Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is an unusual matchup, pitting a modern, high-end 2022 CPU against a capable but aging 2016 GPU. In Inside, a 2D puzzle platformer, this combination produces a fascinating bottleneck dynamic where the GPU's age and the game's light CPU demands create a clear performance ceiling. The data shows this combo ranks 3056th out of 3716 tested combos, placing it in the lower 18th percentile of all systems benchmarked for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 3056 out of 3716 tested configurations firmly places it in the bottom quintile of systems for Inside. This is a poor showing for a system containing a CPU that sits in the 80th percentile of all processors. The bottleneck is unmistakable: the GTX 1070, which itself only ranks in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, is holding back a processor that is otherwise capable of much higher frame rates. The data indicates that the CPU's potential is largely wasted in this pairing, as the GPU becomes the primary limiter across almost all settings and resolutions.

Benchmark results show the CPU's raw strength, with an average benchmark score of 27896, placing it virtually neck-and-neck with its nearest rivals. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27887, a 0% delta, while the Intel Core i9-10900K scores 27872, a 0.1% difference. The AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 scores 27932, showing a -0.1% delta. This puts the 5800X3D in a dead heat with these other processors, indicating its performance is solidly mid-pack among its peers. However, none of that CPU headroom translates to high FPS in Inside due to the GPU constraint.

The system's overall rank is dragged down entirely by the GPU. The GTX 1070's average benchmark score is 9780, and its nearest rivals show the same pattern of close competition: the AMD FirePro W5000 scores 9803 (-0.2%), the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M scores 9832 (-0.5%), and the NVIDIA Tesla M10 scores 9724 (0.6%). The GPU is performing as expected, but that expected performance is simply not enough to push this combo into a higher ranking. For a game like Inside, the data suggests that the GPU is the sole factor limiting the system's overall ranking, a clear sign of a severe bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the definitive performance ceiling in this configuration. It features 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock runs at 2002 MHz, or 8 Gbps effective. The GPU's base clock is 1506 MHz with a boost clock of 1683 MHz. These specifications, while respectable for its generation, are the primary constraint on frame rates in Inside.

The data shows that in Inside, the GTX 1070's performance is consistent with its benchmark standing. Its Passmark G3D score of 13498 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1082 illustrate its capabilities. The GPU's compute performance is also modest, with a Passmark GPU compute score of 6102 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 44700. These numbers paint a picture of a GPU that is adequate for 1080p gaming but will struggle to maintain high refresh rates at higher resolutions.

This is most evident in the measured FPS data. At 1080p with Low settings, the system hits 231 FPS, but this drops to 115 FPS at High settingsPaper, showing the GPU's sensitivity to graphical load. The GPU's 1920 shading units and 64 ROPs are being fully utilized, and they simply cannot push more frames. The GPU's VRAM, while 8 GB is generally sufficient, is not the limiting factor here; rather, it is the raw compute throughput of the GP104 chip that holds the system back from achieving higher frame rates in this title.

FAQ

*Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck for this combo in Inside?*

A: The GPU is the definitive bottleneck. The CPU ranks in the 80th percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 47th. The combo's low rank of 3056 out of 3716 is a direct result of the GPU's performance ceiling, as evidenced by the FPS scaling across settings.

*Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K?*

A: Yes, it can run at 4K, but with sacrifices. The data shows a 52 FPS average at 4K High settings and a 104 FPS average at 4K Low settings. For a stable 60+ FPS experience at 4K, you would need to use Low or Medium settings, with Medium averaging 83 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for a smooth experience?

A: For a high-refresh-rate experience, 1080p Low settings yields 231 FPS. For a balanced visual and performance profile, 1440p Medium settings provides 133 FPS. If you prioritize visual fidelity, 1080p Ultra still delivers a playable 110 FPS.

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

A: The GTX 1070's average benchmark score is 9780, which is nearly identical to its closest rivals. The AMD FirePro W5000 scores 9803 (-0.2%), the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M scores 9832 (-0.5%), and the NVIDIA Tesla M10 scores 9724 (0.6%). This shows the GTX 1070 is performing exactly as expected for its class.

*Q: Is the 8 GB of VRAM on the GTX 1070 a limiting factor in Inside?*

A: The data does not suggest that VRAM capacity is the primary limiter. The FPS scales consistently with resolution and settings, which points to compute and memory bandwidth limitations. The 256.3 GB/s bandwidth is more of a constraint than the 8 GB capacity for this specific game.

*Q: Does the CPU's 3D V-Cache provide any tangible benefit in Inside?*

A: The benchmark data does not isolate the effect of the 96 MB L3 cache. While the CPU is powerful with an 80th percentile ranking, the system's overall performance in Inside is firmly capped by the GTX 1070. The CPU's advantages are not realized in this specific title due to the GPU bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo in Inside reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound performance, with frame rates scaling directly with resolution and settings.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 231, providing an exceptionally smooth experience. Moving to Medium settings drops the average to 184 FPS, with a minimum of 157 and a maximum of 212. High settings yield an average of 115 FPS. At Ultra settings, the system still manages an average of 110 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution where even the highest settings are comfortably playable on a high-refresh-rate monitor.

At 2560x1440, the GPU begins to show its strain. Low settings produce an average of 166 FPS, still a very playable number. Medium settings drop the average to 133 FPS, with a minimum of 113 and a maximum of 153. High settings bring the average down to 83 FPS. Ultra settings see the average fall to 79 FPS, which is on the edge of smoothness for some players but still above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the GTX 1070 is clearly overburdened. Low settings yield an average of 104 FPS, which is surprising but still playable. Medium settings drop the average to 83 FPS, with a minimum of 71 and a maximum of 96. High settings average 52 FPS, which is below the ideal smoothness threshold. Ultra settings average 50 FPS, making it the only setting/resolution combination that dips into the upper 40s range, which is not ideal for a game that benefits from smooth motion.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, confirming the GPU-bound nature of this system. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average FPS drops from 115 to 83, a 27.8% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings, the average drops from 83 to 52, a 37.3% decrease. This steeper drop at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is running out of pixel-pushing power.

The scaling is less severe at Low settings. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops from 231 to 166, a 28.1% decrease. From 1440p to 4K, the average drops from 166 to 104, a 37.3% decrease. The consistency of these percentage drops across different settings suggests that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors, rather than any specific shader effect.

This pattern strongly indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see FPS remain constant across resolutions, as the CPU would be unable to feed the GPU faster. Instead, we see FPS drop significantly with each resolution increase, which is the classic signature of a GPU that is fully saturated. The 5800X3D is waiting for the GTX 1070 to finish its work, and the GPU simply cannot keep up with the demands of higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. Its key differentiator is the massive 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is designed to improve gaming performance. With a TDP of 105 W, it is a power-efficient chip for its performance class. Its benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14317 and a single-core score of 1452.

In Inside, the CPU's role is almost entirely passive. The game is a 2D puzzle platformer that does not require significant multi-threaded processing power. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are largely underutilized, as the game's workload is light on CPU resources. The data supports this, as the FPS is entirely determined by the GPU's performance across all settings and resolutions. The CPU is not the limiting factor; it is simply idling while waiting for the GPU to render frames.

The 5800X3D's high single-core performance is also not a factor here. While a 3DMark single-thread score of 884 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3234 are respectable, the game does not appear to be CPU-thread-bound. The FPS scaling with resolution is the definitive proof that the CPU has headroom to spare. In this specific title, the 5800X3D's strengths are completely wasted, as the GTX 1070 is the sole arbiter of performance. The system would perform nearly identically in Inside with a much weaker CPU, as long as it could feed the GTX 1070. This is a classic case of a high-end CPU being paired with a mid-range GPU, resulting in a system that is fundamentally GPU-limited in this game.