Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that remains surprisingly demanding at high refresh rates, and the data for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination shows a system that is heavily overqualified for the task, delivering playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra settings. The measured results reveal a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and presets, with the hardware consistently outpacing the game's requirements by a significant margin. The following analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, the roles of the CPU and GPU, and provides recommendations based strictly on the provided figures.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a predictable and steep drop in average frame rate as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low preset, the average FPS falls from 431 at 1080p to 386 at 1440p, and finally to 243 at 4K. This represents a 43.6% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU workload is scaling significantly with pixel count. The jump from 1440p to 4K is particularly harsh, with a 37% performance loss, suggesting that the RTX 4070 Ti's memory bandwidth and shading power are being taxed more heavily at the highest resolution.

For the Medium preset, the scaling is similar in pattern but slightly less aggressive in percentage terms. The average FPS drops from 398 at 1080p to 310 at 1440p, a 22.1% decrease, and then to 195 at 4K, another 37.1% decrease. The minimum FPS figures for Medium also scale, from 338 at 1080p to 263 at 1440p and 166 at 4K, showing that frame time consistency degrades alongside average performance. The gap between average and minimum FPS widens at higher resolutions, with a 32 FPS spread at 4K compared to a 60 FPS spread at 1080p, indicating more variable frame pacing under heavier load.

The High preset follows the established trend. Average FPS drops from 269 at 1080p to 194 at 1440p, a 27.9% decline, and then to 122 at 4K, a 37.1% decline from 1440p. At 4K High, the system still delivers an average of 122 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, but the scaling suggests that pushing to higher resolutions will continue to yield diminishing returns. The Ultra preset shows the lowest overall performance, with average FPS dropping from 257 at 1080p to 184 at 1440p and 116 at 4K, with the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K being 54.9%.

The resolution scaling data strongly indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at 4K, while the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions. The fact that 1080p Low yields 431 FPS, a figure that far exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors, suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than it can render at higher resolutions. The performance cliff between 1440p and 4K across all presets points to the GPU's 12 GB of VRAM and 192-bit memory bus becoming a bottleneck, as the data shows a consistent 37% performance hit when moving to 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a Zen 5 architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, base clock of 3.80 GHz, and boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its Passmark single-thread score of 4691 and multithread score of 36470 place it at the 94th percentile among all CPUs, indicating strong performance in both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads. In a game like Inside, which is a puzzle platformer with relatively simple physics and AI, the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck at any resolution, and the data confirms this.

At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS reaches 431, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame generation capacity for this game engine. The fact that increasing resolution to 1440p only drops the average FPS to 386 at Low settings, a 10.4% decrease, suggests that the CPU is still keeping up with the GPU's demands even as pixel count increases. It is only at 4K where the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor, with the Low preset average FPS dropping to 243, a 37.1% decrease from 1440p.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, which scores 0.2% higher on average, and the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which scores 0.2% lower. The Ryzen 9 7950X is 0.7% higher, and the Intel Core i7-14700K is 0.9% higher. These small deltas indicate that the 9700F is competitive with high-end desktop processors from both AMD and Intel, and none of these rivals would likely produce significantly different results in Inside given the GPU-bound nature of the game at higher resolutions.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node suggest efficient power delivery, but the data does not include thermal or power throttling figures for this specific game. The presence of 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core (80 KB L1 per core) provides ample cache for the game's assets, though the data does not directly measure cache utilization. The Passmark physics score of 2122 is relatively modest compared to the integer and floating-point math scores, which are 120788 and 77955 respectively, but this is unlikely to matter for a 2D puzzle platformer.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is an Ada Lovelace architecture GPU with 7680 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding 504.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 2310 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz, with a 285 W TDP and a Passmark G3D score of 31624, placing it at the 84th percentile among all GPUs.

The GPU's role in this game is clearly dominant, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset achieves 257 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of typical displays. The GPU's compute capabilities, including 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 60 RT cores, are largely underutilized in a game that does not feature ray tracing or complex visual effects. The data suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti is overkill for Inside, as the game's graphical demands are easily met even at 4K.

The nearest rivals for the RTX 4070 Ti include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, which scores 0.8% lower, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT, which scores 1.3% lower. The NVIDIA RTX A6000 scores 1.6% higher, and the Intel Arc A730M scores 1.7% lower. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 4070 Ti is well-positioned among its peers, and none of these rivals would offer a substantially different experience in Inside.

The GPU's 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's assets, as the data shows no signs of texture pop-in or memory-related stuttering at 4K Ultra. However, the 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth appear to be the limiting factor at 4K, as the average FPS drops from 184 at 1440p Ultra to 116 at 4K Ultra. This 37% decrease is consistent across all presets, indicating that the GPU's memory subsystem is the primary constraint at high resolutions. The pixel rate of 208.8 GPixel/s and texture rate of 626.4 GTexel/s are more than adequate for this game, but the data shows that the GPU is still the bottleneck at 4K.

FAQ

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

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 116 FPS, which is the lowest average across all tested configurations but still above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69996, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX and 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-14700KF. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X is 0.7% higher, and the Intel Core i7-14700K is 0.9% higher.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 269, while at 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS drops to 122. This represents a 54.6% decrease in performance.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for 4K gameplay?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory, and the data shows no evidence of memory-related issues at 4K Ultra settings, where the average FPS is 116.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 263 FPS, with a maximum of 356 FPS and an average of 310 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti compare to the RTX A6000 in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 44795, which is 1.6% lower than the NVIDIA RTX A6000's score of 44075.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 431 FPS, which is the highest measured figure in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 398 FPS, with a minimum of 338 FPS and a maximum of 457 FPS. The High preset averages 269 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 257 FPS. All four presets at 1080p exceed 240 FPS on average, making this resolution suitable for the highest refresh rate displays.

At 2560x1440, performance remains very high but shows a clear step down. The Low preset averages 386 FPS, a 10.4% decrease from 1080p. The Medium preset averages 310 FPS, with a minimum of 263 FPS and a maximum of 356 FPS, representing a 22.1% decrease from 1080p. The High preset averages 194 FPS, a 27.9% decrease, and the Ultra preset averages 184 FPS, a 28.4% decrease. The 1440p results still provide excellent headroom for high-refresh-rate gaming, with all presets above 180 FPS on average.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, but the system still delivers playable frame rates. The Low preset averages 243 FPS, a 37.1% decrease from 1440p. The Medium preset averages 195 FPS, with a minimum of 166 FPS and a maximum of 224 FPS, representing a 37.1% decrease from 1440p. The High preset averages 122 FPS, a 37.1% decrease, and the Ultra preset averages 116 FPS, a 37% decrease from 1440p. Even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 116 is comfortably above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay.

The data shows a consistent pattern where moving from 1440p to 4K results in a 37% performance drop across all presets, while the drop from 1080p to 1440p varies between 10.4% and 28.4% depending on the preset. This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth becomes the primary constraint at 4K, as the 12 GB VRAM capacity is not exhausted but the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient to maintain the same frame rates as lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's display resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset at 257 FPS average is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while still delivering frame rates far above any monitor's refresh rate. The data shows no reason to lower settings at 1080p, as even the most demanding preset exceeds 240 FPS on average.

For 1440p displays, the High preset at 194 FPS average offers an excellent balance, providing near-maximum visual quality with performance that exceeds 180 FPS. The Ultra preset at 184 FPS is also viable, and the 10 FPS difference between High and Ultra is unlikely to be noticeable on most displays. Users with 144 Hz monitors can run Ultra settings without issue, while those with 240 Hz monitors may prefer High to maintain a larger frame rate buffer.

For 4K displays, the choice is more nuanced. The Ultra preset at 116 FPS average is playable and provides the best visual experience, but the High preset at 122 FPS offers a slight performance improvement with minimal visual difference. The Medium preset at 195 FPS is the best choice for users with high-refresh-rate 4K displays, as it provides a significant performance boost while still maintaining good visual quality. The Low preset at 243 FPS is unnecessary unless the user prioritizes maximum frame rate over all else.

The data indicates that the Medium preset offers the best overall experience for 4K gaming, as it delivers 195 FPS average with a minimum of 166 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even during demanding scenes. At 1440p, the High preset is recommended for its balance of performance and quality, while at 1080p, the Ultra preset is the clear choice. The system's combination of the Ryzen 7 9700F and RTX 4070 Ti is more than capable of running Inside at maximum settings on any resolution, and the measured data supports the conclusion that the GPU is the limiting factor only at 4K.