Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, on this hardware, is almost comically over-powered. The data shows this combination of an Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is in the 89th percentile for this game (rank 407 out of 3716 tested configurations), meaning it is far faster than the vast majority of systems. The benchmark results indicate that the primary challenge isn't achieving playable frame rates, but rather deciding how to spend the enormous performance surplus. At 1080p, even the most demanding "Ultra" preset delivers an average of 230 FPS, which is well beyond the refresh rate of most displays. The low and medium presets push frame rates into the 400+ range, which is purely academic for standard monitors. The data suggests that users should prioritize visual fidelity and consistency over raw frame rate chasing, as the hardware headroom allows for maximum settings at high resolutions without any practical performance concerns.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows show a clear pattern: this hardware is never bottlenecked by the game's rendering load, even at the highest settings. The most demanding configuration measured—4K Ultra—still averages 104 FPS. The least demanding—1080p Low—averages 432 FPS. This massive spread indicates that the GPU is the scaling factor, but it scales so well that the settings choice is about preference, not necessity.

For the best experience, the "Ultra" preset is the only logical choice at 1080p and 1440p. The data shows that moving from High to Ultra at 1080p only drops the average from 241 FPS to 230 FPS, a negligible 11 FPS penalty for the maximum visual quality. Similarly, at 1440p, the drop from High to Ultra is from 174 FPS to 165 FPS, which is still far above the 144Hz refresh rate that most high-end monitors use. The Ultra preset provides the most complete visual experience without any meaningful performance cost at these resolutions.

At 4K, the decision becomes slightly more nuanced but still favors high settings. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 104 FPS, which is smooth for most displays but not optimal for high-refresh-rate 4K panels. The High preset at 4K averages 109 FPS, a marginal 5 FPS improvement. The Medium preset, however, jumps to 175 FPS, which is a significant increase. For 4K, the data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance, delivering 175 average FPS with a minimum of 148 FPS, ensuring no drops below the 144Hz threshold. The Low preset at 4K (218 FPS) is unnecessary, as Medium provides a far better visual experience for only a 43 FPS penalty. The recommendation is to use Medium at 4K for high-refresh displays, or Ultra if you prefer absolute visual fidelity and have a 60Hz monitor, as 104 FPS is still well above that target.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is the dominant component in this system for Inside. Its specifications are substantial: 24 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus with 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth, and a boost clock of 1515 MHz. The GPU benchmark data places it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 45152. Its nearest rivals in synthetic tests are the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (0.5% slower) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (0.8% slower), which shows it is a top-tier mobile part.

In the game results, the GPU's role is clear: it is the scaling factor between presets. At 4K, increasing from Low to Medium raises the average FPS from 218 to 175, and then to 109 at High, and finally 104 at Ultra. This pattern shows that the GPU is processing more pixels and more effects as the preset increases. The 24 GB VRAM buffer is never a concern for a game of this era; the memory bandwidth of 896 GB/s is more than sufficient to feed the rendering pipeline at any resolution and preset combination measured. The data indicates that the GPU is not the limiting factor for achieving high frame rates; instead, it provides nearly unlimited headroom for this title. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K (from 218 to 104 FPS) shows a 114 FPS reduction, which is entirely attributable to the GPU's workload increasing with visual complexity. The GPU is so powerful that even the most demanding preset leaves the CPU mostly idle, as evidenced by the relatively small performance gap between 1440p and 4K at the same settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark results are strong, placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 52073. Its nearest rivals in synthetic tests are the AMD EPYC 8124P (0.1% slower) and the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (0.2% faster), indicating it is a high-end mobile CPU.

For Inside, the CPU's role is minimal. The game is a 2D puzzle platformer with relatively simple physics and logic, so it does not heavily utilize multi-threaded performance. The data shows that at 1080p, the frame rate scales almost exclusively with the GPU preset. The CPU's high single-thread score (4903 in Cinebench R23 single-core) is more than adequate for the game's logic. The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is never the bottleneck; even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the CPU manages to feed it 432 frames per second. This suggests the CPU can handle far more demanding scenarios than this game presents. The 14 cores and high boost clock provide a massive safety margin. The data does not show any scenario where the CPU limits performance, as the frame rates drop uniformly with GPU settings, not with CPU load. In practice, this CPU is overkill for Inside, but that is not a negative—it ensures that there are no stutters or frame-time inconsistencies, even in complex scenes with many objects.

FAQ

Q: Can this hardware run Inside at 4K with the highest settings?

A: Yes. The measured data shows that the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 104 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS standard for 4K displays, though it may not satisfy 120Hz or 144Hz 4K monitors. For those, the Medium preset at 4K averages 175 FPS with a minimum of 148 FPS, which is a better fit.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate this system can achieve in Inside?

A: The highest measured average is 432 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 386 FPS, and the High preset averages 241 FPS. These figures show the system has massive headroom for high-refresh-rate 1080p displays.

Q: Is the 24 GB of VRAM on the RTX 5090 Mobile necessary for this game?

A: No. The data shows the game is not VRAM-limited at any tested configuration. The 24 GB GDDR7 buffer is far more than required for a 2016 puzzle platformer, but it ensures no memory-related stutters or texture pop-in at any resolution.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX has an average benchmark score of 52073, which is 0.1% slower than an AMD EPYC 8124P and 0.2% faster than an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. It also sits close to the Intel Core i7-14700, which is 0.4% faster, and the Intel Core i9-13900F, which is 0.7% slower.

Q: What is the performance difference between the High and Ultra presets?

A: The difference is small. At 1080p, High averages 241 FPS, while Ultra averages 230 FPS, a 11 FPS drop. At 1440p, High averages 174 FPS, and Ultra averages 165 FPS, a 9 FPS drop. At 4K, High averages 109 FPS, and Ultra averages 104 FPS, a 5 FPS drop. The visual upgrade from High to Ultra is worth this minor cost.

Q: Is this system overkill for Inside?

A: Yes, the data suggests it is. The combination ranks in the 89th percentile for this game (rank 407 out of 3716). Even the most demanding preset at 4K (Ultra) delivers 104 FPS, which is far above playable. The hardware is designed for much more demanding titles, but it ensures a flawless experience here.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of scaling from 1080p to 4K. At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 241 at 1080p to 174 at 1440p, and then to 109 at 4K. This represents a 55% drop from 1080p to 4K for the High preset. At the Low preset, the drop is from 432 FPS at 1080p to 347 FPS at 1440p, and finally 218 FPS at 4K, a 50% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar trend: 386 FPS at 1080p, 278 FPS at 1440p, and 175 FPS at 4K, a 55% drop.

This scaling behavior indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component as resolution increases. The frame rate drops are roughly proportional to the increase in pixel count (1080p has about 2.1 million pixels, 1440p has 3.7 million, and 4K has 8.3 million). The fact that the drop from 1080p to 1440p (about 1.76x more pixels) results in a 1.38x drop in FPS (from 241 to 174) shows that the GPU is scaling efficiently but not perfectly linearly. The drop from 1440p to 4K (about 2.25x more pixels) results in a 1.6x drop in FPS (from 174 to 109). This suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and processing power are being utilized more as resolution increases, but the CPU is not a bottleneck at any point. If the CPU were limiting, the frame rate would plateau at lower resolutions, which it does not. The data supports a GPU-bound scenario at all resolutions and settings, with the CPU providing ample headroom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured frame rate data for this hardware combination is as follows:

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average 432 FPS. This is the highest measured frame rate in the entire dataset, indicating the absolute ceiling for this system in this game.
• Medium: Average 386 FPS, with a minimum of 328 FPS and a maximum of 444 FPS. The minimum is still far above any display refresh rate.
• High: Average 241 FPS. This is a significant drop from Medium, showing the impact of higher-quality textures and effects.
• Ultra: Average 230 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 11 FPS, making Ultra the clear choice for visual quality.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average 347 FPS. This is still an exceptionally high frame rate, demonstrating the GPU's strength.
• Medium: Average 278 FPS, with a minimum of 236 FPS and a maximum of 319 FPS. The minimum is still above the 240Hz refresh rate of some high-end monitors.
• High: Average 174 FPS. This is the first setting that drops below 200 FPS, but it remains smooth for 144Hz displays.
• Ultra: Average 165 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is only 9 FPS, making Ultra the recommended preset here.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average 218 FPS. This shows that even at 4K, the system can push over 200 FPS on lower settings.
• Medium: Average 175 FPS, with a minimum of 148 FPS and a maximum of 201 FPS. The minimum is just above the 144Hz threshold, making this the best high-refresh 4K option.
• High: Average 109 FPS. This is suitable for 60Hz displays but not for high-refresh 4K monitors.
• Ultra: Average 104 FPS. This is the lowest measured average, but still comfortably above 60 FPS for a 4K experience.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the Medium preset offers the best balance of frame rate and visual quality at 1440p and 4K, while Ultra is optimal at 1080p due to the minimal performance penalty. The Low preset is only useful for extreme refresh rate chasing, but it is unnecessary given the hardware's capabilities.