Inside

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a remarkably smooth experience in Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016. The measured frame rates are exceptionally high across all resolutions, indicating that this combination is heavily overqualified for the title, often exceeding the refresh rates of most displays even at 4K Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep but remains at playable levels throughout. At 1080p High settings, the combo produces an average of 189 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops the average to 136 FPS, a reduction of approximately 28%. The jump to 4K High brings the average down to 85 FPS, another significant 37.5% drop from the 1440p figure. This indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary scaling factor as resolution increases, though the frame rates remain high.

The low settings preset reveals the true ceiling of the CPU's capability in this title. At 1080p Low, the system achieves an enormous 378 FPS average. This drops to 272 FPS at 1440p and 171 FPS at 4K. The fact that the 4K Low result is still more than double the 1080p High result shows that the GPU is not yet a bottleneck even at the highest pixel count when graphical load is reduced. The data suggests that at lower settings, the CPU is feeding frames as fast as it can, while at higher settings, the GPU load begins to dominate the scaling curve.

The Medium preset provides the most complete picture with min and max frame data. At 1080p Medium, the average is 302 FPS with a minimum of 257 FPS and a maximum of 347 FPS. At 1440p Medium, these figures drop to 217 average, 185 min, and 250 max. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 136 FPS, with a min of 116 FPS and a max of 157 FPS. The minimum frame rates scale predictably with resolution, suggesting consistent frame pacing without sudden stutters.

Ultra settings follow the same pattern, with 1080p Ultra at 180 FPS, 1440p Ultra at 129 FPS, and 4K Ultra at 81 FPS. The scaling between 1440p and 4K Ultra is a 37.2% reduction, similar to the High preset, confirming that the pixel count is the dominant variable. The overall trend shows that while the RTX 3070 is working harder at 4K, the frame rates remain fluid, making the limiting component clearly the GPU rather than the CPU in all tested configurations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture, fabricated on an 8 nm process at Samsung, with a die size of 392 mm² containing 17,400 million transistors. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1725 MHz, while the memory runs at 1750 MHz, effectively 14 Gbps. These specifications place the card in the 61st percentile of all GPUs based on average benchmark scores.

In Inside, the GPU's role is substantial but not overly taxed. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for a game of this era, as the art style uses a dark, minimalist palette rather than high-resolution textures. The memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s ensures that even at 4K, the frame buffer is fed without issue, as evidenced by the playable 4K results. The RTX 3070's 5888 shading units and 96 ROPs handle the game's simple geometry and lighting effects with ease, allowing for high frame rates even at Ultra settings.

The GPU's benchmark results corroborate its performance class. It scores 22214 in Passmark G3D and 11195 in Passmark GPU Compute, with a Vulkan score of 21022 and an OpenCL score of 112821. The DirectX 12 test yields a score of 85, while DirectX 11 scores 182. These numbers place the RTX 3070 in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17208. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT with a score of 17083 (0.7% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 at 17037 (1% delta), and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M at 17019 (1.1% delta). The Tesla K40c is slightly ahead at 17468 with a -1.5% delta.

The clock speeds matter in a game like Inside because the title is not heavily multi-threaded or graphically intense. The boost clock of 1725 MHz ensures consistent frame delivery, and the data shows that the GPU is rarely the limiting factor until 4K Ultra, where it still manages an 81 FPS average. The low settings at 4K reaching 171 FPS suggests that the GPU has ample headroom when the pixel shader load is reduced, pointing to the CPU as the component that sets the upper bound in lighter scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 986th out of 2887 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the 65.8th percentile of all pairings in the database, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of all tested configurations in this specific game. Given the game's age and modest requirements, the ranking reflects that this combo is far more powerful than what the title demands, but it does not reach the top of the charts because many higher-end GPUs can achieve even higher frame rates.

The rank of 986 suggests that while this combo is strong, it is not elite in the context of Inside. The CPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 61st percentile ranking indicate that the system is balanced but not top-tier. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D's performance is closer to its rivals, with an average benchmark score of 58386 compared to the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M's 58323 (0.1% delta) and the Intel Core i9-14900's 58115 (0.5% delta). This CPU strength ensures that the combo does not fall behind in CPU-limited scenarios.

The combo's rank is influenced by the fact that many combinations with newer, more powerful GPUs like the RTX 40-series or AMD RX 7000-series will achieve higher frame rates in Inside, pushing this combo down the list. However, the measured data shows that this pairing delivers over 60 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is more than adequate for a puzzle platformer. The rank should be interpreted as a measure of raw FPS potential rather than playability, as the experience is already flawless at the tested settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 81 FPS. This is the lowest average across all tested configurations but remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D has an average benchmark score of 58386. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, scores 58323, which is a 0.1% delta. The Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58115, a 0.5% delta, while the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 scores 58826, with a -0.7% delta.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: Yes, the 8 GB GDDR6 memory on the RTX 3070 is more than adequate for Inside. The game's minimalist art style does not require high memory capacity, and the measured frame rates show no signs of VRAM limitations at any resolution or settings preset.

Q: What is the highest measured average FPS for this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 378, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This demonstrates the CPU's ability to push extremely high frame rates when the GPU load is minimized.

Q: How does the GPU rank among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 17208, with a Passmark G3D score of 22214 and a Passmark GPU Compute score of 11195.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS at 1440p Medium?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 217, with a minimum of 185 FPS and a maximum of 250 FPS. These figures indicate stable frame delivery without significant drops.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured performance data covers four settings presets across three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 378 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p produces an average of 302 FPS, with a minimum of 257 FPS and a maximum of 347 FPS. High settings at 1080p average 189 FPS, while Ultra settings average 180 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 272 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 217 FPS, with a minimum of 185 FPS and a maximum of 250 FPS. High settings at 1440p produce an average of 136 FPS, and Ultra settings average 129 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 171 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 136 FPS, with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 157 FPS. High settings at 4K average 85 FPS, while Ultra settings average 81 FPS. The data shows a clear progression where each resolution increase reduces the average FPS by a consistent margin across all settings, with the Medium preset being the only one that includes minimum and maximum frame data.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread processor from the 9000 series, based on the Zen 5 architecture with the codename Granite Ridge. It operates with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a TDP of 120 W. The CPU features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth, and it uses the AMD Socket AM5 platform with PCIe Gen 5 connectivity (24 lanes for the CPU).

In Inside, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with frames, and it excels at this task. The processor's high boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensures that single-threaded performance is excellent, which is important for a game that may not fully utilize all 16 threads. The 96 MB of L3 cache helps with data locality, reducing memory latency and improving frame pacing in scenarios where the CPU is the bottleneck.

The CPU's benchmark scores reflect its strong position. It scores 22807 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2228 in single-core, with 3551 in Cinebench R15 multi-core and 343 in single-core. In Passmark, it achieves 41318 in multi-thread and 4704 in single-thread, with notable scores in floating-point math (81998), integer math (123140), and data compression (474501). The CPU is in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 58386.

The nearest rivals to the Ryzen 7 9850X3D in terms of average score are the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323, 0.1% delta), the Intel Xeon w5-2545 (58504, -0.2% delta), the Intel Core i9-14900 (58115, 0.5% delta), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (58826, -0.7% delta). This shows the CPU is competitively positioned among high-end desktop and workstation processors.

Given that the CPU scores in the 92nd percentile while the GPU sits in the 61st percentile, the processor is clearly the stronger component in this pairing. In Inside, this imbalance is not detrimental, as the game's low graphical demands mean the GPU can still deliver high frame rates. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the CPU is able to push 378 FPS, which is likely near the engine's limit. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, but the CPU's strength ensures that it never holds back performance, even at 4K.