Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination ranks 1152nd out of 1671 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the lower third of the database. This rank reflects a pairing where the CPU is substantially more capable than the GPU, a dynamic that becomes clear when examining component-level benchmarks. The combo’s position suggests that while the system delivers playable frame rates across most settings, it is not optimized for maximum performance in this title, with the graphics card acting as the primary constraint in demanding scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1152 out of 1671 tested configurations places it in the 31st percentile of all tested pairings for Inside. This is a modest result, indicating that the majority of tested systems outperform it. The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU’s relative weakness compared to the CPU; the RTX 3060 Ti sits at the 69th percentile among all GPUs, while the Ryzen 7 9700X achieves the 89th percentile among all CPUs. That 20-point gap underscores a fundamental imbalance.

Benchmark data confirms the CPU’s dominance. The Ryzen 7 9700X averages a score of 36029 across all tested workloads, placing it just 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14500HX (35940) and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (35802). Conversely, it trails the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H by 0.4% (36165) and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H by 0.8% (36328). These are tight margins, showing the 9700X is a top-tier CPU. The RTX 3060 Ti, by contrast, averages 25120, sitting 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180) and 0.5% behind both the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (25235) and AMD Radeon 890M (25246). It also trails the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP by 0.7% (25287). The GPU’s peer group is much slower, explaining the combo’s mid-pack standing.

GPU Role

The RTX 3060 Ti is built on NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture with the GA104 chip, fabricated on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It packs 4864 shading units, 152 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines. The card operates at a base clock of 1410 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This configuration yields a pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 253.1 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 16.20 TFLOPS.

For Inside, a puzzle platformer that is not visually demanding, these specs prove sufficient for high frame rates at most resolutions. At 1080p High settings, the combo achieves 137.6 FPS, and at 1440p High it drops to 102.3 FPS. The GPU only becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where average FPS falls to 58.4, just below the 60 FPS threshold. The card’s 38 ray tracing cores and 152 tensor cores are present, but Inside does not leverage them meaningfully, so raw rasterization performance is what matters. The GPU’s 8 GB VRAM is ample for this title, given its modest texture requirements, and the 448.0 GB/s bandwidth prevents any memory bottleneck even at 4K.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 9700X is a Zen 5 (Granite Ridge) processor on AMD’s 4 nm process, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. It runs at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boosts to 5.50 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel architecture, providing 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The chip’s single-thread performance is exceptional, scoring 4459 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 3353 in Geekbench single-core. Multi-threaded results are equally strong: 31588 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 17002 in Geekbench multi-core.

In Inside, which is largely single-threaded due to its 2D side-scrolling nature, the 9700X’s single-core strength is the key asset. The 3dmark single-thread score of 1280 and 2-thread score of 2525 indicate that the CPU can easily feed the GPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 279.1 FPS, and at 1440p Low it hits 205 FPS, both figures well above what the GPU can sustain at higher settings. This suggests the CPU is never the bottleneck in this game; even at 4K Low, the system produces 128 FPS, showing the processor has ample headroom. The 32 MB L3 cache and high boost clock contribute to low latency, which is beneficial for the game’s physics and puzzle logic.

FAQ

*Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700X a good match for the RTX 3060 Ti in Inside?*

A: The data indicates a mismatch. The CPU ranks at the 89th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks at the 69th percentile among all GPUs. This 20-point gap means the CPU is significantly more capable, leading to a combo rank of 1152 out of 1671.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo averages 102.3 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS standard, indicating smooth gameplay. The frame rate drops to 97.6 FPS at Ultra settings, still playable but closer to the threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its nearest rival in raw performance?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti averages 25120 in benchmark scores, which is 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6700M (25180) and 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 6600 (25235). It is effectively tied with these cards, showing it is a mid-range performer.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: No. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 279.1 FPS, which is higher than at any other resolution or setting. The CPU’s strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3dmark single-thread score of 1280, ensures it is not a limiting factor.

Q: What is the impact of raising settings from Low to Ultra at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 128 at Low to 58.4 at Ultra. This represents a 54.4% reduction in performance, highlighting the GPU’s struggle at high resolutions with maxed-out settings.

Q: How does the CPU’s multi-thread performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X averages 36029, which is 0.4% behind the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (36165) and 0.8% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H (36328). It beats the Intel Core i5-14500HX by 0.2% and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 by 0.6%.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the system produces 137.6 FPS on High settings and 136 FPS on Ultra, showing minimal difference between those two presets. The CPU’s strength is evident at Low settings, where 1080p yields 279.1 FPS, a figure that drops to 205 FPS at 1440p and 128 FPS at 4K. These drops are proportionally larger than those seen at higher settings, indicating that the CPU is the limiting factor at Low presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, High settings deliver 102.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 97.6 FPS. The gap between Low (205 FPS) and Ultra (97.6 FPS) at this resolution is 107.4 FPS, showing the GPU’s sensitivity to graphical load. At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes more pronounced: High produces 64.1 FPS, Medium 98.4 FPS, Low 128 FPS, and Ultra falls to 58.4 FPS. The jump from Medium to High at 4K costs 34.3 FPS, while High to Ultra costs only 5.7 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end.

The data indicates that at 1080p and 1440p, the RTX 3060 Ti is the primary bottleneck when settings are raised, as the CPU has ample headroom. However, at 4K, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed at Ultra settings, with the 58.4 FPS result falling below the 60 FPS target. The combination of a high-end CPU and mid-range GPU means that resolution scaling disproportionately affects performance, with the GPU’s 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 16.20 TFLOPS compute being insufficient for 4K Ultra in this title. For optimal play, 1440p High or 1080p Ultra are the sweet spots, delivering 102.3 FPS and 136 FPS respectively.