Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer from 2016. The benchmark data shows this pairing ranks 25th out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.5% of all systems evaluated. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system with massive headroom, where the limiting factor shifts decisively based on the graphical workload applied.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a classic pattern of GPU-bound behavior at higher resolutions, but with unusual characteristics at lower settings. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 310.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 225.8 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 84.4 FPS (27.2%). Moving to 3840x2160, the High preset averages 137.4 FPS, which represents a 172.8 FPS decline from 1080p — a 55.7% drop. This substantial scaling indicates the RTX 5080 is the primary constraint at 4K High, as pixel throughput demands increase fourfold from 1080p.

The Low preset tells a different story. At 1080p Low, the system produces 403.5 FPS. The 1440p Low result of 362.8 FPS is only 10.1% slower, and 4K Low still achieves 279.9 FPS. The relatively modest scaling between 1080p and 1440p Low (40.7 FPS, or 10.1%) suggests the CPU begins to limit performance at these extreme frame rates. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D’s 8 cores and 16 threads with a boost clock of 5.20 GHz are formidable, but even this processor cannot fully feed a GPU capable of over 400 FPS in a lightweight 2D title.

Medium settings show intermediate behavior: 371.5 FPS at 1080p, 336.7 FPS at 1440p, and 226.3 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result is 39.1% lower than 1080p Medium, demonstrating that the GPU workload increases significantly even at moderate quality levels. Ultra settings compress the range further: 298.2 FPS at 1080p, 212.7 FPS at 1440p, and 131.4 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra figure is 55.9% below the 1080p Ultra number, confirming that at maximum quality, the RTX 5080’s rendering pipeline becomes the dominant bottleneck.

The data indicates that Inside’s simple geometry and limited draw calls allow the CPU to keep pace at lower resolutions, but the GPU’s fill rate and shading capacity dictate performance at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K (279.9 vs 131.4 FPS) is 148.5 FPS, or 53.1%, which is a wider spread than at 1440p (362.8 vs 212.7, a 41.4% difference) or 1080p (403.5 vs 298.2, a 26.1% difference). This widening gap with resolution confirms that the RTX 5080 is the limiting component at higher pixel counts.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB203 chip, brings substantial resources to this title. The GPU’s 10752 shading units and 112 ROPs operate at a boost clock of 2617 MHz, delivering a pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s. For a game like Inside with its monochromatic, side-scrolling presentation, these specifications are overkill, yet the benchmark results show the GPU still influences performance meaningfully at 4K.

The 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory subsystem is unlikely to be stressed by Inside’s modest texture requirements, but the ample capacity ensures no swapping or stutter occurs even at Ultra settings. The RTX 5080’s FP32 throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS and FP16 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS (1:1) are more than sufficient for the game’s shader complexity, which is typical of a 2016 puzzle platformer.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its position: a Passmark G3D score of 36565 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637. In the GPU percentile ranking, the RTX 5080 sits at the 89th percentile versus all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark score include the Intel Arc A580 at 57756 (with the RTX 5080 leading by 2.5%) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X at 57661 (a 2.6% advantage). These comparisons illustrate that while the RTX 5080 is a high-end part, its lead over mid-range competitors is modest in synthetic tests — a contrast to the massive FPS advantages seen in Inside at lower resolutions.

At 4K Ultra, the game runs at 131.4 FPS, which is still far above the 60 FPS threshold. The RTX 5080’s ray tracing cores (84) and tensor cores (336) are present but underutilized in this title, as Inside does not implement hardware ray tracing. The GPU’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures full feature compatibility, but the game’s rendering style leverages only basic rasterization.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D provides 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge). Its base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.20 GHz are backed by a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache — a configuration designed to excel in gaming workloads. The processor’s 3DMark multi-threaded scores show scaling from 2394 (2 threads) to 10081 (16 threads), with a single-thread score of 1212. Cinebench R23 results include 34004 multi-core and 4800 single-core, while Geekbench reports 18413 multi-core and 3341 single-core.

In Inside, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the system achieves 403.5 FPS. This figure is only 10.1% higher than the 1440p Low result of 362.8 FPS, despite the 4K Low result being 279.9 FPS. The diminishing returns between 1080p and 1440p Low suggest the CPU is approaching its limit in feeding the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D’s 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR5 dual-channel) and PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 lanes provide ample data transfer capacity for this workload.

The CPU’s benchmark profile places it at the 90th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37780. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-13600KF at 38028 (a 0.7% deficit for the AMD part) and the Intel Core i9-13900HK at 38020 (0.6% behind). These differences are negligible in synthetic tests, but the 3D V-Cache technology in the 9800X3D — reflected in the 96 MB L3 — likely contributes to the strong 1080p results in Inside, where cache-sensitive game logic can benefit from reduced memory latency.

The Passmark physics score of 4083 and multithread score of 40009 indicate strong computational throughput for game simulation. However, Inside is a 2D puzzle platformer with limited physics and AI, so the CPU’s extensive resources are only partially engaged. The fact that 1080p Low (403.5 FPS) is not dramatically higher than 1440p Low (362.8 FPS) suggests that even this flagship processor faces some bottleneck in single-threaded game loop execution, though the 403.5 FPS figure remains extraordinarily high.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 5080 achieves a combo rank of 25 out of 1671 tested configurations in Inside. This top-1.5% placement reflects the synergy between a high-end CPU and GPU, though the game’s age and simplicity mean that many systems can achieve playable frame rates. The ranking is more meaningful when considering that the data is measured (dataIsMeasured is true), providing confidence in the results.

The combo’s performance advantage is most pronounced at 4K Ultra, where it delivers 131.4 FPS. This is 18.2% lower than the 4K High result of 137.4 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset’s additional effects cost measurable performance. The 4K Low result of 279.9 FPS demonstrates the system’s headroom; even at the lowest settings, the frame rate exceeds 270 FPS, which is beyond the refresh rate of most monitors.

Looking at the percentile standings, both components sit in the upper tier of their respective categories: the CPU at the 90th percentile and the GPU at the 89th percentile. The combination of two top-decile parts yields a result that is better than either component alone might suggest, as the CPU’s strong single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core of 3341) supports the GPU’s high frame rate output at lower resolutions. The 1080p Medium result of 371.5 FPS is particularly indicative of balanced performance, as neither component appears to be a severe bottleneck at this setting.

The ranking of 25th out of 1671 implies that 24 other combinations outperform this one in Inside. Given the game’s lightweight nature, those higher-ranked configurations likely feature even more powerful GPUs (such as the RTX 5090) or CPUs with higher boost clocks, though the data pack does not specify those details. The practical difference between rank 25 and rank 1 is unlikely to be visible at frame rates above 300 FPS, where human perception and display refresh rates become the limiting factors.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K displays, the Ultra preset at 131.4 FPS is the most demanding option and still delivers smooth gameplay. However, the High preset at 137.4 FPS offers a 6.0 FPS improvement (4.6% faster) with likely negligible visual differences in a game with such a stark art style. The Medium preset at 226.3 FPS provides a substantial 72.2% boost over Ultra, which could be beneficial for high-refresh-rate 4K monitors (240 Hz or higher). The Low preset at 279.9 FPS is the fastest 4K option, though it sacrifices visual fidelity that may be integral to the game’s atmospheric presentation.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset runs at 212.7 FPS, which is sufficient for most gaming monitors. The High preset at 225.8 FPS adds a modest 6.2% improvement, while Medium at 336.7 FPS more than doubles the Ultra frame rate. The Low setting at 362.8 FPS is the ceiling for this resolution, providing a 70.6% advantage over Ultra. For competitive play or maximum smoothness, Medium at 1440p offers an excellent balance of visual quality and performance, as the 336.7 FPS figure exceeds the refresh rate of virtually all 1440p monitors.

For 1080p displays, the measured data shows that even Ultra at 298.2 FPS is far beyond typical 1080p monitor refresh rates (144 Hz or 240 Hz). The High preset at 310.2 FPS is only 4.0% faster than Ultra, while Medium at 371.5 FPS and Low at 403.5 FPS push into territory where the CPU becomes the limiting factor. Given that the difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 105.3 FPS (26.1%), and all settings deliver at least 298 FPS, the recommendation is to use Ultra settings to fully experience the game’s intended visual design without any perceptible performance cost.

Across all resolutions, the High preset offers the most consistent experience: 310.2 FPS at 1080p, 225.8 FPS at 1440p, and 137.4 FPS at 4K. These figures represent a smooth progression that matches display capabilities at each resolution. For users with 4K 120 Hz displays, High settings provide adequate headroom; for 1440p 240 Hz panels, High is borderline (225.8 FPS is slightly below 240), making Medium a safer choice at 336.7 FPS. The data ultimately suggests that this hardware combination is so powerful for Inside that settings choices are primarily about matching refresh rates rather than achieving playability.