Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a benchmark profile for Inside that is defined by extreme headroom at every resolution and settings tier. Measured frame rates range from a low of 99 FPS at 4K Ultra to a high of 433 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that this combination is never constrained by the GPU in any practical sense. The data shows a system that can push a 2016 puzzle platformer far beyond the refresh rates of typical displays, with the CPU and GPU both contributing to results that are uniformly smooth.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this hardware combination in Inside?*

A: The highest measured average is 433 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the peak performance point in the dataset.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset compare to the 1080p Low preset in terms of average FPS?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages 99 FPS, while the 1080p Low preset averages 433 FPS. The difference is 334 FPS, representing a roughly 4.4x increase in performance when dropping resolution and settings to their lowest.

Q: Are there any frame rate dips below 60 FPS in the measured results?

A: No. The lowest average frame rate in the entire dataset is 99 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. The only minimum FPS values provided are for Medium settings: 142 FPS at 4K, 226 FPS at 1440p, and 314 FPS at 1080p, all of which are well above 60 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between the High and Ultra settings at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings produce an average of 166 FPS, while Ultra settings produce an average of 158 FPS. The delta is 8 FPS, showing that the Ultra preset costs only a small amount of performance over High at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's benchmark percentile compare to the CPU's percentile?

A: The RTX 4090 sits at the 88th percentile among all GPUs, while the Core Ultra 9 275HX sits at the 94th percentile among all CPUs. Both are high-performing parts, with the CPU ranking slightly higher relative to its peers.

Q: Which resolution and settings combination yields the lowest average FPS, and is it still playable?

A: The lowest average is 99 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. Given the game's genre as a puzzle platformer, this frame rate is far beyond what is needed for smooth, responsive gameplay.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the primary driver of Inside's frame rate results. With 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, the card offers 1.01 TB/s of memory bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for a game of this scope. The GPU's architecture, Ada Lovelace, is built on a 5 nm process from TSMC and contains 76,300 million transistors on a 609 mm² die. The base clock is 2235 MHz with a boost clock of 2520 MHz, and the card has 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs.

The role of the GPU is evident in the scaling from Low to Ultra settings at each resolution. At 3840x2160, the average frame rate drops from 209 FPS at Low to 167 FPS at Medium, then to 104 FPS at High, and finally to 99 FPS at Ultra. This progression shows that even at 4K, the RTX 4090 has substantial compute headroom; the drop from High to Ultra is only 5 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not particularly taxing on this hardware. The GPU's FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s provide more than enough raw power for the game's 2D side-scrolling visuals, which are not demanding by modern standards.

The RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 60,347 places it at the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60 with a delta of 0%, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 with a delta of 0.3%, the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M with a delta of -2.5%, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 with a delta of 2.9%. This proximity in average scores suggests that while the RTX 4090 is a top-tier consumer card, its raw benchmark numbers are closely matched by several professional and workstation parts, though none of those rivals appear in the measured FPS data for Inside.

The GPU's memory configuration is another factor in its favor. The 24 GB frame buffer is far larger than what Inside requires, meaning there is no risk of VRAM capacity limiting performance at any resolution. The 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and memory access are never bottlenecks, even during the game's darker, more visually complex sequences. In the context of this game, the RTX 4090 is effectively overkill, but the data reflects that: it delivers 99 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is a high refresh rate for a 4K panel.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 433 FPS at 1080p to 332 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 101 FPS (23.3%). Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low settings, the average drops from 332 FPS to 209 FPS, a reduction of 123 FPS (37.0%). This scaling shows that the GPU is beginning to feel the load of higher pixel counts, but even at 4K Low, the frame rate remains above 200 FPS.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar. The average frame rate at 1080p is 370 FPS, dropping to 266 FPS at 1440p (a 28.1% reduction) and then to 167 FPS at 4K (a 37.2% reduction from 1440p). The minimum FPS values at Medium settings also scale: 314 FPS at 1080p, 226 FPS at 1440p, and 142 FPS at 4K. These minimums confirm that even in the most demanding moments, the frame rate stays well above 100 FPS.

High settings show a different scaling curve. At 1080p, the average is 231 FPS, which drops to 166 FPS at 1440p (a 28.1% reduction) and then to 104 FPS at 4K (a 37.3% reduction from 1440p). The relative consistency of these percentage drops across settings—roughly 23-28% from 1080p to 1440p and 37% from 1440p to 4K—indicates that the limiting component is the GPU's pixel throughput, which scales with resolution in a predictable manner.

Ultra settings exhibit the smallest absolute differences. The average frame rate is 220 FPS at 1080p, 158 FPS at 1440p, and 99 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 62 FPS (28.2%), and from 1440p to 4K is 59 FPS (37.3%). This consistent scaling suggests that the RTX 4090 is not hitting any architectural bottleneck at higher resolutions; it is simply processing more pixels. The fact that 4K Ultra still maintains a 99 FPS average shows that the GPU is the primary driver of performance, and the CPU is not limiting frame rates at any resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4090 and Core Ultra 9 275HX produce results that are almost absurdly high. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 433 FPS. Medium settings yield 370 FPS, with a minimum of 314 FPS and a maximum of 425 FPS. High settings drop to 231 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 220 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is only 11 FPS, suggesting that the Ultra preset's additional visual effects have a minimal performance cost at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low settings average 332 FPS. Medium settings average 266 FPS, with a minimum of 226 FPS and a maximum of 306 FPS. High settings produce 166 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 158 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to 8 FPS, indicating that the GPU is still not being pushed hard. The minimum FPS at Medium, 226 FPS, is higher than the 4K Ultra average, underscoring the headroom available at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results become more grounded but remain impressive. Low settings average 209 FPS. Medium settings average 167 FPS, with a minimum of 142 FPS and a maximum of 192 FPS. High settings produce 104 FPS, and Ultra settings produce 99 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is just 5 FPS, the smallest difference between any two settings at any resolution, which indicates that the Ultra preset at 4K is barely more demanding than High. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium, 142 FPS, is still far above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

The overall rank of this combination in Inside is 371 out of 2,887 tested hardware combinations. This places it in the top 12.9% of all tested systems, which is consistent with the high frame rates observed. The data is marked as measured, meaning these are actual results rather than estimates. Across all 12 measured configurations, the average frame rate never drops below 99 FPS, and the lowest minimum FPS recorded is 142 FPS at 4K Medium.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process from TSMC. It has a base clock of 2.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with 36 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's memory support is DDR5, running on a dual-channel bus with 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a mobile processor with a 55 W TDP, but its performance in synthetic benchmarks is substantial: it scores 35,589 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2,204 in single-core, along with 20,795 in Geekbench multicore and 2,458 in single-core.

In the context of Inside, the CPU's role is to feed the RTX 4090 with enough data to maintain high frame rates. Given that the game is a 2D puzzle platformer, its CPU demands are modest. However, the measured data shows that the Core Ultra 9 275HX is more than capable of keeping up with the GPU. The fact that frame rates scale consistently with resolution—from 433 FPS at 1080p Low to 99 FPS at 4K Ultra—indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any point. If the CPU were limiting performance, the frame rates would plateau at lower resolutions, but the data shows continuous gains as resolution decreases.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its strong position. The avgBenchmarkScore for the Core Ultra 9 275HX is 67,469, which places it at the 94th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Xeon w5-3525 with a delta of -0.3%, the AMD EPYC 4484PX with a delta of -0.5%, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX with a delta of -0.6%, and the Intel Xeon 6515P with a delta of 0.7%. These rivals are all workstation or server processors, highlighting that the Core Ultra 9 275HX performs at a level comparable to much larger, higher-power parts.

The CPU's 24 cores and 24 threads are not heavily utilized by Inside, which is a single-threaded game by design. However, the single-core performance of 2,204 in Cinebench R23 and 2,458 in Geekbench ensures that even the most demanding game logic is handled without issue. The passmark single-thread score of 4,713 also indicates strong per-core performance. In practice, the CPU's role is to maintain a stable frame delivery, and the measured minimum FPS values—such as 314 FPS at 1080p Medium—suggest it does so effectively.

The L3 cache of 36 MB shared across all cores is ample for a game like Inside, which has relatively small working sets. The dual-channel DDR5 memory with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient data throughput to avoid stalling the GPU. The Core Ultra 9 275HX also supports PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes, though the RTX 4090 uses a PCIe 4.0 x16 interface, which is not a limiting factor given the game's modest bandwidth requirements.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this hardware combination depend on the target display. For a 4K display, the Ultra preset is the recommended choice. The average frame rate of 99 FPS is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the difference from High settings is only 5 FPS (104 FPS vs. 99 FPS). Since the Ultra preset adds visual quality with minimal performance cost, there is no reason to choose High over Ultra at 4K. The Medium preset at 4K delivers 167 FPS, which is higher than necessary for most displays, but the visual fidelity of Ultra is worth the 68 FPS reduction.

For a 1440p display, Ultra settings are again the best choice. The average frame rate of 158 FPS is more than sufficient for high refresh rate monitors, and the drop from High (166 FPS) to Ultra (158 FPS) is only 8 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p produces 266 FPS, but this is far beyond what any mainstream display can show, so the visual improvements from Ultra are the better trade-off. The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium is 226 FPS, which is still far above the refresh rate of any 1440p monitor on the market.

For a 1080p display, the situation is similar. Ultra settings produce 220 FPS, which is high enough for even the fastest gaming monitors. The High preset produces 231 FPS, but the 11 FPS difference is negligible, and Ultra's improved visuals are worth it. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 370 FPS, but this is excessive for any display and sacrifices visual quality for no tangible benefit. The Low preset at 433 FPS is only useful for extreme high-refresh-rate scenarios, which are impractical for this game.

In all cases, the data suggests that the Ultra preset provides the best balance of visual quality and performance. This is because the RTX 4090 has enough headroom to run the game at its highest settings across all tested resolutions, and the CPU's strong single-threaded performance ensures that frame times remain consistent. The only scenario where a lower preset might be considered is if the user has a display with a refresh rate above 240 Hz and wants to maximize frame rates, but even then, the visual compromise may not be worth it for a game like Inside.

The measured FPS values for Ultra settings—220 FPS at 1080p, 158 FPS at 1440p, and 99 FPS at 4K—are all above the thresholds for smooth, tear-free gameplay on virtually any display. The minimum FPS recorded across all configurations is 142 FPS, which occurs at 4K Medium, and even this is far above the 60 FPS standard. Therefore, the recommendation is to enable Ultra settings at any resolution, as the hardware combination is more than capable of delivering a consistently high frame rate with maximum visual fidelity.