Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers overwhelming performance in Inside, exceeding the 60 FPS playability threshold by massive margins at every resolution and preset tested. This combination ranks 16th out of 3,716 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 0.4% of all systems. The data shows a system that is effectively bottleneck-free for this 2016 puzzle platformer, with even the most demanding 4K Ultra settings producing an average of 143 FPS, nearly 2.4 times the playability threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the benchmark results show a clear progression across presets. Low settings produce an average of 300 FPS, while Medium settings drop to 240 FPS average with a minimum of 204 FPS and a maximum of 276 FPS. High settings yield 150 FPS average, and Ultra settings deliver 143 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 157 FPS, indicating that the RTX 5090 has ample headroom even when fully loaded with the highest quality presets.

Moving to 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance scales upward significantly. Low settings reach 396 FPS average, Medium settings deliver 365 FPS average with a minimum of 310 FPS and a maximum of 420 FPS, High settings produce 239 FPS average, and Ultra settings achieve 228 FPS average. The jump from 4K Ultra to 1440p Ultra represents a 59% increase in average frame rate, from 143 FPS to 228 FPS, demonstrating the resolution scaling characteristics of this GPU-heavy workload.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the system reaches its peak measured performance. Low settings hit 442 FPS average, Medium settings deliver 408 FPS average with a minimum of 347 FPS and a maximum of 469 FPS, High settings produce 333 FPS average, and Ultra settings achieve 317 FPS average. Even at 1080p Ultra, the frame rate remains above 300 FPS, which is remarkable given that this is the highest preset available. The minimum FPS values, where recorded, show no troubling dips: 204 FPS at 4K Medium, 310 FPS at 1440p Medium, and 347 FPS at 1080p Medium.

FAQ

*Q: Can this PC run Inside at 4K Ultra settings?*

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 143 FPS, which is 138% above the 60 FPS playability threshold. All four presets at 4K — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are listed as playable in the verdict data.

Q: How much performance headroom exists at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the lowest recorded average is 317 FPS on Ultra settings, which is 5.3 times the playability threshold. Low settings reach 442 FPS average, meaning the system is never remotely challenged at this resolution.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like on Medium settings?

A: The data shows tight minimum-to-average ratios. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 204 FPS is 85% of the 240 FPS average. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 310 FPS is 85% of the 365 FPS average. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 347 FPS is 85% of the 408 FPS average.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84,003, placing it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX, and 1.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9135. It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%.

Q: Where does the GPU rank among all tested graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, is 0.3% behind, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X is 1.4% ahead in average benchmark score.

Q: Is the 60 FPS threshold met at every resolution and setting?

A: Yes. The verdict data lists all four settings — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — as playable at every resolution: 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals that the GPU is the dominant component in this system for Inside. At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 317 at 1080p to 228 at 1440p and 143 at 4K — a 55% reduction from 1080p to 4K. This steep scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where higher resolutions increase the pixel shading workload on the RTX 5090.

The CPU's role becomes visible when examining the Low preset performance. At Low settings, 1080p produces 442 FPS, 1440p produces 396 FPS, and 4K produces 300 FPS. The relatively smaller gap between 1080p and 1440p Low (46 FPS) compared to 1080p and 1440p Ultra (89 FPS) suggests that at lower presets, the CPU begins to assert more influence on the frame rate ceiling. However, even at 4K Low, the 300 FPS result indicates the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is far from being a limiting factor.

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus demonstrates substantial computational headroom with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51,731 and a single-core score of 7,303. Its PassMark single-thread score of 4,823 and multi-thread score of 60,860 further confirm that this CPU can sustain high frame rates without bottlenecking the RTX 5090. The 24-core, 24-thread configuration with a 5.80 GHz boost clock provides ample processing capacity for the game's physics and logic systems, which are modest for a 2016 puzzle platformer.

The Verdict

This system can absolutely run Inside, and the data confirms it clears the 60 FPS playability threshold with extraordinary margin at every resolution and preset combination. At 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Ultra with an average of 143 FPS, which is more than double the threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra delivers 228 FPS average, nearly four times the playability threshold. At 1920x1080, Ultra produces 317 FPS average, over five times the threshold.

The verdict data explicitly lists all four settings — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — as playable at each of the three tested resolutions. This means there is no configuration in the measured data that falls below 60 FPS. The minimum recorded frame rate across all tests is 204 FPS at 4K Medium, which is still 3.4 times the playability threshold. For users with high-refresh-rate displays, even 4K Ultra at 143 FPS supports refresh rates up to 140Hz, while 1440p Ultra at 228 FPS and 1080p Ultra at 317 FPS can drive 240Hz and 300Hz panels respectively.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 16th out of 3,716 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the top 0.4% of all systems tested. This rank reflects the exceptional synergy between the 96th percentile CPU and 92nd percentile GPU. The CPU's average benchmark score of 84,003 puts it slightly ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K by 0.2%, while the GPU's average score of 79,842 is within 0.3% of the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB.

The rank of 16 out of 3,716 is particularly notable given that the GPU sits only in the 92nd percentile overall, yet the combo achieves top-tier performance in this specific game. This indicates that Inside is not particularly demanding on either component, allowing even slightly lower-ranked hardware to achieve high frame rates. The system's performance is more than sufficient for this title, and the rank reflects the diminishing returns of higher-end hardware for older, less demanding games.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which produces an average of 143 FPS. Since all presets exceed the threshold, Ultra is the recommended setting for maximum visual quality without sacrificing playability. The minimum frame rate at 4K Medium is 204 FPS, so even the heaviest preset maintains a comfortable margin above the threshold.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings deliver an average of 228 FPS, making it the best choice for this resolution. The gap between Medium (365 FPS) and Ultra (228 FPS) shows that the visual upgrade comes at a 38% performance cost, but the final result remains far above the playability threshold. Users with 240Hz monitors can take full advantage of the Ultra preset's frame rate.

At 1920x1080, Ultra settings produce an average of 317 FPS, which is the best preset for this resolution. The performance difference between Low (442 FPS) and Ultra (317 FPS) represents a 28% reduction, yet Ultra still delivers more than five times the playability threshold. For competitive play or maximum smoothness, even higher frame rates are available at lower presets, but the Ultra preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance.