Inside

Inside is a 2D puzzle-platformer from 2016, and the measured data for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination shows a title that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at high settings, yet surprisingly CPU-sensitive at lower presets. The benchmark results provide a clear picture of how this hardware pair handles the game across three resolutions and four quality presets, with average frame rates ranging from a demanding 140.9 FPS at 4K Ultra to a blistering 321.5 FPS at 1080p Low.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is a desktop processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, and built on TSMC's 7 nm process. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. The processor carries a 32 MB L3 cache, alongside 64 KB of L1 and 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. Its synthetic benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 23794 and a single-core score of 3359, placing it in the 86th percentile of all CPUs.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is peculiar. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS reaches 321.5, which is the highest figure recorded in the entire dataset. This suggests that at this resolution and preset, the CPU is managing to feed the GPU adequately, but the fact that the 3DMark 2-thread score (1879) is significantly lower than the 8-thread score (6141) hints that the game's engine may not utilize the full thread count. The 5800XT's single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 959, is sufficient to prevent a bottleneck in most scenarios, but the data shows a clear ceiling: when comparing the 1080p Low result (321.5 FPS) to the 1080p Medium result (300.7 FPS), the drop is modest, indicating the GPU is still the primary limiter at these settings.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 5800XT has an average benchmark score of 29774, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (29740) and 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (29682). It is 0.3% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (29856) and equally 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (29868). These deltas are negligible, suggesting that the CPU's raw compute power is not a differentiating factor in this game, as the frame rates are more dependent on the graphics settings and GPU load.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a flagship GPU based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, using the AD102 chip fabricated on a 5 nm process. It comes with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a massive 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). It features 16384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units, delivering a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is rated at 82.58 TFLOPS, and it sits in the 91st percentile of all GPUs.

For Inside, the RTX 4090 is overkill in terms of raw compute, but the measured FPS reveals how the game scales with settings. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 140.9, which is the lowest recorded value yet still far above the 60 FPS threshold. The GPU's memory bandwidth is not stressed by this title, as Inside is not a graphically intensive game, but the data shows that the highest settings still impose a significant load. At 4K Low, the average FPS jumps to 249, indicating that the GPU is capable of much higher throughput when pixel shading requirements are reduced.

The RTX 4090's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla T4, which has an average score of 66733 (0.4% higher), and the NVIDIA Tesla P40 with 66127 (0.5% lower). In this game, the GPU's performance is so far beyond the requirements that the differences between these rivals would be irrelevant; the limiting factor becomes the CPU at lower resolutions and settings.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data provides four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—across three resolutions. At 1080p, the differences between presets are substantial but all are playable: Low averages 321.5 FPS, Medium 300.7 FPS, High 247.6 FPS, and Ultra 247.5 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs about 20.8 FPS, while the drop from Medium to High costs 53.1 FPS. The High and Ultra presets are nearly identical in performance, differing by only 0.1 FPS, which suggests that the Ultra preset adds negligible visual fidelity for the same cost.

At 1440p, the pattern shifts. Low averages 292.9 FPS, Medium 266.5 FPS, High 224 FPS, and Ultra 218.9 FPS. Here, the gap between High and Ultra is only 5.1 FPS, but the drop from Medium to High is 42.5 FPS, indicating that the High preset introduces a significant rendering load. At 4K, the results are more compressed: Low averages 249 FPS, Medium 228.8 FPS, High 145.7 FPS, and Ultra 140.9 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is the steepest at 83.1 FPS, which is a 36% reduction.

The optimal preset for a high-refresh-rate monitor is Medium at 1080p or 1440p, as it offers a substantial FPS boost over High while maintaining a reasonable visual quality. For 4K, the Medium preset is the best balance, providing 228.8 FPS, which is far above the 140.9 FPS of Ultra. The High preset is not recommended at 4K since it offers only a 4.8 FPS improvement over Ultra, making Ultra the better choice if you want the maximum visual settings without a major performance penalty.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The complete dataset of measured FPS is as follows:

• 1920x1080: Low averages 321.5 FPS, Medium 300.7 FPS, High 247.6 FPS, and Ultra 247.5 FPS.

• 2560x1440: Low averages 292.9 FPS, Medium 266.5 FPS, High 224 FPS, and Ultra 218.9 FPS.

• 3840x2160: Low averages 249 FPS, Medium 228.8 FPS, High 145.7 FPS, and Ultra 140.9 FPS.

At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 74 FPS, which is a 23% drop. At 1440p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 74 FPS as well, but the percentage drop is 25.3%. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 108.1 FPS, a 43.4% drop. This trend indicates that the GPU becomes more stressed as resolution increases, with the High and Ultra presets causing the most significant performance hits.

The data shows no min or max FPS values, so only the averages are available for analysis. The combination ranks 145th out of 1671 possible combinations in this game, which places it in the top 8.7% of tested hardware configurations. This rank is impressive, but the sheer frame rates suggest that the hardware is not being fully utilized at lower settings, where the CPU may be the limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this CPU and GPU combination in Inside?

A: The highest average frame rate is 321.5 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 perform at 4K Ultra compared to 1080p Low?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 140.9, while at 1080p Low it is 321.5. This represents a 180.6 FPS difference, or a 56.2% reduction in performance when moving to the higher resolution and preset.

Q: Is there a significant difference between High and Ultra settings in this game?

A: At 1080p, the difference is negligible, with High averaging 247.6 FPS and Ultra averaging 247.5 FPS, a 0.1 FPS difference. At 1440p, the difference is 5.1 FPS (224 vs 218.9), and at 4K, it is 4.8 FPS (145.7 vs 140.9). The Ultra preset offers no meaningful performance penalty over High.

Q: Which resolution and settings combination provides the best balance of visual quality and frame rate?

A: The 2560x1440 Medium preset, averaging 266.5 FPS, provides the best balance, as it is 42.5 FPS faster than High at the same resolution while still offering a significant visual upgrade over Low.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance affect the game's frame rates?

A: The Ryzen 7 5800XT has a 3DMark single-thread score of 959 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3359. The data shows that at 1080p, the FPS scales from 321.5 at Low to 247.6 at High, indicating that the CPU's single-thread speed is sufficient to keep up with the GPU, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings increase.

Q: What is the rank of this hardware combination among all tested configurations for Inside?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 145th out of 1671 tested combinations, placing it in the top 8.7% of all configurations.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights into which component limits performance. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 321.5 at 1080p to 292.9 at 1440p (a 28.6 FPS drop, 8.9%) and then to 249 at 4K (a further 43.9 FPS drop, 15%). This relatively mild scaling suggests that the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p Low, as the GPU has headroom to render more pixels without a proportional FPS loss. The RTX 4090's massive 1.01 TB/s bandwidth and 82.58 TFLOPS of compute power are not fully taxed at these settings.

At Medium settings, the FPS drops from 300.7 at 1080p to 266.5 at 1440p (34.2 FPS drop, 11.4%) and then to 228.8 at 4K (37.7 FPS drop, 14.1%). The scaling is still gentle, indicating that the GPU is handling the increased resolution with relative ease. However, the gap between Low and Medium narrows as resolution increases, suggesting the GPU is starting to become more involved.

At High and Ultra settings, the scaling becomes dramatic. For High, the FPS drops from 247.6 at 1080p to 224 at 1440p (23.6 FPS drop, 9.5%) and then to 145.7 at 4K (78.3 FPS drop, 35%). The 4K result is a massive 41.1% lower than the 1440p result. For Ultra, the pattern is similar: 247.5 at 1080p, 218.9 at 1440p, and 140.9 at 4K. This steep decline at 4K for the higher presets indicates that the GPU is now the primary limiting component, as the pixel shading and texture work required by these settings overwhelms even the RTX 4090's capabilities.

The data clearly shows a crossover point: below High settings, the CPU is the bottleneck, and above that, the GPU takes over. The fact that High and Ultra produce nearly identical FPS at 1080p (247.6 vs 247.5) but diverge slightly at 4K (145.7 vs 140.9) suggests that the Ultra preset adds a small amount of GPU load that only becomes apparent at higher resolutions. In summary, the Ryzen 7 5800XT holds up well at lower settings, but the RTX 4090's performance ceiling is only fully exposed at 4K with High or Ultra presets, where the frame rates drop by over 40% compared to 1080p.