Inside

# Inside — AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is far more demanding at high refresh rates than its minimalist art style suggests. This combination ranks 137th out of 3,716 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 3.7% of all configurations evaluated. The data shows a system capable of pushing well beyond 120 frames per second at 4K Ultra, with headroom that makes it a strong candidate for high-refresh-rate displays at any resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 137 out of 3,716 tested configurations places it in the 96.3rd percentile of all tested systems for Inside. This is a strong showing, though the ranking reflects the game's relatively modest demands on modern hardware — many mid-range systems can run Inside well, so the top tier is crowded. The RTX 4080's percentile of 86 among all GPUs and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's percentile of 87 among all CPUs both contribute to this high placement, but the game's lightweight rendering means the CPU's 3D V-Cache advantage is less impactful than in CPU-bound titles.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 39,768 places it within 0.8% of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 (40,081) and just 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS (39,603). This tight clustering indicates that the 9800X3D's nearest rivals are all within a narrow performance band, and in a game like Inside, the differences between them would be negligible. The GPU's average benchmark score of 54,247 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER at 54,209 (0.1% delta), while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB sits 2.6% ahead at 55,698, a margin unlikely to manifest as measurable FPS differences in this title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 brings 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz, while memory runs at 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective). These specifications are far beyond what Inside requires at any resolution, which explains why the game's frame rates scale primarily with resolution rather than settings complexity.

The RTX 4080's 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster operation pipelines provide raw throughput of 48.74 TFLOPS FP32 and a pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s. For a 2D-side-scrolling puzzle platformer with limited 3D geometry, these resources are massively underutilized — the GPU is effectively idling even at 4K Ultra. The 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores have no meaningful workload in Inside, as the game does not employ ray tracing or DLSS features. This is reflected in the measured FPS data: at 4K Ultra, the combo still averages 126 FPS, which is 2.1x the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

The GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs and its benchmark scores — including 34,457 in Passmark G3D and 21,4739 in Geekbench OpenCL — confirm it is a high-end part, but Inside does not stress it. The 16 GB VRAM is never a limiting factor; the game's assets fit easily within even a fraction of that capacity.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that identifies the CPU as the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 405 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 363 FPS (-10.4%), and 4K Low reduces it further to 265 FPS (-34.6% from 1080p). This scaling is far from linear: the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, yet FPS only drops by about a third, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom even at the highest resolution.

The High preset shows a similar pattern: 294 FPS at 1080p, 211 FPS at 1440p (-28.2%), and 133 FPS at 4K (-54.8%). The larger percentage drop from 1440p to 4K compared to 1080p to 1440p suggests that the GPU begins to take on more of the workload at higher resolutions, though even at 4K High, the system remains far above playable thresholds.

At Medium settings, the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, the data shows 374 FPS average at 1080p (min 318, max 430), 335 FPS at 1440p (min 285, max 385), and 212 FPS at 4K (min 181, max 244). The variance between minimum and maximum frames is tight — roughly 30% at each resolution — indicating stable frame pacing without significant hitches.

The Ultra preset mirrors High's scaling: 280 FPS at 1080p, 201 FPS at 1440p (-28.2%), and 126 FPS at 4K (-55.0%). The consistency of the percentage drops between High and Ultra suggests that the settings presets impose similar incremental GPU loads, while the smaller relative drops at Low settings point to CPU limitation becoming more pronounced as the GPU finishes its work faster.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Inside?*

A: All three tested resolutions deliver excellent performance. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 126, which is above 120 FPS and suitable for high-refresh displays. The 1080p and 1440p results exceed 200 FPS at all settings, making them ideal for 240 Hz or higher monitors.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K compared to 1080p?

A: At 4K Low, the average FPS is 265, which is 65.4% of the 1080p Low result of 405 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average is 126 FPS, which is 45.0% of the 1080p Ultra result of 280 FPS. The GPU becomes more of a limiting factor at 4K, but the system remains highly playable.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9800X3D a bottleneck in this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate the CPU is the primary limiter at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 405 FPS, which is likely near the game engine's practical ceiling. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads with a boost clock of 5.20 GHz provide ample single-thread performance, as evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,212 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2,964.

*Q: What is the difference between High and Ultra settings in Inside?*

A: The measured FPS difference between High and Ultra is consistent across resolutions: at 1080p, High averages 294 FPS versus 280 FPS for Ultra (-4.8%); at 1440p, 211 FPS versus 201 FPS (-4.7%); and at 4K, 133 FPS versus 126 FPS (-5.3%). The visual difference is minimal given the game's art style.

*Q: Does the RTX 4080's 16 GB VRAM matter for Inside?*

A: No. The game's assets do not approach 16 GB of VRAM usage at any resolution or settings preset. The memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s is also far beyond what the game requires, as shown by the high frame rates even at 4K.

Q: How stable are frame rates at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p, the range is 318 to 430 FPS (average 374); at 1440p, 285 to 385 FPS (average 335); and at 4K, 181 to 244 FPS (average 212). The spread of roughly 30% indicates consistent frame pacing.

Settings Recommendations

The data shows that the Ultra preset is the best choice for this combo in Inside, as it delivers average frame rates above 120 FPS at 4K and above 200 FPS at 1440p and 1080p. The performance cost of Ultra versus High is small — a 4.7% to 5.3% reduction in average FPS depending on resolution — while the visual quality improvements are worth the modest trade-off for a game with such simple geometry.

For users with 240 Hz displays, the High preset at 1440p (211 FPS) or the Medium preset at 1080p (374 FPS) are better suited to maximizing refresh rate utilization. The Low preset at 1080p reaches 405 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of all but the most specialized gaming monitors, so the extra visual fidelity from higher presets is preferable in most scenarios.

At 4K, the Ultra preset's 126 FPS average is comfortably above 120 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 120 Hz or 144 Hz displays. The Medium preset at 4K (212 FPS) is overkill unless the display supports 240 Hz, and the visual difference between Medium and Ultra in Inside is minimal given the game's dark, atmospheric art direction.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a desktop processor from the 9000 series, built on TSMC's 4 nm process with 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die. It features 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. The 96 MB of shared L3 cache (with 80 KB L1 and 1 MB L2 per core) is the defining feature of the X3D lineup, designed to reduce memory latency in cache-sensitive workloads.

In Inside, the CPU's role is primarily single-thread performance, as the game's physics and logic are not heavily multithreaded. The 9800X3D's 3DMark single-thread score of 1,212 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,080 indicate strong single-core throughput. The Geekbench single-core score of 2,964 and Passmark single-thread score of 4,430 confirm this. The CPU's 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs reflects its overall dominance, though its nearest rivals — the Ryzen 7 7700, Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS, and Ryzen AI 9 365 — are all within 0.8% in average benchmark score. In Inside, these differences would translate to less than 1% FPS variation.

The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 405 FPS, which is likely near the engine's frame rate ceiling. This indicates the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output, but the game's engine may impose an upper limit. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2,394 and 4-thread score of 4,669 demonstrate that even moderate thread counts perform well, which is sufficient for Inside's workload.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset averages 405 FPS, the Medium preset averages 374 FPS (with a range of 318 to 430 FPS), the High preset averages 294 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 280 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 30.9% reduction in average FPS, from 405 to 280, with the largest single-step drop occurring between Medium and High at 21.4% (374 to 294 FPS).

At 2560x1440, performance remains exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 363 FPS, Medium averages 335 FPS (range 285 to 385), High averages 211 FPS, and Ultra averages 201 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 44.6%, with the step from Medium to High again being the largest at 37.0%. Compared to 1080p, the 1440p results are 10.4% to 28.2% lower depending on the preset, with High and Ultra showing the largest percentage drops.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers high frame rates. The Low preset averages 265 FPS, Medium averages 212 FPS (range 181 to 244), High averages 133 FPS, and Ultra averages 126 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra widens to 52.5%, reflecting the GPU's increasing workload at 4K. The step from Medium to High is the largest at 37.3% (212 to 133 FPS), consistent with the pattern seen at lower resolutions. Compared to 1080p, the 4K results are 34.6% to 55.0% lower, with High and Ultra again showing the largest reductions.

The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values at all three resolutions. At 1080p, the 318 to 430 FPS range gives a spread of 112 FPS (29.9% of average). At 1440p, the 285 to 385 FPS range gives a spread of 100 FPS (29.9%). At 4K, the 181 to 244 FPS range gives a spread of 63 FPS (29.7%). The consistency of this spread across resolutions suggests stable frame pacing and no resolution-dependent stuttering.