Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a robust experience in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer from 2016. The measured data shows this combination is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strong single-thread performance allows for extreme frame rates at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, contextualizes the combo’s standing against other tested configurations, and examines the role of the GPU’s specifications in the game's performance.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the bottleneck lies within this system. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 377.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 274 FPS, a reduction of approximately 27.5%. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 170.4 FPS, which is a 55% decrease from the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises, even on a low graphical preset.

The scaling pattern holds across all settings. With High settings, the average FPS goes from 190 at 1080p, to 138.8 at 1440p, and finally to 82.7 at 4K. The Ultra preset follows a similar trajectory, starting at 182.1 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 131.9 FPS at 1440p, and settling at 78.5 FPS at 4K. The consistent reduction in frame rates as resolution increases is a classic sign of GPU saturation. The CPU, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 4 architecture, is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, but the RTX 3070’s rendering throughput becomes the ceiling when the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

Interestingly, the delta between 1080p and 1440p is smaller than the delta between 1440p and 4K across all settings. For example, at Medium settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 85.5 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 79.7 FPS. This suggests that while the GPU is increasingly stressed at 1440p, the jump to 4K places an exponential load on the graphics processor, pushing the average FPS down to levels that are still very playable but far from the high-refresh-rate territory achievable at lower resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 377.9, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 78.5, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the high frame rates (up to 377.9 FPS on Low) indicate that the CPU is doing significant work, but the scaling to 4K shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 274 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 131.9 FPS, a difference of 142.1 FPS.

Q: Does the combo rank in the top half of tested configurations for this game?

A: Yes, the combo ranks 609th out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the top 36.5% of all configurations.

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS for the 3840x2160 Medium preset is 138.1.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the Ultra preset offers the most balanced experience, but High is the optimal choice for maintaining higher frame rates without a significant visual penalty. At 4K, the Ultra preset delivers 78.5 FPS, while High yields 82.7 FPS, a marginal 4.2 FPS difference. The Medium preset, surprisingly, performs better than High, achieving 138.1 FPS at 4K, which is significantly higher. This anomaly suggests that the High preset may enable specific effects that are disproportionately demanding on the GPU, making Medium a more efficient choice for high-resolution play.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset provides 131.9 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 138.8 FPS is nearly identical, making either choice viable. The Low preset at 274 FPS is excessive for most displays but demonstrates the headroom available. For 1080p, all presets exceed 180 FPS, with Ultra at 182.1 FPS and High at 190 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience on any monitor. Given the data, the Medium preset at 1440p (217.8 FPS) and 4K (138.1 FPS) provides the best combination of elevated frame rates and presumably better visuals than Low, making it a strong recommendation for those prioritizing performance.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific configuration of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 609th out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all systems, indicating that while it is not a top-tier enthusiast setup, it is far above the median performer. The rank reflects a system that can handle the game at high settings across all resolutions, but it is not among the elite configurations that would push frame rates to the absolute maximum.

The CPU's individual performance is strong, ranking in the 89th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34313. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-13500, which scores 34175 (0.4% lower), and the AMD EPYC 4244P, which scores 34599 (0.8% higher). The GPU, meanwhile, ranks in the 72nd percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28238. Its closest competitor is the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, which scores 27985 (0.9% lower). The combination of a high-percentile CPU and a solidly above-average GPU results in a system that excels in this CPU-light game, but the 609th rank suggests that other combos with more powerful GPUs will achieve higher frame rates, particularly at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, based on the Ampere architecture with the GA104 chip, plays the decisive role in determining frame rates in Inside. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is sufficient for the game's demands, as the data shows no signs of stuttering or memory-related bottlenecks, even at 4K Ultra. The GPU’s boost clock of 1725 MHz and base clock of 1500 MHz are key drivers of its computational throughput, which is further supported by 5888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units.

The GPU's performance is evident in the measured FPS, particularly when comparing it to the CPU's capabilities. The RTX 3070's 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is more than enough to render Inside's side-scrolling visuals at high speeds. The fact that the 4K Ultra preset still averages 78.5 FPS demonstrates that the GPU is not overwhelmed by the game's graphical workload. The GPU's percentile rank of 72 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28238, places it slightly above the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (27985) and just below the AMD FirePro S7150 (28409). This solid mid-to-high-range positioning ensures that the GPU is the primary component limiting performance at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops from 1080p to 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. The Low preset averages 377.9 FPS, Medium averages 303.3 FPS, High averages 190 FPS, and Ultra averages 182.1 FPS. These figures indicate that the CPU is able to push the GPU to its limits, with the gap between Low and Medium (74.6 FPS) being larger than the gap between High and Ultra (7.9 FPS), suggesting diminishing returns in visual fidelity for the performance cost.

At 2560x1440, the resolution scaling begins to show. The Low preset averages 274 FPS, a 27.5% drop from 1080p. Medium averages 217.8 FPS, High averages 138.8 FPS, and Ultra averages 131.9 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Medium (56.2 FPS) remains significant, but the gap between High and Ultra (6.9 FPS) is minimal, making High a more efficient choice than Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The Low preset averages 170.4 FPS, which is still very playable. Medium averages 138.1 FPS, High averages 82.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 78.5 FPS. The data shows a sharp drop from Medium to High (55.4 FPS), indicating that the High preset introduces a significant GPU workload that is not present in Medium. This makes Medium the best-performing preset at 4K among the higher quality options, while Low remains the only way to approach 170 FPS at this resolution.