Inside

Inside is a 2D puzzle-platformer that is anything but demanding on modern hardware, yet the data for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER reveals a fascinating study in frame rate ceilings and component scaling. This combination ranks in the 89th percentile out of 2,887 tested combos in this game, indicating that while the hardware is overkill, it still delivers a performance profile with distinct characteristics worth analyzing. The measured frame rates show a system that is capable of triple-digit performance at every setting, but the way those numbers shift between resolutions and presets tells a clear story about where the bottlenecks truly lie.

Resolution Scaling

The progression from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a classic pattern of GPU load scaling, though the sheer power of the RTX 4080 SUPER keeps absolute frame rates exceptionally high. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 425 FPS, but this drops to 381 FPS at 1440p and further to 264 FPS at 4K. This represents a 37.9% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at the Low preset, which is a significant drop that indicates the GPU is becoming more heavily utilized as pixel count increases. However, even at 4K Low, the system maintains a 264 FPS average, which is far beyond what most displays can even refresh.

The scaling becomes more pronounced when examining the High preset. At 1080p High, the system hits 292 FPS, which falls to 210 FPS at 1440p and then to 132 FPS at 4K. The jump from 1440p to 4K at High settings shows a 37.1% performance loss, suggesting that the game's rendering workload at higher resolutions is starting to stress the GPU more meaningfully. Interestingly, the Medium preset shows the most linear scaling curve, with 393 FPS at 1080p, 336 FPS at 1440p, and 211 FPS at 4K. The 4K Medium result of 211 FPS is notable because it is higher than the 4K High result by 79 FPS, showing that the Medium preset offers a substantial performance headroom over High at the same resolution.

The Ultra preset follows the same downward trajectory but from a lower starting point. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 278 FPS, which is only 14 FPS less than High at the same resolution. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 126 FPS, which is the lowest measured result in the entire dataset. This 54.7% drop from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra highlights how the Ultra preset's additional graphical effects compound with resolution scaling to create a more demanding workload. The data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU is likely the limiting factor for Low and Medium presets, as the frame rates of 425 and 381 FPS respectively approach what the CPU can feed. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, especially at High and Ultra where the rendering complexity increases.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge, built on a 4nm process. It features a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a substantial 128 MB of L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 12,490 in 3DMark 16-thread tests and 1,269 in 3DMark single-thread tests, showing a strong balance between multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47,737 and single-core score of 6,739 further cement its position as a high-end desktop processor, ranking in the 91st percentile against all CPUs.

For a game like Inside, which is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer with relatively simple 2D rendering, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the system reaches 425 FPS, which is likely near the practical limit for this CPU in game scenarios. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2,512 and 4-thread score of 4,885 indicate strong single-core and low-thread-count performance, which is crucial for a game that may not utilize all 24 threads effectively. The 9900X3D's nearest rival in average benchmark score is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, which is 0.6% behind, while the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K trails by 1.3%. This places the 9900X3D in a competitive position, though its 12-core configuration is likely overkill for Inside's modest threading demands.

The CPU's 128 MB of L3 cache is a significant feature that can help with game performance by reducing memory latency. However, for a game with the graphical simplicity of Inside, the cache advantage is less pronounced than in more complex 3D titles. The measured data shows that the frame rate ceiling at 1080p Low is 425 FPS, which is likely constrained by the CPU's ability to process draw calls and game logic at that speed. At higher settings, the frame rate drops as the GPU takes on more work, but the CPU's headroom remains substantial, as evidenced by the 126 FPS result at 4K Ultra, which is far below the CPU's potential limit.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, manufactured on a 5nm process. It features 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units, with 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. The GPU has a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz, paired with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 736.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 34,245 in Passmark G3D and 21,9065 in Geekbench OpenCL, placing it in the 86th percentile against all GPUs.

For Inside, the RTX 4080 SUPER's pure rasterization power is the primary driver of performance. The GPU's FP32 compute of 52.22 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s are more than sufficient for the game's 2D rendering workload. The measured frame rates show that the GPU is rarely the limiting factor until 4K resolution with higher presets. At 4K High, the GPU produces 132 FPS, while at 4K Ultra, it drops to 126 FPS. This relatively small 6 FPS difference between High and Ultra at 4K suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not overly taxing for this GPU.

The GPU's nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, which scores 0.1% lower in average benchmarks, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X trails by 1.1%. This indicates that the 4080 SUPER is essentially at parity with its immediate predecessor in terms of raw benchmark scores. In the context of Inside, the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is vastly overkill, as the game's textures and geometry are simple enough to fit easily within even a fraction of that capacity. The memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s is also far beyond what this game requires, making the GPU's role more about ensuring consistent frame delivery rather than overcoming memory or bandwidth constraints.

The data shows that the GPU's scaling with resolution is the defining characteristic of this test. At 1080p, the GPU is underutilized at lower presets, as evidenced by the 425 FPS Low result, which is likely CPU-limited. At 4K, however, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, with the 132 FPS High and 126 FPS Ultra results representing the GPU's maximum capability in this game. The 4K Medium result of 211 FPS shows that there is still significant headroom in the GPU, as reducing from High to Medium at 4K yields a 79 FPS improvement, indicating that the GPU is sensitive to the specific settings that change between these presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this hardware in Inside?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 425 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the maximum frame rate recorded across all tested configurations.

Q: How much of a performance drop occurs when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 292 FPS at 1080p to 132 FPS at 4K, representing a 54.8% reduction in performance.

Q: Which preset offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Medium preset achieves 336 FPS, which is 126 FPS higher than High and 45 FPS higher than Low, making it the highest-performing preset that still offers reasonable visual fidelity.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1080p with Low settings?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the likely bottleneck at 1080p Low, as the system reaches 425 FPS, which is close to the CPU's practical limit for game scenarios. The GPU has significant headroom at this resolution and preset.

Q: What is the lowest measured average frame rate in this dataset?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 126 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. This is the most demanding configuration tested.

Q: How does the 4K Medium preset compare to the 4K High preset in terms of performance?

A: At 4K, the Medium preset achieves 211 FPS, which is 79 FPS higher than the High preset's 132 FPS. This indicates that the settings differences between Medium and High have a substantial impact on GPU load at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings for this hardware depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, all presets deliver frame rates well above 270 FPS, making any preset viable for competitive or high-refresh-rate play. However, the Medium preset at 393 FPS offers a compelling middle ground, providing 101 FPS more than High while still maintaining a higher frame rate than Ultra at 278 FPS. For users with 1440p displays, the Medium preset at 336 FPS is the best choice, as it offers a 126 FPS advantage over High and a 136 FPS advantage over Ultra, while the visual difference between Medium and High is often negligible for a game like Inside.

At 4K, the choice becomes more nuanced. The Medium preset at 211 FPS is the clear winner for gameplay, as it provides a 79 FPS advantage over High while still delivering excellent visual quality. The High preset at 132 FPS is also perfectly playable, especially for users with 120Hz displays, but the Ultra preset at 126 FPS offers only marginal visual improvements over High at a 6 FPS cost. For users prioritizing maximum visual fidelity on a 4K display, the Ultra preset is still entirely playable at 126 FPS, but the Medium preset offers the best balance of smoothness and quality. Given that Inside is a puzzle platformer with a dark, atmospheric art style, the visual differences between Medium and Ultra are subtle, making Medium the recommended choice at 4K for the best overall experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a comprehensive view of performance across all tested configurations. At 3840x2160 resolution, the Low preset delivers an average of 264 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 211 FPS with a minimum of 180 and maximum of 243, the High preset reaches 132 FPS, and the Ultra preset provides 126 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset produces 381 FPS, Medium achieves 336 FPS with a minimum of 286 and maximum of 387, High delivers 210 FPS, and Ultra yields 200 FPS. At 1920x1080, the Low preset reaches 425 FPS, Medium hits 393 FPS with a minimum of 334 and maximum of 452, High achieves 292 FPS, and Ultra produces 278 FPS.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete minimum and maximum frame rate data across all resolutions, providing insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the frame rate ranges from 334 to 452 FPS, representing a 118 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 286 to 387 FPS, a 101 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range tightens to 180 to 243 FPS, a 63 FPS spread. This decreasing variance at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU becomes more consistently loaded as resolution increases, reducing the impact of CPU-driven frame time spikes. The data clearly shows that this hardware combination is more than capable of running Inside at extremely high frame rates, with the only potential limitation being the CPU's frame generation ceiling at lower resolutions and the GPU's raw throughput at higher resolutions with more demanding presets.