Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a game that is fundamentally limited by the graphics card at higher resolutions but becomes increasingly CPU-bound at 1080p. The measured frame rates show a clear pattern: at 4K, the GPU is the primary constraint, while at 1080p, the processor’s high single-thread performance allows the system to push well beyond 350 FPS on lower presets. This combination ranks in the 87.7th percentile of all tested combos for this title, placing it in the top 12.3% of systems evaluated.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals a predictable yet pronounced drop in average FPS as resolution increases. At the highest preset (Ultra), the system produces 234 FPS at 1920x1080, dropping to 168 FPS at 2560x1440, and further down to 106 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 54.7% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings. The scaling pattern is consistent across all presets, but the magnitude of the drop varies. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 387 at 1080p to 347 at 1440p and then to 222 at 4K — a 42.6% decline from the lowest to highest resolution.

The frame rate behavior suggests that at 1080p, particularly on Low and Medium settings, the CPU begins to limit performance. The gap between Low (387 FPS) and Ultra (234 FPS) at 1080p is 153 FPS, whereas at 4K that same gap narrows to 116 FPS (222 vs 106). This compression of the settings gap at higher resolutions is a classic indicator of GPU saturation. When the GPU is fully utilized at 4K, the difference between presets becomes less about CPU headroom and more about the raw pixel processing workload. At 1080p, the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them at lower presets, creating a bottleneck that caps performance at 387 FPS.

Interestingly, the Medium preset at 1080p achieves 357 FPS, which is only 30 FPS lower than Low, while at 4K the Medium preset (177 FPS) is 45 FPS lower than Low (222 FPS). This inverted relationship indicates that at 1080p, the Medium preset’s additional graphical load is partially hidden by CPU limitations, whereas at 4K, the GPU fully exposes the cost of higher settings. The minimum FPS data for Medium settings reinforces this: at 1080p, the minimum is 304 FPS, while at 1440p it drops to 240 FPS, and at 4K to 151 FPS. These minimums represent a 50.3% reduction from 1080p to 4K, closely mirroring the average FPS trend.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its benchmark results show exceptional single-thread performance, scoring 1093 in 3DMark single-thread and 2016.5 in Cinebench R23 single-core. These scores are critical for Inside, which is a puzzle platformer that typically relies on a limited number of threads for game logic and physics. The processor’s 4-thread 3DMark score of 4151 and 2-thread score of 2137 indicate strong performance in lightly-threaded workloads, which aligns with the game’s demands.

The CPU’s role becomes most apparent at 1080p with Low settings, where the system reaches 387 FPS. This outcome is likely constrained by the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls and process game state updates rather than by the GPU. The Ryzen 9 7900X’s single-core performance, evidenced by its 4238 Passmark single-thread score, provides the necessary headroom to maintain such high frame rates. However, the data shows that even this powerful CPU has limits: the 387 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low is only 40 FPS higher than the 347 FPS at 1440p Low, suggesting that the CPU is nearing its practical limit for this game at that preset.

In contrast, the CPU’s multicore capabilities are largely underutilized in Inside. The processor scores 29300 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 12536 in 3DMark max threads, but these resources are unlikely to be fully engaged by a puzzle platformer. The 12 cores and 24 threads provide headroom for background tasks and system overhead, but the game’s performance is dominated by the CPU’s single-thread speed. The Ryzen 9 7900X’s 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs underscores its overall capability, but in this specific title, its architectural efficiency at lower thread counts matters more than raw core count.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Inside?*

A: The maximum measured average FPS is 387, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 357 FPS at the same resolution with Medium settings.

Q: How does performance drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS falls from 234 at 1920x1080 to 168 at 2560x1440, and further to 106 at 3840x2160. This represents a 54.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Which resolution provides the most stable frame times according to minimum FPS?

A: At Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 304 at 1920x1080, 240 at 2560x1440, and 151 at 3840x2160. The 1080p resolution shows the smallest variance between minimum and average FPS (53 FPS difference), indicating the most consistent performance.

Q: Is the system more CPU-limited or GPU-limited at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the system shows characteristics of a balanced load. The difference between Low (347 FPS) and Ultra (168 FPS) is 179 FPS, which is larger than at 1080p (153 FPS difference), indicating the GPU is becoming a more significant factor, but the CPU still provides ample headroom.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 7900X compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The CPU scores 53288 on average, placing it 0.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7313P and 0.6% ahead of the Intel Xeon 634. It trails the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 by 0.3% and the Intel Core i7-14700F by 0.6%.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average FPS is 106, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is the only preset and resolution combination that falls below 111 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce 387 FPS average, Medium settings achieve 357 FPS with a minimum of 304 and maximum of 411, High settings reach 245 FPS, and Ultra settings still manage 234 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 153 FPS, showing that even the most demanding preset easily exceeds 200 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 304 FPS indicates that frame pacing remains consistent even under load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are noticeable but still impressive. Low settings yield 347 FPS, Medium settings produce 282 FPS with a minimum of 240 and maximum of 325, High settings achieve 176 FPS, and Ultra settings average 168 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p ranges from 40 FPS at Low settings to 66 FPS at Ultra settings. The Medium preset’s minimum of 240 FPS confirms that even at this higher resolution, the system maintains fluid frame delivery.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. Low settings deliver 222 FPS, Medium settings achieve 177 FPS with a minimum of 151 and maximum of 204, High settings produce 111 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 106 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 116 FPS, which is narrower than at lower resolutions, reflecting the GPU’s saturation point. The Medium preset’s maximum of 204 FPS at 4K is still higher than the High preset’s average, demonstrating the scaling efficiency of the settings hierarchy.

The data shows that the Medium preset consistently provides the most balanced performance across all resolutions, with minimum FPS values that are only 53-26 FPS below the averages. At 4K, the Medium preset’s minimum of 151 FPS is notably higher than the Ultra preset’s average of 106 FPS, suggesting that players seeking consistent frame rates should favor Medium over Ultra at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 457th out of 3716 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the 87.7th percentile. This means the system outperforms approximately 87.7% of all other CPU-GPU combinations tested for this game. The rank reflects the synergistic balance between the CPU’s high single-thread performance and the GPU’s substantial rendering capabilities.

The ranking position is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows the system rarely dips below 100 FPS even at 4K Ultra. For context, the RTX 5070’s synthetic benchmark scores show it performing 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580 and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 in average benchmark scores. The GPU’s 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates that it is a high-performing part, but the 457th combo ranking suggests that the CPU-GPU pairing is well-matched for this particular title.

The top 12.3% placement is notable for a game released in 2016, as Inside is not a graphically demanding title by modern standards. The combination’s strength lies in its ability to maintain extremely high frame rates at lower resolutions, which reflects the CPU’s efficiency at handling high-FPS workloads. The ranking also reflects the diminishing returns of higher settings at 4K, where the system still delivers playable frame rates but does not exhibit the same dominance as at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing maximum frame rates at 1080p, the Low preset at 387 FPS offers the highest possible performance, but the Medium preset at 357 FPS provides a better balance with only a 30 FPS penalty. The Medium preset’s minimum of 304 FPS ensures that frame drops are less noticeable, making it the recommended choice for competitive or high-refresh-rate displays. The Ultra preset at 234 FPS still exceeds 200 FPS, but the additional visual fidelity may not justify the 123 FPS reduction from Low.

At 1440p, the Medium preset stands out as the optimal choice. With an average of 282 FPS and a minimum of 240 FPS, it delivers a smooth experience that is 106 FPS higher than High settings and 114 FPS higher than Ultra. The Low preset at 347 FPS remains the fastest option, but Medium offers a better visual quality-to-performance ratio for most users. The High and Ultra presets, at 176 and 168 FPS respectively, are still playable but represent a significant step down in frame rate.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the clear winner. With 177 FPS average and a minimum of 151 FPS, it provides the best combination of visual fidelity and performance. The Low preset at 222 FPS is faster but sacrifices visual quality, while the High preset at 111 FPS and Ultra at 106 FPS are closer to the threshold where frame pacing might become noticeable. The Medium preset’s minimum of 151 FPS is 45 FPS higher than the Ultra preset’s average, making it the safest choice for maintaining consistent frame delivery at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. Its base clock of 2325 MHz and boost clock of 2512 MHz, combined with 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, deliver a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is crucial for Inside’s rendering workload, which involves detailed 2.5D environments and dynamic lighting effects. The GPU’s 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 compute provides ample headroom for the game’s shader complexity.

The GPU’s role is most evident at 4K, where it becomes the primary bottleneck. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (106) versus 4K Low (222) shows a 116 FPS spread, indicating that the GPU is fully utilized across all settings. The RTX 5070’s 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs positions it as a high-end part, but the 4K Ultra result of 106 FPS demonstrates that even this GPU encounters limits with demanding settings at higher resolutions. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for Inside, which does not require excessive memory for its art assets.

The GPU’s performance in synthetic benchmarks shows it averaging 40377, with a Passmark G3D score of 29137 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077. These figures indicate strong DirectX 12 performance, which aligns with the game’s requirements. The GPU’s 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores provide future-proofing for other titles, but for Inside, the traditional rasterization performance is what drives the measured frame rates. The GPU’s texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s ensure that the game’s environmental details are rendered without stutter, even at lower resolutions where the CPU is pushing high frame rates.