Inside

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The data shows a clear and expected pattern: frame rates decline as resolution increases, but the scale of that decline reveals where the bottleneck sits. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 430.4 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 385.9 FPS, a reduction of roughly 10%. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 301.9 FPS, which is about 30% below the 1080p figure. The drop from 1440p to 4K is steeper, indicating that the GPU is beginning to feel the load.

Under High settings, the scaling is more pronounced. The 1080p result is 329.6 FPS, 1440p is 242.8 FPS, and 4K is 151.2 FPS. That represents a 54% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The pattern is consistent with a game that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the fact that even at 4K Ultra the combo still holds 145.4 FPS suggests the RTX 5090 has ample headroom.

The limiting component shifts with settings. At 1080p Low, the CPU is likely the primary constraint, as the frame rate of 430.4 FPS approaches what the i9-14900K can feed. At 4K Ultra, the GPU becomes the limit, but the 145.4 FPS result indicates the RTX 5090 is far from overwhelmed. The game is not demanding enough to stress this hardware combination at any resolution, which makes the scaling curve informative primarily for understanding where the ceiling lies.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific pairing of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 4th out of 1671 tested combinations in Inside. That places it in the top 0.24% of all combos in the database. The rank is based on measured performance across the tested resolution and settings matrix, and the data confirms that this is an elite-tier configuration.

The CPU alone sits at the 97th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7413, scores 80041, a delta of -0.3%, meaning the EPYC is marginally ahead. The Intel Core i9-14900KF scores 79245, putting it 0.7% behind the i9-14900K. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF and 265K trail by 0.7% and 0.9% respectively. These are negligible differences, indicating the CPU is not the differentiator in this ranking.

The GPU is at the 94th percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84306. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, scores 84241, a delta of 0.1% — essentially identical. The RTX 5050 Mobile is 0.2% ahead, while the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 trails by 1.3% and the NVIDIA CMP 40HX leads by 1.6%. The GPU's raw compute is not the reason this combo ranks 4th; rather, it is the combination of a top-tier CPU feeding a top-tier GPU in a game that is not particularly demanding.

The 4th place ranking out of 1671 combos means only three other configurations perform better in this specific title. Given that the CPU and GPU both sit near the top of their respective benchmark charts, the ranking is expected. The data confirms that this is a near-optimal configuration for Inside.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 brings 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. For a puzzle platformer like Inside, this is an extraordinary amount of memory bandwidth and capacity. The game's visual style is minimalist, with dark corridors and limited texture detail, so VRAM usage is unlikely to approach the 32 GB available. The 1750 MHz memory clock, listed as 28 Gbps effective, provides more than enough throughput for any asset streaming the game requires.

The GPU's clock speeds are 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost. These clocks, combined with 21760 shading units and 176 ROPs, produce a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 104.8 TFLOPS. For a game with simple geometry and limited particle effects, these specs are far beyond what is necessary.

The measured FPS results reflect this over-provisioning. At 1080p Ultra, the combo hits 321 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it still manages 145.4 FPS. The GPU is not the limiting factor at any tested setting. Even the most demanding configuration, 4K Ultra, leaves the GPU with headroom, as evidenced by the fact that the 4K Low result of 301.9 FPS is more than double the Ultra figure. This suggests that the settings are having a larger impact on frame rate than resolution, which is a hallmark of a GPU that is nowhere near saturated.

The data shows that the RTX 5090's massive memory subsystem and high clock speeds are not being stressed. The game's rendering requirements are modest, and the GPU responds by delivering frame rates that are limited more by the CPU's ability to issue draw calls than by its own processing capacity.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Inside?

A: The data shows that even at 3840x2160 Ultra, the combo maintains 145.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440 Ultra, the average is 227.5 FPS. The highest measured frame rate across all tests is 430.4 FPS at 1080p Low. Any resolution up to 4K is playable, but 4K Ultra provides the best visual fidelity while still exceeding 144 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 84306, which is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D at 84241. The RTX 5050 Mobile scores 84171, putting it 0.2% behind. The AMD Radeon PRO W6600 trails by 1.3% at 83209, while the NVIDIA CMP 40HX leads by 1.6% at 85637.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 145.4, while at 4K Low it is 301.9. The large gap between settings indicates the GPU is doing more work at Ultra, but the fact that 4K Ultra still delivers 145.4 FPS suggests neither component is fully saturated. The CPU's 24 cores and 32 threads are more than sufficient for this game, and the GPU's 32 GB of VRAM ensures no memory-related stutters.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 4th out of 1671 tested combinations in Inside. This places it in the top 0.24% of all configurations. The ranking reflects the combined strength of the i9-14900K and RTX 5090, which both sit at the 97th and 94th percentiles respectively.

Q: Does the game benefit from the CPU's high boost clock?

A: The i9-14900K has a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 430.4 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the dataset. This suggests the CPU's single-threaded performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7040, is sufficient to keep the GPU fed at low resolutions where the CPU is more likely to be the limit.

Q: How much faster is the 4K Low setting compared to 4K Ultra?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low setting delivers 301.9 FPS, while Ultra delivers 145.4 FPS. The Low setting is approximately 108% faster. This wide margin indicates that the Ultra preset adds significant GPU load, but the RTX 5090 still handles it without dropping below 145 FPS.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data provides a clear picture of performance across four settings presets at three resolutions. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 430.4 FPS, Medium 399.1 FPS, High 329.6 FPS, and Ultra 321 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 69.5 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 8.6 FPS. This suggests that the visual improvements from High to Ultra are relatively minor in performance cost, while the jump from Medium to High is more significant.

At 1440p, the pattern is similar: Low delivers 385.9 FPS, Medium 354.2 FPS, High 242.8 FPS, and Ultra 227.5 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 111.4 FPS, which is substantial. At 4K, the results are 301.9 FPS for Low, 243.8 FPS for Medium, 151.2 FPS for High, and 145.4 FPS for Ultra. The gap between Medium and High is 92.6 FPS, while High to Ultra is only 5.8 FPS.

The data indicates that the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance at 4K, delivering 151.2 FPS. The Ultra preset provides only a marginal frame rate reduction (5.8 FPS) but likely adds visual enhancements that are worth the small cost. For competitive play or maximum smoothness, the Medium preset at 4K delivers 243.8 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. At 1440p, the High preset at 242.8 FPS is the sweet spot, while at 1080p, even Ultra exceeds 320 FPS.

The recommendation is to use the Ultra preset at 4K for the best visual experience, as the 145.4 FPS result is still above 144 Hz. If higher frame rates are preferred, the Medium preset at 4K provides a significant boost to 243.8 FPS without a major visual compromise.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i9-14900K features 24 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. The architecture is Raptor Lake-R, built on Intel's 10 nm process. The CPU has 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. This cache configuration, combined with the high boost clock, provides strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for a game like Inside that relies on consistent frame pacing rather than massive multi-threaded workloads.

The CPU's Cinebench R23 scores are 49872 for multi-core and 7040 for single-core. The Geekbench scores are 20370 for multi-core and 3064 for single-core. These results place the CPU at the 97th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824. The PassMark single-thread score is 4697, which is competitive with the nearest rivals.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and manage game logic. The measured FPS at 1080p Low is 430.4 FPS, which is the highest in the dataset. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 145.4 FPS, but this is due to GPU load, not CPU limitation. The fact that the 1080p Low result is only 28% higher than the 4K Low result (430.4 vs 301.9) suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck even at low resolutions.

The CPU's nearest rivals show negligible performance differences. The AMD EPYC 7413 is 0.3% ahead, while the i9-14900KF and Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF are both 0.7% behind. This indicates that the i9-14900K's performance is well within the expected range for a top-tier desktop CPU, and its 24 cores provide ample headroom for any background tasks that might interfere with gaming.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, for a total of 12 data points. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 430.4 FPS, the Medium preset 399.1 FPS, the High preset 329.6 FPS, and the Ultra preset 321 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 109.4 FPS, which represents a 25% reduction in performance at the highest settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 385.9 FPS, the Medium preset 354.2 FPS, the High preset 242.8 FPS, and the Ultra preset 227.5 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 158.4 FPS, a 41% reduction. The gap between Medium and High is particularly notable at 111.4 FPS, suggesting that the High preset introduces significant rendering changes.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset delivers 301.9 FPS, the Medium preset 243.8 FPS, the High preset 151.2 FPS, and the Ultra preset 145.4 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 156.5 FPS, a 52% reduction. The gap between Medium and High is 92.6 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is only 5.8 FPS.

Comparing across resolutions at the same settings, the Low preset drops from 430.4 FPS at 1080p to 385.9 FPS at 1440p to 301.9 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset drops from 399.1 FPS to 354.2 FPS to 243.8 FPS. The High preset drops from 329.6 FPS to 242.8 FPS to 151.2 FPS. The Ultra preset drops from 321 FPS to 227.5 FPS to 145.4 FPS.

The data shows that the High and Ultra presets are more sensitive to resolution changes than Low and Medium. The High preset loses 54% of its 1080p performance at 4K, while the Low preset loses only 30%. This indicates that the higher settings place a proportionally larger load on the GPU as resolution increases, which is consistent with the RTX 5090's role as the primary performance driver in this configuration.