Inside

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is an extreme pairing for a 2016 puzzle platformer like Inside, and the benchmark data confirms that this combination obliterates the game’s demands at every preset and resolution tested. The CPU sits at the 68th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 13,494, placing it in the same performance tier as the Intel Core 3 N355 (delta 0%), Intel Core i5-9500 (0.3% slower), Intel Core 5 120UL (0.7% faster), and Intel Core i7-1250U (1.1% faster). The GPU, meanwhile, ranks at the 84th percentile among all graphics cards with an average score of 44,795, trading blows with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (0.8% faster), AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (1.3% faster), NVIDIA RTX A6000 (1.6% slower), and Intel Arc A730M (1.7% faster). For a game as lightweight as Inside, the i3-12100F is more than sufficient to keep the RTX 4070 Ti fed, and the results show that the graphics card is the primary driver of frame rates even at 4K.

Similar Performance Alternatives

If you are looking at the CPU side, the Intel Core i3-12100F’s nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark performance are the Intel Core 3 N355 (deltaPct 0%), meaning they effectively score identically on average. The Intel Core i5-9500 is just 0.3% slower in average score, while the Intel Core 5 120UL is 0.7% faster and the Intel Core i7-1250U is 1.1% faster. In practical terms, any of these processors would deliver nearly indistinguishable frame rates in Inside, since the game’s CPU load is modest and the i3-12100F’s four cores and eight threads (with a 3.30 GHz base and 4.30 GHz boost clock) already far exceed what the title requires. The i3-12100F’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11,860 and single-core score of 1,674 confirm that it handles both lightly threaded and fully threaded workloads comfortably, so swapping to a rival CPU would not change the outcome here.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4070 Ti’s nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile (0.8% faster on average), AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (1.3% faster), NVIDIA RTX A6000 (1.6% slower), and Intel Arc A730M (1.7% faster). These deltas are all within a couple of percentage points, so in a game like Inside, which is not graphically intensive, any of these cards would produce nearly identical average frame rates. The RTX 4070 Ti’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are overkill for this title, and its 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 performance ensures that even the most demanding preset at 4K leaves massive headroom. If you already own one of these rival GPUs, you would not notice a difference in Inside, as the game’s rendering workload is trivial for all of them. The data shows that the RTX 4070 Ti’s PassMark G3D score of 31,624 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5,024 place it well above the threshold needed to run this game at maximum settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

Benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the dominant component in this pairing for Inside, but the CPU’s role becomes slightly more visible as resolution drops. At 3840x2160, the average frame rate scales from 120.8 FPS on High to 115.2 FPS on Ultra, a drop of just 4.6%, while moving from High to Low jumps to 241.1 FPS. This pattern shows that at 4K, the RTX 4070 Ti is still the bottleneck, but the i3-12100F provides enough single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 893, PassMark single-thread score of 3,444) to avoid limiting the GPU. At 2560x1440, the same trend holds: Ultra runs at 185.4 FPS, High at 193.7 FPS, Medium at 258.1 FPS, and Low at 284.4 FPS. The scaling between presets is steep, indicating that the GPU’s shading and texture throughput (626.4 GTexel/s texture rate, 208.8 GPixel/s pixel rate) governs the frame rate.

At 1920x1080, the CPU begins to matter more, though the RTX 4070 Ti still leads. Ultra runs at 238 FPS, High at 240.8 FPS, Medium at 289.4 FPS, and Low at 314.5 FPS. The gap between Ultra and Low at 1080p is 76.5 FPS, compared to 125.9 FPS at 4K, which suggests that at lower resolutions the CPU’s frame pacing becomes a limiting factor, but not enough to drop below playable thresholds. The i3-12100F’s multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R20 multi-core score of 4,981, Geekbench multi-core score of 7,252) is more than adequate for a 2016 puzzle platformer, and its four cores are fully utilized by the game’s physics and logic. In short, for Inside, the RTX 4070 Ti is the component that dictates frame rates at all resolutions, while the i3-12100F ensures the CPU never becomes a bottleneck, even at 1080p where frame rates exceed 300 FPS on Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4070 Ti and i3-12100F deliver the following average frame rates: Low runs at 241.1 FPS, Medium at 196.6 FPS, High at 120.8 FPS, and Ultra at 115.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 125.9 FPS, showing that the GPU’s performance scales strongly with preset complexity. At 2560x1440, the numbers climb: Low hits 284.4 FPS, Medium reaches 258.1 FPS, High runs at 193.7 FPS, and Ultra sits at 185.4 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 99 FPS, a smaller gap than at 4K, which is typical as resolution decreases and the CPU starts to share the load. At 1920x1080, the results are even higher: Low runs at 314.5 FPS, Medium at 289.4 FPS, High at 240.8 FPS, and Ultra at 238 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 76.5 FPS, confirming that the CPU’s single-thread performance (3DMark 2-threads score of 1,659 and 4-threads score of 2,859) begins to cap the maximum achievable frame rate.

Across all resolutions, the game never drops below 115 FPS even at the most demanding preset (Ultra at 4K), which is nearly double the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data shows no min or max FPS values, but the average frame rates are so high that stutter or dips are unlikely to affect gameplay. The i3-12100F’s PassMark multi-thread score of 14,015 and physics score of 985 indicate that it can handle the game’s logic without issue, and the RTX 4070 Ti’s memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s ensures that texture streaming at 4K is never a problem. For a game like Inside, which uses simple 2D side-scrolling environments, these frame rates are far beyond what is necessary for a smooth experience, and even the lowest preset at 4K (241.1 FPS) is more than enough for a high-refresh-rate monitor.

FAQ

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

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 115.2 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold. All four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at 4K.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals for this game?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13,494, which is virtually identical to the Intel Core 3 N355 (deltaPct 0%), 0.3% faster than the Intel Core i5-9500, 0.7% slower than the Intel Core 5 120UL, and 1.1% slower than the Intel Core i7-1250U. Any of these CPUs would produce similar frame rates in Inside.

Q: What is the best preset to use at 2560x1440 to stay above 60 FPS?

A: The most demanding preset that stays above 60 FPS is Ultra, which runs at an average of 185.4 FPS. Even the lowest preset at this resolution runs at 284.4 FPS, so all options are far above the threshold.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti overkill for this game?

A: The data suggests yes. The GPU ranks at the 84th percentile among all graphics cards, and at 1080p Low settings it reaches 314.5 FPS. Even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 115.2, meaning the card is never stressed by Inside’s modest graphical demands.

Q: How does the GPU compare to the RTX 5090 Mobile?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 44,795, which is 0.8% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile’s score of 45,152. In practice, this difference is negligible for Inside, as both cards run the game at frame rates far above 100 FPS at every preset.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank among tested systems?

A: This combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 656th out of 3,716 tested combos for Inside, placing it in the top 17.7% of all configurations tested for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination ranks 656th out of 3,716 tested combos in Inside, which puts it in the top 17.7% of all systems in the database. This rank is driven primarily by the GPU, as the RTX 4070 Ti’s 84th percentile standing among all graphics cards ensures that the system can handle even the most demanding settings at 4K. The CPU’s 68th percentile ranking is respectable but not elite, yet for Inside this does not matter, because the game’s CPU load is light enough that the i3-12100F’s four cores never become a limiting factor. The rank of 656 indicates that there are 655 combos that perform better, but those systems likely feature higher-end CPUs or multiple GPUs, which are unnecessary for a puzzle platformer. The measured FPS data supports this: at 4K Ultra, the system averages 115.2 FPS, which is nearly double the playable threshold, and at 1080p Ultra it hits 238 FPS. For comparison, the nearest CPU rival (Core 3 N355) and GPU rival (RTX 5090 Mobile) would produce almost identical results, confirming that this combo is well-balanced for this specific game, even if the CPU is the weaker link in more demanding titles.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average FPS of 115.2. All four presets (Low at 241.1 FPS, Medium at 196.6 FPS, High at 120.8 FPS, Ultra at 115.2 FPS) are playable, so you can choose Ultra for maximum visual quality without worrying about frame drops. At 2560x1440, the best settings are also Ultra, running at 185.4 FPS on average, with Low at 284.4 FPS, Medium at 258.1 FPS, and High at 193.7 FPS. At 1920x1080, Ultra is again the best choice, delivering 238 FPS on average, while Low runs at 314.5 FPS, Medium at 289.4 FPS, and High at 240.8 FPS. In every resolution, the data shows that the system has enough headroom to run the highest preset and still maintain frame rates that are more than double the 60 FPS playable threshold. Given that Inside is a 2D side-scroller, the visual difference between Medium and Ultra may be subtle, but the benchmark numbers show that there is no performance penalty for choosing the highest settings, so there is no reason to compromise.