Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a puzzle platformer with relatively simple geometry but high reliance on frame pacing. The data shows this combo ranks 228th out of 1,671 tested configurations, placing it in the top 14% of all systems. Across all resolutions and settings, the average frame rates never dip below 96.5 FPS, which means the experience is consistently smooth even at 4K with maximum settings. The bottleneck profile shifts predictably from GPU-bound at 4K to CPU-bound at 1080p, but neither component ever becomes a serious limitation due to the game's modest graphical demands.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a clear scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 228.8 at 1920x1080 to 163.5 at 2560x1440, then to 106.7 at 3840x2160. This represents a 28.5% reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 34.7% reduction when moving from 1440p to 4K. The overall drop from 1080p to 4K is 53.4%, which is less severe than what would be expected in a fully GPU-bound scenario, suggesting that the CPU is partially limiting performance at lower resolutions.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic: 428.8 FPS at 1080p, 332.7 FPS at 1440p, and 204.9 FPS at 4K. The 52.2% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings indicates that the RTX 4070's rendering workload scales significantly with resolution, but the extremely high frame rates at 1080p point to the CPU becoming the primary constraint at that resolution. The Ultra preset shows the tightest scaling, with 216.4 FPS at 1080p, 159.2 FPS at 1440p, and 96.5 FPS at 4K — a 55.4% total reduction. This pattern confirms that Inside is not a demanding title by modern standards, and the limiting component shifts based on resolution.

The frametime consistency implied by these average values suggests that the 8-core Ryzen 7 9700X has sufficient headroom to feed the RTX 4070 at all tested settings. The 4K results, while lower than 1080p, remain far above the 60 FPS threshold, meaning that users with 4K displays can expect a fluid experience without needing to compromise on visual quality.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), manufactured on a 4nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and it carries 32 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 1 MB of L2 per core. The processor's benchmark results show strong single-thread performance, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,280 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,459. This single-thread capability is crucial for Inside, which is a puzzle platformer that typically relies on a primary game thread.

In the 3DMark 16-thread test, the CPU scores 9,824, while the max-thread score is 9,771 — nearly identical, indicating that the processor scales well across all 16 threads. The 8-thread score of 8,184 shows that even with fewer active threads, performance remains high. For Inside, which rarely utilizes more than a few cores, the Ryzen 7 9700X's single-core strength ensures that the game logic and physics calculations are never starved. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,654 further confirms this processor's ability to handle lightly threaded workloads with ease.

The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the system reaches 428.8 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit for this game. The fact that frame rates do not increase proportionally when moving from Medium to Low at 1080p (367.5 to 428.8 FPS, a 16.7% gain) suggests that the CPU is beginning to bottleneck the GPU at these extreme frame rates. However, even at 4K Ultra, the CPU is never the primary constraint, as evidenced by the 96.5 FPS result. The processor's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36,029, places it comfortably ahead of most desktop processors, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, trails by only 0.4% in average score.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, featuring 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. It operates at a base clock of 1,920 MHz with a boost clock of 2,475 MHz, and is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,854 and PassMark G3D score of 26,927 place it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37,283.

The RTX 4070's raw compute power, measured at 29.15 TFLOPS FP32, is more than sufficient for Inside's stylized visuals. The pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s indicate that the GPU can handle high-resolution rendering without difficulty, which is reflected in the measured frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the GPU manages 96.5 FPS, which is only 10.7% below the 1080p Ultra result of 216.4 FPS — a surprisingly small gap that highlights the game's efficient rendering pipeline.

The GPU's nearest rival in benchmark scores is the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, which trails by 0.6%, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is 2.2% slower. This suggests that the RTX 4070's desktop variant is well-positioned for this title. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is ample for Inside, which does not require high memory bandwidth or capacity, even at 4K. The GPU's memory clock of 1,313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s ensure that texture streaming and frame buffer operations never become a bottleneck at any tested setting.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 428.8, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 96.5, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The average FPS drops from 228.8 at 1080p to 106.7 at 4K, representing a 53.4% reduction.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low settings, the system reaches 428.8 FPS, which suggests the CPU becomes the limiting factor at such high frame rates, as the GPU would otherwise produce even higher numbers.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking among tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 228th out of 1,671 tested combinations, placing it in the top 14% of all configurations.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rival in GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37,283 is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, which is its closest competitor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 428.8 FPS on Low, 367.5 FPS on Medium, 228.8 FPS on High, and 216.4 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Medium is 61.3 FPS (16.7% reduction), while the gap between Medium and High is 138.7 FPS (37.7% reduction). The High to Ultra transition is minimal, with only a 12.4 FPS difference (5.4% reduction), indicating that the High and Ultra presets are quite similar in terms of GPU load at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop to 332.7 FPS on Low, 263.6 FPS on Medium, 163.5 FPS on High, and 159.2 FPS on Ultra. The Low to Medium reduction is 69.1 FPS (20.8%), Medium to High is 100.1 FPS (38.0%), and High to Ultra is 4.3 FPS (2.6%). At 1440p, the High and Ultra presets are nearly identical, differing by only 2.6%, which suggests that the extra effects in Ultra have minimal impact on this GPU.

At 3840x2160, the results are 204.9 FPS on Low, 167.1 FPS on Medium, 106.7 FPS on High, and 96.5 FPS on Ultra. The Low to Medium drop is 37.8 FPS (18.4%), Medium to High is 60.4 FPS (36.2%), and High to Ultra is 10.2 FPS (9.6%). The 4K Ultra result of 96.5 FPS remains comfortably above 60 FPS, making this resolution viable for a smooth experience. The data shows that the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance at all resolutions, with the Ultra preset providing only marginal visual improvements at a 9.6% to 12.4% frame rate cost.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the High preset provides the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, High delivers 228.8 FPS, which is already far beyond what any display can show, so the Ultra preset's 216.4 FPS offers no practical benefit. At 1440p, High achieves 163.5 FPS, while Ultra drops to 159.2 FPS — a negligible difference that does not justify the additional GPU load. Even at 4K, High's 106.7 FPS is noticeably better than Ultra's 96.5 FPS, and the visual difference between these presets is unlikely to be perceptible in a puzzle platformer with stylized art.

For users with 60 Hz displays, the Low preset at any resolution is overkill, as even 4K Low produces 204.9 FPS. The Medium preset offers a modest improvement over Low at 1080p (367.5 vs 428.8 FPS) but represents a significant jump in visual quality. The data suggests that Medium is the best choice for users seeking maximum frame rates without sacrificing all graphical features, while High is recommended for those who prioritize visual fidelity. The Ultra preset is the only setting where the system dips below 100 FPS at 4K, but its 96.5 FPS result is still sufficient for a responsive experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination achieves a rank of 228 out of 1,671 tested combos, placing it in the top 13.6% of all systems. This is a strong result for a mid-to-high-end desktop configuration, especially considering that Inside is not a graphically demanding title. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all processors and the GPU's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs contribute to this favorable overall position.

In terms of CPU performance, the Ryzen 7 9700X's average benchmark score of 36,029 puts it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14500HX and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, while trailing the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H by 0.8%. For the GPU, the RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37,283 places it 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 and 1.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A, while the RTX 4080 Mobile is 2.2% faster. These benchmark rankings align with the measured FPS results, which show that this combo provides a consistently smooth experience across all settings and resolutions.

The rank of 228 indicates that there are 227 tested configurations that outperform this combo in Inside, but these are likely to feature higher-end GPUs such as the RTX 4080 or RTX 4090. For the target audience of 1080p and 1440p gamers, this combo delivers frame rates that exceed the refresh rates of most monitors, and even 4K gaming is viable with the High preset. The data confirms that this is a well-matched pairing for this game, with no significant bottleneck at any tested setting.