Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that is remarkably light on hardware demands, yet the measured results for this configuration reveal distinct performance ceilings and scaling behaviors that are worth dissecting. With an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, the data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while at 1080p the CPU's immense power becomes the defining factor in achieving triple-digit frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 263. This is the lowest average at 1080p, while Low settings reach 434 FPS and Medium settings hit 401 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 Ti compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 49957. Its nearest rival per the data is the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, which scores 50001, representing a negligible delta of -0.1%.

Q: What is the best performing preset at 4K resolution based on the measured data?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 250. The High preset yields 125 FPS, while Ultra is the lowest at 119 FPS, making Low the fastest option at this resolution.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested system configurations for this game?

A: This specific CPU and GPU combination ranks 151st out of 3716 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the top percentile of all systems tested for this title.

Q: Does the CPU have a high single-threaded performance score?

A: Yes, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D scores 1292 in the 3dMark single thread test and 2259 in Cinebench R23 single core. It also achieves a Passmark single thread score of 4737.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 271, while the maximum reaches 366. The average for this configuration is 318 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge, and built on a 4nm process. It operates with a base clock of 4.30 GHz and a boost clock of 5.70 GHz, supported by a substantial 128 MB of L3 cache. This configuration is designed for high multi-threaded throughput, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42018 and Geekbench multicore score of 26736.

In the context of Inside, a puzzle platformer with relatively simple physics and logic, the CPU's raw single-thread performance is more critical than its massive core count. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D's single-thread scores—1292 in 3dMark, 350 in Cinebench R15, and 2259 in Cinebench R23—indicate exceptional per-core capability. This is reflected in the 1080p Low preset result of 434 FPS, where the frame rate is so high that it likely approaches the engine's logical limits, making the CPU the primary bottleneck.

The processor's 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs underscores its elite status. When compared to its nearest rivals, it leads the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 by 0.1% and the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 by 0.4% in average benchmark score, showing a tight competition at the absolute top of the desktop market. For a game like Inside, which does not leverage 16 cores effectively, the 3D V-Cache and high boost clocks provide the low-latency, high-frequency response needed to push frame rates beyond what most systems can achieve.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB203 chip, manufactured on a 5nm process. It features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, and operates with a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2452 MHz. The card's 8960 shading units and 280 TMUs provide substantial fill-rate capabilities, with a pixel rate of 235.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 686.6 GTexel/s.

For Inside, the GPU's role becomes dominant as resolution increases. At 1080p, the GPU is not stressed heavily, with the CPU often limiting performance. However, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p and then to 4K shows a clear transition. The RTX 5070 Ti's 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this title, even at Ultra settings, and the high memory bandwidth ensures no stuttering or texture streaming issues. The GPU's average benchmark score of 49957 places it in the 86th percentile, and its Passmark G3D score of 32974 indicates strong DirectX performance.

Interestingly, the GPU's nearest rival in terms of average score is the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, with a delta of -0.1%, which is essentially a statistical tie. However, the RTX 5070 Ti's modern architecture and feature set provide a different performance profile in actual gaming workloads, as evidenced by the measured FPS rows. At 4K Ultra, the card achieves 119 FPS, suggesting it is fully utilized and the limiting factor in this scenario, while the CPU waits for rendering tasks to be submitted.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ranks 151st out of 3716 tested configurations for Inside. This top-tier placement is expected given the individual strengths of both components. The CPU alone sits in the 95th percentile, and the GPU in the 86th percentile, and when paired, they create a system that excels at eliminating most bottlenecks.

The rank of 151 is more indicative of the immense variety of systems tested rather than a weakness of this combo. Inside is not a demanding title, so even mid-range hardware can achieve playable frame rates, meaning the top 150 combos are likely those with the highest-end overclocked parts or specialized setups. In this context, the 9950X3D and RTX 5070 Ti pairing is in the top 4% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing. The data suggests that for this particular game, the combo is more than sufficient, and the performance is limited by the game's engine capabilities rather than the hardware's potential.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings presets vary by resolution, but all offer excellent playability. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 277 FPS, while Ultra drops slightly to 263 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is minimal (14 FPS), but the higher preset provides the best visual fidelity without a significant performance penalty, making Ultra the recommended choice for 1080p users with high refresh rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 199 FPS, and Ultra reaches 189 FPS. Again, the 10 FPS difference between High and Ultra is negligible relative to the overall frame rate, so Ultra is recommended for the best image quality. The Medium preset at 318 FPS is overkill for most displays and sacrifices visual quality unnecessarily.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. High delivers 125 FPS, while Ultra drops to 119 FPS. The 6 FPS gap is small, but the High preset offers a better balance for 4K gaming, especially on displays with a 120 Hz refresh rate. Low at 250 FPS is not practical for visual quality. The Medium preset at 200 FPS is also viable, but High provides the best balance of fidelity and performance at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 434 FPS. Medium reaches 401 FPS with a minimum of 341 and maximum of 461. High scores 277 FPS, and Ultra is the lowest at 263 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 39.4% reduction in frame rate, from 434 to 263 FPS, which is a significant drop but leaves all presets playable.

At 2560x1440, Low hits 389 FPS. Medium averages 318 FPS, with a range of 271 to 366. High drops to 199 FPS, and Ultra reaches 189 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 51.4% (from 389 to 189 FPS), indicating a more substantial impact from the higher settings at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, Low achieves 250 FPS. Medium averages 200 FPS, with a range of 170 to 230. High scores 125 FPS, and Ultra is the lowest at 119 FPS. The Low to Ultra reduction is 52.4% (from 250 to 119 FPS), showing that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 6 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the system's balance between CPU and GPU limitations. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 277 at 1080p to 199 at 1440p, a 28.2% decrease, and then to 125 at 4K, a further 37.2% decrease. This steep drop-off indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed as resolution increases, while the CPU's high performance at 1080p is not the limiting factor.

At Low settings, the drop is less severe in percentage terms: from 434 FPS at 1080p to 389 FPS at 1440p (a 10.4% decrease), and then to 250 FPS at 4K (a 35.7% decrease). The smaller drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests the CPU is still able to feed frames quickly, but the 4K jump exposes the GPU's rendering limits.

The Ultra preset shows a similar trend: 263 FPS at 1080p, 189 FPS at 1440p (28.1% decrease), and 119 FPS at 4K (37.0% decrease). The consistent ~28% drop from 1080p to 1440p across High and Ultra settings indicates a predictable scaling pattern. The larger drop to 4K, around 37%, underscores that the RTX 5070 Ti is the limiting component at this resolution, as the CPU's performance headroom is not fully utilized. This analysis confirms that for Inside, the CPU is the star at 1080p, but the GPU takes over as the primary constraint at higher resolutions.