Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Inside, a 2D puzzle-platformer that is far more demanding than its visual simplicity suggests. Benchmark data shows the combination scales predictably across resolutions, with the 1080p tier providing a comfortably high refresh rate experience and the 4K tier pushing the GPU to its limits. The measured results, drawn from the FACT PACK, reveal a system that excels at high framerates in lower resolutions while remaining playable at 4K only with specific settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data paints a clear picture of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the combo is exceptionally fast. Low settings produce an average of 240 FPS, Medium settings drop to 192 FPS (with a min of 163 and max of 221), High settings yield 120 FPS, and Ultra settings still manage 114 FPS. This resolution is clearly where the system shines, with every preset well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows a noticeable step down. Low settings average 172 FPS, Medium settings average 138 FPS (min 117, max 159), High settings hit 86 FPS, and Ultra settings settle at 82 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is significant — a 52 FPS drop — indicating that the higher preset introduces a substantial workload increase. Even at Ultra, the framerate stays above 60 FPS, making this resolution fully playable across all settings.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low settings average 108 FPS, which is still excellent. Medium settings drop to 87 FPS (min 74, max 100), which remains playable. However, High settings fall to 54 FPS, and Ultra settings drop further to 52 FPS — both below the 60 FPS playability threshold. The jump from Medium to High represents a 33 FPS loss, showing that the 4K resolution combined with higher presets overwhelms the Arc B570's capabilities. The min/max data for Medium at 4K (74-100 FPS) shows a wider variance than at lower resolutions, suggesting the GPU is working harder to maintain frame pacing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2983rd out of 3716 tested combinations in Inside. This percentile placement — roughly the 20th percentile — might seem surprising given the strong 1080p and 1440p results. The ranking reflects the fact that the database includes many high-end systems with more powerful GPUs that achieve higher 4K framerates. The Intel Arc B570, while capable at lower resolutions, falls behind in the 4K Ultra tier where many competing GPUs excel.

This rank does not indicate a poor experience. The data shows the combo is well above the playable threshold at 1080p and 1440p across all settings, and even at 4K, two of the four presets (Low and Medium) clear 60 FPS. The rank is more a reflection of the 4K Ultra ceiling than an indictment of overall performance. In terms of the CPU's contribution, the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rivals — the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (avg score 83807, 0.2% faster), AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090, 1.1% faster), AMD EPYC 9135 (82980, 1.2% faster), and AMD EPYC 7F72 (85072, 1.3% slower) — all cluster within a narrow band, confirming the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data clearly shows that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance in Inside, especially as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the framerates are so high (240 FPS at Low) that the CPU's single-thread performance — a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 — is more than sufficient to feed the GPU. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p (240 to 114 FPS, a 126 FPS drop) is entirely attributable to GPU workload, as the CPU's 24 cores and 24 threads are not stressed by a 2D platformer.

At 2560x1440, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced. The drop from 172 FPS at Low to 82 FPS at Ultra represents a 90 FPS reduction, a larger absolute decline than at 1080p. This indicates the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as pixel count increases. The CPU's performance — with a Passmark single-thread score of 4823 and a multithread score of 60860 — remains more than adequate, as evidenced by the fact that even the lowest 1440p framerate (82 FPS) is well above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the GPU bottleneck is absolute. The framerate drops from 108 FPS at Low to 52 FPS at Ultra — a 56 FPS reduction that mirrors the GPU's compute limitations. The Arc B570's 2304 shading units and 80 ROPs, combined with a 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, simply cannot sustain high preset workloads at 4K. The CPU's role here is negligible; even a significantly weaker processor would likely produce identical 4K results. The scaling between resolutions at the same preset confirms this: High settings drop from 120 FPS at 1080p to 86 FPS at 1440p to 54 FPS at 4K, a pattern that tracks the pixel count increase (2.25x from 1080p to 4K) more closely than any CPU metric.

The Verdict

The benchmark data provides a definitive answer: this PC can run Inside at all tested resolutions, but with caveats at 4K. At 1920x1080, every preset — Low (240 FPS), Medium (192 FPS), High (120 FPS), and Ultra (114 FPS) — clears the 60 FPS threshold with substantial headroom. At 2560x1440, all four presets are playable, with Ultra averaging 82 FPS. The minimums at Medium (117 FPS) confirm stable frame delivery.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is more nuanced. Low settings (108 FPS) and Medium settings (87 FPS) are fully playable, with Medium showing a min of 74 FPS that stays above the 60 FPS line. High settings (54 FPS) and Ultra settings (52 FPS) fall short of the playability threshold. The verdict data confirms this: the playable settings at 4K are Low and Medium, with Medium being the best settings choice at 87 FPS average. For players targeting 4K, sticking to Medium settings provides a smooth experience, while High and Ultra should be avoided unless frame rate dips below 60 FPS are acceptable.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The GPU's nearest rivals provide context for what other hardware would behave similarly. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (avg score 20534, 0.1% slower) would produce nearly identical framerates in Inside. The Intel Arc A750 (avg score 20582, 0.1% faster) is the closest desktop equivalent, suggesting it would match the B570's performance within a few FPS. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (avg score 20480, 0.4% slower) and AMD Radeon R9 M390X (avg score 20662, 0.5% faster) are mobile and older workstation parts that would also land in the same performance band, though their driver optimization for modern games like Inside may vary.

On the CPU side, the nearest rivals are all within 1.3% of the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus's average benchmark score. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% faster) is the most likely alternative in a desktop build, offering essentially identical gaming performance. The AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1% faster), AMD EPYC 9135 (1.2% faster), and AMD EPYC 7F72 (1.3% slower) are server-class chips that would not meaningfully change Inside's framerates, as the game's GPU-bound nature means the CPU has little influence on the measured results.

Best Settings per Resolution

The data identifies the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS at each resolution:

• 3840x2160: Medium is the highest playable preset, averaging 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS. This provides a 27 FPS headroom over the 60 FPS threshold, with the min/max range (74-100 FPS) indicating stable frame delivery.
• 2560x1440: Ultra is the best settings choice, averaging 82 FPS. While this is the most demanding preset, it still clears the 60 FPS line by 22 FPS, making it the recommended option for maximum visual quality.
• 1920x1080: Ultra averages 114 FPS, providing a 54 FPS buffer over the playability threshold. This makes it the clear choice for players prioritizing both visual fidelity and smooth performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Inside at 4K with High settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average framerate is 54 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium settings at 4K average 87 FPS and are the highest playable preset.

Q: What is the maximum framerate achievable at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system reaches an average of 240 FPS. Medium settings average 192 FPS, High settings average 120 FPS, and Ultra settings average 114 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, placing it 0.1% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.1% faster than the Intel Arc A750 (20582). All four nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and AMD Radeon R9 M390X, are within 0.5% of its score.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game?

A: No. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, and the framerate scaling across resolutions closely tracks GPU workload. At 4K, the framerate drops from 108 FPS (Low) to 52 FPS (Ultra), a pattern consistent with GPU limitation rather than CPU constraint.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 average 82 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. This is the most demanding preset that remains playable, making it the recommended choice for that resolution.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems?

A: The combination of Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2983rd out of 3716 tested combinations for Inside. This places it in the lower half of tested systems, primarily due to the GPU's limitations at 4K Ultra settings.