Inside

FAQ

Q: What average frame rate does this combo achieve in Inside at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The recorded average is 67 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. This makes Ultra the highest playable preset at 1920x1080.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this setup?

A: At 3840x2160, only Low settings stay above 60 FPS, with an average of 64 FPS. Medium drops to 51 FPS, High to 32 FPS, and Ultra to 30 FPS. So 4K is playable only on the lowest preset.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus compare to its nearest CPU rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K?

A: The 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the 285K's score of 83807. The difference is negligible in practical terms.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile relative to all tested graphics cards?

A: The Intel Arc B370 sits in the 5th percentile, meaning it ranks lower than roughly 95% of all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 1184 from the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test.

Q: Which component is more demanding on the system at 1440p Medium?

A: The data shows the frame rate scales heavily with resolution. At 1440p Medium, the average is 81 FPS, while at 1080p Medium it is 113 FPS, and at 4K Medium it drops to 51 FPS. This indicates the GPU is the limiting factor as resolution increases.

Q: What is the best playable preset at 1440p?

A: Medium is the highest preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, delivering an average of 81 FPS. High drops to 51 FPS, and Ultra to 48 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that remains playable is Ultra, with a recorded average of 67 FPS. This is a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold, and the frame rate stays consistent without reported minimums.

At 2560x1440, the highest playable setting is Medium, yielding an average of 81 FPS. The recorded minimum is 69 FPS and the maximum is 93 FPS, so the experience remains fluid throughout. High and Ultra fall below 60 FPS, with averages of 51 and 48 FPS respectively.

At 3840x2160, only Low settings clear the playability bar, averaging 64 FPS. Medium, High, and Ultra all fall short, with averages of 51, 32, and 30 FPS respectively. The gap between Low and Medium is 13 FPS, which is substantial at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the Intel Arc B370 ranks 3422 out of 3716 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the lower portion of the database, around the 8th percentile of all recorded system pairings. The ranking reflects the GPU's limited performance, as the CPU is in the 96th percentile among all processors.

The CPU is a top-tier part, scoring 84003 on average, which puts it ahead of 96% of all CPUs. However, the GPU is in the 5th percentile, with an average score of 1184. This massive imbalance means the graphics card bottlenecks the system heavily in this game. The combo rank of 3422 out of 3716 indicates that most other tested pairings deliver better overall performance in Inside.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K has an average score of 83807, which is 0.2% lower than the 290K Plus. The AMD EPYC 4584PX scores 83090, 1.1% lower, and the AMD EPYC 9135 scores 82980, 1.2% lower. The AMD EPYC 7F72 scores 85072, which is 1.3% higher. These differences are minor, so any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Inside when paired with the same GPU.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are all older or lower-end parts. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186, just 0.2% above the Arc B370. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190, 0.5% higher, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192, 0.7% higher. The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168, which is 1.4% lower. In practice, swapping the Arc B370 for any of these would yield nearly identical performance in Inside, as the score differences are within a couple of percent.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data shows a clear pattern: the GPU dominates performance scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the average is 113 FPS. Moving to 1440p Medium drops this to 81 FPS, a 28% reduction. Moving further to 4K Medium lowers it to 51 FPS, another 37% drop. This steep decline with resolution is typical of a GPU-bound scenario.

The CPU has ample headroom. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus scores 51731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7303 in single-core, both far above what a puzzle platformer like Inside would require. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking confirms it is not the limiting factor here.

At 1080p, the system can push Ultra at 67 FPS, suggesting the GPU has just enough power to handle the game's demands at lower resolutions. At 4K, only Low settings work, which indicates the GPU's memory bandwidth (system shared) and raw throughput are insufficient for higher presets. The GPU's FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, figures that align with its low percentile ranking.

The frame rate differences between Low and Ultra at each resolution further illustrate the GPU's role. At 1080p, the spread is 74 FPS (141 Low to 67 Ultra). At 1440p, the spread is 53 FPS (101 Low to 48 Ultra). At 4K, the spread is 34 FPS (64 Low to 30 Ultra). The shrinking spread at higher resolutions indicates the GPU is saturated even at Low settings.

The Verdict

This PC can run Inside, but with significant caveats depending on the display resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, including Ultra at 67 FPS average. At 2560x1440, Low and Medium are playable, with Medium offering 81 FPS average. At 3840x2160, only Low settings clear the 60 FPS threshold, averaging 64 FPS.

The verdict by resolution is clear: 1080p is fully playable at maximum settings, 1440p is playable up to Medium, and 4K is playable only at the lowest settings. Users with a 4K display would need to accept significant visual compromises, while those on 1080p can enjoy the game at its highest quality preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded frame rates are as follows. Low settings average 141 FPS. Medium averages 113 FPS, with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 130 FPS. High averages 70 FPS. Ultra averages 67 FPS. All presets remain above the 60 FPS playability threshold, with Low nearly doubling the requirement.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 101 FPS. Medium averages 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS. High averages 51 FPS, falling below the threshold. Ultra averages 48 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 30 FPS, which is the largest single-step decline at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 64 FPS, just above the threshold. Medium averages 51 FPS, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS. High averages 32 FPS. Ultra averages 30 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 13 FPS, and from Medium to High costs 19 FPS, showing how quickly performance degrades as settings increase at 4K.

The data indicates that the Intel Arc B370 is the decisive component in all scenarios. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus provides massive CPU headroom, but the GPU's 5th percentile ranking limits the system to lower presets at higher resolutions. For a game like Inside, which is a 2D side-scrolling puzzle platformer, the performance is adequate at 1080p and acceptable at 1440p with reduced settings, but 4K users will need to play on Low to maintain smooth gameplay.