Inside

Inside pairs an Intel Core Ultra 5 235 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, a combination that lands at rank 2253 out of 2887 tested combos for this title. The data reveals a system that is decisively GPU-limited at higher resolutions, yet surprisingly capable of delivering extremely high frame rates at 1080p, making the RTX 2060 the primary bottleneck in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent drop as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound workload. At the Low preset, the average frame rate falls from 256 FPS at 1920x1080 to 184 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 72 FPS, and then to 116 FPS at 3840x2160, a further drop of 68 FPS. This linear decline in performance with pixel count strongly indicates that the RTX 2060's rendering throughput is the limiting factor, as the CPU overhead remains relatively constant across these resolutions.

The Medium preset tells a similar story, with averages of 205 FPS at 1080p, 147 FPS at 1440p, and 93 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p represents a 28% performance decrease, while the jump to 4K from 1440p is a 37% decrease. These proportional drops align almost perfectly with the increase in pixel count, confirming that the GPU is saturated well before the CPU becomes a concern. The High and Ultra presets follow the same pattern, with 4K averages of 58 FPS and 55 FPS respectively, showing that even the most demanding settings cannot escape the GPU bottleneck.

Interestingly, the gap between 1440p and 4K is larger than the gap between 1080p and 1440p in absolute terms for all presets. For instance, High settings yield 128 FPS at 1080p, 92 FPS at 1440p, and 58 FPS at 4K. The 36 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, but the 34 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K is nearly identical, despite the larger pixel count difference. This suggests that the RTX 2060 is already struggling to maintain its fill rate at 1440p, and the additional pixel load at 4K pushes it to its absolute limits.

The data implies that the Core Ultra 5 235, with its 14 cores and 14 threads, has ample headroom to feed the GPU at all resolutions. The fact that frame rates scale so predictably with resolution means the CPU is not introducing any meaningful bottleneck. For a puzzle platformer like Inside, which is not typically associated with heavy physics or complex AI, this CPU is more than sufficient, and the entire performance envelope is defined by the graphics card.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 2253 out of 2887 tested combinations, this pairing sits in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems for Inside. This ranking reflects the RTX 2060's age and its position as an entry-level 20-series card, rather than any deficiency in the CPU. The Core Ultra 5 235 is a modern processor that ranks in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, but the GPU only ranks in the 58th percentile, which drags the overall combo ranking down.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide context for this ranking. The RTX 2060 achieves an average benchmark score of 15290, which places it in a tight cluster with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (avg score 15283, deltaPct 0) and the AMD Radeon 680M (avg score 15270, deltaPct 0.1). It is also closely matched with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (avg score 15199, deltaPct 0.6) and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (avg score 15171, deltaPct 0.8). This means the RTX 2060 is performing exactly as expected for its class, and the combo rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's mid-range standing.

The CPU, by contrast, is a powerhouse. Its average benchmark score of 46062 places it within 0.1% of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (avg score 46030) and the Intel Core i9-13900HX (avg score 46098). It is also slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 4364P (avg score 45970, deltaPct 0.2) and the AMD EPYC 7303 (avg score 45960, deltaPct 0.2). This CPU is clearly not the limiting factor in this combination, and the data suggests that swapping in a more powerful GPU would dramatically improve the combo's ranking.

The deltaPct values for the GPU's nearest rivals are remarkably small, all within 0.8% of each other. This indicates that the RTX 2060 is performing precisely at the median for its performance class, and the combo rank of 2253 reflects the GPU's position in the broader landscape rather than any unusual pairing issue. For a game like Inside, which is not graphically intensive by modern standards, this combo still manages to produce playable frame rates at all settings, but it cannot compete with higher-tier GPU pairings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data offers clear guidance on the optimal settings for this combination. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 205 FPS with a minimum of 174 FPS and a maximum of 236 FPS, which provides a smooth and responsive experience with headroom for any frame rate fluctuations. The Low preset achieves 256 FPS, which is excessive for most displays, while High and Ultra yield 128 FPS and 122 FPS respectively, still well above the 60 FPS threshold but with diminishing returns on visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the standout choice, delivering an average of 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS. This provides excellent smoothness while maintaining a balance between visual fidelity and performance. The High preset at 92 FPS is also viable for gamers with 144Hz displays, but the Ultra preset at 88 FPS is close enough that the extra visual detail may not justify the performance cost. The Low preset at 184 FPS is only recommended for competitive play where maximum frame rates are prioritized over visuals.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The Medium preset is the only sensible option, delivering an average of 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. This is the only 4K setting that stays comfortably above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K displays. The High preset at 58 FPS is borderline, with occasional drops below 60 FPS likely, while the Ultra preset at 55 FPS is not recommended for a consistent experience. The Low preset at 116 FPS is an option for those who prioritize frame rate over visual quality, but the visual downgrade is significant.

The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p and 1440p, it provides frame rates that are several times higher than the 60 FPS standard, ensuring a fluid experience even in demanding scenes. At 4K, it is the only preset that maintains a playable frame rate without sacrificing too much visual detail. Gamers with high refresh rate monitors will find the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p to be the sweet spot for this hardware combination.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset provides a comprehensive picture of this combo's performance across all resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves the highest average of 256 FPS, followed by Medium at 205 FPS (min 174, max 236), High at 128 FPS, and Ultra at 122 FPS. This shows a clear progression where each settings tier reduces performance by a significant margin, with the largest drop occurring between Medium and High.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 184 FPS, Medium averages 147 FPS (min 125, max 169), High averages 92 FPS, and Ultra averages 88 FPS. The relative ordering remains consistent with the 1080p results, but the absolute values are roughly 30% lower, reflecting the increased pixel load. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 4 FPS at this resolution, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional effects have diminishing returns on the RTX 2060.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 116 FPS, Medium averages 93 FPS (min 79, max 106), High averages 58 FPS, and Ultra averages 55 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Low preset falls below 120 FPS, and the Medium preset is the only setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS. The High and Ultra presets are nearly identical in performance, with a difference of only 3 FPS, indicating that the GPU is completely saturated at 4K and cannot handle the additional load from the higher settings.

The minimum FPS values are only provided for the Medium preset at each resolution: 174 FPS at 1080p, 125 FPS at 1440p, and 79 FPS at 4K. These minimums represent the worst-case scenarios during gameplay, and they all remain well above the 60 FPS threshold, confirming that the Medium preset provides a consistently smooth experience even during demanding scenes. The maximum FPS values for Medium are 236 FPS, 169 FPS, and 106 FPS respectively, showing that the GPU can occasionally hit higher frame rates when the scene is less demanding.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the definitive performance limiter in this combination, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. The GPU features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is sufficient for Inside at all tested settings, but the card's compute capabilities are the primary constraint. The RTX 2060 has 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs, which are modest by modern standards but adequate for a 2019-era mid-range card.

The GPU's clock speeds are 1365 MHz base and 1680 MHz boost, which are relatively low compared to newer cards but typical for the Turing architecture's 12 nm process. The card's pixel rate is 80.64 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 201.6 GTexel/s, which translate directly to its fill rate capabilities. The FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS is the key metric for this game's rendering workload, and it explains why the card struggles at 4K with higher settings.

The RTX 2060's benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. Its Passmark G3D score of 14111 and average benchmark score of 15290 place it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The card's nearest rivals are all within 0.8% of its performance, including the GTX 580 (deltaPct 0), Radeon 680M (deltaPct 0.1), RTX 3050 OEM (deltaPct 0.6), and RX 7600 (deltaPct 0.8). This tight clustering indicates that the RTX 2060 is performing exactly as expected for its class, with no unusual deviations.

The GPU's 6 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor in Inside, as evidenced by the fact that even at 4K Ultra settings, the card maintains 55 FPS without any reported memory-related issues. The card's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and 30 RT cores are additional features that, while not heavily utilized by this title, demonstrate its capability for more modern games. However, for Inside, the raw rasterization performance is what matters, and the data shows that the RTX 2060 is the component that determines the frame rates across all settings and resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings, which averages 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS. The High and Ultra presets average 58 FPS and 55 FPS respectively, which are borderline for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware combination?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at Medium settings provides an excellent balance, delivering an average of 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 FPS. This offers high visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The RTX 2060's benchmark performance is within 0.8% of the GTX 580, Radeon 680M, RTX 3050 OEM, and RX 7600, with an average score of 15290. This suggests it performs similarly to these cards in games like Inside.

Q: Is the Core Ultra 5 235 a bottleneck for the RTX 2060?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is not a limiting factor. The Core Ultra 5 235 ranks in the 89th percentile among CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 58th percentile, and the frame rates scale directly with resolution, indicating a GPU bottleneck.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 128 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This provides a smooth experience on standard 60Hz displays and is also suitable for 120Hz monitors.

Q: Does the Medium preset offer a significant advantage over High at 4K?

A: Yes, the Medium preset averages 93 FPS at 4K, while High averages only 58 FPS. This 35 FPS difference is substantial and makes Medium the only viable preset for consistent 4K gameplay above 60 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a modern 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on TSMC's 3 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with a 24 MB shared L3 cache. This CPU is clearly not a bottleneck for the RTX 2060, as the frame rate scaling with resolution demonstrates that the GPU is saturated before the CPU's capabilities are fully utilized.

The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a single-core score of 2085. Its Passmark multi-thread score of 37816 and single-thread score of 4516 place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and Intel Core i9-13900HX, are all within 0.2% of its average benchmark score of 46062, confirming that this is a high-performance processor.

For Inside, a puzzle platformer that does not require extensive CPU resources, the Core Ultra 5 235 provides more than enough processing power. The game's genre typically involves simple physics and limited AI, so the CPU's 14 cores are likely underutilized. The fact that frame rates at 1080p with Low settings reach 256 FPS suggests that the CPU is capable of driving the GPU to its maximum output without any stuttering or frame pacing issues.

The CPU's memory support for DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 102.4 GB/s bandwidth further ensures that data can be fed to the GPU efficiently. The processor's PCIe Gen 5 support with 20 lanes provides ample bandwidth for the RTX 2060, which uses PCIe 3.0 x16. This forward compatibility means the CPU is well-positioned for future GPU upgrades, and the data suggests that pairing this CPU with a more powerful graphics card would yield significantly higher frame rates in Inside.