Inside

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti pairing delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer. With measured frame rates exceeding 300 FPS at 1080p and remaining well above 100 FPS even at 4K Ultra, this combination is overkill for the game’s modest graphical demands, but the data reveals a distinct balance between the CPU’s six Zen 4 cores and the GPU’s Ampere architecture.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 8000 series, built on the Zen 4 architecture (codename Phoenix) using a 4 nm process from TSMC. It runs at a base clock of 4.20 GHz and boosts to 4.70 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of shared L3 cache. Its 3DMark scores tell a clear story: single-thread performance is 951, while 16-thread and max-thread scores are 6091 and 6165, respectively. In Cinebench R23, it scores 20851 multicore and 2943 single-core.

For a game like Inside, which is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer with limited on-screen entities, the CPU’s single-thread strength matters more than raw multi-core muscle. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1874 indicates that even with just two threads active, the processor has ample headroom. The benchmark data shows the 8400F sits in the 82nd percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25064. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (25057, 0% delta), AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 (25099, -0.1% delta), AMD EPYC 9474F (25103, -0.2% delta), and AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (24993, 0.3% delta). The 8400F essentially trades blows with these processors in synthetic tests, but for Inside, the higher boost clock and modern Zen 4 IPC ensure that physics calculations and game logic never become a bottleneck.

At 1080p Low settings, the combo hits 336.7 FPS average, which strongly suggests the CPU is feeding frames faster than the GPU can render them. The 8400F’s 3DMark single-thread score of 951, while not top-tier in absolute terms, is more than sufficient for a game from 2016. The processor’s 16 MB L3 cache is adequate for the game’s small working set. In practical terms, the CPU’s role here is to maintain a high frame ceiling, and the data shows it does so without breaking a sweat — the frame rates at 1080p are likely limited by the GPU’s rasterization speed, not by CPU instruction throughput.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is a high-end Ampere architecture GPU (chip GA102) built on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s base clock is 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and memory runs at 19 Gbps effective. With 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, the 3080 Ti is a brute-force card; its FP32 performance is 34.10 TFLOPS. The GPU’s passmark G3D score is 26896, placing it in the 83rd percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41224. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (41441, -0.5% delta), AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41610, -0.9% delta), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (41687, -1.1% delta), and NVIDIA Tesla M40 (41897, -1.6% delta).

For Inside, the GPU’s 12 GB VRAM is far beyond what the game requires; even at 4K Ultra, the frame buffer usage is unlikely to exceed a few gigabytes. The GPU’s memory bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s ensures that texture streaming and post-processing effects at high resolutions are never constrained by memory throughput. The measured FPS data confirms this: at 4K Ultra, the combo still averages 100.8 FPS, which is remarkably smooth for a game from 2016. The GPU’s 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are irrelevant for this title, as Inside does not use ray tracing or DLSS. Instead, the 3080 Ti’s raw rasterization power — 186.5 GPixel/s pixel rate and 532.8 GTexel/s texture rate — drives the high frame counts. At 1080p Low, the 336.7 FPS average indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions, but it still delivers frame rates that far exceed any display’s refresh rate.

FAQ

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 8400F compare to its nearest rival, the Ryzen 7 2700X, in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The 8400F scores 25064 on average, while the Ryzen 7 2700X scores 25057, a 0% delta. They are effectively tied in overall benchmark performance, despite the 8400F being a newer Zen 4 part.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 Ti’s 12 GB VRAM sufficient for Inside at 4K?

A: Yes. The measured data shows 4K Ultra averages 100.8 FPS, and 4K High averages 105 FPS. The VRAM capacity is more than adequate for this game’s textures and effects.

Q: What is the biggest FPS jump when lowering settings from Ultra to Low?

A: At 1080p, the jump is from 218 FPS (Ultra) to 336.7 FPS (Low), a difference of roughly 118.7 FPS. At 4K, the jump is from 100.8 FPS (Ultra) to 209.6 FPS (Low), nearly doubling the frame rate.

Q: How does the 8400F’s single-thread performance affect games like Inside?

A: The 3DMark single-thread score of 951 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2943 indicate strong per-core performance. For a puzzle platformer with light threading, this ensures the CPU doesn’t bottleneck frame delivery.

Q: Is the combo more CPU-limited or GPU-limited at 1080p?

A: The data suggests GPU-limitation. At 1080p Low, the 336.7 FPS average is close to what the RTX 3080 Ti can physically render; the CPU’s 12 threads are not saturated, given its 3DMark 2-thread score of 1874.

Q: Does the RTX 3080 Ti’s 83rd percentile GPU ranking align with its in-game performance?

A: Yes. The GPU ranks in the 83rd percentile overall, and the measured FPS in Inside are consistently high (100.8 FPS minimum at 4K Ultra), confirming it is a top-tier performer for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 375th out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the top 22.4% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing given the game’s age and the high-end nature of the GPU. The rank reflects that while the CPU is mid-range (82nd percentile), the GPU is powerful (83rd percentile), and their synergy in this game produces frame rates that are competitive with more expensive pairings. The combo outperforms many systems with newer CPUs but weaker GPUs, because Inside relies heavily on GPU fill rate at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the 100.8 FPS average puts this combo ahead of most mid-range GPU builds, which would struggle to maintain 60 FPS at that setting. The rank of 375 out of 1671 confirms the RTX 3080 Ti’s raw power; only systems with top-tier GPUs like the RTX 3090 or RTX 5070 (which score within 1.6% of the 3080 Ti in synthetic tests) would rank higher.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of resolution scaling, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 336.7 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 303.3 FPS, a reduction of 33.4 FPS (roughly 10%). At 4K Low, the average falls to 209.6 FPS, which is a 37.7% drop from 1080p Low. This scaling indicates that the GPU’s pixel fill rate is being stressed at higher resolutions, even with minimal graphical settings.

The scaling is more pronounced at higher settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 218 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 157.4 FPS (a 27.8% reduction); and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 100.8 FPS (a 53.8% reduction from 1080p Ultra). This steep drop suggests that the RTX 3080 Ti’s 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 power is being fully utilized at 4K Ultra, while the CPU’s role diminishes. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 108.8 FPS (209.6 vs 100.8), highlighting how much headroom the GPU has when settings are reduced. The data indicates that for 1080p and 1440p gaming, the combo is overkill, but at 4K, it provides a smooth experience even with maxed-out settings, with the GPU being the limiting component.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers 12 combinations of resolution and settings, all with average FPS recorded (no min or max FPS). Here is the full breakdown:

1920x1080:

• Low: 336.7 FPS
• Medium: 313.4 FPS
• High: 229.5 FPS
• Ultra: 218 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 303.3 FPS
• Medium: 265.7 FPS
• High: 162.7 FPS
• Ultra: 157.4 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 209.6 FPS
• Medium: 165.1 FPS
• High: 105 FPS
• Ultra: 100.8 FPS

The pattern is consistent: at any given resolution, dropping from Ultra to Low yields a substantial FPS boost. At 1080p, the jump from Ultra (218 FPS) to Low (336.7 FPS) is 118.7 FPS, a 54.4% improvement. At 1440p, the jump from 157.4 FPS (Ultra) to 303.3 FPS (Low) is 145.9 FPS, an 92.7% improvement. At 4K, the jump from 100.8 FPS (Ultra) to 209.6 FPS (Low) is 108.8 FPS, more than doubling the frame rate. The High setting is notably closer to Ultra than to Medium at all resolutions, suggesting that the Ultra preset includes only marginal extra effects beyond High. The data shows that for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays, the Low setting at 1080p delivers the best possible frame rate, exceeding 300 FPS. For a visually-rich puzzle game like Inside, the High setting at 1440p (162.7 FPS) offers an excellent balance, while 4K Ultra (100.8 FPS) remains perfectly playable on a 100 Hz display.