Inside

# CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a 24-core, 24-thread mobile processor based on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It operates at a base clock of 2.70 GHz and can boost up to 5.40 GHz. The processor includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is dual-channel DDR5 with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s.

For a puzzle platformer like Inside, the CPU's role is typically modest, but this processor's specifications suggest it is far from a bottleneck. The 24 threads and high boost clock of 5.40 GHz provide substantial headroom for game logic, physics, and frame pacing. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 35,589 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,204 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 20,795 and single-core of 2,458. These numbers place the chip in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of processors tested.

The CPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark scores include the Intel Xeon w5-3525 (average score 67,673, a -0.3% delta), the AMD EPYC 4484PX (67,822, -0.5%), the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5955WX (67,868, -0.6%), and the Intel Xeon 6515P (67,006, +0.7% relative to this chip). The Core Ultra 9 275HX's average benchmark score is 67,469, placing it within a tight cluster of workstation-class processors. This proximity to high-end Xeon and Threadripper parts underscores that the CPU is not a limiting factor in most gaming scenarios, including Inside.

The processor's 24 cores and 24 threads (no hyperthreading) mean that even in heavily threaded workloads, the CPU can distribute tasks efficiently. However, Inside is an older title from 2016, and its engine is unlikely to utilize all 24 threads. Instead, the single-thread performance—highlighted by a 2,204 Cinebench R23 single-core score—becomes more relevant. The 5.40 GHz boost clock ensures that the game's primary thread has ample processing power. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,713 further confirms strong single-core capability.

In the context of the measured FPS data, the CPU's contribution is evident in the high frame rates achieved even at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 433 FPS average, which is well beyond the refresh rates of most displays. This suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to avoid becoming a bottleneck, even in a game that is typically not CPU-intensive.

# GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB202 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The shader count is 21,760, with 680 texture mapping units and 176 raster operation units. It includes 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores.

For a game like Inside, which has a minimalist art style and limited geometric complexity, the RTX 5090 is extraordinarily powerful. The 32 GB VRAM is far more than the game requires, and the 1.79 TB/s bandwidth ensures that any texture streaming or memory access patterns are handled with ease. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 39,650 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18,355 place it in the 92nd percentile among all GPUs, confirming its top-tier status.

The GPU's nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark scores are the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (average score 79,605, +0.3% delta), the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396, +0.6%), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940, +1.1%), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X (80,959, -1.4%). The RTX 5090's average benchmark score is 79,842. Interestingly, the delta percentages are small, suggesting that in synthetic workloads, the RTX 5090 and these rivals are closely matched, though the RTX 5090's real-world gaming performance, especially in modern titles, would typically be superior.

In Inside, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 104, which is still very playable but indicates that the GPU is working harder to render the higher pixel count. The RTX 5090's 32 GB VRAM and 512-bit memory bus are overkill for this title, but they ensure that there is no memory-related stuttering or texture pop-in, even at maximum settings. The GPU's boost clock of 2407 MHz provides consistent performance, and the 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 throughput handles the game's rendering tasks with significant headroom.

# Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling across resolutions. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 433 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 347 FPS, a reduction of approximately 20%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 218 FPS, which is about 50% of the 1080p figure. This scaling suggests that the GPU is beginning to become a larger factor, but the CPU still has enough headroom to maintain high frame rates.

For High settings, the progression is similar: 241 FPS at 1080p, 174 FPS at 1440p, and 109 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is about 28%, and from 1440p to 4K is about 37%. This indicates that as resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and the frame rate decreases correspondingly. The fact that the 4K High average of 109 FPS is still well above 60 FPS shows that the RTX 5090 is capable of handling this game at maximum resolution without issue.

The Medium settings data includes minimum and maximum FPS values, providing additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 386 FPS with a minimum of 328 and a maximum of 444. At 1440p Medium, the average is 278 FPS with a minimum of 236 and a maximum of 319. At 4K Medium, the average is 175 FPS with a minimum of 148 and a maximum of 201. The minimum FPS values at each resolution are still high, indicating consistent frame delivery without major stutters.

The scaling behavior suggests that the CPU is the primary limiting component at 1080p, where the GPU has plenty of spare capacity. As the resolution increases to 4K, the GPU becomes more heavily utilized, but it still does not become a bottleneck, given the game's relative simplicity. The Ultra settings show the lowest frame rates: 230 FPS at 1080p, 165 FPS at 1440p, and 104 FPS at 4K. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the limiting component, but the frame rate remains smooth.

The overall pattern indicates that this combo is well-balanced for Inside, with the CPU providing enough throughput to keep the GPU fed at lower resolutions and the GPU having enough power to maintain high frame rates at 4K. The largest relative drop occurs between 1440p and 4K at Low settings (from 347 to 218 FPS, a 37% decrease), which points to the GPU's pixel-processing workload becoming more significant at higher resolutions.

# How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 290th out of 2,887 tested combos in Inside. This places the combo in the top 10% of all configurations tested, which is a strong result given the game's age and the fact that many combos may include more specialized hardware. The rank of 290 out of 2,887 means that approximately 2,597 combos perform worse, while 289 perform better.

The fact that this combo does not rank higher—despite having a top-tier CPU and GPU—suggests that Inside is not particularly demanding on either component. The game's puzzle-platformer genre and 2016 release date mean that modern flagship hardware is overkill. The rank is likely influenced by other combos that may have higher clock speeds or more optimized configurations for this specific title, though the measured FPS data shows that this combo delivers very high frame rates across all settings and resolutions.

Given the CPU's 94th percentile ranking and the GPU's 92nd percentile ranking, one might expect a higher combo rank. However, the combo rank is specific to this game and includes all tested combinations, some of which may be desktop parts with higher power envelopes. The 290th rank indicates that the combo is in the upper echelon of performance, and the measured FPS figures confirm that it can handle Inside with ease at any resolution.

The nearest rival CPUs (Xeon w5-3525, EPYC 4484PX, Threadripper PRO 5955WX, Xeon 6515P) and GPUs (Tesla P100 variants, RX 6850M XT, Pro Vega 64X) are all within a small delta percentage in aggregate benchmarks, suggesting that the combo's rank is not limited by a single component's deficiency. Instead, the rank reflects the overall performance of this specific pairing in this particular game.

# FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 230 FPS, with no minimum or maximum values reported.

*Q: How does the RTX 5090's memory bandwidth affect performance in Inside?*

A: The RTX 5090 has a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s, which is more than sufficient for Inside. This ensures that texture streaming and memory access are never bottlenecks, contributing to consistently high frame rates even at 4K.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 433 FPS average, which suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck. The high boost clock of 5.40 GHz and strong single-thread performance (2,204 in Cinebench R23) keep the GPU well-fed.

*Q: What is the rank of this combo among all tested configurations in Inside?*

A: This combo ranks 290th out of 2,887 tested combos, placing it in the top 10% of all configurations tested.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 175, with a minimum of 148 and a maximum of 201. This indicates smooth performance with minimal frame drops.

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 241 at 1080p to 109 at 4K, a reduction of approximately 55%.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience in Inside depends on the player's resolution and refresh rate preferences. At 1080p, all settings presets deliver extremely high frame rates, from 230 FPS at Ultra to 433 FPS at Low. For players with a 144Hz or 240Hz monitor, the Medium preset at 1080p offers an average of 386 FPS with a minimum of 328, providing a good balance between visual quality and performance. The High preset at 1080p averages 241 FPS, which is also excellent, but Medium offers a 60% higher frame rate with only a modest visual difference in a game with a minimalist art style.

At 1440p, the Medium preset averages 278 FPS with a minimum of 236, making it the recommended choice for high-refresh-rate displays. The High preset at 174 FPS is also viable for 144Hz monitors, but Medium provides more headroom. At 4K, the Medium preset averages 175 FPS with a minimum of 148, which is ideal for 144Hz displays. The High preset at 109 FPS is acceptable for 60Hz or 120Hz displays, but Medium offers a 60% higher average frame rate. The Ultra preset at 4K averages 104 FPS, which is still smooth but does not provide the same margin as Medium.

For the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 4K is recommended, as it delivers high frame rates with no notable dips below 148 FPS. The Low preset at any resolution sacrifices visual quality for raw performance, but in Inside, the visual differences between Low and Medium are minimal due to the game's simple art direction. The Ultra preset provides the highest visual fidelity but reduces frame rates by about 40% compared to Medium at the same resolution.

# Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: Average 433 FPS. No minimum or maximum reported.
• Medium: Average 386 FPS, minimum 328, maximum 444.
• High: Average 241 FPS. No minimum or maximum reported.
• Ultra: Average 230 FPS. No minimum or maximum reported.

At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets. The difference between Low and Medium is 47 FPS (433 vs. 386), while the jump from Medium to High is 145 FPS (386 vs. 241). The High and Ultra presets are close, with only an 11 FPS difference (241 vs. 230). The minimum FPS at Medium is 328, indicating that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate stays well above 300 FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: Average 347 FPS. No minimum or maximum reported.
• Medium: Average 278 FPS, minimum 236, maximum 319.
• High: Average 174 FPS. No minimum or maximum reported.
• Ultra: Average 165 FPS. No minimum or maximum reported.

At 1440p, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers. The Low preset averages 347 FPS, while Medium drops to 278 FPS. The High and Ultra presets are 174 and 165 FPS, respectively, with a difference of only 9 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 236 FPS ensures that the frame rate never drops below the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: Average 218 FPS. No minimum or maximum reported.
• Medium: Average 175 FPS, minimum 148, maximum 201.
• High: Average 109 FPS. No minimum or maximum reported.
• Ultra: Average 104 FPS. No minimum or maximum reported.

At 4K, the frame rates remain very high, with the Low preset averaging 218 FPS. The Medium preset averages 175 FPS with a minimum of 148, which is still above 144 FPS. The High and Ultra presets are 109 and 104 FPS, respectively, with a negligible 5 FPS difference. The Medium preset at 4K provides the best balance, as it maintains an average above 170 FPS while keeping the minimum above 144 FPS.

The data across all resolutions shows that this combo is capable of running Inside at extremely high frame rates, with the only notable drop occurring at 4K Ultra, where the average falls to 104 FPS. This is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, making the combo suitable for any display configuration.