Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a game that is far more demanding at high frame rates than its minimalist aesthetic suggests. The data shows this combo ranks in the 94th percentile for the CPU and 84th for the GPU, and the measured frame rates confirm a system that obliterates 4K Ultra, though the scaling pattern reveals where the bottleneck truly lies.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 427.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 232.6 FPS at 3840x2160, a 45.6% reduction. This massive scaling loss is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RTX 4070 SUPER’s 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 35.48 TFLOPS compute are being saturated by the 4K pixel workload.

However, the scaling pattern at Ultra settings tells a different story. Moving from 1080p Ultra (243.2 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (177.4 FPS) drops performance by 27%, but the subsequent 1440p-to-4K Ultra transition only reduces the average from 177.4 to 113.2 FPS, a 36% loss. This non-linear scaling suggests that while the GPU is stressed at 4K, the Ryzen 9 9900X’s 12 cores and 5.60 GHz boost clock are still feeding frames fast enough to avoid a catastrophic collapse. At 1080p Low, the 427.4 FPS figure is so high that the CPU’s single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 1286) becomes the theoretical ceiling, not the GPU.

The data clearly shows that 4K is where this combo shines in absolute terms, but the frame rate cliff between Medium and Ultra at every resolution indicates that the game’s Ultra preset introduces effects that disproportionately tax the GPU. At 4K, the gap between Medium (187.3 FPS) and Ultra (113.2 FPS) is 39.6%, which is far larger than the 1080p gap between the same settings (393.7 vs 243.2, a 38.2% difference). This suggests the RTX 4070 SUPER’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is sufficient for 4K, but the compute load from Ultra settings on this Ada Lovelace chip (AD104) is what drives the frame rate down.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places this configuration at rank 103 out of 1671 tested combos in Inside, positioning it in the top 6.2% of all systems benchmarked. This is a strong result, though not a top-tier one, and the ranking reflects a balance between the CPU’s 94th percentile standing and the GPU’s 84th percentile. The combo outperforms the vast majority of systems, but it is not in the same league as flagship 4090-tier builds.

The CPU’s nearest rivals show how close the 9900X is to its siblings. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D scores 54681 on average, just 0.4% higher, meaning the 3D V-Cache variant offers no meaningful advantage in this game’s workload. The Intel Core i7-14700F trails by 0.7%, while the Core Ultra 5 245K and 245KF lead by 1.5% and 1.8% respectively. These sub-2% deltas confirm that Inside is not a CPU-sensitive title at these frame rates; the 12-core, 24-thread Ryzen 9 is simply not the differentiator.

For the GPU, the RTX 4070 SUPER sits within 1.6% of its nearest rivals, which include the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (0.2% ahead) and AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (0.3% ahead). The AMD Radeon Pro 580X and NVIDIA Tesla M40 trail by 1.4% and 1.6% respectively. This clustering shows that the 4070 SUPER’s average benchmark score of 42576 is not exceptional for its class, but in Inside specifically, the measured FPS demonstrates that the GPU delivers far more than its synthetic scores suggest, especially at 1440p and below.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on Zen 5 architecture, built on TSMC’s 4 nm process. Its base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz provide the raw single-thread speed that Inside’s physics and logic systems require. The CPU’s 3dmark_single_thread score of 1286 and passmark_single_thread score of 4672 are strong, but the game’s actual frame rates at 1080p Low (427.4 FPS) suggest the CPU is not the primary limiter even at extreme refresh rates.

The multi-threaded benchmarks reveal the CPU’s capacity for background tasks and streaming. The cinebench_r23_multicore score of 46438 and geekbench_multicore score of 19827 are elite, but Inside is not a game that scales across 12 cores. The 3dmark_16_threads score of 12552 versus the max_threads score of 13929 shows only an 11% gain from adding more threads, indicating diminishing returns. This is a game where the Ryzen 9’s 64 MB of shared L3 cache (larger than the per-core L1 and L2) helps with scene data, but the 5.60 GHz boost clock is the more critical specification.

The CPU’s 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth on DDR5 dual-channel is sufficient for the game’s asset streaming, and the PCIe Gen 5 interface ensures the GPU has full bandwidth. In practical terms, the 9900X never becomes the bottleneck in this combo. The data proves this: the FPS difference between 1080p Low (427.4) and 1440p Low (368.8) is only 13.7%, which is far less than the 4K Low drop to 232.6 FPS. The CPU is feeding frames faster than the GPU can render them until 4K, where the GPU finally takes over as the limiting component.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a complete picture of performance.

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4070 SUPER is rarely stressed. Low settings produce an average of 427.4 FPS, which drops to 393.7 FPS at Medium and 257.5 FPS at High. The Ultra preset, at 243.2 FPS, is only 5.7% slower than High, suggesting that the Ultra preset’s additional effects are not computationally expensive at this resolution. The 1080p results are all well above 240 Hz, meaning the GPU is leaving performance on the table for any 240 Hz or lower refresh display.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but the scaling becomes more pronounced. Low averages 368.8 FPS, Medium drops to 291.7 FPS, and High falls to 181.7 FPS. Ultra is close to High at 177.4 FPS, a 2.4% difference. The 1440p High and Ultra results are still above 144 Hz, making this the sweet spot for high-refresh gaming. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings costs 29.4% performance (257.5 to 181.7 FPS), which is a reasonable price for the resolution increase.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is fully engaged. Low averages 232.6 FPS, Medium drops to 187.3 FPS, and High falls to 115.9 FPS. Ultra is the most demanding at 113.2 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is only 2.3%, which is the smallest across all resolutions, indicating that the Ultra preset’s overhead is relatively fixed regardless of resolution. The 4K Low result of 232.6 FPS shows that even at maximum pixel count, the 4070 SUPER can exceed 200 FPS when settings are reduced.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the AD104 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, manufactured on TSMC’s 5 nm process. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is the key specification for Inside’s high-resolution textures. The GPU’s 7168 shading units and 224 TMUs handle the game’s side-scrolling detail, while the 80 ROPs manage pixel output.

The GPU’s 1980 MHz base clock and 2475 MHz boost clock are moderate, but the 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 compute is substantial for a title like Inside. The 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 4627 and passmark_g3d score of 29995 are solid, but the measured FPS in Inside far exceeds what these synthetic scores would predict. At 1440p High, the 181.7 FPS average is 57% higher than the 4K High result, confirming that the GPU’s compute is the limiting factor at 4K.

The 12 GB VRAM is never a constraint in this game. The fact that 4K Ultra (113.2 FPS) is only slightly slower than 4K High (115.9 FPS) suggests the game’s memory footprint is well within the 12 GB capacity. The GPU’s 121.8M transistors per mm² density on a 294 mm² die indicates the AD104 is a dense chip, but Inside’s art style does not push ray tracing or DLSS, meaning the 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores go largely unused. The GPU’s passmark_directx_12 score of 110 versus the directx_11 score of 273 shows that the game’s DirectX 12 path is not the primary advantage here; the raw rasterization throughput is what matters.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K 120 FPS?*

A: Yes, but only at High settings. The measured 4K High average is 115.9 FPS, which is below 120 FPS. At Medium settings, the 187.3 FPS average comfortably exceeds 120 FPS, and at Low settings, the 232.6 FPS average is more than double that target.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximum frame rate?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 427.4 FPS, which is the highest measured result. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 243.2 FPS average is sufficient for any high-refresh display. The data shows that 1080p is never a bottleneck for this hardware.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X holding back the RTX 4070 SUPER in this game?

A: No. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K. The CPU’s 3dmark_single_thread score of 1286 and boost clock of 5.60 GHz are enough to feed the GPU at all resolutions, as evidenced by the 232.6 FPS 4K Low result.

Q: How does this combo compare to the average system?

A: It ranks 103rd out of 1671 combos, placing it in the top 6.2% of all tested configurations. The CPU is in the 94th percentile and the GPU in the 84th percentile, making this a high-end but not flagship-tier build.

Q: What is the difference between High and Ultra settings?

A: The performance cost is small. At 4K, High averages 115.9 FPS and Ultra averages 113.2 FPS, a 2.3% difference. At 1440p, the gap is 181.7 FPS versus 177.4 FPS, also under 3%. Ultra appears to offer marginal visual improvements for a minimal frame rate penalty.

Q: Does the GPU’s VRAM capacity matter for this game?

A: No. The 12 GB GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient. The 4K Ultra result of 113.2 FPS, which is close to the 4K High result, indicates the game does not exceed the VRAM buffer, as a memory bottleneck would cause a much larger performance drop.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the Ultra preset is not worth the small frame rate penalty it imposes. Across all resolutions, the difference between High and Ultra averages only 2.5%, meaning players should select High for nearly identical visuals with slightly better performance. At 1080p, High (257.5 FPS) versus Ultra (243.2 FPS) is a 5.9% difference, which is the largest gap, but still imperceptible in real-world gameplay.

For 4K, the High preset at 115.9 FPS is the best balance, as it stays above 100 FPS and avoids the 113.2 FPS Ultra dip. Players seeking maximum frame rates on a 144 Hz 4K display should drop to Medium, which yields 187.3 FPS, a 61.6% improvement over High. At 1440p, the Medium preset at 291.7 FPS is overkill for most displays, so High at 181.7 FPS is recommended for the best visual quality while staying above 144 Hz.

The Low preset offers no advantage at 1080p (427.4 FPS) or 1440p (368.8 FPS) beyond extreme refresh rates, but at 4K, Low at 232.6 FPS is the only way to exceed 200 FPS. Given that Inside is a puzzle platformer with a dark, atmospheric art style, the visual fidelity of High is worth the modest performance cost. The data supports High as the default recommendation, with Medium as the fallback for 4K high-refresh displays.