Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that places essentially no sustained stress on high-end hardware, and the data for the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination reflects that reality: this is a system that turns the game into a frame-rate showcase, delivering triple-digit averages even at 4K Ultra. The benchmark results indicate that the pairing is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at the highest settings, but the CPU's massive cache and high clock speeds ensure that even the most demanding physics-based puzzles never cause a bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 366th out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. That places it in the top 22% of all systems tested, which is a strong showing for a game with relatively modest requirements. The ranking suggests that while this hardware is far from the absolute top tier for this title—likely due to other combos featuring newer or more powerful GPUs—it still delivers a performance envelope that is firmly in the enthusiast class.

The data shows that the combo's position is not a reflection of weakness in either component, but rather a function of the game's engine being well-optimized for a wide range of hardware. For context, the CPU alone sits in the 87th percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 83rd percentile of all graphics cards. The gap between the combo's overall rank and the individual component percentiles underscores that Inside's performance ceiling is reached quickly, and the remaining headroom is simply unused by the game's workload.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a Zen 4 architecture chip built on a 5 nm process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock is 4.20 GHz, boosting up to 5.00 GHz, and it carries a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This cache configuration is particularly relevant for a game like Inside, which features complex interactive environments where data reuse is high. The large cache helps maintain consistent frame pacing by reducing memory latency, which is a critical factor for a puzzle platformer that relies on precise timing.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong single-threaded performance with a 3DMark single-thread score of 959 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4115. Multi-threaded results are equally robust, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29149 and a Geekbench multicore score of 15101. While Inside is not a heavily threaded title, the CPU's 16 threads ensure that any background tasks or physics calculations do not interfere with the game's main thread. The 120W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom for the game's data streams.

Given the frame rates observed, it is clear that the CPU is never the limiting factor in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the system pushes 344.2 FPS, which is a clear indication that the processor can feed the GPU far faster than the game's engine can produce frames. The CPU's percentile rank of 87 and its average benchmark score of 31580 place it just ahead of the Intel Core i7-12700F by 0.1%, showing that it is among the fastest gaming processors available, even if that raw power is not fully utilized here.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is an Ampere architecture GPU built on an 8 nm process, with 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. It operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, with memory clocked at 19 Gbps effective. The GPU is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for Inside's art style, which uses a distinctive monochromatic silhouette rendering that is not texture-heavy but does require consistent frame delivery.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial, with an FP32 rating of 34.10 TFLOPS and a pixel rate of 186.5 GPixel/s. In benchmark tests, the RTX 3080 Ti scores 26896 in Passmark G3D and 191309 in Geekbench OpenCL, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 41224 is only 0.5% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, indicating that this is a near-flagship level part.

For Inside, the GPU's role becomes dominant as resolution and settings increase. The 12 GB of VRAM is never a concern, and the high bandwidth ensures that the game's simple but atmospheric shaders are rendered without stutter. The data shows that the GPU's headroom is the primary reason for the high frame rates, particularly at 4K where the rendering load is greatest. The card's 350W TDP and PCIe 4.0 x16 interface provide the necessary power and bandwidth for sustained performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). At 1080p, the system achieves 344.2 FPS on Low, 320.6 FPS on Medium, 231.4 FPS on High, and 216.5 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium is relatively small (23.6 FPS), while the drop from Medium to High is significant (89.2 FPS), suggesting that the High preset introduces a substantial increase in rendering complexity.

At 1440p, the frame rates are 308.5 FPS on Low, 263.3 FPS on Medium, 166.5 FPS on High, and 155.4 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is not linear; the Low preset drops by 35.7 FPS (10.4%), while the Ultra preset drops by 61.1 FPS (28.2%). This indicates that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor at higher settings, as the pixel count increases.

At 4K, the system delivers 210 FPS on Low, 164 FPS on Medium, 103.8 FPS on High, and 98.8 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra result of 98.8 FPS is the only measurement below 100 FPS, but it remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The gap between 1440p Ultra and 4K Ultra is 56.6 FPS, which is a 36.4% reduction, highlighting the significant rendering load that 4K imposes.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a clear pattern where frame rates decrease as resolution increases, but the rate of decrease varies by settings preset. From 1080p to 4K, the Low preset drops from 344.2 FPS to 210 FPS, a 39.0% reduction. The Medium preset drops from 320.6 FPS to 164 FPS, a 48.8% reduction. The High preset drops from 231.4 FPS to 103.8 FPS, a 55.1% reduction. The Ultra preset drops from 216.5 FPS to 98.8 FPS, a 54.4% reduction.

These percentages indicate that the system is increasingly GPU-bound at higher settings. At Low settings, the frame rate is likely limited by the game's engine logic and CPU overhead, as the GPU has ample headroom. At Ultra settings, the GPU's rendering workload becomes the primary constraint, as evidenced by the steeper drop in performance when moving to 4K. The fact that the High and Ultra presets show similar percentage drops from 1080p to 4K suggests that the additional visual features in Ultra do not proportionally increase the rendering cost at lower resolutions, but they do at 4K.

The limiting component analysis points to the GPU being the bottleneck at 4K Ultra, while the CPU is the limiter at 1080p Low. This is a typical pattern for high-end systems in a game that is not graphically intensive. The CPU's performance ceiling is reached first at low resolutions, while the GPU's capacity is only stressed at the highest resolution and settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play this game at with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1440p Ultra delivers 155.4 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. 4K Ultra also remains playable at 98.8 FPS. For maximum smoothness, 1080p Ultra provides 216.5 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher settings and resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is the primary constraint, while at 1080p Low, the CPU's performance ceiling is more relevant.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to its nearest rival in synthetic tests?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti's average benchmark score of 41224 is 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090's score of 41441, making them effectively equivalent in raw compute power.

Q: Does the CPU's large cache help in this game?

A: The 96 MB of L3 cache is a notable feature of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. While the game's engine is not heavily threaded, the large cache helps reduce latency for the physics and interaction data, contributing to consistent frame pacing.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 103.8 FPS at 4K High. This is comfortably above 100 FPS and provides a smooth experience on a 4K display.

Q: Is there a big difference between Medium and High settings?

A: The difference is notable. At 1080p, the drop from Medium to High is 89.2 FPS (27.8%). At 4K, the drop is 60.2 FPS (36.7%). High settings impose a significant rendering cost.

Settings Recommendations

For players with a 1080p or 1440p display, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation, as it delivers 216.5 FPS and 155.4 FPS respectively, both far exceeding the refresh rate of typical monitors. The visual upgrade from High to Ultra is worthwhile at these resolutions, given the performance headroom.

For 4K displays, the choice is more nuanced. The High preset at 103.8 FPS is the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, as it stays above 100 FPS. The Ultra preset at 98.8 FPS is only slightly slower and offers marginal visual improvements, but the drop below 100 FPS may be noticeable on high-refresh-rate 4K panels.

The Medium preset offers a significant performance boost over High, particularly at 4K where it reaches 164 FPS. However, the visual downgrade from High to Medium is substantial, and for a game with such a meticulous art style, the higher preset is generally preferred. The Low preset provides the highest frame rates across all resolutions, but the data shows that the visual compromise is too great for a game that relies on atmosphere and lighting; it is only recommended for competitive play if such a mode existed, which it does not for this title. The optimal experience is 1440p Ultra for most users, with 4K High for those prioritizing resolution over absolute frame rate.