Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is far from graphically demanding. Benchmark results show this combination is heavily CPU-limited at lower resolutions, with performance scaling patterns that reveal the game’s thread utilization and the processor’s strengths.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, average frame rates drop, but the magnitude of that drop is surprisingly modest given the GPU's power. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces 265 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 237 FPS, a reduction of 28 FPS or roughly 10.6%. At 3840x2160, the average falls to 160 FPS, which is 105 FPS below the 1080p result and 77 FPS below the 1440p result. This pattern indicates that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is the primary limiting factor; the GPU has ample headroom, but the processor cannot feed frames fast enough to fully utilize it.

The Low preset tells a similar story. At 1080p Low, the system hits 344 FPS. At 1440p Low, it achieves 309 FPS, and at 4K Low, it still manages 264 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K on Low is a 80 FPS drop, which is proportionally larger than the High preset drop (23.3% vs 39.6%). This suggests that even at Low settings, where the GPU load is minimal, the CPU bottleneck persists at 1080p and 1440p. The RTX 5090 D, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth, is simply not being stressed by this title.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the average is 318 FPS with a minimum of 270 FPS and a maximum of 366 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 285 FPS (min 242, max 328), and at 4K Medium, it drops to 244 FPS (min 207, max 281). The frame time consistency, as indicated by the min-to-max spread, tightens slightly as resolution increases, suggesting that the GPU becomes more of a factor at 4K, smoothing out some of the CPU-induced variance.

Overall, the scaling behavior points to a system where the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the bottleneck at 1080p and 1440p. The GPU only starts to meaningfully influence performance at 4K, where the pixel throughput demands begin to outpace the CPU's frame generation capabilities. Even then, the frame rates remain far above what any display can refresh, making this combo overkill for Inside at any resolution.

FAQ

*Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo in Inside?*

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 344 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At 4K with Ultra settings, the average drops to 153 FPS, which is still exceptionally high.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates a CPU bottleneck at 1080p and 1440p. For instance, at 1440p High, the average is 237 FPS, while at 1080p High it is 265 FPS, a difference of only 28 FPS. This modest scaling suggests the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is limiting performance before the RTX 5090 D's full potential is reached.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra experience compare to 1080p Low?

A: 4K Ultra averages 153 FPS, which is less than half of the 344 FPS seen at 1080p Low. The jump from Low to Ultra at the same resolution also incurs a significant cost; at 4K, the difference between Low (264 FPS) and Ultra (153 FPS) is 111 FPS.

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

A: The performance gap between High and Ultra is small. At 1080p, High averages 265 FPS while Ultra averages 261 FPS, a difference of only 4 FPS. At 4K, the gap is slightly larger at 7 FPS (160 vs 153), but both are well above playable thresholds.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for Medium settings?

A: For Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 270 at 1080p, 242 at 1440p, and 207 at 4K. These minimums indicate that even in the most demanding moments, the system maintains a very high frame rate.

Q: How does this combo's rank compare to other tested systems?

A: The combination ranks 161st out of 2887 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 5.6% of all systems tested. This high percentile is consistent with the measured FPS, which far exceeds typical display refresh rates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a desktop processor built on the Zen 4 architecture with the Raphael codename. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The processor's standout feature is its 96 MB of shared L3 cache, a design choice that benefits gaming workloads significantly. This cache configuration, combined with the 5 nm process node, contributes to its strong single-thread and multi-thread performance.

In Inside, a game that is not heavily threaded, the CPU's single-thread performance is critical. The 7800X3D scores 1713 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 959 in 3DMark single-thread. These scores indicate robust per-core performance, which translates to high frame rates in games that rely on a few primary threads. The measured FPS at 1080p High (265 FPS) demonstrates that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at a very high rate, but the scaling to 1440p and 4K shows that the GPU begins to take over as the resolution increases.

The processor's multi-threaded capabilities, while not fully utilized by Inside, are still impressive. It scores 16817 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 34293 in Passmark multithread. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7980 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 7967, indicating that the 16 threads are efficiently scheduled. However, the game's engine does not appear to leverage all 16 threads, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS at 1080p Low (344 FPS) is only 30% higher than at 1080p High (265 FPS), despite the significant reduction in GPU load.

The CPU's 120 W TDP and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are more than sufficient for this title. The 7800X3D's nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G and Intel Core i7-13650HX, have similar average benchmark scores (33089 vs 33079), but the 7800X3D's 3D V-Cache technology provides a gaming-specific advantage that these rivals lack. In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is to maintain a high minimum frame rate and avoid stutters, which it does effectively, as seen in the Medium preset minimum FPS of 270 at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks 161st out of 2887 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the top 5.6% of all systems tested, a strong result that aligns with the high-end nature of both components. The RTX 5090 D, which sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, and the 7800X3D, in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, combine to produce a system that is well above average for this game.

However, the rank is not higher due to the CPU bottleneck. The GPU is a top-tier part, with an average benchmark score of 77712, and its nearest rivals are notably lower-performing parts like the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904) and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 (79396). The fact that the 5090 D is not fully utilized means that the system's rank is largely determined by the CPU's ability to push frames. The 7800X3D's average benchmark score of 33079 is on par with the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G and Intel Core i7-13650HX, but its gaming performance is enhanced by the large L3 cache.

In the broader context of 2887 combos, a rank of 161 is impressive, but it could be argued that a less powerful GPU would achieve similar results in Inside due to the CPU limit. The data shows that the system is not bottlenecked by the GPU at 1080p or 1440p, meaning that the 5090 D's immense computational power (104.8 TFLOPS FP32) is largely idle. This is a common scenario in older or less demanding games, where the CPU's single-thread speed and cache hierarchy become the deciding factors. The rank of 161 reflects a system that is extremely fast, but not necessarily the absolute fastest, due to the inherent limitations of the game's engine.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combination depend on the user's display capabilities. For a 60 Hz or 120 Hz display, the High preset is the best choice. At 1080p High, the system averages 265 FPS, which is over twice the refresh rate of a 120 Hz panel. At 1440p High, the average is 237 FPS, and at 4K High, it is 160 FPS. All of these are sufficient for smooth gameplay on any consumer display.

The Ultra preset offers minimal visual improvement over High, with only a 4 FPS penalty at 1080p and a 7 FPS penalty at 4K. Given that the frame rates are already far above any display's refresh rate, there is no reason to choose High over Ultra for performance reasons. The difference between High and Ultra is negligible in terms of playability, so users should select Ultra if they want the maximum visual quality, as the performance cost is trivial.

The Medium preset provides a middle ground, with averages of 318 FPS at 1080p, 285 FPS at 1440p, and 244 FPS at 4K. The minimum FPS for Medium are 270, 242, and 207 respectively, which are still exceptionally high. This preset may be preferable for users with high-refresh-rate displays (e.g., 240 Hz or 360 Hz), as it provides a higher average FPS than High or Ultra. For example, at 1080p Medium, the average of 318 FPS is 53 FPS higher than High, which could be beneficial for competitive play.

The Low preset delivers the highest frame rates, with 344 FPS at 1080p, 309 FPS at 1440p, and 264 FPS at 4K. However, the visual quality reduction is significant, and the frame rate increase over Medium is modest (26 FPS at 1080p). Given that the system is already delivering over 240 FPS at 4K on Medium, the Low preset offers no practical advantage for most users. The recommendation is to use Ultra settings for the best visual experience, as the performance headroom is vast, and the differences between presets are imperceptible in terms of smoothness. For those with 360 Hz displays, Medium at 1080p is the only preset that can reach the display's maximum refresh rate, with an average of 318 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: average 344 FPS
• Medium: average 318 FPS, minimum 270 FPS, maximum 366 FPS
• High: average 265 FPS
• Ultra: average 261 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: average 309 FPS
• Medium: average 285 FPS, minimum 242 FPS, maximum 328 FPS
• High: average 237 FPS
• Ultra: average 233 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: average 264 FPS
• Medium: average 244 FPS, minimum 207 FPS, maximum 281 FPS
• High: average 160 FPS
• Ultra: average 153 FPS

The data reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions. The Low preset offers the highest average FPS, followed by Medium, High, and finally Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is significant, averaging around 26-30 FPS depending on resolution. The drop from Medium to High is larger, averaging 53 FPS at 1080p, 48 FPS at 1440p, and 84 FPS at 4K. The drop from High to Ultra is minimal, with only 4-7 FPS difference across all resolutions.

The minimum FPS figures for Medium settings show that the system maintains a high floor. At 1080p, the minimum is 270 FPS, which is 85% of the average. At 1440p, the minimum is 242 FPS (85% of average), and at 4K, it is 207 FPS (85% of average). This consistency suggests that the frame pacing is stable, with no significant stutters or drops. The maximum FPS values, 366 at 1080p, 328 at 1440p, and 281 at 4K, show that the system has occasional spikes, but the overall experience is smooth.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K is non-linear. For instance, at High settings, the FPS drops from 265 to 237 (1080p to 1440p, a 10.6% decrease) and then from 237 to 160 (1440p to 4K, a 32.5% decrease). This indicates that the GPU becomes increasingly important at 4K, where the pixel fill rate demands are higher. The RTX 5090 D's 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate is capable of handling this load, but the CPU's frame generation becomes the limiting factor at lower resolutions.

In summary, the measured FPS data shows that this combination delivers playable frame rates at every resolution and settings level, with the lowest average being 153 FPS at 4K Ultra. The system is CPU-bound at 1080p and 1440p, and only at 4K does the GPU start to show its influence. This makes the combo an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate gaming, even in a title as old as Inside.