Inside

Inside, a 2D puzzle platformer from 2016, proves remarkably forgiving on modern hardware. The benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher settings, yet so powerful at lower settings that it approaches the ceiling of what a 1080p display can show. The measured frame rates reveal a clear hierarchy: resolution scaling dictates the experience far more than the CPU, with the RTX 3060 Ti acting as the primary bottleneck in demanding scenarios. The data indicates this pairing is overkill for the game's baseline requirements, but the specific performance deltas between settings provide a useful map for optimizing visual fidelity versus frame rate.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly demonstrates where the system's limits reside. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 140.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 103.6 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 36.8 FPS. Pushing further to 3840x2160 yields just 61.7 FPS, meaning the jump from 1440p to 4K costs another 41.9 FPS. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 3060 Ti is the limiting component; the rendering load at 4K is more than double that of 1080p, and the GPU's 8 GB of VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed heavily.

The pattern persists across all settings. At Ultra, the frame rate plummets from 131.8 FPS at 1080p to 95.3 FPS at 1440p, and finally to a sub-60 FPS 58.7 at 4K. This 73.1 FPS swing between the lowest and highest resolution at Ultra settings confirms that pixel throughput is the dominant factor. Conversely, at Low settings, the system shows its strength: 283 FPS at 1080p, 201.8 FPS at 1440p, and 128.2 FPS at 4K. Even at 4K Low, the average frame rate is more than double the 60 FPS target, showing that the CPU, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, is never the constraint. The data suggests that 4K is only viable for this combo at Low or Medium settings, while 1440p and 1080p offer headroom for higher quality presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the decisive factor in this game's performance envelope. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game's art style but becomes a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the average frame rate drops to 58.7. The GPU's boost clock of 1665 MHz and its 4864 shading units deliver 16.20 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, yet the benchmark results indicate that raw compute is less important than memory throughput in this title. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is 69.5 FPS (128.2 vs 58.7), a far larger absolute difference than the 151.2 FPS gap at 1080p (283 vs 131.8), underscoring how the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are saturated as resolution increases.

The RTX 3060 Ti sits in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals—the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, RX 6600, and Radeon 890M—all have average benchmark scores within 0.7% of it. This tells a story of a GPU that is solidly mid-range in 2024 terms, yet the Inside data shows it handling this older title with ease except at the most extreme settings. The GPU's 80 ROPs and 152 TMUs are more than adequate for the game's 2D sprites and lighting effects, but the 8 GB VRAM capacity is the clear ceiling; at 4K Ultra, the system is likely swapping textures, which explains why the frame rate falls just below the 60 FPS threshold.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 283 FPS, achieved at Low settings. At Medium, it drops to 226.9 FPS, and at High it is 140.4 FPS, with Ultra yielding 131.8 FPS.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only at lower presets. At Medium settings, the average is 101.6 FPS, and at Low it is 128.2 FPS. However, at High settings the average falls to 61.7 FPS, and at Ultra it drops below 60 FPS to 58.7.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X has an average benchmark score of 54450, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. It is 0.4% slower than the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, 0.7% faster than the Intel Core i7-14700F, and 1.5% to 1.8% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and 245KF.

Q: Is the GPU more or less powerful than the AMD Radeon RX 6600?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti has an average benchmark score of 25120, which is 0.5% lower than the RX 6600's score of 25235. This puts them statistically at parity, with the RX 6600 having a negligible edge.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings produce an average of 103.6 FPS, while Ultra produces 95.3 FPS. The difference is 8.3 FPS, indicating that the visual upgrade from Ultra may not be worth the performance cost at this resolution.

Q: At what settings does the frame rate exceed 200 FPS?

A: Only at 1080p Medium (226.9 FPS) and 1080p Low (283 FPS). At 1440p, even Low settings only reach 201.8 FPS, falling just short of the 200 FPS mark.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to a clear recommendation: Medium settings at 1080p or 1440p offer the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. At 1920x1080, Medium yields 226.9 FPS, which is 86.5 FPS higher than High and 95.1 FPS higher than Ultra. The jump from Low to Medium costs 56.1 FPS (from 283 to 226.9), but the visual improvement in a puzzle platformer is substantial. At 2560x1440, Medium delivers 158.7 FPS, which is still far above the 60 FPS target and provides a 55.1 FPS advantage over High. For users with 4K displays, Medium is the only sensible choice, as it hits 101.6 FPS, more than double the 58.7 FPS at Ultra and comfortably above the 61.7 FPS at High.

Ultra settings are not worth the penalty. At every resolution, Ultra is the slowest preset, and the delta between High and Ultra is consistent: 8.6 FPS at 1080p, 8.3 FPS at 1440p, and 3.0 FPS at 4K. This suggests that Ultra adds minimal visual complexity while taxing the GPU disproportionately. The data argues for a "High as the ceiling, Medium as the sweet spot" approach. Low settings are only advisable for competitive frame rates above 200 FPS, which is unnecessary for a game like Inside.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1166 out of 1671 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the 30th percentile of all possible pairings, which is surprising given the individual component strengths. The CPU is in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, but the GPU is only in the 69th percentile, and the game is clearly GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The ranking reflects that many other tested combos likely feature more powerful GPUs, which would push frame rates higher at 4K Ultra. The combo's position is not a reflection of poor performance—the data shows it handles the game admirably—but rather of the fact that the RTX 3060 Ti is a mid-range card from 2020 that is now outclassed by newer options.

The rank of 1166 out of 1671 indicates that roughly 70% of tested configurations outperform this one in Inside. This is expected, as the game's low system requirements mean that even a modest modern GPU paired with a strong CPU will hit high frame rates. The Ryzen 9 9900X's 24 threads are overkill for this title, but they prevent any CPU bottleneck, ensuring that the RTX 3060 Ti is always the limiting factor. For users upgrading from an older system, this combo still delivers a flawless 4K Medium experience, but it is not a top-tier performer in the database's rankings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows the system's headroom. Low settings produce an average of 283 FPS, Medium drops to 226.9 FPS, High falls to 140.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 131.8 FPS. The 151.2 FPS gap between Low and Ultra is the largest of any resolution, indicating that the CPU is not a factor at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 201.8 FPS at Low, 158.7 FPS at Medium, 103.6 FPS at High, and 95.3 FPS at Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 106.5 FPS, showing a more balanced scaling as the GPU load increases. The 1440p Medium result of 158.7 FPS is the best compromise for high refresh rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings still manage 128.2 FPS, but Medium falls to 101.6 FPS, High to 61.7 FPS, and Ultra to 58.7 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that fails to reach 60 FPS, and it does so by just 1.3 FPS. The data shows that 4K High is borderline playable, but 4K Medium is the recommended target for a smooth experience.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X plays a supporting role in Inside, but its specifications ensure it never becomes a hindrance. With 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, the CPU has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 46438 and single-core score of 6555 place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rival, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, is only 0.4% faster. This raw power means that even at 1080p Low, where the frame rate hits 283 FPS, the CPU is not the limiting factor; the RTX 3060 Ti is still the constraint.

The CPU's 64 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support provide ample bandwidth for the game's logic and asset streaming. The benchmark data shows no scenario where the CPU's performance ceiling is reached. At 1080p Low, the GPU is rendering 283 frames per second, and if the CPU were weaker, this number would be lower. The fact that the frame rate scales linearly with resolution and settings—not with CPU load—confirms that the Ryzen 9 9900X is performing its role flawlessly. For a game like Inside, which is not CPU-intensive, this processor is vastly overprovisioned, but that headroom guarantees consistent frame pacing and eliminates any possibility of stutter from background tasks.