144Hz or 240Hz monitors.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings reach 319.8 FPS average. This is 5.3 times the playable threshold, which exceeds the refresh rate of nearly all consumer monitors. The system is effectively capped by display capabilities rather than GPU performance at this resolution.

The Verdict

The verdict is unequivocal: this PC can run Inside at maximum settings across all tested resolutions. The data confirms that every preset—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—at every resolution—1080p, 1440p, and 4K—clears the 60 FPS playable threshold with substantial margin.

At 4K, the most demanding scenario, Ultra settings maintain 142.5 FPS, which is 2.4 times the playable threshold. This means users can enable every visual feature without concern for frame rate drops. The 1440p and 1080p results are even more comfortable, with Ultra delivering 230.3 FPS and 319.8 FPS respectively.

The system's rank of 27 out of 3,716 combos indicates that while it is not the absolute fastest configuration for Inside, it is among the elite. The differences between this combo and the top-ranked systems are likely measurable only in synthetic benchmarks, not in actual gameplay experience. For practical purposes, this system will never drop below 60 FPS in Inside, and it provides enough performance headroom to handle any future updates or mods that might increase the game's graphical demands.