Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB produces a distinctive performance profile in Inside, a Puzzle Platformer from 2016. The measured frame rates reveal a system where the GPU’s modest specifications are the primary constraint, while the 16-core CPU provides ample headroom that never becomes a bottleneck. This analysis examines the resolution scaling, component roles, and optimal settings based solely on the measured data.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frames per second (FPS) show a steep and consistent drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 98.3 FPS at 1080p to 68.7 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 29.6 FPS, and then to 45.2 FPS at 4K, a further drop of 23.5 FPS. This pattern indicates that the rendering load scales heavily with pixel count, which is typical for a game that relies on fill-rate and memory bandwidth.

The scaling behavior changes with the preset. At Low settings, the 1080p average is 199.7 FPS, which drops to 144 FPS at 1440p and then to 91.7 FPS at 4K. The percentage decline from 1080p to 4K is approximately 54% at Low settings, compared to a 54% decline at High settings (from 98.3 to 45.2 FPS). This similarity suggests that the limiting factor is consistent across presets: the GPU’s compute and memory throughput.

The data implies that the RTX 3050 4 GB is the limiting component at all resolutions. The CPU, with its high core count and clock speeds, does not appear to restrict performance, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution rather than plateauing due to processor limitations. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 43.1 FPS, which is below the 45.2 FPS seen at 4K High, indicating that the highest preset adds a measurable cost. The gap between Medium and High at 4K is notable: 75.2 FPS versus 45.2 FPS, a difference of 30 FPS, which shows that the High preset introduces a significant rendering burden over Medium.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA107 chip. Its specifications include a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1740 MHz, with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. The memory bandwidth is 192.0 GB/s, which is a critical factor for Inside’s side-scrolling visuals that often feature high-resolution textures and particle effects.

The GPU’s 2048 shading units and 32 ROPs determine its fill-rate capabilities. The pixel rate is 55.68 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 111.4 GTexel/s. These figures explain why the frame rate drops so sharply at 4K: the pixel throughput must double from 1080p to 4K, and the GPU’s ROP count is relatively low for such a workload. The FP32 performance of 7.127 TFLOPS provides adequate compute for the game’s physics, but the memory subsystem is the bottleneck.

The VRAM capacity of 4 GB is likely a limiting factor at higher settings and resolutions. While the measured data does not include VRAM usage, the performance drop from Medium to High at 4K (75.2 to 45.2 FPS) suggests that the higher preset may exceed the available memory, causing the GPU to rely on slower data transfers. The memory clock is 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective speed, which is standard for this class, but the 128-bit bus width limits total bandwidth to 192.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes strained at 4K, where the frame rate at Medium (75.2 FPS) is still playable but far from the 144 FPS achieved at 1440p Low.

The GPU’s TDP is 90 W, and it uses a single 6-pin power connector, indicating a power-efficient design. However, the performance data shows that this efficiency comes at the cost of raw throughput. The 4 GB memory capacity is the most likely reason why the Ultra preset at 4K yields only 43.1 FPS, which is a marginal improvement over the 45.2 FPS at High, suggesting diminishing returns as the preset pushes the hardware to its limits.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with 64 MB of L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark scores are substantial: it achieves 38,607 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5,450 points in single-core. These scores place it in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49,062.

For a game like Inside, which is a puzzle platformer, the CPU workload is typically light, with most of the processing focused on game logic and physics rather than complex AI or simulation. The measured FPS data supports this interpretation. At 1080p Low, the system hits 199.7 FPS, and at 1440p Low it reaches 144 FPS. These high frame rates at low settings indicate that the CPU is not limiting performance; otherwise, the frame rate would plateau regardless of resolution or settings.

The Ryzen 9 5950X’s single-thread performance is particularly relevant. Its Geekbench single-core score is 2,211, and its 3DMark single-thread score is 944. These results suggest that even a single core can handle the game’s primary thread without issue. The nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-14600K, show a delta of -0.2% in average score, meaning the Ryzen 9 5950X is essentially tied in overall performance. This parity is irrelevant here because the CPU is not the bottleneck.

The CPU’s 16 cores and 32 threads are overkill for Inside, but they ensure that any background processes or future game updates will not cause frame drops. The boost clock of 4.90 GHz provides a high ceiling for single-threaded tasks, which is what this game primarily uses. The measured FPS at 1080p High (98.3) is more than double the 4K High result (45.2), confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with enough data, and its memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s is ample for this game’s requirements.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 98.3 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset offers 158.5 FPS, which is a 60% improvement over High and is ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. The Ultra preset drops to 94.7 FPS, which is a small penalty over High, suggesting that players with 1080p monitors can enable Ultra without a significant loss.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset provides 111.7 FPS, which is the sweet spot. The High preset yields 68.7 FPS, which is still playable but closer to the 60 FPS line. The Low preset hits 144 FPS, which matches the refresh rate of many 1440p monitors, but the visual downgrade may not be worth it. The Ultra preset at 1440p is 66.6 FPS, which is only slightly worse than High, so players should choose between High and Ultra based on visual preference.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the only viable option for a smooth experience, with 75.2 FPS. The High preset at 45.2 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, and the Ultra preset at 43.1 FPS is even lower. The Low preset at 4K yields 91.7 FPS, which is high but may involve significant visual compromises. For 4K gaming, Medium is recommended because it balances visual quality and performance, staying above 60 FPS.

The data suggests that the GPU’s 4 GB VRAM is the key constraint. The transition from Medium to High at 4K results in a 30 FPS drop (from 75.2 to 45.2), which is likely due to memory pressure. At 1080p, the drop from Medium to High is 60 FPS (from 158.5 to 98.3), which is a larger absolute difference but still leaves both presets playable. The best experience per the measured rows is 1440p Medium, which offers 111.7 FPS with a good balance of visual fidelity and frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB ranks 1504 out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. This percentile places it in the bottom 10% of all configurations, which is expected given the GPU’s mid-range specifications. The rank reflects the GPU’s performance, as the CPU is not a limiting factor.

The Ryzen 9 5950X’s average benchmark score of 49,062 is comparable to its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-14600K (49,166, delta -0.2%) and the Intel Core i5-14600KF (49,367, delta -0.6%). The AMD EPYC 4345P has a score of 49,595, which is 1.1% higher. This close grouping indicates that the CPU’s performance is not the differentiator in this combo’s ranking.

The GPU’s percentile rank is 50, meaning it sits at the median of all GPUs, but its benchmarks list is empty in the fact pack, so its specific scores are unknown. The low combo rank is driven by the GPU’s inability to maintain high frame rates at 4K, where the average FPS drops below 60 on High and Ultra presets. At 1080p, the combo performs adequately, with all presets exceeding 94 FPS, but the overall rank is pulled down by the 4K results.

The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates. At 4K, the performance is marginal, and players would need to lower settings to Medium to maintain playability. The rank of 1504 out of 1671 reflects this limitation, placing it in the lower quartile of tested configurations. For a game like Inside, which is not demanding, this combo still delivers a smooth experience at lower resolutions, but it cannot compete with higher-end GPU pairings in the database.