Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 produces a playable but heavily GPU-bound experience in Inside, with the data clearly showing that the graphics card is the primary bottleneck across most settings. The combo ranks 1408th out of 1671 tested configurations, placing it in the lower percentile of systems despite the flagship CPU, because the GTX 1070’s age limits frame rates well below what the processor alone could deliver.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable and pronounced drop as resolution increases, confirming that the GTX 1070 is the limiting component in this pairing. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 232.8 FPS, but this falls to 162.8 FPS at 1440p and 103.9 FPS at 4K — a 55% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The pattern intensifies at Ultra settings, where 106.7 FPS at 1080p drops to 78.6 FPS at 1440p and then to 48.8 FPS at 4K, a 54% decline overall.

This scaling behavior is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario: the Ryzen 7 9800X3D’s 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient at every resolution, but the GTX 1070’s 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus width struggle to maintain output as pixel count rises. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at the same resolution further illustrates this — at 1080p, the difference is 126.1 FPS (232.8 vs 106.7), while at 4K it shrinks to 55.1 FPS (103.9 vs 48.8), showing that higher resolutions compress the performance ceiling regardless of quality preset.

The data indicates that 4K Ultra is the most demanding scenario, yielding just 48.8 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold many users target. Conversely, 1080p Low at 232.8 FPS shows the system can far exceed display refresh rates when the GPU is not overtaxed. The scaling from Medium to High at each resolution is consistent — roughly a 30% performance penalty — suggesting that the GTX 1070’s shading units and texture units are the primary constraint rather than memory bandwidth alone.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, built on the Pascal architecture with 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, is clearly the dominant factor in this game’s benchmark results. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory with 256.3 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for Inside’s modest visual demands, but the card’s raw compute throughput — 6.463 TFLOPS FP32 — limits its ability to push high frame rates at elevated settings. The boost clock of 1683 MHz helps sustain performance, yet the data shows that even at 1080p High, the card can only manage 117.3 FPS, a figure that a modern mid-range GPU would easily surpass.

The GTX 1070’s benchmark scores place it in the 51st percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 12331. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 (0.7% higher), GTX 880M (1.3% lower), and GTX 1650 SUPER (1.4% lower), indicating that this card sits in a narrow performance band. In Inside, the GPU’s limitations manifest most clearly at Ultra settings, where 4K drops to 48.8 FPS and even 1080p only reaches 106.7 FPS. The card’s 150 W TDP and PCIe 3.0 x16 interface are not the issue; rather, its 16 nm process node and 7,200 million transistors represent older technology that cannot match the efficiency of newer architectures.

The memory clock of 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) provides sufficient bandwidth for the game’s textures, but the 256-bit bus width becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 4K, the gap between Low (103.9 FPS) and Medium (80.4 FPS) is 23.5 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High (52.7 FPS) is 27.7 FPS — a non-linear scaling that points to memory pressure and shader complexity as limiting factors. The GTX 1070’s 64 ROPs are also a constraint, as pixel fill rate directly impacts resolution scaling, evidenced by the steep drop from 1440p to 4K at every settings level.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D provides an enormous performance headroom that this game never fully utilizes, as the GTX 1070 becomes the bottleneck well before the CPU’s capabilities are exhausted. With 8 cores, 16 threads, and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz, this processor is overqualified for Inside, a puzzle platformer that does not demand significant multi-threaded processing. The CPU’s 96 MB of shared L3 cache and Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) offer low-latency access, but the game’s simple physics and rendering logic rarely stress more than a few threads.

Benchmark results confirm the CPU’s strength: 34004 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4800 in single-core, with a multithread score of 40009 in PassMark. This places the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37780. Its nearest rivals — Intel Xeon 6353P (-0.1%), Core Ultra 5 225 (-0.1%), Core i9-13900HK (-0.6%), and Core i5-13600KF (-0.7%) — are all within 1% of its performance, showing that the CPU is competitive but not uniquely dominant.

In Inside, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic, and the data shows no CPU-induced bottlenecks. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 232.8 FPS, which is likely near the GTX 1070’s maximum output for this scene rather than a CPU limit. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D’s 4.70 GHz base clock and 120 W TDP ensure consistent operation, and its memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s via DDR5 is more than adequate. The CPU’s 3DMark scores — 8252 at 8 threads and 10067 at max threads — indicate that even in multi-threaded workloads, it can sustain high throughput, but Inside simply does not require this level of processing power.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and GTX 1070 ranks 1408th out of 1671 tested combos in Inside, placing it in the bottom 16% of all configurations. This rank is almost entirely attributable to the GPU, as the CPU is a top-tier part that would normally pair with a much faster graphics card. The ranking reflects the system’s inability to achieve high frame rates at demanding settings — 4K Ultra yields only 48.8 FPS, and even 1080p Ultra stays below 110 FPS.

Compared to other combos, the GTX 1070’s 51st percentile GPU score and the CPU’s 90th percentile score create a mismatch that the benchmark data exposes. The system performs best at 1080p Low (232.8 FPS), but this is a niche scenario that does not represent typical usage. The combination’s rank of 1408 suggests that most other tested systems, likely with more balanced CPU-GPU pairings, deliver better overall performance in this game. The data indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor — swapping in a weaker processor would likely yield similar FPS, while upgrading the GPU would dramatically improve results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers 232.8 FPS on Low, 185.3 FPS on Medium, 117.3 FPS on High, and 106.7 FPS on Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium is a 20.4% reduction, while Medium to High is a 36.7% drop, and High to Ultra is a 9.0% decline. These numbers show that the game scales heavily with settings, but even at Ultra, the frame rate exceeds 100 FPS, making 1080p a comfortable experience for most displays.

At 2560x1440, the scores are 162.8 FPS (Low), 132.6 FPS (Medium), 83.2 FPS (High), and 78.6 FPS (Ultra). The reduction from 1080p at the same settings ranges from 30% (Low) to 26% (Ultra), indicating that resolution scaling is consistent. The 1440p Ultra figure of 78.6 FPS remains playable, but the gap between Medium (132.6 FPS) and High (83.2 FPS) is substantial — a 37.3% penalty that suggests High settings introduce effects that heavily tax the GTX 1070.

At 3840x2160, the system manages 103.9 FPS (Low), 80.4 FPS (Medium), 52.7 FPS (High), and 48.8 FPS (Ultra). Only Low and Medium settings maintain frame rates above 60 FPS, while High and Ultra dip below that threshold. The 4K Low figure of 103.9 FPS is surprisingly high for this GPU, but the Ultra score of 48.8 FPS confirms that the card is at its limits. Across all resolutions, the pattern is clear: the GTX 1070 can handle Inside at 1080p with any settings, but 4K requires reduced quality for smooth gameplay.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest frame rate this combo achieves in Inside?*

A: The maximum measured average FPS is 232.8 at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

*Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K Ultra smoothly?*

A: No, 4K Ultra produces an average of 48.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D’s average benchmark score of 37780 is within 1% of the Intel Xeon 6353P (37811), Core Ultra 5 225 (37831), Core i9-13900HK (38020), and Core i5-13600KF (38028).

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The GTX 1070 sits in the 51st percentile, with an average benchmark score of 12331.

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

A: At High settings, frame rates drop from 117.3 FPS at 1080p to 83.2 FPS at 1440p and 52.7 FPS at 4K, a total reduction of 55%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck, as the CPU’s 90th percentile score far exceeds what the GTX 1070 can utilize in this game.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data suggests using Medium settings at 1080p or 1440p. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 185.3 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display and provides a significant visual upgrade over Low. At 1440p Medium, the 132.6 FPS result remains smooth while offering higher resolution clarity. High settings are viable at 1080p (117.3 FPS) but at 1440p they drop to 83.2 FPS, which may be acceptable for some users but is less consistent.

Ultra settings are not recommended above 1080p, as the 106.7 FPS at 1080p is playable, but 78.6 FPS at 1440p and 48.8 FPS at 4K fall below ideal thresholds. For 4K users, Low settings (103.9 FPS) or Medium settings (80.4 FPS) are the only viable options, with Medium offering a better balance of quality and performance. The benchmark rows show that Medium provides roughly a 20-30% performance boost over High at every resolution, making it the sweet spot for this GPU-bound system.