Inside

Inside is a 2D puzzle-platformer from 2016, and the measured performance data for the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination reveals a system that is massively overqualified for the game’s demands. The benchmark results show frame rates that range from playable to exceptionally high, depending on the settings and resolution. This analysis will break down the measured FPS across different configurations, interpret what the data implies about the hardware bottleneck, and place this specific combo within the broader context of all tested systems.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It operates with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, and it features a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. In the context of a game like Inside, which is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer, the CPU's role is typically much less demanding than in a large 3D open-world title. The data suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this configuration.

Looking at the synthetic performance benchmarks, the CPU achieves a single-thread score of 2941 and a multithread score of 20363. These are strong numbers, placing it in the 85th percentile when compared to all CPUs. The high single-thread performance is often more critical for gaming, and the 5500X3D's score here is a clear indicator of its capability. For a game like Inside, which does not rely heavily on complex physics simulations or AI, the 6-core/12-thread setup provides ample headroom. The measured FPS at 1080p with Low settings reaches 268 FPS, which is far beyond any standard display's refresh rate, indicating that the CPU is easily keeping up with the GPU's output.

The data implies that the CPU's large cache and architecture are more than sufficient for the game's logic. The game's release date is 2016, and it was designed for hardware of that era. This modern 5000-series processor is handling the game's instructions with immense ease. The benchmark results show no scenario where the CPU appears to bottleneck the system; the FPS scales predictably with resolution and settings, which is the behavior expected when the GPU is the primary component determining performance. The 105W TDP and the 7nm process node are characteristics of the processor, but they don't have a direct bearing on the game's FPS, other than confirming it's a modern, efficient part.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how the game performs across four settings presets: Low, Medium, High, and Ultra. The recommendation hinges on the user's target frame rate and display resolution. At 1920x1080, all presets are exceptionally playable. The Low preset achieves 268 FPS, Medium hits 247 FPS, High reaches 155 FPS, and Ultra is at 147 FPS. Even the Ultra preset at 1080p is far above the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that there is no reason to lower settings for performance at this resolution.

However, the analysis becomes more nuanced at higher resolutions. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops to 106 FPS, which is still very smooth. The High preset at 1440p gets 111 FPS, and the Medium preset hits 178 FPS. The Low preset is at 223 FPS. All of these are excellent. At 3840x2160 (4K), the picture changes. The High preset yields 70 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 67 FPS. These are still playable, but they are closer to the 60 FPS baseline. The Medium preset at 4K is notably better, at 112 FPS, which is over 60% higher than the Ultra preset.

The data suggests that the "best experience" depends on the resolution. For 1080p and 1440p, the Ultra preset is the clear choice, as it provides the highest visual fidelity while maintaining frame rates well above 100 FPS. For 4K, the Medium preset appears to be the optimal balance, as it offers a substantial FPS boost over High and Ultra (112 FPS vs 70 and 67 FPS, respectively) while presumably still looking very good for a game of this style. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K is also significant (140 to 112 FPS), but the jump from Medium to High is a large drop (112 to 70 FPS), indicating a heavy graphical load increase that may not be worth the visual upgrade on this GPU. The data indicates that Medium at 4K is the sweet spot for maximizing frame rate while keeping a high level of quality.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling across resolutions is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound workload. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the system produces 147 FPS. Moving to 1440p, the frame rate drops to 106 FPS, a decrease of about 28%. Moving further to 4K, the frame rate falls to 67 FPS, a 55% drop from the 1440p figure and a 54% drop from 1080p. This pattern shows that as the pixel count increases, the GPU has to work much harder to fill those pixels, and the FPS drops accordingly.

This scaling behavior strongly suggests that the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The CPU is likely providing frames as fast as the GPU can render them, but the GPU's rendering capacity is what is being taxed. The RTX 2070 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 256-bit memory bus, which is a capable configuration, but it is not a top-end card. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is struggling to maintain the high frame rates seen at lower resolutions, even with a game as visually simple as Inside.

If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see the FPS remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's workload doesn't change much with resolution. Instead, the FPS drops significantly, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor. The fact that the 1080p Low preset achieves 268 FPS, while the 4K Low preset achieves 140 FPS, further solidifies this. The game is rendering more pixels at 4K, and the GPU is the component that has to handle that increased load. This is a predictable and well-understood relationship for most games, and the data for Inside fits this model perfectly.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination is ranked 1698 out of 2887 tested combos in this database for Inside. This rank places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems. It is important to note that this rank is a measure of the combo's absolute performance relative to all other CPU and GPU pairings, which includes many systems with far more powerful, modern components.

The fact that this combo is in the 59th percentile (1698/2887) is interesting given the very high frame rates measured. This suggests that the database includes a vast array of systems, many of which are significantly more powerful, likely featuring top-tier CPUs and GPUs that can push even higher frame rates in this game. The performance of this specific combo is excellent in absolute terms, but it is outperformed by many others.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, we see that its average benchmark score is very close to the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, and the Intel Core i9-12900T. The delta percentages are all within 0.3%, indicating that the CPU's raw processing power is very similar to these other parts. This suggests that the CPU is not a differentiator in the ranking. The GPU's nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, the Intel Arc B570, and the Intel Arc A750. The RTX 2070 SUPER's average score is only slightly lower than these parts, with deltas ranging from -1% to -1.5%. This indicates that the GPU, while older, is still competitive with these other options. The combination's rank is a result of the specific pairing, and the data shows that while it is a strong pair, it is not at the top of the heap compared to the most powerful combos.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 147 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows a significant FPS drop as resolution increases, from 147 FPS at 1080p Ultra to 67 FPS at 4K Ultra. This pattern indicates the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 4K display?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 delivers 112 FPS on average, which is significantly higher than the 70 FPS on High and 67 FPS on Ultra, making it the best balance of performance and quality.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: This specific combination of CPU and GPU is ranked 1698 out of 2887 total tested combos for Inside.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 223 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 106 FPS. The Low preset is more than double the frame rate of the Ultra preset.

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

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 95 FPS, which was measured at 3840x2160 resolution with Medium settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The following is the complete set of measured FPS data for this hardware combination.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: Average FPS 268.
• Medium: Average FPS 247, with a minimum of 210 and a maximum of 285.
• High: Average FPS 155.
• Ultra: Average FPS 147.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: Average FPS 223.
• Medium: Average FPS 178, with a minimum of 151 and a maximum of 205.
• High: Average FPS 111.
• Ultra: Average FPS 106.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: Average FPS 140.
• Medium: Average FPS 112, with a minimum of 95 and a maximum of 129.
• High: Average FPS 70.
• Ultra: Average FPS 67.

The data clearly shows a consistent trend: for each resolution, the frame rate decreases as the settings preset increases from Low to Ultra. The most significant performance hit occurs when moving from Medium to High, especially at higher resolutions. For example, at 4K, the FPS drops by 42 FPS (from 112 to 70) when switching from Medium to High. This suggests that the High and Ultra presets introduce graphical effects that are particularly demanding on the GPU. In contrast, the difference between Low and Medium is smaller, but still notable, particularly at 4K where it's a 28 FPS difference (140 to 112).

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the engine driving the rendering in this combo. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU is based on the Turing architecture and features 2560 shading units. Its base clock is 1605 MHz and its boost clock is 1770 MHz. The measured FPS data strongly indicates that this GPU is the decisive component in determining performance at higher resolutions.

At 1080p, the GPU's capabilities are more than enough to push frame rates to very high levels, even at Ultra settings (147 FPS). However, as the resolution increases, the GPU's rendering workload increases proportionally with the pixel count. The 8 GB of VRAM is likely not a limiting factor for a game like Inside, as its textures are not likely to exceed that capacity, even at 4K. The data shows a clear and expected decline in performance as resolution scales, which points to the GPU's compute and fill-rate limits being the primary bottleneck.

The GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as a Passmark G3D score of 18169, places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A750 and the Intel Arc B570, and the RTX 2070 SUPER's average benchmark score is only slightly lower than those cards. In the context of Inside, the GPU's role is to handle the rendering of the game's environments, lighting, and effects. The data suggests that it performs this role admirably, but it is not so powerful that it can maintain extremely high frame rates at 4K with the highest detail settings. The 67 FPS at 4K Ultra is playable, but the 112 FPS at 4K Medium is a much more comfortable margin, and this is a direct result of the GPU's processing power.