Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile delivers a performance profile for Inside that is defined by extreme headroom, with the game’s modest graphical demands allowing this high-end mobile combo to operate far beyond typical refresh rate targets. The measured data shows a system that is never CPU-bound at any resolution, with the GPU’s architecture and memory subsystem shaping the scaling curve as settings rise. This analysis breaks down the measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions and presets, contextualizing the results against the component specifications and the broader benchmark database.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern, though the absolute numbers remain exceptionally high. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 433 FPS, which drops to 332 FPS at 2560x1440 (-23.3%) and further to 209 FPS at 3840x2160 (-51.7% from 1080p). This steep decline with pixel count is indicative of a workload that is purely rasterization-limited, with the CPU’s 24 cores and 24 threads never becoming the bottleneck at these frame rates.

Moving to Medium settings, the same trend persists but with a slightly different slope. The 1080p result of 370 FPS falls to 266 FPS at 1440p (-28.1%) and 167 FPS at 4K (-54.9% from 1080p). The percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is 37.2%, which is larger than the 28.1% drop from 1080p to 1440p. This non-linear scaling suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU’s memory bandwidth and shading throughput become more critical, as the pixel fill rate demands increase quadratically.

At High settings, the resolution scaling is more moderate in relative terms. The 1080p score of 231 FPS decreases to 166 FPS at 1440p (-28.1%) and then to 104 FPS at 4K (-55.0% from 1080p). The delta between 1440p and 4K here is 37.3%, nearly identical to the Medium preset’s scaling. This consistency indicates that the rendering pipeline for Inside is not significantly altering its resource usage profile between Medium and High, but rather that the additional settings are adding a fixed cost that scales with resolution.

Ultra settings produce the lowest absolute numbers but the most linear scaling pattern. From 220 FPS at 1080p, the frame rate drops to 158 FPS at 1440p (-28.2%) and 99 FPS at 4K (-55.0% from 1080p). The 1440p to 4K reduction is 37.3%, again matching the other presets. This uniformity across all four settings presets strongly suggests that the limiting factor is the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth, not any specific graphical feature. The RTX 4090 Mobile’s 576.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 112 ROPs are the likely constraining resources, as the game’s art style does not appear to rely on heavy compute or ray tracing effects.

The data also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra widens with resolution. At 1080p, Ultra (220 FPS) is 49.2% slower than Low (433 FPS). At 4K, Ultra (99 FPS) is 52.6% slower than Low (209 FPS). This widening gap indicates that the higher presets introduce additional per-pixel work that scales directly with resolution, reinforcing the conclusion that this is a fill-rate-bound scenario.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications align perfectly with the observed FPS deltas. Built on the AD103 chip with 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs, the GPU offers a raw throughput that is more than sufficient for a 2D side-scrolling puzzle platformer. The boost clock of 1695 MHz, combined with the 32.98 TFLOPS FP32 performance, explains why even at 4K Ultra the combo maintains 99 FPS average.

The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 576.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is a critical specification for the 4K results, as the pixel fill rate required at 3840x2160 is substantial. The fact that the 4K Medium preset (167 FPS) is only slightly below the 1440p High preset (166 FPS) suggests that the memory subsystem is not a hard bottleneck, but rather that the shading units are doing the heavy lifting. The 304 TMUs and 112 ROPs give a pixel rate of 189.8 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 515.3 GTexel/s, which are more than adequate for this game’s visual complexity.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 84 among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 43,667, positions it as a high-end part, but not the absolute fastest. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (deltaPct -0.9) and the Quadro M6000 (deltaPct 0.8), which shows that the RTX 4090 Mobile is competitive with desktop workstation cards despite its mobile form factor. The TDP of 120 W for this mobile GPU is notable, as it indicates that the performance is achieved within a power envelope that allows for sustained clocks in a laptop chassis.

The benchmark results for the GPU show strong DirectX performance, with a Passmark DirectX 11 score of 262 and DirectX 12 score of 107. However, the DirectX 10 score of 173 is lower, and the DirectX 9 score of 310 is the highest among the legacy APIs. This pattern suggests that the GPU is well-optimized for modern APIs, which is consistent with the game’s 2016 release date. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 180,831 and Vulkan score of 170,774 further confirm the GPU’s compute capabilities, though Inside does not appear to leverage these features heavily based on the FPS scaling.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum measured average FPS for this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS recorded at 1920x1080 is 433 FPS with the Low preset. The Medium preset reaches 370 FPS, High achieves 231 FPS, and Ultra produces 220 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Low?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 99, which is a 77.1% reduction from the 433 FPS seen at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This shows the significant impact of both resolution and preset on the GPU workload.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX has 24 cores and 24 threads with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, which is more than sufficient for this game. The FPS scaling with resolution closely matches the GPU’s fill rate capabilities, not the CPU’s single-thread performance.

Q: What is the measured FPS range for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 266, with a minimum of 226 FPS and a maximum of 306 FPS. This indicates a stable frame time distribution with no major dips.

Q: How does the combo’s rank in this game compare to its overall component rankings?

A: The combo ranks 509 out of 3,716 tested combos for Inside. This is a top 13.7% placement, which is notably lower than the CPU’s percentile rank of 94 among all CPUs and the GPU’s percentile rank of 84 among all GPUs, suggesting that the game’s low system requirements allow many other combos to perform similarly.

Q: Does the game benefit from the RTX 4090 Mobile’s high memory bandwidth?

A: The 576.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth appears to be sufficient for the game, but it is not a limiting factor. The FPS drops from 1440p to 4K are consistent across presets, indicating a fill-rate limit rather than a bandwidth limit. The 256-bit bus and 16 GB capacity are more than adequate for Inside’s memory footprint.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user’s display refresh rate and resolution preference. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but the Medium preset at 370 FPS offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance headroom. The jump from Medium to High reduces FPS by 37.6% (370 to 231 FPS), which is a significant drop for relatively minor visual gains in a game with this art style. The Ultra preset at 220 FPS is only 4.8% slower than High, suggesting that the Ultra preset may be enabling effects that have diminishing returns.

For 2560x1440 users, the Medium preset at 266 FPS is the recommended choice. It provides a comfortable margin above 240 Hz refresh rates and the minimum FPS of 226 ensures no frame time spikes. The High preset at 166 FPS is still excellent for 144 Hz displays, but the 60.2% FPS increase from High to Medium makes Medium the more sensible option for competitive play or smooth motion. The Ultra preset at 158 FPS is nearly identical to High, so there is no reason to choose it over High unless the user specifically wants the Ultra-exclusive effects.

At 3840x2160, the situation is different. The High preset at 104 FPS and Ultra at 99 FPS are both suitable for 60 Hz displays, but the Medium preset at 167 FPS is the standout choice for 4K. It offers a 60.6% improvement over High while still maintaining a high level of visual quality. The Low preset at 209 FPS is unnecessary, as the Medium preset provides a much better experience for only a 20.1% FPS reduction. For 4K 120 Hz displays, the Medium preset is the only viable option, as High and Ultra fall below the 120 FPS threshold.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the “sweet spot” across all resolutions, offering the best balance of visual quality and performance. The consistent scaling from Low to Medium (a 14.6% FPS drop at 1080p, 19.9% at 1440p, and 20.1% at 4K) indicates that Medium adds meaningful visual enhancements without a disproportionate performance cost. The jump from Medium to High is much steeper (37.6% at 1080p, 37.6% at 1440p, and 37.7% at 4K), which is characteristic of presets that enable advanced lighting or post-processing effects that are heavy on the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset produces an average of 433 FPS. The Medium preset yields 370 FPS with a minimum of 314 FPS and a maximum of 425 FPS, showing a tight frame time distribution. High averages 231 FPS, while Ultra drops to 220 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 49.2%, but the gap between High and Ultra is a mere 4.8%, suggesting that the Ultra preset does not significantly increase the graphical workload over High.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 332 FPS. Medium maintains a strong 266 FPS average, with min/max figures of 226 and 306 FPS respectively. High produces 166 FPS, and Ultra is close behind at 158 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets, with Low dropping 23.3%, Medium 28.1%, High 28.1%, and Ultra 28.2%. This uniformity reinforces the GPU-bound nature of the workload.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset still delivers 209 FPS, which is impressive for a 4K resolution. Medium averages 167 FPS, with a minimum of 142 FPS and a maximum of 192 FPS. High drops to 104 FPS, and Ultra is marginally lower at 99 FPS. The 4K results show that the RTX 4090 Mobile has enough headroom to run this game at high frame rates even at the maximum resolution, but the High and Ultra presets begin to approach the limits of the GPU’s fill rate.

The min/max data for the Medium preset is particularly informative. Across all three resolutions, the spread between minimum and maximum FPS is consistent: 111 FPS at 1080p, 80 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K. This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the frame time variance decreases as the GPU becomes more fully utilized, which is a sign of a stable performance profile without thermal or power throttling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX plays a secondary role in this game’s performance, as the FPS data shows no signs of CPU limitation. With 24 cores and 24 threads, the CPU offers massive parallel processing capability, but Inside is a puzzle platformer that likely relies heavily on a single main thread for game logic and physics. The CPU’s boost clock of 5.40 GHz and base clock of 2.70 GHz provide strong single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,204 and Geekbench single-core score of 2,458.

The CPU’s benchmark results show a clear strength in multi-threaded workloads, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35,589 and a Passmark multithread score of 55,759. However, these scores are irrelevant for this title, as the game’s frame rates are so high that even a slower CPU would likely not become a bottleneck. The 433 FPS at 1080p Low is near the theoretical maximum for many display connections, and the fact that this combo achieves it without issue indicates that the CPU is not limiting.

The CPU’s L3 cache of 36 MB shared is ample for the game’s working set, and its memory support for DDR5 at dual-channel with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth ensures that data can be fed to the GPU quickly. The CPU’s percentile rank of 94 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 67,469, places it in the top 6% of processors. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon w5-3525 (deltaPct -0.3) and AMD EPYC 4484PX (deltaPct -0.5), which are workstation-class parts, underscoring the CPU’s high-end positioning.

The fact that the FPS does not scale with resolution in a way that would indicate CPU limitation is important. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the 1080p frame rates to be capped at a similar level to the 4K rates. Instead, the 433 FPS at 1080p Low drops to 209 FPS at 4K Low, a 51.7% reduction that directly correlates with the pixel count increase. This is definitive evidence that the GPU is the limiting component, and the CPU is providing ample headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile ranks 509 out of 3,716 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the top 13.7% of all tested configurations, which is a strong performance but not the absolute top tier. The ranking is likely influenced by the fact that Inside is an older game with relatively low system requirements, meaning that many mid-range and even entry-level GPUs can achieve high frame rates.

The CPU’s individual ranking is higher than the combo’s rank, with a percentile of 94 among all CPUs. Similarly, the GPU’s percentile of 84 among all GPUs is higher than the combo’s top 13.7% placement. This discrepancy suggests that the combo’s rank is dragged down by the fact that many other combos with less powerful components can achieve similar FPS in this game, as the bottleneck is not the hardware but the game’s inherent performance ceiling.

The combo’s rank of 509 means that there are 508 other combos that perform better in this specific game. However, this does not indicate a weakness in this system; rather, it reflects the game’s low demand. For a game like Inside, the difference between a top-tier GPU and a mid-range GPU is often negligible at standard resolutions, as both can easily exceed 240 FPS. The data shows that this combo excels at 4K, where it maintains over 99 FPS even at Ultra settings, which is a level of performance that many other combos cannot match.

The nearest rivals for the GPU, such as the NVIDIA RTX A6000 with a deltaPct of -0.9, and the Quadro M6000 with a deltaPct of 0.8, are professional workstation cards that may not be optimized for gaming. The fact that the RTX 4090 Mobile is competitive with these cards in synthetic benchmarks, while also being a mobile part, highlights its efficiency. The combo’s overall rank of 509 reflects the fact that this system is overkill for Inside, providing a smooth experience at any resolution and preset combination.