Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER combination delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a puzzle platformer that is far more demanding than its minimalist aesthetic suggests. The measured data shows this pairing is capable of obliterating even the most stringent refresh rate targets, with frame rates that remain in triple digits across nearly every setting and resolution configuration tested. This analysis breaks down how the system scales across resolutions, the role each component plays, and where the optimal settings lie.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but still maintains headroom at 1080p. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 273.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 197.2 FPS at 2560x1440, a substantial 27.9% reduction. Moving to 3840x2160, the frame rate falls further to 122.1 FPS, representing a 38.1% drop from the 1440p figure. This pattern indicates that the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases, while the Ryzen 7 9700X has ample capacity to feed the GPU at lower resolutions.

The scaling behavior changes notably when examining the Low preset. Here, the system achieves 425.7 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 383 FPS at 1440p—only a 10% reduction. At 4K Low, the frame rate is 242.3 FPS, a 36.7% decline from 1440p. This steeper drop at 4K suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU's rendering workload becomes significant enough to constrain performance, whereas at 1080p and 1440p Low, the CPU's single-threaded strength keeps the pipeline saturated.

The Ultra preset shows the most pronounced scaling penalty. From 259 FPS at 1080p, the frame rate falls to 183.4 FPS at 1440p (-29.2%) and then to 113.9 FPS at 4K (-37.9%). The consistent ~30% reduction between each resolution step at Ultra settings confirms that the GPU's fill rate and shader throughput are the decisive factors. Notably, the gap between High and Ultra at 4K is only 8.2 FPS (122.1 vs 113.9), indicating diminishing returns from the highest settings at this resolution.

CPU Role

The 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. This processor sits in the 89th percentile of all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 36029. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14500HX, scores 35940, a mere 0.2% difference, while the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H trails by 0.4% with a score of 36165.

For a puzzle platformer like Inside, which relies heavily on single-threaded performance for game logic and physics, the 9700X's single-core capabilities are particularly relevant. The processor's 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 and Geekbench single-core score of 3353 highlight its strength in lightly-threaded workloads. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4459 reinforces this, showing the architecture's efficiency at moderate clock speeds.

The multi-threaded results are equally robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 31588 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 17002. These figures suggest that even if Inside were to leverage additional threads for background processing, the 9700X has substantial reserve capacity. The data indicates that at 1080p Low settings, where the CPU's role is most prominent, the system reaches 425.7 FPS—a level that would challenge even the highest refresh rate monitors. This performance ceiling is a direct result of the processor's 5.50 GHz boost capability.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 8448 shading units and 66 RT cores. It operates at a base clock of 2340 MHz with a boost clock of 2610 MHz, paired with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU scores in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48704. Its closest competitor, the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, scores 49071, a -0.7% difference, while the RTX A2000 trails by 1.6% with a score of 47915.

The GPU's memory configuration plays a significant role in Inside's performance at high resolutions. The 16 GB VRAM capacity ensures that even at 4K Ultra, texture streaming and frame buffering never become bottlenecks. The 672.3 GB/s memory bandwidth supports the high fill rates required for the game's atmospheric effects and lighting, particularly evident in the 4K results where the High preset achieves 122.1 FPS and Ultra maintains 113.9 FPS.

The GPU's FP32 compute throughput of 44.10 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 250.6 GPixel/s are directly reflected in the measured frame rates. At 4K Medium, the system produces 197.2 FPS, which is identical to the 1440p High result—highlighting how settings and resolution interact to balance the rendering load. The GPU's 96 ROPs and 264 TMUs provide ample rasterization and texturing capacity, ensuring that the card remains competitive even as pixel counts increase.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on optimizing the experience across different display configurations. For 4K displays, the High preset at 122.1 FPS offers the best balance of visual fidelity and smoothness, as the Ultra preset only delivers 113.9 FPS—a marginal 6.7% improvement in visual quality for an 8.2 FPS loss. The Medium preset at 197.2 FPS is ideal for competitive play or high refresh rate 4K monitors, though it sacrifices some shadow and texture detail.

For 1440p, the Ultra preset at 183.4 FPS is the recommended choice for most users. This setting provides the full visual experience while still exceeding 144 Hz refresh rates comfortably. Those with 240 Hz displays may prefer the High preset at 197.2 FPS, which offers a 13.8 FPS improvement over Ultra with minimal visual degradation. The Medium preset at 312.4 FPS is excessive for typical 1440p displays but suitable for extreme refresh rate panels.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 259 FPS is the optimal selection, as it delivers the maximum visual quality while still maintaining frame rates well above 240 Hz. The High preset at 273.5 FPS offers a modest 5.6% performance gain but reduces graphical fidelity. The Low preset at 425.7 FPS serves no practical purpose for standard monitors, as even the Ultra setting exceeds the refresh rate capabilities of most displays.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER ranks 66th out of 1671 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the top 4% of all systems in the database. This high ranking reflects the balanced nature of the pairing, where the CPU's strong single-thread performance complements the GPU's substantial rasterization power.

The rank indicates that this combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems in this title, despite not featuring the absolute fastest components available. The system's position is particularly notable given that Inside is not a typical GPU stress test—it rewards systems with strong per-core CPU performance and efficient GPU utilization. The 9700X's 89th percentile CPU ranking and the 4070 Ti SUPER's 86th percentile GPU ranking combine to produce a synergistic result that exceeds what either component might achieve individually.

The measured frame rates across all settings and resolutions consistently place this combo in territory that most systems cannot reach. At 4K Ultra, the 113.9 FPS result demonstrates that this configuration handles the most demanding scenario with ease, while the 1080p Low result of 425.7 FPS shows there is substantial headroom for future titles or more demanding game engines. This ranking solidifies the combo as a top-tier choice for Inside players seeking maximum performance at any resolution.