Inside

# Inside — AMD Ryzen 7 9700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

The combination of an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is far from demanding by modern standards. Across all tested resolutions and settings, this pairing never dips below 119 FPS average, with the data indicating a system that is heavily overqualified for the title's visual workload. The benchmark results reveal a clear pattern: frame rates scale dramatically with resolution and settings, but the sheer headroom available means the limiting factor shifts depending on where you look.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K shows how this combo's performance envelope changes as pixel count increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 426 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 381 FPS, a reduction of 45 FPS or roughly 10.6%. Jumping to 4K Low yields 250 FPS, which is 176 FPS below the 1080p Low figure—a 41.3% decrease. This scaling pattern indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU begins to assert its influence, as the GPU is not being pushed hard enough to become the primary constraint.

With High settings, the scaling story is similar but slightly steeper. The 1080p High result of 277 FPS falls to 199 FPS at 1440p High (a 28.2% drop), then to 125 FPS at 4K High (a 54.9% drop from 1080p). The Ultra preset shows the same shape: 263 FPS at 1080p, 189 FPS at 1440p, and 119 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K is consistently larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p, which is expected given that 4K contains 2.25 times the pixels of 1440p.

The Medium preset, which is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, illustrates the variance across resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the average is 393 FPS with a minimum of 334 and maximum of 452. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 318 FPS with a range of 271 to 366. At 4K Medium, the average is 200 FPS with a minimum of 170 and maximum of 230. The spread between minimum and maximum stays proportionally similar across resolutions, suggesting consistent frame pacing rather than sporadic stuttering.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is playing a more significant role in limiting performance. The 9700X's single-thread capabilities, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2211, are strong, but even the fastest consumer CPUs will eventually cap frame rates in a game that is this lightweight on the GPU side. At 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant factor, as the RTX 5070 Ti's 43.94 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 896.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are taxed more heavily by the increased pixel workload.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific CPU-GPU pairing ranks 170th out of 3716 tested combinations for Inside. That places it in the top 4.6% of all tested combos, which is a strong showing but not at the absolute pinnacle. The rank reflects that while this hardware is very fast, there are configurations with even higher frame rates in this title, likely featuring top-tier CPUs that can push 1080p Low performance even further.

The combo's rank is somewhat surprising given the individual component standings. The Ryzen 7 9700X sits at the 86th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37943. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14901E (avg score 37911, 0.1% slower), the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (avg score 37904, 0.1% slower), the Intel Core 5 211E (avg score 37829, 0.3% slower), and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 (avg score 37804, 0.4% slower). These are all extremely close scores, indicating that the 9700X is essentially tied with several other processors in raw compute.

The RTX 5070 Ti also sits at the 86th percentile among GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49957. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (avg score 50001, 0.1% faster), the Intel Arc A550M (avg score 49737, 0.4% slower), the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (avg score 50951, 2% faster), and the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (avg score 48477, 3.1% slower). The fact that this modern GPU is benchmarked alongside much older cards like the RX Vega 64 highlights that raw compute scores don't always translate directly to gaming performance in every title.

The 170th rank out of 3716 combos suggests that in Inside, there are roughly 169 other pairings that achieve higher average FPS. Given the game's age and simplicity, these higher-ranked combos likely feature CPUs with even stronger single-thread performance, as the game's frame rate at lower resolutions appears to be CPU-bound. The 9700X's 5.50 GHz boost clock is impressive, but there may be processors with higher boost frequencies or better IPC that edge it out in this specific workload.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X brings 8 cores and 16 threads to this pairing, built on the Zen 5 architecture (codenamed Granite Ridge) using TSMC's 4 nm process. The CPU features a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. Its cache layout includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3.

For a game like Inside, which is a 2.5D puzzle platformer with relatively simple geometry and physics, the CPU workload is not particularly heavy on multi-threading. The game was released in 2016, and its engine was designed for the hardware of that era. The 9700X's single-thread performance is the more relevant metric here. Its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2211 and Geekbench single-core score of 3023 indicate strong per-thread performance, which directly benefits games that rely on a primary game thread.

The 3DMark thread scaling tests show how the CPU performs across different thread counts: 1280 for single-thread, 2525 for 2 threads, 4869 for 4 threads, 8184 for 8 threads, and 9771 for max threads. The scaling from 8 threads to max threads (16 threads) is modest, going from 8184 to 9771, a 19.4% improvement. This suggests that the CPU's multi-threaded scaling is good but not linear, which is typical for desktop processors.

In Inside, the data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 426 FPS. At 1080p Ultra, it drops to 263 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at the same resolution is 163 FPS, which is a 38.3% reduction. This gap is primarily driven by GPU workload increases from higher settings, but the fact that 1080p Low doesn't go even higher suggests a CPU ceiling. The PassMark single-thread score of 4654 and the 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 both point to a processor that is fast, but there is a finite limit to how many frames per second any CPU can feed to a GPU in this game.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 is more than sufficient for this title. The 32 MB of L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency. The 9700X's position at the 86th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37943, confirms that it is a high-end desktop part, even if it doesn't top the charts.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 426 FPS average, Medium produces 393 FPS (with a minimum of 334 and maximum of 452), High produces 277 FPS, and Ultra produces 263 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 33 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 116 FPS, indicating that the High preset introduces a significant increase in GPU workload. The jump from High to Ultra is only 14 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the top end.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high. Low settings yield 381 FPS, Medium yields 318 FPS (minimum 271, maximum 366), High yields 199 FPS, and Ultra yields 189 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 63 FPS, from Medium to High is 119 FPS, and from High to Ultra is only 10 FPS. The pattern of a large jump between Medium and High, followed by a small jump between High and Ultra, repeats across resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the system still produces very playable frame rates. Low settings deliver 250 FPS, Medium delivers 200 FPS (minimum 170, maximum 230), High delivers 125 FPS, and Ultra delivers 119 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 50 FPS, from Medium to High is 75 FPS, and from High to Ultra is just 6 FPS. At 4K, the High and Ultra presets are nearly identical in performance, which suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not heavily taxing the GPU, or that the GPU is becoming the bottleneck at these settings.

The Medium preset is the only one with full min/max data across all resolutions. The minimum FPS values are consistently about 85% of the average (334/393 at 1080p, 271/318 at 1440p, 170/200 at 4K). This consistency indicates stable frame delivery without major hitches. The maximum FPS values are about 115% of the average, showing a tight distribution.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Inside?*

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 426, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance relate to the game's frame rates?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X has a 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2211. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 426 FPS, which suggests the CPU's single-thread speed is a limiting factor at lower resolutions where GPU load is minimal.

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

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 263. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 119 FPS. This represents a 144 FPS reduction, or a 54.8% decrease when moving from 1080p to 4K.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations in Inside?*

A: This specific pairing ranks 170th out of 3716 tested combos, placing it in the top 4.6% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: Is the Medium preset's frame rate consistent?

A: Yes. At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 334 and the maximum is 452, with an average of 393. The minimum is approximately 85% of the average, indicating stable performance.

Q: Does the GPU show a significant difference between High and Ultra settings?

A: The difference is small. At 4K, High produces 125 FPS and Ultra produces 119 FPS, a mere 6 FPS difference. At 1080p, the gap is slightly larger at 14 FPS (277 vs 263).

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance headroom. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 393 FPS average with a minimum of 334 FPS. This provides an enormous margin above the 60 FPS standard and even above 144 Hz or 240 Hz displays. The Medium preset also has the most complete data set, including minimum and maximum FPS values, which allows for the most confident assessment of frame consistency.

For users with 1440p displays, Medium at 318 FPS average (minimum 271) is still far beyond any display refresh rate currently on the market. Even at 4K, Medium delivers 200 FPS average with a minimum of 170, which comfortably exceeds 144 Hz. The High preset at 4K (125 FPS) would still be suitable for 120 Hz displays, but the drop from 200 FPS at Medium to 125 FPS at High is substantial, and the visual improvement in a game like Inside—which has a muted, atmospheric art style—may not justify the 37.5% performance loss.

The Ultra preset provides minimal gains over High in terms of average FPS (119 vs 125 at 4K, 189 vs 199 at 1440p, 263 vs 277 at 1080p), yet it costs a small amount of performance. Given that the differences between High and Ultra are consistently under 6% across all resolutions, users who want maximum visual fidelity can select Ultra without significant penalty. However, the Medium preset's combination of high frame rates and consistent minimums makes it the recommended choice for the smoothest experience.

The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates (426 FPS at 1080p, 381 at 1440p, 250 at 4K), likely sacrifices too much visual quality for a game that already runs at triple-digit FPS on Medium. The jump from Low to Medium costs between 33 and 63 FPS depending on resolution, but the visual upgrade in lighting and effects is typically worthwhile. In summary, Medium is the sweet spot for this hardware in Inside, with High as a viable alternative for those prioritizing image quality over raw frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with a die size of 378 mm² containing 45,600 million transistors. It features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 896.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2452 MHz, with 8960 shading units, 280 TMUs, and 96 ROPs.

In Inside, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 426 FPS, but this is likely constrained by the CPU's ability to issue draw calls. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is more heavily utilized, producing 119 FPS. The RTX 5070 Ti's FP32 throughput of 43.94 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 235.4 GPixel/s are far beyond what Inside requires, but the game's simple geometry and lighting mean that even this powerful GPU is not stressed to its limits.

The GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for Inside, which was released in 2016 and has modest texture requirements. The 896.0 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that any texture streaming or memory access patterns are handled with ease. The RTX 5070 Ti's 70 RT cores and 280 tensor cores are largely irrelevant for this title, as Inside does not utilize ray tracing or DLSS.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 49957. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, scores 50001 (0.1% higher), while the Intel Arc A550M scores 49737 (0.4% lower). These near-ties in synthetic benchmarks do not necessarily reflect gaming performance, but they do indicate that the RTX 5070 Ti is positioned in a competitive performance tier.

The frame rate differences between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution show the GPU's workload scaling. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 163 FPS (426 to 263). At 1440p, the gap is 192 FPS (381 to 189). At 4K, the gap is 131 FPS (250 to 119). The fact that the 1440p gap is the largest suggests that the GPU is not fully saturated at 1080p, allowing the CPU to influence results, while at 4K, the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor but still has enough headroom to show large setting-based differences.

The RTX 5070 Ti's 300 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for a high-end GPU, and its PCIe 5.0 x16 interface provides ample bandwidth. The 16-pin power connector and suggested 700 W PSU are standard requirements for this class of hardware. In the context of Inside, the GPU's raw power is overwhelmingly sufficient, and the measured frame rates at every resolution and setting combination confirm that this pairing delivers a buttery-smooth experience regardless of how the user configures the game.