Inside

Inside pairs a 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with a 16 GB AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, and the measured frame rates reveal a system that scales predictably across resolutions and presets. The data shows a clear pattern: this combination is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings, while the CPU's substantial headroom only becomes apparent at lower presets. With a combo rank of 1767 out of 2887 tested configurations, this pairing sits in the lower-middle tier of the database, yet its performance in Inside is surprisingly robust, suggesting the game's modest demands favor the GPU's 16 GB memory buffer more than its raw compute limits.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a predictable decline as resolution increases, but the rate of that decline varies significantly with the chosen settings preset. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops from 140 FPS at 1920x1080 to 101 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 63 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 55% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is the primary scaling factor. The jump from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep, with a 37.6% performance loss, which suggests the RX 7600 XT's 128-bit memory bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors as pixel count increases.

At Medium settings, the scaling pattern shifts slightly. The average FPS goes from 236 at 1080p to 170 at 1440p (a 28% drop), and then to 107 at 4K (a 37% drop from 1440p). The min FPS values at Medium settings — 201 at 1080p, 144 at 1440p, and 91 at 4K — show that frame pacing remains consistent even under load, with the gap between average and minimum FPS widening from 35 FPS at 1080p to 16 FPS at 4K. This tightening suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU is working closer to its sustained limit, reducing variance.

Low settings present a different story entirely. At 1080p, the combo achieves 295 FPS average, which drops to 212 FPS at 1440p (a 28% reduction) and 133 FPS at 4K (a 37% reduction from 1440p). These are remarkably high numbers for a GPU that ranks at the 60th percentile overall, and the fact that 4K Low still exceeds 130 FPS indicates that the CPU's 24 cores and 5.80 GHz boost clock are providing ample headroom. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is a 55% drop, identical to Ultra, which implies the GPU's rasterization throughput is the consistent bottleneck regardless of preset.

High settings sit between Medium and Ultra, with averages of 147 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 67 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 27.9%, while 1440p to 4K is 36.8%, closely mirroring the Medium preset's scaling. This consistency across presets strongly suggests that resolution scaling is governed by the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth, not by the complexity of the scene or the CPU's ability to feed the renderer. For a puzzle platformer like Inside, which likely has modest geometry, this GPU-bound behavior at higher resolutions is expected.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. Its benchmark scores are exceptional — a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a single-core score of 7303 place it in the 96th percentile among all CPUs. However, in Inside, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. At 1080p Low settings, the combo hits 295 FPS average, which is likely near the game's engine limit or the GPU's ceiling at such low graphical load. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4823 and multi-thread score of 60860 indicate it can handle far more demanding workloads than this game presents.

The nearest rivals to the 290K Plus include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which scores 0.2% higher on average, and the AMD EPYC 4584PX, which is 1.1% lower. These deltas are small, suggesting that in CPU-bound scenarios, the 290K Plus would perform nearly identically to its closest competitors. But in Inside, the data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is most stressed, the average FPS of 63 is far below any threshold where a 24-core processor would struggle. The CPU's L3 cache of 36 MB shared and dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s provide more than enough data throughput for a puzzle platformer.

What the data implies is that the CPU's high clock speed — a 5.80 GHz boost — is what enables the extremely high frame rates at lower settings. At 1080p Low, the 295 FPS average suggests the CPU can prepare frames faster than the GPU can rasterize them, but the GPU's 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 throughput becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The processor's 24 threads are largely idle during gameplay, as Inside is not a multi-threaded title that would utilize all cores. The fact that the combo ranks 1767 out of 2887 likely reflects that most competitors pair this CPU with stronger GPUs, not that the CPU is weak.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is a 16 GB GDDR6 GPU with a boost clock of 2755 MHz and a game clock of 2470 MHz. Its memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s over a 128-bit bus is modest by modern standards, and this appears to be the key constraint in Inside at higher resolutions. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 17132 places it at the 60th percentile, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (0.7% higher) and the GTX 690 (0.3% lower). This mid-range positioning explains why the combo struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra (63 FPS average) but excels at 1080p.

The 16 GB memory buffer is notably large for this performance class, and in Inside, it likely prevents any texture swapping or stutter issues. At Medium settings, the min FPS values are 201 at 1080p, 144 at 1440p, and 91 at 4K, which are all above 60 FPS and indicate the GPU never runs out of memory. The memory clock of 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective) and 128-bit bus width mean the GPU's 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is the same across all resolutions, so the performance drop from 1080p to 4K is purely due to increased pixel count and fill rate demands.

The GPU's RT cores (32) and shading units (2048) are sufficient for a game like Inside, which does not heavily use ray tracing or complex shaders. The fact that the GPU achieves 295 FPS at 1080p Low and 133 FPS at 4K Low demonstrates that even at reduced settings, the RX 7600 XT's rasterization performance is solid. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K — 133 FPS vs. 63 FPS — is a 53% difference, which shows that the GPU's pixel rate (176.3 GPixel/s) and texture rate (352.6 GTexel/s) are the main drivers of performance. The GPU's 190 W TDP suggests it is not power-limited in this scenario, and its PCIe 4.0 x8 interface is more than adequate for the data demands of this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1767 out of 2887 places this pairing in the bottom 39% of tested configurations. This low rank is somewhat surprising given the CPU's high percentile (96th) and the GPU's mid-range standing (60th). The data suggests that most other combos in the database feature either stronger GPUs or more balanced pairings. The CPU's nearest rivals — the 285K, EPYC 4584PX, and EPYC 9135 — all have average scores within 1.2% of the 290K Plus, so the CPU is not the reason for the low rank. Instead, the RX 7600 XT's 60th percentile GPU score drags the combo down relative to configurations with higher-end graphics cards.

Looking at the GPU's rivals, the RTX 3070 scores 0.7% higher, and the GTX 690 scores 0.3% lower, indicating the RX 7600 XT is closely matched with those older or higher-tier cards. In Inside, the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (63 FPS) is playable but not stellar, and at 1080p Ultra (140 FPS) it is excellent. The rank of 1767 likely reflects that many combos with this CPU pair it with GPUs that are 20-30% faster, resulting in higher average FPS across the board. However, within the context of this specific game, the combo performs admirably, achieving over 100 FPS at 1440p High and over 60 FPS at 4K Medium.

The percentile data for the CPU (96th) and GPU (60th) creates a mismatch that is evident in the game's performance. The CPU is overqualified for the GPU's capabilities, meaning the system is GPU-bound in almost all scenarios. This is not a negative for Inside specifically, as the game's moderate requirements allow the GPU to deliver high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p. But the combo rank suggests that for more demanding titles, this pairing would underperform relative to others with the same CPU and a faster GPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo in Inside. At 1080p, Medium delivers 236 FPS average with a min of 201 FPS, which is smooth and well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most monitors. At 1440p, Medium maintains 170 FPS average with a min of 144 FPS, ensuring no dips below common high-refresh thresholds. Even at 4K, Medium achieves 107 FPS average with a min of 91 FPS, which is highly playable on 60 Hz displays and acceptable for 90 Hz panels.

The High preset is a viable alternative for those prioritizing visuals over frame rate. At 1440p, High delivers 106 FPS average, which is still smooth, and at 1080p it reaches 147 FPS. At 4K, High drops to 67 FPS average, which is just above the 60 FPS target but may experience occasional dips. The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p, where it achieves 140 FPS average, but at higher resolutions it falls below 101 FPS (1440p) and 63 FPS (4K), which may be too low for demanding players. Low settings are unnecessary for this combo, as even Medium provides over 90 FPS at 4K, but Low does offer 295 FPS at 1080p for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo achieves its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings yield an average of 295 FPS, Medium delivers 236 FPS (min 201, max 271), High reaches 147 FPS, and Ultra hits 140 FPS. The difference between Medium and High is 89 FPS, indicating a significant graphical load increase, while High to Ultra is only 7 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns. At 2560x1440, the averages are 212 FPS (Low), 170 FPS (Medium, min 144, max 195), 106 FPS (High), and 101 FPS (Ultra). The 4K resolution (3840x2160) shows 133 FPS (Low), 107 FPS (Medium, min 91, max 123), 67 FPS (High), and 63 FPS (Ultra). Notably, at 4K, Medium and Low are closer (107 vs. 133 FPS) than at 1080p (236 vs. 295 FPS), suggesting the GPU's limits are reached.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Inside at 4K 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, it achieves 67 FPS average at 4K High and 107 FPS at 4K Medium, so 60 FPS is easily maintained at those settings. Ultra settings drop to 63 FPS average, which is still above 60 but with less headroom.

Q: Which preset provides the highest minimum frame rate at 1440p?

A: Medium settings deliver a min FPS of 144 at 2560x1440, which is the highest measured min FPS at that resolution. Low and High presets do not have min FPS data, but Medium's 144 min ensures no drops below common refresh rates.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807) and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090). The differences are minimal, indicating near-identical CPU performance.

*Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for Inside?*

A: The RX 7600 XT has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory, which is more than sufficient. The measured FPS at Medium settings shows stable min FPS values (201 at 1080p, 144 at 1440p, 91 at 4K), indicating no memory-related stuttering.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 295 FPS average, while Ultra produces 140 FPS average. This is a 155 FPS difference, or a 52.5% reduction, showing the significant GPU load increase from the Ultra preset.

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming?

A: The data indicates it excels at both. At 1080p, it exceeds 140 FPS on all presets, and at 1440p, it maintains over 100 FPS on High and Ultra. For 4K, Medium is recommended, as it stays above 90 FPS min.