Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that places minimal stress on modern hardware, and the measured data for the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti confirms this. The combination delivers extremely high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, with the data indicating that the primary bottleneck shifts between the GPU and CPU depending on the configuration chosen. This analysis walks through the measured FPS rows to determine the optimal settings, the role of each component, and how this specific pairing stacks up against other tested combinations in the database.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for Inside provides a clear picture of how settings impact performance at each resolution. At 1080p, all four presets deliver frame rates well above any display's refresh rate, with Low averaging 316.7 FPS, Medium at 252.8 FPS, High at 157.8 FPS, and Ultra at 150.3 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal—only 7.5 FPS—while the jump from Low to Medium costs 63.9 FPS, and from Medium to High costs 95 FPS. This suggests that the High preset offers the best balance for 1080p, as it retains most of the visual fidelity of Ultra while staying comfortably above 144 Hz.

At 1440p, the pattern shifts slightly. Low averages 228.8 FPS, Medium 182.1 FPS, High 112.6 FPS, and Ultra 108.8 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 3.8 FPS, making the High preset the logical choice here as well, since it provides nearly identical performance to Ultra while likely offering similar visual quality. The Medium preset at 182.1 FPS is also viable for high-refresh-rate gaming, but High remains the sweet spot for those prioritizing image quality without sacrificing fluidity.

At 4K, the recommendation changes. Ultra drops to 68.1 FPS, which is playable but below the 70 FPS threshold that many consider ideal for smooth gameplay. High averages 70.8 FPS, barely crossing that line, while Medium reaches 112.7 FPS and Low hits 144.2 FPS. Given that Inside is a side-scrolling puzzle game where visual fidelity is important for atmosphere, the Medium preset at 4K provides the best experience—it more than doubles the frame rate of Ultra while still offering enhanced visuals over Low. The data shows that High at 4K is marginal at 70.8 FPS, so Medium is the recommended preset for 4K gaming with this combo.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is an older Pascal architecture GPU with 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, providing 484.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Its base clock is 1481 MHz with a boost clock of 1582 MHz, and it features 3584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 88 ROPs. The GPU's theoretical peak performance is 11.34 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. In the context of Inside, this GPU demonstrates its capability by maintaining high frame rates even at 4K resolution, where the data shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher settings.

The 11 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, which was released in 2016 and has modest texture requirements. The memory bandwidth of 484.4 GB/s helps sustain performance at 4K, where the transition from Medium (112.7 FPS) to High (70.8 FPS) represents a 37.2% drop, indicating that the GPU's compute throughput rather than memory capacity is the constraint. The data shows that at 1080p, the GTX 1080 Ti is not the bottleneck—even at Ultra, it produces 150.3 FPS, suggesting the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the GPU's limitations become apparent with 68.1 FPS, but this is still playable for a puzzle platformer.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti ranks 945 out of 1671 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the middle of the database. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the high frame rates measured, but it reflects the fact that Inside is not a demanding game, and many modern GPUs can achieve similar or better results. The combo's percentile ranking for the CPU is 89, meaning the Ryzen 7 9700X outperforms 89% of all CPUs in the database, while the GPU's percentile is 61, indicating the GTX 1080 Ti is above average but not exceptional.

The combo's middle-tier ranking suggests that while this pairing delivers excellent performance for Inside, there are many other combinations that also produce high frame rates. The CPU's strong benchmark scores—such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 31588 and a single-core score of 4459—do not translate into a top-tier ranking for this game because the GPU, despite being capable, holds back performance at higher settings. The nearest rivals for the CPU, including the Intel Core i5-14500HX with a deltaPct of 0.2% and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 with a deltaPct of 0.6%, show that the 9700X is closely matched by other processors, which further explains the mid-pack ranking.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are 316.7 for Low, 252.8 for Medium, 157.8 for High, and 150.3 for Ultra. These numbers show a clear progression where each settings tier reduces performance, but even the lowest tier (Ultra) remains far above the 144 Hz threshold. The difference between High and Ultra is just 7.5 FPS, while the difference between Medium and High is 95 FPS, and Low to Medium is 63.9 FPS. This indicates diminishing returns when moving from High to Ultra, making High the most efficient preset at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the values are 228.8 FPS for Low, 182.1 FPS for Medium, 112.6 FPS for High, and 108.8 FPS for Ultra. The pattern mirrors 1080p but with lower absolute numbers. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to 3.8 FPS, while Medium to High drops by 69.5 FPS. This resolution still offers excellent performance, with even Ultra staying above 100 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the data shows 144.2 FPS for Low, 112.7 FPS for Medium, 70.8 FPS for High, and 68.1 FPS for Ultra. The drop from Medium to High is significant at 41.9 FPS, while High to Ultra is only 2.7 FPS. This resolution is where the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as the 4K pixel count overwhelms the GTX 1080 Ti's compute capabilities. The Low preset still achieves 144.2 FPS, which is notable for a GPU from 2017.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals how frame rates scale from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 316.7 at 1080p to 228.8 at 1440p (a 27.8% reduction) and then to 144.2 at 4K (a 54.5% reduction from 1080p). At Medium, the progression is 252.8 to 182.1 to 112.7, representing a 55.4% drop from 1080p to 4K. For High, the values go from 157.8 to 112.6 to 70.8, a 55.1% drop. Ultra follows a similar trend: 150.3 to 108.8 to 68.1, a 54.7% drop.

The consistent ~55% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates that the performance scaling is primarily driven by pixel count, which is a GPU-bound workload. The fact that the drop is similar regardless of settings suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, while at 1080p, the CPU's single-thread performance (evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1280) allows the GPU to run closer to its maximum potential. The data shows that the scaling is not perfectly linear—the 1440p to 4K drop is steeper than the 1080p to 1440p drop—which further supports the GPU being the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is a Zen 5 architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. It has 32 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus. Its benchmark scores are strong, including a Geekbench single-core score of 3353 and a multi-core score of 17002, as well as a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4459. These numbers indicate excellent single-threaded performance, which is crucial for games like Inside that may rely on a single primary thread.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. At 1080p Low, the CPU can process frames fast enough to allow the GPU to reach 316.7 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, the frame rate drops to 150.3 FPS, which is still high but suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 4K, the CPU's performance is less relevant, as the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor. The data shows that the 9700X's 8 cores are more than sufficient for this game, and its 16 threads provide headroom for background tasks. The CPU's 65W TDP and 4 nm process node make it an efficient choice, but for Inside, the performance is entirely adequate without being a differentiator.