Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer that scales in a very unusual way with this hardware pairing. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination produces a dataset where frame rates are heavily dependent on the graphics preset, but the resolution scaling tells a nuanced story about where the bottleneck actually sits. The measured results show a clear pattern: this is a game where the GPU is the primary constraint at higher settings, but the CPU’s immense headroom becomes visible at lower presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a substantial drop when moving from 1080p to 4K, but the magnitude of that drop depends entirely on the quality preset. At the Low preset, the average frame rate falls from 259.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 115.5 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a reduction of 143.6 FPS, or roughly 55% of the 1080p performance. This steep decline indicates that even at Low settings, the RTX 2060 is the limiting factor at 4K, as the pixel throughput requirement overwhelms the GPU’s capabilities.

The High preset shows a less dramatic but still significant scaling curve. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 129.3 FPS, which drops to 89.9 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 58.7 FPS at 3840x2160. The step from 1440p to 4K costs 31.2 FPS, a 34.7% reduction. This pattern suggests that the GPU is consistently the bottleneck across all High settings, with the CPU never being pushed to its limits. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, is clearly not the constraint here.

What is most telling is the comparison between Low and Ultra at 4K. The Low preset achieves 115.5 FPS, while Ultra drops to 55.1 FPS. That is a difference of 60.4 FPS, or more than half the Low preset’s performance. This wide gap between presets at the same resolution confirms that the RTX 2060’s shading units, texture units, and raster operations are the dominant factor. The GPU’s 6 GB of VRAM and 192-bit memory bus are adequate for this title, but the raw compute throughput of 6.451 TFLOPS is what limits the higher settings.

At 1080p, the scaling is even more pronounced. Low hits 259.1 FPS, Medium reaches 207.1 FPS, High delivers 129.3 FPS, and Ultra manages 122.2 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium costs 52 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra is only 7.1 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are not proportionally more demanding than High, or that the GPU is already saturated at High and the additional settings have diminishing returns. The fact that 4K Ultra (55.1 FPS) is still playable but not smooth indicates that the GPU is the hard ceiling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a Turing-architecture part with a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. Its memory operates at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective, across a 192-bit bus for a total bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. These specifications are modest by modern standards, but they are sufficient for a puzzle platformer like Inside. The GPU’s 1920 shading units and 120 texture mapping units are the workhorses here, and the benchmark data shows they are the limiting factor at all resolutions and presets.

The GPU’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory is not a constraint in this game. The measured frame rates do not show any signs of texture thrashing or memory-related stutters, as the average FPS values are consistent across the tested settings. The 48 raster operation units are also adequate for the pixel throughput required at 4K, as evidenced by the 58.7 FPS average at High settings. The RTX 2060’s 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores are present but unused in this title, which has no ray tracing or DLSS support in the measured data.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 58 among all GPUs places it in the mid-range, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, which is 0.5% ahead, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700, which is 1.7% ahead. This context is important because it shows that the RTX 2060 is not an outlier in either direction. Its performance in Inside is consistent with its overall benchmark scores, with a PassMark G3D score of 14111 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242.

The relationship between the CPU and GPU is one of extreme imbalance. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D has a PassMark multithread score of 70255 and a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 59712, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270, is only 0.9% behind, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 1.8% behind. This CPU is vastly more powerful than what Inside requires, and the measured FPS data confirms that the GPU is always the bottleneck. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would theoretically have more room to work, the frame rate of 259.1 FPS is still likely constrained by the GPU’s ability to issue draw calls.

FAQ

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so much from 1080p Low to 4K Low?

A: The average FPS falls from 259.1 at 1920x1080 to 115.5 at 3840x2160. This 55% reduction is due to the RTX 2060’s limited pixel throughput, as the GPU must render four times as many pixels at 4K, and its 80.64 GPixel/s pixel rate becomes the limiting factor.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9950X3D holding back the RTX 2060 in this game?

A: No. The CPU’s benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 59712 and a Geekbench multicore score of 22515, are far above what Inside requires. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the bottleneck at every resolution and preset, as the frame rates drop consistently with increased graphical load.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a high frame rate?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo achieves 89.9 FPS, which is smooth for this genre. At 1920x1080 with High settings, it reaches 129.3 FPS. Both are viable, but the 1440p High setting offers a good balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High in terms of performance?

A: The difference is small at most resolutions. At 1920x1080, Ultra delivers 122.2 FPS versus High’s 129.3 FPS, a 7.1 FPS difference. At 3840x2160, Ultra drops to 55.1 FPS from High’s 58.7 FPS, a 3.6 FPS difference. The Ultra preset is only marginally more demanding than High.

Q: Does the RTX 2060’s 6 GB VRAM cause any issues in Inside?

A: The measured data shows no evidence of VRAM limitations. The frame rates scale consistently across resolutions and settings, with no sudden drops or stutters that would indicate memory pressure. The 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth is sufficient for this game’s assets.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 1332 out of 1671 total tested combinations in Inside. This places it in the lower-middle tier, which is expected given the RTX 2060’s mid-range standing (58th percentile) and the game’s low CPU demands.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to a clear recommendation: the High preset is the best balance of performance and visual quality for this combo. At 1920x1080, High delivers 129.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Moving to 2560x1440, High still holds 89.9 FPS, which is playable and offers a sharper image. At 3840x2160, High drops to 58.7 FPS, which is borderline but acceptable for a puzzle platformer where precise timing is less critical.

The Ultra preset offers no meaningful advantage over High. At 1080p, the difference is only 7.1 FPS, and at 4K, it is 3.6 FPS. The visual uplift from High to Ultra is not worth the marginal performance loss, especially when the GPU is already the bottleneck. The Medium preset, which delivers 207.1 FPS at 1080p and 148.1 FPS at 1440p, is an option for players with high refresh rate monitors, but it sacrifices visual fidelity for frame rates that are beyond what the human eye can discern in this genre.

The Low preset, while achieving 259.1 FPS at 1080p, is not recommended for a game like Inside, where the atmospheric lighting and shadow effects are integral to the experience. The 115.5 FPS at 4K Low is impressive, but the visual compromise is too steep. The data suggests that High is the sweet spot, with Medium as a fallback for those who prioritize frame rate over fidelity. For 4K owners, High at 58.7 FPS is the highest preset that remains consistently playable, while Ultra at 55.1 FPS is too close to the edge of discomfort.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1332 out of 1671 tested combinations in Inside. This places it in the 20th percentile of all tested combos, which is a surprisingly low position given the CPU’s elite status. The reason is clear: Inside is a CPU-light game, and the RTX 2060 is the sole determinant of performance. The CPU’s 96th percentile ranking is irrelevant when the GPU is only in the 58th percentile.

The ranking context is stark when examining the CPU’s nearest rivals. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D is 0.9% ahead of the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270, 1.8% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, and 2.2% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700KF in average benchmark scores. These differences are negligible in a game like Inside, where the CPU is never the bottleneck. The GPU’s rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (0.5% ahead) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (1.7% ahead), are more relevant, but even these differences would translate to only a few FPS in practice.

The 1332 rank out of 1671 means there are 339 combinations that perform worse, which is a small margin. This reflects the RTX 2060’s age, as it was released in 2019 and is now end-of-life. The 6 GB VRAM and 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are simply not competitive in 2025, even for a game from 2016. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D, released in 2025, is a generational mismatch with the GPU, and the data reflects this imbalance. For players with this specific combo, the takeaway is that the GPU must be upgraded to unlock the CPU’s potential, but for the purposes of Inside, the current setup is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming at High settings.