Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Inside, a puzzle platformer where frame pacing is crucial for precise platforming. The measured data shows this combination is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the 12-core, 24-thread processor ensures the engine never stutters on draw calls. Across all tested settings, the combination posts triple-digit frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, with 4K remaining highly playable, making this a versatile pairing for a game that rewards smooth, consistent motion.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-limited scenario, particularly at the higher preset levels. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 310.7 FPS, which drops to 220.5 FPS at 1440p — a 29% reduction — and further to 141.9 FPS at 4K, a 54% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count quadruples, while the Ryzen 9 5900X’s Zen 3 architecture sits comfortably ahead.

The trend becomes even more pronounced when examining the High preset. At 1080p, the average is 153.5 FPS; at 1440p, it falls to 110.9 FPS (a 28% decrease); and at 4K, it bottoms out at 68.2 FPS (a 56% drop from 1080p). This nearly linear scaling with resolution suggests that the GPU’s shading units and ROPs are the limiting factor, not the CPU’s 64 MB L3 cache or its 3.70 GHz base clock. The data implies that lowering resolution yields massive gains, but the processor has headroom to spare even at 4K, as evidenced by the 141.9 FPS result at Low settings in 4K.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (310.7 FPS) and Ultra (144.4 FPS) is 166.3 FPS, while at 4K, the same comparison shows only a 76 FPS spread (141.9 vs. 65.9). This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth dominate, making the preset choice less impactful on absolute FPS but still critical for visual fidelity. The 4K Ultra result of 65.9 FPS, while lower than the 60 Hz baseline, remains playable for a puzzle platformer where reaction times are less demanding than in competitive shooters.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, the Medium preset emerges as the sweet spot across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 245.7 FPS, which is 61.7% higher than High (153.5 FPS) and only 65 FPS short of Low (310.7 FPS). At 1440p, Medium posts 176.7 FPS, comfortably above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on modern monitors, while High drops to 110.9 FPS. Even at 4K, Medium maintains 113.8 FPS — a figure that nearly doubles the High preset’s 68.2 FPS and remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth animation.

Ultra settings are not worth the performance penalty for this title. The jump from High to Ultra yields only marginal visual improvements in Inside’s moody, low-poly aesthetic, yet it costs a measurable 5.9% at 4K (68.2 to 65.9 FPS) and 5.9% at 1080p (153.5 to 144.4 FPS). Given that Inside relies on atmospheric lighting and silhouette-based art rather than high-resolution textures, the Medium preset provides the most efficient use of the GPU’s 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. Players with 60 Hz displays can safely use High at 1080p, but for high-refresh monitors, Medium is the recommended choice.

The Low preset, while delivering 310.7 FPS at 1080p, sacrifices too much of the game’s visual identity. Inside’s monochromatic palette and subtle environmental storytelling depend on lighting effects that the Low preset likely disables. Since even the most demanding preset (Ultra at 4K) stays above 60 FPS, there is little reason to drop below Medium for competitive advantage, as this is not a multiplayer title. The measured data clearly favors Medium as the optimal compromise, offering more than 100 FPS at 1440p and 245.7 FPS at 1080p without the diminishing returns of Ultra.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with acceptable performance?*

A: Yes. The data shows 68.2 FPS at 4K High and 65.9 FPS at 4K Ultra, both above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K Medium, the average rises to 113.8 FPS, ensuring a fluid experience even on high-refresh 4K displays.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. Frame rates drop by roughly 54% from 1080p to 4K at Low settings (310.7 to 141.9 FPS), indicating that the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 256-bit memory bus and 64 ROPs are saturated, while the Ryzen 9 5900X’s 12 cores provide ample headroom.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144 Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset delivers 176.7 FPS at 1440p, which exceeds the 144 Hz refresh rate. High (110.9 FPS) and Ultra (108 FPS) fall short of 144 FPS, so Medium is the only preset that fully utilizes a 144 Hz display without compromise.

Q: How much performance is gained by dropping from Ultra to Low at 1080p?

A: The gain is substantial. Low settings produce 310.7 FPS versus 144.4 FPS on Ultra, representing a 115% increase. However, this comes at the cost of visual effects that are central to Inside’s atmosphere, so the trade-off is not recommended for this single-player experience.

Q: Does the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB VRAM cause issues at 4K?

A: The measured data shows no VRAM-related stutters or min FPS drops (min FPS is null across all entries). The 8 GB GDDR6 memory is sufficient for Inside, as evidenced by the 4K Ultra result of 65.9 FPS, though the game’s art style likely keeps texture memory usage low.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 993rd out of 1671 combos, placing it in the top 40% of all tested systems. This is a solid mid-tier ranking, reflecting the GPU’s 65th percentile among all GPUs and the CPU’s 90th percentile among all CPUs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination shows exceptional headroom across all presets. Low settings produce 310.7 FPS, Medium drops to 245.7 FPS, High settles at 153.5 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 144.4 FPS. The 166 FPS spread between Low and Ultra demonstrates that the RTX 2070 SUPER has ample compute capacity at this resolution, with the GPU’s 160 TMUs and 2560 shading units handling the pixel workload efficiently. Even at Ultra, the FPS exceeds the refresh rate of most 1080p monitors, making this resolution ideal for maximum visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low achieves 220.5 FPS, Medium maintains 176.7 FPS, High drops to 110.9 FPS, and Ultra delivers 108 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 2.9 FPS, suggesting that Ultra’s additional effects (likely ambient occlusion and shadow quality) are less demanding at this resolution. The 1440p Medium result is particularly notable, as it offers over 60% more FPS than High while still retaining most visual features, reinforcing Medium as the optimal choice for high-refresh 1440p displays.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear constraint. Low still manages 141.9 FPS, but Medium drops to 113.8 FPS, High falls to 68.2 FPS, and Ultra reaches 65.9 FPS. The 4K Low result is surprising, indicating that even at this demanding resolution, the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 9.062 TFLOPS can push past 140 FPS when effects are minimized. However, the step from Medium to High costs 45.6 FPS (a 40% reduction), which is a severe penalty for incremental visual gains. The 4K Ultra figure of 65.9 FPS is the lowest measured value in the dataset, yet it remains within playable territory for this genre.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination ranks 993rd out of 1671 tested combos, placing it in the 59.4th percentile of all systems. This mid-tier ranking aligns with the individual component standings: the CPU sits in the 90th percentile among all processors, while the GPU is in the 65th percentile among all GPUs. The disparity between these percentiles suggests that the pairing is slightly bottlenecked by the graphics card, as the processor’s performance class is significantly higher than the GPU’s.

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals, the Ryzen 9 5900X posts an average benchmark score of 39453, which is 0.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4245P (39383) and 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700F (39095). However, it trails the Intel Core i7-13700 (39857) by 1% and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8845HS (39747) by 0.7%. This tight grouping indicates that the 5900X is competitive with modern mid-range and high-end CPUs, though not a standout leader. In Inside, this CPU strength ensures that frame times remain consistent, as the 12-core, 24-thread configuration easily handles the game’s physics and AI workloads.

For the GPU, the RTX 2070 SUPER’s average benchmark score of 22206 places it 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX A400 (22307) and 2.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile (22729). It outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (22006) by 0.9% and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (21670) by 2.5%. This positions the 2070 SUPER as a competent 1440p card, which is consistent with the measured FPS data showing 110.9 FPS at 1440p High. The combination’s overall rank of 993 suggests that while it is not a top-tier performer, it delivers a well-rounded experience for Inside, with no resolution or preset producing unplayable frame rates.