Inside

Inside is a modest puzzle platformer by modern standards, but the measured frame rates for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination show a system that is utterly overqualified for the task, delivering triple-digit averages at every preset and resolution tested. The data indicates that this combo ranks in the 82nd percentile of all tested combinations, which is impressive for a game with such low graphical demands, but it also reveals that the CPU is doing the heavy lifting at lower settings, while the GPU takes over at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate measured for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 369.1, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is over three times the refresh rate of a standard 120Hz display, indicating massive headroom.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems in Inside?

A: The combo ranks 300th out of 1671 tested combinations. This places it in the top 18% of all systems, which is a strong showing for a game that is not particularly demanding on modern hardware.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 209.2 on Low to 100.1 on Ultra. That is a 109.1 FPS reduction, or a 52.1% decrease in performance when moving to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the RTX 4070's 12GB VRAM become a limiting factor at any tested setting?

A: No, the data does not indicate any VRAM-related bottleneck. The lowest average FPS recorded across all settings and resolutions is 100.1 at 4K Ultra, which suggests the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth are sufficient for this game's requirements.

Q: At which resolution does the CPU appear to become the primary bottleneck?

A: At 1920x1080, the gap between Low (369.1 FPS) and Ultra (220.3 FPS) settings is 148.8 FPS. This large spread suggests that at this resolution, the CPU's 8 cores are working harder to feed frames to the GPU, making the processor relatively more important.

Q: Is the 4K High preset a playable option for this system?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 101.3 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth, indicating that high-refresh 4K gaming is feasible in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node and features 5888 shading units. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than adequate for the visual fidelity of Inside. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz helps drive the high frame rates observed in the measured data.

In this specific game, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is substantial, with a 109.1 FPS gap. This indicates that the rasterization workload scales with both resolution and quality settings, and the RTX 4070 handles it comfortably. The data shows that even at the most demanding configuration tested (3840x2160 Ultra), the card maintains an average of 100.1 FPS, proving its capability in this title. The GPU's 64 ROPs and 184 TMUs ensure that texture fill and pixel throughput are not limiting factors, as evidenced by the consistently high frame rates across all measurement points.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination achieves a rank of 300 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside. This puts the system in the 82nd percentile of all tested configurations, which is a robust result for a game that is not graphically intensive. The ranking suggests that while the hardware is not at the absolute top tier, it outperforms the vast majority of systems tested.

In the context of the CPU's overall benchmark performance, the Ryzen 7 7700 sits at the 91st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40468. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H (0.1% faster), AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (0.5% faster), Intel Core i9-13905H (0.6% slower), and Intel Core Ultra 5 235T (1.2% slower). This tight grouping suggests that the CPU's performance is well-balanced for gaming workloads. The GPU, meanwhile, is at the 81st percentile among all GPUs, with competitors like the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.6% slower) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (2.2% slower) showing similar average scores. The high combo rank indicates that the pairing works effectively together, with no significant bottleneck limiting the overall frame output.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the High preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, High delivers 230.5 FPS, which is only 10.2 FPS less than Ultra but provides a significant improvement over Medium's 343.2 FPS in terms of visual fidelity. At 1440p, High achieves 165.9 FPS, which is more than sufficient for high-refresh monitors, while Ultra drops to 158.4 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is a mere 7.5 FPS, making High the more efficient choice.

At 4K, the High preset yields 101.3 FPS, which is comfortably above 100 FPS and provides a smoother experience than Ultra's 100.1 FPS. The performance gap between High and Ultra is negligible at this resolution, but the visual improvements from Ultra are likely marginal in a game with this art style. The Low preset at any resolution provides frame rates that exceed 200 FPS, but the graphical downgrade is unnecessary given the hardware's capability. Medium settings are a viable middle ground, but the data suggests that High is the sweet spot for this combo, offering the best experience without sacrificing measurable performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its raw power. Low settings produce an average of 369.1 FPS, which is the highest recorded in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 343.2 FPS, High at 230.5 FPS, and Ultra at 220.3 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 148.8 FPS, indicating that settings have a moderate impact at this resolution, but even the lowest result remains exceptionally high.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain impressive. Low settings average 332.8 FPS, Medium drops to 263.3 FPS, High reaches 165.9 FPS, and Ultra maintains 158.4 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 174.4 FPS, which is larger than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is beginning to take on a more significant workload as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the scaling continues. Low settings average 209.2 FPS, Medium delivers 163.5 FPS, High produces 101.3 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 100.1 FPS. The 109.1 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is the smallest relative gap, indicating that the GPU is more heavily loaded and settings have a proportionally smaller effect on performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is a 7000 series processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 4 architecture. It operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, which provides substantial single-thread performance. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core contribute to low-latency access to game data, which is critical for maintaining high frame rates.

In Inside, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p resolution. The measured data shows that at Low settings, the system achieves 369.1 FPS, which is a 45.9% increase over the 4K Low result of 209.2 FPS. This indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with more frames than the GPU can render at higher resolutions. The processor's single-thread score of 1049 in 3DMark and 4136 in Cinebench R23 single-core demonstrates its strength in tasks that rely on individual core performance, which is typical for game logic and physics calculations. The CPU's 65W TDP ensures that it can sustain these high clock speeds without thermal throttling, allowing for consistent frame delivery in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the shifting balance between CPU and GPU load. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 369.1 at 1080p to 209.2 at 4K, a reduction of 43.3%. This is the largest percentage drop across all settings, suggesting that at Low quality, the GPU becomes the limiting factor more quickly as resolution increases.

At Medium settings, the drop is from 343.2 FPS to 163.5 FPS, a 52.4% decrease. High settings see a drop from 230.5 FPS to 101.3 FPS, a 56.1% reduction. Ultra settings experience the smallest relative drop, from 220.3 FPS to 100.1 FPS, a 54.6% decrease. These numbers indicate that as resolution increases, the GPU workload grows faster than the CPU's ability to prepare frames, making the RTX 4070 the primary bottleneck at 4K. Conversely, at 1080p, the CPU's 8 cores and high boost clock are able to push frame rates to levels that the GPU cannot match at higher resolutions, confirming that the Ryzen 7 7700 is not a limiting factor in this game.