Inside

# Inside — AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a 2016 Puzzle Platformer that is far from demanding by modern standards. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings are extremely high, with the lowest average being 98 FPS at 4K Ultra. This combination ranks 423rd out of 2,887 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 15% of all configurations. The data reveals a system that is massively overqualified for the title, with performance characteristics that shift from GPU-bound at 4K to increasingly CPU-bound at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic performance curve that indicates where the bottleneck lies at each resolution. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 228 at 1920x1080 to 164 at 2560x1440, then further to 103 at 3840x2160. This represents a 28% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 37% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern shows that the RTX 3080 Ti is the limiting factor at 4K, as the pixel throughput demand increases significantly.

Looking at Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic. The 1080p Low preset achieves 425 FPS, which drops to 329 FPS at 1440p and 206 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 23% and 37% respectively, following a similar pattern to High settings. Interestingly, the fact that 4K Low still produces 206 FPS while 1080p Low produces 425 FPS suggests that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still doing substantial work at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset provides the most complete data with min and max FPS recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 366 FPS with a range of 311 to 420 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 263 FPS with a range of 223 to 302 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 165 FPS with a range of 140 to 190 FPS. The consistent spread between min and max FPS across resolutions suggests stable frame pacing, with the spread being roughly 30% of the average at each resolution.

The Ultra preset shows the most GPU-bound behavior. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 218 FPS, dropping to 156 FPS at 1440p and 98 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K represents a 55% reduction in frame rate, which is consistent with the 4x increase in pixel count. This indicates that at Ultra settings, the RTX 3080 Ti is the primary limiting component across all resolutions, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed the GPU.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU begins to play a more significant role, particularly at Low settings where 425 FPS approaches the practical limit for many display technologies. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D with its 12 cores and 24 threads provides substantial processing power, but even this CPU cannot push frame rates beyond the measured figures. The diminishing returns from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (a 23% drop) versus the larger drop from 1440p to 4K (37%) indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more important as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which settings preset delivers the best experience for this hardware combination. At 4K, the difference between High and Ultra is minimal in terms of playability: 103 FPS versus 98 FPS, a 5% difference. However, the Medium preset at 4K delivers 165 FPS, which is 60% higher than Ultra. For a puzzle platformer like Inside, where precise timing is rarely critical, even the 98 FPS at 4K Ultra is perfectly smooth. The data suggests that 4K Ultra is viable, but 4K High offers a better balance with a 5% frame rate increase and likely identical visual quality for this art style.

At 1440p, all presets exceed 156 FPS, with the Low preset reaching 329 FPS. The Medium preset at 263 FPS provides the best combination of visual fidelity and performance headroom for high-refresh-rate displays. The Ultra preset at 156 FPS still exceeds the refresh rate of most 1440p monitors, making it a completely viable choice. For players with 144Hz or 165Hz displays, 1440p Ultra is the recommended preset, as it provides maximum visual quality while staying above the refresh rate threshold.

At 1080p, the situation is reversed. The Ultra preset delivers 218 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of virtually all gaming monitors. The Low preset at 425 FPS is only relevant for competitive scenarios or esports-style play, which is not applicable to a puzzle platformer. The Medium preset at 366 FPS offers no practical advantage over Ultra for standard display technology. The recommendation for 1080p is to use Ultra settings, as the frame rate is already well beyond what any display can show, and the additional visual quality comes at no practical cost.

The Medium preset across all resolutions shows the most consistent frame pacing, with recorded min FPS values of 311 at 1080p, 223 at 1440p, and 140 at 4K. These minimum frame rates are still exceptionally smooth, with even the lowest 4K Medium frame rate of 140 FPS being far above the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay. The data indicates that Medium settings provide the most stable experience, but the differences between presets are minimal in absolute terms given the high frame rates throughout.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved with this hardware combination in Inside?*

A: The highest measured average is 425 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest measured average is 98 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti perform relative to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41,187. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB, scores 41,707, which is 1.2% higher. The AMD Radeon Pro 5300 scores 40,870, which is 0.8% lower.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 228 FPS at 1920x1080 to 103 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 55% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 9900X3D outperform its nearest rival in CPU benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54,762. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, scores 55,093, which is 0.6% higher. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K scores 54,053, which is 1.3% lower than the Ryzen.

*Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded for this combo in Inside?*

A: The only settings that recorded min FPS values are the Medium presets. At 4K Medium, the min FPS is 140. At 1440p Medium, the min FPS is 223. At 1080p Medium, the min FPS is 311.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for Inside?*

A: This combination ranks 423rd out of 2,887 tested combos, placing it in the top 15% of all configurations tested for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination ranks 423rd out of 2,887 tested combos for Inside. This places the configuration in the 85th percentile of all tested combinations, meaning it outperforms approximately 85% of all other CPU-GPU pairings tested in this game. The high ranking is expected given the powerful components involved, but the specific rank reveals something interesting about the game's requirements.

Inside is a puzzle platformer that does not stress modern hardware significantly. The fact that this combo ranks 423rd rather than in the top 100 suggests that many other combinations achieve similar or higher frame rates. This is likely because the game's performance ceiling is reached relatively quickly, and additional hardware power beyond a certain point yields diminishing returns. The measured frame rates of 425 FPS at 1080p Low indicate that the game is not demanding enough to differentiate between high-end components effectively.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 91 out of 100 versus all CPUs indicates that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is in the top 9% of all processors. Its average benchmark score of 54,762 places it slightly below the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, which scores 55,093 (0.6% higher). The GPU's percentile ranking of 83 out of 100 places the RTX 3080 Ti in the top 17% of all graphics cards. Its average benchmark score of 41,187 is closely matched by the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB at 41,707 (1.2% higher) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 at 40,870 (0.8% lower).

The combination of a top-tier CPU and a high-end GPU results in a configuration that far exceeds the requirements of Inside. The 423rd rank out of 2,887 combos reflects the fact that many other high-end combinations achieve similar performance levels in this game, as the bottleneck shifts to the game engine and rendering pipeline rather than the hardware capabilities. The data suggests that for this specific game, the hardware is not the limiting factor, and the rank is more indicative of the game's low system requirements than any deficiency in the components.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is built on the Ampere architecture using Samsung's 8nm process, with a die size of 628 mm² containing 28,300 million transistors. The GPU features 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units, along with 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. The boost clock is rated at 1665 MHz, with a base clock of 1365 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark results show its compute capabilities. The Passmark G3D score is 26,896, while the Passmark GPU Compute score is 15,282. The Geekbench OpenCL score is 170,037, and the Vulkan score is 192,697. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 5,077. These scores place the GPU in the 83rd percentile of all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 41,187.

In Inside, the RTX 3080 Ti demonstrates its capabilities through the measured frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the GPU maintains an average of 98 FPS, which is remarkable for a game released in 2016. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient for this title, as the game's texture and geometry requirements are modest by modern standards. The 912.4 GB/s memory bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and data transfer are never bottlenecks, even at 4K resolution.

The GPU's performance relative to its rivals is closely matched. The RTX 3080 Ti's average benchmark score of 41,187 is only 0.8% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro 5300's 40,870, and 1.2% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB's 41,707. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 scores 40,377, which is 2% lower. These small differences in synthetic benchmarks do not translate to meaningful differences in Inside, where all these GPUs would likely achieve similar frame rates given the game's low demands.

The power consumption of the RTX 3080 Ti is rated at 350 W TDP, with a suggested power supply of 750 W. The dual-slot cooler and 285 mm length make it a substantial card, but these physical characteristics have no bearing on the game's performance. The GPU's end-of-life production status and launch date of 2021-05-30 indicate it is a previous-generation product, but its performance in Inside remains exceptional.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive picture of performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 425 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 366 FPS with a range of 311 to 420 FPS, the High preset achieves 228 FPS, and the Ultra preset achieves 218 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 49% reduction in frame rate, from 425 to 218 FPS, which is relatively modest considering the significant increase in visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 329 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 263 FPS with a range of 223 to 302 FPS, the High preset achieves 164 FPS, and the Ultra preset achieves 156 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 53%, slightly more pronounced than at 1080p. The Medium preset's min FPS of 223 indicates that even the lowest recorded frame rate at 1440p Medium is well above the refresh rate of most monitors.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 206 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 165 FPS with a range of 140 to 190 FPS, the High preset achieves 103 FPS, and the Ultra preset achieves 98 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra at 4K is 52%, consistent with the scaling observed at other resolutions. The 4K Medium preset's min FPS of 140 is notable, as it represents the lowest measured frame rate across all configurations and still exceeds the 120Hz refresh rate common on many high-end displays.

The scaling between resolutions at each settings level provides insight into the performance characteristics. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 425 at 1080p to 329 at 1440p (23% reduction) and then to 206 at 4K (37% reduction from 1440p). At Medium settings, the drops are from 366 to 263 (28%) and then to 165 (37%). At High settings, the drops are from 228 to 164 (28%) and then to 103 (37%). At Ultra settings, the drops are from 218 to 156 (28%) and then to 98 (37%). The consistent 28% drop from 1080p to 1440p and 37% drop from 1440p to 4K across all settings indicates that the performance scaling is primarily determined by resolution rather than settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge, manufactured on TSMC's 4nm process. The base clock is 4.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The CPU features a substantial cache hierarchy: 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 128 MB of L3 cache. The TDP is rated at 120 W, and the processor supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration providing 89.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

The CPU's synthetic benchmark results demonstrate its high performance. The Cinebench R23 multicore score is 47,737, with a single-core score of 6,739. The Cinebench R20 scores are 20,049 multicore and 2,830 single-core. The Geekbench scores are 22,884 multicore and 3,041 single-core. The Passmark multithread score is 56,154, with a single-thread score of 4,646. These benchmarks place the CPU in the 91st percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 54,762.

In Inside, the CPU's role is less critical than the GPU's due to the game's low processing demands. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low (425 FPS) and 1080p Ultra (218 FPS) indicate that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at extremely high frame rates. The 12 cores and 24 threads provide significant parallel processing capability, but the game likely uses only a fraction of these resources. The 128 MB of L3 cache, a hallmark of the X3D series, may contribute to frame pacing consistency by reducing memory latency, though this effect is difficult to quantify from the available data.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is closely matched. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D's average benchmark score of 54,762 is 0.6% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF's 55,093, but 1.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K's 54,053, and 2% higher than the Intel Xeon 6505P's 53,701. These small differences in synthetic benchmarks are unlikely to manifest as meaningful differences in Inside, where the game's performance is more dependent on the GPU and the game's own engine limitations.

The CPU's boost clock of 5.50 GHz provides high single-thread performance, which is beneficial for games that rely on a single main thread. The measured Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6,739 and Geekbench single-core score of 3,041 confirm strong single-threaded capabilities. For Inside, which is a 2D-style puzzle platformer with modest physics and AI requirements, the CPU's single-thread performance is more than adequate to maintain high frame rates. The data shows no CPU-related bottlenecks, as the frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting factor across most configurations.