Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a decisive performance surplus for Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer. Across every resolution tested, from 1080p to 4K, this combination clears the 60 FPS threshold at all four settings presets, with the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K still averaging 82.8 FPS. The data indicates a system that is not merely playable but massively overqualified, as even the lowest recorded average frame rate—82.8 FPS at 4K Ultra—sits comfortably above the playability threshold.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average frame rate at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra preset is 82.8 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D has an average benchmark score of 75779, placing it 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D, 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 8224P, and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 falls into the 61st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208.

Q: Which resolution shows the largest frame rate drop when moving from Medium to High settings?

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rate drops from 220.1 FPS on Medium to 134.5 FPS on High, a decrease of 85.6 FPS. At 1920x1080, the drop from Medium (303.5 FPS) to High (187 FPS) is 116.5 FPS.

Q: Is the game playable at 4K with the Low preset?

A: Yes, the Low preset at 3840x2160 yields an average frame rate of 170.8 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the total number of combinations this setup ranks against?

A: The combo ranks 1294th out of 3716 tested combinations for this game.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data for Inside reveals a workload that scales almost entirely with resolution, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck at higher settings. At 1920x1080 Low, the system produces 378.8 FPS, indicating that neither component is heavily stressed. As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the Low preset drops to 271 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it falls further to 170.8 FPS. This scaling pattern—a 55% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and another 37% reduction to 4K—is characteristic of a pixel-bound workload where the RTX 3070's memory bandwidth and shading throughput become the limiting factors.

The CPU's role is more pronounced at lower resolutions where frame rates are extremely high. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, provides ample headroom, as evidenced by the 378.8 FPS result at 1080p Low. The difference between Low and Ultra presets at the same resolution shows how settings impact the GPU load: at 1080p, the jump from Low (378.8 FPS) to Ultra (181.3 FPS) represents a 52% reduction, while at 4K, the same preset change from Low (170.8 FPS) to Ultra (82.8 FPS) is a 51% reduction. This consistency suggests that the GPU's fill rate and compute capacity are the dominant factors across all resolutions.

The CPU's high average benchmark score of 75779, with a 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs, indicates it is unlikely to be a limiting factor. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755, scores 75738 (0.1% slower), and the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 scores 75488 (0.4% slower), all of which would perform nearly identically in this scenario. The data shows that for Inside, the GPU is the component that determines playable settings, as the CPU's performance surplus is far beyond what this game requires at any resolution.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers an average of 82.8 FPS. This is the highest settings option available in the test suite, and it still maintains a comfortable margin above the playable threshold. The High preset at this resolution produces 85.3 FPS, while Medium yields 138.2 FPS, and Low reaches 170.8 FPS.

For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is again the best choice, averaging 131.3 FPS. The High preset runs at 134.5 FPS, Medium at 220.1 FPS, and Low at 271 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is minimal—just 3.2 FPS—suggesting that the visual fidelity increase from Ultra comes at almost no performance cost at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves 181.3 FPS, which is the highest average among all resolutions at that settings level. High runs at 187 FPS, Medium at 303.5 FPS, and Low at 378.8 FPS. Since all presets clear the 60 FPS threshold with significant headroom, the recommendation is to use the maximum settings available at every resolution.

The Verdict

This PC can run Inside with no reservations. According to the verdict data, all four tested settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at every resolution, with the best settings being Ultra in all cases. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 82.8 FPS, which is 22.8 FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 131.3 FPS, and at 1920x1080, it averages 181.3 FPS.

The data shows that this combination never dips below the playable threshold, even at the most demanding configuration tested. The lowest average frame rate recorded across the entire test matrix is 82.8 FPS at 4K Ultra, meaning the system has a performance buffer of at least 38% at that settings level. For a puzzle platformer like Inside, this level of performance ensures smooth gameplay with no compromises, regardless of display resolution or quality settings chosen.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are as follows: Low preset runs at 170.8 FPS, Medium at 138.2 FPS, High at 85.3 FPS, and Ultra at 82.8 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High, where the frame rate falls by 52.9 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low at 271 FPS, Medium at 220.1 FPS, High at 134.5 FPS, and Ultra at 131.3 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 3.2 FPS, which is the smallest gap between any two consecutive settings at any resolution. The drop from Medium to High is 85.6 FPS, indicating that the High preset introduces a significant increase in rendering complexity.

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are: Low at 378.8 FPS, Medium at 303.5 FPS, High at 187 FPS, and Ultra at 181.3 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium is a 75.3 FPS reduction, while the step from Medium to High is a larger 116.5 FPS reduction. The Ultra preset is only 5.7 FPS slower than High, suggesting that the additional effects in the Ultra preset are relatively lightweight for the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1294th out of 3716 tested configurations for Inside. This places it in the upper third of all tested combos, which is notable given that the GPU is from an older generation and sits in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. The high ranking is attributable to the CPU's exceptional performance—it is in the 95th percentile of all CPUs—which provides a strong foundation for frame generation in less GPU-bound scenarios.

The ranking data suggests that while the RTX 3070 is not a top-tier GPU by modern standards, its pairing with the 9950X3D creates a balanced system for this particular game. The CPU's average benchmark score of 75779 is 0.1% higher than its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755, and the GPU's average score of 17208 is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT. This combination outperforms 65% of all tested systems, which is a strong result for a game with relatively modest hardware requirements.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 (75738, 0.1% slower), the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D (75716, 0.1% slower), the AMD EPYC 8224P (75582, 0.3% slower), and the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 (75488, 0.4% slower). All of these processors would deliver nearly identical performance in Inside, since the game is not heavily threaded and the CPU is rarely the bottleneck.

For the GPU, the closest alternatives are the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083, 0.7% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037, 1% slower), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019, 1.1% slower), and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17468, 1.5% faster). The RTX 3070's score of 17208 places it between these rivals, suggesting that any of these GPUs would produce similar frame rates in Inside. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, being the closest match, would likely offer a nearly identical experience, while the NVIDIA Tesla K40c, though slightly faster in synthetic benchmarks, is a workstation card not designed for gaming.