Inside

# Inside — AMD Ryzen 7 3700X + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 delivers a playable experience in Inside at 4K Ultra (46.7 fps), but the data shows this combo is far better suited to 1080p and 1440p gaming. The measured frame rates reveal a system that scales strongly with resolution, with the GPU becoming the clear limiting factor at higher pixel counts. Across all tested settings, the combo achieves an average of 107.1 fps at 1080p, 115.5 fps at 1440p, and 71.3 fps at 4K — but these averages mask significant swings between Low and Ultra presets. The GTX 1070's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and Pascal architecture prove adequate for this 2016 puzzle platformer, though the frame rate data suggests the GPU's raw throughput, not the CPU's 8 cores, dictates performance in the most demanding configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but not catastrophic, indicating a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions. At High settings, the system delivers 114.4 fps at 1920x1080, falls to 85.1 fps at 2560x1440, and bottoms out at 53.9 fps at 3840x2160 — a 52.9% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The scaling pattern is consistent across all presets: Low settings show the largest absolute drop (232.8 fps to 101.9 fps, a 56.2% decrease), while Ultra settings show the smallest percentage decline (106.4 fps to 46.7 fps, a 56.1% decrease). This uniformity suggests the GTX 1070's pixel throughput, rated at 107.7 GPixel/s, is the dominant constraint as resolution climbs. At 1080p, the CPU's headroom is evident — the 232.8 fps Low result far exceeds what the GPU can sustain at 4K, proving the Ryzen 7 3700X is not the bottleneck until frame rates approach 200+ fps. By 1440p, the GPU begins to throttle, and at 4K, the system clearly operates at the mercy of the graphics card's 6.463 TFLOPS FP32 compute and 256.3 GB/s memory bandwidth.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to Medium as the optimal balance for this combo. At 1080p, Medium produces 184 fps — 20.8% higher than High (114.4 fps) and 42.2% higher than Ultra (106.4 fps), while remaining 20.9% below Low (232.8 fps). At 1440p, Medium hits 133.4 fps, comfortably above the 60 fps threshold and only 18.3% behind Low (163.2 fps). Even at 4K, Medium delivers 82.8 fps, which is 53.7% faster than Ultra (46.7 fps) and only 18.7% slower than Low (101.9 fps). High settings are viable for 60 fps play at 1440p (85.1 fps) but drop to 53.9 fps at 4K, which may feel borderline. Ultra is only recommended for 1080p (106.4 fps) or for players prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate at 1440p (80.2 fps). For a locked 60 fps experience at 4K, Low is the only preset that guarantees it (101.9 fps), but Medium's 82.8 fps average gives substantial headroom for dips.

GPU Role

The GTX 1070's specifications directly explain the measured results. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 256.3 GB/s bandwidth, which is sufficient for Inside's art style at all tested resolutions — there is no VRAM capacity failure indicated by the data. The GPU's boost clock of 1683 MHz and base clock of 1506 MHz, combined with 1920 shading units, produce 6.463 TFLOPS FP32 performance. This compute level is adequate for 1080p Ultra (106.4 fps) but struggles at 4K Ultra (46.7 fps), where the 64 ROPs and 107.7 GPixel/s fill rate become limiting. The 16 nm Pascal architecture, with 7,200 million transistors on a 314 mm² die, shows its age in the steep 4K penalties. Notably, the GPU's passmark G3D score of 13498 places it at the 51st percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals (NVIDIA Quadro K4200 at +0.7%, GeForce GTX 880M at -1.3%, GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER at -1.4%, Tesla K20Xm at -1.7%) are all within 2% of its average benchmark score — yet the measured FPS in Inside shows it handling 1440p Medium at 133.4 fps, indicating the game is not pushing the GPU to its limits until 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080: Low delivers the highest frame rate at 232.8 fps, followed by Medium at 184 fps, High at 114.4 fps, and Ultra at 106.4 fps. The gap between Medium and High is 37.8%, while High to Ultra is only 7.0% — suggesting diminishing returns at the top end.

2560x1440: Low produces 163.2 fps, Medium 133.4 fps, High 85.1 fps, and Ultra 80.2 fps. The Medium-to-High drop is 36.2%, and High-to-Ultra is 5.8%, mirroring the 1080p pattern but with lower absolute values.

3840x2160: Low averages 101.9 fps, Medium 82.8 fps, High 53.9 fps, and Ultra 46.7 fps. The Medium-to-High penalty is 34.9%, and High-to-Ultra is 13.4% — the largest Ultra penalty in the entire dataset, reinforcing the GPU's limitation at 4K.

Across all resolutions, the delta between Low and Ultra ranges from 54.3% (1080p) to 54.2% (4K), showing consistent preset scaling. The 1440p Low result (163.2 fps) is notably higher than 1080p High (114.4 fps), indicating that resolution has a smaller impact than preset choice at mid-range settings.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K 60 fps?*

A: No, not with the default presets. The highest 4K average is Low at 101.9 fps, but Medium drops to 82.8 fps, High to 53.9 fps, and Ultra to 46.7 fps. Only Low and Medium exceed 60 fps at 4K.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Medium at 133.4 fps offers the best balance, providing 36.2% more performance than High (85.1 fps) while retaining higher visual quality than Low (163.2 fps). Ultra at 80.2 fps is also playable but offers marginal gains over High.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1070's average benchmark score of 12331 is within 2% of its nearest rivals: the Quadro K4200 (12241, +0.7% for the 1070), GTX 880M (12490, -1.3%), GTX 1650 SUPER (12504, -1.4%), and Tesla K20Xm (12547, -1.7%). These deltas are negligible in real-world gaming.

*Q: Is the Ryzen 7 3700X a bottleneck for this GPU in Inside?*

A: Only at very low settings and low resolutions. At 1080p Low (232.8 fps), the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are likely near their limit, but at 1440p and 4K, the GPU's performance caps frame rates well below CPU potential. The CPU's passmark single-thread score of 2656 and multithread score of 22458 indicate ample headroom for this game.

Q: What are the CPU's key specifications relevant to gaming?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X has 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, built on TSMC's 7 nm process. Its 32 MB L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth support high-FPS scenarios, and its cinebench R23 multicore score of 19087 confirms strong multi-threaded performance.

*Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems for Inside?*

A: This combo ranks 1410 out of 1671 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 15.6% of all combos — reflecting the GTX 1070's age rather than the CPU's capability, since the GPU is the performance limiter at most settings.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 3700X's specifications suggest it is more than sufficient for Inside, a game that does not heavily tax multi-threaded workloads. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads, with a 4.40 GHz boost clock, provide single-thread performance that is 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-12600 (28654 vs 28654 avg score) and 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT. Its cinebench R23 single-core score of 2694 and Geekbench single-core score of 1672 indicate strong per-thread capability, which matters more for this genre than raw core counts. The L3 cache of 32 MB and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) eliminate memory bottlenecks, as evidenced by the 1080p Low result of 232.8 fps — a frame rate that approaches the CPU's practical ceiling for this engine. At 4K, where the GPU is clearly the constraint, the CPU's utilization likely drops significantly, but its 65W TDP and 7 nm process node ensure it runs cool and quiet. The passmark physics score of 1181 and integer math score of 66399 further confirm the CPU can handle any physics or logic load Inside presents. Across all measured settings, there is no scenario where the CPU's performance would cause frame rates to collapse — the data shows consistent scaling that tracks GPU load, not CPU limits.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1410 out of 1671 tested systems places it in the 15.6th percentile of all combinations for Inside. This low ranking is attributable almost entirely to the GPU: the GTX 1070's passmark G3D score of 13498 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1082 reflect a graphics card that, while capable at 1080p and 1440p, falls behind modern hardware at 4K. The CPU, by contrast, performs admirably — its average benchmark score of 28631 is within 0.2% of its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i5-12600 (-0.1%), Intel Core i5-12600H (-0.1%), AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (+0.1%), and AMD EPYC 7203P (+0.2%). This means the motherboard and CPU platform are not dragging the system down; rather, the GPU's 51st percentile ranking among all GPUs caps the combo's overall standing. For comparison, the combo's 4K Ultra score of 46.7 fps is below the 60 fps threshold, while its 1080p Ultra score of 106.4 fps is solidly playable. The rank suggests that while this system can handle Inside at most settings, it will not compete with higher-end combos that feature newer GPUs with greater compute throughput or memory bandwidth. The data indicates that upgrading the GPU would yield a dramatically higher rank, while the CPU has substantial headroom for future graphics upgrades.