Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a 2016 puzzle platformer that is far more demanding on the CPU than the GPU at high frame rates. The measured data shows that this combination ranks 29th out of 2,887 tested hardware combos in this game, placing it in the top 1% of systems. While the GPU is capable of immense throughput, the benchmark results reveal that the processor becomes the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions, with frame rates scaling in a way that highlights the CPU's 12-core, 24-thread configuration and the GPU's massive 32 GB memory buffer.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions in Inside reveals a classic CPU-bound scenario at lower settings, with the GPU only beginning to assert its dominance at 4K. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 425 FPS to 381 FPS, a decrease of 44 FPS (10.4%). This relatively modest drop indicates that the processor, not the graphics card, is the limiting factor at these settings. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D's high boost clock of 5.50 GHz and substantial 128 MB of L3 cache are what allow the game to run at such elevated rates, as the CPU must feed the RTX 5090 with enough draw calls to keep the frame rate in the hundreds.

At 4K with Low settings, the average FPS falls to 300, which is a significant 21.3% reduction from the 1440p result. This steeper decline signals that the GPU is starting to become the limiting component, though the absolute frame rate remains remarkably high. The RTX 5090's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth are the specifications that enable this level of performance, yet even this flagship card cannot maintain the CPU-limited frame rates when the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

Between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The average frame rate drops from 317 FPS to 143 FPS, a 54.9% reduction. This nearly halves the performance, demonstrating that at the highest quality preset, the GPU is the primary constraint. The Ultra preset likely introduces effects that are computationally expensive for the RTX 5090, such as advanced lighting or post-processing, which are not as heavily dependent on the CPU. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the system is firmly GPU-bound, with the RTX 5090's 176 ROPs and 680 TMUs working at their limits to produce 143 FPS.

Interestingly, the Medium settings show the most linear scaling across resolutions. From 1080p (393 FPS) to 1440p (352 FPS) to 4K (240 FPS), the frame rate drops by 10.4% and then 31.8% respectively. This suggests that Medium represents a balanced workload where neither the CPU nor GPU is completely saturated, allowing both components to contribute to the final frame rate. The measured minimum and maximum FPS values for Medium also show tighter variance at 1080p (334-452 FPS) compared to 4K (204-276 FPS), indicating that the GPU at 4K produces more consistent frame pacing than the CPU at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a behemoth of a graphics card, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a massive 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for high-resolution texture streaming in Inside. The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the card achieves 143 FPS average, which confirms its raw compute power. However, the GPU's role in this game is somewhat unusual: at 1080p and 1440p with lower settings, the RTX 5090 is underutilized, as the CPU cannot supply enough frames to keep it busy.

The GPU's base clock of 2017 MHz and boost clock of 2407 MHz are relatively modest for a flagship card, but the architecture's efficiency allows it to achieve 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. In Inside, which is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer with relatively simple geometry, the GPU's shading units (21,760) and texture mapping units (680) are more than sufficient for the visual workload. The game's art style relies on atmospheric lighting and shadows rather than complex particle effects, which means the RTX 5090's 170 RT cores are likely underutilized, as the game does not feature ray-traced effects.

The 32 GB memory buffer is overkill for a game of this era, but it ensures that there are no texture pop-ins or stutters even at 4K Ultra. The measured minimum FPS of 204 at 4K Medium suggests that the GPU can maintain a high frame rate without dipping into its VRAM capacity. The RTX 5090's performance in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark (18,355) indicates that it is a top-tier card for modern games, but in Inside, the bottleneck is clearly the CPU at lower resolutions. The GPU's 575 W TDP and dual-slot design are the physical costs of this performance, though the data shows that the card is rarely stressed to its full potential in this title.

At 4K High, the average frame rate of 150 FPS is only 5 FPS higher than 4K Ultra (143 FPS), suggesting that the Ultra preset adds minimal visual improvements for a slight performance cost. The RTX 5090's 1.79 TB/s bandwidth is more than enough to handle the game's texture data, and the card's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs (average benchmark score of 79,842) places it in the top tier of graphics hardware. However, the nearest rivals in the benchmark database are professional-grade Tesla P100 cards with 16 GB and 12 GB of VRAM, which are not gaming-focused but rather compute-oriented, indicating that the RTX 5090's gaming performance is in a league of its own.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is the clear driver of the high frame rates in Inside at 1080p and 1440p. With 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), this processor is designed for both gaming and productivity. Its 4.40 GHz base clock and 5.50 GHz boost clock, combined with 128 MB of L3 cache, make it exceptionally well-suited for games that are sensitive to memory latency and single-threaded performance. The measured data confirms this: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 425 FPS, which is entirely CPU-limited, as the GPU is capable of far more.

The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1,269 and multi-thread score of 13,795 indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for Inside's physics and game logic. The game's puzzle platformer genre means that there are often many interactive elements on screen, each requiring CPU calculations. The 12 cores handle this efficiently, though the game likely does not utilize all of them. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47,737 and single-core score of 6,739 demonstrate the processor's balanced capabilities, but in Inside, the single-thread performance is what allows the frame rate to exceed 300 FPS at lower resolutions.

The 128 MB of L3 cache is the standout feature of the 9900X3D, as it allows the CPU to store frequently accessed game data on-die, reducing memory latency. This is particularly beneficial for a game like Inside, which has a continuous stream of level data and physics calculations. The CPU's 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth (DDR5 dual-channel) is sufficient for feeding the cache, and the 4 nm process node from TSMC keeps power consumption at 120 W TDP while delivering exceptional performance.

At 1080p Ultra, the CPU still manages 317 FPS, which is only 25.4% lower than at Low settings (425 FPS). This indicates that the Ultra preset's additional GPU workload does not bottleneck the CPU, as the processor can still generate frames faster than the GPU can render them. However, at 4K Low, the CPU is still not the limiting factor, as the 300 FPS average is likely dictated by the GPU's ability to render the higher pixel count. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs (average benchmark score of 54,762) puts it just behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (delta of -0.6%), but ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (delta of 1.3%) and Intel Core i7-14700F (delta of 2.1%). These rival comparisons are close, indicating that the 9900X3D is not necessarily the absolute fastest CPU in all workloads, but its combination of high clocks and large cache makes it ideal for gaming.

FAQ

*Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D the bottleneck at 1080p in Inside?*

A: Yes. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 425 FPS, while at 4K Low it achieves 300 FPS. The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p (425 to 381 FPS) when the GPU workload increases significantly indicates the CPU is limiting performance at the lower resolution.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this combination?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 425 at 1080p with Low settings. The next highest is 393 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 381 FPS at 1440p Low.

*Q: How does the RTX 5090's 32 GB VRAM affect performance in Inside?*

A: The 32 GB GDDR7 memory is far more than Inside requires, so it does not bottleneck performance. However, it ensures smooth texture streaming and zero stutters, as evidenced by the 240 FPS average at 4K Medium with a minimum of 204 FPS.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a better experience than High at 4K?

A: The difference is small: 143 FPS at Ultra versus 150 FPS at High. The 7 FPS difference (4.9%) may be noticeable on a 144Hz monitor, but the visual upgrade may not justify the drop.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and Low settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low averages 381 FPS, while Medium averages 352 FPS. This 29 FPS difference (7.6%) is modest, suggesting that Medium offers a better visual experience with minimal performance cost.

*Q: How does this combo rank against other systems in Inside?*

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and RTX 5090 combination ranks 29th out of 2,887 total combos tested in this game, placing it in the top 1% of all systems.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this hardware depend on the user's display refresh rate and resolution preference. At 1080p, all settings provide playable frame rates, but the Medium preset (393 FPS) offers a significant improvement over Low (425 FPS) in visual quality for only a 7.5% performance reduction. The Medium settings also show a healthy minimum FPS of 334, ensuring smooth gameplay even in intense scenes. The Ultra preset at 1080p (317 FPS) is also viable for 144Hz or 240Hz displays, but the marginal visual gains over High (327 FPS) are not worth the 10 FPS drop.

At 1440p, the Medium preset (352 FPS) is the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, as it maintains a frame rate well above 240Hz displays' capabilities. The High preset (239 FPS) is also excellent for 240Hz monitors, while Ultra (228 FPS) is suitable for 144Hz displays. The Low preset (381 FPS) is only recommended for competitive play where maximum frame rate is paramount, but the visual downgrade is substantial.

At 4K, the situation changes dramatically. The Medium preset (240 FPS) is the only option that can fully saturate a 240Hz display, but the High (150 FPS) and Ultra (143 FPS) presets are better suited for 144Hz monitors. Given that the visual difference between High and Ultra is minimal (7 FPS), the High preset is recommended for 4K gaming to ensure a more stable frame rate. The Low preset (300 FPS) at 4K is not recommended, as the visual quality loss is too severe for a puzzle platformer where atmosphere is key.

For the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 1440p offers an excellent combination of image quality and headroom, with a 352 FPS average and a minimum of 299 FPS. This ensures consistent performance across all gameplay sequences, including the game's more graphically intensive moments.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average 425 FPS. This is the peak performance point, showcasing the CPU's ability to drive extremely high frame rates.
• Medium: Average 393 FPS, minimum 334 FPS, maximum 452 FPS. The variance of 118 FPS suggests some CPU-bound stutters, but the average is still exceptionally high.
• High: Average 327 FPS. A 15.4% drop from Medium, indicating that the GPU is beginning to take on more work.
• Ultra: Average 317 FPS. Only 10 FPS lower than High, suggesting the Ultra preset adds minimal additional GPU load at this resolution.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average 381 FPS. A 10.4% drop from 1080p Low, confirming the CPU is still the primary limiter.
• Medium: Average 352 FPS, minimum 299 FPS, maximum 405 FPS. The minimum FPS of 299 is the lowest recorded for Medium at any resolution, indicating occasional CPU bottlenecks.
• High: Average 239 FPS. A significant 32.1% drop from Medium, showing that the GPU workload is increasing substantially.
• Ultra: Average 228 FPS. Only 11 FPS lower than High, maintaining the pattern of diminishing returns between High and Ultra.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average 300 FPS. A 21.3% drop from 1440p Low, marking the transition to GPU-bound performance.
• Medium: Average 240 FPS, minimum 204 FPS, maximum 276 FPS. The 72 FPS variance is the tightest of any Medium setting, indicating stable GPU performance.
• High: Average 150 FPS. A 37.5% drop from Medium, showing the GPU is now the clear bottleneck.
• Ultra: Average 143 FPS. The lowest recorded frame rate, but still highly playable, with only a 4.7% drop from High.

The data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p and 1440p with Low and Medium settings, the CPU is the limiting factor, with frame rates in the 300-425 FPS range. At 4K and with High/Ultra settings, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, with frame rates ranging from 143 to 300 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance of performance and stability, with a 352 FPS average and a minimum of 299 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K, while producing the lowest frame rate of 143 FPS, still exceeds the refresh rate of most standard monitors, making it a viable option for those prioritizing visual fidelity.