Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that proves far more demanding at high resolutions than its minimalist aesthetic suggests. Measured data shows this pairing sits at rank 633 out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the top 38% of all systems evaluated for this title. The 8-core, 16-thread Zen 3 processor with its 96 MB of shared L3 cache and the 10 GB GDDR6X Ampere GPU combine to produce frame rates that range from nearly 270 FPS at 1080p Low to roughly 97 FPS at 4K Ultra, revealing a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at every setting tested.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate curve from 1080p to 4K tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies in this system. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 269.3 FPS, but this drops to 244 FPS at 1440p Low and further to 196.4 FPS at 4K Low. That represents a 27% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is remarkably modest for such a large pixel count increase. The RTX 3080’s 760.3 GB/s memory bandwidth and 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are clearly sufficient to handle the geometric and shading loads of this title even at 4K, though the scaling pattern changes dramatically when settings are raised.

At Ultra settings, the resolution scaling becomes far more aggressive. The system delivers 207.5 FPS at 1080p, 152.5 FPS at 1440p, and only 96.7 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is 53%, more than double the percentage loss seen at Low settings. This divergence indicates that the Ultra preset introduces effects that heavily tax the GPU’s pixel processing pipeline, likely including advanced lighting and post-processing that scale super-linearly with resolution. The measured data suggests that at 1080p Ultra, the CPU still has headroom to feed the GPU, but by 4K Ultra, the RTX 3080 becomes the limiting component, with the 164.2 GPixel/s pixel rate being the primary constraint.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 61.8 FPS (269.3 vs 207.5). At 1440p, that gap grows to 91.5 FPS (244 vs 152.5). At 4K, the gap reaches 99.7 FPS (196.4 vs 96.7). This pattern strongly implies that the CPU, with its 3.00 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost clocks, can maintain high frame rates even at 1080p Ultra, but the GPU’s workload scales faster than its throughput as resolution climbs. The Ryzen 7 5700X3D’s 8 cores and 16 threads are never the limiting factor here; the data shows a system that is GPU-limited in every configuration tested.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 269.3, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is followed closely by 249 FPS at 1080p Medium and 244 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination ranks 633 out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the 62nd percentile of all systems evaluated for Inside.

Q: Does the RTX 3080’s 10 GB VRAM become a limitation at 4K?

A: The measured data shows no evidence of VRAM-related stuttering or frame drops. At 4K Ultra, the combo still averages 96.7 FPS, and at 4K High it reaches 100 FPS, indicating that 10 GB of GDDR6X memory is sufficient for this title’s requirements.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 244 FPS while Ultra produces 152.5 FPS, representing a 91.5 FPS drop or approximately 37.5% lower performance when enabling the highest preset.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The 3DMark single-thread score is 804, while the 16-thread score is 6764. This indicates strong scaling across cores, with the 8-core, 16-thread configuration providing roughly 8.4 times the single-thread score when fully utilized.

Q: Is the system more CPU-bound or GPU-bound at 1080p?

A: The data suggests GPU-bound behavior even at 1080p. At 1080p Low, the system hits 269.3 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra it drops to 207.5 FPS, showing that the GPU’s workload increases with settings while the CPU maintains consistent performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, manufactured on TSMC’s 7 nm process. Its 3.00 GHz base clock and 4.10 GHz boost clock are complemented by an unusual 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is the standout feature for gaming workloads. The processor’s 3DMark scores show progressive scaling: 1575 for 2 threads, 3097 for 4 threads, 5357 for 8 threads, and 6764 for 16 threads. This near-linear scaling from 4 to 8 threads indicates that the CPU can effectively utilize all its cores when a game demands it, though Inside is not a title that stresses multi-threaded performance.

In Cinebench R23, the chip scores 22366 multi-core and 3157 single-core, while Geekbench shows 10108 multi-core and 1922 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score of 26318 places it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24673. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1360P, scores 24627, a mere 0.2% difference, while the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D sits 0.3% behind at 24605. This tight clustering shows the 5700X3D is competitively positioned among modern processors, but its gaming advantage comes from the cache hierarchy rather than raw compute.

For Inside, the CPU’s role appears minimal at standard resolutions. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (269.3) and 1080p High (210.6) are both extremely high, suggesting the processor can easily feed the GPU. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1575 and single-thread score of 804 indicate decent per-core performance, which is what matters for a game that likely relies on a few primary threads. The 105 W TDP and DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this workload, and the data shows no CPU-induced frame rate ceiling until the GPU is pushed to its limits at 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 633 out of 1671 tested combinations places this system in the upper-middle tier of all configurations evaluated for Inside. This is a notable result given the age of the game, as newer, more powerful hardware would be expected to dominate the rankings. The RTX 3080’s 80th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35787, is slightly higher than the CPU’s 82nd percentile, suggesting the GPU is the more competitive component in this pairing.

The nearest rivals for the GPU include the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (35860, 0.2% higher), AMD Radeon 880M (35646, 0.4% lower), AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (36101, 0.9% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile (35435, 1% lower). These scores are within a narrow band, indicating the RTX 3080 remains competitive with much newer hardware. For the CPU, the nearest rivals are the Intel Core i7-1360P (24627, 0.2% higher), AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D (24605, 0.3% higher), Intel Core i5-11600 (24559, 0.5% higher), and AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (24811, 0.6% lower). The processor’s 82nd percentile ranking is respectable but not exceptional, meaning the combo’s overall rank is driven primarily by the GPU’s strong showing.

The 633rd rank out of 1671 means about 62% of tested combos perform worse, while 38% perform better. For a game from 2016, this level of performance is expected from a high-end 2020 GPU paired with a 2024 CPU. The data suggests that most of the combos ranked above this one likely pair the RTX 3080 with faster CPUs or use newer GPUs, but the measured FPS numbers show this pairing delivers a smooth experience at all settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured performance. Built on Samsung’s 8 nm process with 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die, the GA102 chip features 8704 shading units, 272 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The 10 GB of GDDR6X memory runs at 19 Gbps effective across a 320-bit bus, yielding 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The 1440 MHz base clock boosts to 1710 MHz, producing 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s.

The GPU’s benchmark results show strong DirectX performance: PassMark DirectX 11 scores 207, while DirectX 12 scores 100 (likely normalized differently). The Geekbench OpenCL score of 167014 and Vulkan score of 145176 indicate robust compute capabilities. The 80th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35787, places it just below the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (35860) and above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile (35435).

In Inside, the GPU’s role is clearly to render the game’s atmospheric lighting and shadow effects, which scale heavily with settings. The 4K Ultra result of 96.7 FPS versus 4K Low at 196.4 FPS shows a 99.7 FPS penalty for maxing out settings, a 51% reduction. The 10 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor, as evidenced by the smooth frame rates at 4K Ultra. The RTX 3080’s 320-bit memory bus and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth provide ample data throughput for this title’s texture streaming, and the 96 ROPs handle the pixel fill rate required at 4K without dropping below 96 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates: 269.3 FPS on Low, 249 FPS on Medium, 210.6 FPS on High, and 207.5 FPS on Ultra. The step from Medium to High costs 38.4 FPS, while High to Ultra costs only 3.1 FPS, suggesting that the High preset captures most of the visual fidelity without the performance penalty of Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the results are 244 FPS on Low, 224.9 FPS on Medium, 156.7 FPS on High, and 152.5 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Medium to High is 68.2 FPS, a substantial jump that indicates High settings introduce significant additional GPU work at this resolution. The difference between High and Ultra narrows to just 4.2 FPS, again showing that Ultra adds little over High.

At 3840x2160, the system manages 196.4 FPS on Low, 161.4 FPS on Medium, 100 FPS on High, and 96.7 FPS on Ultra. The Medium to High transition costs 61.4 FPS, the largest single-step penalty across all resolutions. The 4K Low result of 196.4 FPS is particularly impressive, showing that even at 4K, the GPU has headroom when settings are reduced. The 4K Ultra score of 96.7 FPS remains above 60 FPS, ensuring a playable experience at maximum settings.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience at 1080p, the High preset at 210.6 FPS is the optimal choice, as it delivers nearly identical performance to Ultra (207.5 FPS) while likely reducing visual noise. The 3.1 FPS difference between High and Ultra is imperceptible, and the settings are effectively interchangeable at this resolution. Medium at 249 FPS is suitable for competitive play, but the jump to High costs only 38.4 FPS and provides better image quality.

At 1440p, High at 156.7 FPS is the recommended setting, as it maintains a high refresh rate while offering superior visuals to Medium’s 224.9 FPS. The 68.2 FPS cost of moving from Medium to High is significant, but the resulting 156.7 FPS is still well above 144 Hz displays. Ultra at 152.5 FPS is only 4.2 FPS slower than High, so players with high-refresh monitors can enable Ultra without concern.

At 4K, the choice is more nuanced. High at 100 FPS provides a smooth experience on 90-100 Hz displays, while Ultra at 96.7 FPS is nearly identical and can be enabled if the display supports it. Medium at 161.4 FPS is the best option for 144 Hz 4K monitors, offering a substantial 61.4 FPS advantage over High. Low at 196.4 FPS is overkill for most displays and sacrifices too much visual quality. The data shows that High and Ultra are statistically equivalent at 4K, so the choice should be made based on personal preference for specific effects rather than performance.