Inside

The pairing of AMD's Ryzen 9 9900X3D with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 produces a fascinating bottleneck dynamic in Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer. The data reveals a system where the CPU's immense headroom is consistently capped by the GPU's age, yet the overall experience remains highly playable. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions, the specific roles of each component, and how this combination stacks up against a large field of tested hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data for Inside shows a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional frame rates, but the margin for error shrinks dramatically as pixel count rises. The most telling comparison is the High settings preset, which shows a clear linear degradation: 128 FPS at 1080p drops to 92 FPS at 1440p, and further down to 58 FPS at 4K. This represents a 55% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, a steep curve that strongly indicates the RTX 2060 is the primary limiting component.

The scaling behavior at Low settings reinforces this interpretation. The jump from 256 FPS at 1080p to 184 FPS at 1440p is a 28% drop, but the move from 1440p to 4K is far more brutal, falling to 116 FPS—a 37% reduction. This non-linear drop at higher resolutions is the signature of a GPU that is running out of pixel throughput. The RTX 2060's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are simply being saturated by the 4K workload, whereas the CPU has ample resources to spare.

Interestingly, the Medium preset shows the most stable relative scaling. The data lists 205 FPS at 1080p, 147 FPS at 1440p, and 93 FPS at 4K. The frame time data here is complete, with min/max values of 174/236 at 1080p, 125/169 at 1440p, and 79/106 at 4K. The variance between minimum and maximum frames increases proportionally with resolution, suggesting that the GPU's memory subsystem is under increasing strain. The fact that 4K Medium (93 FPS) outperforms 4K High (58 FPS) by 60% shows that texture and shader complexity are the key stressors for this GPU.

The Ultra preset follows the same downward slope: 122 FPS at 1080p, 88 FPS at 1440p, and 55 FPS at 4K. The near-identical performance between High and Ultra at 4K (58 vs 55 FPS) suggests that the game's Ultra settings introduce diminishing returns, pushing the RTX 2060 to its absolute limit. In all cases, the data points to a single conclusion: resolution scaling in Inside is governed almost entirely by the GPU, with the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's raw compute power never becoming a limiting factor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It operates on a 4 nm process from TSMC and features a base clock of 4.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The 128 MB of L3 cache is a defining feature, providing a massive pool of fast memory for game data. In the context of Inside, a game that is not heavily multithreaded, this CPU is overwhelmingly overqualified.

Benchmark results show the 9900X3D's strengths. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737 and single-core score of 6739 place it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. The Geekbench scores of 22884 (multicore) and 3041 (single-core) corroborate this. For a game like Inside, which relies on consistent frame pacing rather than extreme physics calculations, the single-thread performance is most relevant. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1269 and the PassMark single-thread score of 4646 indicate that this CPU will never struggle to feed the GPU with draw calls.

The CPU's role in this pairing is to eliminate any possibility of a CPU-side frame rate cap. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 256 FPS, a figure that approaches the practical limits of many displays. Even at this extreme, the CPU does not appear to be the bottleneck, as the frame rate scales down smoothly with resolution. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D's TDP of 120 W and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth provide a robust platform, but for Inside, the CPU's utilization is likely minimal.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the CPU's performance is well within the expected range. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF has an average benchmark score of 55093, which is -0.6% relative to the 9900X3D. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K is 1.3% behind, and the Intel Xeon 6505P and Intel Core i7-14700F are 2% and 2.1% behind, respectively. This means the 9900X3D is statistically tied with these processors in synthetic tests, and in a game like Inside, the differences would be imperceptible. The CPU's power is simply not the constraining factor in this combo.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the clear performance limiter in this system. Based on the Turing architecture and the TU106 chip, this GPU features 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. It has a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 2060's PassMark G3D score of 14111 places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, which is respectable but far from high-end.

The GPU's benchmarks show moderate compute capability. The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 110 and DirectX 12 score of 53 indicate that it can handle modern APIs, but the 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is modest. In Inside, the GPU's pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s are the specifications that directly influence the measured FPS. At 4K, the GPU is working at its limits, as evidenced by the 58 FPS average at High settings.

The VRAM capacity of 6 GB is sufficient for Inside, which is a visually simple game, but it is a potential concern for other titles. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy based on the GPU's capabilities. The RTX 2060's nearest rivals highlight its position: the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 has a deltaPct of 0%, meaning it scores identically on average. The AMD Radeon 680M is 0.1% behind, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM is 0.6% behind, and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is 0.8% behind. This grouping suggests that the RTX 2060 is a competent 1080p and 1440p card, but the 4K data in this game shows it struggling to maintain 60 FPS on the higher presets.

The GPU's role is to render the scene, and the data shows it does so effectively up to 1440p. At 1080p, the GPU delivers well over 120 FPS on all presets, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. At 1440p, the GPU maintains playable frame rates, with 92 FPS on High being the most demanding setting that still exceeds 60 FPS. The 4K results, while playable, require dropping to Medium or Low settings to achieve smooth performance, highlighting the GPU's limitations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and RTX 2060 ranks 2253 out of 2887 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is a direct consequence of the GPU's age relative to the CPU's modernity. The rank of 2253 indicates that there are 2252 other combinations that achieve higher average frame rates in this game. This is not surprising, as the RTX 2060 is an end-of-life product, while the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a flagship-level CPU.

The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's performance ceiling. While the CPU is in the 91st percentile, the GPU is only in the 58th percentile. The combo's rank reflects the weakest link, which is the GPU. The data suggests that pairing this CPU with a more powerful GPU would yield a significantly higher rank, as the CPU's headroom is vast. Conversely, pairing the RTX 2060 with a weaker CPU would result in a similar rank, as the GPU would still be the bottleneck.

In practical terms, the combo rank of 2253 means that the system is outclassed by a large number of configurations. However, the measured FPS data shows that this rank does not translate to a poor experience. The combo achieves 128 FPS at 1080p High and 92 FPS at 1440p High, which are excellent results. The rank is a reflection of the database's broad spectrum of hardware, and the RTX 2060's age is the primary factor holding this combo back from a higher placement.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers outstanding performance across all presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 256 FPS, which is extremely high and suitable for competitive play. The Medium preset averages 205 FPS, with a minimum of 174 FPS and a maximum of 236 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. The High preset averages 128 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 122 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects do not heavily tax the GPU at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU's strain. The Low preset drops to 184 FPS, still a very high figure. The Medium preset averages 147 FPS, with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS. This is a 28% drop from the 1080p Medium result, consistent with the increased pixel count. The High preset averages 92 FPS, which is playable but noticeably lower. The Ultra preset averages 88 FPS, showing that the GPU is still capable of handling the game at this resolution with high settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is pushed to its limits. The Low preset is the only one that breaks the 100 FPS barrier, averaging 116 FPS. The Medium preset averages 93 FPS, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. The High preset drops to 58 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 55 FPS. The data shows that to achieve a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, the Medium preset is the highest quality setting that can be used reliably. The High and Ultra presets are borderline, with average frame rates just below 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with High settings?

A: The system averages 92 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming smoothly?

A: Yes, but only at lower presets. The data shows 116 FPS on Low, 93 FPS on Medium, and 58 FPS on High at 3840x2160. To maintain 60 FPS, Medium settings are recommended.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54762. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF is 0.6% behind, while the Intel Core i7-14700F is 2.1% behind, making them statistically similar in performance.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, based on its average benchmark score of 15290.

Q: What is the frame time variance at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 93, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS, showing a variance of 27 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The benchmark data indicates the frame rate scales inversely with resolution, which is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's single-core and multicore scores are far in excess of what Inside requires.