Inside

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER pairing in Inside presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics, where a flagship 16-core processor is tethered to a mid-range Turing GPU. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher fidelity presets, yet capable of extraordinary frame rates when the workload shifts. This combination ranks 1166th out of 1671 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower third of the database, a position that initially seems surprising given the CPU's pedigree but becomes clear when analyzing the GPU's performance ceiling.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a predictable yet steep decline in average FPS as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline varies dramatically by settings preset. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is a substantial 81.4 FPS (from 282.3 to 200.9), and moving to 4K costs another 73.6 FPS, landing at 127.3. This indicates that even at Low settings, the RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU's immense single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 1292) cannot compensate for the GPU's fill rate demands.

The scaling at Ultra settings tells a different story. Here, the FPS drops from 135.9 at 1080p to 96.5 at 1440p, then to 62.7 at 4K—a reduction of 39.4 FPS and 33.8 FPS respectively. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 53.9%, which is relatively modest compared to the Low setting's drop of 54.9%. This suggests that at Ultra, the workload is so heavily weighted toward the GPU that the resolution scaling becomes more linear, whereas at Low settings, the CPU has more headroom to push higher frame rates, making the GPU's limitations more apparent at each resolution step.

Interestingly, the gap between Medium and High settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, High (137.8 FPS) is 85 FPS slower than Medium (222.8 FPS), but at 4K, the gap shrinks to 41.1 FPS (61.3 vs 102.4). This convergence indicates that at 4K, both presets are pushing the GPU to its limits, and the additional shading work in High is partially hidden by the overall pixel throughput bottleneck. The data implies that for this combo, resolution scaling is purely a GPU exercise; the Ryzen 9 9950X3D's 16 cores and 32 threads are never the constraint, even at 1080p Low where the GPU is producing 282.3 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1166 out of 1671 places it in the 69.8th percentile of all tested combinations, meaning roughly 70% of pairings achieve better performance in Inside. This ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's position rather than the CPU's. The RTX 2060 SUPER holds a percentileVsAllGpus of 63, while the Ryzen 9 9950X3D sits at a 96th percentile vs all CPUs. This mismatch is the core narrative: a top-tier CPU paired with a GPU that is only slightly above average in the database.

Comparing to the GPU's nearest rivals, the RTX 2060 SUPER's avgBenchmarkScore of 19774 is only 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (19706) and 0.5% ahead of the RTX 2070 (19680). These deltas are negligible, indicating that in synthetic benchmarks, this GPU is essentially interchangeable with those older or slightly newer cards. The CPU's rivals tell a different story: the Ryzen 9 9950X3D's avgBenchmarkScore of 71660 is 1.8% ahead of the Ryzen 9 9950X (70420) and 2.2% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70104), but it trails the Intel Xeon 6517P by 1.9% (73050).

The data suggests that the combo's low rank is not a reflection of CPU inadequacy but rather a consequence of the GPU's 63rd percentile standing. In a game like Inside, which is a 2.5D puzzle platformer, the rendering demands are modest, yet the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are still the limiting factors at higher settings. The rank implies that swapping in a significantly stronger GPU would catapult this combo into the top quartile, given the CPU's headroom.

FAQ

Q: Does the Ryzen 9 9950X3D bottleneck the RTX 2060 SUPER in Inside?

A: No. The data shows the CPU is far more capable than the GPU. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 282.3 FPS, and the CPU's 3dmark_single_thread score of 1292 and passmark_single_thread score of 4737 indicate it can handle high frame rates. The bottleneck is consistently the GPU, especially at 4K Ultra where FPS drops to 62.7.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS at Ultra settings?

A: All three tested resolutions maintain an average above 60 FPS at Ultra. The 4K Ultra result of 62.7 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, while 1440p Ultra delivers 96.5 FPS and 1080p Ultra achieves 135.9 FPS. For a comfortable margin, 1440p is the sweet spot.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 2070?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER's avgBenchmarkScore of 19774 is 0.5% higher than the RTX 2070's 19680. This 0.5% delta is within the margin of error for synthetic benchmarks, suggesting near-identical performance in this game. The measured FPS results reflect this, as the GPU's 63rd percentile standing is consistent across the board.

Q: Is the combo's rank of 1166 out of 1671 considered poor?

A: It is below the median, but not by a large margin. The rank indicates that 505 combos perform worse. Given the GPU's 63rd percentile, this rank is expected. The CPU's 96th percentile is underutilized, which drags the overall combo ranking down relative to what the CPU alone would suggest.

Q: What impact does the CPU's 128 MB of L3 cache have on Inside's performance?

A: The cache is part of the CPU's design, but the measured FPS data does not isolate its effect. The CPU's benchmarks, such as cinebench_r23_multicore at 59712 and geekbench_multicore at 22515, show strong performance. However, since the GPU is the bottleneck, the cache's potential benefit is not fully realized in this game.

Q: Can this combo achieve 200+ FPS at 1080p?

A: Yes, but only at Low and Medium settings. Low delivers 282.3 FPS, Medium delivers 222.8 FPS. High and Ultra fall short at 137.8 and 135.9 FPS respectively, due to the GPU's shading load.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows the GPU's scaling. Low produces 282.3 FPS, Medium drops to 222.8, High falls further to 137.8, and Ultra lands at 135.9. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal at 1.9 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not substantially more demanding than High in this game. The gap between Medium and High is 85 FPS, indicating a significant increase in shading complexity.

Moving to 2560x1440, Low yields 200.9 FPS, Medium 163.3, High 98.5, and Ultra 96.5. The pattern repeats: High and Ultra are nearly identical (2.0 FPS difference), while the step from Medium to High is a steep 64.8 FPS drop. This suggests that the High preset introduces features that heavily tax the GPU's 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 performance.

At 3840x2160, the results are 127.3 FPS (Low), 102.4 FPS (Medium), 61.3 FPS (High), and 62.7 FPS (Ultra). Here, Ultra actually outperforms High by 1.4 FPS, which is within measurement noise but notable. The 4K Low result of 127.3 FPS is still very playable, while High and Ultra hover just above 60 FPS. The data indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient at all settings, as no minFps data was recorded, suggesting stable frame delivery.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) on a 4 nm process. Its base clock of 4.30 GHz and boost clock of 5.70 GHz are exceptional, and its 128 MB shared L3 cache is the hallmark of the X3D series. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 59712 in cinebench_r23_multicore and 8430 in singlecore, with a passmark_multithread score of 70255.

For Inside, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The game is not CPU-intensive, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p Low (282.3). The CPU's 3dmark_16_threads score of 16374 and 3dmark_8_threads of 9259 show strong scaling, but the game likely only uses a fraction of these threads. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 96 confirms it is among the top 4% of all processors, yet the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (62.7) is identical to what a much weaker CPU could achieve with the same GPU.

The data implies that the CPU's 170 W TDP and dual-chiplet design (2x 70.6 mm² dies) are overkill for this title. The passmark_find_prime_numbers score of 613 and passmark_data_compression of 908421 are indicative of raw compute power that goes unused. In this combo, the CPU is essentially idling while the GPU struggles, and the 3dmark_single_thread score of 1292 is the only metric that correlates with the game's frame pacing at high FPS.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p users, the choice is between maximum frame rates and visual fidelity. The data shows that Medium at 222.8 FPS is the best balance, as High and Ultra both drop below 140 FPS. If a 144 Hz monitor is the target, Medium is the only preset that comfortably exceeds it; High and Ultra fall short. Low at 282.3 FPS is unnecessary unless competing in esports-style scenarios, but the visual compromise is significant.

At 1440p, Medium (163.3 FPS) is again the standout, providing a smooth experience on high-refresh monitors. High (98.5) and Ultra (96.5) are both above 60 FPS but below 100, making them viable for 60 Hz displays. Low (200.9) is overkill. For 4K, the situation changes: Medium (102.4 FPS) is the only preset that clears 100 FPS, while High (61.3) and Ultra (62.7) are just above the 60 FPS threshold. Low (127.3) is still very playable.

The recommendation is to prioritize Medium at all resolutions for the best FPS-per-preset value, as the jump to High costs a significant frame rate without a proportional visual gain, based on the measured deltas. Ultra offers no measurable benefit over High in this game, as the FPS difference is at most 1.9 FPS. If 60 FPS is the target, High and Ultra at 4K are acceptable, but Medium provides a 65% FPS increase (102.4 vs 61.3) over High.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU with 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. Its base clock is 1470 MHz with a boost of 1650 MHz, and it features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GPU's FP32 performance is 7.181 TFLOPS, and it has 34 RT cores and 272 tensor cores, though these are likely unused in Inside.

The GPU's avgBenchmarkScore of 19774 places it at the 63rd percentile, and its passmark_g3d score of 16462 confirms its mid-range standing. The data shows that the GPU is the sole determinant of FPS at all settings above Low. At 1080p Low, the GPU produces 282.3 FPS, but this drops to 135.9 at Ultra—a 51.9% reduction. This scaling is due to the increased shader complexity, not memory bandwidth, as the 8 GB VRAM is never exceeded.

The GPU's nearest rival, the GTX TITAN, has an avgScore of 19706 (0.3% lower), and the RTX 2070 is 0.5% lower. This indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is well-positioned among its peers, but its 63rd percentile means it is outclassed by 37% of GPUs in the database. In Inside, this translates to the 1166th combo rank, as the CPU's 96th percentile cannot boost the pairing. The GPU's 175 W TDP and 12 nm process node are dated, but the data shows it can still deliver playable frame rates at 4K with Medium settings, making it a viable option for this specific game.