Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that remains a demanding showcase for modern hardware, and the tested configuration of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a compelling performance profile. The benchmark data indicates that this combo sits in the 56th percentile of all tested combinations, with a rank of 1615 out of 2887, suggesting it holds a solidly above-average position for this title. The results show a system capable of high refresh rate gaming at mainstream resolutions, while still providing playable frame rates at 4K, making it a versatile choice for a game that blends atmospheric tension with precise, physics-driven movement.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s overall ranking in Inside places it firmly in the upper half of the tested field. With a rank of 1615 out of 2887 combos, the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination outperforms the majority of systems in the database, yet it is not at the absolute top tier. This position reflects a balanced partnership where the CPU’s high multi-threaded capability, evidenced by its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs, complements a GPU that sits in the 59th percentile among all graphics cards.

The data shows a system that is not bottlenecked by the processor in this title, as the CPU’s strong single-thread and multi-thread scores provide ample headroom. The GPU, while not a flagship, delivers consistent frame rates that scale predictably with resolution and settings. At 1080p, the combo achieves average frame rates well above 144 Hz on most presets, indicating that it is well-suited for high-refresh-rate displays. At 1440p, the system still manages to exceed 100 FPS on High and Ultra settings, which is a strong result for a game that relies on smooth motion for its platforming challenges. The ranking suggests that while there are faster combinations available, this pairing offers a robust experience without the need for extreme hardware.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the primary driver of visual performance here, and its specifications directly correlate with the measured frame rates. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for Inside’s art style, which uses a stark, high-contrast silhouette aesthetic with limited texture complexity, allowing the card to operate efficiently across all tested resolutions.

Clock speeds are a key factor in the card’s performance. With a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz, the RX 9060 demonstrates strong scaling in the benchmark results. The boost clock is notably high, and the data suggests that the card is able to maintain high frequencies under load, which contributes to the impressive frame rates seen at 1080p and 1440p. The GPU’s architecture, RDNA 4.0, and its 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output pipelines, deliver a raw compute throughput of 21.43 TFLOPS FP32. This is reflected in the card’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3322, which positions it as a capable mid-range performer.

In the context of Inside, the GPU’s role is less about extreme rasterization and more about maintaining consistent frame pacing. The game’s lighting and particle effects are modest, but the card’s 28 ray accelerators, while not heavily utilized in this title, ensure future-proofing for more demanding software. The PassMark G3D score of 17631 places the RX 9060 in close competition with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which has an average score of 16129, a delta of -0.7%. This indicates that the RX 9060 is slightly faster than that rival, which is a notable achievement for a newer generation card.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Inside with this hardware?

A: The data shows excellent performance at 2560x1440, with average frame rates of 111 FPS on High settings and 106 FPS on Ultra settings. This resolution provides a balance between visual fidelity and smoothness, making it the sweet spot for this combo.

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

A: Yes, it can. At 3840x2160, the combo achieves an average of 70 FPS on High settings and 66 FPS on Ultra settings. While these are not high-refresh-rate numbers, they are well within the playable range for a game like Inside, which does not require twitch reflexes.

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

A: The RX 9060’s average benchmark score is 16014, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti’s 16129. The delta is only -0.7%, meaning the AMD card is essentially neck-and-neck with that older NVIDIA model in overall GPU compute performance.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for this GPU in Inside?

A: The data suggests it is not. The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus has a PassMark single-thread score of 5068 and a multi-thread score of 68574, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. These scores are high enough to ensure the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios.

Q: What kind of frame rates can I expect at 1080p with max settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo delivers an average of 147 FPS. This is a very smooth experience, especially for a puzzle platformer, and it leaves room for higher refresh rate monitors.

Q: Does the GPU’s memory bandwidth affect performance in this game?

A: The RX 9060 has a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for Inside’s visual style. The game does not have large open textures, so the 128-bit bus does not appear to be a limiting factor, as evidenced by the high frame rates at all resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a clear picture of the combo’s performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast. With Low settings, the average FPS is 309, which confirms the CPU’s speed and the GPU’s efficiency at lower loads. Medium settings produce an average of 247 FPS, with a minimum of 210 and a maximum of 284, showing tight frame pacing. High settings drop the average to 155 FPS, while Ultra settings still manage a strong 147 FPS average. This indicates that at 1080p, the game is almost always CPU-bound or hitting a frame rate cap, as the difference between Medium and Ultra is only 100 FPS, while the jump from Low to Medium is 62 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain highly playable. Low settings yield an average of 222 FPS, showcasing the headroom available. Medium settings average 178 FPS, with a min of 151 and max of 204, which is a very stable range. High settings deliver 111 FPS, and Ultra settings provide 106 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a typical performance hit, with the GPU starting to become more of a limiting factor, but the results are still impressive for a mid-range card.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the primary constraint. Low settings average 140 FPS, which is excellent for 4K. Medium settings drop to 112 FPS, with a min of 95 and max of 128, indicating some variance but still a smooth experience. High settings average 70 FPS, and Ultra settings average 66 FPS. The data shows that even at the highest resolution, the combo maintains playable frame rates, though the jump from Low to Ultra represents a 53% reduction in average FPS, highlighting the GPU’s workload at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

For the best overall experience, the data points to 2560x1440 with High settings as the optimal configuration. This setup achieves an average of 111 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and provides a significant visual upgrade over 1080p. The High preset appears to be the sweet spot, as the difference between High and Ultra at 1440p is only 5 FPS (111 vs 106), suggesting that the Ultra preset offers diminishing returns for the performance cost. Players with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors will find this combination ideal.

If prioritizing maximum frame rates, 1920x1080 with Medium settings is the best choice, delivering an average of 247 FPS. This is particularly useful for competitive or speedrun scenarios where every millisecond counts. The Medium preset at 1080p also shows excellent frame consistency, with a minimum of 210 FPS, ensuring no stutters during complex scenes. For those with 4K displays, the Medium preset at 3840x2160 is recommended, as it provides a solid 112 FPS average, which is a good balance between visual quality and smoothness. The Low preset at 4K offers 140 FPS, but the visual downgrade is noticeable, making Medium the better trade-off.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus plays a critical supporting role in this combo’s performance. With 24 cores and 24 threads, based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, this CPU is a powerhouse for multi-threaded workloads. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44253 places it in an elite tier, and its single-core score of 2439 ensures that it can handle the primary game thread efficiently. The CPU’s base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz provide high frequency responsiveness, which is crucial for a game like Inside that has simple physics but requires consistent frame times.

The benchmark data shows the CPU’s 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 93785. Its nearest rivals in terms of average score include the Intel Xeon 6520P with a delta of 0%, and the AMD EPYC 4564P with a delta of -1.5%. This indicates that the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a top-tier consumer processor, and its performance is more than sufficient to feed the RX 9060 in this game. The 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 115.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth on the dual-channel DDR5 interface ensure that data can be fed to the GPU without delays.

In Inside, the CPU’s role is not as demanding as in simulation-heavy titles, but the high single-thread performance is still beneficial. The PassMark data compression score of 804322 and floating-point math score of 229491 highlight the CPU’s ability to handle various tasks, but for gaming, the single-thread score of 5068 is the most relevant metric. This high score ensures that the game’s logic and rendering commands are processed quickly, allowing the GPU to operate at its full potential. The data confirms that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the frame rates scale predictably with GPU load across different resolutions.