Inside

Inside is a 2016 puzzle platformer that, on paper, should not stress modern hardware. Yet, the measured frame rates for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination reveal a fascinating scaling curve that tells a clear story about which component is doing the heavy lifting at each resolution. The data indicates a system with immense headroom, where the limits of the display refresh rate are often the only ceiling.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions is the most telling dataset in this analysis. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 442 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset, the average drops to 368 FPS, a reduction of approximately 16.7%. The jump to 3840x2160 sees a more significant drop to 231 FPS, which is 37.2% lower than the 1440p result and 47.7% lower than the 1080p result. This pattern is consistent across all settings presets, but the slope of the decline steepens as pixel count increases.

Looking at the High preset, the scaling is even more pronounced. The 1080p average of 256 FPS falls to 184 FPS at 1440p, a 28.1% decrease. At 4K, the average plummets to 116 FPS, which is 36.8% lower than the 1440p figure and a massive 54.7% lower than the 1080p result. This steep drop-off at 4K is the first indicator that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, as the pixel fill rate demand outpaces the shader and memory bandwidth capabilities.

The most extreme case is the Low preset at 4K, which still manages 231 FPS. This is a critical data point. It suggests that even when the graphical load is minimal, the sheer number of pixels at 3840x2160 creates a bottleneck that prevents the system from reaching the 442 FPS seen at 1080p. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 121 FPS (231 vs 110), whereas at 1080p the gap is 198 FPS (442 vs 244). This compression of the performance range at higher resolutions is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU has ample headroom, but the GPU's rendering pipeline cannot keep up with the increased pixel workload.

The implication is clear: the RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary constraint at 4K, while the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus provides sufficient processing power to avoid being a bottleneck even at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 400 FPS. The data suggests that for this specific game, the CPU is almost never the limiting factor, which is expected given its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this CPU and GPU combo in Inside?

A: The highest recorded average frame rate is 442 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

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

A: The 4K Ultra preset yields an average of 110 FPS, while the 1080p Ultra preset yields 244 FPS. This represents a 54.9% reduction in average frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K at the highest quality settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 1440p?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck. At 1440p, the frame rates range from 175 FPS on Ultra to 368 FPS on Low. The CPU's high single-thread and multi-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 scores of 7303 and 51731 respectively, suggests it has ample capacity to feed the GPU at these frame rates.

Q: Are there any settings presets that provide a substantial frame rate boost without a significant visual penalty?

A: The data shows a significant jump from Ultra to High. At 1440p, the average frame rate increases from 175 FPS to 184 FPS, and at 4K it increases from 110 FPS to 116 FPS. The larger jump occurs when moving from High to Medium, where the 4K average rises to 185 FPS, a 59.5% increase.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average frame rate is 110 FPS, which is observed at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra settings preset.

Q: Does this combo ever drop below 100 FPS in the tested configurations?

A: No. The data shows that all measured average frame rates exceed 110 FPS, indicating that this system maintains a consistently high level of performance in this game.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific configuration of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER holds a rank of 193 out of 2887 tested combos for Inside. This places it in the top 6.7% of all systems tested for this game. This high ranking is a direct result of the exceptional performance on both the CPU and GPU fronts.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 84003 places it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, and it sits within 0.2% of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K's average score of 83807. This indicates that the 290K Plus is performing as expected, with no unusual bottlenecks or thermal throttling affecting its output. The GPU, with an average benchmark score of 43223, is in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB, which scores 43262, a negligible 0.1% difference.

The combination of a top-tier CPU and a high-end GPU results in a system that is well-balanced for this title. The rank of 193 suggests that while there are 192 faster configurations, they likely consist of more powerful GPUs like the RTX 4090 series. The data implies that this combo is significantly faster than the vast majority of systems, and the performance is limited by the GPU rather than the CPU, as the CPU's rank is higher than the GPU's.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture for optimal settings. At 1920x1080, even the Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, produces an average of 244 FPS. This is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on many monitors, and even exceeds 240 Hz displays. Therefore, for 1080p users, the Ultra preset is the recommended choice, as it provides the highest visual fidelity without compromising on smoothness.

For 2560x1440, the Ultra preset still delivers an excellent average of 175 FPS. This is sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming. The High preset offers a marginal improvement to 184 FPS, but the visual difference between High and Ultra is often minimal in this type of game. The data suggests that Ultra at 1440p is the best balance, as the frame rate remains high enough to fully utilize most high-refresh-rate monitors.

The 3840x2160 resolution presents the most interesting decision. The Ultra preset averages 110 FPS, which is playable but may not be ideal for competitive play on a 120Hz or 144Hz display. The High preset is nearly identical at 116 FPS. However, the Medium preset offers a substantial performance increase to 185 FPS, a 59.5% improvement over High, while likely only sacrificing some shadow quality or post-processing effects. For a puzzle platformer like Inside, where precise timing and atmosphere are key, the Medium preset at 4K provides the best experience, ensuring the frame rate remains high and consistent. The Low preset at 231 FPS is an option for those seeking maximum fluidity, but the visual downgrade is likely unnecessary given the Medium preset's performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings was tested. The Low preset delivered the highest average at 442 FPS. The Medium preset averaged 408 FPS, with a minimum of 347 FPS and a maximum of 469 FPS. The High preset averaged 256 FPS. The Ultra preset averaged 244 FPS. This shows a clear hierarchy, with the most significant drop occurring between Medium and High, a 37.3% decrease.

At 2560x1440, the pattern repeats. The Low preset averaged 368 FPS. The Medium preset averaged 294 FPS, with a minimum of 250 FPS and a maximum of 338 FPS. The High preset averaged 184 FPS. The Ultra preset averaged 175 FPS. The relative scaling is consistent with 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower due to the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the performance is more tightly clustered. The Low preset averaged 231 FPS. The Medium preset averaged 185 FPS, with a minimum of 157 FPS and a maximum of 213 FPS. The High preset averaged 116 FPS. The Ultra preset averaged 110 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 46 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 69 FPS, indicating that the higher settings presets impose a more significant load on the GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. In Inside, a game that is not known for heavy multi-threading, the single-thread performance is paramount. The CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303 is exceptionally high, and its Passmark single-thread score of 4823 confirms its strength in this area.

The data suggests that this CPU is never a bottleneck in this game. Even at 1080p with Low settings, where the frame rate reaches 442 FPS, the CPU is able to provide the necessary instructions to the GPU without delay. The high boost clock of 5.80 GHz ensures that the game's primary thread is processed as quickly as possible. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking and its negligible 0.2% performance difference from the Core Ultra 9 285K indicate that it is performing at the top of its class. The 36 MB of shared L3 cache and the 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth provide ample data throughput for the game's logic and asset streaming, ensuring that the GPU is never starved of data.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is based on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. It has a boost clock of 2475 MHz. The GPU's role in Inside is to handle the rendering of the game's atmospheric 2.5D environments, which involve complex lighting and shadow effects.

The VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for this game, even at 4K with Ultra settings. The 12 GB frame buffer is unlikely to be a limiting factor. Instead, the bottleneck appears to be the raw pixel fill rate and shading power. This is evidenced by the performance drop from 175 FPS at 1440p Ultra to 110 FPS at 4K Ultra, a 37.1% decrease that aligns with the increase in pixel count. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 29995 and its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4627 place it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, confirming its high-end status.

However, the benchmark data reveals that while the GPU is powerful, it is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The 121 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K, compared to the 198 FPS difference at 1080p, shows that the GPU's performance scales poorly with resolution at the highest settings. This is typical for a GPU in this class. The RTX 4070 SUPER performs admirably, but it is not a 4K Ultra powerhouse for all titles. For this game, however, the 110 FPS average at 4K Ultra is still a very playable result, and the Medium preset's 185 FPS average offers a fantastic high-refresh-rate 4K experience.