Inside

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a peculiar case for a game like Inside. The CPU is a modern desktop part with strong multi-threaded capabilities, while the GPU is an integrated graphics solution that ranks in the bottom percentile of all tested graphics cards. The benchmark results for this puzzle platformer reveal a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics processor, yet still manages to deliver playable experiences at lower settings. The recorded data shows a wide performance swing depending on resolution and quality preset, making this a combination that demands careful settings management.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers its best overall performance. With Low settings, the average frame rate is 156 FPS. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 125 FPS, with the measured minimum at 106 FPS and the maximum reaching 144 FPS. High settings produce an average of 78 FPS, while Ultra settings still hold an average of 74 FPS. All four presets at this resolution clear the 60 FPS playable threshold, and the gap between Low and Ultra is substantial at 82 FPS, but the playability remains consistent.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the performance profile narrows considerably. Low settings yield an average of 112 FPS. Medium settings average 90 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS recorded. High settings drop to an average of 56 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Ultra settings average 53 FPS. At this resolution, only Low and Medium settings are considered playable by the database criteria.

At 3840x2160, the integrated GPU struggles most visibly. Low settings record an average of 70 FPS, which remains playable. Medium settings average 56 FPS, with a minimum of 48 FPS and a maximum of 65 FPS. High settings average 35 FPS, and Ultra settings average 34 FPS, both far below the playable threshold. The only setting that clears 60 FPS at 4K is Low.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the Arc B390 loses roughly half its frame rate when moving from 1080p Low to 1440p Low, and then loses another third of that when moving to 4K Low. The Medium preset at 4K is the only setting in the entire dataset that includes both minimum and maximum frame data, showing a 17 FPS spread between the recorded low and high.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the Intel Core i5-12400F is not the limiting factor in this configuration. The CPU scores a 3dmark_16_threads result of 5895 and a single-thread score of 909, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, has an average score of 19047 with a delta of 0 percent, suggesting the i5-12400F is well within expected performance for its class. The CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, which is more than sufficient for a puzzle platformer like Inside.

The GPU, however, tells a different story. The Intel Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with a single recorded benchmark score of 1482 in 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX with a score of 1463 and a delta of 1.3 percent, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 with a score of 1443 and a delta of 2.7 percent. This places the Arc B390 in the same performance tier as decade-old entry-level discrete graphics cards.

The scaling between resolutions confirms the GPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 156 FPS. At 1440p Low, that drops to 112 FPS, a 28 percent reduction. At 4K Low, it falls to 70 FPS, another 38 percent reduction. This steep scaling curve is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the additional pixel count directly impacts frame delivery. The CPU has ample headroom, as evidenced by its strong cinebench_r23_multicore score of 12380 and geekbench_multicore score of 9472, neither of which would be stressed by this game's modest processing demands.

Settings scaling further reinforces the GPU role. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces the average from 156 FPS to 74 FPS, a drop of 82 FPS. At 1440p, the same settings change reduces performance from 112 FPS to 53 FPS. At 4K, it goes from 70 FPS to 34 FPS. The consistent pattern across all three resolutions shows that graphical settings have a far greater impact on frame rate than any CPU-side variable. The CPU is effectively idle in this workload, while the GPU is working at its limits.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Inside at 60 FPS on a 1920x1080 monitor?

A: Yes. The database shows all four presets at 1920x1080 clear the 60 FPS threshold. Low averages 156 FPS, Medium averages 125 FPS, High averages 78 FPS, and Ultra averages 74 FPS.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: Medium settings provide the highest average frame rate that stays at or above 60 FPS, with an average of 90 FPS and a measured minimum of 76 FPS. High settings drop to 56 FPS average, which is below the playable threshold.

Q: Is 3840x2160 playable with this hardware?

A: Only with Low settings, which average 70 FPS. Medium settings average 56 FPS and fall below the 60 FPS threshold, while High and Ultra average 35 FPS and 34 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, scores 1463, which is 1.3 percent slower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, which is 2.7 percent slower.

Q: Does the Intel Core i5-12400F bottleneck the system in this game?

A: The benchmark data suggests it does not. The CPU ranks in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, with a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 12380. The frame rate scaling between resolutions and settings follows a GPU-bound pattern, indicating the CPU has ample performance headroom.

Q: What is the frame rate range for Medium settings at 1920x1080?

A: The average is 125 FPS, with a measured minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 144 FPS. This is the only preset at 1080p that includes full minimum and maximum data.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The GPU is the primary performance bottleneck, so alternatives to the Arc B390 would behave similarly. The nearest rivals in the database are all NVIDIA parts from older generations. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX has an average score of 1463, which is 1.3 percent slower than the Arc B390. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5 percent slower. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5 percent slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7 percent slower. Any of these GPUs would deliver nearly identical frame rates in Inside, meaning they would also only clear 60 FPS at 4K with Low settings and would struggle with High or Ultra presets at 1440p.

On the CPU side, the Intel Core i5-12400F has near-identical performance to several other processors. The AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS scores 19047, a 0 percent delta. The Intel Core 3 201E scores 19056, 0.1 percent faster. The Intel Core i5-1335U scores 18982, 0.3 percent slower, and the AMD EPYC 7773X scores 18979, also 0.3 percent slower. Since the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game, swapping to any of these alternatives would produce essentially the same frame rates as the i5-12400F. The performance difference between the slowest and fastest of these CPU rivals is less than 1 percent, meaning none of them would meaningfully change the playability verdict.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the only playable preset is Low, which averages 70 FPS. Medium settings average 56 FPS and do not meet the playable threshold. The database lists Low as the best setting for this resolution, with an average of 70 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, with an average of 90 FPS. The measured minimum for Medium at this resolution is 76 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above the threshold. High settings average 56 FPS and are not playable. The database records Medium as the best setting for 1440p.

At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, so the best setting is Ultra, which averages 74 FPS. This is the highest quality preset available in the game, and it still clears the 60 FPS threshold by 14 FPS. Low, Medium, and High also work, with averages of 156 FPS, 125 FPS, and 78 FPS respectively, but Ultra provides the best visual quality while maintaining playability.

The Verdict

The database verdict for this combination is clear: the system can run Inside, but the playable settings depend heavily on resolution. At 1920x1080, the system clears 60 FPS on every preset, including Ultra at 74 FPS average. At 2560x1440, the system clears 60 FPS on Low and Medium, with Medium averaging 90 FPS, but fails on High and Ultra. At 3840x2160, only Low settings clear the threshold, averaging 70 FPS, while Medium, High, and Ultra all fall below 60 FPS.

The verdictByResolution data confirms this: 1080p lists High, Low, Medium, and Ultra as playable with Ultra as the best setting; 1440p lists Low and Medium as playable with Medium as the best; 4K lists only Low as playable. The pattern is consistent with a GPU that ranks in the 9th percentile of all graphics cards. Users with a 1080p display can enjoy the game at maximum quality, while 1440p users must compromise with Medium settings, and 4K users are limited to Low quality. The game itself is from 2016, which explains why even this modest GPU can achieve playable frame rates at lower settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and the Intel Arc B390 ranks 3296 out of 3716 tested combos in Inside. This places it in the bottom 11 percent of all configurations in the database. The ranking is driven almost entirely by the GPU, which sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The CPU, by contrast, sits in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, meaning the pairing represents a significant imbalance.

Despite the low overall ranking, the measured performance shows that this combination is not a complete failure for this specific game. The game's modest graphical demands allow the system to deliver playable frame rates at 1080p across all presets and at 1440p up to Medium settings. The 4K experience is limited to Low settings, but it is still playable. The rank of 3296 reflects the GPU's low position in the broader hardware landscape, but the actual gameplay experience for Inside is serviceable at lower resolutions. The data suggests that this system is best suited for 1080p gaming, where the GPU's limitations are least apparent, and where the CPU's strong single-thread performance, with a 3dmark_single_thread score of 909, ensures there are no additional bottlenecks.