Inside

Inside is a puzzle platformer from 2016 that places minimal stress on modern hardware, and the measured results for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 reflect that. The data shows this combination is positioned in the lower-middle tier of tested configurations for this specific title, with a combo rank of 1615 out of 2887 tested combos. This ranking suggests that while the system is far from the top performers for Inside, it is also not at the bottom, and the frame rates achieved across all tested settings and resolutions indicate a playable experience throughout.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1615 out of 2887 places this Intel and AMD pairing in the 44th percentile of all tested configurations for Inside. This means roughly 56% of tested combos deliver higher average frame rates in this game, which is a notable position given the hardware involved. The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU's overall benchmark standing, as the Radeon RX 9060 sits at the 59th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU is much stronger, ranking in the 89th percentile among all CPUs. This discrepancy indicates that the graphics card is the limiting factor for this game, dragging the overall combo ranking below what the processor alone would suggest.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, which scores nearly identically with a delta of just 0.1%, and the Intel Core i9-13900HX, which is 0.1% behind. This shows the Core Ultra 5 235 is competitive with high-end laptop and desktop chips from previous generations. However, for Inside, these CPU differences are largely irrelevant because the game is not computationally demanding. The GPU's nearest rivals are more telling for this analysis: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is 0.7% ahead in average benchmark score, while the AMD Radeon RX 7700 is 1% behind. These close margins in synthetic tests translate to the observed frame rates in Inside, where the RX 9060 performs adequately but not spectacularly.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 44 chip, manufactured on a 4 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. The GPU's clock speeds are substantial, with a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. These clocks allow the card to reach a peak FP32 performance of 21.43 TFLOPS, which is respectable for a mid-range card.

For Inside, the GPU's role is primarily about maintaining high frame rates at various resolutions. The game has simple 2D side-scrolling visuals with limited 3D elements, so the RX 9060 does not need to leverage its full compute capability. The measured data confirms this: at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 309 FPS average, which is far beyond what any display can show. Even at 4K with Ultra settings, the card manages 66 FPS average, which is comfortably playable. The 8 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this title, as Inside's textures and effects are not demanding by modern standards. The GPU's 64 ROPs and 112 TMUs are also plenty for the game's rendering requirements, and the 28 RT cores are unused since Inside does not support ray tracing.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 309 FPS, which drops to 222 FPS at 1440p Low, and further to 140 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 55% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and another 37% drop from 1440p to 4K. This significant scaling with resolution indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the CPU is capable of delivering higher frame rates if the GPU could keep up.

At High settings, the scaling is similar: 155 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. The drops are 28% and 37%, respectively, showing a consistent pattern. At Medium settings, which include measured minimum and maximum FPS values, the averages are 247 FPS at 1080p, 178 FPS at 1440p, and 112 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 28% reduction, and from 1440p to 4K is a 37% reduction. This consistent pattern across all settings confirms that the RX 9060's rendering throughput is the limiting factor, as the CPU is not being maxed out at any resolution. The 4K frame rates are still playable, but the dramatic scaling shows that the card is working harder at higher resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p provides an excellent balance, with 178 FPS average at Medium settings and 106 FPS at Ultra. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the higher resolution adds visual clarity without the performance penalty seen at 4K, where Ultra settings drop to 66 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Inside?

A: Yes, the measured data shows 4K is playable. At 4K High, the average FPS is 70, and at 4K Medium it is 112 FPS. Even at 4K Ultra, the average is 66 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti's score of 16129. It is 1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7700's score of 15852.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for achieving high FPS in Inside?

A: The CPU is more than capable, ranking in the 89th percentile among all CPUs. The GPU is the bottleneck, as evidenced by the significant frame rate drops when moving from 1080p to 4K. The CPU is not the limiting factor at any tested setting.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming?

A: The data shows that at 1080p, all settings presets deliver high frame rates. Low settings achieve 309 FPS, Medium achieves 247 FPS, High achieves 155 FPS, and Ultra achieves 147 FPS. For a 60 Hz display, any preset is sufficient, but Medium offers a good balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: Does the RX 9060 have enough VRAM for Inside?

A: Yes, the 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is more than sufficient. Inside does not require large texture pools, and the measured frame rates show no signs of VRAM-related stuttering, as the minimum FPS values at Medium settings are still high.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best experience across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 247 FPS average with a minimum of 210 FPS and a maximum of 284 FPS. This provides a significant performance headroom over the 60 FPS standard, ensuring smooth gameplay even during complex scenes. At 1440p Medium, the average is 178 FPS with a minimum of 151 FPS, which is still well above the threshold for a fluid experience. Even at 4K Medium, the average of 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS remains comfortably playable.

The High preset is also a viable option for those prioritizing visual fidelity. At 1080p High, the average is 155 FPS, at 1440p High it is 111 FPS, and at 4K High it is 70 FPS. The Ultra preset offers negligible visual improvements over High for this game, but the frame rate cost is significant: 147 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K. Given that the difference between High and Ultra is likely imperceptible in a 2D puzzle platformer, Medium represents the sweet spot for performance, while High is recommended for those with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p or 1440p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a single-core score of 2085. These numbers place the CPU in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, indicating it is a high-performance desktop processor.

For Inside, the CPU's role is minimal, as the game is not computationally intensive. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low (309 FPS) show that the processor can feed the GPU with data faster than the graphics card can render frames. The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, has a nearly identical average benchmark score, differing by only 0.1%. This indicates that the Core Ultra 5 235 is well-matched to other high-end processors, but for this game, that performance is largely untapped. The 14 cores and 14 threads are overkill for a puzzle platformer, and the boost clock of 5.00 GHz ensures that even single-threaded tasks are handled quickly. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s over dual-channel DDR5 is more than adequate for the game's data transfer needs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers high frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 309 FPS, Medium produces 247 FPS with a minimum of 210 and a maximum of 284, High produces 155 FPS, and Ultra produces 147 FPS. These numbers show that at 1080p, the GPU is not heavily taxed, and the frame rates are limited by the game's engine or the CPU's ability to process game logic, though the CPU is capable of much more.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain impressive. Low settings average 222 FPS, Medium averages 178 FPS with a minimum of 151 and a maximum of 204, High averages 111 FPS, and Ultra averages 106 FPS. The scaling from 1080p is clear, with a 28-37% reduction in average FPS depending on the settings preset, indicating the GPU is becoming a more significant factor.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting component. Low settings average 140 FPS, Medium averages 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 and a maximum of 128, High averages 70 FPS, and Ultra averages 66 FPS. The 4K results show a substantial drop from 1440p, with reductions of 37-41% across settings. This confirms that the RX 9060's 8 GB VRAM and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the game, but the GPU's compute throughput is the bottleneck at this resolution. The minimum FPS values at Medium settings across all resolutions (210 at 1080p, 151 at 1440p, and 95 at 4K) indicate that the system maintains stable performance without significant frame time spikes, providing a consistent gameplay experience.