Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a highly capable experience in Inside, with frame rates that remain fluid even at 4K. The data shows this combination is firmly positioned in the upper-midrange of tested hardware, with the GPU acting as the primary constraint at higher resolutions. While the CPU provides ample headroom, the RX 9060's performance curve dictates that players targeting maximum refresh rates will need to make deliberate settings choices.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Inside reveals a classic scaling pattern where the graphics card becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 309 FPS, but this drops to 222 FPS at 1440p and further to 140 FPS at 4K. This represents a 54.7% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than it can render at the highest resolution.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced at higher quality presets. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 155 FPS at 1080p to 111 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 70 FPS at 4K. This 54.8% drop from 1080p to 4K mirrors the Low preset scaling, suggesting that the GPU's workload is scaling consistently across settings. The Ultra preset shows a similar trend, with 147 FPS at 1080p falling to 106 FPS at 1440p and 66 FPS at 4K—a 55.1% reduction.

The Medium preset provides the most complete data, including minimum and maximum FPS readings. At 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 247 FPS average with a 210 FPS minimum and 284 FPS maximum. Moving to 1440p Medium drops the average to 178 FPS (min 151, max 204), and at 4K Medium the average falls to 112 FPS (min 95, max 128). The minimum frame rates at 4K Medium (95 FPS) confirm that even the worst-case performance remains comfortably above 60 FPS.

These results indicate that Inside is not a particularly demanding title for this hardware combination. The GPU is clearly the bottleneck at 4K, as evidenced by the frame rate halving from 1080p to 4K, but the CPU's influence is negligible—the 24-core processor has more than enough throughput to maintain high frame rates even at 1080p Low where the GPU is least stressed.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the decisive component in this pairing for Inside. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for this game's art style. The GPU's clock speeds are substantial, with a 1700 MHz base clock, 2400 MHz game clock, and 2990 MHz boost clock. The 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 59th percentile of all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16014. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which scores 16129—a delta of -0.7%, meaning the RX 9060 is effectively tied with that card. The AMD Radeon R9 370X and AMD Radeon RX 7700 both score 15862 and 15852 respectively, putting them 1% behind. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 trails by 2.1% with a score of 15679.

In Inside, the GPU's 4K performance is the limiting factor. At Ultra settings, the 4K average of 66 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, while the High preset at 4K delivers 70 FPS. The GPU's VRAM capacity of 8 GB is not a constraint in this title, as the frame rates scale consistently with resolution rather than showing sudden drops that would indicate memory capacity issues. The GPU's FP32 performance of 21.43 TFLOPS is more than adequate for a puzzle platformer of this visual complexity.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination ranks 1615 out of 2887 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the 44th percentile of all tested combinations, meaning roughly 56% of tested hardware pairings perform better in this game. Given the game's 2016 release date, this ranking reflects that modern high-end CPUs paired with midrange GPUs are not the optimal configuration for this title.

The CPU's own ranking is far stronger—the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus sits in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83807, a mere 0.2% difference. The AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090, 1.1% behind) and AMD EPYC 9135 (82980, 1.2% behind) are close, while the AMD EPYC 7F72 is 1.3% ahead with 85072. This CPU is clearly a top-tier processor that is not the limiting factor in this combo's ranking.

The GPU's 59th percentile ranking is the primary reason the combo sits in the middle of the pack. The RX 9060's average benchmark score of 16014 is competitive with its direct rivals, but it is not a high-end graphics card. For a game like Inside that is not graphically demanding, the GPU's midrange positioning becomes the determining factor in the overall combo ranking, pulling the combined result down from what the CPU alone would suggest.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra settings in Inside?*

A: Yes, the measured data shows a 4K Ultra average of 66 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K High preset provides additional headroom at 70 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its closest competitor?

A: The RX 9060's average benchmark score of 16014 is 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129). It is 1% ahead of both the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862) and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15852), and 2.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 247 FPS (minimum 210, maximum 284). At 4K Medium, the average drops to 112 FPS (minimum 95, maximum 128). This represents a 54.7% reduction in average frame rate.

*Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for this combo's ranking in Inside?*

A: The GPU is more responsible. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 59th percentile. The combo's overall rank of 1615 out of 2887 places it in the 44th percentile, closer to the GPU's relative position than the CPU's.

*Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM on the RX 9060 limit performance in Inside?*

A: The data does not indicate a VRAM limitation. Frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings, showing no sudden performance cliffs that would suggest memory capacity issues. The GPU's 288.0 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for this game.

Q: What minimum frame rate can be expected at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured 1440p Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 151, with an average of 178 FPS and a maximum of 204 FPS. This ensures smooth performance even in demanding scenes.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It operates with a 3.70 GHz base clock and a 5.80 GHz boost clock, with a TDP of 125 W. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. This processor supports DDR5 memory via a dual-channel interface, providing 115.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

In Inside, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with frames, and its capabilities far exceed what this game requires. The CPU's single-thread performance is exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4823. Multi-threaded performance is equally strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and a Passmark multithread score of 60860. These scores place the CPU in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003.

The CPU's nearest rivals confirm its position at the top of the desktop hierarchy. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285K trails by just 0.2%, with a score of 83807. The AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090) and AMD EPYC 9135 (82980) are 1.1% and 1.2% behind respectively, while the AMD EPYC 7F72 is 1.3% ahead with 85072. For Inside, this CPU has enormous headroom—the game is not CPU-bound at any resolution, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling that closely tracks GPU load.

The CPU's 24 threads and high clock speeds ensure that even the lowest 1080p settings, where the GPU is least stressed, do not expose any CPU bottleneck. The measured 309 FPS at 1080p Low is likely near the game's engine limit rather than a hardware constraint. For this title, the CPU is overkill, but it ensures consistent frame delivery without any stutter or frame time variance that could arise from a weaker processor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the Inside experience with this hardware. At 1080p, all presets deliver well above 144 FPS, with Low achieving 309 FPS, Medium 247 FPS, High 155 FPS, and Ultra 147 FPS. Players with 144 Hz monitors can use Ultra settings at 1080p and still exceed the refresh rate, making this the best visual experience without sacrificing fluidity.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 111 FPS, which is suitable for 100 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 106 FPS, which remains playable on 60 Hz and 100 Hz monitors. For players seeking the highest possible frame rates at 1440p, the Medium preset offers 178 FPS with a 151 FPS minimum, ensuring smooth performance on high-refresh displays. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 222 FPS, but the visual quality reduction is unnecessary given the headroom available.

The 4K resolution presents the most trade-offs. The Ultra preset averages 66 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS target but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. The High preset at 70 FPS offers a slightly safer buffer. The Medium preset at 4K provides 112 FPS average with a 95 FPS minimum, making it the best choice for 4K displays with 100 Hz refresh rates. The Low preset at 4K reaches 140 FPS, which may appeal to players with 120 Hz or 144 Hz 4K monitors.

Given the game's puzzle platformer nature, where visual atmosphere contributes significantly to the experience, the recommended configuration is the High preset at 1080p or 1440p for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. At 4K, the Medium preset delivers the most consistent experience, with minimum frame rates (95 FPS) that avoid any perceptible stutter. The Ultra preset is viable at 4K but offers only marginal visual improvements over High while reducing the safety margin below the 60 FPS threshold in the worst case.