Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a puzzle platformer that is far less demanding than modern AAA titles. The data shows this pairing produces extremely high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, positioning it as a top-tier configuration for this game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, built on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 64 MB L3 cache. In the context of Inside, this CPU is massively overprovisioned; the game's simple physics and logic do not require this level of multi-threaded horsepower.

Benchmark results confirm the processor's strength. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 42713, and the single-core score is 6030. The PassMark multi-thread score sits at 51405, while single-thread performance is 3907. This places the CPU in the 95th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 76212. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, scores an average of 76155, a negligible 0.1% difference. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D trails by 0.6% with a score of 75779, while the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX are behind by 0.4% each.

For Inside, the CPU's high single-core performance is more relevant than its 32 threads. The game's logic is largely single-threaded, so the 6030 Cinebench R23 single-core score ensures there is no bottleneck in frame pacing or physics calculations. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 357 FPS, a figure that suggests the CPU is well ahead of the game's demands. In comparison to the competing Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, the 8945HX is effectively tied in overall CPU benchmarks, meaning either processor would deliver identical results in Inside. The CPU's role here is to stay out of the way, and it does so with considerable headroom.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU with 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units. It has 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2617 MHz. Memory consists of 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 256-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This configuration yields a FP32 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS.

In PassMark G3D testing, the RTX 5080 scores 36565, placing it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 56083. The nearest rival is the AMD Radeon 8060S with an average score of 55757, which is 0.6% slower. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE is 2.2% ahead with a score of 57367, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 0.7% behind and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X trails by 2.3%.

For Inside, the GPU's raw rasterization power is the primary driver of performance. The game has modest texture and shading requirements, but the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM and high memory bandwidth ensure that even at 4K Ultra settings, there is no memory pressure. The measured results show a clear scaling pattern tied to GPU load. At 1080p with Low settings, the GPU produces 357 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 97 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor as resolution increases, but even the worst-case scenario of 97 FPS at 4K Ultra is far above the playable threshold. The RTX 5080's 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for the game's art assets, and its boost clock of 2617 MHz ensures high fill rates. The GPU is not a bottleneck at any tested setting, but it is the component that dictates the upper FPS ceiling as resolution scales.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the system scales from 1080p to 4K, revealing the shift in bottleneck from CPU to GPU. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 357 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 320 FPS, an 11% reduction. At 4K Low, the average is 204 FPS, which is 43% lower than 1080p Low. This pattern is consistent across all settings presets.

For High settings, the progression is 226 FPS at 1080p, 163 FPS at 1440p (28% drop), and 102 FPS at 4K (55% drop from 1080p). The Medium preset shows a similar trend: 330 FPS at 1080p, 260 FPS at 1440p, and 163 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset yields 215 FPS at 1080p, 155 FPS at 1440p, and 97 FPS at 4K.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is relatively modest, indicating that at 1080p, the CPU is still contributing to the frame rate ceiling. The drop from 1440p to 4K is more pronounced, showing the GPU becoming the dominant limiter. For example, at High settings, the 1440p to 4K drop is 37%, while the 1080p to 1440p drop is 28%. This suggests that the RTX 5080's rendering throughput is the primary constraint at 4K. The 1080p results are so high that they exceed typical high-refresh-rate monitors, meaning the CPU is the limiting factor at that resolution. At 4K, the GPU's workload increases significantly, and the frame rates, while still high, reflect the GPU's raw performance ceiling. The 4K Low result of 204 FPS versus the 4K Ultra result of 97 FPS shows a 110% performance difference, highlighting how much headroom exists in the GPU for less demanding settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience. The Medium preset at 1440p yields an average of 260 FPS, with a minimum of 221 FPS and a maximum of 299 FPS. This combination of high average and tight frame window indicates a smooth experience. At 1080p Medium, the average jumps to 330 FPS, but the minimum of 280 FPS shows that the CPU is still capable of maintaining high frame rates.

For players targeting 4K, the High preset delivers an average of 102 FPS, which is playable but not as fluid as lower resolutions. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 97 FPS, a marginal difference from High. Given that the High preset at 4K produces 102 FPS, while Ultra produces 97 FPS, the visual fidelity gain from Ultra is not worth the 5% performance loss. The Low preset at 4K produces 204 FPS, which is overkill for most displays and sacrifices visual quality unnecessarily.

The best overall experience is the Medium preset at 1440p. It provides 260 FPS average with a minimum of 221 FPS, ensuring consistent frame times. This is superior to the High preset at 1440p, which averages 163 FPS. The Medium preset offers a 60% performance uplift over High at the same resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset's 330 FPS average is only exceeded by Low's 357 FPS, but the visual improvements of Medium make it the better choice. The Ultra preset at any resolution does not provide a compelling benefit; at 1080p it runs at 215 FPS, which is 35% slower than Medium while offering minimal visual differences in a game like Inside. Consequently, the Medium preset at 1440p is the recommended balance of visual quality and performance, with the High preset at 4K being the fallback for higher-resolution displays.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is placed at rank 581 out of 2887 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the top 20% of all configurations. The high rank reflects the extreme performance headroom this pairing has for a game that is not graphically intensive.

The CPU's 95th percentile standing among all processors and the GPU's 87th percentile among all GPUs contribute to this strong ranking. The combo outperforms the majority of systems, which likely include older or lower-tier components. The 1080p Low result of 357 FPS is a strong indicator of the system's capability; many combos would struggle to reach half that figure. The 4K Ultra result of 97 FPS is also above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay, which many systems cannot achieve at that resolution.

The rank of 581 out of 2887 means that 2306 combos are slower, and only 580 are faster. Those faster combos likely feature even more powerful GPUs or CPUs, but for Inside, the practical difference is negligible because the game's engine is not demanding enough to differentiate between top-tier hardware. The data shows that this combo is in the upper echelon of performance, and the marginal gains from higher-ranked systems would not be perceptible in actual gameplay. The bottleneck at 1080p is the CPU, but at 4K, the GPU is the constraint, and both components are so powerful that the rank is more a measure of theoretical capability than practical advantage in this specific title.

FAQ

*Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Medium settings in Inside?*

A: The measured average FPS is 330, with a minimum of 280 and a maximum of 379.

Q: How does the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX compare to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX in overall CPU benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 9 8945HX has an average benchmark score of 76212, while the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX scores 76155. The difference is a 0.1% delta, making them effectively equal in performance.

Q: What is the performance difference between 4K High and 4K Ultra settings for this combo?

A: At 4K High, the average FPS is 102, while at 4K Ultra it is 97. This represents a 5% drop in performance when moving from High to Ultra.

*Q: Is the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for Inside at 4K?*

A: Yes, the 16 GB of GDDR7 memory with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is more than enough. The measured 4K Ultra result of 97 FPS indicates no memory-related bottleneck.

*Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations in Inside?*

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX + RTX 5080 combo is ranked 581 out of 2887 tested combos.

Q: Which resolution and settings provide the highest minimum FPS?

A: The 1080p Medium preset has a minimum FPS of 280. The 1440p Medium preset has a minimum of 221 FPS. The highest minimum is at 1080p Medium.