Inside

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers overwhelming performance for Inside, a puzzle platformer from 2016. Measured data shows this combination exceeding 60 FPS at every preset and resolution tested, from 1080p to 4K. The following analysis breaks down the benchmark results by resolution, component scaling, and comparative standing against other tested hardware combinations.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which produces an average of 81 FPS. This is the highest quality setting available, and the system clears the 60 FPS threshold by a 21 FPS margin. The High preset averages 86.9 FPS, Medium reaches 135.4 FPS, and Low hits 171 FPS, but Ultra remains the recommended choice since it maintains playability while maximizing visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Ultra preset again qualifies as the best settings option, delivering an average of 128.5 FPS. This represents a 68.5 FPS cushion above the playability threshold. The High preset at this resolution averages 138.6 FPS, Medium reaches 214.5 FPS, and Low achieves 269.9 FPS. All four settings exceed 60 FPS, so the choice comes down to balancing visual quality against refresh rate headroom.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 177.8 FPS, making it the best settings selection. The High preset produces 189.1 FPS, Medium averages 289.3 FPS, and Low reaches 316.6 FPS. This resolution offers the largest performance buffer, with even the most demanding setting running at nearly three times the playable threshold. The data indicates that the RTX 3070 combined with the i3-12100F is never constrained by graphical settings in this title.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases, but the CPU still provides ample headroom for this game. At 1920x1080 Low, the system produces 316.6 FPS, which drops to 171 FPS at 3840x2160 Low — a reduction of 145.6 FPS when moving from 1080p to 4K. This 46% performance loss at the same settings shows the GPU bearing more load at higher resolutions.

The gap between Low and Ultra presets grows with resolution. At 1920x1080, Low averages 316.6 FPS while Ultra averages 177.8 FPS, a difference of 138.8 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low averages 171 FPS and Ultra averages 81 FPS, a difference of 90 FPS. The percentage drop from Low to Ultra is steeper at 4K (52.6% reduction) compared to 1080p (43.9% reduction), indicating that the GPU's shading and memory bandwidth limits become more pronounced at higher resolutions.

The CPU's role is less critical here. The i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient to feed the RTX 3070 even at 1080p Low, where frame rates approach 317 FPS. Since Inside is a puzzle platformer with modest geometric complexity, the CPU does not become a limiting factor at any tested configuration. The scaling pattern — where FPS decreases steadily from 1080p to 1440p to 4K at every preset — confirms that the GPU dictates performance, while the CPU maintains consistent frame delivery.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured average frame rates are as follows: Low settings produce 171 FPS, Medium averages 135.4 FPS, High reaches 86.9 FPS, and Ultra averages 81 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 35.6 FPS, from Medium to High costs 48.5 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs only 5.9 FPS. This indicates that the jump from Medium to High carries the largest performance penalty, while the final step to Ultra is comparatively modest.

At 2560x1440, the results show Low averaging 269.9 FPS, Medium reaching 214.5 FPS, High producing 138.6 FPS, and Ultra averaging 128.5 FPS. The transition from Low to Medium reduces frame rate by 55.4 FPS, Medium to High by 75.9 FPS, and High to Ultra by 10.1 FPS. The Medium-to-High step is the most expensive at this resolution, similar to the 4K pattern but with larger absolute differences.

At 1920x1080, the measured averages are 316.6 FPS for Low, 289.3 FPS for Medium, 189.1 FPS for High, and 177.8 FPS for Ultra. The difference between Low and Medium is 27.3 FPS, Medium to High is 100.2 FPS, and High to Ultra is 11.3 FPS. The Medium-to-High transition again dominates, consuming over 100 FPS. Across all resolutions, the High-to-Ultra step consistently costs the least in absolute terms, suggesting that the Ultra preset adds minimal extra load compared to High.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 81, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold by 21 FPS.

Q: What is the highest frame rate achievable with this hardware?

A: The maximum measured average is 316.6 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

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

A: At Low settings, the drop is from 316.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 171 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of 145.6 FPS. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 177.8 FPS to 81 FPS, a reduction of 96.8 FPS.

Q: Which preset offers the largest performance penalty?

A: The transition from Medium to High settings consistently costs the most frames at every resolution. At 1920x1080, this step reduces FPS by 100.2, at 2560x1440 by 75.9, and at 3840x2160 by 48.5.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. The i3-12100F maintains frame rates above 300 FPS at 1080p Low, and performance scales predictably with resolution increases, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor rather than the CPU.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth using over High?

A: At all resolutions, the performance cost from High to Ultra is small — 5.9 FPS at 4K, 10.1 FPS at 1440p, and 11.3 FPS at 1080p. Since Ultra remains above 60 FPS everywhere, the visual upgrade comes at minimal frame rate expense.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13494, placing it in the 68th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core 3 N355 with an average score of 13492 (0% difference), the Intel Core i5-9500 at 13452 (0.3% faster), the Intel Core 5 120UL at 13594 (0.7% slower), and the Intel Core i7-1250U at 13351 (1.1% faster). These processors would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Inside, meaning any of them paired with an RTX 3070 would produce similar frame rates.

For the GPU side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 averages 17208 in benchmarks, ranking in the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its closest competitors are the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT at 17083 (0.7% slower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 at 17037 (1% slower), the AMD Radeon HD 7970M at 17019 (1.1% slower), and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c at 17468 (1.5% faster). These alternatives would produce frame rates within roughly 1-2% of the RTX 3070 across all tested settings in Inside, keeping gameplay well above 60 FPS at every resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all 3716 tested hardware combinations in the benchmark database, the Intel Core i3-12100F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 holds rank 1447. This places the combo in the upper-middle portion of the overall distribution, roughly in the 61st percentile of all tested systems. The ranking reflects the GPU's strong absolute performance — the RTX 3070 sits in the 61st percentile of GPUs — while the CPU's 68th percentile standing contributes to the combination's ability to avoid bottlenecks in this particular game.

The rank of 1447 out of 3716 suggests that while this system is not at the top tier of tested configurations, it outperforms the majority of combos in the database. Given that Inside is an undemanding title from 2016, the combo's position likely overstates its difficulty in running this specific game — the measured FPS data shows frame rates far exceeding what the rank alone might imply.

The Verdict

This PC can run Inside at every tested resolution and preset configuration with substantial headroom above the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 3840x2160, all four settings — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — are playable, with Ultra averaging 81 FPS as the best visual option. At 2560x1440, the same four settings are playable, with Ultra delivering 128.5 FPS. At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 177.8 FPS, making it the best setting by a wide margin.

The verdict is consistent across all resolutions: there is no configuration in the measured data that falls below 60 FPS. The most demanding scenario — 4K Ultra — still provides an 81 FPS average, giving a 35% buffer above the playability threshold. The system's performance is characterized by the GPU handling the rendering load effectively, while the i3-12100F provides sufficient processing power to avoid limiting frame rates. For users with high refresh rate displays, the 1440p and 1080p results offer enough headroom to run Ultra settings while maintaining frame rates above 120 FPS at 1440p and above 170 FPS at 1080p. The data supports using the highest quality settings at any resolution without compromising playability.