Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that scales surprisingly well across modern hardware, and the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER produces a broad spread of frame rates depending on resolution and quality preset. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily influenced by GPU load at higher resolutions, while remaining exceptionally responsive at 1080p. This analysis interprets the benchmark results to define the optimal settings, the role of the CPU, and where this specific pairing stands among thousands of tested hardware combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck in this configuration. At the "High" settings preset, the average frame rate falls from 141 FPS at 1920x1080 to 101 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 63 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 55% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, a steep curve that indicates the RTX 2060 SUPER is being progressively overwhelmed by the pixel count. The transition from 1440p to 4K alone costs 38 FPS, showing that the jump in resolution is the most punishing step for this GPU.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all quality presets. With the "Low" preset, the system achieves 281 FPS at 1080p, drops to 202 FPS at 1440p, and still manages 127 FPS at 4K. This shows that even at the lowest settings, the 4K resolution cuts performance by more than half compared to 1080p. The "Ultra" preset tells the same story: 134 FPS at 1080p, 96 FPS at 1440p, and 60 FPS at 4K. The fact that 4K Ultra lands at exactly 60 FPS suggests the game is hitting a near-perfect frame pacing limit for this hardware, but it is the only configuration that brings the system to that threshold.

What this data indicates is that the Ryzen 7 9850X3D is never the limiting factor in this game. The CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than it can render, as evidenced by the 281 FPS result at 1080p Low. As resolution increases, the GPU's rendering time grows, and the CPU has more idle time waiting for the next frame. The 63 FPS at 4K High versus the 141 FPS at 1080p High is a textbook example of a GPU-bound scenario where the graphics card's shading units and memory bandwidth are the decisive components. The RTX 2060 SUPER, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, is simply not designed for high-refresh 4K gaming in this title, though it remains playable.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy of performance across the four presets at each resolution. At 1080p, the "Medium" preset delivers an average of 225 FPS with a minimum of 191 FPS and a maximum of 259 FPS, which is an excellent balance for fast-paced platforming where reaction time matters. The "High" preset at 141 FPS is also very smooth, but the jump from Medium to Low at 281 FPS suggests that the visual quality gains from Medium to High are not worth sacrificing 84 FPS. For competitive play or maximum fluidity, Low at 1080p is the best choice, but Medium offers the most well-rounded experience with a substantial frame rate cushion.

At 1440p, the "Medium" preset again stands out, producing 162 FPS average with a minimum of 137 FPS. This is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate that most monitors at this resolution support, making it the ideal preset for a high-refresh experience. The "High" preset at 101 FPS is still playable, but it drops below the 144 FPS threshold, which may introduce noticeable judder on fast-panning camera movements. The "Ultra" preset at 96 FPS is borderline, and the data suggests that the visual fidelity increase from Medium to Ultra is not justified by the 66 FPS loss.

At 4K, the situation changes significantly. The "Medium" preset yields 102 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS, which is the only preset that keeps the game comfortably above 60 FPS. The "High" preset at 63 FPS is right at the edge of playability, and "Ultra" at 60 FPS is locked to a console-like experience. For 4K gaming on this hardware, "Medium" is the definitive recommendation, as it provides a 39 FPS improvement over High while still maintaining a playable frame rate. The "Low" preset at 127 FPS is unnecessarily fast for 4K, and the visual degradation is likely too severe for a puzzle platformer that relies on atmospheric lighting and shadows.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a Zen 5 architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, operating at a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. In Inside, a game that is not heavily threaded, the CPU's single-core performance is the most relevant metric. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2228 indicates strong per-core capability, which is supported by the PassMark single-thread score of 4704. These numbers suggest that the CPU has ample headroom to handle the game's physics and logic without becoming a bottleneck.

The processor's large 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a notable feature of the X3D series, and while the benchmark data does not show a direct correlation to this specific game's frame rates, the high single-thread scores in synthetic tests suggest that cache-sensitive workloads are handled efficiently. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 281 FPS, which is a clear indication that the CPU is not limiting the GPU at lower resolutions. The fact that the frame rate at 4K Ultra is exactly 60 FPS, matching the 4K High result at 63 FPS, reinforces that the CPU is consistently waiting on the GPU.

The CPU's benchmark percentile of 92 versus all CPUs places it in the top 8% of processors, and its average benchmark score of 58386 is within 0.1% of the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i9-14900. This level of performance is far beyond what Inside requires, meaning the CPU's role in this combination is to ensure that frame times remain consistent and that no CPU-side stutters are introduced. The data shows that the Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a capable partner for the RTX 2060 SUPER, but it is also clear that the CPU is underutilized in this title, as the GPU is the dominant performance factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER ranks 1973 out of 2887 tested combos in Inside. This places the pairing in the 68th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of the combinations in the database. Given the GPU's age and the CPU's modern high-end status, this rank is a reflection of the significant imbalance between the two components.

The RTX 2060 SUPER's individual benchmark percentile is 62, which is lower than the CPU's 92, and this disparity is the primary reason the combo does not rank higher. The GPU's average benchmark score of 18093 is within 0.4% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile and 0.5% of the AMD Radeon Pro 5700, indicating that it is a mid-range performer in the current landscape. The CPU, on the other hand, is near the top of the charts, with an average score that is only 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon w5-2545 and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470.

The ranking data suggests that if the GPU were upgraded to a more modern part, the combo's position would improve dramatically. However, with the RTX 2060 SUPER, the system is constrained by the graphics card's 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and its 8 GB VRAM buffer. For a game like Inside, which is not graphically demanding by modern standards, this rank is acceptable, but it clearly indicates that the CPU is overqualified for the paired GPU. The 63 FPS at 4K High is the ceiling for this combo, and that is a direct consequence of the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is a Turing architecture GPU with a base clock of 1470 MHz and a boost clock of 1650 MHz. It features 2176 shading units, 136 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output units, which together deliver a pixel rate of 105.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 224.4 GTexel/s. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes strained at 4K.

In Inside, the GPU's role is decisive. The measured frame rates show a clear linear progression with resolution, and the GPU's compute capabilities are the limiting factor. The passmark G3D score of 16462 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011 indicate that the GPU is a solid mid-range performer, but the data from the game itself is more telling. At 1080p, the GPU is able to push 281 FPS at Low settings, which means it is not completely overwhelmed, but the 4K results show that the GPU's shading throughput and memory bandwidth are insufficient for high refresh rates at that resolution.

The GPU's 62nd percentile ranking versus all GPUs confirms its mid-range status. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, is only 0.4% faster, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 is 0.5% faster. This means that the RTX 2060 SUPER is essentially at parity with its closest competitors, and the game's results reflect that. The 63 FPS at 4K High is a realistic ceiling for this GPU, and the 60 FPS at 4K Ultra shows that the GPU is unable to maintain a higher frame rate even with the most demanding settings. The GPU's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 ensures compatibility with modern APIs, but the raw performance is what ultimately determines the frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in Inside?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 at Medium settings delivers 225 FPS average, which is the best balance of visual quality and frame rate. At 2560x1440, Medium also works well at 162 FPS, but 3840x2160 is only recommended at Medium, which yields 102 FPS.

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so significantly from 1440p to 4K?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors. At 4K High, the GPU can only manage 63 FPS, while at 1440p High it reaches 101 FPS. This is a 38 FPS drop, which is consistent with the GPU's rendering workload increasing with pixel count.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9850X3D a bottleneck for the RTX 2060 SUPER in this game?

A: No. The CPU's single-core performance is more than sufficient, as evidenced by the 281 FPS at 1080p Low. The CPU is never the limiting factor; the GPU is always the bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 1973 out of 2887 tested combos, placing it in the 68th percentile. This is primarily due to the GPU's mid-range performance, which is below the CPU's high-end capabilities.

Q: What is the difference between Ultra and Medium settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Medium averages 102 FPS with a minimum of 86 FPS, while Ultra averages 60 FPS. The Medium preset provides a 42 FPS improvement, making it the only 4K preset that maintains a smooth frame rate.

Q: Is this GPU better than its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 18093, which is 0.4% lower than the RTX 3060 Mobile and 0.5% lower than the Radeon Pro 5700. It is essentially at parity with these cards, with no significant performance advantage.