Inside

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination delivers exceptional performance in Inside, a puzzle platformer that is far more demanding on the GPU than the CPU at higher resolutions. The measured data shows that every preset at every tested resolution clears the 60 FPS playable threshold, with average frame rates ranging from 97.5 FPS at 4K Ultra to 318.1 FPS at 1080p Low. This makes the system not just playable but overwhelmingly capable, leaving substantial headroom for future titles or higher refresh rate displays.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that remains at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which produces an average of 97.5 FPS. This is a strong result, as Ultra typically imposes the heaviest load, yet the RTX 3080 Ti still delivers nearly 40% more frames than the 60 FPS target. The data shows a clear gradient: High averages 102.8 FPS, Medium reaches 162.7 FPS, and Low peaks at 208.8 FPS. All four settings are playable at 4K, so users can prioritize visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

For 2560x1440, the best preset is again Ultra, with an average of 159.8 FPS. The scaling from 4K is substantial—Ultra improves by over 60% when dropping from 2160p to 1440p. High runs at 167 FPS, Medium at 262.7 FPS, and Low at 283.4 FPS. Interestingly, the gap between Medium and Low is relatively small (about 8%), suggesting diminishing returns at lower settings.

At 1920x1080, Ultra remains the optimal choice, delivering 221 FPS on average. This is the resolution where the system truly flexes its muscles: High hits 231.5 FPS, Medium reaches 291.9 FPS, and Low tops out at 318.1 FPS. Even the most demanding preset at 1080p provides over three times the 60 FPS threshold, making this combination ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The verdict data confirms all settings are playable at every resolution, with Ultra being the recommended choice for maximum quality.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results reveal a fascinating dynamic between the Intel Core i5-12400 and the RTX 3080 Ti. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high—ranging from 221 to 318 FPS—that the CPU's single-thread performance becomes a limiting factor. The i5-12400 scores 910 in 3dmark single-thread and 2257 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which are solid numbers but not enough to push beyond the observed ceilings. The data shows that dropping from Medium to Low at 1080p only increases FPS from 291.9 to 318.1, a modest 9% gain, indicating that the CPU is nearing its limit.

As resolution increases, the GPU takes on a more dominant role. At 1440p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 123.6 FPS (283.4 vs 159.8), a 77% swing that clearly demonstrates GPU-bound scaling. At 4K, this gap widens further: Low averages 208.8 FPS while Ultra drops to 97.5 FPS, a 114% difference. The RTX 3080 Ti, with its 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 912.4 GB/s memory bandwidth, handles the increased pixel workload predictably, but the CPU's influence fades as resolution climbs.

The scaling pattern is telling. From 1080p Ultra (221 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (159.8 FPS), there's a 27% drop. From 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra (97.5 FPS), the drop is 39%. This nonlinear degradation suggests that at 4K, the GPU is working much harder per frame, while at 1080p, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are more likely to bottleneck. The i5-12400's 5890 score in 3dmark max threads and 15989 in Cinebench R23 multicore are respectable, but they're not the star here—the RTX 3080 Ti's 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs clearly outshines the CPU's 72nd percentile.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the full settings sweep shows: Low averages 208.8 FPS, Medium 162.7 FPS, High 102.8 FPS, and Ultra 97.5 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is surprisingly small at just 5.3 FPS, suggesting that Ultra's additional effects are relatively lightweight. The jump from Medium to High is much larger at 59.9 FPS, indicating that High settings introduce a significant visual load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers rise considerably: Low 283.4 FPS, Medium 262.7 FPS, High 167 FPS, and Ultra 159.8 FPS. Here, the gap between Low and Medium is only 20.7 FPS, but Medium to High is a massive 95.7 FPS drop. This suggests that High settings at 1440p are where the GPU starts to feel the strain, though it still comfortably exceeds 60 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 318.1 FPS, Medium 291.9 FPS, High 231.5 FPS, and Ultra 221 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is just 10.5 FPS, while Low to Medium is 26.2 FPS. Interestingly, the 1080p Low result of 318.1 FPS is the highest recorded in the entire dataset, likely approaching the engine's frame rate cap or the CPU's practical limit. No minimum or maximum FPS values were recorded in the data, so the analysis relies solely on averages, which are uniformly high.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-12400, the AMD EPYC 7643 scores 18697 on average, a mere 0.1% higher, making it functionally identical for this game. The Intel Core i7-1355U is 0.3% behind, while the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 trails by 0.7%. On the other side, the Intel Core i3-14100F is 0.9% ahead. These deltas are so small that any of these CPUs would produce nearly indistinguishable frame rates in Inside, given the game's modest CPU demands. The i5-12400's 18683 average benchmark score places it right in the middle of this cluster.

For the GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, which scores 40870 (0.8% higher), and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB at 41707 (1.2% lower). The NVIDIA Tesla M40 is 1.7% behind, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is 2% ahead at 40377. These differences are negligible in practice—a 2% delta translates to roughly 2-4 FPS at 4K Ultra, which would be imperceptible. Gamers with any of these GPUs paired with the i5-12400 would see virtually identical performance in Inside.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Inside, and then some. The verdict data is unambiguous: at 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Ultra with 97.5 FPS average. At 2560x1440, Ultra delivers 159.8 FPS, and at 1920x1080, Ultra hits 221 FPS. Every resolution and every preset—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. The system never comes close to dipping below that benchmark, even under the heaviest load tested.

The practical implication is that users have complete freedom to max out the game's settings at any resolution. The 4K Ultra result of 97.5 FPS is particularly impressive, as it leaves room for additional background tasks or streaming without risking drops below 60 FPS. At 1440p and 1080p, the frame rates are so high that they support 144Hz or even 240Hz monitors, assuming the display can keep up. The only caveat is the CPU's potential bottleneck at 1080p Low, where the 318.1 FPS average may represent a ceiling rather than a GPU limit, but this is a non-issue for practical gameplay.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Inside at 4K with all settings maxed out?*

A: Yes. The data shows Ultra settings at 3840x2160 produce an average of 97.5 FPS, well above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p gaming?

A: Ultra is recommended, as it delivers 159.8 FPS average. Even High at 167 FPS is an option, but Ultra provides the highest visual quality without any performance concerns.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important at 1080p?

A: The CPU plays a larger role at 1080p, as evidenced by the smaller performance gap between Low (318.1 FPS) and Medium (291.9 FPS) compared to higher resolutions. The i5-12400's single-thread score of 910 in 3dmark suggests it's the limiting factor at these extreme frame rates.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 4K?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 221 at 1080p to 97.5 at 4K, a reduction of approximately 56%. This is consistent with the GPU handling four times the pixels.

Q: Does this combination rank high among tested systems?

A: It ranks 911th out of 3716 tested combos, placing it in the top 25% of all configurations. Given that Inside is a light game, this ranking reflects the hardware's overall capability rather than game-specific optimization.

Q: Are there any settings that drop below 60 FPS?

A: No. All 12 tested configurations—four presets across three resolutions—average above 60 FPS. The lowest recorded average is 97.5 FPS at 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination holds a rank of 911 out of 3716 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the 75th percentile of all configurations, which is impressive but not top-tier. The ranking likely reflects that many other tested systems pair even more powerful CPUs or newer GPUs, such as the RTX 40-series successors. However, the actual gameplay experience is exceptional, as the game is so lightweight that even this mid-range CPU and last-generation GPU produce triple-digit frame rates at every preset.

The rank is more indicative of the hardware's overall benchmark scores—the CPU's 72nd percentile and GPU's 83rd percentile—than of any struggle in Inside. The data shows no configuration in this test comes close to failing the 60 FPS threshold, so the rank is essentially a measure of raw hardware potential. For a puzzle platformer, this setup is overkill, but for users who also play more demanding titles, the 911th position out of 3716 suggests a well-balanced system that sacrifices little in real-world performance.