Inside

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER produces a fascinating dataset in Inside, a game that scales from highly accessible to extremely demanding depending on the settings chosen. The measured frames per second (FPS) reveal a configuration where the GPU is almost certainly the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, but the CPU’s strong single-thread performance ensures that even the lowest settings produce playable results. This analysis breaks down the measured data to understand the dynamic between these two components.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K provides a clear picture of how the workload shifts. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 310 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 223 FPS, a reduction of 87 FPS or roughly 28%. The jump to 4K Low yields 140 FPS, which is 170 FPS lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline as resolution increases strongly indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, as the CPU is likely capable of feeding frames at a much higher rate than the RTX 2070 SUPER can render at higher pixel counts.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. For High settings, the average FPS goes from 155 at 1080p, to 111 at 1440p, and finally to 70 at 4K. This represents a 54.8% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 36.9% drop from 1440p to 4K. The data suggests that the performance cost of each resolution increase is significant, which is expected for a game with this art style. The fact that the 4K High result is less than half of the 1080p High result points to a GPU-bound scenario where the pixel throughput demand outpaces the card's capabilities.

At Medium settings, the measured minima and maxima provide additional context. At 1080p, the average is 248 FPS with a minimum of 210 and a maximum of 285. At 1440p, the average drops to 178 FPS, with a minimum of 151 and a maximum of 205. At 4K, the average is 112 FPS, with a minimum of 95 and a maximum of 129. The ratio between average and minimum FPS stays relatively consistent, suggesting that the frame pacing is stable even as the resolution increases, but the overall headroom is clearly being consumed by the higher pixel count.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo can achieve in Inside?*

A: The highest measured average is 310 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This indicates that the CPU and GPU combination is more than capable of handling the game's demands at lower graphical presets.

*Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in Inside?*

A: Yes, it is. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 70, and with Ultra settings, it is 67. These are both playable averages, though they lack the headroom of lower resolutions. At 4K Low, the average jumps to 140 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: The difference is substantial. At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 223 FPS, while Ultra settings produce an average of 106 FPS. This represents a 52.5% reduction in average frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the game show any signs of CPU limitation at 1080p?

A: The data suggests it is not CPU-limited at 1080p Low, where the average is 310 FPS. The Ryzen 5 9600X has a high single-thread score of 2923 in Geekbench and 2183.5 in Cinebench R23, which likely provides ample processing power. The bottleneck appears to shift to the GPU as resolution increases.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for the Medium preset?

A: The measured minimum FPS values for the Medium preset are 210 at 1920x1080, 151 at 2560x1440, and 95 at 3840x2160. These figures suggest that even the lowest frames are well above playable thresholds.

Q: How does this combo's performance compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2087 out of 3716 tested combinations for this game. This places it in the middle of the pack, indicating that while it provides a solid experience, there are many other pairings that produce higher frame rates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture. Its base clock is 3.90 GHz, and it can boost up to 5.40 GHz. This high boost clock is critical for gaming performance, especially in a title like Inside which relies on consistent frame rendering. The CPU's single-thread performance is exceptional, as shown by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 and its Geekbench single-core score of 2923. These numbers suggest that the CPU can handle the game's logic and physics calculations without creating a bottleneck at most settings.

The benchmark results show a clear scaling from 2 threads to 8 threads. The 3DMark score is 2456 for 2 threads, 4649 for 4 threads, and 6726 for 8 threads. The jump from 4 to 8 threads is significant, but the difference between 8 threads (6726) and max threads (7590) is smaller. This implies that Inside likely benefits from a few cores, but it does not require the full 12 threads to perform well. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache also helps with data access, but the measured FPS data indicates that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor in this configuration.

At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 310 is a strong indicator that the CPU is feeding frames faster than the GPU can render them. The GPU is likely the constraint here, as the RTX 2070 SUPER, with its 2560 shading units, has a finite capacity to process pixels. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a plateau in FPS across lower resolutions, but the data shows a continuous increase from 4K to 1080p. This suggests that the Ryzen 5 9600X has ample headroom for this game. The CPU's percentile rank of 81 among all CPUs further underscores its capability, placing it ahead of most processors on the market.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 310 on Low to 147 on Ultra. The Medium preset offers a balanced 248 FPS, with a minimum of 210 and a maximum of 285. High settings yield 155 FPS, which is only 8 FPS higher than Ultra. This suggests that the difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is minimal, likely due to a GPU limitation rather than a lack of CPU power.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 223 FPS on Low, 178 FPS on Medium, 111 FPS on High, and 106 FPS on Ultra. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 5 FPS, which is a trend that continues from 1080p. The Medium preset's minimum FPS of 151 is higher than the average of the Ultra preset, indicating that even the lower frame dips at Medium settings are better than the average experience on the highest settings. This points to a significant performance cost for the Ultra preset's additional graphical features.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 140 FPS on Low, 112 FPS on Medium, 70 FPS on High, and 67 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results show a dramatic decrease in performance compared to 1440p. The difference between High and Ultra remains small, with only a 3 FPS gap. The Medium preset at 4K still maintains an average of 112 FPS, which is a playable frame rate, but the minimum of 95 FPS shows that the system is working harder to maintain performance. The data across all resolutions indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the FPS scales inversely with the number of pixels being rendered.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is based on the Turing architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1605 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz. The card has 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs, which are responsible for the final pixel output. The GPU's performance is measured at 9.062 TFLOPS for FP32, which is a moderate figure for a card of its generation.

The GPU's role in Inside is clearly dominant, as the FPS drops significantly with each increase in resolution. The card's percentile rank is 65 among all GPUs, which is lower than the CPU's 81. This suggests that the GPU is the weaker component in this pairing. The memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is utilized heavily at 4K, where the demand for texture data and pixel processing is highest. The 8 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient for this game at these settings, as there are no signs of texture pop-in or stuttering in the measured data pattern.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's performance in synthetic benchmarks corroborates the FPS data. Its Passmark G3D score is 18169, and its Geekbench Vulkan score is 90637. These scores indicate that the card is capable, but it is not a top-tier performer. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, has an average score that is 1% lower, showing that the RTX 2070 SUPER is positioned in a specific performance tier. The data confirms that in this game, the GPU's compute and pixel fill rate are the limiting factors at higher resolutions, while the CPU can keep up with the game's demands.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience depends on the user's target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers an excellent balance with an average of 248 FPS and a minimum of 210 FPS. This provides a smooth and responsive experience without the performance hit of High or Ultra. While Low settings achieve 310 FPS, the visual compromise is likely not worth the extra 62 FPS, especially since Medium already far exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is again the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 178 FPS with a minimum of 151 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz threshold for most gaming monitors. High and Ultra settings drop the average to 111 and 106 FPS, respectively, which are still playable but may not feel as fluid. The Medium preset provides a significant FPS boost over High, making it the optimal choice for maintaining high frame rates without sacrificing too much visual quality.

For 3840x2160, the situation is more nuanced. High settings produce an average of 70 FPS, and Ultra produces 67 FPS. These are both playable, but they lack the headroom for demanding scenes. The Medium preset, with an average of 112 FPS and a minimum of 95 FPS, offers a much better experience for 4K gaming. It provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, ensuring that the game remains smooth even in complex areas. Given that the difference between Medium and High is 42 FPS, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation for 4K on this hardware.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2087 out of 3716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the 56th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning that it performs better than a majority of systems but is far from the top. The ranking suggests that while this setup is capable of running the game well, there are many other pairings that offer higher performance.

The CPU's strong performance, as evidenced by its 81st percentile rank, is somewhat mitigated by the GPU's lower 65th percentile rank. The GPU is likely the reason the combo does not rank higher. The data supports this, as the FPS is heavily dependent on resolution, indicating a GPU bottleneck. The combo's rank of 2087 is a reflection of the GPU's mid-tier standing in the current market.

When considering the nearest rivals for the GPU, such as the Intel Arc A750, which has an average benchmark score that is 1.5% lower, it is clear that the RTX 2070 SUPER is a competent card. However, the combination with this specific CPU does not boost it to the top tier of gaming performance. The measured FPS data shows a system that is balanced, but with a clear ceiling imposed by the graphics card. This ranking indicates that for users seeking higher frame rates at 4K, a more powerful GPU would be necessary, while the CPU would likely not need an upgrade.