Inside

# AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080: Inside Benchmark Analysis

The combination of AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4080 presents a formidable pairing for demanding gaming workloads. For a puzzle-platformer like Inside, which relies heavily on consistent frame pacing and physics-based interactions, this system proves exceptionally capable. The data indicates that this combo handles the game's most demanding presets with significant headroom, positioning it as a top-tier configuration for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Across all tested resolutions, the system delivers frame rates that far exceed the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data shows a clear pattern: performance scales with resolution, with higher framerates at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system achieves an average of 405 FPS on the Low preset, 374 FPS on Medium, and 294 FPS on High, with the Ultra preset still delivering a robust 280 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, averages remain high: 363 FPS at Low, 335 FPS at Medium, and 211 FPS at High. The most demanding preset at this resolution, Ultra, still manages an average of 201 FPS. At 3840x2160, or 4K, the averages are 265 FPS at Low, 212 FPS at Medium, 133 FPS at High, and 126 FPS at Ultra. The minimum FPS recorded within the tested configurations is 181 FPS, observed at 4K Medium settings, while the maximum is 430 FPS at 1080p Medium, with the highest Low-preset result hitting 405 FPS at 1080p.

The frame rate scaling between resolutions is noteworthy. Dropping from 4K to 1440p yields a substantial performance increase across all presets, with the most pronounced uplift seen at the Medium preset (from 212 FPS to 335 FPS). The jump from 1440p to 1080p provides an additional boost, though with diminishing returns at the High and Ultra presets. Interestingly, the Low preset does not scale as smoothly, suggesting some CPU-bound elements at lower resolutions that become more pronounced as GPU load decreases.

CPU and GPU Roles

For Inside, the division of labor between the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the RTX 4080 is critical, and the data reveals a shift in bottleneck depending on resolution. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset (126 FPS avg) versus the High preset (133 FPS avg) shows only a 5% difference, while dropping from High to Medium raises FPS by 59.4% (133 to 212 FPS). This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is the primary constraint, but the CPU still has a significant role above the Medium preset — the drop from Medium to Ultra costs 40.5% of the Medium score, which is a larger proportional loss than moving from 1440p Medium to 4K Medium (36.8% drop).

At 1440p, the CPU's influence becomes more apparent. The Ultra preset (201 FPS) trails High (211 FPS) by only 4.7%, but Ultra lags Medium (335 FPS) by 40%. This pattern echoes the 4K data, but with slightly less GPU pressure, since 1440p Ultra is 1.6x faster than 4K Ultra. When dropping to 1080p, the CPU becomes the clear limiting factor in High and Ultra presets: 1080p Ultra (280 FPS) and High (294 FPS) are separated by only 5%, while Low (405 FPS) more than doubles the Ultra result. This is classic CPU-bound scaling behavior, as the RTX 4080 has progressively less work to do, and the 3D V-Cache of the 9800X3D becomes the deciding factor.

In practical terms, the RTX 4080 is responsible for the heavy shading, lighting, and physics workloads at high fidelity and resolution. However, the Ryzen's substantial L3 cache and high single-thread performance ensure that the game's deterministic physics and entity logic are not a drag at lower resolutions. The game uses a fairly simple rendering pipeline (2D side-scroller with dynamic lighting and multiple translucent particle layers), which is why the RTX 4080 is not pushed to its limits even at 4K Ultra.

Best Settings per Resolution

The data supports a clear conclusion: the most demanding preset that still maintains a stable 60+ FPS experience is the one to choose. For this system, every Ultra preset at every resolution clears the 60 FPS threshold with a wide margin, and therefore delivers the best visual experience without compromising on frame rate.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset runs at an average of 280 FPS, which is 4.7x the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the highest fidelity setting that remains smooth. The High preset at this resolution is also a strong candidate, running at 294 FPS, but the data shows it is only 5% faster than Ultra, while Ultra provides visually superior effects. At 2560x1440, Ultra achieves 201 FPS, again the best balance of fidelity and performance. The 4K resolution, 3840x2160, is the most demanding; here Ultra runs at 126 FPS, which is sufficient for this game's methodical pacing.

The Verdict

The verdict is clear: the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combo is fully capable of running Inside at 60+ FPS on every tested setting. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the system averages 280 FPS, which is 4.7x the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 2560x1440 Ultra, the average is 201 FPS (3.35x). At the toughest test, 3840x2160 Ultra, the system still delivers 126 FPS, over double the target. The minimum FPS observed in any tested configuration was 181 FPS at 4K Medium, which is 3x the 60 FPS floor. This means the hardware has considerable headroom. For a game that is typically bound by CPU logic, the 9800X3D, with its 96 MB of L3 cache and high single-threaded performance, proves to be an excellent match for the RTX 4080, which handles the graphical load without ever becoming the bottleneck.

Similar Performance

Among the nearest rivals, the CPU is flanked by a set of very capable AMD options. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS is its closest competitor, with an average score of 39603, a mere 0.4% behind the 9800X3D in our tested configuration. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 comes in with an average of 40048 (0.7% behind), while the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 is at 39485 (0.7% behind). The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is the only rival that slightly edges the 9800X3D, at 40081 avg, 0.8% ahead. These differences are within run-to-run variance and are effectively the same for this game.

On the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the nearest competitor, with an average score of 54209, a 0.1% delta from the RTX 4080. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828 on average (1.1% slower), and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 2.6% behind. The AMD Radeon 8060S trails by 2.7%. Any of these cards would produce effectively identical frame rates in this title, as it is not graphically demanding enough to differentiate them significantly.

FAQ

Q: Does the game use the CPU or GPU more at 4K Ultra?

A: The data shows a balanced approach. At 3840x2160, the GPU is the primary constraint, but the CPU still matters. The drop from Medium to Ultra preset at 4K is 40.6%, while the drop from 1440p Medium to 4K Medium is 36.8%. Both are significant, so the CPU and GPU both play important roles at this resolution.

Q: Why is the FPS at 1080p High lower than at 1080p Medium?

A: The difference is relatively small: 294 FPS at High versus 374 at Medium, a 21.4% gap. However, the Low preset reaches 405 FPS, showing that the game scales well when effects and lighting are reduced. The High preset still delivers 4.9x the 60 FPS threshold, so it's recommended for its visual uplift.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D worth it for this game?

A: Yes. The 3D V-Cache and the high single-thread performance is directly reflected in the benchmark. The game has multiple deterministic physics and logic threads that run per frame. The 9800X3D is, on average, 0.4% ahead of its closest rival, the Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS, in the tested CPU benchmarks. In this specific game, the FPS results are close to those of the 8840HS, but the 9800X3D gives better frame times at 4K Ultra preset, which is a sign of a more stable throughput.

Q: What is the best GPU for this game at 4K?

A: The RTX 4080 is the strongest GPU tested here. The nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, is only 0.1% behind in average score. At 4K Ultra, the RTX 4080 delivers 126 FPS, which is 66 FPS above the playability threshold.

Q: Can I run the Ultra preset at 4K?

A: Yes, but the Ultra preset at 4K is the most demanding. It delivers an average 126 FPS, well above the 60 threshold, with the CPU not being a limiting factor.

Q: Is 1080p a CPU-bound scenario?

A: At 1080p Low, the CPU is doing more work. The FPS is 405, but the ratio of scaling from 1440p suggests that the game at this resolution is still GPU-influenced, but the CPU 9800X3D's cache and speed are enough to keep the frame pacing stable.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos, the combination of Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 4080 ranks 137th out of 3716 tested combos for this game. This places it solidly in the top tier of configurations. The CPU is the 3rd fastest, and the GPU is the 14th fastest in our benchmarks. For Inside, this pairing offers more than enough performance, placing it in the top 3.7% of all tested configurations. This combo is overkill for this game, which means you can play with all graphical settings maxed out at high resolutions, making the experience visually richer than on lesser hardware.