Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is far more demanding on the GPU than the CPU at higher settings. The data shows a system capable of triple-digit frame rates at every tested resolution and preset, with the measured results revealing where the bottleneck shifts between the processor and graphics card.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X brings 12 cores and 24 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. This Zen 3 architecture chip, codenamed Vermeer, is built on a 7 nm process and supports DDR4 memory through a dual-channel interface with 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. For a game like Inside, which is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer, the CPU's single-thread performance is more relevant than its massive multi-core capacity.

Benchmark data supports this focus. The processor scores 941 in 3dmark single-thread and 3469 in Passmark single-thread, while multi-threaded tests show 10075 in 3dmark max threads and 33150 in Cinebench R23 multicore. The single-thread results place the CPU at the 90th percentile among all processors, and its average benchmark score of 39453 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals: it trails the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8845HS by 0.7% and the Intel Core i7-13700 by 1%, while leading the AMD EPYC 4245P by 0.2% and the Intel Core i7-13700F by 0.9%.

In Inside, the CPU's role is to maintain a steady frame delivery. The game's physics and logic are not heavily threaded, so the 5900X's 24 threads are largely underutilized. The measured frame rates show that at 1080p Low, the system hits 314.6 FPS, which is the highest recorded value in the dataset. This suggests that even at low settings, the CPU is not the limiting factor; the GPU still has headroom, and the processor's strong single-core performance ensures no frame pacing issues. The Ryzen 9 5900X's 64 MB of L3 cache also helps with game logic, but the primary takeaway is that this CPU is overqualified for the game's demands, providing ample headroom that never becomes a constraint.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this combo. It features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The GPU is based on the AD102 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process. Its base clock is 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and the memory runs at 1313 MHz, effective 21 Gbps. The card has 16384 shading units, 128 RT cores, and 512 tensor cores, all contributing to a Passmark G3D score of 38194 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223.

The GPU's percentile ranking is 91 among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 66473. Compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4090 leads the NVIDIA Tesla P40 by 0.5% and the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 by 1.3%, but trails the NVIDIA Tesla T4 by 0.4% and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 by 0.9%. These delta percentages are small, indicating that the RTX 4090's raw compute power is in a tightly contested tier, though its 24 GB VRAM and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are decisive for high-resolution textures.

In Inside, the GPU's role becomes apparent at higher settings. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 143.1, which is a significant reduction from the 4K Low result of 242.9. The RTX 4090's massive memory bandwidth and shading power handle the game's visual effects, including lighting and shadows, without issue. The data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate changes when settings are adjusted, confirming that Inside is GPU-bound at higher presets. The card's 24 GB VRAM ensures that even at 4K Ultra, there is no memory pressure, allowing for consistent performance without stutter.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates show a clear scaling pattern across the three tested resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 314.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low reduces the average to 282.3 FPS, a drop of approximately 10%. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 242.9 FPS, another 14% reduction. This indicates that even at low settings, the GPU is already the primary limiter, as scaling with resolution is consistent.

At High settings, the scaling is more pronounced. The 1080p High result is 243.2 FPS, 1440p High drops to 216.4 FPS (an 11% decrease), and 4K High falls to 147.3 FPS (a 32% decrease from 1440p). This steeper drop at 4K High suggests that the GPU is struggling to maintain the same frame rate as resolution increases, but the absolute numbers remain high. The Ultra settings show a similar pattern: 1080p Ultra is 242.9 FPS, 1440p Ultra is 213 FPS (a 12% drop), and 4K Ultra is 143.1 FPS (a 33% drop from 1440p).

The data reveals that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution. The frame rate differences between 1080p and 1440p are modest, suggesting that the GPU has enough headroom to absorb the extra pixel count. However, the jump from 1440p to 4K causes a significant reduction in frame rate, particularly at High and Ultra settings. This indicates that the RTX 4090 is the limiting component at 4K, and the Ryzen 9 5900X's processing power is more than sufficient to feed the GPU with data. The consistent frame rates at 1080p across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra settings (ranging from 242.9 to 314.6 FPS) further confirm that the CPU is not holding back performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear picture of how settings affect performance. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is only 71.7 FPS (from 314.6 to 242.9), meaning that players can max out the game's visuals without sacrificing frame rate significantly. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 291.2 FPS, and High yields 243.2 FPS. Given that the game is a puzzle platformer, visual fidelity is less critical than responsiveness, but the hardware has ample headroom.

At 1440p, the Low preset delivers 282.3 FPS, while Ultra drops to 213 FPS. The High preset at 216.4 FPS is nearly identical to Ultra at 213 FPS, indicating that the extra visual features in Ultra do not cost much performance at this resolution. For a smooth experience, the High preset is the best balance, as it offers a 3.4 FPS difference from Ultra but with a slightly lower load on the GPU. The Medium preset at 261.4 FPS is also viable, but High is recommended for the best visual quality per the measured performance.

At 4K, the settings have a more pronounced impact. The Low preset achieves 242.9 FPS, Medium drops to 222.3 FPS, High falls to 147.3 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 143.1 FPS. The jump from Medium to High is a 75 FPS reduction, which is substantial. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset offers the best experience, as it maintains a high frame rate of 222.3 FPS while still providing decent visual quality. The High and Ultra presets, while playable at over 143 FPS, do not offer enough visual improvement to justify the performance hit. The data suggests that the ideal configuration is to use Medium settings at 4K or High settings at 1440p, depending on the display's native resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 190 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the top 11.4% of all configurations in the database, which is a strong result given the game's age and the hardware's capabilities. The rank is determined by the measured frame rates across all settings and resolutions, and this combo's lowest recorded average is 143.1 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is still far above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

The high ranking is driven by the RTX 4090's dominance at higher resolutions. The GPU's 24 GB VRAM and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensure that the game runs without memory-related stutters, while its 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power handles the game's rendering at 4K with ease. The CPU's contribution is less significant, but its strong single-thread performance (941 in 3dmark single-thread) prevents any frame pacing issues that could arise in a game with tight physics interactions.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing sits above the median, but it is not at the very top. The 190th rank out of 1671 suggests that there are 189 other combinations that deliver higher average frame rates in Inside, likely those with newer or more expensive processors. However, the data shows that this combo is more than capable of delivering a flawless experience, as even the most demanding setting (4K Ultra) produces a 143.1 FPS average, which is exceptionally smooth for a puzzle platformer. The combination's percentile rankings (90th for CPU, 91st for GPU) align with its overall game rank, confirming that both components are in the top tier of their respective categories.