Inside

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer that is far more demanding at higher settings than its minimalist aesthetic suggests. The measured frame rates show this combination is capable of obliterating the 60 FPS target at every tested resolution and setting, with the only real question being how far you can push the visual quality before hitting the limits of the hardware. The data indicates that this is a pairing where the GPU is the primary driver of performance, given the game's low CPU overhead, yet the processor's large cache ensures frame pacing remains consistent across all scenarios.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in Inside?*

A: The highest recorded average is 268 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This represents the absolute ceiling for this pairing in the measured data.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops to 110 FPS. This is still comfortably above the 60 FPS refresh rate standard, showing no signs of struggle even at maximum graphical fidelity.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces 240 FPS average, while the Ultra preset yields 175 FPS average. This represents a 65 FPS drop, indicating that the Ultra settings impose a significant but manageable load on the GPU.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU appear to be the limiting factor based on the data?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rate scales consistently with resolution and settings, which are GPU-bound variables. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to keep up, as evidenced by the high frame rates even at 1080p Low where CPU overhead would be most apparent.

Q: Is the 12 GB of VRAM on the RTX 4070 SUPER sufficient for this game?

A: Yes, the 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than adequate. Inside is a 2D side-scroller with a limited color palette and simple textures, so it does not require large memory pools. The 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth further ensures no bottlenecks at the tested resolutions.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested combinations in the database?

A: The combo ranks 833rd out of 2887 tested combinations in Inside. This places it in the top 29% of all tested systems, which is a strong position for a game that is not particularly demanding on modern hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame data places this specific pairing at rank 833 out of 2887 possible combinations. This percentile positioning is interesting because it suggests that while the hardware is high-end, Inside itself does not heavily differentiate between top-tier components. The game's simple geometry and lighting model mean that even mid-range systems can achieve high frame rates, pushing the ranking into the upper third rather than the top 1%. The 85th percentile for the CPU and 83rd percentile for the GPU among all parts indicate that both components are near the top of their respective performance charts, but the game's inherent scalability limits how high the combined score can climb.

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, showing a negligible 0.2% delta in average benchmark score. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 also matches with a 0.2% delta, while the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 is 0.2% behind and the Intel Core i9-12900T is 0.3% ahead. These tiny margins suggest that within this performance envelope, the CPU choice has almost no impact on the final ranking. For the GPU, the RTX 4070 SUPER is 0.1% behind the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB and 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile, with the RTX 4090 Mobile being 1% faster. This clustering shows that the GPU's absolute performance is well-established, and the ranking in Inside is more dependent on other factors like driver optimization and memory bandwidth.

The fact that this combo achieves over 200 FPS at 1080p High and over 100 FPS at 4K Ultra means it is in the upper echelon of tested systems, but the rank of 833 suggests there are many combos that also exceed the 100 FPS threshold. The data implies that for a game like Inside, the law of diminishing returns kicks in quickly; once you have a GPU with 12 GB of VRAM and a CPU with 6 cores, additional performance headroom does not translate into a significantly better experience because the game's maximum frame rate is already being reached.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, and the measured FPS data reflects its capabilities. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for Inside's 2D textures and particle effects. The boost clock of 2475 MHz, combined with 7168 shading units, allows the GPU to process the game's pixel shaders at a rapid pace. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the GPU scores 4627, which is a strong indicator of its raw compute power, and the Passmark G3D score of 29995 places it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs.

The data shows that the GPU's performance scaling is nearly linear with resolution. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 268, which drops to 206 at 4K Low. This 23% reduction in frame rate for a 4x increase in pixel count demonstrates that the GPU is not fully saturated at lower resolutions, suggesting that other bottlenecks (such as CPU or memory latency) begin to appear. However, at higher settings, the GPU becomes the clear constraint. The transition from 1080p Ultra (203 FPS) to 4K Ultra (110 FPS) shows a 46% drop, which aligns with the increased fill rate demands of the Ultra preset's effects.

The RTX 4070 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, which are relevant for a game like Inside that uses a custom engine. The 56 RT cores and 224 Tensor cores are largely unused in this title, as it does not employ ray tracing or DLSS, but their presence does not hinder performance. The GPU's 220 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest it operates within a reasonable thermal envelope, allowing for sustained boost clocks during extended play sessions. The 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is more than sufficient to handle the game's shader complexity, which is why even the Ultra preset at 4K maintains a playable frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces an average of 268 FPS, the Medium preset yields 247 FPS with a minimum of 210 and maximum of 285, the High preset delivers 206 FPS, and the Ultra preset achieves 203 FPS. The narrow gap between High and Ultra (only 3 FPS) is notable, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects (likely improved shadow resolution and post-processing) have minimal impact at 1080p. The Medium preset's min FPS of 210 is the only recorded minimum for this resolution, indicating that frame pacing remains stable even during complex scenes.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain impressive. Low settings produce 240 FPS average, Medium drops to 222 FPS with a minimum of 188 and maximum of 255, High delivers 184 FPS, and Ultra trails at 175 FPS. The 1440p results show a more pronounced scaling between presets, with a 65 FPS difference between Low and Ultra. This indicates that at this resolution, the GPU is beginning to feel the effects of increased pixel count, but the performance is still far above the 144 Hz refresh rate that many monitors support. The Medium preset's minimum of 188 FPS is still well above any potential stutter threshold.

At 3840x2160, the performance is still excellent, but the gaps between presets widen. Low settings achieve 206 FPS average, Medium yields 185 FPS with a minimum of 157 and maximum of 213, High drops to 116 FPS, and Ultra falls to 110 FPS. The jump from Medium to High at 4K is significant, with a 69 FPS drop, indicating that the High preset introduces a substantial graphical feature (likely volumetric lighting or higher quality textures) that heavily taxes the GPU. The Ultra preset's 110 FPS average is still 10 FPS above the 100 FPS mark, but it is the closest the combo comes to any performance concern. The Medium preset's minimum of 157 FPS ensures that even the most demanding scenes remain smooth.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, running at a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. Its defining feature is the 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is a substantial amount compared to typical processors and is likely the reason for its strong performance in games that benefit from large data sets. In Inside, the CPU's role is primarily to manage the game's physics and entity updates, which are relatively minimal for a 2D platformer. The Passmark single-thread score of 2941 and multithread score of 20363 indicate that the CPU is more than capable of handling the game's logic.

The data indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 268, which is the highest recorded across all settings. If the CPU were limiting performance, we would expect to see a plateau in frame rates as settings are lowered, but instead, the frame rate continues to rise, suggesting that the GPU is still the primary driver. The CPU's 96 MB L3 cache is particularly beneficial for the game's memory access patterns, as it can hold large portions of the game's data, reducing the need to access system memory. This is reflected in the Passmark data compression score of 230392, which shows high memory bandwidth utilization.

The CPU's performance relative to its rivals is tightly clustered, with the nearest rival (AMD Ryzen 5 5600F) being only 0.2% faster. This means that for Inside, the choice of CPU has almost no impact on the final outcome. The 12 threads are sufficient to handle the game's parallel tasks, and the 105 W TDP ensures that the processor does not throttle under load. The CPU's release date of 2025-06-04 is later than the game's 2016 release, but this is irrelevant as the hardware is fully compatible with the game's requirements.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo is achieved by prioritizing higher resolutions over higher settings. At 4K, the Medium preset offers 185 FPS average, which is the sweet spot for a 144 Hz 4K monitor. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 110 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices frame rate for visual fidelity that is barely noticeable in a game with Inside's minimalist art style. The High preset at 4K (116 FPS) is a middle ground, but the 69 FPS drop from Medium to High suggests that the High preset's features are not worth the performance cost.

For users with 1440p monitors, the Ultra preset at 175 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a frame rate that exceeds 144 Hz. The Medium preset at 222 FPS is an alternative for those who prioritize maximum frame rates, but the visual difference between Medium and Ultra at 1440p is likely minimal. At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 203 FPS is the clear winner, as it provides the best visual quality without any meaningful performance compromise. The Low preset at 268 FPS is only useful for competitive play or if the user has a 240 Hz monitor, but the game's genre does not require such high frame rates.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the most balanced option across all resolutions. At 4K Medium (185 FPS), 1440p Medium (222 FPS), and 1080p Medium (247 FPS), the frame rates are consistently above 180 FPS, providing a smooth experience regardless of the monitor's refresh rate. The Medium preset's minimum frame rate of 157 FPS at 4K is also the highest minimum recorded, indicating that it offers the most consistent performance. For this combo, the recommendation is to use Medium settings at 4K or Ultra settings at lower resolutions, depending on the display's refresh rate and resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights into the bottleneck characteristics of this combo. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 268 at 1080p to 206 at 4K, a 23% reduction. This relatively small decrease suggests that at Low settings, the GPU is not fully utilized, and the frame rate is partially limited by CPU or memory latency. The Medium preset shows a similar trend, with a 25% drop from 247 FPS at 1080p to 185 FPS at 4K. However, at High settings, the drop is more pronounced: from 206 FPS at 1080p to 116 FPS at 4K, a 44% reduction. The Ultra preset exhibits the steepest scaling, with a 46% drop from 203 FPS at 1080p to 110 FPS at 4K.

This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck as settings increase. At Low and Medium settings, the frame rate is influenced by other factors, as the GPU has spare capacity. The large L3 cache on the CPU helps maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions, where the CPU's data processing is more relevant. At High and Ultra settings, the GPU's fill rate and shader processing are the limiting factors, as evidenced by the significant frame rate drops at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 110 FPS is still high, but the 46% drop from 1080p shows that the GPU is working near its limits.

The data implies that for this combo, the optimal resolution is 1440p, where the frame rate scaling is more gradual. At 1440p Ultra (175 FPS), the performance is only 14% lower than 1080p Ultra, while at 4K Ultra, the drop is 46%. This suggests that 1440p Ultra provides the best balance of visual quality and performance, as the GPU is not as heavily taxed as at 4K. The 4K resolution is still viable, but users should be prepared to use Medium settings to maintain a high frame rate. The measured data confirms that this combo is a high-performance pairing that excels at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K requiring a settings trade-off to achieve the best experience.