Inside

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Inside, a game that is clearly not demanding by modern standards. The benchmark data shows this combination produces triple-digit averages even at 4K Ultra, indicating that the primary constraint shifts between the CPU and GPU depending on the resolution and settings selected.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic scaling pattern as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drop is unusually steep, suggesting the GPU becomes the limiting factor very quickly. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 442 FPS, which drops to 390 FPS at 1440p Low, a reduction of 52 FPS or roughly 11.8%. Moving to 4K Low yields 245 FPS, which is a substantial 44.5% drop from the 1440p figure and a 44.6% drop from 1080p. This steep decline at the lowest settings indicates that even with minimal graphical load, the GPU is being pushed harder as pixel count increases, while the CPU has ample headroom.

The scaling pattern changes when settings are raised. At High settings, the drop from 1080p (271 FPS) to 1440p (195 FPS) is 28.0%, and the drop from 1440p to 4K (123 FPS) is 36.9%. At Ultra settings, the numbers are 258 FPS at 1080p, 186 FPS at 1440p, and 117 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops here are 27.9% and 37.1% respectively. The consistency of these percentage drops across High and Ultra settings suggests that the game's rendering workload scales linearly with pixel count once the settings are sufficiently high, and the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's compute resources are the determining factor.

The Medium settings data points are particularly revealing. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 408, with a minimum of 347 and a maximum of 469. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 312 FPS (min 265, max 359), and at 4K Medium it falls to 196 FPS (min 167, max 226). The min-to-max spread is proportionally similar at each resolution, indicating stable frame pacing. The fact that the 4K Medium average (196 FPS) is still far above the 1440p High average (195 FPS) shows that the settings preset has a more significant impact on performance than the resolution jump itself.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is capable of driving frame rates well above 400 FPS, as seen in the Low and Medium presets. However, the GPU's rendering limits become apparent when moving to higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 117 FPS is still highly playable, but it represents a 73.5% reduction from the 1080p Low peak, clearly demonstrating that the GPU is the bottleneck at this resolution and preset combination.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is the dominant component in determining the upper limits of performance in Inside, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for this game's art style and texture requirements. The measured data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS remains at 117, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that the memory subsystem is not a limiting factor.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 2340 MHz and a boost of 2610 MHz, contribute to its raw compute throughput. The card's FP32 performance is rated at 44.10 TFLOPS, and its texture rate is 689.0 GTexel/s. These specifications are reflected in the benchmark results, where the GPU consistently delivers high frame rates across all tested configurations. The chip is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, containing 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, which allows for the high clock speeds and efficiency observed.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 76th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 31087. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (average score 31206, delta -0.4%), the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q (31220, -0.4%), the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell (31532, -1.4%), and the NVIDIA TITAN RTX (31676, -1.9%). This places the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in a competitive position, though the deltaPct values show it is narrowly behind these other cards in synthetic benchmarks. In Inside, however, the GPU's real-world performance is clearly sufficient, as evidenced by the high FPS numbers even at 4K.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility are relevant for a game like Inside, which uses a stylized 2D perspective but still renders with modern graphical features. The card's 8448 shading units and 264 tensor cores provide ample compute for the game's lighting and post-processing effects. The data shows that the GPU is the primary determinant of the FPS ceiling at 4K, while at 1080p, the CPU can push the frame rate higher than the GPU can render, creating a situation where the GPU becomes the bottleneck even at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER ranks 119th out of 2887 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the top 4.1% of all combinations in the database, indicating that it is a very high-performing setup for this game. The rank of 119 is impressive, but it also suggests that there are 118 other combinations that achieve higher performance, likely featuring more powerful GPUs or CPUs that can push frame rates even higher.

The CPU alone has an average benchmark score of 84003, placing it in the 96th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (average score 83807, delta 0.2%), the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090, 1.1%), and the AMD EPYC 9135 (82980, 1.2%), with the AMD EPYC 7F72 trailing at 85072 (-1.3%). The 290K Plus is marginally ahead of the 285K by just 0.2%, indicating that the two processors are nearly identical in synthetic performance. This edge, while small, may contribute to the combo's ranking.

The GPU's average benchmark score is 31087, which is in the 76th percentile. The deltaPct values against its nearest rivals are small, ranging from -0.4% to -1.9%, meaning the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is slightly behind the Quadro M5000, GRID M60-1Q, RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell, and TITAN RTX in synthetic tests. Despite this, the combo's rank of 119 out of 2887 suggests that the combination of this specific CPU and GPU works particularly well in Inside, likely because the game is not heavily GPU-bound at lower resolutions, allowing the CPU's high single-thread performance to shine.

The data indicates that the combo's ranking is driven more by the CPU's exceptional performance than the GPU's raw compute. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303 are strong indicators of its capability to handle game logic and draw calls. In a game like Inside, which is a puzzle platformer with relatively simple graphics, the CPU's role in maintaining high frame rates is more pronounced than in graphically intensive titles, which explains why this combo outperforms many others with more powerful GPUs.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience for this hardware combination. At 1080p, all presets deliver frame rates well above 250 FPS, with Low at 442 FPS, Medium at 408 FPS, High at 271 FPS, and Ultra at 258 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p is only a 13 FPS difference (from 271 to 258), which is a minimal cost for the visual fidelity increase, making Ultra the recommended choice at this resolution for players with high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 1440p, the situation is similar but with slightly lower headroom. Low delivers 390 FPS, Medium 312 FPS, High 195 FPS, and Ultra 186 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 9 FPS, so Ultra is again the better choice for visual quality without a significant performance penalty. However, the jump from Medium to High is substantial at 117 FPS, meaning players who prioritize frame rate over visuals might prefer Medium, but the 186 FPS at Ultra is still more than sufficient for smooth gameplay.

At 4K, the presets show a more pronounced trade-off. Ultra delivers 117 FPS, High 123 FPS, Medium 196 FPS, and Low 245 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 6 FPS, making Ultra the recommended setting for 4K as well, since the visual improvements are essentially free in performance terms. The Medium preset at 196 FPS offers a significant frame rate boost over High, but the visual downgrade may be noticeable. For players with 120 Hz or 144 Hz 4K displays, the Ultra preset at 117 FPS is borderline, and dropping to High at 123 FPS does not meaningfully improve the experience.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is the Ultra preset at 1080p or 1440p, where the average FPS remains above 180, providing a comfortable buffer for frame time spikes. At 4K, the Ultra preset is still recommended despite the lower 117 FPS average, as the game's slow-paced puzzle platformer gameplay does not require the extremely high frame rates seen at lower resolutions. The data shows no reason to use Low or Medium settings at any resolution, as even the most demanding preset yields playable frame rates.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Inside?*

A: The highest measured average FPS is 442, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 258 at 1080p to 117 at 4K, a reduction of 141 FPS or approximately 54.7%.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, as the average FPS of 117 is significantly lower than the 258 FPS seen at 1080p Ultra, where the CPU has more influence.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values recorded for this combo?

A: Minimum FPS values were only recorded for Medium settings: 347 at 1080p, 265 at 1440p, and 167 at 4K. No minimum values were provided for Low, High, or Ultra presets.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K's score of 83807.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is in the 76th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 31087.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus plays a crucial role in achieving the extremely high frame rates seen at lower resolutions. The CPU features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. This configuration, built on a 3 nm process at TSMC with Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, provides exceptional single-thread performance, which is critical for a game like Inside that likely relies on a single main thread for game logic.

The CPU's benchmark results demonstrate its strength. In Cinebench R23, it scores 51731 in multi-core and 7303 in single-core tests. The single-core score is particularly relevant for gaming, as it indicates the CPU's ability to handle per-frame calculations quickly. The Passmark single-thread score of 4823 and the Passmark physics score of 3315 further support this, showing that the CPU can process game physics and logic without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU's cache hierarchy, with 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3, provides ample fast memory for game data. This is complemented by dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 115.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game's memory requirements. The CPU's 125 W TDP and support for PCIe Gen 5 with 20 lanes indicate it is a high-end desktop part, and its unlocked multiplier allows for overclocking, though the measured data does not indicate whether overclocking was applied.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 96 among all CPUs places it in the top 4% of processors. Its nearest rivals, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and AMD EPYC 4584PX, have very similar average scores with deltaPct values of 0.2% and 1.1% respectively. This means the 290K Plus is essentially on par with the 285K, and only slightly ahead of the EPYC parts. In Inside, the CPU's high single-thread performance is likely the reason the combo achieves 442 FPS at 1080p Low, as the GPU can render frames faster than the CPU can feed it at lower resolutions, but the CPU is still capable of maintaining very high frame rates.

The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution in Inside. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, the CPU's role is to ensure that frame times remain consistent, which is supported by the stable minimum FPS values recorded at Medium settings. The CPU's performance is more than adequate for this game, and its high single-thread score is a key reason why the combo ranks so highly at 119 out of 2887.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 442 FPS, the Medium preset 408 FPS (min 347, max 469), the High preset 271 FPS, and the Ultra preset 258 FPS. The spread from low to ultra is 184 FPS, showing that settings have a significant impact at this resolution, but even the lowest result is far above any display's refresh rate.

At 2560x1440, the numbers scale down proportionally. Low delivers 390 FPS, Medium 312 FPS (min 265, max 359), High 195 FPS, and Ultra 186 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 9 FPS, which is the smallest gap between any two settings at any resolution. This suggests that the Ultra preset at 1440p is highly efficient, offering the best visual quality with minimal performance loss compared to High.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low delivers 245 FPS, Medium 196 FPS (min 167, max 226), High 123 FPS, and Ultra 117 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 49 FPS, and the gap between Medium and High is 73 FPS, which is the largest single-setting drop in the entire dataset. This indicates that the High preset at 4K introduces a substantial graphical load that the GPU must process, making Medium the best choice for players who want a balance between visuals and frame rate at 4K.

The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the min is 347 and max is 469, a range of 122 FPS. At 1440p, the min is 265 and max is 359, a range of 94 FPS. At 4K, the min is 167 and max is 226, a range of 59 FPS. The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU's workload becomes more consistent, which reduces frame time variance. This is a positive sign for gameplay smoothness, as it suggests that the combo does not experience significant stuttering even at 4K.

The data also shows that the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is roughly linear across all settings, with average FPS dropping by approximately 30-35% depending on the preset. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steeper, with average FPS dropping by approximately 37-40%. This is consistent with the pixel count increase from 1440p to 4K being larger than the increase from 1080p to 1440p. The overall picture is that this combo provides a playable experience at any resolution and settings combination, with the only compromise being the visual fidelity versus frame rate trade-off at 4K Ultra.