Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware. Yet, the measured data for the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER reveals a fascinating case study in frame rate ceilings, resolution scaling, and the shifting balance between CPU and GPU workload in a seemingly simple genre. This combination, ranked 308th out of 3716 tested combos, delivers frame rates that range from the merely excellent to the absurdly high, and the numbers invite a closer look at what is actually limiting performance at each setting.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combo provides a clear hierarchy across the four available presets, and the optimal choice depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the differences between presets are stark, but all are playable. The Low preset hits an average of 419 FPS, while Medium drops to 386 FPS. High and Ultra are closer to each other, at 256 FPS and 244 FPS respectively. The data shows that the jump from Low to Medium costs 33 FPS, but the jump from Medium to High costs a much larger 130 FPS, suggesting a significant increase in visual fidelity that carries a heavy performance tax. For competitive or high-refresh-rate play at 1080p, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, offering a massive 386 FPS average while presumably providing a more polished visual experience than Low. The High and Ultra presets, while still delivering over 240 FPS, seem to sacrifice a large chunk of performance for what is likely a marginal visual gain in this art style.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the pattern holds but the absolute numbers become more reasonable. The Low preset still achieves a staggering 368 FPS, and Medium is not far behind at 294 FPS. High and Ultra drop to 184 FPS and 175 FPS, respectively. At this resolution, the Medium preset’s 294 FPS average is still far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors, making it the clear recommendation for a balance of visual quality and headroom. The High preset, with its 184 FPS average, is also a strong contender for users with 144Hz displays, as it maintains a substantial cushion above the refresh rate. The data suggests that at 1440p, the Ultra preset offers no tangible benefit over High for most users, as the 9 FPS difference is negligible in real-world terms.

At 3840x2160, the landscape changes considerably. The Low preset still manages an impressive 231 FPS, but the Medium preset drops to 185 FPS. The High and Ultra presets fall to 116 FPS and 110 FPS, respectively. This is where the recommendation becomes more nuanced. For a 4K 120Hz display, the High preset’s 116 FPS average is right at the threshold, making it a viable option for a mostly smooth experience. However, the Medium preset, with its 185 FPS average, provides a much larger performance buffer and is likely the better choice for ensuring consistent frame times. The Ultra preset’s 110 FPS is so close to High that it is difficult to recommend unless the visual differences are demonstrably significant. Overall, the Medium preset provides the most consistent and highest value experience across all resolutions, offering a substantial performance lead over High and Ultra while still representing a step up from Low.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17528.5 and a single-core score of 2183.5. The data shows a 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 and a max-thread score of 7590, indicating that the processor scales well with additional threads but also has a very high single-thread ceiling. This is crucial for a game like Inside, which, given its 2D side-scrolling nature and release date, is likely to have a primary game thread that heavily taxes a single core.

The performance deltas at 1080p Low versus Medium support this theory. The FPS drops from 419 at Low to 386 at Medium, a relatively small 33 FPS decline, suggesting that the CPU is still the primary bottleneck at these settings. Even at High and Ultra (256 FPS and 244 FPS), the frame rates remain exceptionally high, implying that the CPU has more than enough headroom to feed the GPU. The processor’s percentile rank of 81st among all CPUs, and its close rivalry with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT (0.6% slower) and Ryzen 7 8845HS (0.8% slower) in average benchmark score, indicates that this is a top-tier gaming chip. The fact that it can push over 400 FPS in a 2016 game at 1080p Low demonstrates that its single-core performance is more than adequate for this title’s logic and physics. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache likely also plays a role in keeping frequently accessed game data close to the cores, reducing latency and further solidifying the CPU’s role as a non-limiting factor at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is a formidable GPU with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. Its boost clock is rated at 2475 MHz, and it features 7168 shading units. The GPU’s average benchmark score of 43223 places it at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, which is only 1% faster. This positioning suggests that the RTX 4070 SUPER is a high-end desktop part that should not struggle with most titles.

However, the data from Inside tells a different story about the GPU’s role. The most telling observation is the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K across all settings. While the CPU is clearly the limiter at 1080p, the GPU begins to take on a more significant role as resolution increases. The difference between the Low preset’s 419 FPS at 1080p and 231 FPS at 4K indicates that the GPU is now becoming the bottleneck, but it is doing so from an incredibly high baseline. The fact that the RTX 4070 SUPER can still produce 231 FPS at 4K Low confirms its raw compute power. The 12 GB of VRAM is also a likely non-issue here, as a game from 2016 with this visual style will not approach that memory capacity. The GPU’s high texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s are more than sufficient to handle the game’s relatively simple geometry and effects, even at 4K. The data suggests that the GPU is not a limiting factor until the resolution and settings demand more fill rate and shader work than the CPU can feed it, which only happens at the highest presets and 4K resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER achieves a rank of 308 out of 3716 tested combinations in Inside. This places it in the top 8.3% of all tested systems, which is an impressive result. This rank is likely driven by the combination’s ability to maintain very high frame rates across the board, even if the game itself is not particularly demanding. The high percentile positions of both the CPU (81st) and GPU (83rd) individually contribute to this strong combined showing.

When compared to other possible pairings, this combo’s rank suggests that it is a well-balanced system for this game. The CPU’s strong single-thread performance ensures that it does not bottleneck the GPU at lower resolutions, while the GPU’s substantial power ensures that it can handle the increased load at higher resolutions. The data implies that this combo is overkill for Inside, but this overkill translates directly into a top-tier ranking. The 308th rank out of 3716 is not just about raw FPS; it also reflects the consistency of performance across different settings, as the combo does not exhibit any dramatic frame rate collapses that might indicate a bottleneck mismatch. The close rivalry of the GPU with the RTX 4090 Mobile (1% faster) and the CPU with the Ryzen 7 5800XT (0.6% slower) suggests that this combo is performing at the peak of what its individual components can offer, and the game’s frame rates are likely at the maximum achievable with this hardware configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K reveals a clear scaling pattern that identifies the limiting component at each stage. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 419 at 1080p to 368 at 1440p and then to 231 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is only 51 FPS (12.2%), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 137 FPS (37.2%). This indicates that at low settings, the CPU is the primary bottleneck at 1080p and 1440p, and the GPU only becomes the main limiter when the pixel count jumps to 4K. The relatively small drop at 1440p suggests that the CPU can still feed the GPU efficiently at that resolution.

The pattern changes at the Medium preset. The FPS drops from 386 at 1080p to 294 at 1440p (a 23.8% decrease), and then to 185 at 4K (a 37.1% decrease). The larger drop from 1080p to 1440p compared to Low suggests that the GPU is starting to become more involved, as the increased detail level puts more load on the shading units and texture units. At the High and Ultra presets, the scaling is more uniform. For High, the FPS is 256 at 1080p, 184 at 1440p, and 116 at 4K. The percentage drops are 28.1% and 37.0% respectively. For Ultra, it is 244, 175, and 110, with drops of 28.3% and 37.1%. This consistent drop pattern at high settings indicates a more balanced CPU-GPU load, but the fact that the FPS at 4K High (116) is still very high suggests that neither component is being pushed to its absolute limit.

The data implies that for this game, the CPU is the dominant factor at low resolutions, but the GPU’s role becomes progressively more important as resolution increases. The fact that the 4K performance at High (116 FPS) is nearly double the 1080p performance at Ultra (244 FPS) shows that the GPU has significant headroom, and the CPU is the primary driver of the high frame rates seen at 1080p. This is a classic example of a CPU-bound scenario at lower resolutions in a lightweight game, with the GPU only becoming a co-bottleneck at 4K with high detail settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo provides a comprehensive look at its performance. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from a low of 244 FPS on Ultra to a high of 419 FPS on Low. The Medium preset averages 386 FPS with a minimum of 328 FPS and a maximum of 444 FPS, showing good frame time consistency. The High preset averages 256 FPS. This resolution is clearly CPU-bound, as the performance difference between Low and Medium is relatively small, but the difference between Medium and High is substantial.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 175 FPS on Ultra to 368 FPS on Low. The Medium preset averages 294 FPS, with a minimum of 250 FPS and a maximum of 338 FPS. The High preset averages 184 FPS. The FPS at this resolution is still very high, but the scaling from 1080p shows that the GPU is beginning to have a more noticeable impact. The gap between Medium and High narrows slightly, but the overall performance remains excellent.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 110 FPS on Ultra to 231 FPS on Low. The Medium preset averages 185 FPS, with a minimum of 157 FPS and a maximum of 213 FPS. The High preset averages 116 FPS. This is the only resolution where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as the FPS drops significantly from the lower resolutions. Even so, the combo manages to keep the game playable on a 4K display at high settings, with the High preset’s 116 FPS average being just above the 120Hz threshold for most monitors. The data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern, with the CPU dominating at 1080p, a balanced load at 1440p, and the GPU taking over at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Inside with this combo for a 144Hz monitor?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 294 FPS and the High preset averages 184 FPS, both of which are well above 144 FPS. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset averages 185 FPS, which also exceeds 144 FPS. Therefore, 1440p High or 4K Medium are both viable options for a 144Hz display.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 29713. It is 0.2% faster than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, but 0.5% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H, 0.6% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT, and 0.8% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS.

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

A: The measured FPS data shows that the GPU performs consistently across all settings and resolutions, with the lowest average being 110 FPS at 4K Ultra. Given the game’s 2016 release date and simple art style, the 12 GB of VRAM is more than adequate, as the game is unlikely to consume a significant portion of that memory capacity.

Q: Why is the FPS so much higher at 1080p Low compared to 4K High?

A: The data shows that at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 419, while at 4K High it is 116. This indicates that at 1080p Low, the CPU is the primary bottleneck, as the GPU has very little work to do. At 4K High, the GPU becomes the limiting factor due to the increased pixel count and shading complexity, resulting in a lower frame rate.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking among all tested systems?

A: This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 308th out of 3716 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the top 8.3% of all systems tested.

Q: Does the game benefit more from the CPU’s single-core or multi-core performance?

A: The CPU’s benchmark scores show a 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 and a max-thread score of 7590. The extremely high frame rates at 1080p (e.g., 419 FPS on Low) suggest that the game is likely reliant on a few threads, and the CPU’s strong single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2183.5) is what allows it to achieve these results. The multi-core performance is a secondary factor in this title.