Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination delivers exceptional frame rates in Inside, a puzzle platformer that is far more demanding on the GPU than the CPU at higher resolutions. The measured data reveals a system where the graphics card becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, while the processor’s substantial cache and high clock speeds ensure that frame pacing remains consistent even at extreme settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly identifies the RTX 3060 Ti as the limiting component. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 346 FPS, but at 4K with Low settings, that figure falls to 156 FPS—a reduction of 55%. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the number of pixels rendered increases by a factor of four from 1080p to 4K, placing a proportionally heavier load on the graphics card’s shading units and memory bandwidth.

The data shows that the CPU is not the constraint here. At 1080p, where CPU overhead is more likely to surface, the frame rates remain exceptionally high across all settings, ranging from 165 FPS at Ultra to 346 FPS at Low. If the Ryzen 7 9850X3D were the limiting factor, we would expect to see a plateau in performance as resolution decreases, but instead the FPS continues to climb, indicating that the GPU still has headroom even at 1080p. The transition from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep: at High settings, the average FPS drops from 124 to 78, a 37% decline. This confirms that the rendering load is scaling with pixel count, not with CPU-bound game logic.

The Medium settings row provides the most detailed picture of the scaling behavior. At 4K Medium, the combo averages 125 FPS with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average jumps to 199 FPS, and at 1080p Medium, it reaches 277 FPS. The ratio between these results—roughly 1.6x from 4K to 1440p, and 1.4x from 1440p to 1080p—is slightly less than the ideal pixel-count scaling, which suggests that memory bandwidth or fill rate is beginning to saturate at the higher resolutions. Overall, the resolution scaling indicates that the RTX 3060 Ti is the dominant performance factor, with the CPU providing ample headroom to support even the highest frame rates measured.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1273 out of 2887 tested combinations for Inside, placing it in the 56th percentile of all systems evaluated. This rank is surprisingly modest given the high absolute frame rates, which reflects the fact that Inside is a relatively easy game to run and many older or more powerful GPUs can achieve similar or higher results. The rank is determined by the average FPS across all tested resolutions and settings, so the RTX 3060 Ti’s performance at 4K Ultra—where it drops to 74 FPS—likely drags the overall score down compared to combos with more powerful graphics cards.

Looking at the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 16129, which is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (score 16014) and 1.4% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (score 16351). These small deltas indicate that the GPU is positioned in a tightly contested mid-range segment, and its performance in Inside is broadly consistent with its synthetic benchmark standing. The CPU’s nearest rivals show a similar pattern: the Ryzen 7 9850X3D has an average score of 58386, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (score 58323) and 0.2% lower than the Intel Xeon w5-2545 (score 58504). The CPU’s high percentile rank of 92 among all processors, combined with the GPU’s 59th percentile, suggests that the combo’s overall rank is heavily influenced by the graphics card’s mid-range positioning rather than the CPU’s top-tier performance.

The rank of 1273 out of 2887 combos indicates that while this system delivers smooth gameplay, it is not among the elite performers for this title. The data shows that the combo is roughly in the middle of the pack, which aligns with the RTX 3060 Ti’s standing relative to other GPUs. However, the absolute frame rates are high enough that the rank should not be interpreted as a sign of inadequate performance—rather, it reflects the large number of combos with more powerful GPUs that can push Inside to even higher frame rates at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip, manufactured on Samsung’s 8 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1410 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, with a memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These specifications are directly reflected in the measured performance: the memory bandwidth is sufficient to sustain high frame rates at 1440p, but at 4K, the combination of pixel fill rate and memory throughput begins to limit performance.

The GPU’s shading units (4864), texture mapping units (152), and render output units (80) work together to deliver a pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 253.1 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 16.20 TFLOPS is the same as the FP16 performance (16.20 TFLOPS 1:1), which indicates that the GPU is not using a split-rate design for FP16 operations. In the context of Inside, a game that does not heavily utilize ray tracing or DLSS features (the GPU has 38 RT cores and 152 tensor cores), the raw rasterization throughput is what matters most. The 8 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor in this title, as even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate is still playable at 74 FPS, which suggests that the game’s texture and geometry demands are well within the GPU’s memory capacity.

The GPU’s benchmark scores provide additional context: it achieves a Passmark G3D score of 20349, which is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (score 16014) and 1.7% higher than the AMD Radeon R9 370X (score 15862). The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2626 is a more modern test, and the Geekbench OpenCL score of 78927 indicates strong compute performance. For Inside, the GPU’s role is to render the game’s side-scrolling environments and physics-based puzzles, and the measured FPS shows that it handles this task with ease at lower resolutions, but the 4K Ultra result (74 FPS) demonstrates that the GPU is the primary factor determining the maximum settings achievable at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), providing a complete picture of the combo’s performance envelope. At 1080p, the combo delivers exceptional frame rates across all settings: Low averages 346 FPS, Medium averages 277 FPS (with a minimum of 235 FPS and maximum of 318 FPS), High averages 173 FPS, and Ultra averages 165 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra is small (8 FPS), which suggests that the Ultra preset adds minimal visual fidelity for a modest performance cost at this resolution.

At 1440p, the performance remains high but shows a more pronounced difference between settings. Low averages 249 FPS, Medium averages 199 FPS (minimum 169 FPS, maximum 229 FPS), High averages 124 FPS, and Ultra averages 118 FPS. The jump from Medium to High is significant—a 75 FPS drop—which indicates that the High preset introduces a substantial increase in rendering complexity. The minimum FPS at Medium (169 FPS) is still far above the refresh rate of most monitors, so the experience remains fluid.

At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. Low averages 156 FPS, Medium averages 125 FPS (minimum 106 FPS, maximum 144 FPS), High averages 78 FPS, and Ultra averages 74 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is only 4 FPS, which is negligible, but the drop from Medium to High is 47 FPS, showing that the High preset’s added effects are disproportionately expensive at this resolution. The minimum FPS of 106 FPS at 4K Medium indicates that even the worst-case frame times are acceptable for smooth gameplay, while the 4K Ultra result (74 FPS) is still above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays.

The data shows that the combo is capable of running Inside at max settings at 1440p (118 FPS) and at high settings at 4K (78 FPS), with the Medium preset at 4K providing the best balance of visual quality and performance (125 FPS average).

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the ideal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset is the clear choice, as it delivers 165 FPS average, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor. The performance difference between High (173 FPS) and Ultra (165 FPS) is only 8 FPS, so there is no reason to compromise on visual quality at this resolution.

For 1440p, the Ultra preset at 118 FPS is still excellent and recommended for users with 120 Hz or higher refresh rate displays. If the display is limited to 60 Hz, the High preset (124 FPS) offers no practical advantage over Ultra, so the maximum settings are the best choice. However, for users who prefer a higher frame rate buffer, the Medium preset at 199 FPS provides a significant margin over Ultra without a major visual downgrade, as the game’s art style is relatively simple.

For 4K, the recommendation is more nuanced. The Ultra preset at 74 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for frame time spikes. The High preset at 78 FPS is nearly identical in performance, so it does not offer a meaningful advantage. The Medium preset at 125 FPS (minimum 106 FPS) is the best choice for 4K, as it provides a 69% higher average frame rate than Ultra while likely maintaining most of the game’s visual appeal. The Low preset at 156 FPS is overkill for a 4K display, as most 4K monitors are limited to 60 Hz or 120 Hz, and the visual quality hit is unnecessary. Therefore, the Medium preset at 4K is the recommended setting for this combo, as it balances the GPU’s workload with the need for smooth, responsive gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The combo achieves an average of 165 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 125, with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, as the frame rate drops significantly from 156 FPS at 4K Low to 74 FPS at 4K Ultra, while the CPU’s high benchmark scores suggest it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the combo’s rank compared to other tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 1273 out of 2887 tested combinations for Inside.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9060?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 16129, which is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 9060’s score of 16014.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS is 169 at 2560x1440 with Medium settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a 8-core, 16-thread processor from the 9000 series, based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) and manufactured on TSMC’s 4 nm process. It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a TDP of 120 W. The processor features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is a key differentiator for gaming performance. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s and has 24 PCIe Gen 5 lanes.

In the context of Inside, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, physics calculations, and draw call submission. The benchmark results show that the CPU is exceptionally powerful: it scores 22807 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2228 in single-core, with a Passmark single-thread score of 4704. Its percentile rank of 92 among all CPUs indicates that it outperforms the vast majority of processors in synthetic benchmarks. The nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks are the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (delta 0.1%), Intel Xeon w5-2545 (delta -0.2%), and Intel Core i9-14900 (delta 0.5%), all of which are within 0.5% of the Ryzen’s average score of 58386.

The measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is never the bottleneck in Inside. At 1080p Low, where CPU overhead is most likely to be a factor, the combo achieves 346 FPS—a frame rate that would only be possible if the CPU can process and submit frames faster than the GPU can render them. The high L3 cache (96 MB) is particularly beneficial for games that rely on large datasets, as it reduces memory latency and improves frame pacing. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is clearly limited, the CPU’s fast single-thread performance ensures that there are no stutters or frame drops caused by CPU-side processing. The data confirms that the Ryzen 7 9850X3D provides more than enough processing power to feed the RTX 3060 Ti, making the GPU the definitive performance limiter in this combination.